Blackruft

The shores of Blackruft were where Harold Danig landed and founded his realm. This is the most hospitable of the provinces of Danigau and accordingly home to the largest number of people.
The plains and rolling hills are mostly used for agriculture with few wild areas left, the westernmost farms near the border with may be somewhat run-down with many abandoned to weeds but the bulk of the province is covered by farms that produce food for the neighboring provinces which have little growing land of their own, Blackruft exports rye, and to a lesser extent barley to these lands in return for meat and mineral wealth. Due to its large population Blackruft imports most of its wheat, for the relatively fragile grain frequently fails in its harsh climate making it uneconomic to be grown in most parts; typically only the rich can afford ?risen? bread made with wheat as a result.
Where farms do not cover the ground, grasses and small woods dominate, as the hills grow steeper to the north, south and west these are replaced by scrub bushes and bracken and the crops are replaced by livestock.
Few farmers in Blackruft keep cattle although they are common in the rougher provinces ? land is simply too valuable to be squandered in producing meat, although most farms keep a few pigs due to their ability to consume almost any waste. Likewise sheep and goats may be common elsewhere in Danigau but not in the lowlands of Blackruft. The only animals commonly kept other than pigs are chickens and rabbits. The few cattle farmers cater almost exclusively for the nobles and wealthy merchants of Blackruft and the castle guard of Blackgate itself who by ancient custom are paid partly in beef.
The waters of Blackruft are the source of much of its food ? fish are harvested in quantity and common eating for all but the western farmers and on occasion whales are brought back by the sailors. Some deer can be found towards the west but they are few in number and only the Count is permitted to hunt them.
Blackruft fortress is the only true castle in Danigau, its walls of black stone have been added to over the years, and a wall also encloses the city proper. Blackruft has never fallen to outside forces, and will do so only if Danigau itself falls.

The Baron of Blackgate traditionally runs the province of Blackruft on behalf of the Count of Danigau; the post has been empty since the death of the last incumbent, Britter Hansen, during the last major invasion by Urga-Zai.
While Britter was renowned as a courageous warrior (even by Danigau standards) and noted as a fair and impartial adjudicator of politics in the province he was also noted as a ladies man who ?never met a pretty lass he didn?t like?.
When Erik Danig came to appoint an heir for the fallen baron he was inundated with over two dozen illegitimate children in addition to the cousins and more remote Hansen family members. Unwilling to pick the wrong person as his right-hand man, the Count was in the long process of deciding which of the more able claimants had the better claim when he died.

Blackgate is the only true city in Danigau and one of the oldest in all Brechtür. Despite its age, the city is well kept and many of its buildings are new or at least boast recent renovations. This mighty city is home to just over 5,000 souls and is fairly bursting at the seams ? although Danigers rarely grumble many are beginning to call for new outer walls to be built to permit the city to expand beyond its current limits.
Two large buildings dominate the city; Blackruft castle which anchors the northern wall to the coast and the great cathedral of Sera?s Perfekt Symmetry in the center of the town.
The northern part of Blackgate is home to the houses of nobles, while the poorer folk dwell in the south, where "the streets are narrow as though the houses were huddling together 'gainst the winter?s wind" in the words of noted Talhundt playwright Sirena Zorntochter.
Although few in Blackgate are truly destitute, inevitably some are unable or unwilling to find gainful employment, these benighted souls live in the slums in the south-eastern parts of the city.

The merchant district and markets are also found in the south of the city, the only substantial buildings outside the wall are the shipyards which, from necessity are open to the harbor. While, in general, the people of Blackgate tend to be law-abiding, a small criminal element has developed around the infamous pub, the Bottle and Blade.

This town to the northwest of the province is the only other substantial settlement in Blackruft, holding a little over a thousand, it was once home to a thriving farming community until it was besieged by goblins during a particularly brutal invasion from Urga-Zai.
The town was nearly leveled, but not before the farmers and the eponymous tanners of the town slew seven times their number in goblins, weakening the goblins to the point that their advance was halted.
The town is still home to farmers, although with their herds destroyed by the goblins the farmers thereafter raised crops not cattle. The farms are known for the blood-rose, a pink (occasionally white) bulbous fruit with waxy leaves that ripens during the icy winter.
The fruit was unknown before the battle of Tanner?s stand, and local superstition holds that the bitter fruit grows from the blood of the slain townsfolk. Bitter it may be, but properly boiled the fruit is very nutritious although it tends to numb the mouth a little; the leaves that surround the bulbous fruit are often used in local poultices, and their sap, when added to the local apple brandy, makes for a truly potent drink called Gramma?s kiss. This frost-distilled liquor is an acquired taste for most and notorious as far away as the court of Müden for its subtle initial taste but shockingly alcoholic ?bite?.

This stretch of blasted rock was the site of a huge battle against the goblins over a century ago. The area was once home to one of the fortified towers that dot Danigau. The fort was captured by the goblins after they were driven from Blackruft. The Count called upon his magic to obliterate the tower, summoning a single huge bolt of lightning to burn the tower down to the bedrock.
Every year since the tower was destroyed lightning has struck the circle at least once and often several times. The glassy rock of the site has since been used by the Counts of Danigau to craft magical artifacts related to weather and lightning.
This would be enough to have ordered the circle to be proscribed to visitors, but the occasional breach to the Shadow World during the winter storms ensures that a small garrison constantly mans the replacement tower built half a mile to the south and patrols frequently.

This modest fort and village stands at the border with Khurin-Azur. It was built to act as a gateway to the dwarven realm in the early years of Danigau, when the Brecht had hopes of trade with the dwarves. The expected trade never materialized and the village remains home to just a few hundred hardy Brecht.
A diplomat is however always stationed at the fort in case the dwarven-king sends a messenger. Cold, bare and damp, the post is typically seen as the least desirable diplomatic posting by the nobles of Danigau.
That diplomacy occurs with the dwarves only once every few generations and the diplomat has nothing to do beside sit and wait only reduces the respect given to the posting. For a decade now the post has been held by Adele Danig, an obscure cousin of the Count who spends most of her time practicing her (poor) magic and painting (good) pictures of the mountains.