Duchy of Andover
The poxmarked land of Andover is divided in two along the northern edge of what is now the reconstructed Lac Town by the scars and wounds left by the fierce battle between the Dragon Demi-god Yggdrassera and the foul necromancer Ras-al Khan. Now, eighty plus years from the war that left her wounded and much of her population in tatters Andover is beginning to heal anew, the lands to the south, fertile and rich are baring fresh crops and the land to the north is being resettled with the aid of the Archduke's forces out of Bleakgarden.
With fresh trade ships arriving up from the elven lands to the south and a new spark of life throughout the Duchy, Andover looks to return to greatness within this lifetime as a central commercial hub with the south and a unmatched supplier of wheat to the north once again.
Structure
The duchy of Andover finds itself currently under the rule of Duchess Joanne Silverlocke who's family returned to the land shortly after its scouring by the great green dragon at the onset of the seven year war, having been evacuated southward along the coast in an effort to preserve the family line.
Within the duchy, the Earl of Silver exists as a title passed down to either the Master of the Treasury, the head of the Merchant's Guild, or the Master of Mines who control's and oversee's the government owned Silver Mines from which the Silverlocke family earn their name. This title is often passed around between these three positions and comes with it no small amount of land, money and power, essentially making the person the second in command of the Duchy under the Duchess herself. As such the position is one of great politicking and scheming between its competitors. Presently the title of Earl of Silver is held by Adreas of Madellor who holds the position of the Head of the Merchant's Guild.
Beyond this the Duchy of Andover contains three other Earldoms; Madellor along the southern coastline, Shortlac which controls the land around the southern edge of the lake that makes up the center of the duchy. The third earldom is a new title that was awarded after the Seven Year War to Countess Mary Vinegarn and was dubbed the Earldom of Eschara which was the land north of the Dragon scar and was reclaimed in no small part of the heroics of the Countess herself.
Culture
Andover's culture is mixed heavily with the Elven lands to the south as one of its greatest trade partners is Embram the capital city of what was once the Empire of the Sun. Known to celebrate and share in the holy days of the elvish faith as well as those of the Jaralian church. This has often cause complications with the Jaralian church but any major conflicts have not occurred.
As such Andover has become a key place across Helfdome for mixed racial families as a place where their children suffer minimal prejudice and they are able to raise their children in a way that focuses on both of their bloodlines. Madellor in particular is famed for its half-elven population, taking its name for the elvish word Madellon which means 'to come together through struggle'.
Beyond this Andover is the greatest producer of wheat throughout the empire with its fast southern fields and fertile soil along the edge of the To'rak forest providing the greatest abundance of the crop. The crop has become integral to the economy of the realm perhaps even more so than their silver mines, and the 'Golden Fields of Andover' are famed within the Empire as a sight to behold.
Scrimshaw is a favored pastime of retirees and workers in their off season as the rivers that flow into Estlac and Railac are famous for an ancient, heavily plated fish known as Sturgeon which carry with them a vast and impressive bone structure exquisite for the craft. The fishing of Sturgeon is heavily regulated by the government to ensure that population never dips so low but many families carry a great deal of pride and self worth from the quality and quantity of the scrimshaw on display in their homes.
Assets
Andover is famed for its silver mines, rich and vibrant fields of wheat, large amounts of fresh water and ocean fauna and flora and its trade ports that connect with Embram to the south. It hosts a small but competent navy. In the face of the reclamation effort its military has been reduced slightly but also holds fame in the Countess of Eschara who, along with a party of companions retook the northern reaches of the Duchy, reconnecting it with Bleakgarden.
History
Founded in the later part of the Age of Separation out of necessity to divide up the vast land of Stockton into more manageable chunks as the large port towns and vast agriculture to the south was too far disconnected to the capital city to the north but also too independently wealthy and powerful to remain subservient to a power so far removed. Ironic given the nature of the Empire but as tensions began to arise between the House of Arl in Stockton and the people in the south responsible for controlling the land that would become Andover the then Archduchess, Tressa Holt put forth a motion to the trade guild rulers and merchant 'kings' of Andover to elect among them a candidate for the new Duchy.
Holding the fact that if they chose poorly the Archduchess would decide for herself who should rule that new land in a fairly ominous manner. And so a great and feverish maneuvering of powerful houses began to work throughout the south in an effort to acquire votes and alliances between trade houses. Promises were made and deals brokered and in the end, the house of Silverlocke were presented before the Archduchess. This was a ploy of course, for at the time Silverlocke was one of the poorer houses with a small and, though successful, ungreat amount of wealth to their name; a house that the others believed would be easy to control and with the head of those at the time, Daggan Silverlocke promising to divide up the Duchy into Earldoms like other duchies within the Empire to ensure those who supported him would be able to 'get theirs' in the end.
This however did not go as planned for the other houses of Andover as Silverlocke followed through with his promise to pass out titles and Earldoms to the two primary houses that backed him (Madellor and Shortlac) but he awarded the titles to different members of the family instead of their patriarchs. Instead he titled and gave the power to people in those houses who he had, in secret, been working with and who were loyal to him. Suddenly shifting the power in his favor and impressing the Archduchess in the process.
Together the two Earldoms and Silverlocke set the stage for the Duchy to grow and prosper. This prosperity would last for the rest of the age as the houses grew in influence and the economy of the nation would boom. This was met with calamity at the start of the Seven Year War with the Fall of Stockton and the scouring of the north. Thousands and thousands of lives snuffed out by the wielder of the Dark Diamond aboard his necropolis. The attack came swift and too fast for the country of Jusinica to react. Before Silverlocke knew it the Duchy was being pillaged and ravaged by the dead of Stockton as hordes of undead poured down from the north beneath the shadow of the Necromancer's flying vessel.
All seemed lost until from the reaches of the deep forest a titanic dragon burst forth from the ageless trees. This dragon would later be confirmed by the survivors to have been Yggdrassera, a daughter of Bahamut and one of the last remaining First Dragons; the largest and most powerful of her species. The Dragon tore above the golden fields of wheat to clash with the necromancer just five miles north of the capital city of Lac Town. Her magic and presence warped the very nature of the land beneath her and her poisonous breath ravaged the ground scarring it with the deep burns of acid and poison. Even the undead dissolved and melted beneath the fury of her breath. This duel carried the dragon and undead horde along the length of the duchy in a two mile stretch of destruction and poison before the Necromancer and Dragon routed each other; deep were the wounds struck into the draconic demi-god as she retreated back towards the forest, her blood raining down into the golden fields. The necromancer's army had been dealt a devastating blow and his Necropolis had suffered major damage from the attack before he personally had managed to route the dragon using all of the weapons his cruel ship had to bare.
Fearing a second retaliation from the dragon if he continued to push south in this direction the necromancer travelled further inland leaving the rest of Andover to recover.
Called to arms by the empire to aid in the destruction of the Necromancer who had ravaged their lands, much of Andover's fighting force travelled to far off Warden to join in what would be the final battle of the war. Upon returning the soldiers and nobles of Andover found their realm scarred, undermanned and in a state of great injury in particular the northern part of the realm which was left polluted with the horrid aftermath of the Necromancer's Presence and Dragon's fury.
A reclamation effort was started sometime after this lead by a daughter of Shortlac named Mary. She rallied a close group of friends who travelled past the poisonous scars left by the dragon to recover some old family heirlooms and eventually this resulted in a small, civilian army being raised to purge the undead haunting the land. This purging and reclaiming of the land took three years but was done while the Duke at the time was still attempting to get the rest of the Duchy back under control, reopening connections to the northern Bleakgarden and reunifying the southlands with the Archduke. For this a new earldom was created north of the scar and Mary was named its countess.
Now much of the duchy has been recovered and reinvigorated though still the scar remains and now the eyes turn north back to haunted and ravaged Stockton.
Parent Organization
Location
Controlled Territories
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