County of Toullen
(TOO-len; archaic: too-LAIN)
Toullen is now a feudal vassal of Suilley, essentially a palatine realm ruled by the Count, who has pledged his personal fealty to the Suilleyn king. It is a very rural country, still recovering from long-term damage caused by The Fiend Rains. The main attraction of Toullen for most people of the Borderland is the Tournament of Lilies and the highly competitive jousting competitions of the county. Most of the county’s revenue comes from logging and mining operations on the western slopes of the Kal’Yugoth Mountains.
As with Keston Province, the County of Toullen is not greatly affected by the retreat of Foere’s power. These vassal states of Suilley threw off the yoke of Foere relatively early, and Foere was doing little to benefit them in the first place. They experienced the rough edge of Foerdewaith culture far more than the civilized edge; other than a countryside interpretation of chivalric principles, and an invader’s language, they have little to show for their temporary role as vassal states to the Overking in Courghais.
For the Toullenese, the changing times have more to do with growth and stability, building connections with Suilley to benefit their people, and reclaiming fens and marshes that have stood fallow since the Fiend Rains decades ago.
Structure
A hereditary Count, currently Luthien, first of his name to rule, governs Toullen. Count Luthien is a fat, friendly man, much loved by his subjects. His popularity is greatly enhanced by the independent fame of his younger sister, the Demoiselle Cyrilinde the Lance, a champion tournament jouster, grand victor at one Tournament of Lilies, finishing in the top ten jousters for the last three years, and taking the laurel crown in two of the last three Tournaments of the Realm.
Below the level of Count, Toullen has a stratum of nobility called High Barons to whom ordinary barons pledge fealty, most knights in turn pledging fealty to one of the ordinary barons. Fifteen high baronial houses form an advisory council of sorts to the Count, but the council has no actual governmental powers. Of all the realms in the Borderlands, the Count of Toullen exerts more direct power over his subjects than the ruler of any other realm. For Toullen, a weak ruler means a weak County (see, e.g., Count Rolomair “Wetself”), but a strong ruler can make dramatic improvements without facing much opposition from great noble houses serving their own agendas. Count Luthien is a strong and popular ruler, and the County is benefitting greatly from his reign.
The 15 High Baronial Houses are the Aulzevern, Caer Nor, Grellec, Saltfalcon, Gloun, Nantres, Hleen, Jormorel, Tauntirion, Mothcandle, Cascat, Porthiliot, Greenwine, Liscondel, and Vanj. In addition, Lord Durben of Durbenford has been campaigning hard for the elevation of a sixteenth High Baronial House for the last several years.
Assets
Timber, flax, linen, foodstuffs, livestock (swine), copper, furs, gems (semiprecious), fishing, shipbuilding supplies.
History
The County of Toullen was established in 21644 A.E. during the period of time when Foere made great strides in organizing and consolidating its vassal states beyond the coast of Lados. In that year, the Overking raised High Baron Trosvoun to the rank of Count, granting him the vast region of Toullen as a feudal realm, and charging him with the task of uniting the local warlords and petty chieftains into an organized system of vassalage and fealty. Count Trosvoun established his seat of authority in the small town of Tertry on the South Road, thereby allowing reinforcements and supplies to travel swiftly to his assistance, if need be. Over the years, the mandated system of vassalage and fealty slowly developed outward from Tertry as one warlord after another eventually chose to join the County’s march toward unification and centralized power, represented by the Count and his distant, omnipotent Overking.
In the year 20182 A.E., 181 years ago from the current year, Count Catrebrasse II of Toullen declared that he was retracting his feudal loyalties from the Kingdom of Foere, and would pay fealty instead to the Kings of Suilley. Emboldened by this development, the Lord-Governor of Keston Province similarly shifted his allegiance to Suilley not more than a month after the Count of Toullen’s decree. It is evident an agreement was made between the two rulers so Toullen’s troops would help defend Keston across the Gap Road in case of a counter-invasion by Foere's forces. A large contingent of knights of Toullen was already present in Keston Province with a battalion of crossbowmen when the town criers of Kingston began ringing their bells to announce that the King of Kingston had changed.
Most likely the first discussions took place during the Tournament of Lilies in Tertry, which the Lord-Governor of Keston Province attended to witness a much-anticipated joust between Sir Rolvin of Dwarnhold and Sir Corin of Kingston (the victor being Sir Rolvin). Thereafter, Count Catrebrasse and the Lord-Governor remained in contact, making use of a magic mirror known as the Ormoulande that allowed them to use two mirrors to speak to each other at a distance. As all know, the legendary thief Ludz, also known as the “Silver Spider,” stole the Ormoulande from the palace of the Count of Toullen some months later.
The catastrophic year of 20078 A.E. brought the Fiend Rains, torrential downpours along the March of Mountains that flooded the easternmost of Foere’s provinces, principally the former Duchy of the Rampart (now part of Suilley), the Kingdom of Suilley, Keston Province, and the Counties of Vourdon and Toullen. Although the city of Tertry was spared most of the destruction by being on somewhat higher ground near the mountains, the entire realm became a shallow river, the regions north of Tertry draining toward Keston, and the regions to the south draining slowly toward Black Sail Bay. Count Rolomair, who was wavering and indecisive and already suffering the disrespect of his subject nobility, failed to marshal any sort of response to the disaster, and has since been given the appellation “Rolomair the Wetself.” The deluge thus affected Toullen somewhat worse than the other provinces, and set the County back by many years. Many barons declared themselves freeholders rather than vassals of the Wet Count, and petty wars against these barons occupied Rolomair’s successors for a decade thereafter.
In the interim between the Fiend Rains and the present day, Toullen has struggled to recover its prosperity. It is somewhat aided by its possession of Suilley’s only road south out of the Borderlands, even though most of Suilley’s trade goes north to Zobeck or Eastgate.
In addition to hosting the Tournament of Lilies at Tertry, which is the most prestigious tournament in the provinces and brings contestants from as far as Eastreach and even Courghais, Toullen is obsessed with the sport. From knights on their Suilleyn destriers in elaborate plate armor, all the way to peasants on donkeys riding at each other with quarterstaffs and barrel lids, the County of Toullen is universally addicted to the lists. Under the auspices of Count Quelovic II, the first Tournament of Lilies was held in Tertry in 20398 A.E. as a melee tournament with 25 knights to each side, and was resolved in a single mock battle that resulted in two deaths and a number of serious wounds. Members of the victorious side received chaplets of lilies, and all the knights — save two — declared that the mock battle had been a tremendous success. The Count’s popularity greatly increased, and on the spot he declared that the tournament would be repeated the following year on the same day (the day before the first full moon) in the same month. From that time, the Tournament of Lilies has evolved to become more a competition of individual jousts rather than of the melee, and a system of qualifications developed to ensure that the tournament would not drag on for weeks due to the number of participants.
Demography and Population
Territories
Much of the County of Toullen extends to the south of the Borderlands region. The County is a narrow realm bordered to the west by the Kal’Yugoth Mountains, although a small annex exists beyond the mountains in a forested area dominated by the city of Durbenford that is reached by means of a mountain pass. The County’s eastern border is the Wiltangle Forest, and its southern border is Tywyl Bay. Its northern border with Keston Province is the crossroad of the Provincial Military Road and the South Road, 200 miles by road from the capital city of Tertry.
In general, Toullen appears to be quite well settled, with villages and hamlets throughout the County’s narrow band of territory. Yet these settlements all have much-smaller populations than one would expect, for the Fiend Rains turned a great deal of the County’s tillable land to marsh and fen, something from which Toullen’s former vast fields of grain have never recovered. Depopulated as it is, the countryside has few broad expanses of primeval wilderness, which makes for fewer threats to civilization. On the other hand, the Kal’Yugoth Mountains to the east, and the Wiltangle Forest to the west, are quite wild and dangerous, indeed.
Adventurers seeking their fortunes in Toullen will most likely be seeking out treasure and fame in one of these two places and should be prepared for unpleasant surprises in the wilderness of Toullen’s marches.
Technological Level
Foreign Relations
Toullen has been subject to the Kingdom of Suilley since 20182 A.E, nearly two centuries, and is on particularly good terms with the Province of Keston to its north. The only connection between Toullen and Suilley is through Keston, and at present, no good road leads directly from the two vassal states to that kingdom, although the Court of Manas is definitely contemplating one. No one is hostile to the County, and the County minds its own business in the regional politics of the provinces.
Trade & Transport
Virtually all of Toullen’s wealth comes from two sources: merchants on the South Road, and the extensive mining and logging efforts in the Kal’Yugoth Mountains. Caravans on the South Road are fairly common as they make the trip between the port at Firemount through Toullen and then beyond to Keston, Vourdon, and Manas. Caravans along this route are often quite large, but carry cargoes of relatively low value compared with the riches that traverse the north. Toullen gains more of its revenue from the Kal’Yugoth Mountains, mainly along the eastern flanks, which are reached through the Toullen Pass 15 miles to the southeast of Tertry. In a valley between the Kal'Yugoth Mountains and the Towers is the region of Durbenford, an area that renounced its fealty to Foere at the same time as Keston and Toullen, but instead pledged itself to the Count of Toullen. Durbenford has extensive logging and mining resources, and has proven to be a great financial boon to the County’s limited coffers.
Founding Date
21644 A.E.
Type
Geopolitical, County / March
Capital
Demonym
Toullenese
Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Elective
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Traditional
Parent Organization
Location
Neighboring Nations
Comments