Duchy of Southvale
The Duchy of Southvale has existed in some form or fashion for more than 1,500 years since the city-state of Penmorome was established by Perigorn the Conqueror in 1930 I.R. Sheltered by the nearby Forlorn Mountains, the climate of the vale is milder with more rainfall than that of the rest of the Sundered Kingdoms. As a result, as long as there has been a fortification on the site of Penmorgh, the surrounding lands have been jealously guarded.
History and People
The city of Penmorome was established in the later days of the Hyperborean empire, well after the end of the Pax Hyperborea. Located near a tangled remnant of the old Akadonian Forest, the new settlement was from its founding subject to raids by goblins, hostile fey, and even vengeful treants. Despite the construction of massive walls about the city, the growth of Penmorome was severely constrained by the continual conflict from the Fae Copse. Eventually, occasional raids and punitive expeditions grew into open warfare. By 1943 I.R., the citizens of Penmorome had had enough and, with the assistance of soldiers from Parthos, razed the surrounding forests with fire and iron axe in a terrible campaign known today as the Great Conflagration. The evil treants and other fey were driven out, forced to flee to the Fae Copse and Black Wood.
With the threat from the forest eliminated, more Hyperboreans moved into Southvale and established more settlements, farms, and castles, finally establishing the Duchy of Southvale in 2002 I.R. with Penmorome as its capital.
The end of Hyperborean authority in the west following the destruction of the Tower of Oerson was a signal to opportunists and empire builders. In 2517 I.R., the land-hungry Heldring landed in Southvale and swept across the duchy and put Hyperborean towns to the torch. Penmorome’s stout walls resisted the Heldring’s most ferocious assaults, however, and Duchess Irylia declared the Edict of Sealing that barred entry to all foreigners. Soon, Southvale was effectively split. Hyperboreans retained control of the city, while the Heldring held the countryside.
The Heldring raiders found the forested lands of Southvale — which were spared the worst of changing climate and fire ravages — to be rich and fertile. They built settlements of their own among the ruins, including the cities of Wellesley, Weatherell, Freeport, North Bay, Penn, and Pike Point. Soon the surviving inhabitants of Southvale outside of Penmorome were living in these new Heldring settlements, intermarrying and assimilating with them.
The dominance of the Heldring began to break when the Polemarch Daan defeated the Heldring at the Battle of Agedium and began his legendary march to overthrow the corrupted Hyperborean Court at Tircople. Then in 2762 I.R., Overking Macobert, marching along the Sinnar Coast and bringing lands within his new Kingdom of Foere, approached Penmorome in force by land and by sea. The Heldring settlements provided little resistance as a few warbands were swept away and the rest quickly learned to lay down their arms at the king’s approach. As Macobert’s siege lines were put into place around Penmorome, the city’s gates suddenly opened with a fanfare of trumpets. Out of the gates marched the primus of Penmorome and his entire family, complete with attendants, courtiers, and entertainers. Given leave to approach the great king’s tent, the primus laid the keys of the city and a wreath of golden laurels as Macobert’s feet and swore fealty to him on the spot.
Overking Macobert raised the primus to his feet. He said that Penmorome had stood in opposition to his rightful rule, but Penmorome stood no more. He said that before him he saw only the city of Penmorgh. He named the primus as magnate of Penmorgh and placed the entire Province of Southvale in his hands to rule with justice in the king’s name.
Membership as a state within the Kingdom of Foere brought new prosperity and trade to Southvale. Centuries of relative peace passed, and dwarves from the fabled mines of Hazad-Burgh in the Forlorn Mountains discovered gold and silver in Southvale. With the permission of the magnate of Penmorgh, the dwarven city of Durandel was founded. Soon, precious metals flowed across the Blackflow River and out from the wharves of Penmorgh, bringing evermore riches to the guilds of that city. However, with the death of Overking Oessum VIII on the Fourth Great Crusade a mere century later, the beginnings of cracks in the provinces’ foundations began to appear. In 3213 I.R., the Foerdewaith Wars of Succession began. Within a decade, Ramthion Island, Pontos Island, Burgundia, and Suilley all declared their independence from the Court in Courghais.
The Province of Southvale, secure in its out-of-the-way corner, watched the chaos engulfing its neighbors with great trepidation. But the walls of Penmorgh remained manned by trained troops and the local militias were raised in the town, so the vale felt ready for the approach of any external threat. It was not ready for a threat from within when one of the province’s local barons, Tarler Traverthal, led a coup within the city and assassinated the magnate of Penmorgh. Traverthal gained the support of the guilds and, therefore, had the support of the local garrison. The Guild Council quickly raised Traverthal to the position of duke of Southvale and allied itself with Burgundia.
In response to this new uprising, the magnate of Oestre deployed the troops he brought to Highreach and, within a few months, a new army loyal to Foere landed south of Wellesley and marched on Penmorgh. The army outnumbered the forces holding Penmorgh, but the magnate of Oestre had not reckoned on the numbers and training of the peasants who arose from the countryside to harass them nor the heavy infantry provided by the dwarves of Durandel. The army of Matagost soon found itself outnumbered and caught in unfavorable terrain. The army was routed and forced to retreat to the coast to be picked up by their ships.
With Matagost reeling from its sudden defeat, Duke Tarler took the initiative and marched his now-blooded army up the Southvale Causeway toward Trevi. These reinforcements, combined with the surrounding army of Burgundia, broke the siege of Trevi and routed the Matagost host.
Southvale, little bloodied by the worst of the fighting, settled into something close to prosperity as the guilds jockeyed for power and control of trade in and out of Penmorgh. However, in the time of Duke Tarler’s son, trouble came to Southvale. The giant tribes of the Giantlands in the neighboring Forlorn Mountains noticed the violence going on among the puny humans of The Plains. But other than occasional raids into southern Burgundia where they encountered companies of heavily armed soldiers as often as they encountered spoils for the taking, they did little to get involved. With normalcy returning to Southvale, they now saw a land of accumulating riches that did not have nearly the numbers of armed troops as nearby Burgundia. So on one moonless night in the fall of 3306 I.R., a howling horde of hill giants led by their larger cousins stormed down from the mountains in western Southvale.
A call for help immediately went forth from Penmorgh to Trevi. However, the guilds of Penmorgh — in their unending loggerheads over primacy within Southvale — had recently backed a measure to undermine the Guild of Ironmongers, which had signed a lucrative agreement with the Royal House of Burgundia. The move cost the Burgundian king a great deal of money when his investment fell through and soured relations between him and Penmorgh. When King Guillerm received word of the attack on Southvale, he rashly ignored his court advisors and instead had his keeper of accounts tally the financial losses suffered as a result of the guilds of Penmorgh. He then estimated the number of days that a giant raid could ravage Southvale before Penmorgh suffered the same economic loss. When that number of days expired, King Guillerm the Petit (as he became known) gathered his army and marched on Southvale. But he was already too late.
The invading giants hit Southvale hard, ransacking many towns on its forested western border. The giants continued pushing forward as the militias and army were unable to get organized. They finally formed a defensive line at Guildford that held. A stalemate ensued for several days as the giants probed for weaknesses along the Guildford front as they continued ravaging the countryside they had already crossed. Things looked bleak for the defenders of the vale until a new army entered the field.
The gates of Durandel opened, and a dwarven host marched to war for the first time since the relief of Trevi. The giants, unaware of the dwarven city’s location, overlooked them as defenders of Southvale. When the dwarven army slashed into the rear flank of their hated enemy, the giants held only moments before breaking in a panic. Hundreds of giants fell in the space of a few hours, and hundreds more fled westward, back to the mountains. But on the field of battle, the duke of Southvale lay dead. When the army of Burgundia marched in a few weeks later, they found the giant threat averted and the battle-scarred populace turned against them. The guilds of Penmorgh had elected a mayor to oversee the city, and he became the de facto ruler of the entire duchy as a result.
King Guillerm quickly withdrew his forces to Trevi and only beat the messengers bearing news of Southvale’s secession from the Kingdom of Burgundia. The outraged king threatened war, but this time cooler heads among his advisors prevailed. The army did not march again, and the Court of Burgundia hoped to normalize relations with Penmorgh through peaceful means in order to once again welcome them into the kingdom. Their hopes of consolidation never came to be. Six years later, Oceander marines captured much of the Matagost Peninsula, and Oceander diplomats were dispatched to the courts of Trevi, Port Clar, and Penmorgh to demand immediate fealty to Maximilian d’Horatius Pontos II of the Kingdom of Oceanus and Emperor of the Oceans Blue. Southvale, seeing a way to gain support against the hated King Guillerm of Burgundia (and with insufficient naval forces to effectively resist anyway), immediately swore fealty.
In 3350 I.R., King Phillipe of Burgundy traveled to Penmorgh on a diplomatic mission. Unfortunately, not all saw the visit of the sovereign of their former kingdom in a positive light, and some folk still remembered what they saw as the betrayal of the Burgundian throne during the giant invasion two generations earlier. It was just such partisans who plotted the assassination of King Phillipe at the aptly named King’s Head Inn in Penmorgh. The plot was discovered, and the king escaped with his life and a serious injury that his court clerics healed, but the injury to his soul was not so quickly resolved.
The formerly friendly and outgoing Phillipe withdrew and became increasingly paranoid. Only a year later, the outriders of Weatherell reported a Burgundian army marching on their borders. A call for aid immediately went forth from Penmorgh, and a fleet was dispatched to land at Parthos and assist the defenders of Southvale. The Oceanic fleet successfully took Parthos and pinned the Burgundian king on the causeway between the mountains and Stony Strand. At the same time, an Oceander army marched forth from Oestre. Once again, little more than a century since the last time, Trevi found itself besieged. This time, however, its king was not inside to lead it. Trapped on the causeway, the Burgundian army was defeated at the Battle of Weatherell Moor, and King Phillipe was slain.
Since then, Southvale has been largely blessed with stability and prosperity, though the occasional attack by giants or treants does occur.
In 3392 I.R., a strange Tower of Bone suddenly appeared in the Fae Copse of Southvale and the dwarven city of Durandel was destroyed.
Consisting of a mixed population of old Foerdewaith (principally in Penmorgh) and descendants of Heldring invaders (in the surrounding countryside), Southvale is fairly cosmopolitan and enjoys the benefits of its inclusion in the empire of the Oceanders.
Religion
Foerdewaith-descended Southvalers revere Thyr and Muir, the traditional faiths of their ancestral kingdom. For the most part, the Heldring followed the example of their brethren in the Helcynngae Peninsula and also adopted the Foerdewaith faith, but there are persistent rumors of Heldring cults who still practice the worship of bloodthirsty Hel in the spirit of their savage ancestors.
Trade and Commerce
Conquest by Oceanus has had surprisingly positive effects on the province. Trade with the home empire has grown and, unlike in some other provinces, the Oceanders have made sure to apply only light pressure in the form of low taxes and minimal tariffs on goods.
Southvale has long been home to a wealthy merchant class. Goods such as livestock, rare woods, and timber from the remaining woodlots of the province, fish, and sheep’s wool all flow through the ports of Penmorgh and Wellesley, while manufactured goods, metal, ironwork, and textiles are shipped in from the empire. Shipworks at Penmorgh provide repair and construction, and send ships to sea as merchants or in service to the Oceander navy. Wellesley is home to a thriving whaling industry and sends whale oil and ambergris to Oceanus and beyond.
Loyalties and Diplomacy
After a long history of conquest, independence, and assimilation, the Duchy of Southvale seems to have found some stability as a province of the growing Kingdom of Oceanus. The inhabitants of the city of Penmorgh, originally Hyperborean but now largely of Foerdewaith extraction, are among the most loyal (or at least the less troublesome) inhabitants, as Oceander gold and goods flow through the docks. The Heldring of Wellesley and Southreach are similarly passé regarding the Oceanders and generally look the other way while enjoying the benefits of the province’s status.
In the countryside, the Heldring are, unsurprisingly, less enthusiastic about Oceander dominance. Tax collection in the hinterlands is sometimes an onerous job, as Oceander officials sometimes disappear mysteriously and require armed escorts that further degrade their reputation. The Oceanders often respond harshly to attacks on their officials — arresting and executing the perpetrators, or at times displacing whole villages. The Oceanders have also tried to counteract their bad reputation by building roads, public works, and inns, but this does not seem to have mollified their critics. Dissatisfaction with Oceanus in the countryside has been growing for years and shows no sign of lagging.
Government
The duchy hasn’t had a duke since the death of Artimus Traverthal during the giant invasion, and the mayor of Penmorgh has served as the primary decision maker for the entire vale since then. With the emergence of the Merchant Guild in Penmorgh as the true power behind the throne, it is now the guildmaster of this organization who wields the real power, though edicts are still issued in the name of the mayor. Individual towns elect or appoint their own mayors, but these are all subject to the rulings of Penmorgh. Deputy-Governor Alvoria d’Alvoros of Oceanus, who resides in Penmorgh, has begun to style himself “the duke of Southvale,” and he is consulted by Guildmaster Berezon and Mayor Mastlan on all policy decisions involving the region as a whole.
Military
The Oceanders keep a single legion stationed in Penmorgh, as well as a small fleet of warships. So far, though dislike of the Oceanders has grown in the countryside of late, they have seen no need to further reinforce their garrison, and service here is usually considered especially pleasant. The legion’s primary occupation is patrolling the roads and keeping villages safe from monsters, bandits, and natural disasters, though from time to time a squad or platoon of warriors is tasked with escorting a tax collector or government official into a hostile area.
Punitive expeditions against local villagers are considered particularly onerous and unpleasant, as most Oceanders are fond of Southvale and consider it to be fully a part of the kingdom despite its essentially colonial status. Elsewhere, the legion has been called to counteract giant raids in the eastern half of the duchy, but so far, their response time has been slow, and most of the raiders have escaped back to the Giantlands.
Major Threats
Though Southvale is stable for now, and the city dwellers enjoy their status as a prosperous Oceander province, the country folk chafe under Oceanus’ rule — either openly rebelling or complaining in private. Organized outside threats are few, but the adjacent crags of the Giantlands have always held dire threats to the folk of Southvale, especially those in unprotected villages and farms. The Giant War of 3306 I.R. began when well-organized tribes of hill and stone giants under the command of a powerful fire giant chief came down from the mountains and overwhelmed village militias and stole crops, livestock, and treasure. To the horror of the Southvalers, it seemed that this was no temporary raid; the giants intended to stay and were evicted only with the aid of the dwarves of Durandel. Today, Durandel is gone, and the giants remain in the mountains, and while raids are rare, they appear to be increasing in number and severity. Recently, a major raid interrupted traffic along the Southvale Causeway for several days before order was restored. Some witnesses reported that fire giants are once more leading the attacks. The Oceanders have directed their legion to defend against the attacks, but so far they have been unable to catch the giants in the act. Governor d’Alvoros has begun to contemplate hiring mercenaries or adventurers to counteract the raids.
Wilderness and Adventure
Much of Southvale is settled, and the region around Penmorgh is free of monsters and banditry. Other portions of the country, especially those that border on the Giantlands and the Stony Strand, are subject to attacks and threats from bandits, ogres, harpies, hill giants, and (it is rumored) even dragons and drakes. The Southvalers regularly venture into Stony Strand to harvest chalk and come into conflict with the orc bands dispatched by Baljulias the Great, the Tyrant of Lowport, and often require escort.
Elsewhere in the duchy, legends speak of pre-Hyperborean ruins hidden in the mountains of the Giantlands where it is said treasures from the Age of Kings may be found. Most scholars consider these rumors to be exaggerations and that what ruins exist are simply evidence of the duchy’s pre-Hyperborean inhabitants — an alternative that might not be as lucrative for adventurers but which would be extremely valuable to historians and researchers.
The towns along The Frontier of the Giantlands are also under threat, with giant activity increasing and the Oceander military so far unable to counteract it. Some town elders have begun to organize militia or have appealed to outsiders to help repel the raiders when they come. This call has been heeded by some adventurers who have engaged in their own counter-raids, attacking giant strongholds and bringing back stolen plunder (though the adventurers are always careful to take out their own cut of the proceeds).
Region
Duchy of Southvale
Controlled Territories
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