Campaign created Tuesday, March 9, 2010 04:51:35 AM by Kamarathin

Do you have what it takes to make it rich in the Waterwood? How about just staying alive?

Duchy of Viron
Current Ruler: Duchess Ora
Capital City: Rilesley
Languages: Highlander is the most common, but if the language can be found around the Kingdom or along its borders it will be heard in Viron. The most variety of tongues will be along the Nirian coastline.

Major Resources: Decorative wood spices and rare herbs from the Water Wood while coal, quarried stone and iron ore are pulled from the Geninor Hills.

Religion: The Old Faith is far and away the dominant religion. A few small Asunite churches can be found, mostly in the larger towns along the Nirian Sea alongside a few of the foreign temples.

Racial Mix: Much like Nan, this duchy is very diverse and if a race can be found within the Kingdom or its neighbor countries, then it can certainly be found here. This duchy also boasts the largest population of Bezzi.

Overview: The Viron Duchy is a land of jealousy and a land of old wounds. Caught on the border of east and west it straddles the desire to grow and become more prominent in the political machinations of the kingdom. All the while it nurses an open sore along its eastern border, the Blood Wall.

Duchess Ora is a woman of deep emotion and a passionate student of history. Her desire to eradicate the Order of Garren wars with the knowledge that to attack them is to seal her duchy?s fate and lose her heritage.

Torn by indecision she sits within her familial Manor plotting and cursing the fate the spirits have given her. This venomous mindset has poisoned her children as well; her two daughters Nidriss and Jayn vie for the affections of their younger brother Robriss who is clearly their mother?s favorite and despite the laws of heritage will certainly inherit the duchy when their mother passes on.
This has turned the House Viron court into a mirror image of the days of King Jonnah, where incest and decadence ruled and the common folk bore the brunt of the tangled plots, assassinations and political maneuverings.

Those who enjoy the deadly games of nobles have been drawn to Viron like moths to a flame. Shifting allegiances are the only guarantees and the common man is wise to keep his eyes down and his doors locked.

Sadly, the Duchess?s hatred of the Garrenites and her venomous stagnation has drawn the attention of the very Order she so despises. Lord Dunthan?s agents have been spying on the Viron nobles for awhile now and it is only a matter of time before he brings his findings to either Archbishop Nidean or King Maslen. Neither will result in anything good for House Viron.

Other rumors surround the port cities of this poisoned land claiming that a dark cult has taken root, one that brings forth the Resurrected and fills the dead with spirits straight from the Aether. The truth of these rumors can only be guessed at, but they are just another of the laundry list of woes that are coming to the fore.

Linermian Barony
The Linermian Barony lies along the north-eastern border of the duchy. The Waterwood forming its western border while the Nirrah Hills and the Plague Wall form its eastern side. The northern tip is created by the Waterwood and Nirrah Hills joining together and the southern expanse is occupied by a stretch of rocky land covered in sparse deciduous forest.

Lead by Baroness Jealin of House Linermian the barony relies almost completely on exports of spices and rare woods from the Waterwood. The trade here is lucrative and attracts the boldest of merchants which also means the worst of the lot come along with them. Bandits, smugglers, poachers and rogues of all stripes rub shoulder to shoulder with mercenaries and caravan guards.

Landless nobles try their hand at the lucrative spice trade hoping to regain or acquire extraordinary wealth, most become victim of scams, muggings and of course, the swamp itself.

Disease is a common killer, spreading from the inexplicably warm Waterwood into the bodies and wounds of the unprepared. Even the flora and fauna of the massive swamp will kill or maim. The biggest threat within the boughs of the Waterwood, however, are the Bezzi. Many of the diminutive people make a living as guides and scouts for the merchants and river traders, but there exist dozens of tribes of the little buggers and those still practice cannibalism.

The towns and villages that reside along the 'Wood (as the locals call it) are seedy affairs that cater to the baser needs of the local "adventurer". Brothels, taverns and drug dens vie for space alongside temples of religions from near and far. Merchants hawk their wares from temporary stalls or make arrangements with the more "service" oriented businesses to work together. This has provided for unusual partners where a merchant will setup shop on the ground floor while a drug den and brothel run the rooms upstairs.

These towns are wild places where what law exists will be brutal and often "final". Writs of Carriage are so commonplace that they no longer carry any significance and most don't bother with the attempt. Noble titles only make for more likely targets and unless you're a member of the towns ruling elite, it's often best to keep your noble lineage to yourself. One such town is Fiona's Ferry.