New Mountainheart
The Kingdom of New Mountainheart is the largest nation by territory in the Feengrenze, encompassing approximately 200 square miles within the New Mountainheart Valley.
Geography Historical Location: The Sliber Highlands, situated in the broad valley of New Mountainheart. and its three intersecting valleys Terrain: Fertile plains, rolling hills, with the valley acting as a natural fortress. Climate: Similar to that of new England Current Location: Since the fall of Murtagh the Usurper The Kingdom of New Mountainheart covers the breath of the Sliber Highlands Terrain: Fertile plains, forests, mountain ranges, and valleies Climate: Similar to that of new England Government New Mountainheart is, by tradition, a semi-feudal monarchy where power is formally centralized under the authority of King Fredrick von Bergherz. Officially, each noble house swears fealty to the king, and in return, they are granted considerable autonomy over their lands, so long as they uphold the kingdom’s laws and send tribute. Military power was centeralized under the command of the High Marshall However, in reality, the kingdom has drifted toward a true feudal monarchy due to Fredrick’s increasing detachment, leaving his nobles with an unprecedented level of freedom in governing their own fiefs.
With Fredrick Von Mountainheart engrossed in his personal grief, the once carefully balanced system of oversight has eroded. The duchies are now hotbeds of political competition, where dukes and lesser nobles vie for prestige, favor, and influence within their own hierarchies. As the king's attention wanes, the lords of New Mountainheart have taken to displays of opulence, military power, and social events, effectively mirroring the "great game" on a smaller, yet no less intense, scale. This rivalry has created both cultural richness and regional instability as noble houses compete to outshine each other.
Feudal Rivalries and the Great Game The ducal system, already strained by Fredrick's inattention, has led to the emergence of powerful regional identities, each competing for dominance and recognition. Nobles at every level work to gain the favor of their immediate superiors, whether by hosting grand tournaments, displaying their wealth, or expanding their influence. This fierce competition often leads to temporary alliances, covert rivalries, and the constant reshuffling of power dynamics. While this grants New Mountainheart a rich and diverse culture, it also sows seeds of potential discord, as nobles jostle for recognition in a kingdom where the king is increasingly absent from the throne.
History The kingdom was founded 500 years ago by survivors of the tiny kingdom of Old Mountainheart. Tucked away in the mountains of a distant world on the Material Plane, Mountainheart was very small by that world's standards; it was barely larger than what would be considered a duchy in other worlds. Worse, it was surrounded by much bigger rivals on all sides, with only the mountains keeping Mountainheart from being overrun. With his kingdom beset by enemies on all sides, the last King of Old Mounainheart, Edward von Mountainheart, traveled into the Feengrenze to seek the one thing that could help save his kingdom, magic.
A Deal with an Archfey Now, in this world, magic was exceedingly rare. Usually, those who wielded magic or magic items had entered into a contract with an otherworldly entity. So when Edward von Mountainheart traveled through the Feengrenze to the domain of the fey soverignAilénach An Draíocht, the Queen of Enchantments, he sought some power or boon that would allow him to triumph over his enemies. However, Queen Ailénach, having foreseen that Edwards's firstborn son would be a king of legend in a dream, decided to give him something much more valuable than some borrowed powers or a magic sword. She offered him a marital alliance in which her future daughter would marry his son, the terms of which to be sealed by a eight fold blood oath. Edward readily agreed and returned home with the force of powerful spellcasters and tomes of occult and arcane lore. With their aid, Old Mountainheart did not merely defend itself from its enemies but grew wealthy from trade with the Feyrealm and training of some of this world's first wizards. As fate would have it, Fredrick and his wife would bear a son named Fredrick and Queen Ailénach a daughter named Aoibheann. First introduced at a young age, the pair were inseparable from the time they could walk. Eventually, their friendship bloomed into romance. However, things took a darker turn after the pair turned 19. By that time, the power and wealth that Mountainheart had at its disposal had twisted King Edward's heart and made him desire more power. He conquered a neighboring kingdom and decided to wed the conquered kingdom princess to Fredrick to ensure his new subjects' fealty.
Downfall of Mountainheart When news reached Queen Ailénach's court, she could not believe it. Breaking an eightfold blood oath was unthinkable for any fey. The two monarchs exchanged missives for months, with Queen Ailénach begging Edward to reconsider. Eventually, the letters started to turn angry and, in the case of Queen Ailénach, less and less coherent. For months, Queen Ailénach lived in delusional denial, convinced that this whole affair was some kind of mistake. Things came to a head the day that Fredrick's new bride arrived. Queen Ailénach chooses this day to go to Old Mountainheart in person in one last desperate attempt to make Edward change his mind. However, the moment she laid eyes on Fredrick's new prospective bride, Queen Ailénach completely lost it. With the truth Queen Ailénach tried so hard to deny, looking her straight in the face, Queen Ailénach started incoherently ranting at everyone about Fredrick and Edward being oathbreakers. She tried to beat the princess to death with a candelabrum. Queen Ailénach was ejected from the kingdom and returned to her domain in the Feengrenze. There, she found Aoibheann had not returned from the Material Plane. She lost it when she saw via scrying magic that her daughter still loved Fredrick, and the two had eloped. The sight of her daughter choosing the man she considered an unfaithful oathbreaker was the last straw for Queen Ailénach. She used her magic to summon a flood and whimwhril of biblical proportions to scour the Mountainheart from the face of the world. In the space of a single night, a wall of water and magic 200 feet high tore down the Mountainheart's picturesque valleys, destroying everything in its path and sweeping away the people and remnants of the kingdom.
Rebirth It is unknown how so many of the people of old mountainheart survived the whimwhirl or why those who did washed up upon the shores of the Island of Tír na Caillte, the largest island in the Feengrenze. Some believe that the land or a powerful fey soverignintervened on their behalf, and some say that Ailénach brought them here to torment them even further. It is known that when those survivors looked at themselves, they saw they were transformed; their bodies were covered in fur, and they had acquired the features of animals, including claws, whiskers, and, in a few cases, horns. The people of Mountainheart would have likely despaired at the prospect of being stranded on an alien shore but Prince Fredrick, now transformed into a hulking beast-man, rallied his people to start anew in this unfamiliar land. For the first two decades, Sliberberg was a quiet market town nestled between the harbor and what is now known as the Old Castle. However, the city's fate changed dramatically when a gnomish prospector unearthed feysilver in the cliffs below the Old Castle. The news of this discovery spread like wildfire, attracting prospectors from all the species that call the Feengrenze home. The sudden influx of settlers highlighted the city's strategic location, where the navigable Silverflow River meets an excellent deep-water harbor. Over a few decades, Sliberberg evolved from a sleepy town to a bustling trading city, a hub where ships from the Feyglimmer Sea would load cargo from the realms farther inland. The city's rapid growth and economic boom brought a new wave of excitement to its streets.
A rivalry as old as the hills However, as Sliberberg and his kingdom grew, Fredrick retreated from public life. Aoibheann had disappeared during the whimwhirl that cast him and his people into the Feengrenze, and the long decades and, eventually, centuries of searching for her were starting to take their toll. He descended into a never-ending cycle of grief. The city and his kingdom would grow haphazardly and chaotically. At the same time, he was stuck in a never-ending cycle of denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, constantly looping back to the beginning and never quite hitting acceptance. While Fredrick collapsed in on himself, Queen Ailénach grew madder by the day. Seeing the man and kingdom, she tried to destroy not only survive but rebuild itself only about 100 miles overland from her own domain, which filled her with rage. For centuries, she unleashed increasingly unhinged plots to destroy Fredrick and New Mountainheart, and each failure drove her more and more insane.
Recent history In the course of the last year Fredrick constant pining and the great game of the kingdom came to a head. Duke Murtagh usurped the throne and turned the kingdom into a military dictatorship focused on expanding the kingdom. for several months he was able to do almost as he pleased, conquring over a dozen nearby small states. However with the help of Tansy Fleetfoot a group of young heroes formed a resistance and overthrew Murtagh. DUring the liberberg uprising, Aoibheann retuirned and reunited with Fredrick.
Society and Culture Population: A mix of humans, fey, and other magical beings coexisting under the rule of the archfey monarchy. Languages: Primarily New Mountainheartian Common with Fey languages and dialects. Religion: Worship of various deities from throughout the Mutliverse. Traditions: The primary holidays are based on the wheel of the year Economy: Primairly arigcultural with mining and logging. Sliberberg is a center of manufacturing both magical and mundane. People of New Mountainheart New Mountainheart is one of the most open and inclusive societies within the Märchenweltgrenze, where mortal folk and fey folk coexist in an unusually deep and genuine harmony. While it is typical for fey and mortals to keep largely to themselves across much of the Märchenweltgrenze, in New Mountainheart, they live side by side, sharing customs, festivals, and even professions. This coexistence is maintained not only through mutual respect but through a longstanding cultural code known as the Sliberberg Compact—a unique set of norms, customs, and taboos that serve as a bridge between mortal and fey values.
The Sliberberg Compact is a vital part of life for all common citizens, mortal and fey alike. It has no written text, instead existing as a social code deeply embedded in the hearts and traditions of New Mountainheart’s people. The Compact serves as a guiding set of principles that encourage cooperation, understanding, and fair dealing in daily life, blending the directness of mortals with the subtlety of fey customs. Violating the Compact’s norms is rare among the common folk and would bring considerable social consequences. However, the nobility often view the Compact more selectively, bending its customs and expectations to suit their political aims, which can lead to subtle tensions between the classes.
One of the most distinctive aspects of New Mountainheart is its recognition of awakened animals—creatures that possess self-awareness, intelligence, and often the ability to communicate. Unlike in most societies, where such animals might be viewed as curiosities or even magical anomalies, awakened animals in New Mountainheart are granted full legal protection and equal status. This was a revolutionary step when first introduced centuries ago, and it has since become a defining feature of the kingdom’s identity. Awakened animals, who account for nearly 90% of the wildlife in Märchenweltgrenze, are thus integrated into all levels of society, holding jobs, running businesses, and even serving in local militias or as town officials. It is not unusual for a fox to be the town’s resident storyteller or for a family of badgers to run an inn in one of the valley’s quaint villages.
The valley’s towns and villages host an incredible variety of people, representing almost every sentient race from both the Feywild and the Material Plane. The common folk of New Mountainheart are typically merry and open-hearted, with a strong sense of community and tradition. They are quick to welcome travelers and as likely to host a spontaneous festival or lend a helping hand as they are to offer a listening ear. This warm and friendly culture has made the valley a place where both fey and mortals feel truly at home.
Military and Defense Theoretically the military of the Kingdom of New MOuntainheart was centralized under the command of the current high marshall. However when Fredrick attention shifted inward this system quickly erroded to a traditional feudal arrangement of noble houses having their own levies. THis worked for a while until Murtagh overthrew the kingdom using a mix of mercenaries and his own considerable levy. Fredrick is now working to reestablish the old profressional royal army
Geography Historical Location: The Sliber Highlands, situated in the broad valley of New Mountainheart. and its three intersecting valleys Terrain: Fertile plains, rolling hills, with the valley acting as a natural fortress. Climate: Similar to that of new England Current Location: Since the fall of Murtagh the Usurper The Kingdom of New Mountainheart covers the breath of the Sliber Highlands Terrain: Fertile plains, forests, mountain ranges, and valleies Climate: Similar to that of new England Government New Mountainheart is, by tradition, a semi-feudal monarchy where power is formally centralized under the authority of King Fredrick von Bergherz. Officially, each noble house swears fealty to the king, and in return, they are granted considerable autonomy over their lands, so long as they uphold the kingdom’s laws and send tribute. Military power was centeralized under the command of the High Marshall However, in reality, the kingdom has drifted toward a true feudal monarchy due to Fredrick’s increasing detachment, leaving his nobles with an unprecedented level of freedom in governing their own fiefs.
With Fredrick Von Mountainheart engrossed in his personal grief, the once carefully balanced system of oversight has eroded. The duchies are now hotbeds of political competition, where dukes and lesser nobles vie for prestige, favor, and influence within their own hierarchies. As the king's attention wanes, the lords of New Mountainheart have taken to displays of opulence, military power, and social events, effectively mirroring the "great game" on a smaller, yet no less intense, scale. This rivalry has created both cultural richness and regional instability as noble houses compete to outshine each other.
Feudal Rivalries and the Great Game The ducal system, already strained by Fredrick's inattention, has led to the emergence of powerful regional identities, each competing for dominance and recognition. Nobles at every level work to gain the favor of their immediate superiors, whether by hosting grand tournaments, displaying their wealth, or expanding their influence. This fierce competition often leads to temporary alliances, covert rivalries, and the constant reshuffling of power dynamics. While this grants New Mountainheart a rich and diverse culture, it also sows seeds of potential discord, as nobles jostle for recognition in a kingdom where the king is increasingly absent from the throne.
History The kingdom was founded 500 years ago by survivors of the tiny kingdom of Old Mountainheart. Tucked away in the mountains of a distant world on the Material Plane, Mountainheart was very small by that world's standards; it was barely larger than what would be considered a duchy in other worlds. Worse, it was surrounded by much bigger rivals on all sides, with only the mountains keeping Mountainheart from being overrun. With his kingdom beset by enemies on all sides, the last King of Old Mounainheart, Edward von Mountainheart, traveled into the Feengrenze to seek the one thing that could help save his kingdom, magic.
A Deal with an Archfey Now, in this world, magic was exceedingly rare. Usually, those who wielded magic or magic items had entered into a contract with an otherworldly entity. So when Edward von Mountainheart traveled through the Feengrenze to the domain of the fey soverignAilénach An Draíocht, the Queen of Enchantments, he sought some power or boon that would allow him to triumph over his enemies. However, Queen Ailénach, having foreseen that Edwards's firstborn son would be a king of legend in a dream, decided to give him something much more valuable than some borrowed powers or a magic sword. She offered him a marital alliance in which her future daughter would marry his son, the terms of which to be sealed by a eight fold blood oath. Edward readily agreed and returned home with the force of powerful spellcasters and tomes of occult and arcane lore. With their aid, Old Mountainheart did not merely defend itself from its enemies but grew wealthy from trade with the Feyrealm and training of some of this world's first wizards. As fate would have it, Fredrick and his wife would bear a son named Fredrick and Queen Ailénach a daughter named Aoibheann. First introduced at a young age, the pair were inseparable from the time they could walk. Eventually, their friendship bloomed into romance. However, things took a darker turn after the pair turned 19. By that time, the power and wealth that Mountainheart had at its disposal had twisted King Edward's heart and made him desire more power. He conquered a neighboring kingdom and decided to wed the conquered kingdom princess to Fredrick to ensure his new subjects' fealty.
Downfall of Mountainheart When news reached Queen Ailénach's court, she could not believe it. Breaking an eightfold blood oath was unthinkable for any fey. The two monarchs exchanged missives for months, with Queen Ailénach begging Edward to reconsider. Eventually, the letters started to turn angry and, in the case of Queen Ailénach, less and less coherent. For months, Queen Ailénach lived in delusional denial, convinced that this whole affair was some kind of mistake. Things came to a head the day that Fredrick's new bride arrived. Queen Ailénach chooses this day to go to Old Mountainheart in person in one last desperate attempt to make Edward change his mind. However, the moment she laid eyes on Fredrick's new prospective bride, Queen Ailénach completely lost it. With the truth Queen Ailénach tried so hard to deny, looking her straight in the face, Queen Ailénach started incoherently ranting at everyone about Fredrick and Edward being oathbreakers. She tried to beat the princess to death with a candelabrum. Queen Ailénach was ejected from the kingdom and returned to her domain in the Feengrenze. There, she found Aoibheann had not returned from the Material Plane. She lost it when she saw via scrying magic that her daughter still loved Fredrick, and the two had eloped. The sight of her daughter choosing the man she considered an unfaithful oathbreaker was the last straw for Queen Ailénach. She used her magic to summon a flood and whimwhril of biblical proportions to scour the Mountainheart from the face of the world. In the space of a single night, a wall of water and magic 200 feet high tore down the Mountainheart's picturesque valleys, destroying everything in its path and sweeping away the people and remnants of the kingdom.
Rebirth It is unknown how so many of the people of old mountainheart survived the whimwhirl or why those who did washed up upon the shores of the Island of Tír na Caillte, the largest island in the Feengrenze. Some believe that the land or a powerful fey soverignintervened on their behalf, and some say that Ailénach brought them here to torment them even further. It is known that when those survivors looked at themselves, they saw they were transformed; their bodies were covered in fur, and they had acquired the features of animals, including claws, whiskers, and, in a few cases, horns. The people of Mountainheart would have likely despaired at the prospect of being stranded on an alien shore but Prince Fredrick, now transformed into a hulking beast-man, rallied his people to start anew in this unfamiliar land. For the first two decades, Sliberberg was a quiet market town nestled between the harbor and what is now known as the Old Castle. However, the city's fate changed dramatically when a gnomish prospector unearthed feysilver in the cliffs below the Old Castle. The news of this discovery spread like wildfire, attracting prospectors from all the species that call the Feengrenze home. The sudden influx of settlers highlighted the city's strategic location, where the navigable Silverflow River meets an excellent deep-water harbor. Over a few decades, Sliberberg evolved from a sleepy town to a bustling trading city, a hub where ships from the Feyglimmer Sea would load cargo from the realms farther inland. The city's rapid growth and economic boom brought a new wave of excitement to its streets.
A rivalry as old as the hills However, as Sliberberg and his kingdom grew, Fredrick retreated from public life. Aoibheann had disappeared during the whimwhirl that cast him and his people into the Feengrenze, and the long decades and, eventually, centuries of searching for her were starting to take their toll. He descended into a never-ending cycle of grief. The city and his kingdom would grow haphazardly and chaotically. At the same time, he was stuck in a never-ending cycle of denial, anger, bargaining, and depression, constantly looping back to the beginning and never quite hitting acceptance. While Fredrick collapsed in on himself, Queen Ailénach grew madder by the day. Seeing the man and kingdom, she tried to destroy not only survive but rebuild itself only about 100 miles overland from her own domain, which filled her with rage. For centuries, she unleashed increasingly unhinged plots to destroy Fredrick and New Mountainheart, and each failure drove her more and more insane.
Recent history In the course of the last year Fredrick constant pining and the great game of the kingdom came to a head. Duke Murtagh usurped the throne and turned the kingdom into a military dictatorship focused on expanding the kingdom. for several months he was able to do almost as he pleased, conquring over a dozen nearby small states. However with the help of Tansy Fleetfoot a group of young heroes formed a resistance and overthrew Murtagh. DUring the liberberg uprising, Aoibheann retuirned and reunited with Fredrick.
Society and Culture Population: A mix of humans, fey, and other magical beings coexisting under the rule of the archfey monarchy. Languages: Primarily New Mountainheartian Common with Fey languages and dialects. Religion: Worship of various deities from throughout the Mutliverse. Traditions: The primary holidays are based on the wheel of the year Economy: Primairly arigcultural with mining and logging. Sliberberg is a center of manufacturing both magical and mundane. People of New Mountainheart New Mountainheart is one of the most open and inclusive societies within the Märchenweltgrenze, where mortal folk and fey folk coexist in an unusually deep and genuine harmony. While it is typical for fey and mortals to keep largely to themselves across much of the Märchenweltgrenze, in New Mountainheart, they live side by side, sharing customs, festivals, and even professions. This coexistence is maintained not only through mutual respect but through a longstanding cultural code known as the Sliberberg Compact—a unique set of norms, customs, and taboos that serve as a bridge between mortal and fey values.
The Sliberberg Compact is a vital part of life for all common citizens, mortal and fey alike. It has no written text, instead existing as a social code deeply embedded in the hearts and traditions of New Mountainheart’s people. The Compact serves as a guiding set of principles that encourage cooperation, understanding, and fair dealing in daily life, blending the directness of mortals with the subtlety of fey customs. Violating the Compact’s norms is rare among the common folk and would bring considerable social consequences. However, the nobility often view the Compact more selectively, bending its customs and expectations to suit their political aims, which can lead to subtle tensions between the classes.
One of the most distinctive aspects of New Mountainheart is its recognition of awakened animals—creatures that possess self-awareness, intelligence, and often the ability to communicate. Unlike in most societies, where such animals might be viewed as curiosities or even magical anomalies, awakened animals in New Mountainheart are granted full legal protection and equal status. This was a revolutionary step when first introduced centuries ago, and it has since become a defining feature of the kingdom’s identity. Awakened animals, who account for nearly 90% of the wildlife in Märchenweltgrenze, are thus integrated into all levels of society, holding jobs, running businesses, and even serving in local militias or as town officials. It is not unusual for a fox to be the town’s resident storyteller or for a family of badgers to run an inn in one of the valley’s quaint villages.
The valley’s towns and villages host an incredible variety of people, representing almost every sentient race from both the Feywild and the Material Plane. The common folk of New Mountainheart are typically merry and open-hearted, with a strong sense of community and tradition. They are quick to welcome travelers and as likely to host a spontaneous festival or lend a helping hand as they are to offer a listening ear. This warm and friendly culture has made the valley a place where both fey and mortals feel truly at home.
Military and Defense Theoretically the military of the Kingdom of New MOuntainheart was centralized under the command of the current high marshall. However when Fredrick attention shifted inward this system quickly erroded to a traditional feudal arrangement of noble houses having their own levies. THis worked for a while until Murtagh overthrew the kingdom using a mix of mercenaries and his own considerable levy. Fredrick is now working to reestablish the old profressional royal army
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