pre-TNESIII: The Once and Future Thread

Dualism is a bit cliche, and if Monotheism isn't winning out, I'd back Polytheism

I spent the evening working on improving my mapping skills with NK. And listening to Frozen, God help us.

Here's a preview of the new and improved borders. Elmings, Seon, Nuka, and Masada are on there. Now that I have the system down, mostly, drawing should be easier from here on out.

Tomorrow I'll make a final decision on religion, since anyone who hasn't voted is clearly too apathetic to care. Also, I'll post up the template for approved players to start detailing things, which will then be auto-magically transformed into the starting stats. Bombshoo, Golden, Amesjay, and any other interested parties still have plenty of time to submit an application.

Then I'll add holdings to the map after people make their templates, continue detailing NPC's and culture, and hopefully we'll be on track to launch in around 2 weeks.

I'm going to hold off on final religious determinations for a bit so I can talk to The Strategos, though I'm confirming that we will be going with a Polytheistic Mystery Religion. One or two more tweaks to the template and then people can begin filling it out over the weekend.

I have added a new trait, (-2) Wroth.

Here's a description of a remnant Fennacht clan that will be in the central mountains. This is their legend; you can decide for yourself how much of it is true. And yes, the normal point rules do not apply to this gentleman.

Clan U Seor

The Cairyn River was once a place of still, ancient woods, where the high kings wrought their great magics before eyes of the god and the spirits.

But that came to an end with Athsar. The two hundred foot trees were burned, and the people, when they marched forth with eyes of fire, fell on the endless spears of the iron men. They cut down the trees, and they chained the men of Fen and Glaer, and slew the ysberyd who had been sent by God to protect the world. Dragons, they called the murdered guardians, and made of their bones a trophy. Later, a new people came, different from the Athsarach, more human. They too had tribes, and for a time, the grey men and the red men worked together to cast out the Athsarach.

All of the land within twenty leagues of the sea was to belong to the grey men for what they had done. It was considered a fitting payment, and the people were foolish enough to think that their allies would be content. But Athsar had been content to chain, and to rule. The grey men were worse. Far worse. They wanted to plant. They crept in, and in, and in, and a thousand little wars were fought as their lords claimed the land with stone and pretended it was theirs.

Finally, the people of Fen and Glaer rose. They were not foolish as they had been before. They forged arms, and forged armies. Four high kings bathed in the blood of a virgin sacrifice, and swore to drive the grey men and their gods back into the sea. And they failed. Where the red men had passion, the grey men had patience. They let the rage wash against their castle walls. Athsarach snakes too served them. The war was lost. The groves and grottos were burned or profaned, and the people were driven in in every which direction.

Many of the men of Fen and Glaer swore to the U Gallac, who sought to build himself a hall of stone and live like a grey man. Most of the other clans, though they resented him, emulated him, and foolish clans that still cling to the western moors do so only because they are grey in all but their eyes, even as they squabble amongst each other.

Those who were left fled into the deep mountains. The whispers of the ysberyd guided them, showed them caves full of bright glowing mushrooms and echoing chambers of whistling rock. Most of the people died. But those that survived were hardened like an ash spear left in the flame.

The Old Seor leads them, the one who has not forgotten the old ways. A dozen knights have marched into the mountains to try and claim his head, and never returned. It is a little thing to suffer their raids; what else do the grey men build their castles for? Their great lords are not foolish to lose a thousand trying to claim his poor land and worthless hide. If they did, they would simply give him what he wants, a roaring death and a bloody sacrifice.

The Old Seor (M, ?)

(+3) Master [Hammerer]
(+2) Hardy
(+1) Skilled [Swordsman]
(+1) Skilled [Wrestler]
(+0) Pious
(-2) Wroth
(-3) Crazed

The Clan Dugallach​

​

I am Daidh Dugallach, the third Ymherador in the service of the Greyling king. My grandfather, the Lord Clansman Cormac Dugallach II served the Ymherador Taegarch of Achdirmac in the days of old. My grandfather was a wise man, unlike the king he served, and when Achdirmac and the other kingdoms of the Red Men rose to fight off the Grey Men and all their sacrilege, my grandfather counseled peace. Foolishly, the Ymherador Taegarch ignored him, and began a futile and bloody war which led only to ignominy and defeat for our proud people. My grandfather was a loyal servant to the Ymherador and fought in his hopeless, terrible war, losing so many of his faithful kinsmen and three of his own sons in that bloodbath. When the Grey Men slew the Ymherador Taegarch, my grandfather gathered the lord clansmen in one of our land's many sacred places and convinced them to speak peace to the Grey Men. This is the story of how my grandfather, Cormac Dugallach II, came to be the Grey Man's Ymherador.

There are those who still say that my grandfather delivered our people up like sheep to the slaughter, into the hands of a hateful and tyrannical foreigner, and was rewarded by the Grey Men for his cowardice and duplicity. Men that say such things are foolhardy and hot-headed, like so many enemies of our ancient and noble clan. My grandfather, unlike my father after him, was cunning like the fox upon our banners and knew the meaning of leadership. So many of our kinfolk dead, our armies scattered like leaves, he sought to preserve our homes and our ways in the face of the terrible adversity and the Grey Man's terrible vengeance. In doing so, he spared our people a thousand torments. Great men are seldom admired in their time, and so my grandfather had many enemies, and built himself a great fortress in the style of the Grey Men to withstand the sieges of his enemy's armies, and to guard against the daggers of their assassins. This was the Red Keep, ever since the epicenter of our great clan's power and authority. Sadly, not long after his Red Keep was finished, my grandfather died of age and the wounds sustained in the Ymherador Taergach's foolish war. Our cunningmen gave him a proper funeral in the old way, burning his corpse in the great hills and depositing the ashes in the ancient and hallowed burial cairns of our ancestors. His mausoleum, like so many holy places in our land, I visit often as is my duty and privilege.

My father, Eanraigh, ruled bloodily and with an eye to impress. Shamed by my grandfather's surrender to the Greylings, he sought to reassert the power and majesty of his crown, and consulted often with strange and cruel-minded cunningmen who advised him poorly and endangered our leadership in the eyes of the Grey Men. Always fearful of reprisals and uprisings, he earned himself the moniker of the Mad Fox. The only good thing to be said for the man is that he built many fortresses and strongholds both large and small throughout the land to cow his bannermen into submission, and compel the fear and respect of the smallfolk. In his old age my father's already loose grasp on sanity began to slip further, and the realm grew restless. My father was a pious man, well versed in the Faith and our God of Fire, Wood and Stone. He called for his cunningmen, and they attended him constantly. I knew that the leader of these cunningman, the one who called the spirits to attendance in the Mask of Fire, was wresting the leadership of the realm from my father in his dotage.

So, I killed him. And then I put my dear father out of his misery, and blamed both these foul deeds on our clan's enemies. This is how I, the Young Fox, rose to the throne of the Ymherador of the Red Men of the Fennglaerd. I called a moot of my clansmen thereafter and censured the names of my father's murderers, and under my rule, we cast them out from their halls and placed their heads on the block of our executioners. In their killings there was the Red Man's justice, dispensed by the Red Man's Ymherador, and no Greyling was ever asked for permission. My younger brother grew suspicious in these early years, and so I made him my chief adviser, and bought his loyalty with titles, honors and land. They call him the Gold Fox now, for the jewelry he wears in sick and miserly imitation of the Athsarach merchants the Grey Men hold in servitude in the east. I have my own cunningmen now, as loyal as they are skilled in calling the aid of the Red God. It has been ten years, and I have ruled well.

I am Daidh Dugallach, Ymherador of the Red Men, the Lord Clansman of Dugallach, Lord of the Red Keep, Servitor of Fire, Wood and Stone, the Young Fox. You may kneel.

Daidh Dugallach (41) - The Young Fox, Daidh succeeded his much disliked and distrusted father as Ymherador of the Red Men under dubious circumstances. He was quick to identify his father's killers as the Clan Dugallach's disloyal bannermen. He had these clansmen publicly executed and seized their land and their halls, doling them out as favors to political allies and buying the loyalty of his younger brother, the so-called Gold Fox. Daidh has quickly earned a reputation of pragmatism and measured leadership, marked both for his generosity and magnanimity as well as his incredible cruelty to his enemies. A politically advantageous marriage produced several children, to whom Daidh is a dubious father, preferring to delegate to his wife and court servants. The exception to this rule is his eldest son, Murchadh, whose upbringing has been almost entirely a product of Daidh's plans for his succession. Whether this has made him his father's loyalest servant or greatest detractor varies with the weather. Pious in similarity to his father, Daidh is in good standing with the advocates of the Red Faith, the Fennacht religion of the God of Fire, Wood and Stone. Feared among his enemies, respected among his clansmen, the Young Fox is the most capable Ymherador since his grandfather.

+8, -4 = 4

(+4) Heroic - Cut a very dashing figure in armor and with red, fox-covered banners when he cut down his father's supposed killers and scattered their armies
(+2) Smart - Very intelligent in terms of book-learning
(+2) Clever - A good reader of people and a natural strategist
(+0) Cynic - Not very optimistic about the world or its inhabitants
(+0) Amoral - Perhaps his moral compass is just a tiny bit skewed
(+0) Pious - Has a very... interesting relationship with his court cunningmen and the Red Faith in general
(-1) Temperamental - Has been known to have fits of anger
(-1) Dishonest - He might have lied, just once or twice
(-2) Cruel - Perhaps the punishments he has visited on those who have displeased him have been rather extreme. Also overly-fond of using cunningmen as glorified hangmen and torturers

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Raghnaid Dugallach (38) - Sometimes called the Broodmatron, opinion among the clansmen is divided as to whether Raghnaid is as dangerous as her husband. The daughter of one of Daidh's father's more doubtful supporters, Raghnaid was married to Daidh when she was 17 and produced three children for her husband in quick succession. Influential in the management of the realm, Raghnaid is seen with her husband as often as the Gold Fox, and is a fixture in the Red Keep's throne room. Though she takes a more active role in raising the children than Daidh, she still delegates a great deal to handmaidens and the like. Sometimes the respect that is paid to her by her husband borders on the equal treatment of a professional relationship, and those enemies of the Ymherador who remain brazen and hale (few as they are) sometimes suggest their marriage is wholly without intimacy.

+5, -1 = 4

(+2) Clever - Just as apt at reading people as her husband. Perhaps moreso
(+2) Attractive - Still pretty young, still really pretty. There is a definite coldness and edge to her beauty, however
(+1) Handy - Good with a needle and thread, as befits a Red Woman, though she's rarely seen doing any kind of domestic work
(+0) Patient - More even-handed and capable of biding her time than her husband
(+0) Cynic - Very hard-minded about the world, probably because her father wasn't the most consistent man
(-1) Distant - It is sometimes very obvious that she is not genuine with people other than her husband, but she can fake it to some degree

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Amlaigh Dugallach (39) - The Gold Fox, Amlaigh was always the more dutiful and loyal son, even if Daidh was marked for greatness. His title is not a prideful or even laughing matter with Amlaigh, who has begun to resent the treatment his brother lavished on him upon becoming Ymherador as having been design to patronize, blind and embarrass him. His fondness for the fashion of Greyling lords and uselessness at court has not ingratiated him to his brother's bannermen, and even if he thought of himself as his brother's closest adviser, he is beginning to wonder if his brother listens to him at all. Conspicuously, still unmarried.

+8, -2 = 6

(+2) Attractive - Very good-looking for an unmarried man
(+2) Kind - Generous and magnanimous, and without an edge
(+1) Skilled - Good horseman. Again, for an unmarried man
(+1) Friendly - Easy to get along with
(+0) Moral - An upstanding guy in most respects
(-1) Vain - Very, probably too, aware of how good-looking he is
(-1) Homosexual - He gay

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Murchadh Dugallach (18) - The eldest son, Murchadh has grown into adulthood an attractive, capable, angry young man. In many ways, he is his father's son, and values the old man's advice highly. In other ways, however, he is desperate to step out of his dad's shadow and assert himself as an independent person.

+4, -4 = 0

(+2) Attractive - A fetching youth
(+2) Clever - As intuitively smart as his parents
(+0) Cynic - Just as cold-minded as his parents, too
(-1) Temperamental - Not good at managing his anger
(-1) Arrogant - Well aware he is the son of the Ymherador
(-2) Rebellious - It's getting to be kind of an issue now that he's older, he has a disturbing tendency to disobey orders

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Asgall Dugallach (16) - Middle child, quiet and intellectual in comparison to his brother and parents, so extremely smart and extremely quiet. In childhood he acquired a limp. Not at all debilitating, but not great for his self-esteem by any means, and not great at stepping out of the shadow of his favored-for-succession older brother. Enjoys a close relationship with his younger sister.

+5, -2 = 3

(+5) Brilliant - Very, very smart
(+0) Patient - Good at waiting and biding his time
(-1) Distant - Has a hard time forging close bonds with people
(-1) Shy - Has a hard time even talking to people, really

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Floraidh Dugalach (12) - The youngest child, an increasingly curious and assertive girl. Gets along well with her older brother, Asgall, though this isn't to say her relationship with the eldest Murchadh is awful or anything.

(+2) Attractive - Growing up into a decent-looking Red maiden
(-1) Dishonest - Catching the family lying disease at a young age

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Map comes later. I'm just so glad I managed to poo this out. God of Fire, Stone and Wood, Grey Men out of our hood! sweg2k14

Nice work, LoE. Really nice. Template should be up later tonight for you guys to work on over the weekend.

Here's the template!

House Name [Player]
Sigil / Words: [Your house’s symbol, colors if it has any, and motto if it has any.]
Lord: [Your lord's name, gender, and age.]
Heir: [Your heir's name, gender, and age. Assume Agnatic-Cognatic succession where possible, though exceptions are tolerated.]
Family: [In a spoiler, include your character descriptions and traits using the character creation system.]
Retainers: [A brief listing of the smaller houses that owe you fealty. Feel free to include their character descriptions and traits in a spoiler.]
Allies/Rivals: [Are any of your neighbors (or even retainers) particularly friendly or unfriendly? Have you clashed with any of the great houses in the past, or do you have marriage ties?]
Sources of Income: [A brief description of your economic activities. Are you particularly rich or poor?]
Holdings: [Briefly describe the towns, castles, and other important lands under your domain. Include an attached map in a spoiler.]
History: [In a spoiler, describe your noble or ignoble ancestors and their accomplishments.]

Much of this can be populated with the information you've already provided.

I was filling out a blank template for House Elming to give you an idea of what's required, but it turns out I left my computer charger at school like a dumb idiot, so I don't have time to finish it before my computer dies. Hopefully I'll have it back tomorrow. But by all means, begin filling out your templates, and don't rush to complete them.

House Raskakalle [Masada]
Sigil / Words: Raven on black / All in service to honor
Lord: Lord Ulrics "Father-Hammer" Raskakelle, male, 32
Heir: Lord Elrus Raskakelle II, male, 9
Family:
Retainers:
Allies/Rivals:
Sources of Income:
As one of the oldest houses in the land, the Raskakelle are large landowners, although much of it is suitable only for sheep and cows. The waters around Hahndel are also famous for their herring and cod. These provide some revenues. But a larger share comes from the handicraft industries that cluster in Hahndel that turn salt the fish, weave the wool and fashion the leather into fine saddles. As Hahndel has grown, Athsarin merchants have begun to stop over to purchase the finished goods. There also exists a number of smaller iron and lead mines in the more remote reaches but these are left alone for the most part.
Holdings:
History:

Here is the template for your overlords. Or at least, the nominal overlord for most of you. I'll label the holdings map later.

House Elming [NPC]
Sigil / Words: Three crossed swords on a grey field. "The sword not tempered."
Lord: King Rædrik III Elming "The Even" 85 (M)
Heir: [Disputed] Princess Cyneleth Æriksdar "The Red Lily" 27 (F) / Prince Cirwyn Deorsen "The Greyhound" (M, 57)
Family:Retainers: The whole of the southern kingdom.
Allies/Rivals: The House of Elming has repeatedly intermarried with House Ulk, the royal house of the north; depending on the generation this can make them friends or enemies. Houses Hartwell, Daufing, Siegaesc, and Raskakalle are considered to be the most loyal of the bannermen. House Aurené is a polarizing new high house that many at court see as a mistake. The intentions of Clan Dugallach are not trusted.
Sources of Income: By ancient custom, the king levies a tax on salt from the lesser lords, and a more recent reform has added a special surtax on imports from foreign lands. But even without these payments, the king is one of the wealthier landholders of the realm. The royal lands of House Elming consist of the rich, fertile lands of the lower Tammer, and the rockier highland coast to the east. Grain and fish are the primary exports, as well as manufactured crafts from Yyredin. Timber and stone are the main imports.
Holdings: History:

I'm going to give you guys 10 days to complete all of your template information. It shouldn't take you that long! So, please have your templates done no later than 9 July.

Of course, I'm still hoping that bombshoo, Golden, and some other possible interested parties like Strat or Crezth will make a new submission as well, in which case they'll definitely be accommodated. Otherwise, I'll make a few large NPC houses that people can jump in and claim as they like.

Over the next week or so I will be:

• Figuring out religion and doing a major writeup on it
• Dumping a lot more cultural and bestiary information
• Putting together a final history of the Isles
• Adding NPC's where necessary and doing their stats
• Transforming finished player *templates* into final *stats* with spending and troop/levy information

Here's a cool thing! Though this is what the holding maps will look like, for your large keeps, I will allow you to design unique castle icons for your castles if you wish. Please keep your unique castle icons to 9x15 in black pixels (where possible). Post a super zoomed-in version when you detail your holdings and I'll copy it into the map.

If you are unsure of how many holdings you should have, please ask. Most of you should have 1-2 large keeps, 2-4 small keeps, 2-5 small towns, and 0-1 large towns or cities. If you are a smaller or poorer house, take the low end of the range. If you are a larger or richer house, take the high end.

Also, on the off chance that you're too lazy to do your own little castle, you can select from one of these three fresh-baked, lovingly hand-crafted castles. Please note having three towers does not make your castle triply effective.

Options 1, 2, and 3.

HENRY VIOLLA (32), patriarch,

• His wife, LADY GAËLLE (28), of House Monly,
• their children:

• his siblings:

Character Traits

Template?

That's good work, Defacto. Your English *is* somewhat weak, but you're making efforts to improve on it and working with me in #nes, so I'm willing to let you play a minor house, probably one of cicero's vassals since your house has a very southern name. This will give you the opportunity to get your feet wet playing a game where a lot of complex English is used. As I said on #nes, please don't be offended if I frequently correct your spelling and grammar.

You don't have to make a map, but it's recommended. You could describe where your holdings are and I can put them on the map, or crop a small section of map and mark it yourself.

Since you are likely to be a small house, count on having only one small keep and a town. Place yourself on the map near Cicero's lands, in purple.

Quick question about the map: are the lands marked as ours (say, everything inside the yellow border for the Daufings), all the lands which swear fealty to your House (so, including all your vassals) or are they all the lands that the Daufings personally control (so, all the other holds, keeps, etc. belong to Vassals and should be placed outside the yellow border?

I'm going to say a mixture of the two. It's assumed you have a bunch of weak houses with only one holding who control castles or villages in your name, and these are located within your territory.

However, if you want a more powerful vassal who is less dependent on you, you can give them their own color and land outside your territory. There's no strict rule on it.

So, I guess to clarify:

• Minor retainers (inside your borders, control 1 holding, fairly loyal/dependent on you)
• Major retainers (outside your borders, control >1 holding, possibly less loyal/more ambitious

As a general rule of thumb.

6 Family Members
4 Adults
2 Teenagers

= 22 Positive Points and 9 Negative Points


Lord Aethelhere (44, M)- In his youth, he was cheerful, vivacious. When he became a man, he fell in love with a woman from the local nobility, Anna, and for the happiness of both a marriage had been arranged between the two. But this happiness was short lived, as the young lady came to perish by a sudden illness. Aethelhere married again, but there was no love in this union. His happiness died with Anna. His new wife, Willa, won some affection from her husband with the birth of their children, which he undoubtedly loves, although unable to express it appropriately.

Dignified (+3)
Just (+1)
Patient (+0)
Distant (-1)

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Lady Willa (37, F)- Since childhood, she always dreamed of marrying a gallant lord, and that they would both love each other passionately and have many children. It turns out that her dream was crushed when her father forced her to marry a recently widowed lord, whose cold heart would never accept to love her. When all seemed lost, the happiness came in the form of an adorable baby. Willa came to love young Leof unconditionally, her only joy in life. Even with the birth of other children, her love continued to be directed solely to her firstborn, his happiness becoming an obsession to her. This behavior proved to be harmful in the education of the lad, and worsened the relationship with her husband. Now, their marriage consists only of tolerance.

Clever (+2)
Amoral (+0)
Proactive (+0)
Dishonest (-1)
Obsessive (-2)

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Leof (21, M)- Since childhood, he was always led to believe by his mother that his will was an order, and that there was no one like him. This arrogant behavior was always scolded by his father, and soon their relationship deteriorated. Regardless of his odious behavior, Leof was always envied by his brother and sisters, not only for being the heir, but also for his beauty, cleverness and unconditional love that he received from their mother. However, he secretly envied his brother Aart.

Clever (+2)
Attractive (+2)
Amoral (+0)
Arrogant (-1)
Temperamental (-1)

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Aart (19, M)- Being the second child, fate played a trick on this kid. Had he born first, he would be the perfect heir. Too smart for his age, he received an outstanding education. While no one dares to comment, the fact is that the lack of love from his mother made ​​him a somewhat distant man, like his father. However, although a brilliant man, his apparent cowardice always worried his father. After all, he would not be such a perfect heir.

Brilliant (+5)
Literary (+1)
Idealist (+0)
Moral (+0)
Distant (-1)
Cowardly (-2)

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Udela (15, F)- A lovely girl, and even lovelier when she plays her lyre. She is already becoming a woman, and will soon have to get married. While other girls anxious wait for this moment, Udela shivers when she thinks about it. Being shy, the idea of spending the rest of her life with a stranger do not please her.

Kind (+2)
Musical (+1)
Shy (-1)

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Synne (12, F)- Known throughout the castle as a beautiful and lovely girl, she is the favorite of her father. Sociable, she made ​​friends with almost all the servants, especially with other children. She is as beautiful as her older brother.

Attractive (+2)
Friendly (+1)

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Characteristics

The whole family has light brown hair and gray eyes. Tend to be thin, and have an average height. The family is descended from the Greylings, and its founder was a great general who excelled in the wars of conquest, and received a portion of land to govern.

I tried to avoid the cliché, but I'm not sure of my success.

As for the place, I would like of the eastern peninsula, in the great southern island. Any problems, just let me know that I will fix.

A quick question: I added these points:

Then add 1 bonus point for each family member, an additional 6, to get your final total, 18.

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I did it right?

You did everything right, Defacto. Good work. I'll add you to the roster.

Good work Golden, try to tidy up some of the smaller grammatical errors where you can. I'll add you as well; get working on your template when you can. 9 days, folks!

House Daufing
Sigil/Words: A red axe on a black field. "I take by my own hand."*
Lord: Wardhelm Arnulf Daufing (43, M)
Heir: Eadgar Daufing (14, M)
Family:


Retainers:


Allies/Rivals: The House of Daufing are loyal vassals to the royal house of Elming. The Daufings lack close allies among the other Great Houses, which view them as upjumped sellswords at best. The Daufings are particularly hated by the Fennacht of the central mountains, who they drove out of the central regions 100 years ago to gain their land and since then have fought the raids and counter-raids of the U Seor.

Sources of Income: The majority of the Daufing's income comes from agriculture, the Daufmark being situated on some of the most fertile land in the Southern Kingdom. The regions around Lemmernburg and Felling are particularly fertile. Some wealth comes to the Daufmark from trade in Riverbend and from mining around the mountain borders, particularly the valuable iron mine near the Beorkeep.

Holdings:


History:


*narrowly beat out "I axed you for land."

Haha. Nice work, GK.