Ostraland

Ostraland, very briefly known as the Kingdom of D'aerthe, was the region in the northeastern corner of Vaasa. It included the half-orc city of Palischuk.

Description
Much like the rest of Vaasa, Ostraland was a stretch of tundra. The land was largely characterized by flat, nearly featureless plains of mud, rock, and grassland stretching out from the foothills of the Galena Mountains. During the summer melt, the land became the site of muddy bogs big enough to conceal an adult black dragon.

Geography
Ostraland included Palischuk as well as the lands further north and west of that city along the Galena Mountains. The region was linked to Damara via the High Walk through the Galenas.

Prior to the mid–14 century DR, the region was largely cut off from the rest of Vaasa by the Great Glacier, and was likewise bounded to the north by the Glacier. By the late 15 century DR, this corner of Vaasa extended up to the Lugsaas Chain mountains as the Glacier continued to melt.

History
Prior to the mid 14 century DR, the region was populated by tribes of orcs in the mountains as well as humans and dwarves in the town of Palischuk, plus a growing population of half-orcs emerging from the confluence of these groups. Before them, it was the home and hunting grounds of the mighty Urshula the Black.

With the rise of Zhengyi the Witch-King in the, Palischuk was destroyed and the region fell under Zhengyi's control. After Zhengyi was defeated by Gareth Dragonsbane in the, Ostraland was liberated and the local half-orcs began rebuilding Palischuk, soon becoming the dominant group in the region.

Circa the, after a decade of Gareth Dragonsbane's efforts to pacify Vaasa, a half-orc wizard named Arrayan Faylin inadvertently activated a Book of Creation left by Zhengyi and caused a replica of Castle Perilous to begin growing atop an orc burial ground in the region. A group was dispatched from the Vaasan Gate to investigate and deal with the construct, joined by the sellswords Artemis Entreri and Jarlaxle. The two were hailed as heroes when they slew the dracolich Urshala at the heart of the castle, but were subsequently vilified when they claimed the castle for themselves shortly afterward. They dubbed the fortress "Castle D'aerthe" and claimed the region as the "Kingdom of D'aerthe" for "King Artemis the First," provoking Gareth Dragonsbane and his army to race the oncoming winter in order to lay siege to them. The battle was brief, with no casualties among the soldiers of Damara. Jarlaxle and Bregan D'aerthe had abandoned the castle immediately once the siege began, and later claimed that whole fiasco had been a ploy to accelerate Gareth's annexation of Vaasa into his kingdom by allowing him to play the hero yet again for the people of Palischuk.

A century later, the region fell to the Warlock Knights during their conquest of Vaasa in the 1460s DR. Under their rule, the trade route through Bloodstone Pass was closed, making northern routes through Ostraland much more important and leading Palischuk to become the wealthiest city in Vaasa by the late 15 century DR.

Notable Locations

 * Castle D'aerthe
 * Ishe
 * Palischuk