Pasloe

Pasloe is a small farming village within the jurisdiction of Earl Erhendott of Trenni and the starting point of Holo and Lawrence's first journey.

Location
The village lies in eastern Trenni and to its south is bordered by the Slaude River. By horse-drawn wagon, it is about two days’ journey from Pazzio to its west and a half-day’s journey from outlying areas of Yorenz to its east.

Economy
Pasloe's main crop and commodity is wheat. Recent improvements in agricultural technology and decreases in export tariffs have made the village largely self-sufficient and relatively prosperous. Though small, Pasloe seeks to become a major regional exporter of wheat by establishing relationships with powerful trading companies, including Medio Trading. This inadvertently pits the village's interests against those of Holo and Lawrence during the trenni silver currency speculation incident.

History
The village was founded centuries ago and shortly thereafter was visited by Holo. A young male villager befriended Holo and contracted her to improve the wheat harvest, leading her to stay in Pasloe for centuries. Consequently, much of Pasloe’s identity and development was linked to the local populace’s interactions with and perceptions of Holo.

Although Holo did not consider herself a deity and repeatedly warned the early generations of Pasloe that "the soil requires a price" for many good harvests, i.e., the nutrients used by growing wheat need time to be replenished, they dismissed her claims as the whim of a fickle harvest deity who needed to be feared, appeased, and controlled. When poor harvests inevitably resulted every few years in part from land degradation, Holo was blamed, leading to the local expression "the wolf ate the wheat." Later generations were aware of Holo because she would appear openly, but they were fearful and kept away. Hurt by such reactions, Holo eventually stopped revealing herself over the centuries. The collective memory of her thus passed into folklore and myth.

In the present time, Pasloe is still considered a pagan settlement by the Church for its historical worship of Holo. As such, the village is peripherally monitored by a nearby monastery to its east, but during the autumn harvest this surveillance is bolstered by a small contingent of knights due to supposedly pagan festivities. In actuality, although the myth of Holo remains an integral part of local customs, including the annual harvest festival, the population regards her as little more than harmless superstition at best and a heretical threat to progress at worst.

Notable Inhabitants

 * Chloe (anime only)
 * Yarei (light novel and manga only)