Amrin Estuary
(AM-rinn)
The Amrin Estuary is dominated politically and commercially by the city of Westden, far upriver on the Great Amrin. With the exception of the Estuary’s north bank, the area is prosperous and relatively safe. Eastgate is the dominant city of the area, although it does not exert any meaningful political control over the country nobles; they dance sufficiently well to the tune of Eastgate’s gold. The city patrols the main high roads, and the nobles are also organized into a League of Estuary Lords for mutual protection and benefit.
Unlike most of the Borderland, the Amrin Estuary has remained almost untouched by the receding influence of Foere, and most changes have actually left the folk of the Estuary better off than before. The area is firmly within the influence of Westden, and Foere has been a traditional competitor with the great trading city. Eastgate’s fortunes are on the rise with the decline of Foere (one example being the naval détente with Marg), and the increasing trade in this area has improved the lives not only of the Estuary Lords, but of the farmers, tradesfolk, and innkeepers along the length of the Trader’s Way.
Structure
Other than in the cities of Eastgate and Telar Brindel, the countryside along the south bank of the Estuary has no centralized government. A number of feudal lords undertake the job of protecting their manors and freeholds, and serve as a barrier to keep southern brigands away from the Trader’s Way. To this end, they are organized into a League of Estuary Lords, allowing for them to respond quickly in the case of incursions from the lands to the south. In return, Eastgate and Telar Brindel do not interfere in the affairs of these lords, or attempt to turn their lands into a further extension of the reach of Westden.
Assets
Trade hub (Eastgate), fishing, foodstuffs, shipbuilding.
Territories
The Amrin Estuary is a gulf at the mouth of the Great Amrin River, called an “estuary” only by common convention. As a political region rather than just a geographical feature, the “Estuary” includes the city of Eastgate, the waters of the estuary itself, and also the lands ranging south from the shoreline to the region of the Trader’s Way where the higher land of the coastline begins to drop into the vast watershed of the Gaelon River and its tributaries. It is a territory that has been under the effective control of Westden for years, by means of the city’s careful statecraft, shrewd alliances, and plentiful economic incentives. The northern bank of the Estuary is a part of Eastreach Province.
The south bank of the Amrin Estuary is ordinarily a peaceful area protected by the League of Estuary Lords and potential reinforcements from the garrisons at Eastgate and Telar Brindel. However, it is always at risk to any nobles who form a weak link in the chain and, unlike feudal systems with a strict hierarchy, the nobles of the League of Estuary Lords are freeholders answerable to no one unless their failings are quite dramatic. Hence, there always seem to be minor problems breaking out that go unresolved by one baron or another. Monsters or bandits occasionally attack villages; strange diseases break out when a traveler on the Trader’s Way brings along a strange disease from afar; and from time to time, there is a violent border dispute between some of the Estuary Lords themselves.
Technological Level
Foreign Relations
The region’s distance from Foere’s centers of power, and its proximity to Freeport, has made it impractical for the Kingdom of Foere to exercise any meaningful power either in the waters of the Estuary or in the lands to the south since the collapse of the empire. Grinding their teeth, a succession of Foerdewaith kings have watched bitterly as Westden purchased more and more influence in this area over the years. The estuary is Westden's main avenue of sea trade in the Black Sail Bay and beyond, so it is of vital interest to the city, and there is no question that Westden would respond militarily to any attempt to close its access to the Estuary.
Trade & Transport
All trade in the Amrin Estuary is dominated by the influence of Westden. The city of Eastgate is the avenue to the sea for Westden's extensive trade network, and the last leg of the Trader’s Way runs along the south bank of the Estuary toward Telar Brindel and beyond that to Zobeck. Except during the winter months, most of the Estuary’s trade activity is by water through Eastgate, but during the cold winters the Trader’s Way becomes the only reliable way for merchants to bridge the gap between Eastgate and Zobeck, and their well-guarded caravans become a common sight on the road.
Founding Date
21657 A.E.
Type
Geopolitical, Protectorate
Demonym
Amrinian
Government System
Oligarchy
Power Structure
Semi-autonomous area
Economic System
Traditional
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Comments