Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

Nestled on a peninsula at the far north of Viden, Hok is a small village with an enormous role to play in the lives of all Videnese. Hok is a relatively small village but it has two very important aspects to it. Firstly, it is the northern entrance to Viden; while those who approach the Fortress almost always do so from Synnefa Bay, Hok is where those who do not wish to go to the Fortress land.

The second aspect which makes Hok both unique and vital to life throughout Viden is the fact that it is home to a large underground salt mine. There are a number of old abandoned mine shafts, and the ruined buildings which are dotted around the place are the remnants - and evidence - of how long Hok has been in existence.

The people of Hok are sturdy and tend to have a no-nonsense attitude. They live, after all, in the far far north and Hok is always, regardless of the season, frigidly cold. Death is not an abstract thing for Hok's residents - if the sub-zero temperatures don't kill you, then the salt mines might well do so. Life in Hok is harsh and complacency leads to death. There are hard workers here and those who are forced to work here because of law breaking endure awful conditions. Tall spires of salt dot the landscape of this village, where it has mingled with the ice to form strange and beautiful naturally-occurring sculptures.

All of that said, the docks are thriving and there is a lot of trade there. Those people who brave the northernmost entrance to Viden are very diverse as a group. Standards are lower here, the people much more pragmatic, but there are strict expectations and any trouble is met with a hard and harsh response.