Dominion City State
Dominion is the richest city state in the Wildlands. It is ruled by a powerful warrior who respects might. The state has many mines in the mountains and produces gold, iron, tin and other precious metals. Some of these mines are run by the dwarven communities in the mountains, the rest by the sturdy men of Dominion. The state has one shortage and that is farms and food stuffs. It is a fairly sparcely populated state with the inhabitants known for their rugged and abraisive natures. It is fashionable for the men of Dominion to wear beards and they are known for their love of the strong dark mead that is brewed here. Not too surprisingly, there are a few dwarves living in the state.
This state constantly raids Pembrose, Maard and Wetland but it is especially wary of Wetland's motives so considers that state an enemy. It also trades with Maard and Pembrose - such is the nature of the Wildlands.
It is rumoured that there are entrances to the Underdark in the mountains of Dominion and that the dwarves of the nearby mountains also maintain a network of tunnels which cross the whole of the Wildlands and link them to other countries.
Dominion city state has only one major settlement and that is the city itself. The rest of this state is rough, boulder strewn, flinty hills as the terrain builds up to the massive Jagged Peaks. This land is farmed to a degree but it is not very arable. There are numerous mines dotted around this area though, as the rock here holds many valuable minerals which make up the majority of the state's exports.
Lord Bearaxe's soldiers patrol the lands randomly as there are no roads through this state as such. There are trails leading from one mining community to another however. These soldiers deal harshly with any bandits they find preying on travellers. Banditry is punishable by death in Dominion state.
Dominion suffers from many humanoids and giants raiding out of the mountains, in addition to all the usual creatures that inhabit the Wildlands. Its generally a bit hit and miss as to how safe it is to travel through this state. The mining settlements themselves tend to be fairly safe however, as all Dominion's men are a hardy and warlike bunch and they will all fight to protect their settlements. The local monsters have learnt that attacking settlements is not a good idea compared to waylaying lone groups of travellers in the wilds.
Due to the beliefs of Lord Bearaxe in the laws of Mar, there is a strange law in Dominion state which states that any person accused of a crime may demand to fight for justice. They will then enter a fight - which is typically not to the death, but which maybe if the crime is serious enough - with the appointed champion of the local representative of Lord Bearaxe. If the defendant beats the champion in melee combat, they are allowed to go free. The precise rules of the melee are not set out anywhere so the likelyhood of this being a good choice for a suspected criminal depends entirely on the nature of the local representative of Lord Bearaxe. In the city itself, each patrol has the power to put forth a champion to fight any miscreant found doing stuff they shouldn't be. If the patrol leader deems the criminal to be particularly strong, they will take them to their superiors. It has been known for famous and powerful criminals to be taken all the way to the top to fight Lord Bearaxe himself, which has always been to the death. No one has ever survived such a trial.
Rulership of Dominion is held by the dictator Lord Bard Bearaxe. He took power by force some twenty years ago. He has not named a successor and no one is entirely sure who will reign or what will happen when he dies.
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