Autumn Duchy

🍁 Architecture

Buildings in towns and villages are wooden and painted in warm colours - inspired by traditional houses in Norway and Denmark. 

Larger buildings, including the Autumn Guild House (that houses the Autumn Court) is inspired by a combination of Scandinavian Boathouses and Steampunk architecture. Buildings look like they’ve been ‘thrown together’ by all manner of materials, with extra rooms and levels added on as an afterthought. 

Skjolden is a norse x steampunk industrial city. Full of smoke and the constant noise of industry and manufacturing, and littered with dark alleyways and speakeasys.

🍁 Clothing

Fae in the Autumn Duchy wear warm outfits inspired by Norse/Viking traditional garb, crossed with a more Victorian look for upper class citizens. Belts, buckles, goggles, and vests are common in this Duchy. Farmers tend to wear Norse peasant garb - tunics and pinafores fastened with belts around the middle. Clothing is lightly layered to account for the cool weather.

🍁 Races

Playable Races: High Fae, Sprites (vegetable type), Selkies, Dryads, Stonefolk, Critters, Wildlings, Fairies. 

• High Fae — Common throughout the Duchy. Strangely there are only a few in the Autumn Court, including the Duchess.

• Sprites — very common.

• Selkies — common.

• Dryads — common.

• Stonefolk — common.

• Critters — common.

• Wildlings — common.

• Fishfolk — common (visitors). There are hotels and inns for Fishfolk along the rivers.

• Fairies — very common.

• Arachnus — uncommon (visitors).

• Non playable races — all other Fae creatures can live in this realm too. It is pretty hospitable. There’s a very high level of brownies and gnomes in this Duchy.

🍁 Wildlife

Bears, foxes, squirrels, ferrets, birds of all sorts, turtles, frogs, boars, badgers, deer, elk, wolves, otters, horses, lynxes, hares, moose and rabbits.

🍁 Travel

Citizens travel via Elk or Moose mounts, Bear-drawn carriage, donkey carts, and the most recent invention from the capital city - a magic steam balloon!

🍁 Industry

• Agriculture

• Technology and Innovation

• Manufacturing

• Craftsmanship and Artistry

🍁 Important Figures

• Aoife - High Fae Duchess of the Autumn Duchy, and ruler of the Autumn Court. Autumn Sage Salvia type.

Strong willed and independent with some pretty revolutionary ideas, Aoife calls herself the Elected Mayor of Skjolden and has a passion for technology. She will fund University projects to advance the Duchy’s technology.

• Oberon Lord of Trees. Ancient very powerful elder dryad. He can’t get up and walk around anymore, his feet have rooted into the earth and he’s sort of gradually sinking deeper into it. He represents all the dryads and advocates for them. For example, the winter and autumn court have a pretty solid alliance and the autumn duchy builds things for winter sometimes. Autumn built winter the train that goes across the winter duchy, and intended to build it across the autumn duchy too but Oberon wouldn’t allow it because it would involve cutting down too many trees to make way for the tracks. Oberon is a powerful prophet and when not napping in his glade (and snoring so loudly that you could mistake it for an earthquake) he is giving out prophecies to those that visit him. He is said to be so old that he was once one of Rhiannon’s lovers. He also travelled to the human realm as a general before the Exodus and has lots of good stories of his adventures. 

🍁 Locations

• Skjolden — Capital City and home of the Autumn Court. In the middle of a bustling Norse x Steampunk city in a valley. The largest city in Folkland (by far) - it is a mega-metropolis. Some fae find its existence to be blasphemous as it is completely industrial with very little nature.

  • Skjolden University — A prestigious University that offers many classes but specializes in History and Linguistics magic.

  • Stratmar College — A working man’s college that specializes in Artificing and Alchemy.

  • Stratmar — Industrial manufacturing part of Skjolden.

• Rosenfjell — A town close to the border of the Darkwood and Spring Duchies.

• nAmhrán (singing) Woods — This wood is incredibly magical and has the ability to confuse and disorient or redirect fae if they're not careful.

  • Brownie's Town — A community of brownies living in the nAmhrán (singing) woods. They are very friendly and will invite travellers to rest in their town. Their 'town' is actually a series of a few inter-connected neighborhoods that seem to disappear and move around - time and space are very strange in this wood.

• Harvest Town — Once a bustling waypoint between the Darkwood and Summer Duchy, this town was abandoned and is rumoured to be haunted.

• Train Station — Huge steampunk train station leading into the Winter Duchy. Aoife intended to extend it across the Autumn Duchy but Oberon wouldn't allow it.

• Isfalken — Animal husbandry and tanning town.

• Hulderlund — A tourist and holiday town by a lake.

• Fjellheim — Farming town.

• Njallgard — A scholarly town by the coast. Very dark academia vibes.

  • Njallgard University — A university specializing in linguamancy and most of the magician schools of magic. This town is full of preppy young fae and their complicated coffee orders.

• Rolfvik — Known for its vibrant pumpkin farms, producing the largest and most magical pumpkins in the fae realm. 

• Watchtower — A strategic town with a high vantage point, where fae sentinels keep watch. Hunstmen visit this place a lot.

• Dagfinn — A town popular with competitive sportsmen and champions. Alehouses and taverns galore, as well as blacksmiths and armourers. 

• Oskardal — Farming and animal husbandry town.

• Thule — A huge library inside of a tree. Houses one of the realms largest collections of tomes and scrolls.

• Ingolfstad — Farming town close to the border of Skjolden. A good waypoint between the rural areas of the Duchy and the city.

• Brunnik — Farming town.

• Thornholm — a heavily wooded town known for its potion makers and healing salves. It’s a large community based around commerce pertaining to buying and selling ingredients, potions, and the like. The town itself is quiet, but not so quiet that nobody knows their neighbors.

• Sigtun — A large town built next to a huge tree with another city inside of the tree. They grow mushrooms.

• Observatory — A research centre for astronomers and cosmic witches.

• Ruins — Ancient remnants of a once-great city, now a popular destination for historians and treasure seekers. 

• Bjorndalen — Mining town.

• Haustfjördur — Selkie community.

• Crypt — A mysterious town built around ancient burial sites, where necromancers and spirit talkers commune with the dead. 

• Logtown — A mini town inside of a felled log, housing many fae artisans and woodworkers.

• Asmund — A quiet and peaceful town where spiritualists and monks come to meditate.

• Ulfrstad — A town that specializes in crafting intricate runes and talismans. 

• Hrafngard — Mining town. Many stonefolk here. Home of the September Miners Association (mining guild).

• Ampitheatre — An open-air venue where fae perform plays, music, and dance, celebrating the arts and culture of the duchy. They camp around the ampitheatre, take psychedelic mushrooms, dance, and perform.

• Vargheim — A town known for messenger pigeons and breeding birds of prey.

• Jorundholm — A smithing town making arcane blades and armour. Lots of Stonefolk here.

• Birksjord — A farming and fishing village.

• Mjornheim — A town famous for its brewing of mead infused with autumn spices and enchanted honey. 

• Skarsvik — Selkie camp.

• Trygge — Farming town.

• Solsund — Farming town.

• Hvitserk — Another city of trees, mostly inhabited by Critters.

• Harvest Market — A bustling town square where fae from all over the duchy come to trade and sell their autumn harvests. Like a travelling harvest fair where anyone can come and sell goods. Usually lots of performers as well as stalls.

• Svalbad — A large city in the mountains often covered in mist. Popular with artisans as a getaway/retreat with a good view or scholars trying to finish their thesis.

• Hovdeholm — A town built inside of and on the side of gigantic autumn trees. Wooden bridges and lifts connect the trees to each other. Some of the citizens of this tree city have never touched the ground!

• Hallowheim — This town is straight up haunted. Ghosts, zombies, vampires - you name it. Don't get lost in the corn maze. For real though, fae who love the paranormal live in this town, as the supernatural is so prevalent.

• Vindheim — A vibrant orchard town known for its varieties of apples, apple cider, and mulled apple cider.

• Alesund — A woodworking town famous for its carpenters and shipyards. Lots of fishfolk visit here on the coast.

• Sprite City — A humungous partially underground sprite city exists here. The entrance is at the base of an immense pumpkin. Lots of (mainly) sprites and fairies and some small critters.

• Geirstad — Selkie camp.

• Inn at the End of the Road — A mysterious Inn that seems to only appear if you are in dire need of food or water. Run by the enigmatic Fig - an ArchFairy - who is a master of Glamours and supposedly studied at Njallgard university.