Darkholmes
Darkholmes was a university town in northern England which was located at a nexus point in the Very Fabric of Time and Space. At times, the Very Fabric could wear thin, creating holes to other times, planets, and realities. (PROSE: Fellowship of the Ink)
Darkholmes was separated from Hexford by Hexford Woods. The two villages shared a newspaper, the Darkholmes & Hexford Courier, in the 19th century. In 1851, Andrew and Boolin crashed on the road between Darkholmes and Hexford. (AUDIO: The Broken Crown)
A slow river looped around the whole town, meaning Darkholmes was on a landform almost like an island.
One account indicated that the Smudgelings were based in Darkholmes, (PROSE: Fellowship of the Ink) although another indicated they were based in Cambridge. (PROSE: Mad Dogs and Englishmen)
The town was home to the University of Darkholmes, Hexford College, St Frances Cathedral, and Chimera. Reginald Tyler lived at 199 Steps Lane. The town had an old market which "reeked of dead poultry and fresh fish". (PROSE: Fellowship of the Ink)
Behind the scenes
Darkholmes originates from The Housekeeper, an unlicensed comic story written by Paul Magrs and published within a 2010 issue of VWOORP! VWOORP! magazine. The comic asserts that the village where Nest Cottage was located - which at that point had appeared unnamed in the Hornets' Nest series - was named "Darkholmes". The village remained unnamed in Demon Quest, but received "Hexford" as its name in Serpent Crest. Fellowship of the Ink referenced this by having Hexford College as a location in Darkholmes. The second story of Serpent Crest, The Broken Crown, mentions Darkholmes as being a neighbouring village to Hexford.
