Widow's Rise

Widow's Rise was a floating city located in the southern part of Raingate. It belonged to and was overseen by Meriahm Lausten. The city bolstered a thriving population, comprised mostly of refugees from conflicts in the surrounding lands. It was destroyed in a terrorist attack by Viserth Arenall and his Cult of the Resurrector, and the state of it is currently in flux.

The Lands and City
Widow's Rise comprised of three distinct locations: The Lausten Estate, the island itself, and the lands beneath it. It was located above the coastline, floating half over the ocean and half over the land.

The Lausten Estate
The Estate was the largest building, sitting on the side of the floating island that faced the ocean. It comprised of a library, a study, the dining room, kitchens, a veranda, a master bedroom, and three guest rooms.

The dining room was where Lausten entertained guests, most often dignitaries from foreign nations or from Raingate itself, or else her friends in the Senate. The wall with the door contained several portraits: Eillina Arenall, Alerey McOwen, Krow, Sarendo Vadoma, and most prominently, Thomas Lausten. The other three walls, which wrapped around the room, contained six windows, each with a design that tied to one of the six ministries of the Magus Senate of Dalaran. The table was hand carved, and every piece of furniture was made locally by residents of Widow's Rise.

The library contained only basic spellcasting, history, and political texts. Many of Lausten's rare books and private collection, fortunately, reside in the Meriahm Lausten Wing of the Academy Library at Raingate, and thus survived the attack in Widow's Rise.

The study, which was where Lausten did much of her work during the time she conducted the Foreign Affairs Ministry from Widow's Rise, contained three windows that looked down on her desk. One contained a stained glass image of Stormwind, another of Dalaran, and the third of Raingate proper. The smaller room was connected directly to the study, where great bay windows looked out over the ocean and Lausten could sit and reflect.

The Island
The Island of Widow's Rise itself boasted a population of around two thousand individuals. Many of those were tradesman or artisans, such as blacksmiths, leatherworkers, or painters. The town contained a tavern, as well as a tower for magi and offices for diplomatic relations. Lausten had hoped that Widow's Rise could be used as a negotiating ground for foreign conflicts, but sadly, she was unable to use it for this purpose. Small schoolhouses were scattered across the island, used for educating children of refugees and orphans. Orphanages were also located through the island, but these were located more towards the edge, which fortunately allowed most of their residents to escape when the island fell.

The Land Below
Widow's Rise floated half above the ocean and half above dry land. The coastline was used as a stopover between the lower Eastern Kingdoms and Keelshatter, but did not boast much trade or much in the way of shipyards or naval defenses.

Much of the land was dominated by refugee camps. At the time of the fall of Widow's Rise, however, the camps had spread far beneath the island, and farms had begun to spring up. This has allowed some semblance of economy to continue while recovery and aid efforts continue for the survivors.