The Principality of Glamorgan, the Land of Black Rowan, is a Changeling Kingdom in Cymru, the land mortals know as Wales.
Overview[]
Glamorgan, the Land of Black Rowan, was once the pride of Cymru. Now it's a sad place, jam packed with people, cities and "progress." The biggest city in Glamorgan is Cardiff, but there's also Newport, Caerphilly, Rhondda, and Pontypridd. The River Usk serves as the principality's eastern border with Gwynt, while the Bristol Channel and the River Mellte are its southern and western borders respectively. The northern borders are more flexible, but anything above the Black Mountains, the Forest Fawr, and the Brecon Beacons the fae call Powys. Glamorgan's borders, as a whole, are unstable, because the Dauntain that commands the principality constantly tries to extend them. Newport, for instance, used to be within Gwynt, but no longer.
Despite the mining conditions and the cities, Glamorgan was once a place of beauty, with gorgeous mountain ash trees. Then, Lloyd Morgenstern fell into darkness. Previously a nocker hero, he somehow changed and turned his back on his Kithain heritage. The Tylwyth Teg are unsure whether he did so intentionally or became corrupted through the work of another. After a brief disappearance in the 1980s, he reappeared around 1991, hell-bent to destroy any Glamour and Kithain he could get his hands on. He quickly killed off the fae in Glamorgan who didn't escape. He raided both Gwynt and Dyfed, but fled rather than face defeat at the hands of Prince Dylan and a motley of commoners from Cantrev Cymer in Gwynt.
Cardiff[]
Capital city since 1959, Cardiff has grown from a small port town into a thriving industrial center. The city center holds numerous museums, schools, and commercial offices. Romans and Normans both used the city as a strategic point, but Cardiff only experienced large-scale growth since the 19th century and the Industrial Revolution.
Cardiff's wealth comes from the now-dwindling coal mining industry. Much of this old money is now pouring into the Cardiff Bay Barrage, a dyke that will create a huge lake and a new commercial embankment from the Rivers Taf and Ely.The barrage will span from Queen Alexandra Head in the north around to Penarth in the south of the city. Three locks allow passage between the inland and the sea.
Cardiff sits on Wales' southern coast, where the mouth of the River Severn opens into the Bristol Channel. A number of major roads connect Cardiff to points in England and Scotland. London is only a three hour drive. Cardiff also has an international airport and many rail connections to cities throughout Britain.
The Welsh National Opera and Symphony, the National Museum of Wales, and the Welsh Industrial and Maritime Museum are all feature sites of Cardiff. The city also has a large ice-skating rink and numerous rugby fields, as the residents of the city are particularly keen on sports.
Cardiff also has several period shops that feature Victorian and Edwardian wares and costumes.
Cardiff Castle[]
A melange of styles, this castle combines Roman walls with a Norman keep and 19th-century decor. Bute Gardens and a park surround the structure, located downtown in the capital. Sir Mortimer Evans, Cardiff's Harbinger of Avalon, often rents the gardens for private parties and business dinners.
Sites[]
Clancy's Place[]
Off Ninian Park Road, Clancy's Place is the epitome of a kitschy urban cowboy bar (or at least what the Welsh owners think a western-style bar should be). It's one of the hottest places in Cardiff, a special favorite of visiting Kindred. There are two mechanical bulls, waitresses in tight fringed leather boleros and shorts, chicken wings, baby back ribs, and lots of cheap beer. Most nights, the music is live, second-string country and western singers, but there's also karaoke for amateurs and a jukebox full of Hank Williams and Garth Brooks when the singers are too bad. The cover charge is a mere £6 for an evening's entertainment. The club has several dance instructors who drag even the most reluctant patrons onto the floor. There's plenty of room for line dancing as well as eating and socializing.
Hall of the Fisher King[]
Hall of the Fisher King is an Arthurian reenactment banquet hall located on Castle Street in central Cardiff. For a mere £30, visitors can wear period garb and enjoy spit-roasted chickens, fresh bread, steak on a stick, and a variety of medieval entertainment. The wooden tables are long, and the beeswax tapers send a merry light onto the tapestry-hung walls. Each night, the doorkeeper draws two ticket stubs to choose the evening's king and queen. They get to sit at the head of the table and issue commands to the staff and performers. While Lloyd Morgenstern has disdain for Clancy's Place, he despises Hall of the Fisher King and would close it in a moment if he could. However, the hall has a number of wealthy backers that have thus far managed to steer clear of the Dauntain's bids for takeover.
The Spectrum[]
The Spectrum, a venture of the New World Order, is a sprawling kiddie techno-museum. All the displays are hands-on and interactive, demonstrating the "scientific" aspects of light, sound, and energy. Yet as the children progress through the museum, the exhibits get more and more dull and technical. The final exhibit is an IMAX subliminal theatre that preaches a message of science's benefits to the children's subconscious. The N.W.O. hopes that the thousands of kids who visit each year will go home with a new imperative to dabble in the computer or chemistry lab rather than wasting their time on the playground.
References[]
- CTD. Isle of the Mighty, pp. 166-167.