The Wallawood Tree: Reference

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This section is, and always will be, entirely AI-generated.

Last updated: April 25, 2026

Characters

Royal Family

King Morhaime: The sovereign ruler of the Commonwealth of Freestead. Under his rule, the nation has seen significant wealth and expanded trade, including new economic engagements with western desert tribes.
Arthur Morhaime: The elder prince and heir. Tall for his age, he is focused on combat training and scholarly pursuits. His tactical style is characterized by ferocity and sustained aggression. Recently deployed to Ironward as a Shield-Captain, he wears a suit of pristine royal steel. After a fierce brawl with a veteran, he has begun to embrace unconventional combat over "proper technique."
Conner Morhaime: The younger prince. Observant and analytical, he favors strategy and teamwork. He possesses a deep curiosity for history and spent years relentlessly researching the origins of his family. He is cursed with perfect recall of things he has perceived, and recently resorted to secretly excavating beneath the castle to find ancient scrolls regarding his ancestors.
Ophelia Morhaime: The first of the seven founding monarchs to arrive in the Hijaz. She commanded the construction of the great lodge and painted the original portrait of the Wallawood Tree.
Titus Morhaime: A past monarch who ruled over 300 years ago and dealt with the skimming practices of the Daija tribe.

Ironward & The Hearthguard

Marshal Fyrd: The raspy-voiced, pipe-smoking commanding officer of Ironward. He oversees the bi-annual War Games and manages unit deployments.
Lucius Morgan: A thick-shouldered veteran Man-at-Arms with a prominent facial scar. Twice deployed and deeply cynical, he serves as Arthur’s second-in-command and tactical advisor, specializing in "improper" combat.
Julius Crowley: A young Trenchman in Arthur’s squad. Once physically fragile, he became a symbol of the squad's transformation through relentless night training and discipline.
Captain Bartholomew: A Hearthguard officer known for lax training, prioritizing domestic skills like tent pitching and stew preparation over combat readiness.
Captains Jameson, Sylvia, and Marley: Hearthguard officers who initially viewed the War Games as a survival exercise rather than an opportunity for victory.

Citizens & Professionals

Humfry: An advisor to King Morhaime who assists with economic engagements and trade proposals.
Milley Oslow: A local girl in Kynsland and daughter of a Master Stonemason. Having completed her counting and scribing training under the Auberdine Tinkerer, she now works as a highly capable masonry scout and apprentice for her father.
Master Oslow: Milley’s father and a Master Stonemason of the Guilded Chisel Foundry. His precision stonework is featured in the city's most prominent architecture. He has achieved the rank of artisan and runs a prominent lodge hosting traveling apprentices and journeymen.
Mrs. Oslow: Milley's mother, who traditionally bakes a favorite family recipe of braided bread with cheese filling.
Candace and Aubrey Oslow: Milley's identical twin younger sisters.
Diemos: The Auberdine Tinkerer who completed Milley's tutoring. He appears well-versed in the affairs of the city and the royal family, and is currently constructing brass encryption devices for the Sparrows.
The Baker: A friendly merchant at the Country Market who serves the children of Kynsland.

Foreigners & Groups

The Hearthguard: The formal military of the Commonwealth, characterized by a rigid hierarchy and standard-issue equipment.
Shieldmen: The standard infantry and backbone of the Hearthguard.
Trenchmen (Mudfoots): The lowest-tier recruits, often used for manual labor. They come from impoverished backgrounds and lack proper gear.
Men-at-Arms: Grizzled career soldiers and veterans who wear mismatched, customized armor and prioritize efficiency over protocol.
Daija Tribe: A tribe in the western desert seeking economic engagement, historically known for shipment interference and providing brittle desert mesquite timber.
Sparrows: An intelligence network utilized by the royal family for covert information gathering, utilizing encryption tools to keep their communications secret.
Guilded Chisel Foundry: An elite guild of stonemasons responsible for the Commonwealth's grandest structures.

Places

The Hijaz: The broader geographical region encompassing the Commonwealth and neighboring lands.
Kynsland: The capital city of the Commonwealth and ancient seat of the royal family.
Ironward: A rugged military fortress surrounded by diverse tactical terrain (forests, plains, and rocky outcrops) used for the War Games.
The Central Hill: The fortified objective of the War Games, guarded by elite sergeants and ringed with spiked barricades.
Oakhaven: A region across the river, home to people often viewed as outsiders by the Hearthguard.
The Great Lodge: The first royal construction ordered by Ophelia Morhaime, built over a secret underground compartment.
Castle Underbelly: The dim, damp, and remote bowels beneath the royal castle where Conner Morhaime excavated ancient family artifacts.
Deep Forest: A wooded region known for producing buloke timber, a highly sought-after wood for scaffolding and hot-burning fuel.
Commonwealth Vital: A major banking establishment in Kynsland, secured by the Morhaime family.

Artifacts & Culture

The War Games: A brutal bi-annual exercise at Ironward. Winning provides Trenchmen an immediate promotion to Shieldman.
The Apex Standard: The ultimate prize of the War Games, located atop the Central Hill.
Unit Standards: The flags representing individual squads; capturing these is a key component of Arthur’s "Gambit."
Hearthguard Primer: An iron-clasped manual detailing the strict rules and laws of Commonwealth soldiers.
The Wallawood Tree Painting: A giant painting by Ophelia Morhaime depicting a tree with bone-white bark, blood-red vines, and glowing yellow fruit.
The Tree Crest: The Morhaime family sigil, depicting the Wallawood Tree.
Tartigras Stew: A hearty meal popular among recruits, often shared to build camaraderie.
The Lumber Shortage: A severe resource crisis in the Commonwealth causing the cost of wood to skyrocket, forcing citizens to burn their own furniture and use peat moss for fuel, while crippling large masonry and construction projects.
Sparrow Encryption Device: A complex brass gadget utilizing cogs, springs, and mysterious etched symbols to cipher and decipher secret messages.
Ancient Ancestor Scrolls: Fragile documents excavated by Prince Conner, written entirely in an ancient symbolic language that shares similarities with Diemos's encryption device.
Bridgeball: A popular recreational game played by children at the Country Market.
Timber Varieties: Buloke from the Deep Forest is valued for its ability to bend under heavy loads and burn evenly; desert mesquite from the west is considered brittle and useless for fine masonry scaffolding.

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The Wallawood Tree: Reference