Hey, I was down for a little bit with a back injury, which is why I haven't been posting much. Here's some more on Axrew though:

Locations in Central Axrew

26:17 Rockwood Shire - The shire is the site of a bloody conflict between freeholders and local barons. The freeholders hold much of Rockwood Shire in allod, and make a fine living harvesting and processing timber. As allodial freeholders, they pay taxes directly to the crown through Gordon of Earlingshire, the sheriff. The local barons and knights charge the freeholders with extortion because of the high prices they charge for the timber, which the barons use in the construction of castles. They also accuse Gordon of denying them the right to buy land in Rockwood to exploit for their own use (he does do this, with the support of the local franchisers). In recent years, the barons (particularly Robert of Amark and Robert of Gonton, who hold lands in 25:17) have taken up arms on several occasions to force the issue, and only a lack of coordination has prevented them from overunning the shire. As it stands, Rockwood is a shire besieged, with Gordon forced to hire mercenaries to protect visiting merchants from southern Axrew.

29:17 Redfriar Abbey - The largest Sesquinard abbey in Moragne, the Redfriar abbey gets its name from the deep red-brown robes its members wear. Of Lacallian origin in the city of Sesquin, the Sesquinards in Moragne are the King's bankers of choice. They also run a highly esteemed scriptorium that produces illustrated psalters on commission. Finally, they also serve as neutral ground for the other sects of the church to meet on, and Redfriar Abbey is traditionally where conclaves, councils of Moragnian bishops and abbots, and theological debates take place. The abbey itself is a sprawling enclosed compound built atop a massive motte that stretches for nearly a mile, and is surrounded by smaller fortifications staffed by client knights of the Sesquinards. Years of donatives mean the monks own everything a man can see from the abbey's tallest tower, and the abbot, Morse Remla (from Narbonika) is known more for his nous and business sense than his theological skill.

Locations in Southern Axrew

30:23 Remeldag - A thriving city long before the Revelation of the Hidden God, Remeldag has been a ruin for nearly a millennium, after the immortal sorcerer queen of the Vellings slew its half-demon sorcerer-king, Remel I. The city was barraged with powerful curses that transformed its inhabitants into half-bestial half-demonic abominations, and which enchanted the city so that it is impossible to find by ordinary means, though its lights can be seen at night during the rare times when the desert and surrounding wasteland will support a fog. Nearly a thousand of the original inhabitants remain under the rulership of Remel II, the son of the original sorcerer and a powerful wizard in his own right. He calls himself the Count of Remel, and pays a yearly tribute of 1,000 lbs. of silver to King Harold to be left in peace. Where he gets the silver from is unknown.

33:20 Carlaw - The great commercial crossroads of Moragne, Carlaw (pop. 20,000) houses the Royal Mint, the Eastern Tower (the royal armoury), the largest brick and iron works in Moragne, and the University of Carlaw and its associated colleges. The city was built on land belonging to the archbishop of Carlaw, and he remains its feudatory lord, though city government is a run by a council of burghers and gentlemen. Armies are equipped in Carlaw, cannons cast, and sutlers, sumpters and merchants abound. Almost every religious order in Moragne keeps at least a chapterhouse here, due to the city's reputation for piety. Famously, it produces the Twelve Men of Carlaw every year rather than ordinary scutage or levies (though it does possess a well-equipped and trained militia for civil defense).

34:26 The Heronage - One of the true prizes of Moragne in the eyes of the Church. The Heronage is a sacred location where it is possible to cross the Veil and enter the divine presence of the Hidden God and his various emanations, the runes. It is used for heroquesting. It is guarded by the Fraternity of St. Gerrard, a monastic order who prevent the unworthy from abusing the location, and protect the hermits who live in the surrounding valley. The Heronage is named after the local wildlife, which includes a colony of blue-black herons unique to the area whose plumage exactly mimics the colouration of angelic wings. Brother Ruget, widely considered to be a living saint and perhaps the most holy man in Moragne, is the leader of the brotherhood and it is he who administers the tests that determine whether a visitor is worthy to enter the church itself. Its monks wear blue-black robes in the same shade as the herons' feathers.

35:24 Aemeth County - Aemeth County is an extremely large county controlled by Ogoth the Dog. It is naturally well-fortified, has rich soil, good timber, and several mines that supply it with silver and iron in great abundance. It produces extremely fine wines and fruit, and is significantly wetter than much of the rest of Axrew. However, Ogoth is greedy, and he has taken the opportunity of his excommunication and used it as an excuse to prosecute war and plunder against his neighbours. This has led to the mountains being flooded with free companies on both sides of the conflict. Because he has been excommunicated, the local clergy has risen up against him, and is encouraging the peasants to revolt and flee to more pious masters. The Coiners are proselytising, as are several other heresies, and religious hysterics claim to see the Great Beast lurking behind every tree and stone. Only Ogoth's soldiers and his success in battle are keeping things from exploding into civil war.

Locations in Eastern Axrew

32:19 Harken - Harken (pop. 10,000) is the seat of the Moragnian king and his court, as it was of the Thernish kings before him. The current king is Harold II, grandson of Harold I "the Builder", himself the great-nephew of . About a third of the population of Harken is employed by the state or the court in one capacity or another, and the city receives many immigrants from across Moragne who have come to make their fortune in politics. Harken is more of a cosmopolitan city than Carlaw or the rest of Axrew, with Vellings, Morags, Therns, and Einermen mixing freely and creating a uniquely "Moragnian" culture.

34:17 Wyrmbone - The site of the famous battle where Jack Dragonkiller (aka Sir John Weaver of Carlaw) slew the dragon in the time of Harold the Builder. A small village (pop. 200) has grown up that makes a living off of pilgrims, who come to touch the bones and dried blood of the great wyrm which stretch for nearly half a kilometre. It is claimed that any sword plunged hilt deep into one of the scabbed pools of blood becomes capable of cutting anything, but no one outside Jack Dragonkiller's line has ever succeeded in doing so. His grand-daughter, Countess Margaret Weaver of Wyrmbone (aka the Woman), has a nearby manor and title to the lands, but she appears to mainly use it as a cottage for suitor-pilgrims and is rarely found there.

37:15 Athelshall - Athelshall (called Affeldag by its former inhabitants) is another pre-Thernish city. It is known in legend as the Great Sinful City, and was destroyed by Estan the Pure, the king who oversaw the conversion of the Kingdom of Therne, at the behest of St. Jerse of Narbonika. The city was looted, its walls dismantled, its inhabitants put to the sword, and the fields salted. No one has ever resettled the land. However, the city has over time become home to several different heretic sects, including Coiners, Whites, and the followers of Barry Nearn, as well as more mundane bandits. Though each thinks they are the true faith and the others vile schismatics, they have set aside their differences to concentrate on banditry, raiding the merchant trade from Harken to Lanarth and Moragland.

37:13 Woodwell - The southernmost settlement in the Einerwood, Woodwell is a walled village built on one side of a ravine with a well-made wooden manor from which William, Baron of Woodwell rules. The town is rich in lumber, and serves the carrying trade with carts, hitches, barrels, chests and lumber. He is currently imprisoned by the Dakons, and his wife, Gertrude of Woodwell, has increased taxes and excises to pay his ransom. This is highly unpopular with the local freeholders and cottars, and the entire barony is on the brink of revolt.

Legends and Tales of Axrew:

The Twelve Men of Carlaw - Each year at dawn on St. Penton's Day (the patron saint of Carlaw, responsible for the conversion of the then-village of Karloff to Revelation), the names of twelve people currently in Carlaw are written in blue-black ink on the side of Carlaw Cathedral. No one has ever seen who writes them (those who try to observe invariably fall asleep). Upon completion, a mysterious voice cries "Deus Vult!" loudly enough to be heard by all within city limits. Residents, aliens, women, gaffers, and children have all been selected, the only condition being that they must be physically within the city limits at the time when their name is written. The twelve individuals so selected become the newest members of the Twelve Men of Carlaw, some of the greatest and luckiest knights in the kingdom. The twelve serve until death, so that in actual practice there are up typically around 50 in the kingdom at any time.

Past members include Jack Dragonkiller (Sir John Weaver of Carlaw), Aem the Collier (Sir Aem Whoreson of Carlaw), William Dakonsbane (Baron William Might of Seardale), Gil Rose (Sir Gil of Harken) and Robin Crake (Lady Robin Crake of Carlaw). Fate leads the twelve inevitably to heroic adventure and eventually death, and more important figures typically leave Carlaw the day before the selection for a "coward's holiday". Many of the knights selected are from the urban poor, and survive as folk heroes to this class across Moragne. Though many are unskilled with swords and armour, the city council makes available a short training course with a dueling master and provides them with a set of armour, a horse, a shield, a spear, a sword and a small amount of money before sending them off to the king to present themselves. In living memory, only Jack Dragonkiller amongst all the Twelve has died of old age (though Gil Rose is supposedly imprisoned as a statue by a nymph somewhere in Geornland and Lady Constance ascended bodily into the Veil to serve as captain to the angelic armies of God in His struggle against the Evil Three).

Margaret the Woman - Countess Margaret Weaver of Wyrmbone is the granddaughter of Jack Dragonkiller. During the battle in which her grandfather slew the beast, her pregnant mother was bathed in the wyrm's blood. Though the young woman was unaffected herself, the blood entered her womb and gave Margaret a strange puissance. She trained under her grandfather, and is an excellent horsewoman, strategist, duellist, poet and embroiderer (she is known to tweak the noses of older and more conservative knights by suggesting that it was this last skill that her heroic grandfather was most concerned with). She wears her grandfather's armour and carries his famous sword, the Poor Man's Finger, and generally dresses in men's clothing when she can. She broke the heart of King Harold when they were young, bore him a bastard (John Weaver, Sheriff of Kelhall), refused to marry him, and has remained chaste since. She is currently somewhere in the Northern Marches, not attached to any of the various armies or garrisons, for an unknown purpose.

Weallan's Secret - Weallan was the Earl of Axrew during the Moragnian Conquest, and he was the greatest commander of men the Thernish armies had. Even after the death of the last Thernish king, Aethan the Poor, Weallan led the Therns to several victories over the Morags from his fortress, the Moot. Eventually, Roger FitzDeal (Roger Devilson) managed to successfully assault the castle, take it, and slaughter its population. They were dumped into the caverns below the Moot and forgotten about while the castle was looted. However, Weallan's gold could never be found, nor his sword, Veilparter, nor his infant son, Wellax. Some claim that Weallan sent his infant son with his sword and gold into the caverns below with trusted retainers, to re-emerge and reconquer Axrew, and all of Therne, when the time was right. Though this was over 150 years ago, and the caverns have long since been overrun by petty undead monsters, many claim that Wellax still lives deep under the earth, now captain of an infernal host, and that he bides his time waiting for revenge.

The Demography and Economy of Axrew

Unlike Velthern or Brelgrin, Axrew is split into many small holdings of widely varying land quality. A typical plot is about 800 hectares (2000 acres), though the largest single holding, Aemeth Valley, is around 60,000 hectares (148,000 acres) (its lord is one of the most powerful men in the kingdom and has extensively subinfeudated the valley). In almost all cases, large areas of the plots are left undeveloped due to the poor quality of the soil, the difficulty of assarting them, or lack of manpower to properly exploit them. These serve as useful buffer zones between rivals and as sites for internal colonization in times when the population is expanding.

A typical knight's fee of 800 hectares has about 50 households of an average 6 members at any given time. About 1/5th of the population is free (lower than elsewhere in Moragne) due to the high cost of water, which a lord is expected to provide for his villeins at fixed cost, and which he compensates for by extracting in fees from the free farmers. Free farmers as a result grow less water intensive staple crops to sell to the manor, while villeins and serfs focus on high-profit, water-intensive food production like wine, honey and orchards. These goods are exported through the canal system that cuts across Axrew on barges, quickly reaching Carlaw, Harken, Stirmael and Ethrikston.

There is also a great deal of horse-raising in Axrew, mainly by freemen and the nobility. It is very common for a group of freemen farmers on an estate to select by lot each year one of their number to give one of his horses to the lord of the manor as payment for the rent and water fees of the entire group. The number of horses the nobility goes through due to the constant warfare means that it is almost always accepted.

Villeins and serfs are rarely called upon for military service by their lords except in direct defense of the manor, as the current style in Moragnian warfare relies on professional, heavily armoured soldiers drawn from the nobility and freemen for long-term service in the Northern and Western Marches. The typical scutage a lord owes for his 800 hectares is three horsemen, usually meaning himself or his son, and one or two freemen hired either from his estate or from the mercenary markets of Carlaw.

The two most expensive staples in Axrew are good quality lumber and steel. There are few ready sources of wood, and much is imported from the Vellingwood, Lanarth and Moragland. Native supplies of wood are mainly acacias, dogwoods, scrub, fruit trees and the occasional cedar. These can supply fuel and other necessary handcarved wooden items, but are less suitable as building materials for houses, castles and ships. Iron can be mined from the southern mountain range (the Aran mountains), but the Moragnian crown taxes this heavily and takes payment in raw iron for its own use, restricting the supply.

Axrew exports its famous wines (which are red, thick and heavily tannic due to their aging in acacia barrels) across the continent, but most of the fruit, olives and other perishables are consumed within Moragne due to the difficulty of shipping them overseas. When trade with the Dakons is allowed, they form a ready market easily accessible by water and Axrew's economy booms.

Knights of Lanarth

Lanarth is a cool, mountainous region populated by the Einermen, one of the four peoples who comprise the kingdom of Moragne. Lanarth is heavily forested, and rich in timber and ore, though its land is better suited to pasturage than crops. The Einer knights are not rich men from their estates, and few own more than one warhorse, but many also possess ancestral lands in the Northern Marches from which they draw the bulk of their income. Most of their estates are built around capital intensive projects - mines, sawmills, forges, marl-cropping and quarrying are all common occupations. Many estates are run by stewards while their lords are off fighting in the great crusade against the Dakons, and at times the entire province seems empty of gentlemen.

There is no duke of Lanarth; the various landed men pay scutage to a variety of local magnates (usually the heads of various clans) who are responsible for producing two armoured sergeants and two archers per two thousand acres. Though these men are expected to be provisioned by horses, most ride palfreys and coursers and dismount for battle, as do the knights. Soldiering is a common trade in Lanarth, and Einer lords can often muster between two and five times the expected force, especially in poor farming years. Many also serve in free companies that serve as mercenaries through Geornland and the Northern Marches.

A typical sergeant or knight from Lanarth wears a chainmail hauberk over a gambeson with the hauberk extending down to meet knee-high metal boots. He wears a distinctive wool cloak made by sewing strips of different colours together in patterns indicative of whichever magnate they serve, especially in inclement weather, to keep the chainmail from rusting and to help cushion against arrowheads. He wears a conical helmet with a noseguard and tail, and carries either a poleaxe, or a long thrusting spear and a kite shield. His secondary weapons are usually an axe (usually the Morag axe) and a dirk, though some use falchions instead of the axe. Their equipment is typically enspelled to pierce armour, to bolster the strength of the bearer, and to resist arrowfire. If the equipment is made in Lanarth, it is rarely ornamented or decorated, nor do the Einermen paint themselves with runes like Morags, Therns and Vellings.

Archers are more lightly armoured in leather jacks with kettle-hats and smaller cloaks that can more easily be held aside while firing. They carry a longbow and whatever secondary weapon they can obtain. They are typically armed with two quivers before a battle (48 arrows), though veterans may carry more that they have scavenged. They use spells to boost their rate of fire.

In battle, the archers are protected by the spear-wielding sergeants who act as paviseurs when necessary. They rain fire onto enemy formations to pin them down and break their cohesion prior to the heavy infantry closing. The main force of knights and sergeants will form a thick mass protected by shields, a schiltrom, to prevent the Dakon horse from being able to penetrate their formation. They are trained to swing their poleaxes up and down instead of side to side, in order to allow them to operate closely packed. They provide one of the largest, most professional and thus most important contingents of heavy infantry for Moragnian armies. At the Battle of Einer's Pass (987), a small force of Einermen in the service of the MacNiall held back Fulk FitzRobert's column for a week in daily pitched combat before being overwhelmed. At the First Battle of Crover (1123), battalions of Einermen under Lord Campburn advanced under fire from the fearsome Dakon horse archers to take command of Crover Ridge and capture the Dakon baggage train, forcing King Kel to divert forces from capturing the city to protecting his rear.

Quote from: Pseudoephedrine;380645Knights of Lanarth

This I specially liked.

Thanks. These are probably going to be standard sections for each region. The Einermen are sort of Scottish / Danish to the Morag's Anglo-Normans.

Clans of Lanarth: The Callburns

The Callburns are the preeminent clan of Lanarth. Their chief, known as the Black Callburn to the Einermen (Baron David Callburn of Minnarsdell to the Moragnian court), is the chief of chiefs amongst the Einermen, and has led his clan to many victories in the Northern Marches. Legend says that they descend from Dubh Earnan, the first Einerman to experience the revelation of the Hidden God, and many churches in Lanarth were built by Callburn missionaries. They are also mentioned in the song of Oscar Fox, the great Einerman hero who united the clans against the Therns hundreds of years ago and became the only Einerman king of Therne in its history. The stereotype of a Callburn is that of a majestic and lordly fellow much concerned with dignity and honour. The clan has perhaps 2000 free members, and five times that many bondsmen in service to it. Their colours are a field of hunter green with a white stripe running vertically through it.

Runes:
Man, Law

Common Magic:
Bearing Witness, Bladesharp, Bludgeon, Endurance, Glamour, Heal, Light, Mason's Boon, Pierce, Protection, Strength, Vigour, Warmth

Myths:
Earnan's Pride (60%) - Behaviours: Guard your honour and purity with your sword; Show up everyone outside the clan whenever possible
The Song of Oscar Fox (50%) - Behaviours: Reclaim the lowlands from the interlopers; Work for the good of the Einermen as a whole; Stand your ground in battle

Clan Skills:
Courtesy, Culture (Einermen), Engineering, Influence, Lore (Heraldry), Lore (Regional), Oratory, Sword and Shield, Spear and Shield

Clan Members:

Servants and Retainers - The lowest ranking members of the clan are its servants and villeins. They may buy and settle clan lands (only), may bear arms on clan lands, and may buy and sell freely in the market towns under Callburn control. They have the right to appeal to the heads of the clan for justice if their local lord denies it to them, even if the lord is not a Callburn (this right, common to many lower class people in other clans as well, is responsible for more feuds and clan wars than any other cause).

Clansmen - A clansman is a freeman related to the clan by blood, marriage, custom or contract. Septs of the Callburns include the Bannacks, the Burns, the Gallachs, and the Weeks. He has all the right of a servant or retainer, but he may hold office in the clan or on its lands, he may speak freely at clan assemblies, and he may leave the clan lands without permission from his lord. Clansmen are also the first choice to serve in the armies of Lanarth.

Ealdorman - An ealdorman is an eminent leader in the clan, but not one of the clan chiefs. Most ealdormen have specific offices and titles attached to their status (stewards, assessors, constables, and mayors are all common), and they are taxed only on the land they own, not on their movable property. They are allowed to act as judges and sit on juries to adjudicate cases. They are also protected by ancient custom when they visit other clans - they cannot be harmed lawfully, even in an affray, unless the clans are at war. A clansman becomes an ealdorman only after he has shown that he possesses at least five of the clan skills at 50% or more, pays 1000 silver pieces to the clan, and secures an appointment from the clan chiefs. All full priests, sorcerors and members of knightly orders who are Einermen must also be at least an Ealdorman in rank. An ealdorman is the equivalent of a gentleman in Moragne.

Clan Chief - There is often more than one clan chief for each clan, and they form a ruling oligarchical council that determines the policy of the clan, the disposition of its holdings, and the laws that govern it. In the case of the Callburns, there are seven chiefs, led by the Black Callburn. Each sept typically has a chief representing them on the council. They can call up the clansmen for war, settle feuds and wars, and they possess the right to tax the clan and distribute the money as they see fit. They are also the court of final appeal for clansmen. As leaders of one of the most powerful clans of Einermen, the members of the council are treated as equivalent to counts by heralds and courts, and the Black Callburn is often treated as the de facto Duke of Lanarth, though no such formal title exists. To become a clan chief, an ealdorman must pay at least 2500 silver pieces in gifts to the other clan chiefs, must own land worth at least 10,000 silver pieces a year, and must possess at least five of the clan skills at 75% or more.