Southern Houress

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Duchy of Blackmel

Current Political Structure

3 Duchies and their Dominions

Cities

* = capitol

Blackmel used to part of a land filled with powerful dukes who eventually fell to the forces of Varanady (see description under Brighkly). Once the dark queen was defeated and Varanady taken by the forces of the west, Brighkly was formed in the 130th year of the 4th Age of Man, and the territory constituted what is now Brighkly and Blackmel. The territory of what is now Blackmel was home to two powerful dukes who quarreled among themselves and with their neighbors long before Varanady became a threat. Through guile and manipulation, Queen Varanady eventually festered those quarrels into open warfare that weakened the dukes. After a short time, during the 126th year of the 4th Age Of Man, the queen sent her forces marching into the lands and took the disorganized lords easily. These lands were the last taken before she launched the Great War against what is now the Northlands and then the west--a war which lasted twelve long, devastating years.

After the wizard Gremlidone and his allies had defeated the elementalist wizards who generaled the queen's armies, the allied forces of the west finally conquered Varanady and carved it up, erasing the kingdom from the map of Southern Houress forever. But one of the original lords, one Aur Brighkly, intended to survive. He had sided with Queen Varanady when he saw that he and the other lords could not withstand her. Years later, when the winds had begun to blow against the ruthless queen, and the western forces began to sweep down from the northwest, the aging Lord Brighkly turned against the queen. He betrayed her by allowing western forces to enter the lands he still controlled, and he then added his own armies to the attack against Queen Varanady's forces. Because of his decision to side with the forces from the west, Aur Brighkly was given control of what is now the lands of Brighkly and Blackmel.

Duke Lurio Blackmel was bitter beyond words that his principle rival now had control over him. A power-hungry man, he envisioned having his lands and autonomy back once the war was over. And to add insult to injury, Aur Brighkly was very quick to point out that several dukes, including Lurio, had not sided with him when he chose to join the forces of the west against the queen. And thus, Aur was given the territories that had been held by the quarreling dukes, and he promptly renamed his lands "Brighkly." This promoted four years of strife where several of the dukes rose up in an attempt to seize control from Aur. But they failed miserably. Blackmel had been careful not to show himself as one of the men against Brighkly when the others rose up against him. He saw the way things were going and backed off to bide his time.

Years earlier when the Queen annexed the lands now known as Blackmel and Brighkly, Blackmel enjoyed a rare peace between himself and his rivals. During this time, he turned his attention toward his love of magic. Blackmel was a practiced wizard as well as a warrior. During the few years when he had sided with the Queen of Varanady, he became privy to information about a book of magic that lay in Duergar territory within the southeastern tip of the Votack Mountains. The information came to him from dark wizards serving in the Queen's own court. They whispered tales of a black codex buried deep within the mountains where the dark dwarves dwelled. The book supposedly possessed great secrets left behind by warring godlings who battled across the lands eons ago. After Brighkly quelled the uprising from the other dukes in the year 134, Blackmel set his sights upon the mystical text, finally succeeding in finding it some years later at the cost of hundreds of his soldiers' lives.

With the ancient tome in his hands, the aged Lurio Blackmel secluded himself in his red tower for half a decade, rarely taking a break from his incessant studying of the book long enough to see the light of day. In the year 139, he emerged from high atop his red tower with a crooked smile. He was into his 70s and looked it, but he had finally cracked the secret of the book. He sent a courier north to Brighkly himself demanding that he be given rulership of the southern half of Brighkly and that he would make it his own country. This Brighkly would do, or Blackmel would unleash unholy terror upon the man and his subjects and anyone in his path.

Brighkly refused and sent his forces south to quell the renegade Blackmel. At the gates of the red tower, Brighkly's forces came in the year 145. Blackmel's men were sorely outnumbered, and it seemed that they would be defeated. Blackmel opened his dark codec and chanted a long and powerful spell that would open a rift to another plan and bring to him the raw magic he could use to strike down his enemies. That day, a new sun formed a half mile above the red tower. That was long remembered as the day that the second sun came to Irith. With the energy at his command, Blackmel directed it at the forces of Brighkly. Over 50 soldiers were violently struck down by tendrils of pure magic that rained down from the white sun. But Blackmel didn't have as much control over the sun as he wished. Many of his own soldiers were massacred by the magic, and a large rampart was blown out of existence from the red tower.

But Brighkly had seen enough. He withdrew his troops and negotiated a peace treaty called the Treaty of the Sun. The treaty stipulated that Blackmel would have his own country separate from the Land of Brighkly in exchange for a promise from Blackmel that he would never use the awesome white sun against his neighbors to the north. The treaty was signed in the autumn of 145. Blackmel had his own country now, and he and his lords rejoiced. The one drawback was that he could not cause the white sun to go away. The power hungry Blackmel worked on it for months until he died of old age and stress. It is rumored that his final decree was to send the dark codec away to be destroyed so that no one else would be able to have it. It is not known if it was destroyed. More rumors hail that the codec was taken from those who would have destroyed. Some say the duergar reclaimed it, while others believe that other power-hungry forces now have it. The white sun still burns high above the red tower located in Olfwa, lighting the lands for miles in all directions in perpetual daylight.

Since then, the Blackmels have ruled in relative peace. Their profit and power come from their location in a long trade route that extends down from the northlands to the Ceril Bay and the oceans beyond. Each of the three major cities of Blackmel, and the territory surrounding them, are ruled by a Duke Grendic and his two Vice Counts.

Points of Interest

Black Swamp

A part of the Aerlidonis Jungle nearly devoid of life, this dark place is the home to evil spirits, who prefer the solitude the swamp offers, safe from those who would hunt them. They spirits and ghosts of the Black Swamp prey upon those unfortunate to wander into their midst. They have the sense to leave the supply barges coming down the Flane River alone, mostly because the vessels employ priests to ward the spirits off. Those foolish enough to sail without a priest of some strength, usually never reach the Darkwater.

Darkwater

For generations, this area of the ocean near the southeastern coasts of Northern Houress have seen the waters turned black for hundreds of miles. The Darkwater literally bubbles and steams, emitting a stench that few can stomach. No life can exist in the black waters. Some speculate that there is a crack on the ocean floor leading the Hell allowing evil and ichor from the horrid place to bubble the wound in Irith's skin. Others swear that the dark queen's powers came from the Darkwater from a pact she made with a devil. Rumors of all kinds abound even today ...

Salt Barrens

Hundreds of years ago, the ocean had occupied what is now a Sestillion and Blackmel as far north as the northern border of the Salt Barrens. Over time, the sea withdrew, leaving behind the Salt Barrens and the Aerlidonis Jungle. The portion of land known as the Salt Barrens was so rich in sea salt, that nothing ever grew there and the land remained white with dunes of pure salt. Only a few odd creatures can live there and no one risks traveling through the Barrens. The desolate, salty territory is cut in two by the Flane River on its way to the Darkwater.

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Sorlog Dominion

Olfwa

Leader: Duke Grendic Blackmel

Population: 15,000

Power Center: Conventional

The capital city of Blackmel lies to the southeast of Kristal and is the second city to the sea along the trade route from the north. The most populated of the 3 major Blackmel cities, it is well know for the crackling white sun hovering in the sky above the legendary Red Tower, where High Monitor Grendic Blackmel the Arch Mage resides. Like most wizards, he rarely sees the light of day as his hours are spent in private study. Grendic is old and shows his age, his dour expression betraying his mind all too often. He is strict when it comes to keeping order and discipline in his city and his lands, and his means by which he administers that order has bordered on near-ruthlessness. Only the sheer profit he earns from the flow of merchants and traders through Blackmel seemingly keeps him from going beyond reason. Olfwa is a city in perpetual sunlight. During the day, there are two suns in the sky, one of which never moves from above the Red Tower. At night, that white sun remains and can be seen for miles around. Another city peppered thoroughly with Inns and taverns that cater to the influx of traders, Olfwa is patrolled constantly by a small army of mage guards who use their magic to maintain order.

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Wor Onella

Leader: Count Aranel Wixaria (F)

Population: 11,372

Power Center: Magical

T'Everal

Leader: Count Larlogas Rhein

Population: 9,430

Power Center: Magical

Granitaria

Leader: Count Sen Gravvt

Population: 9,424

Power Center: Conventional

Shoal City

Leader: Count Narlos Tiago

Population: 7,038

Power Center: Conventional

Toranny Dominion

Parfum

Leader: Vice Count Calibor Ruchin

Population: 8,000

Power Center: Conventional

The southernmost of the trio of Blackmel cities is Parfum. The huge port city only boasts about three or four thousand regular inhabitants. But with the number of ships and traders and visitors to the port of entry, there are usually about ten to eleven thousand people in Parfum at any one time. The city is a jumble of markets, ports, inns and taverns constantly filled to bursting with people of all kinds. As with the other Blackmel cities, order is strictly enforced, usually by the mage guardsmen who patrol the streets. Monitor Calibor, a half-orc lord who won his position by destroying the previous monitor in a personal battle of honor, has surprised his critics by maintaining the bustling port and order there. A powerful wizard who tolerates little, he has, over the past 12 years, helped Parfum grow in sheer profit for Blackmel. For that alone, he has Grendic's favor. A navy of 12 war galleys hail from Parfum. They constantly patrol the waters of the Ceril Bay and out to the Darkwater, looking for pirates and slavers, destroying all they find.

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Cha'khav

Leader: Count Shiel Fhauleff

Population: 5,380

Power Center: Unconventional

Eylah

Leader: Count Kamanos Greenfell

Population: 8,968

Power Center: Magical

Bahnnazel

Leader: Count Beltir Ominos

Population: 7,306

Power Center: Magical