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A ferret map showing Ildur and surrounding islands, c. 1115.
Ildur was a large island in the Northern Sea, far to the northwest of the Mouse Territories.
Ildur was inhabited by a range of creatures, including Crows, Pigs, Foxes, Porcupines, mice (formerly) and Ferrets. Though once ruled by mice, sometime prior the twelfth century the ferrets of the Ebon Kingdom annexed Ildur, and proceeded to use the island as the capital of their empire.
History[]
Pre-1110[]
According to the ferret King Luthebon, Ildur was once populated by mice. Sometime prior to 1110, the ferrets of the Ebon Kingdom conquered the island for themselves, causing the extinction of the island's mice.[1] The ferrets constructed a large hall at Ildur's topmost hill, which served as both a throneroom for the ruler of the Ebon Kingdom and a hall for gatherings and the cooking of hunted game. A network of tunnels from the main hall led to the ferrets' residences.[2]
The ferret Luthebon served as king of Ildur and of the Ebon Kingdom in the early twelfth century. He ascended the throne by 1109 at the latest.[3]
Merek's attempt to conquer Ildur (1110)[]
Merek enters Ildur Hall with the Black Axe, intending to slay King Luthebon, 1110.
In the early twelfth century, the ninth Black Axe, Merek, determined to quest from the Mouse Territories to Ildur to slay the ferrets and relaim the island for mousekind. Merek departed for the island via ship in 1110. Upon his arrival on the shores of Ildur, Merek set about visiting all the island's inhabitants—furred and feathered—spreading the news of his planned slaughter so that he might raise fear in the hearts of the ferrets.[4]
Contemporaneously, in the Mouse Territories, Benn (who had bestowed the Axe upon Merek) grew apprehensive of Merek's quest. Benn feared Merek would either fail and cause the Axe's loss forever, or, if he succeeded, install himself as a tyrant leader. Benn therefore followed Merek across the Northern Sea on the back of a Pelican. The pair reunited on the shores of Ildur in the summer of 1110. Benn pleaded with Merek to abandon his quest, but Merek was unyielding. In that moment, Merek saw Benn as yet another barrier in his mission, and slew him with the Black Axe there on Ildur's shores.[4]
Merek then trekked uphill towards Ildur Hall. Being the longest day of summer, the ferrets inside were feasting and drinking. Merek announced his arrival by thudding three times on the hall's front gates, causing a sudden silence among the gathering ferrets. The mouse confidently pushed the gates open and strode inside, Black Axe held aloft, and issued his challenge to King Luthebon. According to Luthebon himself, the King dispatched Merek with ease: cleaving him in half with his longsword and then eating the mouse whole — bones and clothing included. Luthebon then took the Black Axe for himself, keeping the revered object on him at all times as a "symbol of what happens to those who squander [Luthebon's] goodwill and fair rule".[1]
Celanawe's quest to Ildur to reclaim the Black Axe (1115–1116)[]
During the spring of 1115, Celanawe with his aunt Em and Conrad sailed the Northern Sea in search of the island where Em learned this was where Benn was last located. The rough voyage eventually brought them in the thick of a storm, destroying the Red Snapper and separating Conrad from the other two. When Celanawe and Em recovered, they found the remains of Em and the crows pointed in the direction of Ildur Hall.
Inside Ildur Hall, Celanawe met with King Luthebon but the latter was not about to hand over the Black Axe.
Geography[]
Ildur was the largest and most northwestern of the islands of the Ebon Kingdom. Given its location in the far north of the Northern Sea, the island likely had a cold climate and fewer sunlight hours compared with the Mouse Territories. The low-lying parts of Ildur were susceptible to a sea fog which greatly inhibited visibility.[5]
Ildur's coastline comprised beaches of golden sand, interspersed with rocky areas.[1] A large tangle of briars grew on the island's southwestern shore, growing so thick in places that it inhibited the movement of larger creatures. Other than the briars, very few large plants or trees took root on the island, and therefore much of the inland areas were barren but for grass and moss. A large inland stream, called Bellisflod by the ferrets, cut through the island.[6]
Gallery[]
