THE
MANTHRIAN
VILLAGE COURTFORD |
Courtford sits on the
southwestern bank of the Upper Mashdai River in
Santharia, and is about five days’ sailing upstream from
Marcogg. It is a fairly well-off village, populated
mostly by Avennorian
humans – about four hundred of them – whose
main industry is breeding and training horses,
both in the village and on the nearby Grasslands of Hylach.
Description.
Whitewashed wooden and stone houses group around Courtford’s centrally located
village green, squatting cheerily on the southwest bank of the Upper Mashdai.
The land is mostly flat, but slopes up from the river a little in places. The
whole village is clean and well-tended, each house or cottage with its own
patch of garden, in most of which flourish vegetables, fruits and flowers. The
green holds the village’s well and a stage which is used for community events
and high-profile horse auctions. Many
trees thrive in Courtford, both in small copses on the green and in stands or
singly around the village.
The village has one large, well-lit and well patronised common inn called "The
Golden Mare". It displays Courtford’s coat of arms above its door, and is built
in the same manner as the houses – foundations of light grey stone, and the top
three quarters made of whitewashed and plastered wood. The main difference is
in its roof, which is tiled in stone where most others in the town are
thatched. It is situated at the western edge of the village green. The few
shops in the village can be found here also, but most things the villagers need
are produced by the villagers themselves and are therefore not sold in a shop.
There are two permanent shops, a blacksmith’s and a tanner’s, and once a month
or more there is a market held on the common green. North and south of the
village lie the farmlands which feed the inhabitants. Vegetable, grain and
fruit crops are grown, and cattle, goats and
sheep are kept for their milk, flesh and
fur.
Courtford’s main industry is in horses,
which they breed from outposts on the nearby Grasslands of Hylach. They deal
mainly in the Centoraurian riding
and Sarvonian heavy breeds,
and although their bloodlines are never so good as those from
Centorauria, it is cheaper for
buyers local to the province to obtain their stock from Courtford, so the town
is almost always prosperous. People come from all around
Manthria - and sometimes even farther afield - to purchase
horses from Courtford. Farmers and other
labourers are the main buyers of the
Sarvonian heavy horses, and
nobles and rich merchants from the cities find status in owning one of the
true-bred “Children of Grothar”
which the breeders can provide.
Although the horse markets are the main source of Courtford’s wealth they
rarely occur in the village. When they do it is a small affair, usually for
allowing a noble who wants to see a selection of the
horses before he or she buys them to do so
without having to leave the relative comfort of the village. This does not
happen often as most buyers either order their required type of
horse by mail, or if they have travelled
to inspect the horses they are usually
quite willing to continue out to the fair on the Grasslands of Hylach. Another
occasion when the green might be used for a
horse-sale is for the village to be entertained by watching the ‘battle of
purses’ when two or more people put in a bid for a particularly fine
horse. These are much rowdier affairs when
the tavern serves beverages on the green near the stage and a day or more of
festivity ensues as the Courtfordians enjoy the battle, and then celebrate the
winner and console the loser, comfortable in the knowledge that it is they, the
villagers, who really win.
Most of the work of breeding and training is done out on the grassland, from
outposts where horseherds live with the stock for much of the year. It is a
kind of tradition that most young people, before they decide on their life’s
vocation, live on the grasses for a time and help the horseherds with their
job. This is useful for the town as it brings new people to the job who might
otherwise not have wished to become horseherds, thereby ensuring the town’s
continued survival in its trade, but it also has advantages for the young
people. Most are eager to leave the village for the grasses, as by then they
are at an age when they wish to spend some time away from the watchful eyes of
parents. Many a love match has resulted from a season or two on the grass! It
should also be mentioned that for very few is this the first time they have
been up on to the grass - many children are taken up for short visits to the
grasslands from a young age, whether with their parents if the parents are
involved with the horses, or with friends
if they are not.
The Twelve, the Avaria, are not forgotten in Courtford. The village’s most
favoured God is Eyasha, who is thought of
as the Goddess of Hearth and Home by
humans. There is no one building – apart from
the tavern, of course – which is consecrated to Her, but on
Eyasha’s Day, the 30th of
Rising Sun, a large festival is
held on the green when the villagers and all of those who can come down from
the Grasslands invite their visitors to enjoy their prosperity together with
them. Nehtor,
Jeyriall and
Foiros are also worshipped here.
Nehtor has a small stone building
dedicated to Him at the base of the cliff where the western edge of the village
ends and the Grasslands begin. It functions as a sort of hospital for those
badly hurt or ill enough to need the full-time care of the clerics there.
Jeyriall and
Foiros are worshipped much less publicly,
having no buildings in the village as yet. In many a Courtfordian’s home,
however, there can be found a carved wooden cup from which no
human ever drinks, filled with wine or
whatever produce that household has an abundance of at the time, giving thanks
to Jeyriall for the plenty they have.
Foiros’ worship is more private still,
being an inner communion with the God when strength is needed. Foiros is often
honoured amongst those who have spent considerable time upon the Grasslands of
Hylach. Also living in the village, as in most places in
Santharia, are a varying but small number of
Baveras' Wills. These wise women assist
with labour and some healing, independently of the
Nehtorians.
One ought not to talk about Courtford without also mentioning its daughter
village, Cleop. Cleop sits across the river from Courtford and began as a small
offshoot of the main village in about 1200. They originally moved across the
river to harvest lumber for building for Courtford and the Grassland outposts
from the nearby Vanthulian Woods. Cleop is now quite independent, and has
something of a rivalry with Courtford, although it is quite one-way as most
Courtfordians are completely unaware of this!
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Location. Courtford lies
in the Kingdom of Santharia’s province of
Manthria, about a day’s fast ride from the
northernmost end of the Mithral Mountains,
the same to the small hamlets of Erthaers and Rolryl, and a little more to the
Sentinel Mountains. Across the river, to the northeast, sits the hamlet of
Cleop. Just above the village, atop a steep rise, lie the Grasslands of Hylach
and across the river beyond Cleop are the Vanthulian Woods. It is five days
sailing upstream from
Marcogg
to Courtford (three downstream to
Marcogg),
or around two weeks by mounted travel.
People. The inhabitants
of Courtford are mostly human and of
Avennorian descent, although
people from other areas have intermingled with the Courtfordians – mainly
Centoraurians or others whose
passion lies with horses. Courtford usually
supports between 350 and 400 people. The village’s population remains fairly
static as those who die and those who leave to larger cities are replaced by the
few who come from other places, along with the new children born.
Those who live in the village proper and those who farm the surrounding lands
are mostly of the even, pleasant temperament which comes from a life where hard
work is rewarded with prosperity. They tend toward the garrulous and have a
generous predisposition toward their fellows, and even (to a point) toward
travellers, although this tends to be in conversation rather than in goods or
money. Those who live on the grass are different, and much more reserved. They
are not often encountered but can sometimes be found in "The Golden Mare", the
village’s inn, when on a short holiday from their work.
The majority of Courtfordians are involved in the
horse-breeding trade in one way or another,
whether it be as actual horseherds, grooms, trainers, handlers or husbanders, or
in a related profession such as smithing (for horseshoes and bits) or
leatherwork (for tack), or as one of the all-important traders. The remaining
portion use their time to care and provide for the others. These encompass the
ordinarily encountered industries such as farming the surrounding land for
vegetables or cattle, fishing the Upper Mashdai, baking or milling, weaving or
sewing, etcetera.
Coat of Arms/Sign.
Courtford’s coat of arms is a round shield with a golden
horse rearing on a green field. The
horse faces to the left, its flying mane
and tail is picked out in gold and its features are modelled in bas-relief. A
wide border of the shield is decorated in a gold wirework pattern.
Climate. Caught
between the dry grasslands on the west and the rainy mountains in the east,
Courtford has a happy medium in weather. Spring is cool and brings light rains
and a swelling of the river. Flooding is rare: the Upper Mashdai has only ever
burst its banks and flooded Courtford three times in the memory of those who
live there, and only once has it reached high enough to cause damage to anything
but the gardens. It can, however, pose some danger to children who see only more
water, and not the swift-flowing current
beneath. A number of children are lost each generation to incautiousness around
the riverbank during the spring.
In summer, the river recedes and a balmy heat settles over the village. There is
some light rain in this season, but most of it falls on the other side of the
river in the rain shadow of the mountains. In hotter years this can lead to
shortages of crops, but their income from horse
breeding is almost always enough to import fruits and vegetables from other
villages or towns. Autumn is usually quite dry, not much wetter than the summer.
It is, in fact, a fairly similar season to summer, apart from the many red
leaves littering the green and the cooler, shorter evenings. Winter is cold, but
snow is relatively rare at Courtford’s fairly low altitude. Rain is more
frequent now than at any other time of year, and while it is still not regular,
when it does fall it tends to be fairly heavy.
Flora. Plants from the
grassland above Courtford are a regular feature in the village, whether
cultivated in the residents’ gardens or growing freely on the outskirts or on
the village green. These are mostly the shorter grasses like
wean’s hair, with some
alth’ho grass, and herbs like the
kell and
mutliweed. When kept in a cottage
garden, they can be found growing next to flowers and shrubs, fruit trees and
vegetables alike all creating a delightful jumble of colour and form. Trees are
very common in the village, most houses being shaded by one or two tall
specimens, be they birch or
baych,
maple or
meldarapple. On the green there
stand many fine specimens of Sarvonian trees, the
most well known being a great, ancient white oak
which stands near the stage and which has been the venue of many a summer day’s
play for generations of village children.
Fauna. The obvious
animals of relevance to Courtford are their
horses. Not many Courtfordians own their own
horse as such, but nearly all of them ride,
having had access to the horses owned by
the breeders from an early age. In some years, when there has been a
particularly fruitful breeding season followed by a particularly unsuccessful
trading season, there are over twice as many members of the
equine species in Courtford than there are
humans, although the
horses are usually kept out on the
grassland rather than in the village unless they are up for auction.
Apart from the horses, Courtfordians keep a
number of other types of animal. Cattle, sheep and goats are farmed for their
products. In the village proper, various types of fowl are kept for their eggs,
feathers and meat, and domestic cats and dogs are sometimes seen. Less welcome
animals are also around – rats and
mice, spiders and beetles live here,
as they do everywhere. Fish inhabit the river, – the common
mithralfish and the southern
lysh being the most common – much to the
delight of the culinarily inclined.
Resources. The Upper
Mashdai River is the major resource within the village proper. It provides fish
for the Courtfordians, as well as washing
water and the means to transport their tradable goods – mostly the
horses – to larger towns and cities like
Chrondra and Marcogg. The land immediately to the
north and the south is well configured for farming, and the grasslands to the
west provide pasture, training areas and accommodation for their
horses which is what makes this little
village so prosperous.
History. Courtford was settled not long after peace came to
Santharia, during the reign of
Santhros. Its lack of walls are a testament
to the newfound optimism of that time. It was founded to be what it still is
today – a local horse breeding town, taking
advantage of the Grasslands of Hylach to breed large numbers of the animals. The
settlers were those with expertise in working with
horses, sent by the
newly created Thane of Manthria to start a town. That
same Thane sent with them those skilled in farming and in other necessary
fields, to support the new town, and builders with supplies to help the settlers
construct their homes. The village was built on the banks of the river where the
soil is more able to support trees, and where
water is more plentiful than on the grasslands, but near enough to those
grasslands that they could be utilised for the industry of what was meant to
become a bustling town.
One of the first things built was a stable for the
horses
which had been brought from the south. The buildings were
built in a u- or court-shape around a paved area which faced onto the river,
near to where the bridge was to be built and to where the trading ships dock.
This stable-court is the reason for the town’s name: ‘court’ for the buildings,
and ‘ford’ for the bridge. The court is still used today to house
horses
which are to be shipped downriver to their purchasers.
In a few seasons’ time, the builders returned home and the new Courtfordians
started to breed the stock they had brought with them or purchased from the
Thane. The grasslands supported the industry as well as they had hoped, and the
village was soon optimistic that they would thrive in their new home. A decade
passed, a base of stock was established and the first
horses
were sold. At first they were bought at an astonishing
rate, but the custom from the military soon declined. The lack of new wars now
meant that fewer beasts were required than had been anticipated and the next few
years of Courtford’s existence were hard indeed. A surplus of stock with no
money from sales of the horses
meant no access to good quality feed, and all but the
strongest horses
perished. The humans
fared little better, having put all of their money into trying to keep the
horses
alive. Delegations were sent to the Thane, but were sent
back with little help. Fish from the Upper Mashdai were an essential part of
every meal at this time.
Years passed and the Courtfordians continued living and farming, and up on the
grasslands they continued to breed what was left of their stock, bringing in new
blood from nearby towns, or from
Centorauria when they could afford it. Their herds were never so large as
they had once been, but over the years they brought them up to a size which was
large enough to match the demand from the surrounding towns, ensuring
Courtford’s wealth despite the fact that it never grew into the bustling town
the original settlers had imagined.
Information
provided by
Grunok the Exile
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