Hanz Villa
A small settlement nested between the two northwestern rivers flowing inland from Lake Udori, Hanz Villa rests deep within the fringes of the Wildking's Forge just a five-day ride out from Shemashk. Situated between the Hills of Deception and the mysterious Nasiim's Tower, it remains a quiet little hamlet that has surprisingly endured stark hardship for a while now. The locals here are a hardy and close-knit community that live and persevere together, receiving only little protection from the neighboring cities and, therefore, only dismal traffic in terms of adventuring travelers at best.
Hanz Villa does remain a charming little town, however, in that the countryside provides plenty of room for crop and game alike. While the hardly remains any real economic influence, trade is one of the things that has slowly become a crucial element to the township's survival. This is why many who do venture here find the locals leaning more toward bartering rather than coin, willing to haggle for resources or even favors if it remains within the power of locals to provide such feats.
History
First established by a group of adventurers during the 95th year of the Age of Steel, Hanz Villa was founded as a small camp that remained within the hills near Lake Udori. Karnor has always bred the hardiest of folk no matter where one looked, but it was this first group of settlers that decidedly opted to build a stronghold out within the wilderness.
A company composed of at least twenty men and fifteen women, these adventurers developed the first foundations of the village through hunting and foraging. Surviving the Wildking's Forge required them to cultivate a particular palette of crops due to the taiga soil, therefore, it was imperative that the first settlers scouted and learned of their immediate territory quickly. As their foothold within the boreal valley grew so too did their presence, enough to become noticed by the neighboring city of Shemashk.
This led the settlers to establish their first official trade route by the 102nd year, allowing their settlement to develop rapidly once trade between Shemashk and the Herds of the Hills became more prominent over time. By the end of the 105th year of the Age of Steel, the population of Hanz Villa had tripled due to the established relations, allowing the further development of farmlands as they bartered for more livestock and resources during that time.
By the 110th of the Age of Steel, Hanz Villa had officially developed into a proper village with a modicum of structural society, abiding by laws imposed by the founders to help govern the people their village had grown to harbor. While under the purview of Shemashk's domain, they were not considered vital enough for military protection, and so, the founders of Hanz Villa soon dedicated their developmental efforts to a civil militia within the town. However, that would remain not enough for the troubling years that were soon to come.
Banditry remained a common issue along with the wildlife, but until the recent war between Kalzasi and Zaichaer, it had been the only real threat to the Villa's way of life. When the threat of war blanketed the Northlands for a while, Hanz Villa sought to remain a neutral party if at all possible, yet that did not stop any Zaicheari troops that aimed to lay siege to that part of the North. Raids during that time put a heavy strain on the community, as livestock and even resources were often taken. This might've knocked the Villa down and set them back for a while, but the villagers were not going to give up on this piece of the North they'd cultivated as their home.
The Founders took it upon themselves to form a council then, determined to continue the restoration and development of Hanz Villa as a whole. But even as a small village with barely a population of over 200, they would eventually learn that all their hardship would only continue to increase in the years that followed. With the arrival of the Eclipse and the lingering Black Winter it brought with it, the merciless cold brought with it an unfathomable tragedy to the village. The community remained imperiled by the shadows and the frost, as crops and livestock both gradually dwindled during that year's progression. Citizens either disappeared into the shadows when firewood no longer burned or ran out, and frostbite rampantly ravaged the town as many good people within the Villa suffered.
Now, after the Black Winter has finally relented, the remaining members of the Council and the community seek to rebuild their somber village.
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