Deercross

Great House: House Charon
Ruling House: House Charon (direct military and magical control)
Other Houses: None formally seated

Historically: House Ent (Fallen)

Whispered influence from House Mendel and other Noble Houses via surviving Ent claimants

Population: 20000, largely Human and Lizardfolk with small amounts of Tabaxi, Orcs and Aarakocra

Notable features
The Ent woods- Once a bastion of magical research and cultivation under House Ent, this dense forest is now overrun with corrupted flora. De-Viners and other carnivorous, semi-sentient plants stalk the shadowed glades. Alchemical ingredients like Marigold, Cockle-Shells root, and numerous other herbs are harvested here, often by doomed Serfs. Whispers say the forest itself remembers, and sometimes protects those who walk with quiet defiance.

The Rust mine- Once rich in iron, now overrun by Rust Monsters. Little remains of the infrastructure save bones and metal-devoured shafts. Rumors persist that planar instability in the lower depths has torn holes to the Elemental Plane of Earth. Arcane researchers sometimes vanish into its depths, either to uncover secrets or feed the swarm.

The Ghastle- A fortified Charon necropolis built from the stone and bones of beast, traitors and Serfs alike. This grim castle acts as both Charon’s local capital and a necromantic training ground. Patrolling undead (often stitched together from serfs, deer, or forest predators) scour the province in tireless circuits from here.

Economy: Much of Deercross' wealth comes from the vast and magical flora that House Ent was once famed for. Serfs are worked to death, often quite literally when it comes to the more animated flora based monsters, tending to this natural wealth. Once they die, their corpses are reanimated by the necromancers inhabiting the Ghastle, then put back to work. There is also a great deal of hunting of Deer, from which the province gets its name. These deer are hunted, but never eaten. Instead they are reanimated to act as beast of burden in the lands undead labor, pulling carts or plowshares for the scattered and basic farms that are built in areas of land cleared for lumber. In many of the caves in the province, small fungal farms are also tended to, these mushrooms and other fungi often prove deadly and any living serf that is assigned to them quickly finds themselves a reanimated corpse to continue their work

Culture: The people of Deercross live in a state of constant fear, obedience, and superstition. Most are serfs bound to deathless labor, tending to fungal crops or undead beasts of burden that roam controlled zones. The few living commoners who remain are deeply quiet and wary, often praying to Rae-Diant, Solacear, or even The Other for comfort but never do so openly

House Charon enforces strict magical discipline, using Deercross as a site of experimentation, punishment, and ideological dominance. Public executions and undead “reeducation” parades are common. However, secret pockets of resistance endure. Some tied to remnants of House Ent, others to House Villichi and their goddess, Veni "Bright-Spear" Villichi. There are even rumors of cells of The Serf-Pipeline, but any time they are found, they are executed, placed on spikes and reanimated to spout Charon and Oligarchy propaganda endlessly

History: Deercross was once a place of great potential, with House Ent making great breakthroughs on breed, taming and weaponizing various plant based monsters. While not overly kind to their serfs, House Ent did ensure prosperity for nobles and Commoners in their lands. If given time, House Ent had potential to rise to through the ranks and become a dominant force in the Oligarchy, doubly so if their monsters proved pivotal in the numerous skirmishes the Oligarchy finds itself in with the Free Cities to the north.
Charon saw this potential as a threat and moved to stop it out. Claiming a combination of heresy, fabricated claims and broken promises, Charon brutally shattered House Ent with their superior undead numbers, and moved to dominate Deercross directly.

Since that day, Charon has ruled with a rotting fist, ensuring that none but them may find prosperity and joy from the land