Walston

Walston is a Sword Pact nation located west of the Godsreach Mountains, along the northern coast. When Walston was part of the Empire of Avaros, it was one of the most autonomous regions of the empire due to its natural geographic distance and lack of important resources, and when Avaros fell, the lords of the ruling house Walustor were easily able to close off their borders from the ensuing chaos and create an independent kingdom. Today, Walston is an isolated and relatively regressive nation, and the victim of increasingly frequent attacks from neighbouring Tevenari. Walstoners must work hard to survive in the harsh northern climate, lacking the shelter of the Godsreach Mountains which Ehr Nuvale enjoys. Between winter storms and Tevenar raids, Walstoners feel little kinship and some enmity towards the other human kingdoms, imploring for aid but offering little in return. King Walustor V is known to be an incompetent and arbitrary ruler, focusing Walston's military might near the capital of Yael and leaving his people to flee or be killed when the Tevenar attack. This callousness, along with his exorbitant taxation, led to Duke Iridan Ryker's rebellion and the secession of Prust.

Structure

Walston is the most centralized of the monarchies in the Sword Pact, with a king hoarding most of the power and a pyramid shaped caste system stretching below. Nowhere else do lords enjoy such freedom, or peasants endure such misery. Being almost entirely rural, Walston's only real city is the capital of Yael, which is itself little more than a castle town. The rest of the kingdom is made up of small hamlets of farmers banding together for protection. Every scrap of land is claimed by one lord or another, who extracts taxes in exchange for their "protection", and in turn give a portion of these funds to King Walustor V. The land is divided into four counties (Prust used to be a fifth) - Yaelish, Aurbach, Heston and Fenust. The ruling Walustors hold Yaelish county, the largest and most populous one. The next two most powerful lords are Count Hestorly of Heston county and Countess Aurbacher of Aurbach county. They are bitter rivals through the intrigues of previous Walustor kings who wish to keep their attentions away from rebellion. Count Fenustor of Fenust county is primarily King Walustor's marshal, and his primary holding is Fort Fenust. Walston maintains a conscript army with few professionals. Casualty rates against Tevenar are high, and so a steady stream of young lads snatched from their families is needed to maintain defence. There is little social mobility available for the average citizen of Walston, except to maintain a profitable farm and hope that the local lord is not especially cruel. Lords in the west of Walston maintain power through their militias, using the threat of Tevenar out of the Raidpeaks to keep the population in line. In the east, the lords rule through wealth, trading staple crops to nearby Zethunir in exchange for manufactured goods.

Culture

Walston's culture is quite static, with its people getting little exposure to the customs of other nations. The peasants are deeply superstitious, worshipping Virel as the goddess of fertility and a bountiful harvest. Their lives revolve closely around the turning of the seasons, and they hold great festivals to mark the start of a new one. These include: The Ides of Quickening (Virim the 1st, first day of planting): the most popular festival in Walston, celebrating the beginning of the planting season. This is the only day on which marriages can legally take place in the Kingdom, so it is essentially a massive wedding ceremony. The fathers of the brides are in charge of providing alcohol and food for everyone in their hamlet, while the fathers of the grooms organize contests, sports and other events. Virel's Day (Virandol the 15th, halfway through Evershine): a slightly more reserved festival than the Ides, Virel's Day is when the people of Walston pray to their patron goddess that their harvest will be bountiful and their winter mild. Fires of any kind are forbidden throughout the day and night in recognition of the trees that will need to be felled to provide the winter's firewood. Peasants and lords alike daub their faces with green paint in various designs to show their allegiance to Virel. Barrow's Eve (Hrohondas the 29th, last day of the year): a somber holiday where families typically remain in their homes. There is a widely held superstition throughout the Sword Pact that Hrogar steals a day of your life during the last night of the year (hence Hrohondas only having 29 days), so families spend time with each other, celebrating being alive while remembering those that have past during the year. The fireplace must be kept lit throughout the night to appease Hrogar, so family members including children who are old enough take it in shifts to maintain a lonely vigil.

Public Agenda

King Walustor's primary concern is defending his castle from the Tevenar, and his secondary concern is ensuring that another revolt like that of Prust does not take place. Accordingly, he keeps his lords close to Yael, allowing them to visit their fiefs only occasionally to prevent them from developing a power base there. Walston is not especially concerned with defence against the other Sword Pact nations; their poor soil and meagre population does not make an especially tempting prize. King Walustor is convinced that Jullandy will eventually try to spark a republican revolution in Walston and Jullandians are therefore completely banned from the kingdom. The king had an adviser from Ehr Nuvale who also served as court wizard, but this adviser was recalled after it was discovered that Walustor had also sent envoys to Dyr Tolen asking them to send alchemical inventions for his castle.

Assets

Walston has little in the way of trade, having neither the bountiful fields of Jullandy, the industry of Zethunir, or the technology of Ehr Nuvale and Dyr Tolen. Their greatest asset is thus also their greatest weakness: their cold climate. They are protected by being an unappealing target to all but the Tevenar. There is some small tourism to Walston to attend their festivals, although the lack of decent inns keeps most away.

History

Walston was first a province of the Empire of Avaros, with the king instead being called the North Warden. At that time, it was inhabited mostly by soldiers manning border forts, with small farms nearby to feed them. Walston did send a contingent to the Empress' army in the war against Cobala, although it was the smallest. After the fall of Avaros, the North Warden Walustor was one of the first declare himself a king, and all the peasants and soldiers of the north as his subjects. Seeing the chaos that was sweeping the south in the power vacuum left by the empress, the people of Walston readily accepted this decision. In the time since, the kings of Walustor have established some legitimacy through a fairly stable succession, though there have been few truly competent rulers.

Territories

Yaelish County - This is the most well-populated and the capital county of Walston. Its capital is Yael, the largest settlement in Walston resting on the banks of the northern neck of the river Eismesser, which consists of a large castle and surrounding town. The vast majority of Yaelish county's population lives within ten miles of the river, and several self-sufficient farming villages can be found as the road wends its way south. Peasants in Yaelish county tend be slightly more well off than elsewhere in Walston, mainly because their young lads are generally spared from conscription so the county's economy remains strong. The farmers of Yaelish county mainly grow cold-weather greens like cauliflower and carrots and keep herds of hardy hogs. Aurbach County - The easternmost county of Walston, Aurbach county's capital is Motte Aurbach, a small castle situated on an island in the middle of the river Eismesser. The people of the surrounding villages are experts in piloting river crafts and fishing, and indeed the only way to reach Motte Aurbach is by ferry. The Aurbacher family themselves are known to be some of the kinder nobles in Walston, and Countess Aurbacher herself can occasionally be seen on her personal riverboat fishing with her children. Far to the north of the populated part of Aurbach county is the Flotlac, a frigid lake formed by runoff from the Godsreach Mountains which is nevertheless a popular destination for those from Aurbach - it is known to have largemouth bass with glittering blue scales not seen anywhere else in Tevastra. Heston County - Located where the northern and southern necks of the river Eismesser meet, Heston county and its capital of Hestorly Castle is right in the middle of Walston. Count Hestorly is an old and notoriously paranoid man, seemingly anxious about being stuck between Yaelish and Aurbach counties. He is also a harsh man infamous for riding through the villages of his county pressing every man capable of wielding a sword into his levies. Therefore, Heston county is strong in armed men, but its people are poor and often starving. Those that are able to farm produce mainly root vegetables like beets and radishes which can be eaten without being cooked, since they are far from the Bucwood and firewood is hard to come by. Fenust County - Far in the west of Walston, almost at the base of the Raidpeaks, is Fenust county. Fenust is a harsh and unforgiving place even by Walstoner standards. The people there are the first line of defence when the Tevevar come out of the Raidpeaks and sail their ships down the Eismesser, and Fenust's population is mostly conscripted soliders. Count Fenustor commands this defence from Fort Fenust, one of the oldest human structures in Tevastra. It was built thousands of years ago when humanity was forced almost into the Raidpeaks by encroaching orcs, and ironically now serves as a bastion against other humans. Transport ships from Yael and Aurbach Motte make the difficult upriver voyage to Fenust to deliver food and supplies to the beleaguered forces at Fenust, but when the Eismesser freezes over in Harrowfrost, they can rely only on what they are able to hunt and fish.