The Midlands

The Midlands is a realm on the fringes of civilization. Its position between mountain ranges made it difficult to reach for most of history, populated only by the Orcs that drove humans across the continent and into their current realms. Limited holdings were established, and slowly pushed across the countryside, displacing the Orcs in a great crusade. Crusader states were created, each having some grand purpose behind their design. In the centuries that followed however, this utopian ideal has largely been abandoned. Squabbling princedoms are all that is left of this golden age, a handful of stable nations standing tall amidst the chaos. The Bolgra river in the west marks the extreme boundary of the region, with the Badlands stretching south. Cities in the Midlands encompass a wide mix of cultures, with everything exiled from the rest of the world finding some solace in the region.

History

The Midlands were settled by Orcs, who were finally stopped in their pursuit of the humans by the Pessamit mountains and the Dwarves who lived within them. Here they remained for millennia, raiding across the mountains to loot and enslave the peoples beyond them. Eventually, this drew the full ire of the humans and their allies, who assembled a grand crusade into the region to end the menace once and for all. Slowly, they pushed back the Orcs, creating new states and kingdoms in their place. These crusader states were all intended to coexist peacefully, offering religious guidance and the epitome of moral leadership to their populations. And yet almost immediately this broke down, as old rivalries came to the fore. As infighting toppled these budding nations, adventurers took advantage. Would-be conquerors and warlords captured cities, using them as their own petty fiefs. Eventually this became the norm, as cities changed hands more frequently than not, engulfing the entire region into chaos that continues into the modern day. Now, the area is dotted by these small fiefdoms, each ruled by some claimant or aspiring lord. Some remnants of the old crusades still exist, especially in the west, where they occupy themselves with keeping the Orcs across the Bolgra at bay.

Society

Nobility

Many of the smaller realms in the Midlands are ruled by upstarts, warlords and petty nobles looking to make a bigger mark on the world than their heritage would otherwise allow. Titled and styled with various names, each of these rulers must keep a tight grip on power. They all share some general power structure, but the trappings of their reigns are almost all unique in some way. Aside from these petty nobles, the larger realms follow a more traditional style, with Muerthe especially being practically the same as the other Routot kingdoms to the northeast. In the west, the crusader states are ruled by knightly orders and religious cults, their strict hierarchy built around a common purpose and mandate to defend the rest of the world from the Orcs.

Conflicts

Trade Wars

On the north coast of the Black Gulf, trade ports of varying influence and size dot the beaches. Each is an important part of regional trade, with overland travel extraordinarily dangerous amid the chaos and tumult of the Middle Princes. The largest of these cities plays a role in trade among the wider world as well, each an important stop on a route between the Comati in the south and the Elves in the east. The cosmopolitan nature of the cities allows for a wide variety of goods to move through them, and the relative instability also means room for bribery and other illicit activity as well. All of this means that the trade cities are just as volatile as their inland princedoms, and they are just as often at war between them. Almost all of the ports, and certainly all those of consequence, belong to one of two political factions, aligning themselves with whatever group best represents their goals. The Erengrad Clique in the west is ruled from the grand city of Erengrad, which holds as its vassals smaller ones spreading towards the east. Each of these satellites is ruled by a despot who owes allegiance, and their position, to the Merchant King in Erengrad. They are allied to the Dwarves of Irondeep, and largely opposed by their rivals the Hellainic League in the east. For their part, the League is more of an alliance of individual rulers who have banded together to resist the strength of Erengrad. Each has waged sizeable wars across the centuries to try and increase their own influence, though the region is evenly broken between them in the modern day.

Orc Conflicts

The Midlands, as a human dominated region, were forged by the sacrifices and efforts of the crusaders. Primarily Arran, though also including Premyslid, Routot and even Dwarf soldiers, they streamed across the region displacing and pushing back the Orcs that once held the land. Eventually, they stopped at the Bolgra river, a wide barrier they felt would be easily defensible against any future retaliations. The most dedicated of the knights built fortifications here, and settled in to protect those who turned back to establish more permanent realms. While the rest of the region has turned away from its once noble purpose of building utopian nations, these crusader remnants still stand by their posts. Bolstering and expanding their early fortifications over the years, the northern bank of the Bolgra is now heavily entrenched, offering a significant obstacle for any Orc party that tries to cross. Nonetheless, try they do, and the river often runs red with blood. Raids across it, by both sides, are practically a weekly occurrence, fuelling the rivalry that has burned bitterly for centuries. Even these dedicated warriors have turned from their once noble goal of protection, engulfed by little more than hate for their old foes. A steady stream of recruits from the noble families of Arran and beyond help to replenish their numbers, and spending some time on the Bolgra is seen as a rite of passage for many young knights.

Kingly Ambitions

The once great, or at the very least ambitious, crusader states that stretched across the Midlands have long since vanished, their remnants relegated as sentinels along the Bolgra. In their place stand a thousand small and petty fiefdoms, with each village and town claimed by some upstart warlord or adventurer claiming themselves a king. Known collectively as the Middle Princes, all of these rulers are held in power only by their own willpower, either through strength of arm or some other influence. Toppling as quickly as they rise, the region is often plunged into hundreds of tiny wars, some waged between no more than dozens of men on either side, each trying desperately to make something of their own grand ambitions. This sort of tumult makes for a volatile and unstable region, with some unlucky dynasties lasting only a few months before being replaced. And yet, it also makes the region extremely attractive for a certain type of character, luring in plenty of mercenaries and rogues of various stripes, each seeking either coin or glory. With plenty of each to go around, it’s no surprise the roads and ships to the region are often full, unloading new problems for the Midlands with every day that passes.

Daily Life

The average Midlander can be one of a thousand different types. Variety fills the region, and with so many different realms populating it, there is little that can be standardized among them. The majority are poor, and common farmers do make up plenty of its population, and yet even here there are differences depending on which part of the region one hails from. Those living under the crusader states tend towards the religious, while the trade ports attract merchants and tradesmen. Many within the Midlands do tend to look towards themselves for success, hesitant to rely on others in such a treacherous landscape. A selfish attitude also tends to be present, as those who have lived in the region for long often find that generosity does not gain as many friends as it should.

Notable Factions

Hellainic League

The city of Erengrad houses a powerful navy, supported by the Dwarves of Irondeep to the south, across the Bolgra river. This is the city’s most valuable asset, saving it multiple times over the years from certain destruction. It is also their most valuable tool for diplomacy in the region, throwing its weight around with reckless abandon. Such tyranny is looked upon poorly by the smaller port cities and towns of the Midlands, though individually they can do little to resist it. Those who try found long ago their fortunes fared better when they united, and so a formal pact was made to link their causes together. Made in the city of Hellain, the most diplomatically influential of the cities to join, they agreed to ally in times of distress and to support one another through preferential trade agreements. They were encouraged by the Kings of Muerthe in this endeavour, and enjoy a strategic alliance with that realm as well, with the interior enjoying the benefits of access to their ports. All of their members sit near the mouth of the Black Gulf, where the water opens into the ocean itself. This gives them easy access to the rest of the world, and also allows for them to have some manner of control over the Erengrad forces further down the gulf.

Erengrad Clique

The ports along the Black Gulf of the Midlands have long since suffered under threat from Erengrad. The large port at the end of the gulf dominates trade in the region, its navies able to enforce their will far from its own ports. Dwarf goods of the finest steel pour through its docks from the Irondeep mines, and expertise from these same Dwarves helps to maintain and perfect their fleet. While opposed by most of the other ports in the region, they nonetheless have control over any within their reach. Several vassals stretch down the coast, smaller and less influential than the capital of Erengrad. Each is ruled by a noble lord, who governs at the whim of Erengrad’s merchant king. The Clique is supported by the crusader states to their west, who use the port for access to both supplies and new recruits to the region. Feared by those in the east as tyrannic despots, the Clique nonetheless pursues its ambitions of control over all trade in the Midlands.

Middle Princes

The bulk of the Midlands is occupied by a fractured and disconnected network of towns, villages and cities, each with its own individual ruler. These local and regional lords, of varying qualities and pedigree, each belong to a group known as the Middle Princes. Encompassing the region between the crusader states in the west, and Muerthe in the east, they are what remains of the grand societies that were attempted in the wake of the Orc crusades. The land is prosperous in theory, but suffers greatly from the constant conflict that rages across it. Adventurers and mercenaries compete with threats such as monsters, famine and disease for supremacy and glory, each trying to establish their own dynasty to last through the ages. Those few realms who are stable enough to avoid conflict suffer from a rash of intrigue, with courtiers plotting and scheming to overthrow one another and assume ever greater power and influence. And yet the region constantly attracts new players and competitors, all of whom convince themselves to their own worth as they try to navigate the pitfalls of the Middle Princes.

Notable Places

Muselle

The nominal capital of the Halflings homeland, Muselle sits at a fork in the Muselle river. It serves as a gathering place for the surrounding towns and villages, boasting a large market and river docks as well as a hub of administrative activity. The lone road through the region ends at the town, connecting it to Osse and the rest of the Muerthe in the northwest. The city hosts a sizeable number of Halflings, and is also a major flashpoint for conflict between them and humans. While Muerthe claims, and practices control of the region, the Halflings in the valleys and hills surrounding Muselle do not fully acknowledge this suzerainty. Much of the fighting is administrative, though as the Kings of Muerthe seek to erode more and more Halfling autonomy, things are getting more heated in the town. The region is known for a special breed of sheep, providing the finest wool in the known world. They do brisk river trade with Lothier near the coast, whose clothiers and textile manufacturers then sell their goods onwards.

Lothier

The Lothern Marshes extend westwards, meeting and ending at the wide estuary of the Muselle river. Here, on swampy and treacherous ground sits the Free City of Lothier. Originally little more than a Halfling hamlet, its position for trade lured many humans, Routot especially, who settled and built up what makes the city today. Muerthe once claimed control over its docks, but the city won its independence at the decisive Battle of the Golden Spurs, and has since been autonomous. Trade guilds rule the city, artisans and workers organized into political blocs by their craft affiliations. Monopolies and complex rules govern the interactions between them, with little more uniting the guilds than a shared patriotic love of their city. Lothier is a major part of the Hellainic League, but its own nebulous politics prevent it from leading the faction in any meaningful way.

Osse

The capital of Muerthe and one of the first major cities established in the region, Osse is built atop an old Orc hillfort. Built up by Routot traders, it retains major elements of Routot culture while also including the variety the Midlands is known for. The Kings of Muerthe have long sought to control all of the eastern Midlands, and extend this influence into the hills of Muselle as well as over the port cities along the coast. While not strictly under their control, they do defer to many of the wishes of the Kings, so as to placate them and ensure their own independence. Some of the Middle Princes as well find themselves under assault by the forces of Muerthe, as its own vassals and nobles try to extend their holdings. The realm is fairly stable, providing a good anchor for trade from across the region to travel through the Pessamits and back into the Routot kingdoms.

Maugard

Maugard sits in the centre of the Middle Princes, at the fork of the Sorre and Mag rivers. The city is well fortified, and has become a centre for a massive concentration of Noreya since its conquest by the Bokha noble family. Calling himself Druzhina, an old Noreya title of royalty, Feydaj took the city from its former masters and rebuilt it in honour of the Noreya cities of old. His son Goroyev now rules the fiefdom, and has his ambitions set on restoring the race to its former glory. Representatives from the major Noreya cultural institutions reside within Maugard’s walls, and slowly seek to shift their capital from Vanne to one of their own. Known as the Fiery Bokha, Goroyev is an ambitious and driven leader who cares deeply for his race and subjects.

Kaska

Chief among the crusader remnants in the eastern Midlands is the Grand Duchy of Dobruja. Holding most major towns, and many large fortifications along the Bolgra, the Grand Duchy is easily the most established government in the region. Nominally, it controls all land within its domain, though much of it is administered and held by individual knightly and religious orders, who pay tax to the Grand Duke to ensure the realm’s survival. Founded by a Premyslid noble, one of the brothers of the Prince during the crusades, the realm holds trappings and elements of that culture. Kaska is the largest town in the region, holding a major population and providing a centre for agriculture and trade in the realm. As the capital of the Grand Duchy, it also serves to concentrate and distribute supplies to where they are most needed along the front against the Orcs.

Erengrad

The capital of the Erengrad Clique and the jewel of the Midlands trade ports, the city of Erengrad is an ominous shadow at the far end of the Black Gulf. Housing the Merchant King Sverisvoda, the city has its hands in practically all activities across the region. It has strong allies in the crusader states and the Dwarves of Irondeep, who help to keep it well supported in its wars to control all trade along the coast. Aside from its own ambitions, Erengrad fuels the chaos in the Middle Princes, undermining any stable fiefdoms to try and retain its power and dominance. The city itself is a bustling hub for all sorts of travellers, though it tends towards Arran influences.

Notable Personalities

Merchant King Sverisvoda

King Sverisvoda is the ruler of Erengrad, having inherited the position from his father. Despite being the only heir to his father, Sverisvoda is convinced that he inherited based on merit. He considers himself a shrewd businessman, insisting on taking control of the city’s stewardship and administration himself. In reality, he is a short-sighted buffoon, leaving political and financial errors in his wake. His advisors manage to contain much of this, and a delicate balance is managed to let the king believe he is empowered without giving him too much influence. What he cannot get by his limited charms, he tends to take by force, using his guards as a weapon against those who displease him. For the most part, King Sverisvoda remains in his palace, meeting with delegates from the largest merchant houses and living a life of immense luxury. He is middle-aged, with a receding hairline and thin black hair. His portly stomach comes from a life of rich, hearty foods. Despite this greasy appearance, he wears fine clothing and prefers flashy jewellery.

Goroyev Bokha, Druzhina of Maugard

The Fiery Bokha, as he is known, was raised on tales on the glory of Noreya’s past. His father Feydaj took Maugard with a contingent of Noreyan nationalists, who sought out a place they could rebuild to capture a fraction of that glory once more. Feydaj died defending these lands, and his mantle was taken up by his son. Goroyev stood firm in the face of his enemies, and managed to hold his budding realm against the threats they faced. Since those early days, Goroyev has taken his father’s dream farther than could ever be imagined. The city is prosperous, and dominated by the Noreya cultural revival. Goroyev claims the ancient title of Druzhina, reserved for Noreya royalty, and seeks to embody their ideals once more. The old Noreya gods hold sway in his realm, transplanted from their frozen homes and spreading their worship abroad. Goroyev himself is a high-spirited ruler, full of passion and emotion for his city and people. A strong man, he takes immense pride in his quest to restore the Noreya empire. He has tremendous disdain for Noreya who bow to demonic forces, blaming them for the loss of their heritage in the first place.

Lobar the Boar, King of Muerthe

Osse was established as one of the first major cities in the Midlands during the crusades, built upon the site of an Orc hillfort taken by Routot forces. It served as a major stop for merchants resupplying the armies as they marched across the region, slowly accruing more and more as the area became safer to travel. Its early rulers influenced and eventually conquered their neighbours, creating the Kingdom of Muerthe by sheer force of will. Not recognized officially as a Routot kingdom, it nonetheless has all the trappings necessary to be considered one, separated from the rest of the confederacy by a spur of the Pessamit mountains. Since then, its rulers have worked to expand their holdings, forming the most stable state in the eastern Midlands, and possibly its entirety. Lobar is the current king of Muerthe, known as the Boar by his subjects. Earned for his sizeable stature, as well as his extraordinarily stubborn nature, he is the sort of strong personality the kingdom needs to survive in such a lawless land. His moniker is not entirely without insult, and only the bravest of his councillors refer to him as such in his presence. A warrior first and foremost, he traces his lineage back to the founder of the kingdom, a Routot mercenary of the same name, and by all accounts, very similar in his nature as well. Lobar has a big bushy black beard and thinning hair, and a pot belly. Despite his physique, he maintains immense strength, and an imposingly deep voice.

Jan Schafelaar, Chief Crusader

At the end of the crusades in the Midlands, the successful warriors stood on the banks of the Bolgra and saw the potential for Orc retaliation. Fortifications were built up for this eventuality, constructed at the expense and under the direction of individual benefactors. Most fell under the rule of knightly orders of various sizes, of which the largest was the Silver Hand of Koraldur. These groups aligned to defend the Midlands from the Orcs beyond the river, continuing to do so even after the rest of the Midlands fell into disarray. Working together in a loose alliance, each intrigues against one another for their own specific agendas, alongside the shared goal of repelling the Kathak Orcs. To this end, they are united under a warmaster of sorts, continuing the legacy of the crusaders of old, who were under the united leadership of some key figures. Elected as the Chief Crusader, this figure plans strategy and campaigns against the Orcs, while also dealing with the petty squabbles that each individual under them brings to the table. Currently, the role is filled by Jan Schafelaar, a paladin of Koraldur who takes his role seriously. Seeing himself as sent by his deity to bring justice down on the Orcs, he is continually frustrated by the lack of unity among the crusader remnants, despising political machinations in the face of spiritual threats. A stoic man, he is not particularly physical despite a history of conflict, standing short and relatively small. Whatever he lacks in stature, he makes up in willpower, able to govern and lead through his convictions alone. He has a long black moustache and no hair, with eyes of a steel grey colour.

Inga, Grand Duchess of Dobruja

The Grand Duchy of Dobruja is a political remnant of the crusades, established to govern the land that was taken. As time passed, however, most forgot about the threat from the Orcs and focused their attention on more traditional political pastimes, intriguing and warring with one another. Chaos enveloped the land, and yet the Grand Duchy remained standing, a final callback to the halcyon days of unity and fraternity. Rather than fall, Dobruja had prospered, buoyed mostly by its proximity to the remaining knightly orders along the Bolgra. Settled by those zealous colonists who followed in the wake of the crusaders, the Duchy administers to the towns and villages beyond the veil of fortifications to their south. Dobruja has a leadership as equally fervent as its subjects, made up of an extremely devout and religious nobility. Inga is the current Grand Duchess leading them, and is perhaps the pinnacle of what they aspire to. Her forebears have worked to enact ever greater influence over those individual fortifications to their south, so that only the largest orders are free from her control. These she has seduced with her piety, encouraging them to act according to scripture, and supporting ever greater radicalization within their ranks. The Bright Hundreds have sway in her court, and she has made herself a patron of sorts to the offshoot of Koraldur’s followers. She is tall and fair, with long blonde hair that she keeps tied up and bound beneath bejewelled hairnets. Her manner is reserved and quiet, though her fierce eyes see and take in all that is said around her.