The Reach
The Basics
The Furies are one of the oldest and most respected families in the history of the Basin. It was Duncan Fury, Father of the Line, who led the rag-tag collection of troops responsible for keeping the refugees safe before the Kingdom was even born. Not long after the Kingdom was founded, he established the Order of the Black Watch, which began as a unit of heavy cavalry wearing fire-seared plate armor with matching barding for the horses to serve as a reminder of the very real trial by fire they had to endure to secure their new homeland. Over time, this famed unit would morph into a more generalized combat unit, consisting of both infantry and archers, but for the first fifty years of its existence, it was an all-cavalry unit that served as the unbreakable spine of the armies of Candle'Bre, with a hand-picked detachment serving as the King's personal guard. The destruction of the Line of Kings has left a deep scar on the psyche of the Fury Family, for they have always seen themselves as the protectors of Kings. The defenders of the Line. Given that the King is dead, the only way the Furies can interpret that is that they failed. Never mind that they were facing a god, they see it as a personal failing and a stain upon their honor, and even though the Black Watch has now been disbanded, all of the Furies secretly long for the return of the King and the restoration of the Realm.Political Situation
The Furies are a traditional Feudalistic society and organized as such. The word of the Duke is law, and his subordinates and proxies carry and enforce his proclamations to all corners of his Realm. Justice in the North is swift and often harsh, but also generally regarded as fair by the common folk who live under Fury rule. Most of the people here are fiercely devoted to the Furies who have saved the Basin more times than can be counted. They are the steady, reliable heroes that have ensured humanity’s survival here. Of interest, the Church’s Justicaari are not allowed in Fury lands. The Furies run their territory as an extension of the military order they founded, so every citizen is subject to military law. Although they are not perfect, the Lords of the North do make a genuine effort to dispense justice with an even hand and not be guided by their anger or passion. In fact, scholars who study such matters have noted that Fury justice is more likely to favor the common man and what is right than to follow the strictest letter of the law. This is a curious fact indeed, given that the Furies insist that they are dispensing military justice to all; they’re not nearly as forgiving when putting a solider on trial as they are one of their own citizens! Near the end of the Great War, the Trentan people or Free Folk as they are commonly called, agreed to give up their semi-independence and become formal subjects of the Furies in exchange for military assistance against their longtime foes, the Order of the Pine Cross. The Furies agreed to the terms and helped the Bordermen of Trentare defeat the Pine Cross, but in the decades since the Great War, that order once again rose to prominence and threatened Fury holdings, culminating in a Pine Cross plot that flooded the city of Parthia with undead, killing thousands and forcing the Furies to abandon the city for a time. The Lords of the North were having none of it and, risking a war with a much more populous Fraine, utterly demolished the Order, breaking their power once and for all and liberating the agricultural province of Hlo’Haas in the process, giving them access to the Gates of Brom, which have remained sealed since the start of the Great War. The Furies are allied to the Dwarves of the North Spur (which is interesting because before the Eye fell, the Furies often fought with the humans that lived there, but since their transformation, they seem to have changed much about themselves and their mindset), and are staunch allies of the Holy Church. In fact, Erich Castillar, the reigning Prelate of the Holy Lands is the bastard son of Sir Kenna Fury and the Lady Ahnwick Castillar, the former Prelate, and Erich took a Free Woman as his wife, all of which were firsts for the Church of the HighFather. With the Free Folk as subjects of the Realm and good relations with the Dwarves, Fury holdings are positively abuzz with trade. Granted, the selection in the north isn’t as wide as you’ll find elsewhere in the Basin, but there’s certainly no shortage of it, and if you’re looking for Dwarven craftsmanship, you can get that far more easily in the north than you can get anywhere else. At a glance then, all of this would seem to put the Furies in a position to dominate and perhaps even one day reunify the Basin. While it’s true that they are powerful, there are a number of dark forces arrayed against them. First and foremost, there is the matter of the Pine Cross. Although broken militarily, they still have many supporters among the conservative faction of the Holy Church, which is non too pleased with the current prelate, or the fact that he made peace with the Wizards, or the fact that he has a Free Woman as a wife, or the fact that he’s a bastard; the list goes on. So while the Furies are steadfast allies of the Church, the Church has problems of its own and is deeply divided, and the Furies are a major source of that division, which makes them a target. Additionally, there is the matter of the Haaradis. No matter how much the conservative wing of the Church might despise the current Prelate and the Furies, there’s no way they would resort to necromantic magic, and yet, that’s exactly what was deployed against the city of Parthia. They had to have gotten it from somewhere, and the Haaradis are the most likely candidates and the bottom line is that they are strong in ways the Furies are not, and magic is unpredictable. So far, the Haaradis have tried three times to overthrow the Kings of Candle’Bre and bring ruin to the Basin so they could rule over her people and at every turn, the Furies have managed (often with considerable help) to stop them. What better way to get the Furies out of the way once and for all so they can finally achieve their long-sought goal, than to turn them into the living dead and make them part of the Haaradan army? It is an all too real possibility. Then there’s the matter of the highly organized and disciplined Orcish hordes that have settled into the western regions of the Basin. Given their numbers, the Orcs pose a threat that will require both the might of the Furies and their Dwarven allies to deal with, and even then, it may not be sufficient. All of which is to say that there are limits to Fury strength, and the challenges they face will surely test those limits. Since the death of the Last King of Candle’Bre, the Furies have been the standard bearers of the hope that one day the Basin could be reunited and a new King crowned. On more than one occasion, a member of their House has been offered the throne. They have always refused, which is why the Northern Lords refuse to even grant themselves the title of King. They are Dukes. They live to serve the King, as soon as one is restored to the throne. Sadly, the Furies signaled that they were giving up on the dream when they disbanded the Black Watch. In the minds of many, that marked the end of the Age of Kings of Candle’Bre. In recent years, the Furies and the Holy Lands have been cooperating on security. Mayweather Ford is crucial to Fury security, and the High Prelate, Erich Castillar build a stout tower on his side of the Ford to help defend it. Unfortunately, most of the Prelate's forces are tied up in the south of his holdings, and he was never able to properly staff the tower. Thus, he gifted it, and a bit of land surrounding it to the Furies.
Type
Geopolitical, Duchy
Capital
Power Structure
Feudal state
Legislative Body
Military Tribunals
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Towns of Note
Villages & Hamlets
Landmarks of Interest
Brom
Lakes & Rivers
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