Duchy of Waymarch
The vast lands of the Duchy of Waymarch are mostly made up of rolling grassland, with limited water other than a few collections of lakes from spring rainstorms and winter snowmelt. No major rivers cross the Waymarch plains, so water shortages are common in summer. As a result, The Plains are excellent for raising horses, sheep, and certain cattle, but make for poor farmland.
The region of the Waymarch has, since Hyperborean times, been governed by a military administrator called a harmost who is based in Panetoth, the regional capital. When the Hyperboreans left Akados, rule of the Waymarch was granted to a Loreclannic chieftain, who was given the titles of both harmost and duke. This combination of harmost of Panetoth and duke of Waymarch survives to this day.
The current duke, Lucius Qellinroque, of House of Qellinroque (“Rock of Quell”), is the great grandson of Duke Borell, who was named for the famous Grand Duke Borell I of Reme who defeated the forces of the Hobgoblin Kingdom of the Deepfells in 1573 I.R.
Under its charter with Reme, Waymarch is required to keep a large military force for the protection of the grand duchy. With its limited resources, however, the march has historically struggled to support such an expense. In the last century, the dukes of Waymarch hit upon a solution to their persistent lack of income. The city of Bard’s Gate to the east was growing ever richer in coin, but not in the military presence necessary to defend its extensive interests. With the blessing of the grand dukes, Waymarch began hiring out its soldiers to the City of Lyres as mercenary troops. Such soldiers are only permitted to serve in regions geographically adjacent to the grand duchy in case a military emergency arises that necessitates their recall home. This requirement has imposed little by way of real limitation, however, as the lands of interest to Bard’s Gate adjoin those of the Waymarch, even if the troops hired by the city are often deployed to posts as far away as the Binjerin River Valley in the Gulf of Akados or even deep into the Sundered Kingdoms.
Most of the folk of Waymarch are of Foerdewaith extraction, particularly in Panetoth and the other towns and cities of the March. The Plains, however, are dominated by the nomadic Loreclans, who migrate throughout Waymarch, the lands of the grand duke, and the Northmarches each year. Some of the prominent Loreclans currently in The Plains of Waymarch include the Grass Sailors, the Quick Knives, the Stone Faces, the Thunder Riders, the Stone Walkers, and Beast Takers.
Every 50 years, families among the Shattered Folk beyond the Crynnomar Gap are permitted to petition for a right to settle in the Rhemish plains, and a lottery is held to determine who may immigrate. Those permitted to settle usually join existing Loreclans in The Plains of Reme, though occasionally they may form new clans with a direct grant of range lands to be held thereafter. The latter typically occurs only when an existing Loreclan is declared for elimination by the grand duke as punishment for egregious violation of ancestral tradition. This is on the verge of happening with the Quick Knives Loreclan, so there is a good chance that at some point in the near future a Shattered-Folk tribe might replace the (exterminated) Quick Knives in their Loreclannic territory.
Religion
The worship of Mithras (in the cities), Solanus, Kamien, and Dame Torren is widespread in the Waymarch, as is the case in the rest of Reme. Devotion to Freya is also common in the countryside, and Sefagreth has followers in many of the towns and inns along the Tradeway. Although Quell is the patron deity of the ducal family, the sea god is not otherwise a prominent deity in this landlocked realm.
Trade and Commerce
Waymarch is essential to the protection of nearly 3,000 miles of roadway from Bard’s Gate in the east to Reme in the west. The duchy further patrols the road from the capital city of Panetoth to the trade city of Broadwater. These roads serve as arteries of commerce for the entire Grand Duchy of Reme and are of vast economic and territorial importance. Large volumes of cattle, sheep, horses, grains, wool, linen, and cotton are hauled along the Tradeway, as are finished goods brought in from the port of Reme and the broad river-markets of Bard’s Gate.
To this end, cavalry waystations are frequent sights along the roads of Waymarch, and dozens of riders are tasked with patrolling and repairing the long tracts of the Tradeway so that commerce can keep moving at a steady clip.
Yet for such a large duchy, Waymarch itself produces surprisingly little in the way of commodities for trade elsewhere. The horses of its plains are renowned and can fetch good prices in town and city markets. Otherwise, Waymarch is primarily a crossroad of trade, its revenues coming from taxes and fees (in addition to the hire of mercenaries to Bard’s Gate), and many of those in its cities and towns make their living catering to the needs of those traveling east and west.
Government
Lucius Qellinroque is the fourth of his line to hold the title of duke of Waymarch. He has been forced to be a creative administrator of his demesne, always looking for sources of revenue to help pay for his feudal obligations to the grand duke in Reme. So far, by hiring out a substantial portion of his military to Bard’s Gate, he has managed to keep local coffers full and his vassals happy.
Military
Under its ancestral obligations to the grand duke of Reme, Waymarch is required to maintain a sizable military presence for the defense of the grand duchy. Of course, many of the soldiers of Waymarch are abroad at any one time in the service of Bard’s Gate. Were an emergency to arise they could be recalled, but given the distances, it would take time before the bulk could make it back to Rhemish territory.
Major Threats
Few major threats to Waymarch exist other than the risk of severe drought, which occurs once a decade or so. It is on reasonably good terms with all of its neighbors, and though a substantial portion of its military is in the east in service to Bard’s Gate, there are no true military challengers on its horizon. Of late, however, its soldiers guarding the Tradeway have been attacked, and rumors say that Duke Passur of Ysser may be involved in these events. Though the Tradeway would be a prize of incomparable value, any attempt by Ysser to annex any portion of that road would undoubtedly be met by the full military force Waymarch could bring to bear and could risk war between Reme and Foere. Any proven aggression by Ysser, or other events which might arise from the increasing instability of the northern provinces of Foere, could drag the March more deeply into the politics of its former sovereign in Courghais than either it or the grand duke may desire.
Region
Waymarch, Duchy of
Parent Organization
Controlled Territories
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