The Coronach Marshes are a mysterious place, of swirling mists and hidden isles. This reed-choked wilderness of trackless waterways and sodden turf was once the most sacred place in all of the land and was the centre of the Old Religion of the Druidic cult. From the secret island of Ynys Afal, did the Druids rule the whole of Ellesland. Kings and Thanes bowed their knees to these eldritch priests and made pilgrimages and sacrifices to their marshland gods.

Most of ancient tribes also gave their dead to the waterways as the fens were thought to be a place where the veil between worlds was thin. Indeed the north of the marshes was a place particularly associated with The Morrigan and the land of the dead, known as Anuwyn. The Isle of Ravens, Ynys Branna, was particularly sacred to the God of death and the nearby Ring of Five Ravens was known as a gateway to her realm.

Yet the coming of the Legions swept this old world away and ended the power of the Druids, though some say that a last remnant of this ancient faith still ekes out a lonely vigil, hidden in the murk of the great swamp, awaiting the day when the Old Ways can return.

Ynys Branna has changed in the years since the coming of the Legions, though it is still nigh the ancient walkway known as Dobby's Walk.

Many years later, after the coming of the True Faith to Cornumbria, the true nature of the isle was forgotten and a Dun (fortified town) built atop the mound. This town was known as Esgalen and was still a part of Cornumbria until forty years ago. Then Hadric's father Eadulf seized the fief and annexed it to Albion, dispossessing the native Cornumbrians in the process. Eadulf built a fortress atop the ruins of Ynys Branna to control trade along Dobby's Walk and prevent a Cornumbrian Invasion. He renamed the fief Eastmarch and gave the walled fortress-town the same name.

This fastness now dominates the border between Albion and Cornumbria. The ruler of Eastmarch; the Marcher Lord Alek Brandwyn, holds the fief in his iron grip, even as he brutally oppresses the native Cornumbrians. These Esgaleni now so bitterly resent Albish rule that many of them have left their homes to live as rebels in the marshes. This ragged force of outlaws and the dispossessed is gathering strength and have recently begun to attack Albish merchants who dare to use the Walk. They have also rekindled the worship of the Old Gods and some are seeking out the power of the ancient ways.



The Town and fief of Eastmarch are further detailed in Ordo Draconis issue 2, including the statistics of many important NPCs, the details of all the numbered locations in the town (each of which contains a mini adventure hook) and also outlines a series of more developed adventure seeds. Lastly, OD 2 includes a guide to naming Cornumbrian and Albish NPCs and the the use of the Welsh language to create evocative place names for locations in Northern Cornumbria. Ordo Draconis issue 3 will also include a full adventure set in Eastmarch.

To purchase the issue describing Eastmarch, click here Ordo Draconis issue 2

All the maps from Ordo Draconis issue 2 can also be found, unannotated, here Maps