North Elvertov

On the Northern border of the Kingdom of Hain and the Kingdom of Dovenar, at the edge of the region known as Graefsher, there is a haunted and forested place called Elvertov.
In Elvertov, there are many old castles and forts now buried and overgrown under the dirt and roots. This is an old site of many battles and many failed defenses. Elvertov is a historic bottleneck, where only a few entrances through the Hollowed Hills, Halvzarmoor, and Urumev hills are easy terrain to move people or armies through. Any invasion seeking to strike at Hain is vulnerable here, and for this reason there have been countless struggles over this region. The dark magic used in these ancient battles still scars the land, leaving behind hazards that remain today. The beasts that prowl Elvertov's forests and untamed hills aren't quite the nightmares of the chaos wastes, but there are things in those forests that are happy to hunt trespassers. And while Elvertov lacks the great numbers of undead animated by Wight Worms that are seen in the rest of Graefsher to the South, wights do wander North and lurk in these forests. The border castles and hazards may stop such creatures from entering Dovenar in large numbers, but Elvertov has no such protections.
Life in North Elvertov can be hard. The wilderness is fairly hostile, the weather can be temperamental and the local industries aren't particularly wealthy. The lands to both the South and North are more prosperous. And yet, this isn't a backwater. The population is reasonably large, the local economy isn't especially impoverished, and business along the Cenotaph Road and coastal towns is good.
North Elvertov is a political region: a strip of land ruled by a Graf who serves the Kingdom of Hain but rules with a great deal of local autonomy. North Elvertov is divided into four baronies ruled by Burgraves, which are then divided into smaller knightly fees ruled by Ritters.
North Elvertov has a political (and, increasingly, a cultural) rivalry with South Elvertov, despite the two provinces being entirely interchangeable to those not from either of them. North Elvertovers are less hostile towards people from Parstovar or Gernzlov, but they do have a patronizing tendency to treat them as less culturally Hainish and as somehow 'ignorant' or 'foreign' despite being neighbors of nearly-identical culture and religion.
Currently, the Graf of North Elvertov is a vassal of the Elector-Prince of House Hunain.

Geography

North Elvertov is a region divided into four provinces: Gorninbolk, Azervershal, Yoktarov, and Nomenholm.

Gorninbolk is the greater province around the town of Gornin - the largest settlement in North Elvertov. Much of Gorninbolk's more productive regions are along the Cenotaph Road, which runs through the town. The Northern reaches of Gorninbolk are sparsely inhabited villages and hamlets surrounded by light forest, which becomes more dense and dangerous as one goes North. To the North of Gorninbolk is the Halvzarmoor, a dangerous swampy and hilly region ruled by a reclusive group of Ketarun Cats. The Gorninbolk region contains the entire stretch of road to Parstovar, including a stretch of land along the Hollowed Hills in the Northeast. The roadway is wealthy, attracting numerous caravans, pilgrims, and travelers. The Northeastern part of Gorninbolk is also heavily guarded and well-fortified as a bastion against invasions from the North.
Azevershal is an agriculturally productive region of Elvertov, though it does have a significant patch of forest in the South. This is perhaps the most populated part of North Elvertov and acts as the political seat of the Graf. Unlike the more open and commercial culture of the Gorninbolk roadway, Azevershal has a xenophobic and martial culture typical of Graefsher. Notably, Castle Azevershal is known to host Summer Knights - Knights who specialize in battling Kivish warriors - and the Summer Knights have their own tower here.
Yoktarov in the South is politically contested territory, as the Graf of South Elvertov claims the land belongs to their province. Regardless of these claims, currently the Burgrave is sworn to the North. The coast of Yoktarov is full of small fishing villages and the farmland is fairly productive - Yoktarov is fairly wealthy and productive, with only a small patch of old haunted barrows and groves in the North near Gornin that is complete open wilderness. Yoktarov has a larger undead problem than the other parts of North Elvertov.
Nomenholm in the East is the least settled and most dangerous part of North Elvertov. It is isolated, heavily wooded, and hillier than other parts of the province. Nomenholm only has a rough trail connecting it to Azevershal. While armed and mounted warriors can easily make their way between the castles, an unarmed traveler would best avoid this path. The Bonewoods surrounding Nomenholm to the West are known for their pale trees and dark nights. Some of these plants are literally infused with bone and can be edible to Prisms, serving as a niche local industry. Nomenholm is actually closer Castle Hunain, home of the great House Hunain, than their direct liegelord, and the locals sometime seeks aid at the Prince's domain.

Ecosystem

The ecosystem in Elvertov is normal - well, normal by Stildane standards. There are pines, oaks, cows, goats, foxes, wolves, sheep, deer, badgers, rabbits, and the like (though in more diverse forms than usual). These things live alongside numerous mutated forms of life, often the less-overtly-magical kind. But when battle, plague, famine, or disaster strikes and sapients die in large numbers, the mundane unfurls into the surreal. Great crimson feelers crawl out of the soil to drink up spilled blood, great rib-like tubes sprout from between trees and stones and open into ivory branches, existing trees begin to grow and move across the earth into new shapes, strange insects and creatures emerge like toads seeking long-awaited rain. This death-frenzy exists in all things here, even the stones and the dirt. In the wake of violence here, the world buzzes with excitement and vibrancy. It feasts on the energy, the expended magic, the lost life, and the spent emotion. And then, as peace settles in, the world settles back into what it was. 
This transformation is magical, but it is not entirely undetectable. Trees often have odd patterns and structures inside them that are visible when timbered - hollows where quiet things crawl, organs of things the trees could become. Furrowing and harrowing the soil here (digging up the soil in spring to plant seeds and breaking up the soil to prepare for that process in winter) can often turn up odd threads in the soil that move to adopt the new dug-out shape. The same is true for those digging latrines, irrigation canals, wells, or cellars. Local farmers are just used to seeing it - the threads can make quickly digging a pain as they get in the way and snag your tools, but with a little patience the threads can be easily worked around. Hell, the threads can even strengthen earthworks and the shape of dug-out holes effectively, giving them extra durability. But these threads are part of deep-rooted and hidden ecosystems. Perhaps they are sensory feelers looking for death, maybe the are part of some grand magical mycellium network. Certainly the earth here is rich with strange life. Digging a well, latrine, or other deep hole can often unearth strange bugs and small beasts hibernating for a future death-frenzy. Who knows where the bigger things are hidding - deeper down, one assumes. Best not to dwell on such matters.
Fauna can be transformed by a death-frenzy event by the many parasites that live here. Most of these lesser parasites are barely noticeable and often have a minimal effect on their hosts. But it is not unheard of for docile sheep to transform into new, stranger shapes if exposed to enough humanoid carnage. 
This is not an ecological dynamic unique to Elvertov: this is how Graefsher works more broadly. And, like the rest of Graefsher, vengeful spirits and Wights are also just a part of the landscape that people have to live with here. 
There are some local varieties to Elvertov to help give it that big of variety. The Bonewoods of Nomenholm are, for example, known for their bone-infused hard white trees and locally specific fauna. The gaps between the passes heading North, particularly those in the Gorninbolk area, are also extremely reactive to death. Even non-lethal amounts of bloodshed can trigger a small reaction, and the region truly explodes into chaotic energy in the event of a full-fledged battle.

History

Pre-1800 History

Once, Elvertov was a rich center of empire. It was the bustling space between the twin capital cities of the Empire of Andrig, Geinsteinn and Mockensteinn. The local tribes retained their culture under this empire and built their own towns and cities under imperial protection. Then, during the First Kivish Scouring, the land was picked clean of nearly all life. The hills became so irradiated and infested with monsters that they became uninhabitable. Those smart enough to surrender to the Kivish Horde only bought a sliver of time before they too were annihilated in the Second Kivish Scouring. The land was slated for destruction and was ravaged by endless war. The people fled or were enslaved. The chaos wastes took over the land as a no man's land.
Over the centuries, Elvertov became settled again by the Kingdom of Hain. But war frequently visited the region. In the Third Kivish Scouring, Fourth Kivish Scouring, and Fifth Scouring, Elvertov was repeatedly depopulated. All of what is now inhabited dates back to the 1730s or later.
The region to the East was a region of persistent resistance and desperate survival during the Fifth Scouring. The humble Hunain family that led this resistance accumulated vast numbers of Hainish Honors and became powerful lords after the war ended. From the 1730s to 1800, the Hunains invested heavily in North Elvertov as both a way to build wealth and supply lines. Many refugees and displaced peoples were resettled in Elvertov in those years. But the war and postwar taxes levied over the 1700s were demanding: the new lords of Elvertov worked their peasants hard to build new fortifications and infrastructure. Many peasants fled to find farming opportunities where the taxes were lower and the wilderness was less hostile. Despite these flights, the region still prospered from 1750 to 1800 as the monarchy gave the region immense subsidies, labor support, and tax breaks.

Waxing and Waning (1800 - 1960)

In 1800, the Kingdom of Hain broke into a civil war now known as the Tulip War. The overlords of North Graefsher, House Hunain of Skonderen, sided with the monarchy and lost alongside it. The princedom of Skonderen, which Elvertov is a legal part of, was stripped of its Margravate status and various royal privileges. The Elector Council was given total power over Skonderen's privileges - turning them into a political football between House Hunain and their rivals. The unstable taxes and sudden revocation of royal support both heavily impacted Skonderen's fiefs. The period from 1800 to 1850 was a bad one for Elvertov - the Tulip war worsened local conditions, the outward flight from before intensified, and the local commercial class left for the rising cities of Keilbar and Telgen. The loss of people, money, and power all translated into less protection for local people as well as fewer opportunities.
Things began to stabilize for Elvertov in the mid 1800s. Tax privileges and subsidies briefly returned in the 1850s through 1880. The 1860s in particular saw a sharp improvement in local wealth and lives due to a mix of trade deals, good harvests, and prudent investment. The 1880s saw the trade deals begin to flounder and the good weather end, dipping Elvertov back into decline - a decline made worse by the revocation of the region's privileges due to a deteriorating relationship between the Hunain family and the ruling Dezuren family. It seemed like things were leaving Elvertov behind. Longer-ranging Eketeni and Selkie ships were no longer relying on Elvertov's fishing villages and town-port for supplies and shelter. The Cenotaph Road, the overland route that served as the economic jugular for the region, was abandoned to decay and banditry. Hainish Honors began to be rewarded for further-afield defenses, as Elvertov lost its cultural position as the "front gate" of Hainish defenses - Hainish victories abroad were drawing attention away to Trostev and the various chaos wastes.
But this decline was not perpetual. After decades of struggle and stagnation, things began to improve again in the mid-1900s. In 1920, the Cenotaph Road was refurbished and saw massive new investments. After 1944, the Kingdom of Dovenar began massively expanding spice production of Elfcorn and Pepperfruit, bringing trade as well as raising demand for foodcrops, lumber, and stone. Elvertov was able to form closer relationships in Andrig. The local Grafs were making smart plays, growing their influence and protecting their local lands.

The Recent Lords (1960 - 1999)

In 1960, the Grafdom of North Elvertov entered a brief crisis that gave way to greater opportunity. The Lords of Gornin, who acted as the Grafs of the county, fell into disarray after the sudden death of the Graf in 1958. For two years, the children of the Graf maneuvered for control. In 1959 the first skirmishes started. In 1960, North Elvertov entered a brief period of intense violence that lasted less than a summer. In this chaos, the Burgrave of Azelvershal, Krazlen the Cunning, used his marriage into the DevGornin family to claim the entire county for his wife. He and his warriors slew the two claimants in battle and seized the town of Gornin. Krazlen and his warriors rallied their former enemies to then defend the county against trespasses by the Graf of South Elvertov. Thanks to his shrewd negotitions with the Slevenkine Order he was able to secure elite warriors to soundly crush this invasion. By capturing the Graf of South Elvertov, he was able to secure a hefty ransom and even pressure the semi-independent fief of Yoktarov to the South. Krazlen, after securing the land, turned to stabilizing succession and power. He combined the two families through strategic adoptions and intermarriage, centralizing his family's power. He enforced his family's customs of inheritence (which gave all major titles to a single heir rather than dividing power) to prevent future divisions. This has been the status quo here since 1970.
The consolidation of North Elvertov has made the ruling dynasty of this fief particularly strong for one of their rank. This has generally led to increased investment in this strip of land, which has helped many (but hurt some). And, like any feudal fiefdom, much depends on the individual lord. The son of Krazlen the Cunning, Erofen DevGornin, only ruled for three years (1976 - 1979) before he was pressured into abdicating. Erofen was a brave fighter who successfully fought off the opportunistic lord of South Elvertov after his father died - but spent the following years misapplying force and mismanaging logistics. Erofen nearly doomed the Graf's house with his aggression, as he attempted to wage war on his neighbors without proper justification or diplomatic support. After he was wounded in a skirmish with a monster after a battle, his family used the moment of weakness to remove him from power and get him to abandon his title to his daughter Tuvala. Tuvala DevGornin extinguished the fires Erofen started and focused on stability over all else. In many ways, Tuvala was not the "ideal" candidate: it became clear early on that she was not particularly interested in ruling, she was excessively trusting, and she generally acted as if ambition or change was synonymous with disaster. But, after Erofen, Tuvala's fairhanded complacency was a breath of fresh air. Tuvala ruled for twenty years, from 1979 to 1999, before she slowly began to hand the reigns of power to her favored daughter Suvarka. In 2010, Tuvala DevGornin abdicated willingly for her daughters to take full power. Tuvala DevGornin is still alive, but is getting older and would rather enjoy retirement. Now that she has retired, public respect for Tuvala has skyrocketed. As she left governing behind, she became more involved in local acts of piety, charity, and defense. That combined with nostalgia has made her very popular. 

Current Affairs

Since 1999, Suvarka DevGornin has been the primary governor of North Elvertov and became the formal Graf in 2010 ME. She is a reasonably competent leader, more active than her mother but always shrewd in her ambitions. Her goal of uniting North and South Elvertov under her family is not too different from that of the disastrous Lord Erofen, but she is far more subtle and level-headed in her pursuit of it. She is more of a "big picture" person - while her sister, Yolinda, is sharper when it comes to the little things, Suvarka is the one with the drive and vision. Suvarka is a suspicious and guarded person, careful in her speech and withholding in her conversations. She is careful to curate a pious and virtuous appearance - and not all parts of that are lies. She is a very rules-oriented person, she cares for her extended family, and her love of her young son is genuine. But unlike her mother Tuvala, she struggles to genuinely extend her compassion beyond her family and close friends. She spent years of her youth learning to navigate the court as an attache to a member of House Hunain and now the 'great game' of politics is always there in her peripheral vision. The world is too dangerous to care for unimportant people or to focus too much on individual moral actions - and if she doesn't fight her way to elevate her family, worse people will rule instead. She can often use this mindset to rationalize acts of greed and corruption: why waste critical political capital protecting an Eigen from a Ritter? If it isn't explicitly illegal or formall dishonorable, why not prioritize coin or armaments over the lives of her subjects? So, Suvarka's justice rarely reachs the lowliest serfs and her charity is always carefully calculated. She is not a horrific tyrant; her reputation is actually quite good, even among the commonfolk, and she certainly doesn't think of herself as a bad ruler. But her self-assured moral apathy would allow her to commit terrible acts of evil without a thought, should the opportunity arise. She and her loved ones aren't even aware of how calloused and opportunistic she has become since taking the title of Graf. Suvarka is Half-Dryad-Starspawn.
Suvarka's home base is the castle at Azevershal. She leaves day-to-day management of her second fief to her sister Yolinda DevGornin, who acts as the brilliant castellan of Gornin. Yolinda is a young savant returned from Questing abroad. She is skilled in law and natural science, and has a naturally curious mind paired with analytical competency and a sharp eye. Yolinda is quietly optimizing trade and government in her fief, while she studies the local magical phenomenon. She sometimes conflicts with the other political force in Gornin, the Slevenkine Order of monks. Yolinda is not a bleeding heart like her mother has become; she is self-assured in her status and power, and cares more about her short-term goals and curiosities than 'good rulership' necessarily. Still, Gornin does well enough under her governance. Yolinda is Half-Dryad-Starspawn.
The fief of Nomenholm is ruled by Lady Morissa, a Burgrave known for her polite demeanor, piety, artistic sensibilities, and excellent hosting abilities. Her lands are poor but she is well-connected. There is always some guest of interest staying at her isolated castle, some noble or painter or priest or paladin. She is a painter herself, who pursued a life of high art before her aunt died and left her the title. She is an alright administrator who takes her position of authority seriously - far from the "apathetic sophisticate", Morissa truly tries her best even if she doesn't have great training in administration. Far from being a frivolous socialite, Morissa has ensured that her networking has paid for itself in trade, gifts, and monsterhunting aid. However, the harsh landscape of her fief compounds with her focus on elite networking to create problems. The distance between ruler and ruled has grown in Nomenholm, despite the small size of the fief. Problems have arisen and been resolved without her notice, and fringe peasant hamlets have avoided paying taxes. This has contributed to recent taxation issues. Lady Morissa is Human-Starspawn.
The fief of Yoktarov is ruled by Lady Kardelia, a Burgrave with quite a history of worldly travels and dramatic Questing she is all too happy to share. Kardelia is a good fighter with distant connections for someone of her low noble rank, but she isn't always a very effective administrator. In particular, she has issues with budgeting and mediation between her subordinate knights. Land and taxation feuds between her knights have gone unchecked, and Kardelia has had to focus on paying off debts thoughtlessly taken on. The Graf and her sister have quietly paid off some of her debt, to make her even more dependent on them politically.
In terms of recent events, Elvertov faced a flock of hostile Ghosts and spirits (likely unleashed by someone disturbing some old tomb or barrow) several years ago. The Graf was able to rally her vassals to contain the threat and hired The Exorcist's Guild to dispatch the old angry specters. Unfortunately, the exorcism and containment cost some coin - and the Graf has temporarily raised taxes on her vassals to make up for it. These costs have been passed down the chain to the peasantry, tightening belts and enflaming existing tensions. Unpopular knights or lords are now openly disliked by their subjects and hamlets that engaged in tax evasion in the past are doing it even more. It is unlikely that this will lead to rebellion or anything so dramatic - this is temporary and not an unexpected tax - but it has just generally worsened the mood.

Type

Region

Location under

Graefsher

Ruling/Owning Rank

Graf

Owning Organization

The Kingdom of Hain