Barony of Gwenrann
Structure
The Barony of Gwenrann is organized along typical feudal structure, with petty lords, answering to the Baron of Gwenrann, administering divided parcels of lands worked by peasant sharecroppers. The Baron, in turn, is the sworn vassal of the Count of Naoned. In reality, however, the region is largely left to its own devices, ignored by the larger geopolitical world. Gwenrann holds the notable trend of many of its noble landowners ruling in abstentia, choosing instead to live in the capital of Gwenrann or nearby city of Naoned, leaving their estates in the region largely administered by castellans and seneschals.
The remoteness and small scale of settled areas, combined with the Ar Briwer Bleed, makes direct authority quite difficult, creating a very relaxed attitude between the nobility and the peasantry. As long as portions of trade profits see their way to baronial coffers, few nobles are interested in pursuing tighter control.
Culture
The physical absence of many nobles from daily life, combined with the remoteness and small scale of settlements in the wetlands that dominate the region, has led most inhabitants to develop into self-sufficient entities, loosely connected with their neighbors, but largely disconnected from the larger developments of the area. This cultural fabric has been reinforced by the magical instability of a significant Bleed in the region.
This self-sufficency and proximity to the bleed has led to a high level of cooperation and entwining between typically disparate peoples, with Formorian, Teuz and Bediz communities largely operating on equal footing, as trading partners, defensive allies and inter-settlement marriages.
Public Agenda
Gwenrann is a quiet sovereignty, largely focused on daily survival and economy, rather than larger geopolitical concerns. However, its location at the mouth of the Gwilen and Liger Rivers and its proximity to Naoned and Gwened has often given it a crucial role in regional conflicts, a long history of bloody campaigns staining its waters. At present, the Barons of Gwenrann have thrown their support behind the Monforz claim.
Assets
Despite its reputation as a literal backwater of peat-bogs and swamps, Gwenrann is actually quite wealthy with the saltworks of Whitemarsh generating a good deal of income for the Barons, allowing them to maintain the capital city, as well as properties throughout Naoned. As a result, the majority of infrastructure is spent in the development and exploitation of Whitemarsh.
Andennspire, located a short distance from Gwenrann, serves as the most prolific magical fortification in the region, marking the way into the most navigable channel of the Liger Estuary to Naoned, but also serving as a coastal landmark for ships traveling along the Ar Mor Bras.
The region is known for the ruins of numerous castles, cathedrals and other structures, abandoned after the many magical cataclysms that befell the region over its long history. These give rise to the secret wealth of Blackmire, drawing in adventurers to seek out the mythical treasures of Ys and other lost kingdoms.
History
The Ar Briwer wetlands, which take up the majority of the region, have a long history of both attempted settlement and instability, both poltiical and magical. The region is dotted with megaliths, dolmens, cromlechs and tumuli, evidence of both Fae and pre-imperial settlements. Maritime incursion prior to the Tear forced Bediz abandoment of the region, but alluvial deposits allowing for the creation of the wetlands allowed later generations to return.
The region, established on the fringes the powerful Kingdom of Great Kernev, was known as Werran, an independent petty kingdom that benefited a friendly relationship with Ys and rose into a prominent trading center. This continued until the 49 SI, when a powerful Wyldestorm drowned Ys, seismic instability sending a giant tsunami crashing into the region, devastating it to such an extent that regional maps denoted the Ar Briwer as the Wastes of Werran. Infused with the magic of a wyldestorm, the storm tore a hole in the Veil, chaotic magic began spilling out into Bedouar as a permanent Bleed. Hordes of Slaugh infested the region, making life dangerous for the surviving locals, while a mass immigration of Korrigan, mostly Teuz and Tohoseguéannets lead to tensions over the remaining habitable territory in the region.
The region experienced its next notable Bediz settlement during the reign of Budig II, High King of the Bretoned, (~ 123 SI) the effort drawing support from the Kingdom of Gwened to further support its colony of Naoned. The region became a quiet, but politically stable region. This changed following the sacking of Gwened by Conomor the Cursed and the subsequent Bloodmoons, when the region was pillaged by the Garwaf Sea Dogs and Conomor's Korrigan allies, as well as displaced soldiers from Gwened. The fortress of Ranrouët, as well as many smaller keeps and towns were overtaken by Conomor's horde and left abandoned.
During the reign of King Nevenoe I, the area was reorganized as part of the Bishopric of Naoned as part of a streamlining of the County's holdings. Gwenrann, the only city of note in the region, became home to a religious college, established by King Salaun, gaining a defensive wall and city administration as it grew. The college and the growing development of the Whitemarsh saltworks, made it a necessity for more direct control, leading to the establishment of the Barony, originally an appanage for a younger sibling of the Count of Naoned.
The region became a hotbed of Formorian activity during the regional occupation of Hastings Fireforged, the magical instability of the region growing more dramatic, with Formorian holdouts continuing to raid along the Liger and Southern ar Mor well after Hasting's defeat at the Battle of Trans-la-Forêt. The Feth Fiada and maze of creeks and mires protected the raiders from direct reprisal, until the construction of Andennspire by the Southern Church and Akitainia, marking the beginning of an extended campaign between Akitania and Hasting's Fireforged followers.
While the region has been spared further catastrophic events, it nonetheless continues to mark a bloody history of military conflict between Gwened, Naoned and Akitania.
Demography and Population
With settlements restricted to Gwenrann and a few small hamlets on the hills and islets of this marshy region, the Bediz population is quite low compared to its immediate neighbors, especially the city of Naoned. The difficult terrain, magical instability of the Bleed and a history of cataclysmic events has prevented continuous development of the region, leaving large swaths unchanged from it ancient roots.
The majority of the population reside in small hamlets of less than 5 families, separated from their closest neighbors by a maze of small creeks and flooded meadows. The vast majority of locals are of Bretoned descent, with Akitanian making up the next largest demographic. The gender ratio skews female.
What the region lacks in population, it makes up in diversity, hosting large numbers of Korrigan and Formorian peoples. The Teuz make up the largest group, tending small farms throughout the wetlands. The Boléguéans and the Tohoseguéannets are also a major force, holding court in the Tumuli, cromlechs and mist-shrouded ruins that are found throughout the region.
The Formorians, who controlled the region following the conquests of Hastings Fireforged, have remained in large numbers as one of the major population centers of their peoples in Breizh, living in fleets large barges along the Liger and Gwilen Rivers. The Formorians of Gwenrann are major participants in the eeling industry.
Off the coast lies the Traict de Pen Be, a colony of Drifting, Marie-Morgane, who have rejected Ys and struck out on their own, led by the former Gigliated merchant Carolina Giambalvo. The Drifting has eked out a difficult existence in the region, openly trading with Teuz and Bediz populations along the deeper rivers of Blackmire.
Territories
The capital of Gwenrann, bearing the same name, is a fortified city on a steep hill straddling the salt-producing Whitemarsh and the vast peat-bogs of Blackmire. The acidic soil of the hill, ill-suited for agriculture, has long been used for viticulture, with rows of vines leading up to the walls.
The Barony just out into the Mor Bras along its Western edge, while the mouth of the Liger River makes its Southern boundary. Its Northern Border is shared with the Barony of Arzal, a vassal of Gwened, and the Lordship of Mitaud, its own vassal. Its Eastern Border is shared with the Viscounty of Naoned, the seat of the County.
Military
The town of Gwenrann, the region's capital, is protected by a fortified wall and a city garrison, including a small force of Brassgaurd. Beyond its walls, however, few long-term protections exists for the remote hamlets deep in the mire.
Flush with wealth from the salt and peat trades, but low on population, the nobles of the region typically rely on mercenary companies in times of war.
Religion
The Druidic religion makes a strong showing in Blackmire, while the Faith has a larger presence in Whitemarsh, specifically the town of Gwenrann, home to a seminary and college. In many ways, the region is a testament both to the resilience of the Druids, having survived so strongly in the region, and the strength of the Southern Church, dominating the skyline at Andennspire.
Foreign Relations
Throughout its history, Gwenrann has existed on the outskirts of the political world, changing hands from Great Kernev to Gwened and finally to Naoned, rarely rising to a level outshining its sovereign state.
The Lordship of Mitaud, located in the north of the region, is the often rebellious vassal to Gwenrann while across the Liger River, the Viscounty of Retz, strongly influenced by Akitania, is often at odds with the Barony.
Agriculture & Industry
The wetlands have provided ample resources for exploitation in the region. The town of Gwenrann sits over two distinct regions, Whitemarsh in the west, named for its prolific salt marshes and Blackmire, a region dominated by peat-bogs.
Saltworks dominate Whitemarsh, channels and pools dug throughout the region to facilitate the production of salt.
Peat-harvesting is the primary industry in the Blackmire region, as well as in the vassal fiefdom, the Lordship of Mitaud, with teams working to cut out strips of the plant-matter to sell as fuel. In addition to the peat itself, the occasional discovery of mortas, fallen trees preserved and petrified by the bog, marks a boon for the local community, as this high-quality hardwood lumber is constantly in demand and is viewed with the same prestige and quality as luxury imported woods.
Reeds, rushes and buckthorn are harvested regularly across both regions, providing material for thatching and basket-weaving, providing the region with a stable cottage industry.
Leeches are harvested in this region for various uses. Eels are similarly hunted in large quantities by various techniques. Eel-pots are placed in areas of open water, while sand-eels are dredged from sandy and muddy areas in the shallows. Large eels can also be harpooned with a special spear.
Flat-bottom boats, known as chalands are the primary method of transportation through the flooded area, propelled by shunting poles.
A few isolated windmills dot hills throughout the region, as the flat, marshy lands and slow moving water are not suitable for watermills.
Trade & Transport
Relegated to small islets and hills in the watery area, communication and transportation is largely handled by blins, flat bottom boats propelled by shunting poles. Most interaction between settlements occurs en route along well-traveled waterways. Larger Péniche travel the wider rivers, bringing news and commerce from outside of the region, with the smaller Blins pulling alongside the larger barges for makeshift market days.
Black and White
Founding Date
546 SI
Type
Geopolitical, Barony
Alternative Names
Briwer
Demonym
Gwenranned
Leader Title
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
Livre Tournais
Parent Organization
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Comments