Wyldstone
Demographics
There is no greater testament to the tenacity of life than the civilization of Wyldstone. In a region in which the land itself seems to fight back against nature's subjugation and the law and order of a society, the Massif Folk have learned how to thrive. Turning the flaws of their land into their greatest strengths.
The Wyldstone province largely encapsulates the region of land surrounding and including the Wyld, a highland mountain range with some of the highest peaks in West Uros. Compared to the flatlands and forests that characterize much of the rest of the Empire, life within the Wylds is often a difficulty that many would deem the region largely inhospitable. The rocky and difficult terrain alone would be enough to off-put many a prospector, yet the prohibitive nature of farming in high altitudes resulting in low food production, frequent volcanic activity routinely rendering springs and rivers caustic, and constant unbeknownst proximity to cave-dwelling Horrors is enough to prevent most from even consider traveling through the land. All of which only serves to make the civilization that has formed within the mountains all the more interesting to observe.
The Massif Folk, the common name used in reference to those who live within the mountains, live in extremely small groups and settlements. While the Outer Provinces as a whole are home to more towns and villages compared to the Inner's bustling cities, a Massif community will rarely have more than a handful of families within it. While these small societies result in a much slower expansion of resources and progression in technology, their size is not so much a choice as it is a restriction placed upon them by the conditions of the mountains.
Given the difficulty of cultivating crops, the relatively short seasons, and limited area of use as viable farmlands Wyldstone farmers have always been forced to force primarily on the quality of the harvest rather then it's quantity. Unable to grown common grains and large-seeded plants such as wheat or barley, mainstays in most regions crop rotations, given the altitude, instead farmers have learned to cultivate heartier root and tuber crops, such as carrots, yam, potatoes turnips, and even some squash or beans. Crops that do well when used in stews or large roasts, resource-efficient meals which ensure that the food can be stretched enough to cover all those in the village. Yet no matter how wisely they use their crops, it doesn't change the fact that a harvest season will always be small for the Massif Folk, and as such so must the number of people they need to feed.
A perfect example of Massif ingenuity and their ability to live off the land, despite its inhospitality, is how they've managed to turn the volcanic activity of the Wylds into a tool. Routinely mixing volcanic ash into the soil before crops are planted, enriching the land, and promoting a more bountiful harvest. Similarly, they will often burn bundles of sulfur in the fields to serve as a powerful pesticide, better ensuring that most crops planted will come to bear fruit.
Government
While the seeming separated Massif society might initially lead one to believe that Wyldstone's governance is somewhere between the ranges of light to nonexistent. Yet even the loose structure of the Massif exists under guidance, and since long before Duma first set foot into the Wylds the Massif were ruled by their Khan. A position of power that even over the myriad of times control over the Wylds has shifted, has stood the test of time. Even under Bryonsworth's current rule.
Recognizing the difficulty of managing the complete structure of Massif society while seeking to avoid any potential embarrassments similar to the results of Duma's prior invasion of Wyld, the appointed Ruling House of Wyldstone, House Matterson opted to maintain the Massif system of hierarchy and work alongside the Khan rather than attempt to strip him of is power. A relationship that has proved to be immensely beneficial for both parties. As rather than antagonizing the Massif or drawing their ire, the Mattersons have instead, all but ignored their land. Knowing that despite operating in the majority of the province's territory, much of the land they occupy would be nearly impossible for the Matterson to use themselves. Furthermore, the Massif drain little in the way of resources from the land, and what they do take is of little value to the Empire's economy.
Thus while officially the Mattersons own the entirety of Wyldstone, the vast majority of the land is out of their direct control. The Massif Khan holds power in the mountains, while the Mattersons reign over the more traditional capital of Renwick and other towns around the base of the mountains. These towns are largely built upon the backs of basalt, sulfur, and the occasional gemstone mines along with the allure of the Empire's only natural hot springs. All taking direct advantage to the Wyld's volcanic activity and capitalizing on the minerals created by them in a way that allows the Massif and Wylden people to avoid competing directly for any given resource, save the overabundant sulfur.
In exchange for this freedom, the Massif Khan is required to exchange some amount of resources with the Mattersons at the end of every year, allowing the effectively currency-less society of the Massif to still acquire enough Imperial Marks to satisfy the crowns taxes. Yet in recent years with the creation of the Outrider Knights, they have also been required to submit young adults to join the force rather than be included in the traditional draft.
This system of trading resources for marks is only possible because while Massif groups are typically quite isolated from one another, they are all bound by the fact that Wyldstone exists on a large vertical archipelago, stretching from the base of the Wyld to it's highest inhabitable peak. This vertical archipelago is a system of over two dozen zones positioned at ascending altitudes known as Shelves. Given the wide variance in altitudes and environment within the Wyld, each Shelf is positioned in such a way that allows those living within it to take advantage of a resource, or producing something the other Shelves would struggle to. With higher Shelves promoting animal husbandry and the raising of goats, and slightly lower Shelves with warmer climates allowing the growth of more agriculture. While it is unknown when exactly the borders of the archipelago were drawn, the Massif have operated within them for several centuries, with only a few minor alterations to speak of. The design of the archipelago naturally draws excess resources down the mountain, before this excess is delivered to the Khan and traded away with the rest of the Empire through Renwick. The Shelves also serve to act as population zones just as much as they act as economic zones, allowing the Massif Khan to regulate activity and migration within the Shelves without subjecting the individual Massif clans to direct governance.
Assets
While the upper areas and Massif land in Wyldstone can't be said to provide much to the overall wealth of the Province, the fact that they contribute anything at all is taken to the Mattersons to be enough. For the simple truth of Wyldstone is that the vast majority of the land should be considered unworkable. While technically possible to extract some amount of resources and force crops to grow on the land, the cost of employing anyone to work would never be worth the pitiful returns. This is why the arrangement they have with the Massif folk is one they have no difficulty making. By giving them land the Mattersons had long since written off, the Massif work tirelessly to work the untamed land to the best of their ability. Then a portion of what fruits they miraculously grew from that barren earth is given freely back to the Matterson, an equation that may as well be comparable to turning dirt to coal. Perhaps not a return of dizzyingly wealth, yet a gain none the less. The Mattersons are happy to exploit the free work of the Massif, and the Massif are willing to be exploited for the preservation of their culture and society.
In the lower regions closer to Renwick most labor is expending in basalt quarries, as the stone is not only an excellent building material but has various fringe uses when broken down and woven into thick fibers. The latter while extremely difficult to produce in large quantities is often experimented with in Atten colleges. This combined with basalt almost exclusively appearing near regions with volcanic activity allows the material to be sold at a much higher price than traditional granite. Along with basalt, the region will often export a steady stream of sulfur and rare gemstones found within the quarries.
Despite its status as one of the Outer Provinces, Wyldstone has always received its fair share of travelers. Travelers who often enough hail from the Inner Provinces, a trend which has only seen an increase after the connection of the Shoffenway to Renwick. This is due primarily to the fact that Wyldstone is home to the only source of natural hot springs in the Empire. An almost mystical attraction to those who despite often living in homes where warm water is of little concern, cannot imagine water heated by the earth itself. Similarly, those who travel to Wyldstone can often found themselves enamored by the aesthetics of Massif culture. Purchasing trinkets and textiles as they pass through the province.
Most travelers moving through Wyldstone will never interact with towns outside the radius of the capital, for despite it proving the shortest path between the western and eastern halves of the Outer Provinces the difficult terrain only is enough to make most travelers or merchants opt to simply pass around the Wyld Ranges. However, for those exceptionally short on time, in possession of something of value, and with the right connections, several Massif guides often escort small bands of travelers through the mountains.
History
The Massifs and the Wylds had remained a fairly undisturbed region of West Uros for most of its history. As few looked upon the land with much envy, and those who entered had a habit of never returning. It was only when Duma began to match north that they were forced to contend through the natural wall of the Wylds and proceeding to blunder into one of the greatest embarrassments Duma would ever suffer.
The process of invading Wyldstone was extremely grueling even for the Dumani forces, or more accurately, the difficulty of the invasion was in large part because they were the Dumani forces. While the constantly expanding nature of the Dumani kingdom had created a ferocious war machine fueled by the territory they seized, this often meant that the bulk of their army was either inexperienced commoners and slaves. Yet this was no so much of a flaw as it was a carefully weighed decision. To both keep up a constant rate of expansion and best leverage their ever-increasing population, Duma found that the size of their army was often far more important than individual gear or experience. The simple sight of staring down a force that had you outnumbered seven to one was often enough to convince their opposition to yield before any blood was spilled. One could easily claim that at the height of their conquest, reputation and size were the two greatest weapons Duma had. Unfortunately within the land of Wyldstone, these did little to help.
While the Massif folk were not completely unaware of the politics of the world around them, their isolated nature had rendered them numb to the fear of the Dumani's reputation. To the people of the mountain, Duma was just another group of invaders, looking to take their land. Yet while this underestimation of their opposition strength would prove to serve the Massif in the long run, the Dumani underestimation of the Massif would engender the opposite of effects.
Expecting to have little difficulty stomping out what resistance they encountered, Duma began ordering their troops to move through the mountain ranges and almost immediately were faced with there first of many hurdles. It was almost impossible to match an entire army through the high altitude peaks of the Wyld in an attempt to go over the mountains, yet the tight valleys and paths that crisscrossed the entire range were just as impossible to navigate with a force as large as theirs. Thus they were faced with the realization that they would have to divide their forces into smaller units and slowly move them through the mountain paths. A fine enough plan, if not for the Massif threat that opened them up to.
The Massif way of defending their land had always been to use the terrain they'd spent their entire lives learning to navigate, and against the Dumani forces, their approach was no different. Rather than face them in open combat, the Massif would seek to eliminate the units using every environmental trick they had. Constantly whittling down a Dumani unit by engineering rockslides or using toxic volcanic byproducts to poison their supplies, all while cutting off supply lines, obscuring or destroying paths, and misdirecting units into Horror caves. Exhausting and mentally shattering the Dumani forces before they would mercilessly slaughter all those remaining throughout several night raids. These attacks were the work of the Massif Shikari, who would go to earn the epitaph Manhunters. There are thought to be hundreds of Dumani units and soldiers who went missing during this period. Whos corpses remain lost in the mountains after succumbing to poisoned supplies, running dry on food or drinking water, or ambushed by Massif Shikari or Horrors.
While with enough time and enough commitment, there is no question that Duma would have inevitably been able to push enough troops into the Wyld to finally claim it from the clans, however, the sheer loss of time and troops would never be worth it. So instead, a meeting was arranged between the Massif Khan and the commander of the Wyld invasion where a compromise was reached. In exchange for letting Duma's forces pass through their region, the Massif would never become Dumani. Their culture would be preserved, and their land would not be trampled upon. A deal that Duma, eager to rid themselves of this grave embarrassment at the hands of mountain men accepted.
Alternative Name(s)
The Wild Ranges
Type
National Territory
Inhabitant Demonym
Massif / Wylden
Location under
Owner/Ruler
Owning Organization
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