Treehold
Culture
The people of Treehold, the Torlanders, are said to be a hard working and superstitious lot. Living next to a fey like realm that can regruarly defy all known laws of reality can make one rather careful. The rest of the Kingdom sometimes mocks Torlanders as overly cautious and backwards farming lot, sometimes saying that the only type of Torlandian noble is a slightly richer farmer. In truth however, the Torlanders see themselves as the province that makes the entire Kingdom work, for without them the entire kingdom could barely keep up their food supply, and in truth this belief is being proven with the civil war, for famine is becoming more and more widespread everywhere except Treehold. The Torlanders are proud of their ability to keep traditions and customs alive for thousands of years, and it is said every city has their own customs and way of doing things, and even having minor gods and goddesses that they worship alongside the Light Pantheon.
However, if there is one thing that the Torlanders distrust most of all, its anything involving Elves, Wood Elves in particular. Thousands of years of living in fear of the so called "Wild Hunts" these fey folk go on about terrorizing the cities and burning their fields, not to mention shooting any poor woodsman expeditions that stray too far, have led to a general distrust of Elves in general. So much so that the phrase "As trust worthy as a sharp ear in a tree" is a phrase that means someone is to never be trusted. There is also a lower level of distrust of Halflings, for many farming families still resent the long ago decision to give up the most fertile fields in the nation to the "shorties". However this distrust is low at worst, and most have come to simply accept the halflings as their distant yet close cousins.
Due to their proximity to the wood worshiping Wood Elves, despite hating said Wood Elves, the Nordlanders have picked up some of their traits. They respect nature for what it is, and as such the god Inos (Light Pantheon God of Hunting) is one of the most worshipped gods in the land. Hunting is considered the "civilized man's hobby" and those hunting families can expect to make good coin. Wine is also some of the best in the Kingdom, a fact that the Nordlander nobility never misses a chance to remind nobles of the other provinces. In fact, being the bread basket of the nation has led to the Nordlanders to be an ever prideful people, considering themselves and the toil and sacrifice of their ancestors to be the sole reason the nation even remains alive to this day.
History
The Province of Treehold, or more commonly reffered to as Torland within the Kingdom of Ashenfeld, is an old and long fought over land. The people that make up the land hail from the ancient Torgalian tribes, a hard working and creative lot. They were some of the first to unite under Heymon and his growing empire of tribes. Thus their creation into a province of the kingdom was a natural and peaceful one.
However Torland is anything but a peaceful land, for ever since the people can remember, they have been plagued by the occasional attacks from those Wood Elves of the Great Dale Woods. Couple this with being so close to a natural wellspring of fey energy (so much so that a great tree grew out of the center of the capital early in the lands history) has led to the land being plagued by strange and wild creatures. However it is said a great general known as Rendel Chalker, fought off a massive invasion of Wood Elves with such expert tactics that he scared them off for two entire generations. This put the people at ease as they focused on themselves.
However another tense moment in Torlandian history came with the creation of Mournshire. For a long time the province of Treehold was recognized as the "bread basket of the kingdom" due to its incredibly fertile fields, but in the year 1567, a massive halfling population making up the town of Mournshire petitioned for its independence. This would kick off growing tensions, with Treehold sending a military force to do a show of force upon the supposedly foolish halflings. However the Halflings, in one incredible move, systematically used their connections across the kingdom to effectively bar Treehold from trade of any sort. This caused a panic of a great famine looming over the horizon (though a famine never did occur) to the point that the King of Ashenfeld publicly lambasted the Duke of Treehold to get his house in order. This led to the now "whipped" duke to work with the Halflings and set up Mournshire as an independent city state, provided Treehold still gets a large amount of crops every year and other such goods.
Recently, in the past few hundred years, the Torlanders have taken a more aggressive approach to their Wood Elf neighbors. Having to deal with assaults' of not just these fey warriors but countless attacks from the Hell Tribes past the Empty Range have hardened the people of Treehold to be capable if superstitious warriors. Their hard work and toil leads them to believe themselves to be the backbone of the great Kingdom, a wall of stone that will never crumble. Like the great golden eagle upon their banner will they always rise again after being beaten and bloodied, and with the Civil war raging, they will take their place as the true rulers of the nation.
Foreign Relations
"A bunch of un-refined bumpkins if you ask any Ashfeldian with any sort of sense. I hear that their nobles dance in pigs blood while sticking bits of grain to themselves. How can they call themselves the worthiest of our nation when they act like those disgusting tribals from the east?" -Marianne Baxter, Noble Lady of Coltherstone
"Should have seen the look on that ladies face during the ball. Me and a couple of the other boys snuck into the ball all them royals was attending, even managed to dress all fancy like to. Sure gave that one lady and her lady friends a shock when we did the ol Bare Crop ritual of Bellmaw. Best parts is, some of the bloody local nobles joined in!" -Danny Dawson, local Torland farmer
"Doing business with them Torlanders ain't too bad I suppose, though I'd watch your pockets when in Mournshire if i was you. Don't get me wrong i don't hate the little guys at all, i just have noticed that i tend to "lose" my coin poach a lot more often that id think is normal when walking down them halfling streets! Honestly though, the food them halflings make is worth every damn coin you'll ever make." -Otto Klügmann, Neundorf Trader
Treehold sees itself as the rock that supports the Kigndom. As such, many of the other provinces view them as arrogant and superstitious farm hands, but in turn the Torlanders view these other provinces as good blokes, but definetly too high and mighty for their own good. Winden they have always had bad relations with due to the Torlanders wanting to have complete control of the southern trade lanes, and the lanes leading into Ardita, however this hate doesn't even begin to reach the level of mistrust the Torlanders have for their Wood Elf neighbors to the east.
Capital
Treehold
Main Exports
Grain, Livestock, Iron, Wood
Type
Geopolitical, Province
Alternative Names
Torland
Demonym
Torlanders, Torlandian
Parent Organization
Subsidiary Organizations
