The Broken Reach

The Breaking of the Reach was a cataclysmic event that occurred so close to the end of the Eldersire-Harodom War that it was difficult to believe that the two events were unrelated. Almost overnight, towers fell, towns dissolved, the earth beneath our feet shook, and great noxious gases emerged from holes in the ground, poisoning the earth and causing what grew there thereafter to be strange or sickly or both. It is possible that the denials of the belligerent forces are true – or indeed, that whoever caused the Breaking is now so thoroughly dead from having done so that we might as well treat the event as a force majeure.

• Omaria of Fiona, Some Comments on the Breaking of the Rift (2022 A.T.)

Although it was not the cause of the end of the Eldersire-Harodom war, the Breaking of the Reach in 2020 provided a useful tool for those drawing out new lines following the war. With much of the population of the affected area unable to effectively remain there in numbers sufficient for the area to be considered settled by either Harodom or Eldersire, the newly declared no-man’s land had firm rules put into place preventing a military build-up.

Ambitious and wandering itinerants soon found places to live within the Reach. As most of the land that became the Broken Reach was once controlled by the Duchy of Portnos, some measure of those that settled there were once residents of that Duchy. Apart from these, some were expatriated from the Elven kingdom of Eldersire, and others, dwarves that were a part of the Hammerfrost diaspora.

Although most of the lands now making up the Broken Reach were once occupied by humans, the region is now a great deal more diverse. The characteristics that make the perils of the Reach appealing do not split neatly down species lines.

The Breaking of the Reach

What exactly happened to cause the land between Portnos and the the westernmost parts of Eldersire to become ‘The Broken Reach’ is much disputed. Occurring just as the war between Harodom and Eldersire concluded, the Breaking was marked with terrible storms of hurricane like strength, earthquakes, and a strange fog or mist that spread across the lands. Although this did not affect the whole of the region, the majority of the area now known as the Broken Reach experienced at least some of these conditions.

Areas affected had great difficulty growing plants – at least in any quantities comparable to the times before. Fields were fouled with strange growths, and existing forests, marshes, and other wild places still grew – but what they grew was strange, twisted and tangled, making even foraging difficult. As time passed, farmers found tricks and techniques for coaxing survivable amounts of food out of the ground, but going was persistently difficult.

Nevertheless, there was a great deal to attract those seeking a new start to the Reach. In addition to lacking existing laws or enforcement, this no-man’s land is littered with existing structures that someone could theoretically claim without contest. Of course, while some of these towns and buildings may have been hastily abandoned because the region was now difficult to live in, others were thoroughly made unlivable by those seeking to prevent just this action. Buildings may have been trapped, and ruins made even more dangerous as earthquakes unsettled buildings long left to decay.

What Caused the Breaking?

Although theories prevail about what caused the Breaking of the Reach, it is – hypothetically – possible that the woes that made this no-man’s land difficult to survive in were caused by one of a few leading theories.

Some say that the gods themselves, frustrated by the war between two nations while the Twins sought freedom, cursed the land on which most of the fighting occurred. This theory, along with others that suggest at divine intervention, make a note of the fact that many divine domains seem represented in the plagues that befell the area; earthquakes attributed to Atha, storms attributed to Alwyn, the roiling mist associated with Blythe, and so on. On the other hand, the gods did not similarly intervene in directly opposing the Twins, suggesting another cause may be ultimately at fault.

Some say that a great working of magic was attempted, possibly the summoning of a Greater Infernal. After all, such acts have been known to occur in wartimes (although the breaking of the Reach occurred after formal hostilities had stopped, but before the Treaty of Three was fully hammered out). The power of such an act – especially if it failed to go as expected – could well have caused the effects that were seen thereafter in the affected area.

Still others claim that an ancient vault from the Golden Age of Magic was disturbed – either by one of the initial earthquakes, or indeed, by adventurers or explorers, triggering the earthquakes. Such vaults have been known to hold inscrutable magical devices, either tools or weapons of enormous magical power. Either could be responsible for the strange effects that have overtaken the land.

Notable Powers Within the Reach

• Portnos: Having left Harodom following the Eldersire war, as most of its lands were overtaken by the mystical effects of the Breaking, Portnos has claimed “City State” status. The former Duchy still controls a considerable armed force, and has sufficient farmlands that have been cleansed of whatever ill magic befell the rest of the Reach to serve as a guiding light – and potent force – within the region.
• The Barony: As yet holding no name other than ‘the Barony’, the largest formal army of the Broken Reach fell under the command of “The Baron”, a mysterious figure who sought to control the military and economic forces of the Broken Reach.
• The Tangled: A confederacy of hedge mages, necromancers and alchemists who experiment with and on monsters and other magical creatures, seeking insight into how they came to be – and how to create new creatures to serve their ends.
• The Free Traders: A collaboration between several independent merchants and a number of port-side towns, who practice free trading, and which make up the majority of imports from the nations outside of the Broken Reach. The Free Traders exert their power through their control of food imports.
• Scarsinvale: Once a small mining town, a new settlement formed around the ruins of this temporarily defunct town. Rich silver mines drew different groups from the region to the area, where a mercenary and tavernkeeper named Gryff was nominally in charge, until a more formal government was formed. Scarsinvale has declared itself independent of the Barony – but it remains to be seen if they can make that stick.

The Treaty of Three

The Broken Reach is formally a no-man’s land – despite the fact that it is in fact inhabited. Forces from Eldersire and Harodom are not permitted to operate within the area for any length of time, and may not establish proxies or bases. There is some trade between parts of the Broken Reach and several of the surrounding nations, but this is fraught; no one wants to seem as if they are forming a formal alliance that might threaten peace in the region.

This means that – among other things – a number of individuals and forces that wish to not be subject to the jurisdiction of either Eldersire or Harodom have made their own bases or impromptu fiefdoms in this region. As some of these people are well armed, and trained in the use of same, this means that the roads of the Broken Reach which do not formally fall under the control of any of the regional powers are always perilous, and mercantile caravans that pass through the region tend to eschew travel unless they are accompanied by mercenaries. Bandits adore a place with neither judges nor nooses, after all.

Authored by: Andrew Dunlop
Fantasy Alive Lore Team 2026
Copyright © Endless Adventures Ontario