Parstovar

The county of Parstovar is a border region of the Kingdom of Dovenar, a hilly region of tin mines, shepherds, and farmers with roads leading into the Kingdom of Hain. Parstovar is in between the wealthy counties of Gernzlov, Tolinchoff, and Yohenstern and is something off the odd province out. Parstovar is a mix of hilly moors, ancient battlegrounds, old mines and ruins, and pockets of abundant farmland. It produces a little Pepperfruit for pepper and Elfcorn for sugar, along with a healthy share of normal crops and livestock. Parstovar supplies much of the food bought by the town of Yohenstern and serves as a trade route into Hain, so it isn't exactly poor. However, the terrain here is a bit rough and even dangerous, and the population isn't particularly dense. Parstovar is a very decentralized province with a great deal of local autonomy; the culture has a lot of traits one might find in Graefsher, such as militarized local peasant leadership and an exclusionary local culture. The land is also known for its superstition and focus on appeasing local spirits. This is not surprising given that the province is undeniably haunted and entirely composed of ancient battlegrounds. Rather than feud with the local paladins of Theia the Liberator, the counts of Parstovar have sought to make peace with them over the centuries. Serfdom in Parstovar is a bit looser as a result, which suits the counts just fine given the mixed local economy.

The Lords

The Parzdavel family rules here, descended from members of the honor guard of the Hainish DevHauzen family. The Parzdavel family's reputation has been tarnished somewhat over the years due to their willingness to make deals and alliances normally considered dishonorable. They have long considered themselves pragmatists rather than villains, but there is no denying that the family culture has facilitated some scandalous connections to smugglers, commonborn mercenaries, and wasteland monster hunters. The current count is Count Temgest Parzdavel, a surly and tough Half Prism man with a down-to-earth reputation and a harsh and self-serving worldview. Temgest may be a bastard, but he is one that is in love with the land and fond of the communities he considers his possessions. He is a great fan of raising hunting beasts and falconing on the moors. He is rather supersitious, and takes local beliefs around curses and ghosts very seriously. Beyond Parstovar Keep, the count governs distantly through a series of vassals. Around 12 - 20 knightly families have estates across Parstovar Each has a small following of men at arms, and a reasonable amount of autonomy. There are likely 15 - 25 small villages, ranging from small hamlets of 50 people to small 'towns' between 300 and 900 people. Only a few more notable villages will be named, representing the general vibes and acting as potential locations for adventurers stopping along the road.

Geography

Breaking down the major villages highlighted on the map:

Parstovar Keep is the center of the count's authority, and the main gate between Dovenar and Hain along the Cenotaph Road. It is a heavily fortified castle-town, with walls and watchtowers covering the full gap between the Halvzarmoor and the Hollowed Hills. There is a bustling market here, a cozy inn, and a tin mine on the Southwestern corner of the village. Prism-food smallmines are common here, and there is a small Prism population. Recently, a troublesome epizootic (epidemic affecting livestock rather than people) has caused trouble here - the epizootic has been largely contained and healed thanks to some hired spellcasters, but taxes have risen to cover this expense and many valuable beasts were lost before the epizootic ended. This has fostered some new grudges in the making between local villagers. Harhosi, West of Parstovar Keep, is a prosperous Pepperfruit and food producing village. Harhosi is also a shining example of local extractive economics and oppressive serfdom, the perfect antithesis of its neighboring town, Yohenstern. The local knights here are eager to increase production; they aren't engaging in elaborate performative tyranny, but they maintain strict class hierarchies and demand that peasant families work their assigned lots. The followers of Theia the Liberator who run Yohenstern detest the knights, and the feeling is mutual - in some ways, the fear of Theians has made the local gentry more repressive. And yet, the Theians leave Harhosi alone; they have a semi-secret pact with the count's family, ensuring caps on food prices from Harhosi in exchange for their refusing to help the local serfs. However, this fragile peace is being undermined by a series of mysterious murders, which threaten to plunge the village into chaos. Overont, South of Harhosi, is a small fishing village that thrives in its obscurity. The coastal region of Parstovar, South of Yohenstern, is often completely forgotten on maps and royal administrative records - and the countal family offers them autonomy in exchange for profits. A smuggling ring, called the Overont Ring, operates out of the village and is a major local player; the popular mayor is a member. The local knightly family looks the other way. Currently, Overont has a separate problem - a recent storm has stirred up some trouble in the ocean that has harassed fishermen. It hasn't caused any deaths yet, but it seems like a matter of time. Posinhof, North of Parstovar, is a farming and shepherding village currently doing rather well for itself. A charismatic and energetic priest presides over a meeting of village elders and is popular with the local gentry - they are a young erudite priest eager to make a name for themselves (and already taking notes for their future memoir). Posinhof's priest has enflamed their latent rivalry with the neighboring village of Eishnel, though, and added a religious dimension to it - while Posinhof is very Hainish Uvaran, Eishnel focuses their worship more on local spirits. The two villages already disliked each other, but the priest keeps accidentally pouring oil on that particular fire. Eishnel, furthest North of the villages, is near a heavily forested part of the Wovenwoods- a forest still largely unsettled in North-central Dovenar. A merchant, who is not from the village but has fallen in love with it, is the patron of and major political force in the village. Much of the actual governing is done by a council of peasant elders who run the local cult of the land spirits. This local cult has not been particularly open to the Uvaran clergy - which has opened the village to accusations of paganism by the rival village of Posinhof, which has long wanted more of Eishnel's Southern farmland. The current village priest, who is a dour Hainish man who has started to bicker with the village's patron spirit, is not helping matters. Aside from the feud with Posinhof and the religious turmoil, Eishnel is also trying to dislodge a small group of exiles who have turned to banditry in the nearby woods. Lastly, the Zentarl Hills, Northwest of Parstovar, are a poor region mostly consisting of small Prism food mining hamlets and a single still-funcioning tin mine. Most of the tin and iron here has since been depleted, and the ruins of ancient abandoned villages dot the hillsides (though only small fragments, as the majority of these wooden village structures have long since crumbled away).