Annan’s Port

Situated in the middle of the curve of Annan Bay, Annan’s Port is the last major settlement before the barrier of the Kältheim Mountains.  Despite the small islands just off shore, the port has a deep harbor.  In truth, the islands act as a natural breakwater, helping to protect ships from wilder weather.

To the north lives a clan of Eidechse, semi-aquatic lizard folk.  They have long been allies and trading partners, bringing variety to Annan’s Port markets, though they are seldom seen in the city.  The Eidechse provide mosses, lichens, mushrooms, and seaweeds for food, medicine, and alchemy.  They also trade pearls which they gather from carefully cultured clams, and the odd diamond or gold nugget found washed down from the mountains.

In spite of the harbor, and the rich industries keeping Annan’s Port alive, the city fell on hard times when it’s lord died protecting his lands from a goblin incursion.  The lord had no heirs, and many of the local knights fell to infighting, each thinking he could win the title.  Goblins overran a number of the outlying villages, eventually reducing the supporting farmsteads by almost half.  Survivors flooded the city, increasing the pressure on the city’s resources.

Nearly two years passed before help arrived from King Hunfrid in the south.   Lord Markham, newly named Marquess of Annan’s Port and Surrounding Lands, arrived on His Majesty’s Ship the Lady’s Crown with thirty of His Majesty’s knights, half of whom would stay to serve the new lord.  Other ships brought nearly three hundred troops to help bring peace to the area, whether goblin raiders or feuding knights.  Markham, a native of Annan’s Port who had distinguished himself in service to the Crown, spent the first five years of his rule bringing order to his home.  In that time he also took a wife, the Lady Josepha, youngest daughter of a troublesome duchess on the southern border of the kingdom.  The match was made by the king himself, meant to further legitimize Markham’s appointment and help quiet the restless duchesses of the south.  So far, the match has been only partially successful, and Lady Josepha, in seven years of marriage, has failed to produce an heir for her lord.  However, under Lord Markham’s steady hand, the March of Annan’s Port is once again prospering.

 

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This work by Jean Headley is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.