Marell

Marell is a town in northeastern Tihaka. Primarily a blue collar town, it is responsible for the production of lumber for the majority of Pantera. The folks in Marell live poorly in comparison to neighboring towns, and it is a prime location for criminal activity. Being a town that relies on the forest for life and work, Marell has a history of worshiping Mielikki, the goddess of forests, holding an annual autumn festival in her name in hopes to gain her blessing and protection. In the past couple of decades, there has been an attempt to proselytize the townsfolk to follow the ways of the goddess Sune, also known as the Lady Firehair. The first missionaries were nuns who renovated the local orphanage, in an effort to indoctrinate the youth and instill them with the values of Sune.

It is the location of the orphanage Kika was dropped off at after her discovery by Faelan.

Children's Home of the Lady Firehair:
In an effort to spread "civilization" to the eastern lands, a noblewoman by the name of Lady Blanka du Blois became a patron of the local orphanage in Marell. While the project was done mainly for vanity reasons - it makes for a great humble-brag at parties - Lady du Blois is also a devoted follower of Sune. The dogma of the Lady Firehair is to uphold beauty above all else: beauty in order, in art, and most importantly, in oneself. A follower's piety for the goddess is measured by their outward beauty and by the beauty they bring into the world through art, music, poetry, etc. The noblewoman often boasts that her unnaturally youthful appearance is the result of Sune's blessing, claiming that the orphanage has brought much beauty into the world and pleased the goddess.

Lady du Blois personally appointed Mother Elisa Elisabeta Fairbairn as the director of the Children's Home and Sister Martine Branislava Blom as its headmistress. The two women brought with them a small group of Sune nuns to help run the orphanage with a firm and unyielding hand, training the children in skills that are more valued in the capital than in the impoverished town of Marell. Children brought up in the orphanage under the matron's of Sune were taught to honor the Lady Firehair by bringing beauty into the world through their appearance and through artful creations. This attitude towards education priorities does not exactly jive with the blue collar town of Marell, and speaks more of the disconnect between the noble classes and poorer populations. Some locals suspect the orphanage has a nefarious purpose of training the children to become ideal servants for the noble class.