The Freehold's seat of governance and its oldest surviving Hollow. The Hearthstone sits at the heart of the Interior, accessible through a carefully maintained Trod that begins near Government Hill. From the outside, it resembles a massive stone longhouse grown from the Hedge itself — thorned vines knit through granite slabs, and the roof is a living canopy of silver-barked trees whose leaves never fall. The entrance is a pair of iron-banded doors that open only for those bearing a Freehold token or escorted by a Court officer.
Inside, the Hearthstone is a single great hall dominated by a circular stone table where the Entente meets. Four chairs of distinct craftsmanship mark the monarchs' seats — living wood for Spring, scorched iron for Summer, carved bone for Autumn, and pale stone for Winter. A fifth, unadorned chair belongs to the Clerk. The walls are lined with the Freehold's founding oaths carved into stone, some so old the language has shifted. At the hall's center, a fire burns in a pit that has never gone out. No one tends it. No one knows what fuels it. It simply burns.
The Hearthstone is where the Changing of the Watch occurs, where Freehold-wide announcements are made, where oaths of Court membership are sworn, and where the Entente debates matters affecting all four Courts. It is not a casual gathering place — Changelings come here for formal business, ceremonies, and the occasional emergency assembly. The atmosphere is solemn without being oppressive. The fire casts warm, steady light and the acoustics carry voices clearly from any point in the hall, making whispered side conversations effectively impossible. This is by design.
The Hearthstone's wards are the strongest in the Interior, maintained jointly by all four Courts. Breaking the Hearthstone's protections would require a sustained assault of a kind the Scour has never mounted. The Freehold treats this as reassuring. Some in Autumn treat it as a data point that raises uncomfortable questions about what the Scour is actually trying to reach.