Dwrton

Dwrton (/’dwɜ:tən/), also called Dwrton-in-the-Shadow, is a settlement and civil parish on the shores of Lake Nellig in northern Twdyll County. The parish is home to Wyliwr Castle, county seat of the Earl of Mochdant. The 270 census recorded the parish’s population as 617 non-orcish persons.

Dwrton is variously referred to as both a town and a village. It was established in 182 as a market town, though no market has been held since the Deep Nights of 212-219. It has both a courthouse and a Village Hall.

The core of Dwrton is on gravel terraces formed of hen-dwr terrace deposits.

Dwrton is the nearest settlement to Alitheia-Eirias, the largest old world ruin in the Denied Imperium. This has given rise to the name Dwrton-in-the-Shadow, as the township is said to be “in the shadow of old Eirias.” Ironically, due to the smooth and reflective surfaces of its many towers, the ruin is clearly visible from Dwrton not because of its shadow but because of its reflected light.

History
The Dwrton area has been settled since the Age of Deception and possibly before. The earliest known settlement was some distance south of Dwrton today, near Wyliwr Castle, where the shores of Lake Nellig once reached. The core of modern Dwrton is situated in the land exposed by Lake Nellig’s recession in the early years of the New Dawn.

Prior to the Orichalcum Wars, the southern shores of Lake Nellig were overrun with refugees fleeing Alitheia-Eirias. The geography of the Dwrton area initially attracted many, but its resources could not sustain such a population. Storiwr reports that by year 30 the “game and fish were gone from the region and the earth, so trampled and torn by the retreating masses, was loathe to take seed.”

The Dwrton area, and indeed the whole of Caniland district, was fiercely contested ground during the Orichalcum Wars. Given its proximity to Alitheia-Eirias, Dwrton served as a staging ground for the repeated assaults on the old world ruin. A monument now stands in the triangular space known as Market Square, a reminder of the consequences of magic use.