Blackrose

Much could be said of House Blackrose, the noble Parrakrazis-Calan that is well-renowned among the Nibenese nobility, but enjoys particular high regards in the eastern Heartlands where it originates from. The counts of Parkratti established a solid foothold a long time ago, finding balance between the powers in the Heartlands as well as the Cheydinese magocrats. It is no wonder, therefore, that a Blackrose would rise to the occasion when the governorate was established in the wild marshes to the east, with one Arbalestus Blackrose being granted the title of governor of Black Marsh. And when the Potentate ordered a massive expansion of prison colonies in the region, the honour of naming a certain fort atop ancient ruins left over by an ancient race, surrounded by countless Argonian nests, was given to the governor from the Heartlands. The Imperial colony of Blackrose was born.

As the site to quite possibly the most infamous prison outside of the ancient complex in Cyrod City, Blackrose started out as nothing more than a backwater dumping ground for the Empire’s unwanted, a small fort surrounded by a collection of what might only pass as shacks in a lowly district of Senchal; as was often practice, the prisoners were forced to build their own dwellings when the new penal colony was founded. Not even a month had passed since the first ship landed at the site and the population of prisoners had already fallen by more than three quarters, the unfortunate lot falling victim to the elements as well as the terrible diseases; Sir Blackrose was quoted saying that “no better solution had been introduced regarding the question of lowly delinquents before than the Argonian climate”, and in an official report, he advised for many a prison barge to be sent his way as soon as possible. But not even the fort crew were safe: the healers could not save all of the guards from disease and a number of guards were reported falling over the encampment and into the living bog below in the early days, before better safety procedures.
It was that very bog that thrived while the newly-founded prison and the colony were on weak footing. Scholars have not yet come to an agreement over what exactly brought so many Argonians to the site long before the arrival of the Empire’s civilising hands, with the majority concluding it was the ancient ruins of the Lilmothiit that attracted them to this specific area through some kind of magic of other power hidden within its crumbling stones. In any case, the growth of the Imperial colony only spurred growth of the outer settlement, nicknamed “the dump” by the settlers. In the words of Governor Blackrose, the Argonians were “ghastly, extraordinarily repelling characters; talking animals who had never seen fire before and whose vermin-like breeding habits were putting the settlement at risk of being overrun”.