Uffering

Region
Reach
House
House Uffering
Type
Castle
Status
Completed
Warp
/warp uffering
Project Lead(s)
Elduwin
Date Started
March 20, 2017
Date Completed
March 20, 2017

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House Uffering is a noble house from the Reach. The Ufferings trace their ancestry back to Andal adventurers given lands and wives by the Three Sage Kings of House Gardener during the coming of the Andals to the Reach. Their seat is a fortified island, standing in Uffering’s Bay. Located west of Highgarden, along the Ocean Road, it’s surrounded by the Houses Stackhouse, Westbrook, Graceford, Wythers and Ball, and facing the Shield Islands. They border the northern shore of the Mander’s mouth. Their lands are famous for the salt pans spreading in the salt marshes.

They blazon their arms with oak and iron paly, beneath a white chief with seven green hands.

Few members of the House are known. Ser Rolland Uffering, the fourthhusband of Lady Rohanne Webber, died in the Great Spring Sickness. His sister was the simple and pious Lady Helicent Uffering.

Features

  • Uffering Island - castle and town: The seat of House Uffering is standing on a small rocky island, in the middle of a bay facing the Shield Islands. The castle was firstly built as a fortified septry, but then grew as the seat of the ruling House. A network of tunnels is spreading under the castle. The small harbor allows longships to trade with the Shields, but larger vessels are forced to stay at bay. A town is prospering below the castle. The island is accessible by foot only on low tides, when a sandy path is uncovered by the sea (/warp uffering & /warp uffkeep);
  • Salt Pans: In the salt marshes surrounding the island, and spreading on the shores of the Mander’s mouth, House Uffering has built salt pans, becoming a major salt producing site. They make the pride of this minor House, and the proximity to Highgarden allows regular trade with the Tyrells (/warp uffering & /warp uffmander);
  • Flax Farm: A flax farm stands not far from Uffering island, near a small stream irrigating the flax fields. Linen is produced there, and then dyed in a dying facility, closeby (/warp uffflaxfarm);
  • Village on the Ocean Road: Upper on the river flowing in Uffering’s bay, a village is spreading close to the Ocean Road. Last settlement before reaching Highgarden, merchants and travelers coming from the Westerlands can stay in the warm and comfortable inn. The market hall is often filled with supplies and goods from the fertile lands surrounding the village. Orchards, pastures and fields are stretching as far as the eye can see, with a few windmills in the distance (/warp uffvillage);
  • Cidery: North of the village, a cidery is producing a strong cider from the apple orchards of the lands. The production is rather modest, but is appreciated by the House, as the wine is usually produce for the Tyrells (/warp uffcidery);
  • Two Bridges: The Westbrook river marks the boundary between House Westbrook and House Uffering. The Ocean Road was going through an old bridge to enter Uffering’s lands, but, with the support of their overlord, the Uffering Lord has led the building of a new bridge, larger and safer, up to the Ocean Road. A tower holdfast is standing above the bridges, securing the path (/warp uffhf2);
  • Quarries: Several quarries have been providing the nearby Houses, and with the building of a bridge downriver, they have been more and more used (/warp uffquarry);
  • Uffering Septry: In those lands touched by the power of the Faith, a septry has been established long ago to rule over the northernmost lands of House Uffering. In the hillside and surrounded by dense forests, this large septry is iconic and is home to a few dozens Brown Brothers, producing inks and books to perpetuate the Faith’s knowledge (/warp uffseptry);
  • Small Holdfast: On the eastern border, before entering in Holyhall lands, a small holdfast is guarding a few houses gathered near some fields (/warp uffhf3);
  • Logging Camp: The dense and wild forest of Uffering is actually spreading from Ball, to the South, to Red Lake, to the North. Oaks, maples, birches, beeches, cottonwoods, the multiple trees make this forest very interesting for this logging camp located not far from Highgarden (/warp ufflogging);
  • Vineyard: A few hundreds meters from the Ocean Road, not far from the Tyrells’ seat, a large vineyard is built, overlooking a lake. The rolling fields of grapes are producing a rich and fruity wine, directly sent down the road to the cellars of Highgarden (/warp uffvineyard);
  • Border Holdfast: As a border post and marking the entry into Highgarden lands, a holdfast stands on the Ocean Road. Below, along a small river, several troglodytic houses have been spreading (/warp uffhf1);
  • Isolated Manor: Isolated in the forest, and not often used, a manor is standing on a hill between Uffering’s vineyard and main village. The Uffering Lords go to this country residence when traveling or as a retreat, in case of sea-side attacks on the island, from Ironborns most of the time (/warp uffmanor);
  • Mander Village: Separated from the rest of the lands by a long stretch of forest, this village has been prospering on the northern shore of the Mander. It is surrounded by a patchwork of fields. The harbor is fit only for small fishing boats that can navigate through the marshes. A channel connects the harbor to the Mander, with several more salt pans on both sides (/warp uffsouthvillage);
  • Mander Marshes: The northern shore of the Mander delta is filled with large marshes, where fishermen search for mussels, clams and other seafoods. These ships don’t navigate too far from the delta, and prefer to stay safe in the smaller channels. A small lighthouse is built on rocks, on the northernmost tip of the delta (/warp uffmander);
  • Dunes and Pine Forests: The western coast of Uffering is famous for its high and long dunes, stretching for several hundreds meters along the beach. The pine forests are closing Uffering bay, and are the habitat of many game animals, such as pheasants, partridges, rabbits, etc. (/warp uffdunes).

Construction

Elduwin, 7JG7 and SseriousBusiness first applied for the project in early 2017. After discussions, the last two left the project, and Elduwin continued the application on his own, and was approved in April 2017. The project was officially completed on March 29th 2020.

Approving mods were Emoticone11 and Thamus_Knoward. When Thamus stepped down as a mod, he was replaced by Wazgamer in October 2017, himself replaced in August 2019 by WhereRmyDragons, due to another demotion.

The style was rather new for the region when the project started: white-washed and clay-tiles, and was reproduced in neighbouring projects like Westbrook, Holyhall, Stackhouse, Red Lake, Ball…, producing a cohesive atmosphere in this large region of the Reach. The dense forest stretching in all these lands connected it all.

A special dedication to MargaeryTyrell, who brought a lot to this project and assisted greatly with everything, and to CashBanks for his amazing work on terraforming the Mander delta.

Inspiration

The island and castle inspirations are the Mont Saint-Michel, from France.

Several locations of the French atlantic coast were used for the lands and coasts of Uffering lands: Charente, Normandie, Aquitaine, etc.

Videos

In February of 2020 the Viggoman Plays channel visited Uffering in a video