Meadowland

location of Hargstead Village

Area, USA

POH01 Rogue Mage/01; POH01 Rogue Mage/10

A place of upper meadows, farms, small groups, people trying to survive after the Age of Madness.

The Meadowlands were once part of what was called Sawtooth Valley, and the Dead Grey Road was known as the highway with the number seventy-five placed upon it.

Population

POH01 Rogue Mage/02; POH01 Rogue Mage/16; POH01 Rogue Mage/04; POH01 Rogue Mage/05

Consisted of groups of various types of people, all trying to survive.

The brutals were the ones who killed indiscriminately, and immediately, then devoured the bodies.

The ravers were former brutals. Ravers were notorious in their casual enjoyment of man meat, a result of their former lives as brutals, back before they had been mind-screwed by a mage. There were a few signs that set a raver apart. Once a mage had twisted and tortured a brutal’s mind, they went crazy. Not the typical, bloodthirsty craziness of a brutal, which is their natural state of being, but crazy, as in they became idiots.They also lost their savage edge. There was no sharing a fire with a brutal, as he was now with these two ravers. A brutal would have lunged at him like a rabid dog at the first sight, but ravers—having had their brains stirred up like a pot of hot soup—somehow gained a certain decorum and civility. It was a bizarre thing. Civil enough to share a fire with Daeken, but still crazy enough to eat another human.

If you take the Grey Roadwest another day, to the south you’ll find the Caulderi. Strange folk in white robes. Skin dark as night. Dangerous. Live in underground communes beneath the old buildings.

Then to the north of the road are the Meadow People. Farmers they are. Town of Hargstead. Twenty-two buildings lined the street, eleven on either side. Half were three stories high and overlooked the tall wall that was three times the height of a man. If there was one thing that was done right at Hargstead, it was having a decently large wall for protection. Mayor Brundig reigned. Justen heard the mayor’s usual dismissive tone each time they (the Brigande)paid a visit to Hargstead. The mayor felt secure in his walled village and put very little pressure on the community to protect themselves.Percy was his Chief of Defense. Percy didn't like Payetta and the Brigade, and was always putting them down, defending, instead, with Mayor Brundig’s version of the Heroes Brigade, six men wearing grey or black cloaks with the crease of a concealed sword in its sheath marking them as men of the Meadow Guard, along with the green sashes they wore across their chests while on duty. When Justen, Payetta and Old Ferren began forming their little group, they refused to surrender control to Mayor Brundig and assimilate into the Meadow Guard. And thus, the North Meadow Volunteer Heroes Brigade was born. Percy certain that Hargstead has enough defense.

Can't tell the Mayor about Payetta's powers, so continually called liars, boasters, and addressed negatively.

Magic

POH01 Rogue Mage/04

Many in the Meadowlands associated magic with evil, and for good reason. All the mages they knew were murderers, except for Payetta. But then, they only believed she was a brash and quarrelsome young woman who lived in the woods. And she was that, thought Justen. But she was a mage too, and a deadly one. If townspeople found out about her magic, they would at least drive her away, and probably kill her.

The Rulers

POH01 Rogue Mage/05

Zarith Smith, with his subgroupof raiders led by Titannus. Zarith can mind-speak with Titannus, and is warned that an unknown mage nmight exist, in which case it is Titannus' job to discover and either capture or kill that person.