Brief History
Harlan has been the site of great triumph and tragedy. Cut into the rolling hills of Western Linoor, Harlan is one of two mining towns to grow rapidly since the expansion of the Aggaran Mining Company - the Crown-sanctioned mining guild - to the nearby Firestone Quarry. As a major source of iron and coal, firestone quarry is an invaluable resource to the Kingdom of Steel, and its notariety spread quickly, sparking the rapid development of kingsroads and tracks connecting Western Linoor with the central province of the nation. Pioneers, tradesmen, merchants and mercenaries poured in seeking resources, riches and adventures, and suddenly the little town called Harlan found itself as the bustling hub of the west.
As expected from any bustling hub with access to resources, an explosion of technologiy issued from Harlan and its bordertowns. Harlan itself produced the coal powered boiler for hot water, and small steamboats to traverse the aqueducts, fed by Clearwater Lake, that run through the town. The bordertown of Castark was the proud owner of the firearm innovation, and Lasren produced the track switch, allowing for a more efficient railway network.
Such rapid expansion also saw an unprecedented increase in crime, necessitating the use of a bounty system for adequate justice. Harlan's most infamous crime also serves to this day as its most notorious blemish. A former noblemage by the name of Reginold Knox had made the burgeoning town of Harlan his home after his exile from House Reddey, the House of Knowledge. In Harlan, Reginold, styling himself as Magister Nox, saw an opportunity to continue the very research that earned him his exile. After all, the use of negative energy to manipulate corpses and souls required resources; Harlan had no shortage. With too few men to monitor the city effectively and an excess of workers performing dangerous mining operations, it took time to notice the climing rate of disappearances and graverobbings. Nox had plenty of time to develop a mountain of necromantic knowledge and a swathe of undead abominations. Eventually Nox began to expand his secret operation in earnest, unleashing a virulent plague of undeath and marching across the Saarnwall province. Following an appeal to the Crown, a small force of Faithkeepers, footmen, local Gravediggers and agents of the Magistratum stymied the Noxious March, but not before mass bloodshed.
The transition from the end of the Noxious March to normalcy occurred far more quickly than many expected, considering the number of West Linooran citizens turned against their will by the March's collateral. Refugee camps were formed across Western Linoor for the victims of said collateral as a Royal Initiative; many of these victims struggled to find a place among what remained of society following the conflict. After all, the world was full of mistrust and intolerance for anything that remotely resembled necromancy. A short time after the establishment of these camps, many of them would die out, falling prey to Gravediggers, mysterious abandonment, and outright conflict.
In time, Harlan would return to its former visage. Still, Harlan often seem almost haunted by the its memories. The past lingers on in the form of areas that must be avoided after dark, rumors of an undead underworld consisting of refugees left over from the March, and whispers of creatures that bump in the night.
[Harlan is basically the hub of a small fief (governed by Duke Halduram Colton) within the Saarnwall Province (Ruled by Lord Dominic Colton) of Western Linoor. The crown referred to above is that of his majesty King Istlan Iald, Bladelord of the Sword Clan, Master of the Linoori and Defender of the Realm.]
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