The Duchies

[Lucius]

Hess

The northernmost and the most recent duchy to be attached into kingdom. The landscape is ruled by large pinetree forests and high, whitepeaked mountains, and the winter in Hess is particularly harsh and long. This has caused the fact that Hess has the smallest population of all the duchies - many of the children born in Hess die soon after their birth.

The only access from the southern lands to northern Hess is through the narrow passes. These passes are guarded by large fortresses, and the fact is that Hess wasn't conquered by the Kingdom - instead, it was attached to it via political marriage. Though the winter is long and harsh, it seems that recently the farming has been more succesful in the heartlands of Hess, and the land has grown richer.

The old beliefs to the Northern Gods are still popular among the people of Hess, for it has been only two hundred years since the religion known as the Holy Church came to the north - despite the hard efforts of the priests of Holy Church the beliefs still stay strong in the population of Hess.


Bretagne

The second duchy, which consists largely of forests, one of those forests being the infamous Drakkius Forest, now the nest of rebellion. Being one of the largest duchies, it has a large population as well as being rich in the standards of Manzanare. Due to being the second of duchies, the ruler of Bretagne is the most considerable political rival for Steward himself, descending from the oldest noble families of Menzanare, second only to the Royal Family.

Those who live in the deep forests of Bretagne still hold the deep belief into 'The Second Bloodline', for they believe that still among them lives the last descendant of the Royal Bloodline, descending from acknowledged bastard-son of one of the kings of Manzanare. There is no doubt that the leader of the rebels in Drakkius Forest is using this belief to amass his own troops.

~more will follow later~

[Lucius]

Manzanare

As the first of the Duchies, many of the people of Manzanare seem arrogant to the others - their Duchy is the richest and most powerful, the family of their rulers the oldest and the most revered among all the Duchies.

The landscape of Manzanare is somewhat rich - mainly farmland - and the population is largest of the Kingdom of Manzanare. The faith and loyalty for the Steward - who was once a man of Manzanare, which explains why the people in Duchy of Manzanare feel like the Steward was one of them - is almost absolute. The religion for the Old Gods is now extinct in Manzanare - in almost every village one can find one of the churches built in the name of Holy God.

Manzanare's wealth is much based on the fact that it is one of the two duchies that has a coastline with the Great Sea - the other being Romin, though with a much lesser coastline and smaller trade taking part in Romin - and the many luxuries from the Empire of East and the southern, exotic kingdoms ending often in Manzanare.

It was the first Steward who changed the capital from the large city of Manzanare, after the king's death, to the castle of Manzanare, for he was a man who wanted to show that he was ready to step into the danger, or so people of Manzanare believe, thus showing his courage and loyalty for his people.

As the first of duchies, the Duke of Manzanare is, naturally, one of the most powerful nobles in the Kingdom of Manzanare, and many of the dukes and nobility respect his words - and as the two recent Dukes of Manzanare have been loyal to Steward, they have brought with them the loyalty of the other nobility.


Romin

Located to north from Duchy of Manzanare, the landscape of Romin is mainly farmland as is Manzanare's, but somehow the farming has never been as succesful in Romin as it has been in Manzanare. In the north the border of Romin are the White Mountains, and there some of the men of Romin have mined valuable minerals for the past generations, their minerals being the source of the weapons and armors of the armies of Manzanare. In the east, Romin is limited to a small piece of coastline, there being only one city to greet the ships - the one that is named Romin and has been the capital of Duchy for the past generations.

Romin is often regarded as third of the Duchies and in power, their duke is the third among the nobility - therefore one of the most powerful men of the Kingdom. However, those of the Bretagne and Manzanare often regard people of Romin often with despise, for they were one of the most bitter enemies of the Kingdom of Manzanare in the past centuries, their armies being one of the most stubborn and well-organized that the armies of the Kingdom ever had to face. It is said that due to the difficulties of conquering Romin the King had to actually offer the position of the Duke in his kingdom to the man who was, back then, the king of Romin - thus the bloodline of the Romin kings has survived to this very day.


~Whew. More (the last) will follow later tonight~

[Lucius]

Medleburg

The southernmost and the fourth of the Duchies of Manzanare, Medlenburg is known as a former city-state that was ruled by the Council of Merchants - the same group still holds a significant amount of power inside the walls of Medlenburg.

What makes Medleburg different from the other great cities of Kingdom is the fact that it is the only place where the merchants may do their business without having to pay the high tolls while dealing with those who come from outside the kingdom's borders - thus making the bargains more profitable for both those who live in Kingdom and come from distant lands.

Rocky cliffs form the majority of the landscape, making the passage to Medlenburg itself rather dangerous due to the steep falls which have claimed many lives, and it is suggested that one should not dare these passages during heavy rains.

South from the rocky cliffs are located the deep forests, as well as the Hundred Lakes, and beyond these is located the rich city itself. It is located near the border between Manzanare and kingdom of Kelsh, and in the southern borders of Kelsh is the long coastline of Southern Sea, beyond which many of the costly and exotic goods come from - it is said that Medleburg's Court follows in the footsteps of the Court of Kelsh, and after Medlenburg come all the other cities of Manzanare. Due to this fact fashion and beauty in general are highly valued in Medleburg.

Due to being one of the wealthiest cities in Manzanare, the Duke of Medlenburg is often regarded as 'the Merchant Prince', and many of his advisors are known as wealthy merchants.