Introduction

Politics

Kingdoms of Jal

A collection of petty kingdoms and fiefs that make up the known world. The Kingdoms are filled with rivalries and minor wars, with the following main regions and rulers known:

• Hembard Wilds - the northwestern corner of the Kingdoms, ruled by Thambar the Prudent.
• East Gorsebonn & South Gorsebonn - the territories east and southeast of the Hembard Wilds, ruled by two factions of the ever combative Baide families. Luckily they usually take out their aggressions on each other.
• Islerkanne - the impregnable fortress-isle dominates the waters and islands of vast Lake Havaar. Islerkanne lies between East Gorsebonn and South Gorsebonn, and is one of the main reasons the two stay divided. The cantankerous Cathrist, ruler of Islerkanne and exceedingly, perhaps disturbingly, ancient wizard, routinely sides with whichever half of the family happens to be losing the current round of wars.

Hembard Wilds

Named for the ill-fated explorer, Jorund Hembard, that first charted the region, the Wilds are a thumb-shaped area of civilized lands, forming the northwestern corner of the Kingdoms of Jal along the Hembard River. While the petty kings and nobles of the Jalish Kingdoms bicker and fight amongst themselves, the local lord, Thambar the Prudent, takes little interest in the affairs of the court, being more interested in scholarly matters. He rules from Highcliff Keep, which perches like a great crow on the cliffs above Auslaug, the largest of the three main villages in the Wilds.

Government

Thambar the Prudent is the ruler of all three towns in Hembard Wilds, and lord of all the scattered farmers and serfs scattered as well. His interests are overseen by his steward Eyvindr Endesen, who is assisted by six reeves (one each for Hustwood, Auslaug, Brekkevale and New Town, two for the various scattered farms and freeholds). The reeves are responsible for overseeing taxation, and enforcing the lord's economic laws.

Each settlement is governed by a mayor and council of aldermen. The mayor is appointed by Thambar, the aldermen elected by the local populace. The council varies in size depending on the village. Three in Hustwood, four in Brekkevale, and six in Auslaug.

The mayor and aldermen enforce building codes, manage common spaces (pastures, roads), and resolve civil and land disputes where possible. They advise the reeves and lord on civil policy and other matters. The mayor and council also determine market days, direct the local militia in police duties (including issuing warrants for criminals in some cases), and issue building permits for lands within ten miles of their respective villages.

Military

Vargen Detwood is captain of the guard at Highcliff and commands the militia as well. Though day to day militia / marshal duties are managed by the mayoral councils, Detwood is the ultimate authority, and determines deployment to each village. Generally each village has an officer or two, plus two or three sergeants, and a dozen privates stationed there. Generally the privates are locals, serving their duty cycle. Officers and sergeants are professionals.

The guard at Highcliff is fairly small, but adequate to the keep's defense. Most are professional soldiers, though there is often a militia rotation training in the keep's courtyard. Thambar often recruits mercenaries (dwarfs from the north, elven archers) when the situation dictates.

Justice

In civil matters and minor cases, the mayoral council will judge the case. Taxation falls to the reeves, or Thambar himself. Criminal matters or civil judgement appeals are dealt with by Thambar's appointed judge, Calen Gara, chief priest of Erlinga. He is based in Auslaug but travels regularly to the villages.

Local Geography

Hembard River

A mostly navigable river that serves as the primary travel route to the Hembard Wilds. During the winter months the river is often frozen, making travel to the rest of the Kingdoms of Jal risky at best.

Tajen Peaks

The Peaks form the northernmost edge of the Hembard Wilds. The range runs generally west-southwest to east-northeast, and varies in both elevation and ruggedness. Several passes cut through the range, including the ill-named Vale of Bones, but these valleys are poorly mapped at best.

Western Woodlands

Western Woodlands is the name given to the relatively unknown lands beyond the borders of Hembard Wilds, generally covering the area northwest of Hustwood, and south of the Tajen Peaks. The Westwalk skirts along this area, marking the informal border between civilization and wilderness. In fact there are people living along this rough road, chiefly woodcutters, homesteaders, hunters and trappers, but they're few and far between. It is from this scattered folk that most of the rumors about the Western Woodlands come, as expeditions into the Woodlands usually do not return. Here are a few stories and rumors:

• The Ghastly Man is a glowing yellow-green figure that stalks the shadowy woods at night. This apparition is often blamed when hunters or trappers go missing.
• Blackpool Maze is half-swamp, half-ruin, a bleak waste of tumbledown stone walls, dead trees, and still, peaty waters. Old stories say the Maze was once a great castle built by a mad king, who constantly rebuilt walls and towers as the structure sank into the swamp.
• The Carved Trees are found throughout the Western Woods. No one knows who leaves the odd carvings on the trees, or what they mean, but they're everywhere. Some claim they are boundary markers in some extra-dimensional war, others say they are hearth-markers for dryads. No matter their source, bad luck seems to follow those that disturb or cut trees marked by these strange signs.
• Stonefinger rises from the woodland like a sentinel, a solitary spire of weathered blue-gray stone. Most say it marks the edge of the true wilderness, the place where weirdness really starts. Stonefinger appears to be a natural outcropping, but because of its curiously shaped and carved form and the oddly regular growth patterns of the plant life around it, many believe it to be an ancient ruin of some sort.
• The Grave Lickers are the reason those that die along the Western Woodlands are taken to Auslaug for burial. They are creaking, creeping creatures that seek out fresh corpses and drag them off to the darkest caves and tunnels beneath the woods. Stories say those that see them go mad, eventually killing themselves or vanishing into the woods. Some say the Grave Lickers eat the dead, but others claim they are building something beneath the dark boughs of the forest.