DM Dax| AoA Table 2| Breachill Bravos| General Information

[Dax Thura]

The town of Breachill is nestled in the foothills of the Five King Mountains in the wilds of eastern Isger, about 50 miles from the Druman border. Compared to the region’s other settlements, this small town is young—just shy of 170 years old—though it has a deep and fascinating history that rivals those of many far older places. Breachill began with the humblest of origins, as a barely functional outpost of human amnesiacs, but the aid and mentorship of a powerful wizard led these shivering and dying unfortunates to found the hardy and thriving town that exists today.

Many of Breachill’s 1,300 residents are humans who trace their ancestry to one of these original pioneers, leading to the townsfolk’s identity as people who persevere and are self-sufficient by birthright. As a result, the residents of Breachill are brave and community minded. Unlike the insular inhabitants of many Isgeri towns, they welcome adventurers of all stripes. After all, the townspeople owe their existence to the benevolence of that powerful wizard adventurer—Lamond Breachton—whose legacy is so beloved that it might be almost be considered a religion. Practically without exception, harsh words against Breachton here are taken as a challenge to most residents’ honor.
 

Breachill Town History

Breachill traces its founding to 4520 ar. That fall, 50 humans found themselves mired in a threadbare outpost in a valley at the foot of the Five Kings Mountains. They had little shelter, provisions to survive for just a few weeks, few skills among them, and almost no defenses against the area’s dangers. Even stranger, they had no idea how they ended up in their hovels, nor why they were there in the first place. Most barely remembered their own names. As winter encroached, the flimsy outpost’s vulnerabilities were clear, and the desperate survivors felt hope fading.

And then an act of serendipity saved their lives. Lord Lamond Breachton, a wandering adventurer, scholar, and wizard, was returning from a lucrative trading trip to Druma when he stumbled upon the amnesiacs’ meager outpost. Even with his powerful magic, kindly Lord Breachton couldn’t solve the mystery of the humans’ origins or restore their missing memories. He took pity upon the villagers, and spent much of his recently acquired wealth on building proper shelters along the banks of what became known as Breach Creek. Further, Breachton helped the amnesiacs acquire food and establish farms, brought in experts to teach them trades, and used his magic and know-how to aid their day-to-day affairs while the townspeople became self-sufficient. In less than a year, the outpost was thriving, and the leaders of the burgeoning hamlet named their settlement Breachton’s Hill. This name was soon shortened to Breachill.

Despite his monumental place in the town’s history, very little is known about Lamond Breachton himself. The wizard’s origins are a mystery, and details of his life before arriving in town are conspicuously missing from the extensive local texts written about the town’s founding. The townspeople know only that Breachton had distinctive, golden-colored eyes, the rich voice of an angel, and flowing white hair that reached past the magnificent robes he always wore. Curiously, the wizard made it clear to those early town pioneers that he was indeed a human, as opposed to an aasimar or other celestial-touched being. History books describe Breachton’s demeanor as exceedingly paternal; he treated each of the town’s pioneers as wayward children regardless of an individual’s actual ages. His kindness and willingness to expend his own resources to help the outpost seemed without limit, however—he made the humans’ survival and well-being his entire focus for an entire year. Then one day, as quickly as he had arrived, Breachton disappeared. The townspeople never heard from him again, but they understood the wanderer’s need to move on. As a final tribute to the wizard, the townspeople erected a statue of him that stands in the center of town to this day.

Breachill’s population swelled and came to include dwarves, half-elves, half-orcs, and even goblins. Though it remains a comparatively small settlement, Breachill quickly became known as a perfect place for adventurers in the region to stop for a hearty meal, a decent inn, and an enthusiastic audience for their tales from the road. Early on, the town established a tradition of formally employing adventurers for duties that concerned its citizens but fell outside the purview of the town’s guard. And in time, the town caught the eyes of the Hellknights, a strictly lawful mercenary group dedicated to protecting order at all costs.

In 4638 ar, the newly formed Hellknight Order of the Nail pledged themselves to fighting lawlessness in the untamed wilds. Impressed with Breachill’s peaceful and efficient functionality, they chose a spot outside Breachill for their inaugural home, Citadel Altaerein. The order built its single-tower keep high on a low-rising hill about 10 miles northeast of town. For decades, Breachill served as a supply juncture for the Hellknights, and many townspeople took jobs as laborers or staff members attending to the keep’s needs. But then, in 4682 ar, only 44 years after building Citadel Altaerein, the Order of the Nail pulled up stakes from what had become known as Hellknight Hill. Lured to the west by Queen Domina, then ruler of Korvosa, the Order of the Nail relocated to a far more expansive home in Citadel Vraid. For many years, it maintained a skeleton crew of Hellknights to watch over the essentially empty citadel atop Hellknight Hill, but in 4711, the Hellknights abandoned Citadel Altaerein entirely.