Most of the lore in the upcoming series will be edited compilations of dozens of posts from the last two years. While there are some minor new details sprinkled throughout, I’ve attempted to post significant new information in a “Watch AU Fun Fact” post so you don’t have to read all of these HUGE posts to find them.
Other Posts in this Series:
Minor Settlements of House Jackie: Roskeagh • Orlatum • The Whetstone • Glenbeg • Arcath • Athglen
Located in the central Monaidh Plains of House Jackie, Duilintinn, The Whetstone is the center of practical operations for the Guard Coalition. While the Coalition’s guild hub is located in Mulladún due to political clout, this training camp is further east, just off the main road to Cordoire.
Name Origin
The name “The Whetstone'' comes from the aggressive training and recertification drills the knights all endure there on an annual basis. If this bustling military hub ever had another name in the Feadhainn tongue, no one can remember it.
History
Knights of the Guard Coalition have been trained and deployed from this training camp for decades, possibly even centuries. As long as the Guard Coalition has existed, so too have the well-worn fields of The Whetstone been trampled under the feet of knights and knights-to-be throughout history.
For more on the Guard Coalition, see this wiki page.
Layout
To the average traveler, The Whetstone is a large stretch of training fields spanning several miles on the southern side of the road from Cordoire to Mulladún, where members of the Guard Coalition take great pride in demonstrating their prowess and advertising the Coalition’s services, especially during the summer months.
However, there is more to The Whetstone than vast training fields. As you travel along the main road, eventually a wide road turning south will appear between these training fields. Along this road are various branching paths, which lead to the entrances of the training fields seen along the main roadside.
If one does not turn down any of these paths, but continues to follow the road south, it eventually leads one to a plain gate flanked by a pair of griffin heads standing tall and proud. Beneath these sculptures is a plaque, stating that the griffins were added in 1588, one year after Lord Jackie’s titling, with a brief description of Lord Jackie’s history as a trainee of the Guard, their pride in his work, and how the Coalition continues to do the Noble Lord proud all these years later. It should be noted that Lord Jackie had no knowledge of or input in the plague’s creation until a few years later, at which point Duilintinn was reeling from The Enemy’s first attempt on King Sean’s life and there were far more important things to worry about.
Extensive stables are located near this gate, which serves as the entrance to the main complex of The Whetstone, while all other buildings are located within the walled complex. Once crossing through the gate, buildings of various sizes rise up on either side of the road. The tallest buildings are the Barracks, going up several stories. A low, wide building with a constant stream of smoke pouring from the chimneys serves as the kitchen. The Admin and Command offices share a building at the far end of the road, featuring slightly more decorative architecture than the rest of the plain, grey buildings.
Trivia
The description of The Whetstone’s layout is largely pulled from a description written by @theshapeshifter100 in this story, which she has given me permission to use in the official posts on The Whetstone.
