Brechten

 
Advantage is gained by any means necessary. Brechtens admire those who seize the low-hanging fruit of another's toil and sacrifice. Bond-oaths are praised in public but kept only as a matter of convenience. Honor is either a well-crafted illusion or a self-imposed delusion.

Major Cities

• Duplisse City - Ruled by Duke Aldred, Duplisse City is a major port for trading ships from the western regions of Keldeg, Recluse, and beyond.
• Skulkham - Count Beadwof commands nearly a thousand cavalry men who keep their skills sharp through tournaments and by protecting trade caravans from the brutal dangers of the Gloam Forest.
• Clandestany - Capitol of Brechten and home of the King Atwold's royal castle, Clandestany's location makes it an ideal center for communication, trade, and power.
• Axbury - The current Count of Axbury is a fierce warrior named Stourm Firebrand who earned his reputation in border wars against Siardthaim.
• Coverton - The nobles of neighboring Keldeg have accused Duke Warian of Coverton of leading raiding parties into their lands, but they have failed to provide any proof that he is involved.
• Illicity - Count Finan de Nyle strives to make Illicity the capital of refinement, art, culture, and sophistication in all of Brechten. What he lacks in fierceness he makes up for in wealth and power. This city is the most welcoming to foreigners in all of Brechten and many goods and activities that are illegal elsewhere are here permitted or unofficially tolerated.
• Furtiford - Baron Edric of Furtiford is a man of short temper and few restraints. He commands the garrison that keeps the border to Germanium, and is known to have a network of spies to keep him informed of the latest events across the mountain pass.

Neighboring Regions

Germanium

Keldeg

Lynse

Shartham Orc Lands

Siardthaim

War Bred Giants

History

For more than a century Brechten was ruled as a province of Romanium. The governors of Brechten skirmished constantly with their neighbors in Siardthaim and in the Lynsian province of Mellonce. Fifty years ago (c. ADC 1750) Duke Wielhelm of Mellonce invaded Brechten, defeated the Romanian army, executed the governor, expelled all remnants of Imperial influence, and crowned himself King of Brechten. (Note: Wielhelm himself was the descendant of a Svesshian warlord who, over a millenia ago - in the era of Folwęg Myn Hversbaj, conquered Mellonce and subsequently swore allegiance to the Lynsean king.)

In the decades following Wielhelm's conquest, Lynsean influence has transformed the language and culture of Brechten. Although the "old tongue" is still spoken in some rural areas, Wielhelm enforced a strict policy of conformity, which he called The Melding, upon all urban areas and noble lords. This new culture is heavily influenced by traditional Brechtesh, Lynsean, and Svesshian.

While Wielhelm did subdue a substantial portion of Brechten, many of the nobles in the outlying districts declared their own sovereignty. Brechten has been in a constant state of borders wars ever since that time. King Atwold, the grandson of Wielhelm, has gradually extended the borders of Brechten through small conquests in the Brechten outlands and against his neighbors in Siardthaim and Keldeg.