A Song for Winter: Drakthorpe

Legend holds that Drakthrope was originally founded on the bodies of slain dragons by the original Clan Drackonas. Blood from those slain dragons leaked into the drinking water which forever infused the rage of dragons into the Drackonas bloodline. Bones and scales of the dead dragons were made into weapons and armor that could slay any foe. Skin from the dragons was used to make houses that held up to the worst of the weather of the northern land. At least that's what the legends say but nowadays Drakthorpe looks vastly different since it was razed and reconstructed.

 

At the start of the war with The Matriarch, William returned to the burnt-out remains of Drakthorpe with a bunch of refugees to rebuild it as a sanctuary city. The land was cleared with any salvageable materials being collected for the reconstruction. Trees from the nearby woodlands along with stones from a rock quarry to rebuild houses and other buildings. Since the refugees had come from many different worlds and places so a variety of different building types and styles sprung up. Not just houses but also mills, farms, armories, barracks, and various types of smiths to service the needs of the new villagers were made.

 

Defensive buildings were also constructed to protect the villagers from outside threats. Wooden walls were initially erected to provide a small bit of safety. As new villagers joined Drakthorpe the walls were reinforced with strange metals from different lands to stand up to physical assaults. Spells were woven into the walls not only to add protection from any magical assaults but also to prevent anyone without a special rune key from being able to open a portal directly into the village. Along the wall, guards were posted at all times at evenly passed guard posts. Each guard post was equipped with a signal bell that was enchanted to signal the crew upon the spaceship The Harlock no matter where the ship was alongside beacon fire to indicate where the attacks were coming from. Ballistas with exploding elemental bolts were manned at all times along the wall.

 

William’s house sat on a small hill on the eastern side of Drakthorpe. On the outside, it looked like a traditional wooden longhouse with support beams holding up the outside and a wooden roof. However, the inside was very much not traditional at all. The walls were painted different colors in each room with internal doors separating most of the rooms. In the living room, there was a fireplace with a chimney that kept the house from getting smoky. A kitchen with running water, a stove that ran on fire-powered magitech, and a fridge that utilized air and water magitech to keep food and drink cold sat next to the living room. William and his wife Violet shared the master bedroom while Jaina, William’s daughter, had her own room. Liam, William and Violet’s infant son, was going to have his own room as soon as he could sleep alone and William finished building it. There were several indoor bathrooms with tubs or showers and toilets that magically dealt with waste.  Drakthorpe stood ready to defend those in need whenever the call came for it.