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[Written] Silverthorne - Duchy of Gilbain

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Post  Jared T Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:26 pm

Duchy of Gilbain
Found in the Old Lore Books on the Final Haven website.

In the Northern Reaches

From A Biography of Silverthorne by Sathin Maevers, 1000 P.E.W.

Population: 17,000
Location: North of Dorchak at the headwaters of the Ari’i river.
Baronies: Endmarch, Waymeet, Woodhaven

Gilbain is by far the smallest of the Duchies of Silverthorne. Though it has stood allied with the kingdom nearly as long as Dorchak, it was only recently settled land. Gilbain sits where the tribesmen of the forest once met for festivals. The springs in this northern hardwood forest run sweet and clear, making it an ideal location. However the dangers here are enormous and only the heartiest of trappers, traders, and woodcutters brave the forests around Gilbain in hopes of earning their way.

The rich pelts and beautiful timber make forestry a lucrative business for those few who can survive its hardships. The forests of Gilbain are also rich with danger. Not the poisons of the swamps of Mordin, or the twisting winding paths of the Vaun, but dangers with tooth and claw which will rend a man limb from limb.

Within the murky depths of Gilbain the forest wraiths sometimes seen near Dorchak prowl in greater numbers. Clans of Scalpers prowl in the undergrowth waiting to prove their manhood by killing a warrior. Beastmen and Slaar move through the woods in great numbers, stripping a clearing bare of all life before moving on. Most fearsome of all perhaps are the Hubrini, great shaggy beasts nearly three times the size of bears. Their mouths are filled with fangs, and sharp horns jut from their jaws to pierce the flesh of any they forget to trample.

When I was traveling to Gilbain a full fifty mounted archers rode with us to insure the safety of the trader I traveled with. His overhead must have been exorbitant, but he claimed that the rare pelts of the shadow lion and the green fur of the forest antelope make the trip worthwhile.

Gilbain sits on a small bluff overlooking the headwaters of the river. Her walls consist of several layers of earth-packed wooden pallisades. The entire city is surrounded by an outer wall of approximately three men’s height, and a drymoat lined with ceramic, glass, and metal shards. While much of the wood is reinforced with iron strapping, there is little stone to be had for construction. Guard towers have been reinforced with brick, but for the most part the town relies upon the skill of its soldiers to repel attacking bands of raiders.

Baron Feldwell who runs the Garrison in Duke Harrison’s absence keeps his troops in fighting fit with daily exercises. Guardsmen who serve here are well paid and well trained, though relatively few in number. With the war upon the eastern front occupying many of Harrsion’s troops, and the rest keeping watch over the borders of the Ari’i forest, few remain to guard the capital of Harrison’s lands.

Escape tunnels and mantraps riddle the bluff to further deter approaching enemies, and Harrison budgets a significant portion of his town’s revenues to the works of alchemists who provide and extensive array of healing services and defensive potions for the use of the city guard.

Gilbain is also known for the sanctuary of the escalapians that has been set up inside its walls to care for the poor and ill of the wilderness areas. Many barbarians, foresters, and wanderer’s have found their lives in debt to the wonderfully skilled hands of the escalapian healers who are sworn to never take a life.

While Gilbain is a relatively poor Duchy, with few inhabitants compared to Dorchak or Silverthorne, she has a rustic beauty all her own. Her homes are often fashioned of beautifully treated logs, carefully laid and chinked to keep out the bitter winter cold. Roofing of wooden shingles is replaced regularly and the keep is adorned with a copper roof that shines in the morning light and is polished regularly. The bottom two floors of the central keep have been constructed of granite imported at great expense up the river from Dorchak. The only other solid stone building in the city is the barracks which was constructed to hold up to two thousand troops, though it is largely empty during wartime.

Many of the buildings, especially those of taverns and inns stand three to five stories in height, and seem to be constructed very sparingly as far as nails. Joints are formed with interlocking leaves of wood and round pegs. The steep and flaring eves at each story assist in keeping snow from settling on the roof tiles during the winter.

Politics

The houses maintain only a handful of representatives each in Gilbain, feeling perhaps that it is too far away from the center of the kingdom to develop anything of importance. Jakoric especially seems to be lacking in its usual numbers here, though rumor has it that Harrison harbors a particular dislike for the members of Jakoric, and thus makes life hard on that house’s representatives within his duchy.

House Toevass

House Toevass, represented on the ducal council by Harviud Montelly maintains a small school in Gilbain. Harvuid serves as the school’s master, and has roughly half a dozen instructors and tutors working under him. They teach basic math, reading, and history to those people who are interested in learning. Their fees vary, from coinage for traders and nobles, to grain, or terms of service from the less well-to-do citizens of the region.

DeVris

DeVris is relatively well off in Gilbain, maintaining a full regiment (one hundred twenty eight) caveliers in the duchy as well as the normal representatives of Law in the towns. Gilbain is served by Olwen Far who sits the duke’s council and handles the business of DeVris. He is a gruff, relatively ill mannered man according to most who meet him. His justice is harsh, but always equal between offenders, and rumor has it that he beheads those who try to bribe him personally.

Mandalor

A short balding man by the name of Yarrin Keepmaster represents the key interests of House Mandolar within Gilbain. He arranges caravan scheduling and sees to the mustering of the guardsmen necessary to insure the safety of the caravans. Master Yarrin rarely, if ever, leaves the security of Gilbain behind himself, however. Instead he remains in his townhouse with food and imported wine, stuffing himself and reaping the benefits of duty as the Kings tax collector in the Duchy of Gilbain. Yarrin is currently on his third wife, being married to two women who suffered unfortunate accidents after leaving him with a son and two daughters.

Jakoric

As mentioned earlier, Jakoric lacks in its usual prosperity in Gilbain, finding diffiuclty in working around the secret police which Harrison has set up to maintain the security of his duchy. There is often a conflict of interest between Jakoric and the secret police, and more often than not the Jakoric members find the most expedient recourse is to leave the town of Gilbain behind. A young lady by the name of Anna Pyth’Martin has stuck out the difficulties in Gilbain as the current representative of the house to the duke’s court. Her charm has won her past many of the difficulties which felled her predecessors on the road to power. She is reportedly witty and beautiful, and according to rumor coldly calculating when it comes to getting what she wants.

The Guilds

The guilds in Gilbain, aside from the mages tend to get a good deal of respect. Both the healers guild and the alchemists here are in strong positions and the messengers guild is constantly recruiting new blood as runners. The works of smiths are in high demand whenever steel is readily available from trade. Currently it is the woman Gertrude Horncatcher that has the council vote for the guilds. She represents the healers guild and is well respected by warriors and scholars alike. Her reputation for walking across the field of battle unarmed to tender mercy to the wounded has long been held as a true example of the strength and courage of the escalapians.

The Baron

Beyond the affairs of houses and Guilds, the day to day management of the city rests primarily in the hands of Baron Feldwell. As Harrison is usually at the front, personally overseeing the distribution of his troops, Feldwell who has eight children stays at home and manages the duchy. He is a canny enough fellow, well capable of handling the council. His recourse to brute force and pulling rank is rare, having over time come to know most of the long term representatives quite well.

Jared T

Posts : 117
Join date : 2011-01-10

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Post  Jared T Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:27 pm

Barony of Endmarch
Found in the Old Lore Books on the Final Haven website.

From A Biography of Silverthorne by Sathin Maevers, 1000 P.E.W.

Location: The western edge of the Gilbain forestlands. Trade route to Susspin
Population: Approx. 2000

Endmarch connects the Barony of Aerinon in Susspin with the duchy of Gilbain. The route overland is hard and dangerous and best left untravelled in groups of less than one hundred. The faintly marked route passes close to the borders of the Ari’i forest, where raids by viscous Ga’Vin are quite common. The creatures prey upon any caravan they can overpower, leaving a smoldering ruin in their wake.

Due to the enormous difficulty in reaching the small waypoint town of Endmarch few will brave the journey. Twice per year Susspin sends fur traders in heavily armed caravans to sell pottery, rich cloth, and fine steel to the people of Gilbain in return for the fine skins and pelts as well as the rare woods and spices which are found inside the bounds of Gilbain.

It was on one of these caravans a couple of years back that I arrived in the quaint little town of Endmarch. The fortifications are rather simple, consisting of a wooden palisade and towers surrounded by a large earthen ditch. Since little stone is readily available many of the buildings rest on timber foundations that are in need of some repair.

Endmarch I am told, was founded a mere thirty years ago under the Directives of the first duke of Gilbain who needed to secure his Western border. It has since grown from a military outpost into a sleepy trade community. Many of its inhabitants still earn their keep as soldiers, either in the service of Duke Harrison who maintains an auxiliary garrison here, or in the pay of Baron Osuis Quorn.

Jared T

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Post  Jared T Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:28 pm

Barony of Waymeet
Found in the Old Lore Books on the Final Haven website.

From A Biography of Silverthorne by Sathin Maevers, 1000 P.E.W.

Location: On the Ari’i river between Gilbain and Dorchak
Population: Approx. 3500

Waymeet exists solely because a stopover point is needed between Dorchak and Gilbain. The town sits just over the border with Dorchak and serves as tariff point for incoming and outgoing goods. Taxes are leveled on behalf of duke Harrison under the watchful and always profit hungry eyes of Baron Aelgard. He and his large family live well upon that which they take in, and are always happy to welcome new citizens, whether peasantry or gentry, who are seeking to avoid the overcrowding of Dorchak.

Of course each new family must pay the immigration fee, and work to balance out the expence of finding a place for them to stay. Their indentures are rarely more than ten or fifteen years, after which they are free to move on or settle as they choose.

The good baron describes his actions as seeing to the wellbeing of the kingdom through finding and redistributing the labor necessary for the function of a strong duchy. Indeed, his is one of the few baronies that grew as a result of the increased traffic up and down the Dorchak river during the recent war with Gromm’s hordes. He maintains close relations with several of his previous employees who are still in Katak below Dorchak, and makes sure that way stations and trade posts manned by house Mandolar are closely monitored by his own men. In addition he has recently begun a practice of hiring young boys to monitor those people, peasants and gentles alike, who he has reason to suspect may be participating in crimes against the state. The only problem is that these crimes are not often recognized as such by the individuals perpetrating them.

It is unknown why Harrison continues to tolerate this man watching his border, especially considering that Harrison is suffering from an already small population and can put to much better use any people he can import than baron Aelgard. The baron has also gone through numerous house representatives in the last few years. It seems that many develop a strong distaste for the spicy food of the region, and find themselves reassigned to other posts.

The Houses

Jakoric and Toevass

Currently a young man by the name of Kildem Overbridge is sitting the house Jakoric position in the region, and has become betrothed to the seat of house Toevass. Neither house seems pleased by this action, and rumor has it that Mary O’edrin of house Toevass may be required to resign, even though she is several years Kildem’s senior.

House DeVris

House DeVris has a Scress representative in the region, who is reputed to be quite fond of burnings. He has in fact sentences at least twelve to death by fire in the past year, in addition to the regular assortment of beheadings and hangings. He is backed by a full score of loyal house troops and perhaps as many as two score personal mercenaries, which is probably for the best since he is not well lliked by the populace at all.

House Mandolar

House Mandolar is looking to the Lady Tobitha Garrer for guidance, but she has been so far unable to break the stanglehold on the local trade that has been enforced by the baron’s troops. All in all, a great deal of goods remain locked in warehouses and cellars within the town, and even though trade is needed badly, much of it languishes under tarrifs too high to make trading profitable. It is rumored that goods are still moving through the forest around the town, but as yet, neither Tobitha nor her investigators have been able to locate the smugglers.

Jared T

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Post  Jared T Fri Jul 22, 2011 3:28 pm

Barony of Woodhaven
Found in the Old Lore Books on the Final Haven website.

From A Biography of Silverthorne by Sathin Maevers, 1000 P.E.W.

Location: Southwest of Gilbain, close to the Ari’i forest
Population: Approx. 2500

Woodhaven represents the closest outpost of humanity to the savagery of the Ga’Vin. On occasion Ga’Vin will meet with traders and travellers outside the town walls and exchange goods and hides. The near perpetual state of hostility between the people of Gilbain and those creatures of the Ari’i forest leads to more conflict than trade.

Though the Ga’Vin are savage and brutal, they do not lack intelligence and an uneasy official peace has existed with them after the last blundered attempt by Susspin to route them from their forest home. No-one is sure exactly how many of them exist within the forest, and few are eager to find out.

The pallisade around Woodhaven is sanded smooth and carefully maintained to make it as difficult as possible to climb. Iron brazziers and wall sconces provide light at all parts of the wall, and are carefully maintained so that no raid will enter unexpectedly.

Nearly half of the town’s male populace are soldiers most directly in the control of Baron Vladisok Motov. He served for many years as a thane in command of part of Harrison’s forces and upon his marriage to the daughter of the previous Thane of Clearwater he was granted lands in Gilbain. His nephew, Thane Zachary Motov assists in the maintenance of the troops at Woodhaven and has demonstrated on several occasions his own military genius in repelling invasions.

Thane Motov is only recently returned from a tour on the front lines where he earned decorations for valor from Prince Grayston. Zachary returned with twenty five new familes, recruited from among the soldiers in his command on the Eastern Front to begin a new life in Woodhaven. He hopes to one day be able to set up a fortified manor of his own outside the walls of Woodhaven, but that day looks to be long off.

Jared T

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