Beogar is a feudal monarchy. Founded in 1550, after the local Autarchs were overthrown with undead warriors, the mage leading the assault, Siegric, declared himself King over all the lands from the Highreach to the Granos Mountains. At the time, everyone was grateful that their wartime-rescuer took the reins of government with a firm hand... It wasn't until 1599 that his subjects realized that Siegric had become a lich!
A period of civil war followed, with the priests of Tyr, Lathander, and all the good deities leading various drives against the undead legions of Siegric. The peasants were surrounded by war and death on all sides until the final months of 1670, when the citadel at Oswald fell. Oswald had commanded the mouth of the Highreach for ages, and was the last refuge of Siegric. The castle was renamed Cælwynn by the victorious troops and became a beacon of light and truth in the land.
It took until 1674 to finish off the last of the undead legions, destroying the leaders or driving them into the Oidillaf. Peace returned to the Kingdom. Coenbern, the priest of Tyr who was the Lord High General at the battle of Oswald, declared himself King over Beogar -- the embattled lands. While many faithful clerics and priests had led the militias and mercenary troops during the civil war, Coenbern was the only one with the political "clout" to manage to stay King. A few years later, everybody forgot the whole argument...
Since that time, the King and family have always been followers of Tyr, although they are no longer priests. The worship of Tyr is the state religion; no other deities can be worshipped, not even the other "good" ones. Beogar is a deeply religious nation. Clerics are revered by all, and many laws are slanted in their favor. Some Athmyrans say, "The king of Beogar may not be a priest, but the churches run the country."
The kingdom is small, claiming lands far to the west, but only controlling the area within a hundred miles of the coast. Farming is difficult in the rolling hills, and many peasants barely make enough to feed their families after paying their taxes and tithes. This leads them into debt to their lord, becoming serfs -- tied to the land, working forever and never getting out of the hole. But many don't mind; after a few generations, no one remembered what it was like to live any other way.
Nowadays, the church of Tyr runs the country. There are no taxes, but everyone is expected to tithe to the Church. The Church's army, the Templars, provide the physical muscle to back up church edicts. Technically, the King is in control, but really he is a pawn of the church. The church is led by "The Hand of Tyr on Earth", the highest ranking Lawgiver. The "Hand" is generally accepted as the avatar of Tyr, and his crusades against evil humanoids, Bane-worshipping Ketites, and mindwitches seem to have the power of Tyr behind them.
Local lords are the law in their regions, sized from a few square miles to everything within a day's ride of the castle. Lords protect their peasants and receive taxes and food from them. Each lord has made an oath of fealty to a more powerful lord, promising troops in time of war and taxes other times. This goes up a few levels to the king himself. Most of these small baronies, duchies, counties, etc. are unremarkable, but two deserve greater attention.
This is a very recent barony, carved out of the wilderness in the Granos Mountains. The baron, Æthelbrand, was only 25 -- very young for such power. His ambition was always to rule, but since he was a third son, he could not count on even receiving a small portion of his father's lands. So, he requested and received permission to expand the boundaries of Beogar; to settle the upper reaches of the Atiira River. This area was utter wilderness, home to marauding bands of humanoids and giants. Æthelbrand and his loyal henchmen traveled up the river and founded Huætburg in a valley near the source of the river.
From 1890 to 1895, the intrepid group cleared land, built walls, and managed to hold the evils at bay long enough to start a village. Since then Huætburg has grown into a small town, with a wooden wall around it. The castle was completed in Wealsun, 1899. Most inhabitants are involved in mining and logging the surrounding slopes, sending the fruits of their labor downstream to Alhwick. Most of the day-to-day supplies are brought upstream during the long, hard return trip.
Now, this would be a bold undertaking already, but there is another thing: Æthelbrand does not worship Tyr. He believes that people should be free to choose any deity to worship. This has not gone unnoticed by the Grand Duke in Alhwick, but as long as Blackhawk doesn't grow too fast and keeps sending silver from the mountains to him, he is prepared to overlook the upstart's breach of morals...
During mid-1899, this barony gained some attention when it discovered two important items: First, an old Monastery in the mountains above the town was discovered to be inhabited by worshippers of Bane -- the hated enemy of Tyr. A force was put together to destroy the evil beings, and succeeded in clearing them out of the Monastery. The structure was rebuilt into a new monastery, and monks from Alhwick brought in to inhabit it. A strange explosion and fire destroyed the place a few weeks later, thus bringing into doubt whether or not the evil was destroyed.
The second item was the discovery of "a ruby the size of your fist", worth an estimated 50,000 gold pieces. However this find by a group of adventurers is unconfirmed and may just be wishful thinking. It has brought quite a few adventurers to the area, though.
A small town on the land trail from Alhwick to Theodward, this place has a town wall, but very little else. There is an open-air market every Sunday, where the population doubles due to the incoming farmers and their families. As a traveler's town, it has more inns than a town this size normally would.
"The gate in the mountains." Theodward is more of a large, permanent military base than it is a town. Yet, there are enough non-soldiers here to have created a reasonable-sized town. There are inns and taverns, stables, barracks, smithies, and merchants, but everyone is related to the army presence.
The town was founded after the last war with Ket, about 200 years ago. A state of "cold war" existed for a long time between Beogar and Ket, and Theodward and Alpanas were set up to "watch the fence", so to speak. The border between the countries was settled to be the ridge line of the Granos Mountains -- of course, that isn't a very specific point, so both countries decided to police the area. Effectively, no one can travel between Theodward and Alpanas; the two bases are still dedicated to keeping the border "safe".
Grimwald was a powerful man. Even when he was just a count, the king could tell that Grimwald desired the throne. So, when it came time to promote him to Duke, he was asked to move to Hædburg -- a major trading port on the Hyghilde Peninsula, but far away from Cælwynn. The new duke realized the significance of his duchy and decided not to make any moves for the throne. That was in 1700.
Since Grimwald's death, his family continues to harbor some resentment for being pushed out to "the boondocks". Ignoring the fact that the Duchy is one of the most prosperous in the kingdom, because of its strategic location at the narrowest point of the Kitaran Sea. Ships from Athmyr and Wayland often cross from Telandyr to Hædburg instead of following the much longer coastal route to Cælwynn.
Usually, the Duke of Grimwald is so busy scheming for power, that he lets the city government lapse. Court is held only once or twice a month, and even then only the most influential courtiers can get an audience. In the meantime, the city tries to run itself. This leads to anarchy during the winter months, when sailors are stuck onshore waiting for the winds to change, so that they can sail to Telandyr. Fights in the dockside areas are common, and the duke will not spend "one more copper" on watchmen for the area.
Generally, the lawful nature of the population tends to keep the city functioning during periods of inattention, but sometimes this is not enough. Several times in the past years, rioting and looting has filled the streets of Hædburg, set off by otherwise minor events. Understandably, the local watchmen and merchant guilds are extremely wary of newcomers, especially sailors. This internal strife merely adds to the problems presented by humanoids in the nearby Granos Mountains. Rumors are beginning to circulate that the guilds may ask the king to replace the duke...
The Holy See of Alhwick; home of The Hand of Tyr on Earth; Center of the Faith. The city's full title tells it all. This large city, at the mouth of the Atiira River, was originally a popular trading port. However, once the Kingdom of Beogar was established and the "Hand" chose to make his palace here, it was never the same. Insular and paranoid, the church permits only the faithful to enter the city. So, the docks were moved to the other side of the river to keep out "the heathen riff-raff". Most trading goods that flow to the city never leave -- the church is a great consumer, with huge temples and great golden altars scattered about.
Because of its location, much of Beogar's farmed goods have to move through Alhwick on their way to Hædburg or foreign ports. However, the current church decree lets little leave the country. Most of the food and other goods (silver and lumber from the Granos Mountains, sheep and livestock from the hills surrounding the city) is used to keep the large contingent of religious leaders well-fed. Very few starve in Alhwick... because it looks bad. The starving are thrown out of the city to find work on nearby farms or ranches.
The city is beautiful, though. Trees line the avenues; streets are wide enough for carriages; everywhere one looks there is beautiful architecture, leading the eye toward the heavens. The "Palace of the Hand" is the most wonderful of all, containing terraced gardens, huge arches and stained glass windows, and sculpture depicting the best scenes from Beogar's and Tyr's history.
The Royal city is not quite as splendid as Alhwick, but much bigger. Reachable only by boat or mule, the city perches high above the foothills, with a commanding view of the Highreach River and the whole of the South Kitaran Sea. On a clear day, you can almost see Telandyr; most of the time you can see the glinting from Alhwick, north along the coast. In the 225 years since the city was named, it has changed from a military fortress into a terraced city, home to 20,000 people or more. It has spread from one small hilltop into several miles of lanes and roads, on both sides of the river, all leading up to the King's Castle.
The city thrives on the mining in the Cruth Mountains and the Oidillaf, although more the former than the latter. "Civilization" follows the coast to the east for many miles, but only five days mule ride inland (about twenty miles). Mules bred here are among the most sure-footed in the world. Most trade is held with Athmyr, along the coast, but some goods (and tithes) are collected in central Beogar and brought here to the King.
Many of the evils that were removed from the land during the countries formation fled south into the Oidillaf. For that reason, the King wanted to be sure that his most powerful warriors were waiting at the mouth of the Highreach when those evils decided to return. Cælwynn contains the main army training ground for Beogar, and the nearer Oidillaf is constantly scoured for any possible threat. So far, only some humanoids and giants have caused any trouble here, but everyone waits for the day when the Autarchs will sail down the river at the head of an army...
This position near the Oidillaf has led to a large number of adventurers coming through the city. After a while, the King organized the Bureau of Adventurer's Information, run by Lord Khelben. Unfortunately, the old lord is a bit daft and mischevious. He has staffed the bureau almost entirely with worshippers of Leira, goddess of deception. Thus, while sometimes a visit to the bureau headquarters will reveal invaluable information, most of the time it leads to riddles and outright falsehoods.
Copyright © 2000, Michael Friedman.