Terbrook is a continent like no other. It has almost five thousand miles of coastline! It is surrounded by three seas: The Kyrgan Sea, the Moon Sea, and the Bountiful Sea. It is the only place where the Cirox Black Cherry will grow as well as the native Terbrook Dark Red Apple. Both of which are used in wines and ales respectively. They are prized throughout Barsalyhs and much sought after. Ships carrying the prized spirits of Terbrook’s cherries and apples often sail straight across to Darkmoore instead of chancing the Eyes of Ghyrax, or the Morghis Trench, or even the Crimson Krakens, and journey overland where a second ship is waiting. But that, dear reader, is Darkmoore’s problem.
Every five years, a festival is held in honor of Terbrook’s fortunes. I say fortunes, for it’s more than one thing that Terbrook has to celebrate. The month-long event celebrates her cherries and apples, but also celebrates five hundred years of peace after the Xarath War. Celebrants from all over Barsalyhs come to Terbrook in revelry. The amount of spirits consumed can only be weighed against the amount of coin spent, which is staggering. The festival is simply called “Spirit”. In my travels I have heard many people ask one another, “Are you going to Spirit? It’s only two years away.” To which an excited response might be, “Yes! I’m putting away coin now. I can’t wait.”
The Terbrook Spirit Festival is celebrated all over the island nation and in many different ways. For instance in the town of Betran they have the only known orchards of Brassberry trees. This remarkable fruit is about the size of a fist and has the flavor combination of sweet peaches and raspberries. The stone seed is rather small. The brewers of Betran have concocted a wine made from the fruit, however their efforts have not been as successful as their juice drinks.
The brassbery fruit drink industry is a thriving concern. And, as they don’t export brassberries off of Terbrook, anyone who wants it, has to come to Terbrook to get it. Brassberry seeds have been secretly sold to other countries, but as of yet, none has been able to cultivate a crop as the seed won’t take root.
During the Spirit Festival, barrels of brassberry fruit drinks are taken to the Thalias and Anotharion Valthoros.
The Cirox Black Cherry is primarily grown, harvested, and processed in the town of Black Cherry, located in the Midwest of Terbrook, not far from the coast. During Spirit the town is filled with many revelers hoping to try some of the new beverages created by the ale smiths of Black Cherry. There is an Ale Smiths Guild in Black Cherry and they hire talented adventurers for good coin to guard and keep their secrets.
During the Spirit Festival another element is always around, that of the criminal. That is why most establishments hire veteran soldiers and spies to watch over their goods and shops during busy times. They have also been known to ward their shops so that once you enter, you can be more easily identified. Thieves, Cheats, and Swindlers are all put to the sword, hung from the gallows, or, in some places, used in magical experiments.