irvan is a village in Carrick, in Scotland's south-west. It survives through a mixture of fishing and subsistence agriculture, and produces wealth for the Earl of Carrick in the form of hardy Galwegian cattle.
Notable Features
Girvan is the centre of a small parish, and possesses a well-built stone church dating from the time of Fergus of Galloway. Slaughtered cattle are usually brought to the village smokehouse for preserving, and their hides are taken to the small tannery on the north side of the river.
Girvan is also notable for the Olladh Stiom Paidh - the Great Circle of Justice, where the Earl, and the Kings of Galloway before him, come to pass judgement on major lawsuits.
Magic and Magi
Being only nine miles from Ailsa Craig, Girvan is the major point of contact between Alerock and the mundane world. Small boats ferry food, milk and leather, as well as supplies from further afield, at least once per week. The covenant has an unsettling reputation among the villagers, but the exotic goods that the magi offer in trade have brought some prosperity to those willing to row their fouraeringers out to the craig.
The Hairy Tree stands some way back from the shore. While the tree itself is an object of fear among the villagers, the collection of vis from the tree keeps faerie activity at the site to a minimum. Given that the tree is said to have been planted by a daughter of Clan MacArawn, and a cave in a nearby cliff leads to the warrens of the degenerate goblins, the activities of the magi are tolerated for the time being.
Notable People
Notable inhabitants of Girvan include:
- Ualraig Mac Rauf, headman of the village
- Father Aedwin, priest of the parish
