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Hell: Hornburg |
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- "Hornburg was ruled over by a royal family said to be descended from priests of an ancient and long-forgotten religion." —Cyrus Albright
Hornburg was a kingdom in the Highlands, founded by Beowulf, the second prince of the kingdom of Bernstein, as a reward for leading its armies and conquering new lands, in the year of 1401. The Kingdom lasted from 1401 to 1610. Its ruins lies southeast of Everhold and within it the Gate of Finis can be found, behind which the dark deity Galdera is imprisoned.
King Alfred was the last king of Hornburg, under whom Olberic Eisenberg and Erhardt served. Little did King Alfred know that Erhardt had entered his service with the sole intention of revenge. When Erhardt eventually killed King Alfred in 1610, Hornburg fell. A civil war ensued, but in reality Werner’s sellsword company the Black Brotherhood instigated the conflict among the aristocracy.
Most of the denizens' souls who perished in the civil war ended in Hell's Hornburg. There, they have quiet lives, as if the fateful event never happened due to their king using a secret Hornburgian art to freeze time upon this version of the kingdom.
Notable Hornburgians[]
Etymology[]
"Hornburg" is a combination of the Old High German terms "horn" and "berg," meaning "horn mountain" or "horn castle." Notably, J.R.R. Tolkien's work contains a fortress known as the Hornburg, a structure built in the mountains and reliant on battle horns as signals.
Trivia[]
- The Kingdom of Hornburg had an ancient writing script in the form of runes called High Hornburgian. These runes form the mural in the Ruins of Eld, compose the language in which From the Far Reaches of Hell was written, and appear in The Sewers as part of Gideon's necromantic magic. High Hornburgian is notoriously difficult to translate, as Cyrus notes that "the tomes of ancient Hornburg were lost long ago." He only succeeds in translating From the Far Reaches of Hell when he obtains a High Hornburgian Dictionary in the Ruins of Eld.
- King Beowulf was given a tapestry as a gift from Ferien at the time of the former's founding, indicating warm relations between the realms.
- Together, Olberic and Erhardt were known as the "twin blades of Hornburg."
- A Former Vassal of Hornburg is met in Shepherds Rock, proving a system of vassalage in Hornburg.
- Cyrus mentions in his first chapter that "the royal family of Hornburg were guardians of an ancient power," likely referring to their watch over the Gate of Finis. According to him, they were also priests of an ancient religion, though the details of this religion have been lost to time.
- The ceremonial dancers of the Hornburgian Church employed fragments of techniques of the Agapean maidens, which are said to be used to recreate forgotten sorceries.[1] As Hornburgian scholars were researching about the magic techniques of the fallen kingdom of Bernstein[2], it's likely the secret Hornburgian art of King Alfred have its roots in either Agapea, Bernstein, or both.
- Hornburg's name alludes to his creation as a horn sounding to warn of possible attacks from the southern barbarians.[3]
- According to Noelle the historian, Hornburg was once on the verge of collapse from the depredations of a red-eyed dragon that "appeared, sowing death and destruction." The aging King Beowulf built the Everhold Castle (now the Everhold Amphitheatre) to face down the dragon behind secure walls.
References[]
- ↑ Dancing Maiden-in-Training's Inquiry
- ↑ Hornburgian Court Scholar's Inquiry
- ↑
Letter from a Cait Scholar, Day 59X “Past the southern border of Hornburg lived a group of fur-ocious warriors that constantly harried the nation. A large horn was built to sound their ap-ppur-oach, and from that the name Hornburg, which means "horn castle" derives.”