Lichoan

Though little more than a busy fishing village, Lichoan is the largest settlement in the Firdach territories. The ancestral capital of Clan Achiuir's holdings, it hosts a hill fort and tower home housing its ruling family. Growing in leaps and bounds in just a generation, the town is still stuck between its past and present. Buildings of brick and stone mix with hovels of wattle and daub, with its occupants equally as varied. The lowland clans are working to entice and encourage trade into the region, with Lichoan standing as the final stop on a route down to Barda. Old docks have been expanded for the few Elf ships that make the journey, with more currently under construction. Merchantz crowd the port, bringing money to an historically poor region. Lichoan is ruled by the domineering Taran Achiuir, without whose vision the town would still be a backwards village.

Politics

The clans of the Firdach are undergoing a drastic change, and Lichoan is at the heart of it. The Lowland clans, of which the Achiuir are the most powerful, have come together into a sort of confederacy, blurring the lines between traditional tribal territories and working in a more cohesive fashion. Taran Achiuir is the main driver of this, bending the other clan leaders to his will and keeping his own family at the head of this new group. The other clans under his influence have begun to follow his example, eager to claim even a fraction of the success Lichoan has had. All of this has brought a change in station and life, with few in the region exempt from its shift. Nobles are beginning to act more established as in the Routot lands, while the peasantry are themselves looking at a future beyond subsistence farming. Excitement and awkward adjustments abound around the city, and indeed the entire lowlands.

In terms of its foreign relations, Lichoan struggles with the highland clans. Old rivalries here run deeper than with the lowland clans, having less in common with the wild folk of the hills. This, combined with their stubborn refusal to accept Taran as a leader, has allowed a gap to lengthen between the two groups. While the lowland clans were always more prosperous, they have begun the path to modernity while their cousins lag behind. This has stoked tensions between them and made the lowland clans a greater target for highland raids, which have increased in recent years. The highland clans seem to be uniting as well, which may bode poorly for Lichoan's budding success. The Achiuir have also begun courting Elvish merchants, hoping to entice them into making the town a more frequent destination for their ships. With the nearest ports all the way in Caulois, Lichoan could easily prove to be the only worthwhile port on the northeast coast.

Groups

Clan Achiuir

The lowlands of the Firdach have long been divided between warring and rival clans. Each has its own holdings and loyal regions, carving out homage from the farmers and tenants who live on their lands. Lichoan has long been the capital for the Clan Achiuir, their hill fort towering over the village below. Their position along the coast, and in a relatively fertile region, has allowed them to grow quite prosperous. It was this prosperity that allowed them to take a leadership role in uniting the clans, exerting political will to create a budding state. All of this is due to several generations of leaders, the latest of whom is Taran Achiuir. A long and storied history of bully diplomacy has accompanied the Achiuir line, and they are only now beginning to see the fruits of their labour. Arranged around its head are several other immediate family members, none of whom possess any sort of notable ability, content to ride the waves of prosperity their name provides.

Landmarks

The Grassmarket

The market in Lichoan is the largest in the Firdach lands, attracting traders from the eastern Routot lands and even some Elves from the Kodno. Offering mostly pastoral products, it has grown out of an old collection of farmers stalls, now offering some more diverse products. The name Grassmarket comes from pens once devoted to livestock, who would graze while awaiting sale. Other craftsmen have since flocked to Lichoan to sell their products in the market, creating a long stretch of stalls and shops crowded with braying merchants and hocking tradesmen. Busy for a market of its size, it struggles to expand fast enough for the new attention it is receiving, forcing merchants to compete for space. The Grassmarket also hosts a series of coaching inns, and has rapidly become the beating heart of Lichoan itself.

Personalities

Taran Achiuir

The leader of the newly united lowland clans, Taran is an extraordinarily ambitious man. He has managed to bind formerly warring clans together, and amassed quite the fortune in the process. He cares little for the traditional ways of his people, using them only as trappings to acquire their loyalty and drive his own goals forward. His reign has been peaceful, in large part due to his intolerance of any sort of unrest within his realm. While the other clan leaders are nominally his equal in the unification, he is undoubtedly the head of the faction. He is an older man, with black hair and a thick black beard. His eyes are sunken, with a strong brow and a sharp aquiline nose adorning his face. His mouth is kept into a tight, emotionless frown at most times. He is largely humourless, and presents an intimidating presence and aura.

Deredere, Innkeeper at White Hart

The Grassmarket has long been the centre of Lichoan, expanding only recently into the sizeable trading square it has become. Coaching inns and boarding houses have cropped up at the periphery to house the influx of merchants, all ramshackle buildings built to house whoever has the coin for proper accommodation. While suitable enough, none of them can compare to the White Hart, the finest establishment in town. Originally the only inn in Lichoan, it has grown with the town to become the premiere centre of hospitality in town. Its tavern is lively and its rooms full, contributing to the prosperity of the market outside. Its owner is Deredere, a hard woman who runs her staff ragged to maintain the place. She has lived in Lichoan all her life, inheriting the property from her father. She has watched over its expansion and fought off several attempts to claim it from her, remaining a strong and stern woman in the endeavour. She has a poor opinion of highlanders after one of their raids burned down the inn when she was a girl. As such, she can be seen chasing out any bearing highland clan livery into the common room. Short and stocky, she is nonetheless imposing, taking up a very strong presence in whatever room she is in.