Junkarsborgin

Ruins of Junkarsborgin
The ruins of this once-mighty castle glower atop the flattened peak of Siilinjärvi, a steep, spruce-dotted mountain that rises about 6,300 feet above sea level in the central Rystyset mountain range in western Kotime.

History
Siilinjärvi and its surroundings have been the seat of power of House Vaarasta since the early days of recorded Elvish history. The warlord, Tuule - legendary daughter of Kalev the Hammerer, first commissioned a small ring fort on the peak of Siilinjärvi almost 12,000 years ago. In the strife-rattled centuries that followed, forts fell and rose again until finally, seven thousand years ago, Kaarle Kallio commissioned the great castle's construction. It was completed after his death, by his daughter, Liisu Vaarasta, the first of the line given the title Vaarasta from birth.

House Danger and its people made Junkarsborgin their home for all the centuries that followed until their ranks had been badly thinned by war, adventure, and the Curse of the Decline. With more of the family fighting in Waritu or seeing to defense of the coasts than maintaining their ancestral seat, the seneschal Heleena the Lonely gave the order to leave the castle and shore up the defenses of Jumala in the 584th year of the Curse.

In the half-dozen centuries since, the few remaining members of the Vaarasta family occasionally return to Junkarsborgin to celebrate family events, or mourn losses.

Airship Port
Recently, an agreement brokered by Lazer, the hero of the Jade Mask, with the duke of House Hopea has led to the creation of an airship way station on on the southwestern slope of Siilinjärvi, just a stone's throw from the castle ruins. With a grant from the silver house, the Vaarasta family and its retainers are working to rebuild at least the castle's great hall and some of the living quarters so they can host travelers, entertain guests and become relevant to Elven politics once more.