County of Meratt
Introduction
There’s something about the air here—I wouldn’t call it invigorating, but it’s peaceful and calming. Were I a less-traveled woman, I might think Meratt quite the paradise. The stuffy senators and grand dukes of Oppara are nowhere to be found here, politics seem practically nonexistent, and the sleepy hamlets are filled with kind folk, even if most still try to claim a connection to one of Taldor’s great families. I see through it all, though. This county is lovely and pastoral, but its greatness is long gone. Taxes have reduced its nobles to a threadbare facsimile of extravagance, and if you look closely, its well-manicured estates are plagued with leaky roofs and peeling paint. It’s nice to get out of the city. But if you’re looking for the height of opulence at a slower pace, the county of Meratt isn’t the place for you.—Excerpt from the travel journal of Countess Carlotta Plenst of Oppara
Nestled just south of the Verduran Forest, the county of Meratt sprawls across the Tandak Plains, which stretch northeast of Cassomir. The land here is pastoral, with rolling hills and pockets of verdant forest. The World’s Edge Mountains to the east occasionally rise into view, creating breathtaking vistas for travelers cresting the rising plains. Noble estates, hamlets and villages, and farmland of all sorts knit the countryside together like a familiar and comforting quilt.
Travel through the county might attract far more sightseeing Taldan nobles were it not for the area’s pervasive pall of economic mediocrity. Meratt was once a shining jewel of peaceful, slow-paced luxury, but that was many centuries ago. Generations of greedy nobles’ mismanagement has slowly bled the locals’ pockets dry through bureaucracy, taxes, and tithes of locally produced resources sent to more voracious urban centers. As a result, when visitors examine the county closely, behind the beautiful scenery they find magnificent manors with drooping roofs, towns with broken cobblestones, canals with rickety pumps, and the farmers and herders wearing little more than darned rags.
Government
Many nobles have a legitimate claim to overseeing the county of Meratt, but the lion’s share of its administration falls into the hands of the Lotheed family, even though the family’s stewardship of lands not ancestrally their own is spotty. Regardless, Meratt is broken into four major baronies ( Okerra Barony, Stavian Barony , Telus Barony , and Voinum Barony ), each connected to one of the following families: Okerra, Stavian, Telus, or Voinum. Taldor’s ruling family has neither used nor put resources into its lands or estate here in many years. Instead, the Stavians have designated the Lotheeds as their administrators in Meratt. Additionally Baron Araig Telus has been an extreme recluse for nearly a decade, and so the Lotheeds now nominally administer the Telus Barony as well, though in practice Lotheed workers never even visit what is now a crumpling estate and the nearby ruins of the tiny settlement of Jambis . Baroness Adella Voinum and Baron Nicolaus Okerra still live on and run their estates in much the same way as their ancestors before them, though the Lotheeds keep the county’s taxes astronomically high to support their own unreasonably extravagant lifestyle. As a result, Baroness Adella Voinum has retreated from the public eye. Baron Nicolaus Okerra maintains his family’s truly successful fishing ventures, though he’s sunk most of his earnings into supporting the local economy and its workers. The rulers of Tandak Prefecture and Taldor at large pay little attention to the county of Meratt. A few nobles sometimes find it quaint to travel and visit here, though in truth most of them have relatives or other attachments to compel their trips. Certainly nobles who truly enjoy the county’s atmosphere can pay good gold to stay in the true lap of luxury at one of Meratt’s few opulent, well-preserved estates, if they wish. Higher-ranking governmental leaders occasionally impose upon the local fishers, horse breeders, olive growers, winemakers, and timber producers for shipments in support of some official claim or another. In most cases, the amount of supplies requested is small enough that the locals simply hand over the tributes to avoid spats. In others, though, the hard-working folk refuse to comply with demands they find burdensome and illegitimate. When this happens, the demanding nobles sometimes petition the Lotheeds for help collecting their bounty, hire less-than-scrupulous agents to retrieve it, or simply drop their entitled claims to avoid the effort of enforcing their demands.Territories
Settlements
Settlement
Barony
Distance
Climate
Geographically speaking, Meratt’s location engenders a mild, inviting climate. The mountains to the east buffer the harsh tempests that roll through the region, and the sea to the far southwest moderates the seasonal temperature swings that affect regions farther inland. This temperate climate is ideal for farming a variety of crops, including grains, grapes, olives, and a variety of fruits. However, because of the overworked soil in many parts of this area of Taldor, such ventures are less fruitful in the county of Meratt than one might think.Agriculture & Industry
In generations past, the county’s wealthiest farmers paid druids to magically replenish the soil before each growing season. However, such ventures were costly, and as the county’s economic fortunes waned, they became financially unviable. Now, Meratt’s farms instead focus on livestock such as goats, horses, sheep, and occasionally chickens, all of which find the climate pleasant year-round if not always perfectly comfortable. Summers are warm, if a bit more humid than on the coast, and winters are more rainy than snowy, though a few recent winters have been harsher than the locals would consider normal. These early frosts, especially when the temperature drops to below freezing even for a single night, run the risk of damaging the grapes and olives that grow plentifully in this region.
Infrastructure
Roads
- Dalston Highway
- North Cassomir Highway
- Oppara Highway
- South Cassomir Highway
Waterways
- Meratt Canal
- Stachys Spur
Maps
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Meratt County Map
Map of the county of the County of Meratt.
Type
Geopolitical, County / March
Capital
Leader
Power Structure
Feudal state
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Notable Members
