Aronburg

After all that yesterday, the first thought I had today was for a chase encounter in town...
But what about that town? What about the Lower Aron Valley? Is it Aronburg or Aronsburg? Critical questions, one and all.
Ok, I started out calling it Aronburg, so all the other references since that call it Aronsburg are erroneous. There's one question down.
It looks like the time has come to figure out what Aron's Bowl, Aron Valley, Aronburg, etc all are. Frankly, who is Aron? I'm not sure. When I started this out, I drew a map, liked the curling valley into the mountains that appeared, and realized it was a temperate region in an arctic setting due to volcanic activity and thermal hot springs. The valley looked like a bowl, and needed a name - Aron's Bowl. After that, it was just a distant destination. Now, we're nearly there.
This is an interesting look into the creative process. When I started, there was a blank piece of paper. After I drew the mountains, there was a valley and a town, a definite geography and history that appeared with the ink on the paper. It is revealed history, which I find fascinating because it feels like something that is understood from looking at the map, not at all something that is made up to fit a preconception.
For location, these mountains are far in the north. They are young, jagged peaks, steep and unforgiving. They are virtually impenetrable. But in the midst of all that there is a valley. The valley is fed by thermal springs, and is a temperate retreat in an unexpected region. Somewhere in the past, southern tribes headed into the mountains looking for their own space, and found a hidden paradise. They settled and created a small community isolated from the world.
Then the miners came. Dwarves and other human explorers filtered into the mountains skirting the valley and began prospecting. Due to the volcanic activity, their prospecting paid off. They found gold, silver and great mineral wealth. They naturally funneled into the settlement in the valley for supplies, food, and smiths to work their ore. In a short period of time, once word of the wealth to be found in the valley got out, the population of the valley swelled. But it swelled as a great mixing bowl of cultures, with humans, orcs, half-orcs, goblins, elves, dwarves and more pouring into the area to work in the mines, start their own mines, or profit off the riches of everyone else's mines.
The area that had started out as a refuge became a melting pot of lawlessness and discord. By and large, the various groups and business interests police their own areas, with a consensual low-key, hands-off view of the common areas. As long as no one gets too greedy or disruptive, no one challenges their petty criminal activity. So anything goes, as long as you can get away with it.
Lately, there has been a shift. More commerce is using the river, and connecting with sea ports and southern ports beyond via ship. This in turn is bringing more settlers into the region with an interest to profiting from the process. These have tended to congregate in the Lower Valley, south of the lake. As a result, Aronburg sprang up and has rapidly grown into the largest town in the area. Part of this is due to the organized construction and government of the town. It has led to farms popping up along the river between Aronburg and the fall from the Upper Valley.