Fort Sarmenarin

Fort Sarmenarin is a settlement that exists in the Northern regions of Danetha, close to the border with Nareikk. It was built in 1213 and existed until after the Fall of Danetha, an event which marked the end of the Age of War, whereupon the fort became a Nareikk town named simply "Sarmenarin" for much of the early Age of Peace.

Location[]

Fort Sarmenarin is a location in Northern Danetha, and is situated above several large and plentiful gold veins, which make the area desirable. However, the fort is sealed from the Danethan government, and the lack of gold in the area, in addition to the over-mining of the gold vein near the city of Zamari in the mid-regions of the country, mean that most of the gold has now run out, and currency in Danetha is now constructed from the less valuable silver from the year 1215 to the Fall.

Sarmenarin lies several leagues northeast of the Green Region, a section of Northern Danetha which is far more fertile and plentiful than any other in the north, and supplies much of the country's fruit, vegetables and crops. It also lies some miles southwest of Dokeria, a small village on the border between Danetha and the northern country of Nareikk.

Layout[]

Fort Sarmenarin is as big as a large town, and has extensive buildings and is in itself a working community. They grow much of their own crops, and the gold below the fort still provides much of the fort's wealth. In addition to multiple buildings and bunk-houses for housing the population, the fort also possesses a market, where the populace go to trade their goods with each other and occasional wagons go to the north, in to Nareikk, to trade for supplies.

The fort's walls are extensive, and there are two main gates; the east gate, close to a large watchtower called Cersihn, and the smaller southern gate, close to the mine entrances and the larger buildings in the fort which are used as warehouses and holding cells for prisoners.

Kzahretoi[]

Main Article: Kzahretoi

Kzahretoi (from the Kosapheni word meaning "stronghold" or "castle") is Fort Sarmenarin's main stronghold and keep. It is a large castle containing several rooms, a large main hall for dining and military operations, a convoluted system of corridors and passageways, and an annex for a veteran organisation of fighters known as The Watch.

The Watch[]

Main Article: The Watch

The Watch are an organisation within Fort Sarmenarin who are comprised of the veteran warriors who fought in the Sacrein Campaign. Those who survived the war, particularly its climax at the Battle of Mount Ryshese, could not get back to Nareikk, and instead went to Sarmenarin and were given a job as an elite fighting force. However, in the history of the fort, the Watch do very little in the way of keeping the peace, and many of their members are bitter, cynical and angry towards the people of the fort.

History[]

Fort Sarmenarin was built by, and named after, a Danethan named Baron Sarmenarin. Sarmenarin was a businessman around the year 1212 AoW, and had been working, along with two Danethans named Darsil and Ceridan, in a gold mining business at what would become the site of the fort.

Following Emperor Sacrein's Campaign, a vicious blood-fued against the Sjuran population following the destruction of Old Danetha, Emperor Sacrein cracked down on businesses involving Sjurans, and the majority of Sarmenarin's workforce was comprised of Sjurans. Darsil and Ceridan pulled out of the business, but Sarmenarin decided to protect his workers and continue the business, constructing walls around the gold mines and eventually building the entire Fort Sarmenarin.

Some time after the fort was constructed, Sarmenarin was betrayed by Darsil and Ceridan, who sold him out to the Danethan Military, and Sarmenarin was forced to become an outlaw. For months he defended his fort from the military, and even made ties with the Nareikk organisation Kazdriel, which was working to bring down Danetha. The fort became a haven for refugees and insurgents, and soon the inhabitants of Fort Sarmenarin were known as the Sarmenarin-Kazdriel. They worked on covert operations within Danetha, and even continued to do so after Sarmenarin's death following an arrow to the head in an ambush by the Danethans.

Role in Violet Sword Blade[]

Fort Sarmenarin is one of the many locations that is visited in the first book of the Untaer Archives, Violet Sword Blade. In the book, the fort is the setting for several chapters in the book, from "Chapter XXIV - Fort Sarmenarin", through "The Watch", "New Faces", "Misspoken Words", "Further Worries, Further Threats", to "XXIX - Farewell to Sarmenarin".

During their time in Sarmenarin, the men of the Xianorus Campaign recuperate and Mazzek Rettensauth, the book's protagonist, broods on his love for Erinah Resoni, a female member of his army. Following an Attack on Fort Sarmenarin by Zethix Dakrannsson's Cantharans, Erinah's fiancé, Jericho Sanirasa, is killed by Danethan footsoldiers, and Mazzek begins a relationship with her. In addition, Xianorus meets his sister, Vanoria, after several months apart.

The constant attacks on the fort mean that Baron Dulcera, the current Baron of the fort in the book's story, is forced to tell the Kazdriel to leave in the hopes that the fort will not be subjected to any more attacks. Xianrous' men leave the fort grudgingly, and continue their journey into Danetha.