Emerald Hills

Freehold Type: Balefire 1, Standard Stock Location (5)
Chimera Guardians (2)
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Location Qualities: Library, Location, Size, Workshop, Sprawling

Description

Residents of the county in good standing will be allowed to take respite at the Freehold and its Balefire so long as they follow local laws and ordinances.

A library is known to be located at the Freeholding here which has been said to contain knowledge of the Fomorians alongside several hundred tomes of other gathered history and knowledge.

The Balefire, and thus the Freehold, is housed in Raleigh NC in an historic home built in the early 1900s. Built from granite and brick in a Châteauesque style, it has a tall hipped slate roof and features an offset, conical-roof tower, two-story projecting bay, and wraparound arcaded porch. Also on the grounds are a playhouse, stable, and former servant's quarters.

Local Laws & Customs

• Visitors are expected to bring an offering of food or drink for their hosts. Dross will also be accepted.
• Respect should be given both ways; being of noble birth does not afford respect without giving it in return.
• Willful destruction of Freehold property and holdings will beget punishment.
• Noise should be kept to a reasonable volume while on Freehold property - both to protect the privacy of the kithain and to respect the delicate ears of the Sluagh.
• No books from the library are to be removed without explicit permission of local leadership.
• No offered food may be refused.
• Only those having sworn the Oath of Belonging will be provided Glamour from the Balefire unless otherwise determined by local leadership.
• If a Vassal is judged guilty of a crime, and they escape punishment, their punishment shall be visited upon their immediate Liege.
• Any who steal a Dreamer from another Changeling shall owe a debt to the rightful Owner.
• Any Changeling who takes responsibility for a Chimera shall share in their crimes.

Rumors

• The food here is said to all either be rotten or have interesting effects.
• The Bloody Baron is said to hate fragrant flowers and become ill-tempered with those who bring them within the Freehold.
• Seelie & Unseelie holidays are held in high regard and often celebrated with a variety of festivities.
• The Freehold does not tend to be very friendly toward members of the Shadow Court. While base respect and civility is given, it is a terse and strained respect easily stripped upon the slightest infraction.

Freehold Timeline

• Mid 1300s -- Abandoned by the Sidhe and stuck in the Autumn realm, the kithain of the area took to the privacy and relative safety of the woods and forests. They inspired what imagination they could in the local tribes through small acts of wonder and influence over their dreams, crafting local myths and legends through their actions. One group of Boggans, seeing the need in other smaller surrounding areas, began traveling to offer aide to other holdings and Freeholds. Resident Eshu began chronicling local stories so that they not be lost to time and death of those who would not make it through being cut off from the Dreaming.
• 1585-1587 -- Now known as the Lost Colony, the interactions between a small number of open-minded colonists and local tribes sparked a burst in glamour as shared discovery of the different methods by which these different peoples had learned to survive over the years brought new thoughts and ideas to the local Dreamers.
• 1776 -- Declaring independence from Great Britain sparks a period of abundant glamour as Dreamers dream of freedom and new horizons.
• 1853 -- The first State Fair is held near Raleigh, bringing with it a burst of excitement and glamour. The Kindling Stone is attuned by local changelings and lit into a new Balefire. Various trials and tribulations saw the Balefire rise and fall over the next century.
• 1959 -- Creation of the Research Triangle Park. New research and ideas abound.
• 1969 -- Moon landing. With renewed excitement and glamour coursing the world over, the local Freehold benefits from a period of abundance and growth. Several Trods opened and spread throughout the area, and travel between the Freeholds was more common. The Balefire which had begun to dwindle to kindlings bursts into life once more.
• 1970 -- With the reappearance of the Sidhe comes a power struggle among the local leadership. While glamour is still abundant, the locals find themselves in many terse meetings and discussions over the shift of power, even as battles rage in the Accordance War over these same conflicts on a larger scale.
• 1972 -- The Sidhe are pushed back from the East coast and the commoners find themselves basking in a period of victory. Using the nobles’ own tricks against them, the local Counties remain free of significant noble reign for some time.
• Treaty of Respect -- With the end of the Accordance War, the local commoners open their doors more willingly to some nobles once more.
• 1990 -- The iron grip with which the newly established Count lords over the County sets many commoners on edge and less inclined to friendly relations with their noble-born peers.
• 1996 -- The passing of the Olympic Flame through Raleigh spurs excitement among the locals, but the later destruction of Hurricane Fran dampens spirits. The reign of dreams shifts to a reign of nightmares for a brief period.
• 1997 -- The Carolina Hurricanes become the city’s first major league sports franchise, creating another local burst in glamour.
• 2000 -- Winter settles over the world. Local commoners become increasingly unsatisfied with the reign of the Iron Count.
• 2002 -- Isolde, Pops, and Hecate move into the area and begin establishing themselves among the locals.
• 2004 -- The reigning Duke died in the same battle where King David was lost, and the next highest ranking noble - Countess Isolde - was put into Chimerical death by an arrow on our own side. This set the local Freehold(s) into a state of disarray as commoners and nobles alike tried to settle lines of leadership, struggle with suspicions of who amongst their prior friends were still to be trusted, etc.
• Late 2004 -- With so many lost in the recent battles, the local Balefire begins to lose strength, this loss becoming more rapid as Endless Winter sets in.
• Early 2005 -- Duchess Isolde, formerly a Count in the Red Branch Knights, stepped into her new role over the Duchy of Carolina and set to organizing both the Emerald Hills and other Freeholds within her purview after the upset of the Shadow Court exposing themselves enmasse and the loss of prior important leaders.
• Late 2005 -- Duchess Isolde names Liam Rowan Murphy III - a member of her fealty chain - to the role of Baron over the Emerald Hills to help tend the Balefire and bring together the locals. Hecate is named Seer of the court some few weeks later.
• 2004 - 2007 -- The locals struggle over the next several years with the effects of the chaos left behind by loss of leadership and other locals in the great battles of 2004, and the shift of power. Rogue chimera become a more frequent problem, relations between the courts are strained, and several Balefires throughout the County are lost.
• 2010 -- Inaugural Hopscotch Music Festival brings a new annual event that local Kithain can look to for some measure of excitement and fresh dreams.
• Mid 2018 -- Liam Rowan Murphy III becomes Count over the local areas surrounding Emerald Hills per the order of Duchess Isolde.
• Late 2018 -- Mister Friendly is sworn to Count Liam Rowan Murphy III and takes on the role of Baron, quickly earning the moniker of ‘The Bloody Baron’ because he is shown to have a might makes right leadership style, and punishes transgressions with violent aggression.