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| Background | Politics | Neighbors | Adventures | Personalities |
Furyondy is a "paladin" nation. The people are pious and devout, worshipping such good Oerdian dieties such as Angellus, St. Cuthbert, St. Pelinor, Heironius, Ilmater, Phaulkon, etc. The tenents of these faiths form the basis of the common laws of the nation and are reflected in the actions of most of Furyondy's nobles. As a whole, the country enjoys the unity and peace of a united, lawful good society. Nearly every township enjoys the benefits of at least one local cleric while all the cities boast large, holy temples led by high priests. The faiths of Angellus, his family and his saints form the underlying framework of the country's religious grassroots movement. Since for generations the King of Furyondy has been a paladin, there are no druids in Furyondy. Also, since the Church of Angellus is in charge, witches are gleefully burned at the stake.
Enter the Rebellion and Wars of Furyondy. The nation was nearly destroyed by the combination of an evil king, political corruption and military ineptness all put into place by a mind flayer plot to wreck the world, starting with Furyondy. In fact, a huge chunk of Furyondy fell into the wicked, rapacious hands of goblins and hobgoblins from the Horned Society. Amberwood, Shadowbrook and Angel's Rock are near the middle of the lands that were annexed.
Grand-duchess Damelia St Karlon (then Princess-in-exile and later Queen) pulled together a group of heroes to free her homeland. Among them was the dragon-slayer and hero, Moorak Drake. Moorak was perhaps one of the most instrumental allies of the Grand-Duchess, using his magic as a Wizard, his fighting skills as a Lord and his dragon-friend, Tycho, to truly trash the forces of the Horned Society. Ultimately, Damelia and her coalition won and the territories were reclaimed, although the lands had been completely sacked and razed.
In appreciation for their work, Queen Damelia presented several of these heroes with lands in Furyondy. The placement of these fiefs was no accident; each fief was chosen because the original nobles were all slain in the war and the fief itself bordered the Horned Society. To invade again, the Horned Society would have to march through the homestead of the very heroes who had so soundly trounced the Iron Throne before. What's more, since these estates were burned to the ground, it would be the heroes paying the majority of the reconstruction costs, rather than the royal coffers. Because of these political benefits none of the other nobles raised any opposition to the investitures.
Although Moorak is known to associate with dragons and venerate Bahamut, no one expected him to promote pagan worship in his fief. The nobles expected the lawful good hero to rule his fief according to Furyondy tradition. Moorak, however, is the champion of a witch-god and has declared his fief a safe-haven for all good witches. He even went farther, to openly establish a large Temple to Bahamut, the Platinum Dragon.
(As a modern-day analogy, if witchcraft in Dnd translates to homosexuality in our world, here we have Colin Powel or General Schwartzkopf taking over as govenor of Kansas and declaring San Fransisco's Castro district as a too-conservative model for the entire state, complete with gay marriages being considered the norm in America's conservative farm-land.)
Of course there were fire-works...!
In the end, given Moorak's alignment (lawful good), his heroic deeds and reputation BEFORE Furyondy, his active involvement in Furyondy, his work in the Illithid War, his investments of gold (100,000gp), magic (13th level) and time and the general prosperity of his fief, the nobles were forced to bite their tongues and back off. Direct backing from Queen Damelia and an implied threat from Moorak himself didn't hurt his position, nor did the fact that the other two lords were Moorak's twin sister, Caeleia of Angel's Rock, and his long-time friend, Bart Silverwind of Shadowbrook (Rhom StrongArm turned down the Graystone fief).
Despite stringent laws exiling those of evil alignment, banning any sort of thieves or assassin's guild (enforced by Moorak, personally), a vigorous program of public works and low-cost (read: free-for-a-good-cause) magical aid (both wizardry and witchcraft), Moorak still is seen as a trouble-maker by the majority of power-brokers in Furyondy (he's still a folk hero elsewhere). The Church of Angellus in Furyondy does whatever it can to denounce Amberwood (although Pope Hazem herself, turns a blind eye) while the more conservative nobility snubs Moorak when such action is not overtly rude. None of the local clergy even deal with Amberwood. Moorak is in the Grand-duchess' favor, however, and has some support from the younger and less conservative lords, but that isn't much. Young King Nathan has not yet declared his thoughts. But if Moorak required politcal or military backing, he almost certainly would not get it.
Amberwood itself, however, has proven QUITE prosperous. Benefiting from a wide array of magics (magically imported crops, food, livestock and water, earth elemental-worked civil engineering projects, walls of stone and stone shapes used for temporary repair of public works and creation of housing projects, strength spells for struggling laborers, magically purified water sources, etc) and a moratorium on taxes for the first twelve months, the fief rebuilt itself. Adding druidic plant growths for bumper crops and witch healings and the like, the community is doing QUITE well and is completely self sufficient now.
The rules of the Fief of Amberwood apply to all regions under Moorak's dominion:
Originally, Moorak's friend and adventuring companion, Baron Bart Silverwind, ruled the fief of Shadowbrook to the northeast. But his estate no longer exists. The ley storms which ripped across the continent tore through this fief. Whole towns were swallowed up, with strips of other-worldy regions left in their stead. His lands were in chaos, striped with patches of Jurasic jungle, arid arroyos and alien woodlands. Dinosaurs and other monsters arrived in this new wilderness, running amok and savaging the lands.
These monsters attacked all of the neighboring lands and caused some serious damage. After the first two days, most of these attacks were put to an end by Moorak's retainers or by a party of heroes the Baron had assmebled to end the threat. To calm the people's fears and protect his friend's subjects, Moorak declared Shadowbrook and the surrounding regions under his protection. Although the Baron of Graystone refused such protection, the remains of the two fiefs north of Amberwood did not and could not. Given the chaos of Shadowbrook (no rulers, large tracks of primaeval jungle, strips of desert, a boat-load of other-worldly foreigners, etc), Moorak ultimately requested annexing these lands to Amberwood.
Given the state of affairs and Queen Damelia's statement "Another noble many claim this territory IF they can do a better job ruling it," Moorak gained approval to expand Amberwood into Shadowbrook (to the north-west) and later into Lion's Gate (to the north-east). This not only more than doubled Moorak's holdings but gave him direct access to the Veng River and the Horned Society, beyond. It also made him many enemies among Furyondy's more devout nobility.
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The fief of Amberwood now consists of three hexs; the original inland fief of Amberwood, plus two smaller fiefs to the north and west along the shores of the Veng River. The western-most fief was originally known as Shadowbrook while the northern-most one was Lion's Gate. Today, however, all three regions are considered one territory under a single lord with the capitol at Dragondale. To ensure the sucess of the fief, Moorak has worked hard to blend these three hexes into one unified entity. As yet, however, the majority of Amberwood's inhabitants dwell in the original southern region. To administer this large area, Moorak has appointed two overseers, Hamish for Shadowbrook and Armadale for Lion's Gate, while Lord Drake takes a personal hand in the affairs of Amberwood. |
Given Amberwood's size along with the general power and resources the fief has available plus Moorak's past deeds, it would be quite reasonable for the Lord of Amberwood to have been granted the title, Count. The nobility, however, wishes to give Moorak as little credibility and respect as possible and so have granted him the lesser title, Baron. Despite this, Amberwood is the largest and most successful fief in the region.
Baroness Caeleia Drake of Angel's Rock has not had the success her twin brother has enjoyed. She poured what little wealth she had back into the economy of her fief and received a little magical aid from her brother. She does receive support as a mediating force from the other nobles (she's a neutral good Cavalier-Lord who worships Angellus), but Angel's Rock just isn't having the progress Amberwood is.
The Baron Arduin of Oakenshire is well-known, powerful, ranger-lord and Knight of the Hart. He sided with the Rebellion under King Cedric and worked to install Queen Damelia. In return, after the wars with the Horned Society, then-Lord Arduin was granted the fief of Oakenshire. He is an honorable and just man of common birth, respected by his peers and liked by his people. The Baron is on friendly-if-distant terms with Moorak and avoids political entanglements. Since Oakenshire is directly across the Veng River from Molag, the capitol of the Horned Society, it is of great strategic importance. Because of this, Oakenshire receives a great deal of backing and support from the other nobles. Three battalions of Furyondy's soldiers remain permenantly stationed in this fief.
Recently, Grand-Duchess Damelia St Karlon has reclaimed Silverdale as her own lands. Silverdale is a small fief, badly damaged by the rebellion and the war with the Horned Society. The fief's previous lord lost his will to rule when his only son, a paladin, chose a quest to the Abyss rather than join the ranks of Cedric's retainers. After the wars in Furyondy, the son appeared to have returned, although this turned out to be an incabulous wearing the prince's shape. Poor and downtrodden, the peasants look to Damelia for hope. Meanwhile, the nobles happily applaud this move; with Damelia in Silverdale, Moorak will be unable to spread his "corrupt religion" any further into Furyondy.
The Baron of Graystone, Bleys Argyle, is a well-respected nobleman from a powerful and wealthy family. Although his ethical stance is not as clear as that of other lords, the Baron distinguished himself as an excellent commander and skilled warrior during the war with the Horned Society. When Furyondy retook her lands, the Baron layed claim to Graystone after Rhom declined to rule it. The Baron has poured vast sums of gold into his fief, raising it from ruins. The Baron argues very loudly for Furyondy to further strengthen her borders and enlarge her military. He also decries Moorak, complete with threats of military action should the Lord of Amberwood claim any additional territory. Openly rude to his neighbor, Bleys is always careful to subtly snub Moorak's twin sister, Caeleia. He is keenly aware that as a cavalier, she would happily welcome a justification to challenge the agressive master of Graystone (read: hack into bite-sized cubes). The Baron does seem to like Hamish quite a bit and welcomes the Scotsman's appointment in what once was Shadowbrook.
Count Jethro Ashwood of Cloverland is a 17 year old boy, struggling to deal with running such a large kingdom. He keeps his head down and does as his advisors tell him.
Baroness Ellysia of Hallifax is both old-blood nobility and a seasoned warrior. Her family is one of the few that survived the war. She is a widow in her late 40s and just wants the land to heal. She opposes Moorak, but admits there is no one else to do the job. She is very friendly toward Damelia and somewhat so toward Caeleia, inviting the Grand-duchess over for tea on a regular basis.
Finally the Lords of Irondale and New Castle are a pair of distinguished fighters from the war. They were recently wed and united their fiefs. They lack political experience or strong backing and are thus often pawns of both other nobles and the Church. Both lords decry Moorak but are moderately friendly with Caeleia and Damelia. They're struggling to keep their fiefs from financial ruin. Neither has the clout or bloodline to become barons, although by uniting their fiefs, their hoping to force the Assembly of Nobles' hand.
The Valley of Nine has no ruler, being totally
devastated in the war, specifically by the carnage of the Battle
of the Valley of Nine. Very few have moved back here and the region
may yet hold monsters.
With a "brave,
new world" in Moorak's backyard, the Lord of Amberwood has
been looking for good, adventurous people to explore and tame
this wilderness. The original fief is starting to get a little
crowded as farmers, witches and a new community of druids expand
out and moves in. And unclaimed territory is pretty much free...completely
free if you settle some of the more "lively spots" and
clear out what's living there already.
It would appear that a major ley line runs straight through the fief, causing many of the disruptions in the region.
Recently, a group of heroes (Moorak, Arianna, Lara, Caeleia, Margus, Amajaro, Billy and Domar) destroyed an evil temple dedicated to the demon lord of earth, Torsham. The temple appeared during the ley storms, drawn from another world. The temple had been discovered by a company of the watch (Lawrence, Black Robe, Garlok, Artec, Xena, Durra, Jyoli and Abu) who were ridding the region of hobgoblin raiders. This company also uncovered the demonic nature of the place. When the heroes arrived and began desecrating the temple, the demon lord appeared on Oerth intent on conquest. Well-prepared, the assembled heroes made fairly short work of Torsham, banishing him to the Abyss for a century. Once the temple was destroyed, the site was consacrated to Bahamut and Lara began work on a shrine to the Platinum Dragon on the spot.
The ley storms that tore across Oerth left several enclaves of monsters. One of these was an ancient city inhabited with draconians deposited at the northern edge of the Mistmarsh. These creatures soon marshalled the local non-mammals in an attempt to over-through all humans in the central Flanese. The attempt was thwarted by a group of adventurers (Bethany Drake, Balthazar "Zar" Coven, Zandra, Garlok Drake, Beulla, Artec, Black Robe and N'thog'm) who, with the aid of the priestesses of Bahamut, journeyed to the draconian lair and defeated the draconian leaders and their black dragon allies. In the process, the heroes recovered the eggs of several good dragons the draconians had stolen to "turn". While one egg (the copper) found a good home, the other three hatched too soon.
The end result? A pair of brass dragon hatchlings (Timrith and Bronwyn) and a bronze dragon hatchling (Zaulamon) with human "mommies". The capital of Amberwood has been christened Dragondale in honor of the five dragons (these three plus Tycho and Rhalindora) who dwell there. Since that time, three more dragons have journeyed to the capitol of Amberwood; a brass yolkling, Braga, a ranger transformed into a red dragon, Redwing, and a reincarnated mercury dragon that was formerly a dwarf.
Some of the heroes and pivotal figures living in the fief of Amberwood include:
Other heroic and noteworthy residents include:
Common visitors and allies include:
Questions? Comments? Funny stories? Lemme know...
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