Sentinel Fortress

Sentinel Fortress guards the main pass between the Fultar and the Wild Reaches, and is home of the Marquess of the Wild Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress. Sentinel Fortress defends what are called the Inner or also called Nearer Reaches, which are the sparsely populated mountainous regions inhabited by humans and dwarves. Its main purpose is to defend the Inner Reaches, but is also regulates the limited traffic and commerce between Fultar and the Wild Reaches and beyond. Sentinel Fortress has technical sovereignty over and the ability to attack the Wild Reaches; however, its actual influence is limited to raiding and supporting client states and villages, most notably Grahluk and Adlerweg Keep. For generations Sentinel Fortress has been guarded by Katheroi paladins and a Katheroi stronghold. Unlike the Katheroi in the rest of Fultar, Sentinel Fortress has avoided persecution. This is in large part because the Katheroi at Sentinel Fortress have successfully defended an important strategic location and protected the realm from orc and giant invasion. There are few others that wish to defend the mountains of the Inner Reaches in the harsh winter climate. While there is some mining in the hills, the land is poor, and the lack of opportunity for booty or earning other wealth has led the Fultonian Nobility to be content to allow the Katheroi to govern the Fortress. Many Fultonian have the view that it is best to let the undesirables fight and die in a far off hinterland. Therefore, they see it as a “win win” situation in which Fultar can simultaneously be rid of heretics and the realm can be better protected. Sentinel Fortress is formally enfeoffed to the Illios family, which is a “blooded” noble family that have been adherents to the Katheroi heretical sect for generations. The Illios family has ancient roots, deftly navigated Imperial politics, and managed to put a softer face on the Katheroi cult. Katheroi are typically austere and adhere to the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities; however, the Illios family and Sentinel Fortress have made some accommodations to Fultar’s hierarchical social structure to survive. This has led some Katheroi to criticize how strictly Sentinel Fortress adheres to the faith’s central focus; however, given that Sentinel Fortress is one of the last major Katheroi communities left after the purges by the Fultonian Empire, most of those critics are now dead. Sentinel Fortress is the most egalitarian noble household in all of Fultar. For the Katheroi in general, birth does not necessarily lead to rank, nor does gender, race or profession. Rank is the result of “holiness” and merit. In general, nobility and wealth may give you a head start, but even a laundress may outrank a rich noble if she has demonstrated her adherence to the path. No person in the community goes hungry or without shelter. As Sentinel Fortress has been a Katheroi outpost for centuries, there is little “wealth” or opulence, but that which exists for the betterment of the community and is used to obtain necessities from the outside world. The Illios family have managed to be both Katheroi and nobles by generally producing men and women of great merit, with the vast majority of the family heads becoming Katheroi paladins. The family has also been blessed with large numbers of children to draw leaders from, and they have given great deference to the larger Katheroi community to actually choose which of these children will be the next Lord. The customary inheritance in Fultar is primogeniture; however, the Fultonian Empire has been willing to accept any member of the Ilios family as the Marquess of the Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress. Finally, in the rare circumstance in which there was no heir suitable to Katheroi community, the titular Lord or Lady of Sentinel Fortress would follow a new de facto leader appointed by the Council of the Fortress. This would typically occur through an arranged marriage or regency. Thus, the family line would survive. Austerity. Like all Katheroi, the residents of Sentinel Fortress avoid outward displays of wealth, which are gauche. Utility is valued above all else. Luxury items are better used for the betterment of the community, rather than adornment for personal vanity. The highest ranking members look no different than anyone else. The only exception is that the greatest warriors, priests and mages may have better weapons and armor as well as practical items of magic central to their profession and role. While a warrior might use a magic sword or mage a ring of power—all magic and possessions are owned by the community. When not in battle arraignment, everyone wears simple, functional and practical clothes of fur, leather and cloth. The living quarters of the Lord and Lady are no different than any other married couple. Married couples have the honor of their own private quarters, while all others sleep in communal sleeping dormitories segregated by gender. Similarly, meals are taken communally and in silence, with no difference in the quality or quantity of food, with exceptions for those with a health based need like pregnancy or illness. The overall population of Sentinel Fortress is about 3,000—the vast majority of which are soldiers trained in winter warfare. To remain humble and to contribute to the well-being of the community, all fighters, priests and mages, regardless of skill or rank, assist with the basic day to day tasks of running a castle. While it may be considered a waste of his skills, even the Lord must clean privies and work in the kitchens to display and be reminded that all are humble before the light of Mithras, the Fultonian god that is a powerful icon of the Good and the Light. Mithras is not an object of worship, but rather a vessel is infused with the radiance of the Good.

Key members of Sentinel Fortress:

Lord Raymond Ilios, Marquess of the Wild Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress is the current Lord of Sentinel Fortress. Lady Ramona Ilios, Lord Raymond's sister. An important voice on the Council and the head of the kitchen. Her three children are the heirs to the title of Marquess and Lord because Raymond's bastard children, Etienne and Eva Ilios are unworthy of leading the last Katheroi castle in Fultar. Lord Raymond's children are not unworthy because they are bastards in the manner of being illegitimate, but instead in the manner of being debased and despicable for failing to follow the one true faith. Unlike so many Fultonians that live in the darkness of the mainstream Fultonian Religion and do not have an opportunity to see the light, Etienne and Eva were given the chance to know the truth and elected to reject it. Redmont Ilios. Lord Raymond's nephew and the older brother of Agnes Ilios. He is a Ranger who accepts that under the customary law of succession a paladin should inherit the title over a Ranger. Redmont knows that the Council could choose whoever it deems worthy and he is bitter that his younger sister will likely inherit the title of Marchioness of the Reaches and Lady of Sentinel Fortress. His official role is the Master of the Hunt. Sir Roland Ilios. Another of Lord Raymond's nephews and an older brother of Agnes Ilios, Sir Roland is a fearsome paladin warrior, and who many thought would be the heir apparent to be the next Marquess of the Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress. He has been passed over in favor of his younger sister, Agnes Ilios. Dame Agnes Ilios. Lord Raymond's niece and the younger sister of Sir Roland Illios. She is the Fortress Steward and it is universally understood that she will inherit the title of Marchioness and Lady of Sentinel Fortress. She was not expected to inherit the title, as she has four living and three dead siblings and cousins. She is a careful strategic planner, skilled warrior, and a paladin of great faith. Agness has a hot temper, but nothing like her brother Sir Roland. Also unlike her brother, she struggles to be a good Katheroi and let bygones be bygones. As the Fortress steward she is currently responsible for the mundane tasks of procurement, logistics, and staff management. Odera Nakuru. A Nubian princess that converted to the Katheroi faith on a visit to Fultar. She left her inheritance and brought those of her followers who decided to convert to Sentinel Fortress. She is married to Agnes Illios and commands an elite corps of about 50 Nubian warriors. Claudine Peronne. An aged Katheroi priestess or Perfecti. Universally recognized as the mother of wisdom, who rarely interferes in the governance of Sentinel Fortress. However, when she speaks everyone on the Council listens and generally heeds her advice. She walks with a cane, has a hunched back and modestly covers her hair. Piere Bois. An energetic Kathoroi soldier priest skilled in winter warfare. He is tall, broad shouldered. He had a once beautiful face, but now the vast majority of his body that is scared from being burnt by a fire giant. He wears his ugly scars with pride and a mark of his worthiness as a great warrior that has defended his people. In honor of his scars, he is allowed to wear red clothing. Gerald Rivos. The chief Ranger and scout for the Fortress. A taciturn man that prefers the company of rocks and ice to other human beings. Despite his complete lack of social graces, many of the women of Sentinel Fortress sought this handsome man with square and oblong face as a husband. Like a good Katheroi, he has remained faithful to his wife Meryl Rivos, a Perfecti that has birthed and raised eight children. Thane Rivos. A younger Ranger with an adventurous spirit. Unlike his father, he had little desire to freeze in the outdoors. He was originally assigned the role of a Ranger because of his very un-Katheroi interest in the wives of married men. Many are waiting for Thane to be formally banished after he makes his next misstep. Lord Raymond and Thane's family hope that keeping him ostracized and outside in the wilderness will keep him safe from exile until he grows up. Jeanne Tour. A quiet and reserved sorcerous that prefers to be on the front line in combat than shut up in the Fortress library researching and reading. Shubi Danso. A great and powerful Nubian fire mage. One of the few Katheroi with colorful clothing and garb. She is allowed to wear vibrant red clothes because they are magical or helpful to her ability to master the mystical arts. Ekon Obin. The head of Odera's Nubian Guard, a skilled warrior and former the a Nubian ambassador to Fultar. Deval de Navarate. A tall, square faced man with a great mullet. He is the chief diplomat and representative of Sentinel Fortress to the outside world. He spends most of his time in Fulton, and despite claiming to hate every minute of it, it well known that he prefers the milder climate of the capital city. He is a great scholar and middling mage. A group of Katheroi warriors were sent on a mission to assist Lady Lowri Arundel, the Countess of Kidwell and lift the siege of Kidwell. They were ambushed and most of them slain, with the exception of Zera Mufumo, Roland the Fat and Henrietta, all of whom were held prisoners by the Frost Giants in the Glacial Rift. They were rescued by The Company of the Furies: Eumenides in Lich's Ambush: Game 11 and sent to Kidwell to update Countess Lowri about the status of the defeated invasion of Fire Giants and orcs, and the thwarted attack on Seeker's Reach.

Demographics

The majority of people of Sentinel Fortress are native Fultonians. The religion has spread to other parts of the known world, and there are a number of Nubians and Celtic Katheroi that reside at the Fortress.

Government

Sentinel Fortress is managed on a day to day basis by the Council of the Fortress. There are the typical castle positions, like the steward, the chamberlain, the constable and master of the hunt. These are these are formally appointed by the Lord, but de facto selected by the Council. The jobs and positions that depend on hierarchy that in many castles like master of the wardrobe, the royal carver, etc. are non-existent. The role for the Lord is primarily military and diplomatic, and, depending upon their charisma and personality, an important voice in other aspects of the Fortress. All issues in which deliberation is allowed, the Lord is ultimately subservient to the Council.

History

Lord Alden Ilios, Marquess of the Wild Reaches and Lord of Sentinel Fortress was the last great Lord of Sentinel Fortress and Marquee of the Reaches, who re-closed the pass between the Wild Reaches and Fultar. He accomplished this by bringing Ithragor Holmkeeper to be the King of Hammerholme, defeating the Bloodspear orcs and ending Bloodspear Orc Invasion, and making a treaty with the half-orc warrior Grahluk Ironfist to found the town of Grahluk.

Architecture

Form follows function in Sentinel Fortress’ architecture. Utility is key and simplicity the goal. Ornamentation serves little or no purpose. Defensive structures are a necessity, thus every house and street is designed to be part of the greater defensive perimeter, with strong points, gates, twists and turns. The only exception is that there is a high tower devoted to the eternal flame.