History
For many years before the settlement was founded, people tried sailing around the south end of Ardenfell to reach the other side. However, this proved difficult during the age of sail. Walking across the continent to the western coastline also proved difficult because of the dense Forgotten Forest. Many convoys had gotten lost and never returned from the forest, which quickly gained its name.
Eventually, a large ship carrying settlers from the tip of Ravia sailed south and reached Ardenfell. However, because of a strong swell, they overshot their destination in northwestern Ardenfell. The rocky cliffsides of the coastline prevented them from making landfall anywhere along the western coast until they finally came upon the southern bay. The ship made landfall on the beach, and the passengers disembarked. By this time, almost half of the inhabitants had died on the ship, and when a settlement was started, they buried their dead on the new land and created a monument to honor the pioneers.
Several years after the establishment of the town in 629, the eastern people of Ardenfell had finally managed to reach the western coastline. Unfortunately, to their surprise, a settlement had already been established. When finding out this settlement wasn't even started by Ardenians, people native to Ardenfell, many left in rage and went back home to complain to their local government to do something, while only 6 families decided to stay. One of these families that stayed became the lineage for Draco Null, who eventually founded the Dragonguard Alliance in 897.
A few weeks after the eastern Ardenians discovered Rayhaven, a few eastern holds banded together to form an Order of Chivalry named the Order of East Ardenfell, and set out to take over Rayhaven. However, they would not have a navy big enough to transport them by sea in time, so the marshal decided to march across Ardenfell. This was a major mistake, as when they began marching through the expansive Forgotten Forest, their numbers dwindled. The first to go got sick and died, but the further they went in, men and knights began simply disappearing. Eventually, when what few men had made it to the Forgotten Forest Ridge, they could not figure out a way to pass over it. A few turned back to relay this message to the rear Lances that stayed behind in reserve. The men who stayed to figure out how to pass the small mountain were never heard from again.
Weeks had passed without a word, and the two Lances of men that went into the forest were presumed dead. This royally pissed off the kings of the holds and demanded that the marshals, who were in charge of assembling the knights, be hanged for their incompetence and negligence. Soon after, the people started accusing the kings of the same crimes and executed them. In one night, four new kings of these eastern holds were appointed, who became known as the Quartette Kings. They took a different approach from their predecessors, opting not to take over Rayhaven but instead to establish trade and an alliance. The previous Order of East Ardenfell was promptly disbanded, and a new one was created, with Rayhaven, called the Order of the Forgotten, in honor of those who were taken by the Forgotten Forest. The founder of this new order was dubbed the Great Uniter of Ardenfell. Today, this order still exists, though as an honorific order of merit more than as a chivalric order.
As the settlements grew over the years, the order became obsolete as technology and tactics advanced. Eventually, members of the order had been absorbed into the more modern organizations, and the order had become an honorific status across all of Ardenfell. When a regional dragonguard was formed, the awards and titles associated with the order were adopted into the dragonguard's honors system. The highest award, the Order of Merit, had been renamed to the Legion of Merit medal.
Points of Interest
Grand Courtyard
This is where most dragonkin come to land and where the Dragonguard meet up. It is a very large open concrete pad with the city hall in the middle. The pavement extends to the side and behind the city hall, up to the seaside, where it turns into a dock. There is plenty of space for the Dragonguard to train, and there are some grassy spots as well.
Rayhaven Port
It's a decent-sized port that extends from the courtyard behind the city hall, with a shipyard for the Rayhaven's maritime defense forces.
Rayhaven Woods
A small forest that sits at the western edge of the city. It sits between Rayhaven and the Grand Tree grassy field area / Forgotten Forest.
Grand Tree Fields
Just outside of Rayhaven, between the Rayhaven Woods and the Forgotten Forest, lies an open grassy field with an extremely large oak tree, known as the Grand Tree. This is another spot where dragon riders will land and meet up, if they don't want to go to the city's main courtyard.
Tourism
Tourism is certainly big here because of the city's design and color style choice of black and gold.
Geography
Tall cliffs on either side, a vast ocean to the east, and a large forest hiding a small mountain ridge to the west encase this city, making it a perfect safe haven.
Trivia
The geography of this area was inspired by the Grand Falls / World Tree from the game; Day of Dragons.
The Grand Tree just outside the city is a reference to the World Tree in the game; Day of Dragons.
The architecture was partially inspired by the city Lux Aurea in The Dragon Prince: Mystery of Aarovos show on Netflix. It was originally going to have the same colors, but while this page was being written, it was changed to a black-and-gold color scheme.
The city's colors of black and gold were based on Nulcheck's various video game character color schemes. His characters in Destiny 2, Halo Infinite, Day of Dragons, and Minecraft armor trim all share a black-and-gold color palette.
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