Tauche

On the edge of the Obertal, Tauche stands as a sentinel against the creatures of the forest. Mirroring Dessen at the other border of the kingdom, Tauche is a heavily fortified and defended town. Its walls are its most notable feature, a mixture of thick palisades and hewn rock, all scarred from long years of battle. The city's population swells and dips during periods of major Beastmen attack, refugees streaming from the woods into Tauche for protection. The river Bost runs past the city, offering a link to the outside world. Connected to the Dwarf hold of Highclear, it offers a link between Werben and that western realm. Duke Herdan rules the city, though he is often absent, instead leading his forces in hunting down Beastmen in the woods.

Politics

The city of Tauche is governed primarily by Herdan's wife, Isabel, and his steward Baldwin. The pair rule as co-regents while Duke Herdan is away on his long campaigns, and typically still even when he returns annually. Their governance is admirable and competent, doing much of the work while Herdan receives credit for it. It is they who manage the refugees and the city's food stores, ensuring they have enough for the inevitable sieges Tauche must endure. And it is they who hold court and manage the region's ambitious nobles while Herdan is away, reminding then who their rightful ruler is despite his continual absence. A secret between the pair is that they are lovers, enjoying the long stints between the Duke's appearances for their time together. They go to obvious lengths to hide the affair from the Duke, fearing his reaction as much as the fervent loyalty of his subjects. Nonetheless, rumours persist, and there are some that would seek to turn their Duke on his regents, though these few are hardly close enough to Herdan to sway him. Some whisper the Duke even knows of the affair, approving or indifferent to it as long as the realm remains well-governed. Whatever the truth, the balance between the three remains intact, and no obvious animosity exists when Herdan returns.

Aside from the Ducal relationship, the city is relatively free of political mischief. The populace is under significant stress from Beastmen in the Obertal, and is mostly unable to plot for much beyond the creatures unpredictability. The most difficult thing for the regency has proven to be managing relations with the Dwarves of Highclear. Through a series of diplomats, Isabel and Baldwin have gradually pried open more and more privileges for their traders and others from across Arran. Yet it has not been an easy road, working with the whims and desires of Tarun, the Copper King. As the closest Arran city to the realm, and sharing a border with the Obertal, Highclear has been sought as a strategic ally for Tauche. But earning any sort of substantial alliance has proven difficult, leading the regents to explore the idea of deposing Tarun. Enough of his subjects are unhappy with his reign to sow discord, but thus far no progress has been made towards that end.

Groups

Order of the Axemen

An unusual knightly order, the Axemen are based in Tauche and the area surrounding the Obertal. They are not strictly a religious order, though many do ascribe themselves to the cult of Teutan, having co-opted some of that faiths rituals in their own initiation rites. Created to protect and safeguard people from the threats within the forest itself, they ride and patrol through the woods, often the best and only defence the villages and hamlets there can hope for. The knights themselves maintain retinues of archers and other scouts, bolstering their own numbers with experienced woodsmen and trackers. They adorn their armour with accents from the forest; antlers, furs and horns especially common. Axes are a common weapon among them, giving them their name. Duke Herdan is a member and chief patron of their order, leading their forays as often as possible.

Cult of Teutan

Across Arran, Teutan is a relatively minor god. Worshipped as little more than a huntsmaster, his followers are rangers and woodsmen at the edge of civilization. The cult of Koraldur dominates all other divinities, even those as old as the trees and hills themselves. In Tauche, however, the nature god reigns supreme. His cult is strong in Tauche, where a major place of worship can be found just outside the city walls. Here, followers of the god can leave offerings, with many owing to the deity for the bounty he provides them. Teutan and the Obertal are linked, and it is said that deep in the forest is where the god was born. His children, the Beastmen, once safeguarded the depths of the woods from Orcs, now driven mad to bloodlust with whatever affliction affects them and their deity. Whatever it is, the cult of Teutan has long been searching for an answer to soothe their troubled god, and reclaim his homeland.

Landmarks

The Greenrock

Just beyond the city walls, tuxked into a conspicuous copse of old growth trees, lies the holy place of the Greenrock. Named for the mounds of stones covered in lichen that make up its borders, the Greenrock is a sacred place for the cult of Teutan. A peaceful calm lies over the area, the thick moss and lichen absorbing sound and giving it a serene aura. Rituals are held here during specific times of years, priests and followers mingling for their secret rites. The area has survived numerous Beastmen assaults without any harm or despoiling, further cementing the belief in its link to the divine. While any can enter the Greenrock, it is guarded by dedicated sentinels who live in small treetop outposts among the copse of wood. They keep a watchful eye out for any who seek to enter with ill intentions.

Personalities

Duke Herdan

The Obertal is a wild region, and so it is fitting that its ruler matches its unruly character. Duke Herdan is perhaps the truest embodiment of the wild forests he governs, an untamed and nearly feral man hellbent on scouring his land of monsters. He rarely stays in his fortified home in Tauche, instead roving between several keeps deep in the Obertal. From here, his soldiers patrol to keep a vigil over the disparate hamlets and villages in the forests. His wife and steward are often left to run his realm while he is away, and the two do an admirable job in preserving its stability in the wake of refugees and other unexpected strains. Despite his absence, the Duke has earned a near fanatical devotion among his subjects, who see him as a valiant protector. Many of the other dukes in the Kingdom see him as much more base than that, a savage wildman who cares more for fighting and the woods than ruling as his station commands. Herdan, for his part, enjoys the solitude of the woods and prefers the company of his soldiers to any sort of nobility. He is of average height, mostly bald, and in excellent shape. A thick beard erupts from his chin, which he only shaves upon his returns to Tauche. He has a limp from a run-in with a monster years ago, and several scars to go along with it.

Baldwin, Duke's Steward

While the Duke is away on campaign, he leaves all the financial responsibilities of running the realm in the hands of his steward, Baldwin. Left to primarily his own devices, Baldwin has seen an immense amount of trust invested into his judgement, being able to disperse funds as he sees fit. For the most part, this trust is well placed, however, and Baldwin is almost entirely loyal to his Duke. His one thread of infidelity lies in the affair he carries out with the Duchess in Duke Herdan's absences. The pair ruling as co-regents, they have ample time alone to confer and plot without suspect, providing the perfect cover for their illicit activity. Baldwin makes up for this lapse with feverish devotion to the realm and his liege in all other respects, casting aside any personal gain in the face of shame and self-loathing. A tall and well-built man, Baldwin has the frame of a warrior, but little skill with a blade. He is in his fifties, yet a careful attention to hygiene and tidiness makes him a handsome suitor for the Duchess. He has dark hair and green eyes, and is always dressed in fine clothing.

Isabel, Duchess of Tauche

The other half of the regency that governs Tauche in the Duke's absence, Duchess Isabel is a powerful figure in her own right,with a complicated past. She came to the duchy as thw wife to Herdan's younger brother, who fell in a Beastman raid some short years into their marriage. Herdan's father arranged the match after Herdan's wife passed in childbirth around the same time, matching them more out of grief and familial responsibility than anything else. Not long thereafter, the Duke died, passing the title to Herdan. The new Duke would begin his campaigns shortly after their marriage, each time remaining absent for longer and longer stretches. Entrusted with ruling the household, this quickly expanded to holding court and managing the various competing nobles that flocked there. All of this she took to with sincerity, growing into the role and developing a knack for it. And yet she did much of this alone, with her husband away at his war in the forest. As time wound on, she gradually found solace in the arms of Baldwin, the Duke's steward, the pair relying on one another to govern in the Duke's absence. Feeling little but indifference towards her husband, she receives the same in return, the pair fit to live their separate lives as long as the realm continues. Isabel is average height, with long brown hair that she keeps bound in hairnets. She dresses in forest tones primarily, in keeping with the ever present theme of the duchy.

Hedwig, Teutan's Godwife

The cult of the nature god Teutan is not as organized as others in Arran, leading to it being much smaller than others. Small cells of the cult exist across the countryside, kept alive by local priests who cultivate followings and protect sacred places. In Tauche, with the much greater support, it naturally has a much larger clergy living off of it. Among them, Hedwig is their chieftain, sitting as mistress of the hunt and bride of the god himself. Her title is claimed through her knowledge of the rites and her use of the Greenrock, her devout attendance to her followers earning her respect worthy of a god's wife. She lives in the grove with a few other high chosen clergy, caring for the sacred place and those it attracts. Hedwig is an old woman, with leaves and vines wound into her long matted grey hair. She is often naked, or near to it, preferring the feel of the natural world against her skin. Her position has made her eccentric, her followers feeding her delusions and encouraging her antics.