Loveridge

Loveridge

Loveridge is a town in southern Rislandia, located due south of Plainsroad Village and near the Border River. It is surrounded by heavy forest and corn fields, with houses scattered in the forest beyond its main commercial street. Loveridge holds the unfortunate distinction of being the most contested town in Rislandia, having changed hands between Rislandia and the Wyranth Empire over a dozen times during various wars. Despite its turbulent history, Loveridge maintained a population of approximately 3,000 at the time of For Steam and Country, making it roughly five times the size of nearby Plainsroad Village. The town sits near the infantry line between Rislandia and Wyranth, and the heaviest battles of the war were fought near Loveridge and Greenhorne.

Description

Loveridge is situated several hours' travel from Plainsroad Village and is closer to Zaira von Monocle's farm than Rislandia City. The town is described as small, with a single main street comprising the commercial part of town and one main road of mostly log buildings, some of which have paint. Streets are muddy. Gas lamps light the streets near the city center, and the town has a sole tavern. Houses are scattered in the forest beyond the main street. The town is surrounded by corn fields and forest, and a dirt path branches off the main road leading south to a farm outside town. The Border River could be faintly seen in the far distance from the deck of The Liliana when the airship was parked outside the town. From altitude, the whole town appeared as a speck.

Loveridge boasts a very large market that impressed even those accustomed to rural life. As Zaira recalled: "The city had five times the people of Plainsroad Village and a market so big I couldn't believe my eyes." During its Wyranth occupation, the streets showed markedly different activity: men working carts and moving through streets during the day, but few women or children visible, and no Rislandian citizens on the streets.

Loveridge is described as a quaint town; it was used as a point of comparison to convey the larger size of Carnait Cove.

Historical Significance

• The Liliana was grounded here after the Second Battle of the Border River, and was formerly retired to the Loveridge forest.
• Major Edwin Ral's encounter with the spider-woman hybrid occurred here.
• Dr. Metzengerstein from Nyanzi conducted experiments in a barn and laboratory located just south of the main town, off a dirt path to the right. The farm burned down more than two years before the events of The Steam Knight and was subsequently rebuilt.
• Loveridge appeared on maps used at the highest levels of Rislandian command; King Malaky XVI held his finger close to Loveridge on a map during strategic deliberations.
• Zaira previously encountered Wyranth soldiers with large pupils on a road near Loveridge.
• The war's heaviest battles occurred near Loveridge and Greenhorne.
• Loveridge was named in the Wyranth armistice proposal, with the Wyranth offering to retreat from Loveridge and Centerpost to allow Rislandia to reclaim them.
• Top-ranking Wyranth officials met in Loveridge in the days preceding the events of The Steam Knight.
• The commandant was attacked in the town's tavern two nights before James Gentry and Ethan von Lantern arrived during The Steam Knight.

Role in For Steam and Country

Loveridge served as a central location throughout For Steam and Country. It was the destination to which Matthias du Gearsmith escorted Zaira von Monocle so that she could receive her inheritance, with du Gearsmith stating that the primary inheritance object was located there. Zaira had visited the town once before, at age eight.

Upon arriving at night — "Night blanketed Loveridge in deep darkness by the time we arrived" — The Liliana was parked outside the city against a high wall, with the surrounding forest chosen specifically because it could conceal the airship. Harkerpal later set The Liliana down in Loveridge again for repairs, once more taking advantage of the forested cover.

Captain Talyen von Cravat designated Loveridge as the meeting point for the crew, and Zaira and the crew intended to wait there for the Captain's return before departing. Zaira asked whether they could make it back to Loveridge after The Liliana was hit during combat.

While in Loveridge, Zaira visited the Loveridge Inn, where she spoke with Harkerpal and Marina du Willet. It was also noted that someone in Loveridge may have overheard Zaira's conversations and alerted the Wyranth, suggesting the town harbored at least one informant. Zaira later recounted her full adventure in Loveridge to James, sparing no detail: "I spared no detail about Mr. Du Gearsmith, Miss von Cravat, Harkerpal, Marina, Loveridge, and the airship."

Role in The Blood of Giants

In The Blood of Giants, Loveridge again served as a landing point for The Liliana. Following the disappearance of Baron Theodore von Monocle, Commander Von Cravat grounded the ship in Loveridge.

Role in The Steam Knight

During the events of The Steam Knight, Loveridge remained under Wyranth occupation and served as the primary mission destination for James Gentry and Ethan von Lantern. At the time of the briefing, the town was still behind Wyranth enemy lines, with a Wyranth contingent stationed there.

The bulk of the Grand Rislandian Army was positioned near Loveridge to protect the city from invasion, and was expected to remain there for at least another three days at the time the intelligence was passed. Lou (Knight of the Crystal Spire)'s hiding place was just north of Loveridge, halfway between the Rislandian Grand Army garrison and the town.

James and Ethan traveled south through forest to reach Loveridge. The town was described as small, with one main street of mostly log buildings, some with paint, muddy streets, gas lamps near the city center, and a sole tavern. Houses were scattered in the forest beyond the main street, and the town was surrounded by corn fields and forest. Dr. Metzengerstein's laboratory was located just south of the main town off a dirt path to the right, on a farm that had burned down more than two years prior and been rebuilt. Top-ranking Wyranth officials had met in Loveridge in the days before James and Ethan's arrival, and the commandant had been attacked in the town's tavern two nights before they arrived.

The group planned to request provisions from civilians in Loveridge if needed before their journey back: "we could make our way to Loveridge and request the civilians there give us provisions." After their mission, Ethan von Lantern found a doctor in Loveridge, and the group healed there for four more days. Sergeant Lansing's bullet was removed there. Locals assisted with burying Lieutenant Fearson and fallen enemies. A civilian carriage cab was conscripted from the town. James and Ethan ultimately fled from Loveridge through corn fields and forest. Ethan expressed a desire for the town to remain intact when Rislandia eventually reclaimed it.

Role in The Iron Wedding

By the time of The Iron Wedding, Loveridge had fallen under Wyranth occupation. Wyranth patrols wearing pointed helmets, backed by automatons, were stationed in the town, and no Rislandian citizens were visible on the streets. The town sat approximately one hour's walk from the Rislandian line through the forest, and the surrounding area had seen some of the war's heaviest fighting.

Zaira von Monocle and Ivan, the Iron Emperor traveled to Loveridge two days after the crystal experiment, arriving after dark: "It took another two hours of driving before we arrived in Loveridge, and it was dark by the time we arrived." Zaira noted upon passing through: "We drove through Loveridge, a town I hadn't been to since my first flight with the airship." Ivan made a makeshift residence at an inn within the town during this period.

A battle between Ivan's automatons and Rislandian forces took place at or near Loveridge; Ivan cited the Rislandian advance upon Loveridge as justification for the automaton attack. After a ceasefire, Ivan's automatons stood motionless in the fields outside the town. Ivan considered pulling his troops from Loveridge as a show of sincerity during negotiations, and ultimately agreed to withdraw his men from Loveridge as a wedding gift to Zaira. Ethan von Lantern later claimed that Rislandia's mecha units would have driven the Wyranth back from Loveridge regardless. With Ivan's withdrawal, Rislandia regained the town.

At one point during the events in Loveridge, Zaira made an hour's walk back to the town: "It took me an hour's walk to make it back to Loveridge."

Current Status

Loveridge returned to Rislandian control following Ivan, the Iron Emperor's withdrawal of Wyranth forces as part of the ceasefire agreement during the events of The Iron Wedding. Its status has historically been subject to rapid change, and the population of approximately 3,000 is weary and cynical. The town continued to serve as a staging area for border operations.

In the short stories

In Tangled Web, the Liliana is grounded at the edge of Loveridge, in front of the forest. The town has no ever-burning gas lamps like Rislandia City's. It has a pub where Edwin Ral meets Thesally, and Dr. Metzengerstein's estate and barn lie in the forest outside town. See Minor Locations of the Short Stories.

In The Neverending War, Wyranth-held Loveridge is the Rislandian army's next objective after Greenhorne. Were-rats ambush Avery's platoon on the forest road between the two towns.

In A History of Rislandia

According to A History of Rislandia, Loveridge's founding date is Year 142, established by Rislandian expansion settlers, and the sourcebook records the Loveridge Conflict of Year 223 as the event that formally brought the settlement under Rislandian sovereignty.

The bible notes that little original architecture remains in Loveridge, owing to its repeated destruction and rebuilding across successive occupations. It records that stone walls surround the town, rebuilt after each destruction, and that watchtowers stand on the corners, supported by a small garrison of Rislandian soldiers — defensive features not described in the novels. The sourcebook also observes that Loveridge has developed a unique culture and dialect mixing Rislandian, Wyranth, and Wyn influences as a consequence of its contested history, and that locals joke bitterly about which flag to fly on any given day.

The bible records that The Liliana sat in Loveridge unable to fly for months following Zaira von Monocle's crash-landing in a field near the town on her first flight, during which time Harkerpal conducted repairs under cover of the heavily forested area. It also dates the grounding of the Liliana after the Second Battle of the Border River to Year 17 of the Rislandian calendar.

The sourcebook identifies Major Edwin Ral's encounter with the spider-woman hybrid in Loveridge as involving one of Dr. Metzengerstein's experiments, explicitly naming Metzengerstein as responsible for the creature.

According to A History of Rislandia, the children's warning tale The Goblin in the Well is particularly popular in Loveridge, alongside towns and villages such as Plainsroad Village.