# Places # Temple Hill Temple Hill is a minor, but not not insignificant, point on the overland trade between [Bellgard](https://wiki.tkw.thewildstoat.com/books/places/page/bellgard "Bellgard") and [Kirenar](https://wiki.tkw.thewildstoat.com/books/places/page/kirenar "Kirenar") and [Bellgard](https://wiki.tkw.thewildstoat.com/books/places/page/bellgard "Bellgard") and [Voors](https://wiki.tkw.thewildstoat.com/books/places/page/voors "Voors"). Caravans pass through from time to time, and since Temple Hill is sort of the "last stop" before the frontier, travelers passing through Temple Hill are inclined to fix any problems they might have. They might pay to fix a wagon, they might trade a lame horse for a fresh one, they might buy new tack, etc. # Broadgarden The eastern most duchy of [Bellgard](https://wiki.tkw.thewildstoat.com/books/places/page/bellgard-country "Bellgard Country"). The central part of Broadgarden is made up of lowlands wedged between the mountains (to the north) and the sea (to the south) in a southern Mediterranean climate. Warm, wet air blows in off the ocean and hits the cold air over the steep mountains, turning into heavy rain. This in turn leads to many rivers and streams running down the mountains, slowing down across the lowlands, where the locals have learned over 500 years to create terraces and paddies. Periodically flooding these specialized fields allows them to grow rice in great abundance. Broadgarden produces something like 70% of all the rice found in the Known World. # Red Lion Tavern Tavern / inn located in [Temple Hill](https://wiki.tkw.thewildstoat.com/books/places/page/temple-hill "Temple Hill"). # Bellgard Country BELLGARD The city of Bellgard began its life as a castle built on the ruins of another castle to protect refugees and migrants after the Fall. As people found safety there, it grew from a castle to a town, and then to a city that became larger with every year. More and more towns throughout the South pledged their fealty to Bellgard, which could send companies of armored knights on horseback out to protect them. It is said that Bellgard was not always ruled by a Prince, but it is not said loudly, because the Florac family has ruled Bellgard for hundreds of years. As the city grew, the feudal system of government took hold across the South, with the Prince of Bellgard atop a hierarchy of dukes, earls, and knights. The economy of Bellgard can be summarized in one word: agriculture. All across Bellgard Country, crops are grown, animals are raised, and a majority of it is sent on to Bellgard City. From there, more than half the realm’s produce is picked up by the Callentan Fleets and shipped around the world. While most people of Bellgard Country are peasants, bound to the land and without rights, Bellgard the city has become extremely rich, crowded, and decadent. The city has also long been tightly in the grip of the Church of Helios, which dominates most of the realm’s nobility, as well. Recently, a terrible calamity struck Bellgard City: the Royal Citadel, a huge hill in the middle of the city which held the Royal Palace and the “city estates” of all the nobles of the realm, collapsed. Everyone on the Citadel at the time is presumed dead, including the Prince, almost the entire Royal Family, and most of the realm’s Dukes and Earls, along with hundreds of Helios Priests and thousands of Crusaders. The city is now in chaos, with neighborhoods turning against each other and street warfare rampant. The rest of Bellgard Country holds its breath to see who or what will assume control, and the rest of the Known World trembles in fear to think that their breadbasket has been ruined. A few notes about Bellgard the city: Sometimes called The Flower of the South. Population: 170,000 during ordinary times, rising to 225,000 during Market Seasons. Earth architectural reference: Carcassonne. Earth cultural reference: Languedoc France late medieval. Language: Westrud. Heraldry: White city on a green hill before a blue sky. Bellgard cultural notes: This is a feudal, medieval culture. Peasants, women, non-humans, and foreigners have few rights, if any, depending on the duchy in which they find themselves. There is no system of public education. Law enforcement is provided by the armed agents and appointed judges of the nobility, and it acts in their interest. The Church of Helios, the chosen faith of most of the aristocracy, is by default the official religion of the realm. Despite all this, many people in Bellgard live relatively comfortable lives. Bellgard has been at peace for over three hundred years, aside from petty banditry. Most of the nobles and aristocrats spend as much time as possible in Bellgard, as close to the Prince as possible, and so their subjects are left alone most of the time. In a country with thriving, abundant agriculture, few go hungry. Because most families have lived in the same spot for centuries, there is a musical culture kept alive by troubadours and a body of lore and stories preserved in an oral tradition. Bellgard military notes: Knights are drawn from the sons of the aristocracy and the occasional (rare) Warden who proves himself in heroic combat (or blackmails the right person). They are expected to provide their own arms, armor, horses, and squires. Wardens are recruited from the peasantry, lightly trained, and equipped with simple arms and armor. They are deployed to guard gates, keep order in the markets, and (in theory) patrol the roads. Levies are conscripted from the peasantry in times of need, though this has not happened to any great degree for centuries. In theory, they would be provided with spears and wooden shields. Bellgard mints its own coins, as follows: Gold Piece: Bellgard Royal (Royals) Silver Piece: Bellgard Noble (Nobles) Copper Piece: Bellgard Towers (Towers) Platinum Piece: Royal Prince (Princes). These coins are very rare, minted by command of the Prince or by request from a Duke, who must pay the Royal Mint for the privilege, usually to commemorate some special occasion. Bellgard is subdivided into Duchies and Earldoms. Please see below for more detail.
Duchy Royal Domain of Bellgard
Location The area immediately surrounding the City itself, including the City.
Ruler The Royal Domain is a Duchal possession of the Royal Family, traditionally Florac.
Notes Other nobles compete for honorary titles of vassalage within the Royal Domain. Only the oldest of old Bellgard noble families possess actual estates within the Royal Domain, which they guard fiercely. The principal roads through the Royal Domain, including the Great Western, the Old Eastern, and the Red River Road, along with the Red River itself, are legally not within the Royal Domain, but lie within the Prince’s personal Crown Estate. Notably, it is illegal to trespass within the Royal Domain, meaning that for a person without “business before the Prince or his Companions”, it is illegal to leave a road or the river and set foot upon the Royal Domain. The Royal Domain is an extremely conservative place, where worship of Helios is mandatory and the peasants are permanently bound to the land, forbidden to travel more than ten miles from the village green of the town of their birth. Since the recent deaths of so many of Bellgard’s people of quality, control of the Royal Domain has become a fraught question.
Earldoms Gaultier, ruled by Johannus II Gaultier. Brunel-The-River, ruled by Vicens IV Brunel. Morel Cross, ruled by Philip, the Morel. First Bridge, ruled by Guydone III Meur. Picharte Fountain Green, ruled by Stephan, the Picharte. Derval Close, ruled by Alain II Derval. Stag Park, ruled by Geffre IV Rouillart.
Other Prominent quasi-autonomous estates include Phillibert, Vesque, Bucard, Valesi. Crime in the city of Bellgard was dominated by the Quiet Men for many years, but the recent calamity may have damaged them beyond repair.
Duchy Copper Coast
Location Southwest of the Royal Domain, along the Copper Sea.
Ruler Duke Alain IV Jehan, one of the only Dukes not in Bellgard City during the recent catastrophe.
Notes Copper Coast is a beautiful coastal country with a western Mediterranean climate. It is known for fishing villages, olive groves, and vineyards. The earldoms are pie-slices, each beginning with a coastal town (the earl’s seat) and stretching out inland to the west. The farthest inland reaches are the cherished hunting grounds of many Bellgard nobles, but as the region destabilizes these woods have become much more dangerous.
Earldoms Southreach, formerly ruled by Victor Serere, now a protectorate of the Order Of The White Sun of Laeth. 2. Ben is reworking this one 3. Ben is reworking this one 4. Ben is reworking this one
Other The Duke’s seat, and largest town in Copper Coast, is Southwatch-by-the-Sea. Other notable towns include Pinebough and Winerunnel. The town of Verger lies mostly in ruins.
Duchy Western Marches (Westmarch)
Location The westernmost part of Bellgard, touching the Old Wilderness in the west and the Blackwall Mountains in the south.
Ruler Duke Baltasar II Faure, who probably died in Bellgard.
Notes A couple market towns, scattered small towns and villages, many hamlets. Westmarch is mostly about farming. Most nobles live in old castles and keeps at the heart of their domains. Duke Faure has not excelled in his duty to keep the land safe. The wilderness has encroached and things are falling into disrepair, even along the Great Western Road. The Faure family have kept Westmarch conservative and repressed, almost as much as the Royal Domain. Most inhabitants are peasants, bound to the land where they live and work.
Earldoms Faure: Home of the Duke's castle and family seat, and the town of Faurecastle, capital and largest town in the duchy. Farming and some mining. Controls trade with the rest of Bellgard. The domain of Duke Baltasar II Faure. Corkwoods: A sparsely-populated land primarily occupied with subsistence farming and maintenance of the cork oak orchards. Beautiful country, surprisingly dangerous. Coldstream is its only town.The domain of Loys Loulet III, Coldstream. Lowlands: Marshy and damp country primarily subsisting on fishing and the production of oats and wheat, mostly for export for use as livestock feed in Faure. At the edge of a great marshy lake is its only large town, Oarlock. The domain of Menjon IV Oarlock. Green River: The Earl's seat is the town of Alamant, second largest in Westmarch, at a bridge over the actual Green River. Disorganized farming and herding. Alamant is the central market town for the earldom. People have been living at the site of Alamant for a very long time indeed, and there are many stories and rumors about it - mysterious ruins, hidden crypts of ancient kings, etc. The domain of Dalmas VIII, Alamant.
Other Westmarch has been gradually failing for decades, and with the collapse of Bellgard’s central hierarchy it is anyone’s guess who will end up in charge here.
Duchy Broadgarden
Location Eastern Bellgard between the mountains and the Copper Sea.
Ruler Duke Bernard III Peyrot, who probably died in Bellgard.
Notes Incredibly fertile agricultural land - lots of sun, lots of rain, rolling countryside split up by canals and streams. Religious strife is brewing between the Voll and Varda worshiping peasants and the increasing Helios worship among the nobles.
Earldoms Peyrot, bordered by the Royal Domain in the west, the Copper Sea to the south, and the Pey River on the north and east. The Duke’s home domain, ruled from the port town of Peywash, at the mouth of the Pey. An enormous amount of fruit is grown throughout the orchards of Peyrot. The Duke personally controls huge vineyards known as the Peygarden. Rainsea, between the mountains to the north and west, the Pey River to the south, and the Rushwater river to the east. Great cloudbanks heavy with warm wet air blow in from the Copper Sea, slam into the cold air of the mountains, and become great rainstorms that regularly flood the region. This creates ideal conditions for growing barley, rye, and wheat, all of which are known for their Rainsea varietals. Rushford, a prosperous town where the Rushwater meets the Pey, is the Earl’s seat. The domain of Earl Gallmau III, Rushford. Founderwheat lies between the Rushwater and Pey in the west, the Stonewater in the east, the mountains to the north, and the Copper Sea. It is a very ancient place of human habitation, and the local tradition is that this is where humans first cultivated wheat. To this day, vast quantities of wheat and other grains are produced here annually. Arches, a very old town built around ancient human ruins, lies in the middle of the Earldom, nearly halfway between the Rushwater and the Stonewater, and is the Earl’s seat. The domain of Felix Francis II, Archworthy. Eastmarches runs from the Stonewater east to the Running Moors, the borderlands between Bellgard and Kirenar and Stillwater. It is extremely productive, black-earth agricultural land, and the locals focus on cash crops that can survive long voyages: root vegetables, gourds, potatoes, and onions. They also grow crops which can be fermented, and then ferment them in barrels over the long journey to market, like cabbage, cucumbers and beets. Finally, the signature product of Eastmarches is mead. Stonewash, at the mouth of the Stonewater, is a port town and the seat of the Earl. It is in many ways a rival of Peywash. The Earl Roland III, Eastamar.
Other Sharing a border with disorganized, isolated Stillwater and peaceful, prosperous Kirenar has allowed Broadgarden to pay little attention to defense or security for many years.
Duchy Great Red River
Location Due north of the Royal Domain, on the east bank of the river that flows south from Redpath to the Copper Sea.
Ruler Duke Petrus IV Dauhan, another Duke who survived Bellgard Citadel’s collapse.
Notes Rolling, densely-wooded hills give way to vineyards and pastureland along the River. Great Red River produces a great quantity of wine and cheese of all qualities. There is no serfdom in Great Red River, and the peasants have had more rights than in any other duchy for a long time. Towns and larger villages have Mayors, Eldermen, or Councils which share some of the local Earl’s power. Duke Petrus IV took the throne just months ago and has already demonstrated a taste for radical reform, including formal abolition of serfdom and moves to fully liberate the peasants. He has also formally recognized the various farming, ranching, and craft guilds, and has made great efforts to welcome non-humans to the duchy. Worst of all, though, is that he publicly rejected worship of Helios, and announced himself as a devotee of the Mother.
Earldoms All of the Earls of Great Red River were conservatives, and all were in attendance to the Prince when Bellgard Citadel collapsed. The new Duke took the opportunity to elevate younger heirs to the Earlships, including two women, the first Countesses in Bellgard for over 150 years. Oakhouse is the smallest Earldom in Great Red River, but relatively rich thanks to the town of Greatoak, which is the Duke’s seat and the central market town for the whole duchy. The domain of the Duke. Home also to the Stonehouse, one of the largest temples to Fusorin in all of Bellgard. Tunwater is home to a small town of the same name as its Earldom, with a huge cooperage, making barrels and shipping them around Great Red River to store wine, cheese, and whatever else fits in barrels. Newly the domain of Countess Bren, the Tunover, just 20 years old. Fouques-the-Bend is nestled in a huge curve of the Great Red River which was thoroughly deforested centuries ago and has been pastureland for cattle ever since. Called “Sunny Fouques” by many because so much of the rest of the duchy is heavily tree-shaded. Newly the domain of Godefroy, the Fouques. Whiterock is hill country in the northeast of Great Red River, rising up towards the mountains. It is also wine country, home to wineries that are centuries old. The wineries age and store their wines in caves dug into the sides of chalky limestone hills, which give the Earldom its name. The Earl - now, the Countess - rules from the town of Gladhall. Newly the domain of Sanceline, the Gladhead.
Other The new Duke is making great efforts to invite non-humans and other foreigners to visit Great Red River, and a small but growing number are choosing to settle there.
Duchy Elkwoods
Location North of the Royal Domain, on the west bank of the Great Red River.
Ruler Duke Fortho Coran, who probably died in Bellgard.
Notes The duchy of Elkwoods consists of a long stretch of cleared land along the Great Red River, and then mile after mile of dense forest. The forest is pierced by Coran’s Roads: wide roads kept free of tree growth by roving bands of loggers. Islands of cleared land are found here and there, where human towns are built. Along the river, Elkwoods raises a great quantity of wheat. Inland, the serf-like peasants clear-cut woodlands for timber, trap and hunt animals for fur and meat, and operate two large iron mines. The Coran family has always been very conservative, and the various heirs of Duke Fortho are fighting over who will inherit the right to raise the alarm about Dauhan’s reforms in Great Red River. Meanwhile, they have inherited Duke Fortho’s push to increase logging throughout the duchy, which is spurring conflict with local druids.
Earldoms Corandom: The entirety of Elkwoods’ Great Red River shorefront lies within the Coran domain. The peasants, bound to the land, raise wheat and live short, difficult lives. The Corans live at Coran Hall, their keep in the town of Ironfort, named for the iron mining that made the Coran fortune. Non-humans, with the exception of Runini, are forbidden from entering Ironfort, and even Runini are not permitted to walk the town’s streets after dark. Hornwood: The first earldom west of Corandom. Huge stretches of the forest here are kept as game preserves for the nobility. The peasants of Hornwood either serve the ruling Edwulf earls, or eke out a living as subsistence farmers. The domain of Fritigern III, Edwulf. Twohills: The next earldom to the west brags of not one but two separate iron mines. Both are primitive, even ramshackle affairs, deadly to the miners and inefficient in their production, but compared to lumber they are profitable. The mines are owned by Coran, and the local Retemer earls merely keep them in trust. Everyone who isn’t a miner toils in vast logging camps and struggles to farm enough to survive the winter. The domain of Valin IX, Retemer. Beremud: The saddest of Elkwoods’ domains and the most dangerous. Decades of poor management by the absentee Andagis earls have resulted in over-logging, crop failures, and a growing swamp that has begun to engulf Augiston, the only substantial town in the domain. The local druid has had enough, and has begun ambushing lumberjacks with packs of wolves and bears. The domain of Aorid II, Andagis, who died in Bellgard without a clear heir.
Other A very conservative land, Elkwoods is generally unfriendly to non-humans and other foreigners, and women or youths traveling alone risk being claimed by a local strongman.
Duchy Northern Reach (Northreach)
Location North of Elkwoods and northwest of Great Red River, Northreach marks the very northern edge of Bellgard country, giving way to wilderness and eventually the Cantons of Parashkanan.
Ruler Duke Galhard II Lonsat, who died in Bellgard. His son Sarus has yet to claim the crown.
Notes Northreach is built on herding. The Elk Forest thins out across Northreach as it stretches towards the Eagle Moors, leaving vast open meadows through which the locals rotate herds of sheep and cows. Northreach exports salted mutton and beef, wool, and leather. Settlements in this duchy are built around vast pens, huge, old slaughterhouses, and vast, ramshackle tanneries.
Earldoms Eagle’s Range: The most northerly of the earldoms is claimed by the Duke, and it sprawls around the fortified town of Eagle’s Watch, originally a fort built to protect Bellgard from Parashi incursion. Now, the town boasts a large Parashi community, which includes one of the largest populations of Graditeli in all of Bellgard country. Eagle’s Watch has evolved from an isolated fortress to an important market town, and thanks to merchants from Parashkanan the people there enjoy a higher-than-average standard of living. The Duke’s personal fiefdom, but the first Duke Galhard elevated his Marshal to the rank of Earl and gave him authority over “the Range” and part of the rents. Thus, Sarus will share this domain with Hachulf Thorismud, Ranger (his created name, not a class or profession.) Elkwander: The domain bordering Elkwoods, lightly populated, with most citizens living in the roadhouse town of Wanderway. Wanderway, originally a dirt track and a barn, had the good sense to build an inn fifty years ago. This made it a useful stopover for Parashi travelers headed south, who welcomed the chance for a comfortable bed and decent meal before heading into Elkwoods. Wanderway now boasts temples of Elenath Wayfinder, Fusorin the Measurer, Varda the Keeper, and the seasonal gods, who are favorites of many Parashi. Domain of Clement III, Waywander. Broadfields: The largest domain by land area, a vast stretch of meadows and grasslands broken up by small forests. The herders of Broadfields consider the forests in their land sacred, and will not cut them or allow them to be cut, except when trees grow well into the grazing lands. Little happens in Broadfields that isn’t devoted to the sheep, cows, and goats. The one town, Tanner’s Hill, is dedicated to tanning leather and salting meat. It does not smell good. Domain of Radulf III, Stonefence.
Other The Dukes of Northreach have been absentee rulers for two generations, but the officials they left behind to govern on their behalf wisely faced the reality of their position. They embraced the merchants from Parashkanan, they opened their doors to non-humans, and they downplayed the Church of Helios in favor of the churches that helped to keep their populations healthy and (relatively) thriving. It is yet to be seen whether Sarus will embrace this “progressive” approach or command a return to the “traditional” Bellgard ways.
# The Voorlands THE VOORLANDS The land of Voors is found in the cold northeast of the Known World’s principal continent, a country of steep mountains, windswept steppe, and vast taiga forests of spruce and pine. According to Voors Land Of Heroes, by the Archon Champion Grigori Kuzimka, the Voorlands is the true home of humanity, “The wellspring of all princely blood.” Whether or not this is true, it is widely agreed that the city of Voors dates to before the Fall. The city of Voors is built inside a gigantic canyon in the foothills of the Karulak Mountains. Only the very tallest towers of the city peek out over the canyon walls; the rest of the city is built on a series of terraces hacked out of the canyon over the centuries. Streets run in switchbacks back and forth along the terraces down to the canyon floor. For centuries, the people of Voors have dug mineshafts perpendicular to the canyon, and as the mines are exhausted they are roughly converted into housing, creating neighborhoods that never see the sun at all. In fact, few citizens of Voors ever see the sun. The city thrives on mining and smelting, coal and iron, lead and tin and steel; this creates a vast cloud of smoke and soot that more or less permanently shrouds the canyon. Property near the top of the canyon, where you might sometimes glimpse the sun, is phenomenally expensive and essentially reserved for the ruling class. Everyone else lives down below, in the dark, beneath the eternal smoke. Worse than living beneath the smoke - as far as the Voorish aristocracy is concerned - is to live in the provinces, far from Voors itself. The city is everything: culture, wealth, status, power. To the aristocracy, the provinces mean mud, cold, and filthy peasants. Voors is ruled by the Champions Court, the Archon Champions (who have accumulated many other names as well): wielders of the Champion Swords, bearers of the legacy of the city’s founders. They decide what is lawful; they grant (and withdraw) titles of nobility; they take what they please. Beneath them, an aristocracy scrambles and grapples with itself for more status, power, and money, in an environment where the strong take what they can and the weak accept what they must. Voors is traditionally the rival of Kirenar and dominates Martens. The City of Voors: Sometimes called The Shrouded City. Population: 180,000 in winter, 160,000 in summer. Earth architectural reference: Moscow State University, Moscow Metro. Earth cultural reference: Late 1800s Imperial Russian. Language: Voorish. Heraldry: Black hammer and white sword on interlocked grey background. Voorish cultural notes: Voors is a Hobbesian “paradise”, a constant battle of all against all, where the strong get away with what they can and the weak suffer what they must. There are many laws, but the question is always “will someone try to enforce them?” Every Voorish citizen must constantly calculate: If I do this thing, will I draw the attention of someone stronger? In Voors more than anywhere else, the flower that grows the tallest is the first to be cut down. Theoretically, anyone could strive to become an Archon, to ascend to the Champions Court, but at every step along the way, the contender would have to do battle with every other contender. None of this crab-bucket struggle is apparent to the casual observer, as long as that observer has money. Come to Voors with money, and you’ll find a thriving society of well-off, cultured aristocrats who speak two or more languages and study music, literature, and religion. There is a social season of banquets, balls, and parties; a ready supply of theater; and a vivid parade of fashion. Come to Voors without money, though, and you might very well find yourself enslaved. Voors has no laws protecting anyone’s rights or freedoms, and one can become a slave simply by being forced into enslavement. No one will come to save you. Most of the mining in Voors is done by the enslaved, and several merchants do a brisk trade selling slaves to foreigners. Voorlanders generally consider humans superior to all other species, and they consider themselves to be superior to all other humans. This leads to hostility towards outsiders, especially non-human outsiders, and so very few non-humans are to be found in Voors. Even the Graditeli of Ladkovacnigrad, an ancient trading partner of Voors, tend to avoid the place. The Voorish aristocracy: Aristocratic titles in Voors are not formalized. The Archons might anoint one man a Count, another a Baron, and another a Duke, just to watch them fight afterward about who is ranked the highest. Despite this, the most common title is simply “Lord”, and the most common “title of rank” is “Count”. These titles are not inherently inheritable; a man must make sure his son is ready to protect what he inherits, lest it be seized by a rival. Voorish military notes: Voors maintains the only standing army in the Known World: the Helots. Over the centuries, the army of Helots has varied in size, professionalism, and effectiveness, but for over ten years it has been led brilliantly and effectively by General Vaden Raab. Raab is a serious military man, and the scion of an ancient Voorlander family wielding great political and economic power, to boot. He seized the leadership of the Helots during a border war with Martens, achieved a swift victory, and used his momentum to rid the army of many corrupt and incompetent officers. Now, Raab has built the Helots into a very tough and professional fighting force, and they love him for it. Raab’s Helot army includes infantry, cavalry, and artillery units, as well as a division of elephant cavalry and a company of sappers recruited straight from the mines. It is rumored that Raab himself has resisted calls from within the Champions Court to take the army to war. Voors mints its own coins, as follows: Gold Piece: Zolots Silver Piece: Serebs Copper Piece: Kotels Platinum Piece: Borets (a rare coin, used by the aristocracy as proof of their higher birth.) Voors is subdivided into the City and the Provinces. Please see below for more detail.
Domain The City of Voors
Location In the east-central region of the Voorlands, in the foothills of the Karulak Mountains.
Ruler All of Voors is ruled by the Archons, the Champions Court. Local government is carried out to varying degrees by local tyrants. The city of Voors is ruled directly by the Archons, via decrees carried out by their Heralds.
Notes Voors is a great, dark, smoke-wreathed city, a place of violence and greed, layers and layers of both streets and cultural strata. The streets are patrolled by the personal guards of the various aristocrats and the Helots with their signature half-plate and halberds. The whole city rings with the sounds of hammer and tongs from the mines and smithies, and the wealthy live behind thick walls and heavily-curtained windows to drown it out. Various small villages dot the plateau surrounding the canyon where Voors sits. These settlements house foreigners and non-humans who are unwelcome in the city proper. From time to time, groups of aristocratic young men will ride out from the city to raid these villages, and so those with the means to do so build thick walls and stout gates.
Lords Marek Ozarko, one of the most prominent Archons. Pavel Vorony, another prominent Archon. Casimir Luchenko, a prominent Archon and arch-mage. Yvan Pryzhoda, a prominent Archon and favorite of the Church of Helios. Vaden Raab, General and commander of the Helot army.
Other Voors exports metal ingots, finished metal products (especially weapons and armor), and slaves. The city produces almost no food of its own, and depends on a ready supply from the Provinces and huge imports from Bellgard. By far the most powerful criminal organization in Voors are the Red Hands. It is rumored that the leader of the Red Hands is called Seldom Seen. More obscure rumors hold that “Seldom Seen” is a title, not a name. Even more obscure rumors, whispered as quietly as possible, claim that the role of Seldom Seen is passed around among the Champions Court.
Domain The Province of Greater Voors
Location In the east-central region of the Voorlands, in the foothills of the Karulak Mountains, in the uplands surrounding the city.
Ruler The province surrounding the city is ruled by lords who are being punished by the Archons. This is barren land with but two potential resources: mining, and taxation of overland trade. Both are prohibited to the nobility and reserved for the Archons themselves, so being made lord of Greater Voors is a fool’s errand. The current fool is Viscount Lev Sava Vashuta, last survivor of the Vashuta clan, the rest of whom were put to death for suspected rebellion. He is gradually losing his money and his mind trying to govern this province.
Notes Greater Voors is a stony, windswept, dry and frozen steppe, running south into Vereskii and north into the Karulak Mountains. Nothing will grow here except moss and scrub. It is dotted with little fortified villages to house foreigners who have business in Voors but cannot live in the city for whatever reason.
Lords Lev Sava Vashuta, previously content to be a third son, now the sole survivor of his family, with no idea what to do next. Soltan Tereshko, living openly as a Lord of the Red Hands, gently and almost apologetically extorting fees from overland merchants.
Other Any man, woman or child who sleeps outside in the lands around the city will be taken by ghosts. It is known.
Domain The Province of Riabinin
Location North of the city of Voors, between the Karulak Mountains and the Grey Sea.
Ruler Grand Duke Hosha Naumenko Lavryn rules from a bleak fortress on the slope of a mountain looking out over the forest of ash and poplar trees that reaches down the slopes and across the land to the seashore. The Lavryn family solidified their power generations ago by dealing plainly and fairly with the Graditeli of Ladkovacnigrad, earning themselves great wealth through trade. They also operate Lavrynto, the largest seaport in the Voorlands, that is the primary Voorish port of call for the Callentan fleets. Once a year, the Lavryns pay the Red Hands of Voors to ritually assassinate a few of their rivals in Voorish politics.
Notes Riabinin is one of the greener stretches of the Voorlands thanks to the forested land, but produces too little food to export. The Lavryns do, however, maintain several lumber mills that export timber in the summer and firewood in the winter. The largest concentration of mills is in the town of Vratsa.
Lords Hosha Naumenko Lavryn, Grand Duke, a clever man from a ruthless family. Oleshko Olbrycht Lavryn, Duke of Lavrynto, responsible for managing trade with the Callentan fleets. Khata Naumenko Lavryn, sister of the Grand Duke, secretly responsible for maintaining trade with the Graditeli of Ladkovacnigrad.
Other It is rumored that the Grand Duke allowed his younger son, Elkin, to be educated and trained as a mage in Ladkovacnigrad. If true, this is a gigantic cultural faux-pas in Voors.
Domain The Province of Travinto
Location West of the Karulak Mountains and running west for hundreds of miles to the borders of Martens. A frozen tundra in the winter and a slightly-less-frozen expanse of mud in the summer.
Ruler Count Gavrilo Ragozin Oliunov rules from the fortified town of Glupyi, along the Glupyi River on the southern border of his domain. From there, he and his knights ride out across the tundra in search of peasants to hunt. He is the third Oliunov ruler of Travinto, and believes like his father and grandfather before him that the key to keeping his position is keeping the province under control. Therefore, it is in his interest to punish the peasants before they have a chance to do anything wrong, on the principle that if left alone they will misbehave and draw the ire of the Archons down upon him.
Notes Travinto has virtually zero economy. The peasant villages can barely grow enough food to support themselves, and Glupyi depends on raising and selling mediocre horses to Voorish merchants. The wealth of the Oliunov family comes from clever investments in Callentan shipping and (more recently) slave export, with the proceeds shrewdly banked with the church of Fusorin.
Lords Gavrilo Ragozin Oliunov, Count of Travinto, a thorough bastard in his 60s. Nikita Vnukov, most senior knight in the Count’s service. A tyrant in his own right. Molodoi Veraksin, a knight who loves nothing more than to ride back and forth across Travinto, slaughtering his own peasants.
Other The most western stretches of Travinto are haunted by the ghosts of the many Martensen knights who died there during the last Voors-Martens border war, ten years ago. The western village of Lom has seen an accumulation of priests of Laeth over the years, all seeking to help the spirits find rest.
Domain The Province of Polynka
Location Southwestern Voorlands, bordering southern Martens and much of the Stillwater Marshes.
Ruler Count Dimitri Stepenko Stupoi is the most recently installed provincial lord, and was surprised with the post after his predecessor died when his castle mysteriously burned to the ground. Count Stupoi currently governs from a flotilla of flat-bottomed boats which he is using to travel the province in a campaign to re-establish order.
Notes Polynka is the wettest part of the Voorlands, laced with rivers running out of the Stillwater Marshes and down from the Martens Lowlands. These rivers wind through rolling grassland and steep, shadowy hill country, pooling here and there into lakes and swamps. There is some productive farmland in Polynka, enough to provide some wheat and barley to Voors each year, but the province has been so poorly governed for so long that the farms produce less than half what they could. The locals have many folktales about spirits haunting the waterways and wetlands. Every few decades, the church of Helios gets sufficiently angry about this to send a small detachment of priests and Crusaders to hunt and kill monsters. They mostly end up hanging peasants accused of witchcraft. Following the death of the last provincial governor, Baron Vasyly Afanas Afanas, who died without an heir, the people of Polynka began to rise up in defiance to the rule of the Archons. Count Stupoi actually has a brain and half a heart, so he is approaching his new rule with caution.
Lords Count Dimitri Stepenko Stupoi, newest lord of the province, relatively young and experienced with the wider world. Mikhailo Chudin, a former knight, now the de facto leader of the peasantry in the westernmost part of the province, centered on the town of Veliko. Secretly affiliated with powerful foreign forces. Sitnikov, a druid who has chosen to stand up and make her presence known, teaching the eastern peasants how to raise more bountiful harvests and begin to resist the Archons and the church of Helios.
Other It is rumored that Baron Afanas, the last ruler of Polynka, spent his last days sending messengers to the Archons pleading for aid. With what, or against what, is not known.
Domain The Province of Vereskii
Location South of Greater Voors, east of Polynka, north of Kirenar, with the Grey Sea to the east.
Ruler Duke Laurentii Krivoi Viskovyati, the second in his family to govern Vereskii, and probably the last.
Notes A sprawling, grassy steppe inland, rolling down to salt marshes along the coast. The dying culture of nomadic tribesmen still spends their winters in Vereskii and their summers in Travinto. The Voorlander peasants live in motte-and-bailey villages with walls of mounded earth. If overland trade with Kirenar was still possible, the town of Verbovskii would be quite wealthy, but in the absence of that trade it is a half-empty, pale place, watching over a vast muddy ditch meant to mark the border. Tiny hamlets dot the coast, serving as homes for fishermen and hideouts for smugglers. Once, it was said that grain from Vereskii fed all of the Voorland. This has not been true for thirty years.
Lords Laurentii Krivoi Viskovyati, who inherited the lordship from his unwise but lucky father. Laurentii is neither wise nor lucky, and between his political ineptitude and his gross mismanagement of the province, he is probably going to be replaced soon. Tokar Tur, technically a knight, in practice effectively the mayor of Verbovskii. It is only thanks to his leadership that the town is holding together. When Duke Viskovyati is replaced, Tur will probably take the blame for the province’s decline, and be executed.
Other The peasants of Vereskii joke that you could walk from Verbovskii in the south to Zagora in the north by stepping on the heads of hidden scouts from Kirenar, and never dirty your feet by stepping on the ground.
# Callent CALLENT “Here is a brave country.” Callentan legend has it that these were the words uttered by the first Baron Callent when he spotted the island that would become his home. Now, these words adorn the Callent Harbor gate, through which the crews of ten thousand ships pass every year, bearing treasure from across the Known World. Every year, regular as their namesake seasons, the fleets of Callent circumnavigate the continent, stopping in every port, trading with every merchant, and carrying every type of cargo, serving as the swiftest, most reliable, and most efficient mechanism for transporting goods from one corner of the world to another - thereby effectively creating the world’s economy. But it was not always thus. Callent rose up from nothing, and despite all its economic clout has never sought independence from the Kingdom of Wellen to which it belongs. Very few know the true story of Callent’s rise, and if you ask any three Callentans they’ll tell you five different stories about it and swear each one is true. But if you ask the Runini - if you very politely ask the Runini - they’ll tell you a story that goes something like this: About a hundred years after the fall of the Sarnathan Empire, the green farm country along the west coast of the continent was in turmoil. The farming villages were being torn to shreds by ravenous monsters, inexplicable demons that showed neither mercy nor reason. The farmers fell back, fleeing the threat, dying in droves. But they were saved when a band of knights arrived from the mysterious east, who rode out against the monsters and cut them down. Saved, relieved, the farmers thronged around the knights, and pledged themselves in service. By popular acclaim, the leader of the knights - named Wellen - became King, and all his companions became his Barons. King Wellen founded Wellenhall, and each of his Barons went off to found their own keeps and towns, where the farmers resettled. One of the knights was named Callent. Always one to keep his own counsel, he did not claim a barony on the mainland, but instead made his way to the coast along with a small band of followers. There, on a broad sandy beach with an elm forest behind them, Callent taught his followers how to build a ship. Soon, they set sail. No one knows if Callent sailed by faith alone or if he had some secret knowledge that guided him. But within a few days, his ship came in sight of a great isle: cliff-walled, mist-shrouded, ringed by gleaming beaches and topped with an emerald-green forest. “Here is a brave country”, he said, and they made landfall. The Runini also tell that as Callent and his people built their settlement over the months and years that passed, from time to time the Baron would send a ship back to the mainland, where his sailors would find a company of pilgrims waiting on the beach to be taken to their new home. How the Baron knew where to find these folk, or how the pilgrims knew where to wait, none can say. But as time passed, the island’s population grew. Callentans come from many backgrounds, but as they say, “the island makes us all seafarers”. The island might play a part, but there is no question that the Barons Callent took a hand, as well. From the beginning, the Barons supported the building of ships and encouraged their people to learn the sea. Fishing, pearl diving, and exploration have all had a hand in Callent’s growth, but it was trade that really built the island. Callentans threw themselves into seafaring, pledging themselves to Voll the Sea-God and befriending the Parya - the world’s greatest shipbuilders and sailors. It was Eamonn, the third Baron Callent, who introduced the innovation that would transform the barony. Operating a merchant ship could be profitable, but building one was expensive and time-consuming. Worse, it had become apparent that there was a need for a great many trading vessels. The Barons Callent never believed in forcing their people to labor, and they lacked the treasure to pay for the fleet that was called for. Eamonn, Baron Callent returned one day from a very long hike into the island’s mist-shrouded hills with the answer. Eamonn created a system whereby any number of people could band together into a company, and thereby assemble the funds, resources, and labor to build and crew a ship. Perhaps ten woodsmen might each earn a share by contributing the lumber; ten carpenters by cutting and shaping; twenty laborers by the laying of the hull, decks, and mast; thirty villagers by signing on as crew; and two widows by contributing the gold needed to buy supplies. Eamonn bought a share in each ship for himself by contributing copies of the very best maps and charts. At last, each ship and her company were listed in The Admiral’s Roll, published in Callent City for all to see. The people of the island embraced “the company way” wholeheartedly, and very quickly, Callent had her first merchant fleet. By the next year, that fleet had completed the very first circumnavigation of the continent by human sailors since the Fall, and that fleet returned to Callent with the profits of their voyage: an enormous bounty, divided out amongst the barony by share. Callent’s prosperity has only grown since. The City of Callent: Usually called “Callent Harbor” by the seafaring Callentans. As opposed to “the island”, meaning all the land and villages outside the city. Population: 125,000. Earth architectural reference: Valletta, capital of Malta; also southern Spain, see Cartagena City Hall. Earth cultural reference: seafaring cultures: Portuguese, English, Danish, colonial New England. Language: Westrud. Heraldry: white ship with three white sails, sailing east on a background of dark sea and light blue sky. Callent cultural notes: Callent is ruled by the Baron, who shares his power with the House of Captains, the House of Charts, and the Mayors of the various villages that dot the island. Men and women are considered equal by Callentans. Non-humans are welcome in Callent, and many members of the non-human species make their homes on the island and often serve in the Fleets. Almost every Callentan owns at least a small share in one or more ships, and at least a quarter of the population has served at least one voyage around the continent as crew. This shared experience binds the barony together culturally. The primary religion of Callent is the worship of Voll, the Sea God. Callentans also worship Elenath, goddess of knowledge, Fusorin, god of craft, the Three Gods of birth, life and death, and to a lesser extent, Varda, the god of agriculture, and Corvanus, noble god of war. The worship of Helios is practically unknown on the island.The Priesthood of Voll is pervasive in Callentan society, and accepts responsibility to minister to the hearts of the people, reminding them to be explorers and not merely merchants. They also perform most ceremonial or ritual functions. Callent cherishes the music of fife and drum - instruments that travel well and can lead a dance. Callent and Wellen: Callent is a Barony within the Kingdom of Wellen, paying annual tribute to the King in Wellenhall. Now that Wellenhall is held by goblins and kenku and the King and all his known heirs are dead, what comes next is anyone’s guess. Callent military notes: Callent maintains no formal military. Villagers are encouraged to train with the longbow and most Captains require their crews to train with the short sword, as a matter of community defense. A small company of knights, the Harbor Guard, protects Callent City itself. Callent does not bother minting their own coins because that would be ridiculous. The population of Callent is primarily divided between the City, the Island, the Summer Fleet, and the Winter Fleet.
Domain The City of Callent
Location Built around a broad natural harbor on the lower, flatter, southern tip of the island, about 150 miles from the coast of Wellen.
Ruler Bran III, Baron Callent, has ruled for over twenty years. He is fifty-two years old and has dedicated much of his reign to building stronger ties with non-human leaders. The House of Captains, a popular assembly open to anyone who is Captain of a Callentan ship, serves as a school, a debating club, a marketplace, and an archive. The body regularly produces petitions for the Baron’s review, and have come to take this work so seriously that the Baron considers their petitions quite carefully. They are, in effect, a form of legislative assembly. The House of Charts began as a library of navigational charts, but eventually grew to become a library of arcane lore as well. From there, it became a school for wizards. They employ the scrying arts to provide the Baron with news from around the world, and often provide advice along with their news.
Notes The City has become an even more cosmopolitan place of late, and many Callentans are now learning the joys of Parya cuisine, Salainen clothing, and Graditeli craftsmanship. As the population grows, a debate is also growing about whether to let the City expand on the island, or whether to establish Callentan settlements in other places. But where?
Famous Folk Cuan Dunlang, Voice of the South Wind: leader of the Speakers for the South Wind, a group of healers and scholars who advise the Baron and protect the Barony. Agnes Briand, Voice of the North Wind: leader of the Speakers for the North Wind, a group of mystics and scholars who advise the Baron and protect the Barony. Bardiya Adarvan, ambassador from Saryasta Asraya, who has held that position for over three hundred years. Beloved by the locals who celebrate his birthday every year. Thunder’s Voice Morberga Siggi, priestess of Voll, leader of the Storm’s Wind faction, which believes that Voll is trying to warn the people of great danger and tribulation ahead.
Other On windy days, City-dwellers love to fly complex and colorful kites from the rooftops. On rainy days, children of all ages race toy boats through the gutters and sluices that draw water off the streets and away from the city center. When ships dock in the harbor, gangs of “cryers” run through the city to announce the news from street corners, reciting any trade goods listed for sale.
Domain The Island Country
Location The rest of the island of Callent; outside the city.
Ruler The whole island answers to the Baron, but each village outside the City has its own Mayor, who is held accountable by the Baron for the well-being of the village. Mayors are chosen by the popular acclaim of their fellow villagers. Being Mayor is generally regarded as an endlessly difficult job, and usually falls to those particularly moved by love for their neighbors.
Notes Callent’s countryside is heavily wooded and hilly, so most agriculture operates on a small scale, on the order of gardens or plots big enough to feed a village but not big enough to allow for export. Springs hidden in the rockiest of hills create streams which wind through the island and become modest rivers before reaching the sea, and these rivers are lightly fished for small, delicious trout that are only eaten once a year. Aeryll, the fifth Baron Callent, invited priests of Varda to the island, and since then the disciples of the Farm Father have helped guide the villagers in their use of the land. The average Callentan village is small, with a population of less than a thousand, and there are around a hundred of them.
Famous Folk Ystradel Llydanwen, Chief Druid of Callent. Ystradel, who looks to be at least 80 years old, tells people she was living on the island as an owl when the first Baron Callent arrived, and insisted that the Mother allow her to return as a human. The last three Barons have made it a rule to seek her permission before taking any trees for ship-building. Clara Cristofini, Parraturri of the Vocinabbia. Clara leads the Runini population on Callent, who travel from village to village as performers, bearers of news and tales, and merchants of the peculiar. The Vocinabbia tribe left the mainland fifty years ago at the invitation of the then Baron, and were quickly woven into Callentan society. Clara is famous across the land. Alexander Colmain, Captain of the Ready Wander. Colmain returned from the last sailing of the Winter Fleet convinced that the Known World is headed for war and disaster. Since then he has campaigned to convince more Callentans to learn to fight and sign up to crew ships, because “the world will need us sooner than you think”. He is a familiar figure in the country as he travels from village to village. Hungry Jim, an elderly itinerant vagabond who wanders from one village to another. Widely regarded as a master storyteller and probably secretly a wizard, Hungry Jim is always made welcome and offered room and board. Those who welcome him in always report good fortune after his departure. Voll’s Queen, a mysterious woman spotted from time to time by travellers in the island’s northernmost hills. She is said to appear before great storms, standing on the northern cliffs and gazing out to sea, chiding her husband and reminding him to be kind to the island’s people. A woman of indeterminate age, with long silver hair, dressed in a white gown, sometimes with a staff of yew.
Other From a distance, it might be possible to mistake Callent’s villages for their counterparts in Bellgard or other lands, but up close the differences are plentiful. The houses are spacious and snug, with glass in the windows and tall brick chimneys. Horses, carts and ponies are plentiful. The villagers themselves are well-dressed and well-fed, generally happy, and free. The difference is that every village in the barony reaps rewards from its investment in one or more ships of the fleet, and so their livelihoods do not depend on the fickle harvest. Moreover, the Baron taxes very lightly, and there are no other lords to support. Children in the villages grow up chasing around the gardens and through the misty woods that surround them, listening to tales of bravery at sea from their neighbors and family.
Domain The Summer Fleet
Location Abroad upon the ocean from Newgreen through Home each year, in port Highwinter through Stormwinds.
Ruler Admiral Olivar Arsendis has led the Summer Fleet for eleven years. He is soon to reach the end of his twelve-year term, and the Captains are competing to see who will succeed him. Admiral Arsendis has embraced the Baron’s mission of growing closer to the non-human peoples of the Known World, and often hosts dignitaries upon his ship, the Bright Endeavor. Once he retires, he plans to travel to Saryasta Asraya and spend time visiting his Parya Surya friends.
Notes The two hundred ships of the Summer Fleet leave Harbor once the last of winter has blown away, and round the Cape of Kirenar as harvest festivals begin. The ships of this fleet are lean and fast, the better to transport fresh produce from the southern ports to the rest of the Known World, and then race home. It is traditional for Callentan sailors to make their first circumnavigation in the Summer Fleet.
Famous Folk Captain Ramon Augusti of the Big Lazy Duck, who makes a point of taking on as many first-timers as possible on each voyage. Callentans who sail with Captain Augusti learn seamanship, history, and how to play the fife. Giles Heymann, Navigator to the Bright Endeavor. A wizard, an astronomer, and a mathematician, Heymann is widely hailed as a genius. He is also hailed as “HEYYYYY-MANNNNN”, which is what the crew of other Summer Fleet ships call out as they sail past the Admiral’s ship. Blusius Kawlokala, a representative from a Metsa Salainen town on the Parashi western coast. Called “Bluesy” for short by the entire fleet. He lives aboard the Bright Endeavor but spends his time hopping from ship to ship, interviewing sailors towards a book he plans to write. Mabellia Ethnard, Speaker for the South Wind. A woman nearly seven feet tall with a huge shock of red hair, famed among the fleet for being able to summon any type of beast, fish or fowl to her aid. The sailors tell stories about seeing her talk with whales and gulls alike. She technically has a berth aboard the Bright Endeavor, but is often found sleeping in the crow’s nest of some other ship in the fleet.
Other Among the Summer Fleet, there are no rules for what gender a sailor might be, and the crews all tend to be mixed. Each year, about fifty of the fleet’s ships load up with foodstuffs at Bellgard and turn back to sail to Callent; this is called the Home Squadron. The Home Squadron is used to train new sailors. A few ships in each Summer Fleet pick up no trade goods at all, but instead save room for the inevitable pilgrims waiting in each port to be taken to their new lives in Callent.
Domain The Winter Fleet
Location The Winter Fleet sails from Festival through Stormwinds each year, and is in port Newgreen through Midsummer.
Ruler Admiral Constance Veltran, who is widely seen as being in her prime at 60 years old with seven years of her tenure remaining, leads the Winter Fleet. Two years ago, she led the Fleet to defeat a horde of pirate vessels off the Ruestorm Banks, along the continent’s north coast, thereby becoming the first Callentan admiral in fifty years to fight a major sea battle. Since then, she has insisted on double the traditional amount of combat training for her crews. Her ship, the Black Dragon, takes on no cargo; all the space in its hold is reserved for fighters.
Notes The purpose of the nearly three hundred ships in the Winter Fleet is to gather up vast quantities of grain, barrels of wine and ale, and other less-perishable goods from Bellgard, and disperse it across the Known World while winter descends. Publicly, people of the northern lands call it the “bread and beer” fleet; privately, the rulers of those lands call it the “salvation fleet”. Voors runs out of its locally-grown grain by Midwinter, and without the grain from the Winter Fleet, would have starvation by Stormwinds. The ships of the Winter Fleet are big, heavy, and less nimble than those of the Summer Fleet, because they must transport huge amounts of bulk cargo through the gales of Highwinter.
Famous Folk Duran Carrada, Speaker for the North Wind, advisor to the Admiral. The crew of the Winter Fleet watched Speaker Duran weave powerful, confounding illusion magic to deceive and mislead the pirates during the battle of Ruestorm Banks, and since then have held the otherwise quiet, serious man in very high esteem. Captain Huc Namaria of the Tall Blow has somehow befriended a 300-foot gray whale which swims with the fleet along the north coast of the continent, and seems happiest when Huc descends into a small boat to be closer to her. Admiral Veltran’s position is that when Voll and the Mother send you a sign, you should pay attention to it, and so she does everything possible to enable Huc and the whale to spend time together. Baron’s Astronomer Roberta Baldovi has served with the fleet for five years, compiling an incredible log of sky observations. It is known that she was introduced to the Admiral by the Baron, and rumored that she has a secret mission on his behalf. She is a shy, tiny, adorable woman who wears huge Graditeli-made spectacles that make her eyes look enormous; despite her glasses she is constantly tripping over and dropping things, but thanks to the crowd of lovelorn sailors that are never far from her side, her clumsiness rarely has consequences. Aldo Greenwood, called “Prince Aldo” by the other sailors to his great embarrassment, distinguished himself in the battle of Ruestorm Banks by rallying the crew of a beleaguered Callentan vessel and leading them to turn the tables on the pirates around them. It is widely agreed that he will be made a Captain sooner than later.
Other Life in the Winter Fleet can be very difficult, and those who sail with it form the kind of bond that only arises from shared hardship. The Admirals of the Winter Fleet try to prevent sailors from getting “stuck” with the Winter Fleet for too many years; the hardship they must endure can harden hearts over time.