Rangers of Shadow Deep - Solo play project

@brennon shared a doodle on instagram and it inspired me to write a piece of narrative that jumped to my mind as soon as i saw it.

“Don’t the locals usually make their sword offerings in the lake? Why are these here?” asked the young ranger on is first foray out into the forests beyond The Pale.

“Don’t touch that sword boy. There’s a reason no one goes to the lake. There’s foul dark magic there. Not even we go there unless we have to. And this tree hid an ancient king that the locals successfully revolted against. They overthrew the Gillhammer line of kings centuries ago, but the king that hid here kept a bloody civil war going for another grusome decade. They say that since then, the tree has lost all it’s leaves; summer or winter it stays bare. Not sure if the swords are meant to thank the Gods for overthrowing tyranny, or maybe there’s a darker purpose. Lets get moving. This place chills my bones…”

Archibald punched the youngster playfully in the arm to try and shock the look of concern from his face. The young man smiled unconvincingly and stepped away from the ring of ancient swords. Archibald unconsciously gripped the pommel of his sword for comfort and led the scouting party deeper into the woods…

On the RoSD Facebook page someone was asking for thoughts on the Lore. I offered my thoughts, that i have formed from reading only the opening sections of the book, and the directions my imagination is going in as a result.

I like the description of the cities in the book. I see the mining men of one border being well represented by the NorthStar barbarians minis, being hardy and less bothered about the refinements of capital life.
I see the capital as a cosmopolitan mix of all the region’s people and more in the way of Dwarves, Elves etc that have a healthy taste for trade with us. So any fantasy minis would seem to fit in there.
I see the capital as a city where there is political strife, but ultimately the threats to the kingdom focus the collective mind against outward enemies rather than within. The kingdom is relatively well run. Those that show strength and feats of arms are held in high regard, though wealth and historical links to the Crown still hold influence, even in the state of emergency they must be approaching.
The king being young always creates strife early in a reign, but it appears that balanced heads and advisors are around him and none of the standard power struggles at court seems to threaten the status quo.
The further you get from the secular cities the more religious the people become. The traditions differ wildly from region to region. Some commit offerings of swords to lakes and rivers. Some encourage magic users in their community to be schooled by druid-like, experienced magic users in the expectation they will return with spells to benefit the villages of their birth. Most communities have a healthy respect for the land and live in harmony with the seasons.
My band has a member from each of the 3 main cities, one’s full past isn’t really known and one comes from a rural village in the North.