Given the long in this part of the North, I cannot help wonder if perhaps these towns grew out of older smuggler's routes.
Trade from the Duchy of Ten via Hanford/Midges is probably kept under tight control, while smuggling from Port Dacoit to Fel could allow smugglers to bypass Midges and transport goods via Dukane/Gloomy to Vestfold and beyond.
Dukane is also fairly close to the Westwood which could have some interesting implications for that town.
Obviously they might not have been much more than safehouses or tiny villages before the Afridhi invasions drove all of those Tenian refugees there. This would explain why published texts say they were founded by refugees, but at the same time give them a bit more of a "backstory".
Possibly there could even have been refugees fleeing there before the Afridhi invasion too, like escaped slaves, or opponents to the reign of the Ran of Ah'foo.
-Havard
_________________ Currently Running: The Blackmoor Vales Saga Currently Playing: Daniel S. Debelfry in the Throne of Star's Campaign
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