THE
EVERGREY
BRIDGE
("BRIDGE
OF TEARS") |
Evergrey Bridge, a name that refers to the gleam of the material from which it is built, is sometimes also called "The Bridge of Tears". It stands an isolated testament to Santharia's troubled past, bridging the fast flowing Cylian River between Ephirn's Lake and the Ancythrian Sea, connecting the main trade route from Carmalad to Voldar. There has been a crossing on this site as far back as lore can recall, though there is much debate as to how old the current structure actually is. Strategically, Evergrey Bridge has always been a very important crossing and it has been the scene of many minor skirmishes, not to mention the site of a critical clash during the Battle of the Four Swords.
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Description.
Evergrey Bridge is a hauntingly beautiful spot. The beauty of the landscape in
these parts is breathtaking, but also wild and barren. It is not a place to
linger, for the road to the East of the River crossing passes through the
Southern most fringes of troll territory and their continuing prescence and
occasional raids make Evergrey Bridge a less than safe place to be. On both
banks there are guardposts that accommodate the men that protect travellers and
merchants that travel this way from the Troll Mountains.
To the South the land rises up into the Twinean Peaks, often purple and pink
with lowlying yrom (heather). To the West
the wilds of the Heath of Jernais spread out before you, seemingly without
bounds - their flat expanse stretching away to the horizon. And to the North is
Ephirn's Lake. Though the bridge is for the most
part a structure of human concern and
function, it is unextricably linked with the light elf Ephirn and his sister
Ná'el'ón in lore.
Plants crawl over the structure. The pontoons that hold the structure have
narrow lips that low just below the normal waterlevel, making them a haven for
plants that like to keep their roots wet.
In construction, the bridge on the surface appears to be nothing special. To
span the river it is 120 peds
long, which makes it nowhere near the longest bridge in
Santharia, and 20 peds
wide. It is constructed of scoria, a rock formed by cooling lava, collected
from the slopes of the Hèckra. The scoria from which the bridge is constructed
contains a high quantity of volcanic glass of both obsidian (black) and arshisi
(blue) types - giving the structure a slightly reflective blue-grey surface and
thus, more than likely the name - Evergrey Bridge.
The bridge traverses the river using a simple arch design. Only the top layer,
which form the turetted walls are sealed together with morter. The other stones
are held together by the sheer weight and careful spread of gravity across the
two arches that span the Cylian and come to rest on a central pontoon. This
structure has great intergrity and strength. Such a design is hardly
surprising, given that arch bridges are probably the oldest bridge design to
use stone and the structure that spans the river to this day is certainly of
great age. It is not altogether certain, however, exactly how old the present
structure is.
Location. Evergrey
Bridge is the only crossing point upon the Cylian River, and stands some
distance downstream of Ephirn's Lake. The Bridge
links the Jernais Pass that leads ultimately to Voldar
with roads that lead to Doovens, Veltin and most importantly
Carmalad and so forms one of the most frequented
cloth routes in Santharia. If the bridge is blocked
then the alternative is many months of sea travel, or a considerably longer
than normal ride, passing south of the Hèckra and the Ancythrian Sea.
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Picture description. The location of Evergrey Bridge, linking the Jernais Pass that leads ultimately to Voldar with roads that lead to Doovens, Veltin and most importantly Carmalad. Maps drawn by Artimidor. |
Evergrey Bridge now stands in the province of Enthronia, but in the time before
the ascension of Thar the Bridge and the road
pass that it bore across the river formed the border between the kingdoms
Erpheronia and
Caltharia. Such is the
importance of this bridge that neither tribe was prepared to relinquish
ownership, and eventually it was divided in half, so that the southern side
belonged to Caltharia and the
northern to Erpheronia. This
arrangement was to have many beneficial consequences and these shall be
discussed later.
History. The lore that surrounds this bridge
is ancient beyond even the reckoning of the elves
and there has most certainly been a crossing here for as long as there is
memory and written records. However, many scholars believe that the current
structure is not the bridge referred to in the myths about Ná'el'ón, arguing
that in the earliest times a crossing was more likely to have been a wooden
structure resting on several enormous wooden pontoons, not the great
technically advanced stone structure we see today. However, none of these
scholars can agree on when the current structure was constructed.
Lore and myth is not helpful. Even stories of the oldest times describe the
bridge in its current form. Memory of any older structure that might have
existed has been lost. Tales of yore cannot shed light on when the current
bridge was built, nor even as to who built it and for what purpose.
Most consider it to be a human structure,
though there are tales, which I will recount in the next section that attribute
the building of the bridge to trolls, but given that
Santharian trolls have never shown any
tendency to build such technically adept structures elsewhere, it is thought
that this is a fantasy, albeit a very entertaining story. More likely than
trolls actually
building bridges seems their liking to let others build them and concentrate
more on the part dealing with the waylaying of travellers...
The most likely explanation is that Evergrey Bridge was built about the year
846 b.S. by the Erpheronians to
aid their war against the
Caltharians. A new structure could support vast numbers of troops and heavy
siege equipment that a wooden bridge could not. Certainly the structure can be
no later than this, as Evergrey Bridge was a critical strategical location
during the War for Ancyros
(846-822 b.S.).
The war between the two kingdoms rumbled on for more than 20 years and for the
majority of that time the crossing remained in
Erpheronian hands, which had a
deep impact upon Caltharian
cloth trading with Salsir, Horth and the settlements that would go on to form
Milkengrad; and so the kingdom's whole economy.
The possession of Evergrey Bridge, together with the harsh terms of the Alvang
treaty were the major contributing factors of civil war and the eventual
emergence of Mertogran (833 b.S.), who seized the bridge and invaded
Erpheronia. It was swiftly
retaken by the Erpheronian
army and was held by them until the truth about the Massacre at the Silvershire
was revealed and in order for the
Erpheronian King to preserve his honour he not
only beheaded his commander Khisaar, but also ceded control of the Southern
half of Evergrey Bridge - drawing the border through the middle of the Jernais
pass allowing the Caltharian
merchants from Carmalad
and Cavthan the right of access over this ancient way
and thus a road to Kyrania and
Centorauria
that did not pass through Erpheronian
land.
While the animosity between these two tribes rumbled on long after the war
finally ended, this shared ownership of the bridge was to pay dividens. The
road to Doovens (now in
Erpheronian
hands) and Veltin ran through the southern Troll Hills. This made - and
still makes - the road and its river crossing a prime target of
troll raids. More importantly to lose control
of Evergrey Bridge to the trolls would open
the way to raids far further West. Trolls can
travel at great speed, and Jernais would quickly become a target if the
trolls found that they could easily cross the
Cylian. Quickly the two tribes found that with both sides posting troops at the
bridge (more to watch each other than anyone else) they were, between them far
more able to protect the pass of Jernais from
trolls, simply because of increased man power.
Because the arrangement suited both sides it stuck and the arrangement only
ceased when Caltharia joined the
United Kingdom of Tharania in 482 b.S., though the number of men posted there
did not decrease.
The strategic importance of the bridge again became evident in 292 b.S.
The Aellenrhim
elf
Pherán'Ephtaerín brought his
troops to reinforce the retreating
halfling, Thrumgolz and Monteron
dwarven forces at
what became known as the
"Battle of the Four Swords".
His coming prevented an initial orcish
landslide at Ephirn's Lake, but before long they
were pushed back along the pass of Jernais by the seemingly endless
orcish onslaught.
Evergrey Bridge was where
Pherán'Ephtaerín chose to make one last stand
before retreat. He knew that if the Bridge was taken then the most direct route
for reinforcements would be severed and Tharania would be divided in two by the
orcish forces. In
division, he knew, there would be no victory. He hoped that the bridge would
provide a bottleneck, limit the numbers of orcs
that could attack at one time, handing the tactical advantage back to the
allied forces under his command. It was a wise and sensible battle plan, but it
did not avail Pherán'Ephtaerín.
The four swords of the allies held the bridge for a
sunrise with wave upon wave of orc warriors threw themselves at their defences.
However, the myth that orcs are stupid or dull,
is just that, a myth without foundation. The orcenhordes quickly realised that
a prolonged assault upon the bridge would end in
their defeat. While the most expendable of the orc
horde continued to throw themselves at the Bridge, many of the
orcs moved further upstream, North of
Ephirn's Lake, where
the river could be more easily crossed. On the return march south, the
orcs also managed to
enlist the trolls.
This combined forces were spotted too
late by the forces of Pherán'Ephtaerín.
Surrounded and outnumbered,
Pherán'Ephtaerín was forced to retreat and surrender the bridge. Evergrey
Bridge had betrayed the Alliance of Four Swords.
Pherán'Ephtaerín was forced to
retreat, first to Carmalad, and then to abandon the
city altogether as it too was overrun by the orcish
forces.
And so Evergrey Bridge was in orcish
hands, for the first and only time in its entire
history. But not for long. A few months after the fall of
Carmalad and counter
offensive was launched and the city retaken. The
orcs were pushed back and the bridge swiftly retaken by the allied races
and returned to human control.
The bridge is still a site of the occasional troll skirmish, and
Santharian troops are still posted here all year
round, but compared to its violent and turbulent past - site of battle and
bloodshed driven by the importance of its location - this is as close to peace
as Evergrey Bridge has ever been.
Myth/Lore. One of
the most enduring tales about the Bridge is certainly a tall tale indeed.
Popular Enthronian children's stories tell of how the stone bridge was built by
a troll called Kiylk Tu'uq.
The Troll's Bridge. Kiylk Yu'uq lived on
the highest hill in the Troll lands. He was the largest of all the trolls
in all the world and by far the strongest. Everything that ventured on to
his hill was his - all the animals, all the females, even humans who were
unfortunate to get lost, even they belonged to him. He kept them and
forced them to work for him, hunt for him and when he had no use for them
anymore he, well, disposed of them, for the clean bones were often found
at the foot of his hill. |
The bridge is far from elven territory, but the bridge and the water that it crosses are eternally linked in the minds of both men and elves with the legend of Ephirn and his sister Ná'el'ón (lit. "She of Tears", but is most often translated with "Maid").
Information
provided by
Wren
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