Northern Kingdom

The Northern Kingdom

 You soar over a sprawling city built over a mighty waterfall. The royal city of Roxregal is bustling with intrigue, with its grand cathedral of the Doheagan Church and the grey palace of King Ederveign the Pious, monarch of the Northern Kingdom. To the south, you see the endless Forest of Roxterre stretching to the sea, and the bloody front of a mighty war between the kingdom and Tidestone. To the north, you see beautiful lands ruled by humans and half-elven dukes, halfling councils, and a mighty dwarven hold in the low mountains of Hubnuic. The twelve powerful bishops rule the church behind the walls of the Sacred City of Doheag. The seven duchies, though often at odds, still bow beneath the unequaled navies and generals of a distracted and haunted king.

History

During the Age of Nation (835-1,109 AF), the Northern Kingdom was a collection of warring nobles constantly battling for control over resources and land.  Edvard the Bastard of the Duchy of Chelsea, the poorest and least powerful of the duchies, eventually rose to dominance after he arranged a treaty with the dwarves of the Hubnuic Hold in the Brighdeen Mountains.  A student of the ways of the forest, his rangers pushed further northward until it met resistance from the half-elves of the Duchy of Perthenum. However, after an attack to the east by the cavalry of the great Deliverer Barrens led by tiefling lord, Haj Jadahn, from the far east, they found an accord.  Edvard's daughter married the son of Duke Vyllain, and the two duchies used their combined might to free the halfling communities south of the Versan Swamp.  

On the 15th day of Innishsteed in the year 887 of Ash Fall, Edvard the Bastard (known as Edvard the True) was proclaimed king of the North. Duchies were solidified in 6 areas.  The Half-Elves of Perthenum under Duke Vyllain and Duchess Stillgale (daughter of Edvard), the Halflings of Azure Loch under the Council of Meer, the Humans of Chelsea under Duchess Denyse (eldest daughter of Edvard), the Dwarven Lord of Hubnuic in the Brighdeen Mountains under Marg the Mighty, and the Duchess of Kelsendale, Tyndinale, who was rumored to be a high half-elf from the Oakwood in Tidestone. 

Geography

There are seven distinct regions of the Northern Kingdom.  It is large land of oak, evergreen, and elm forests and a vast coast on the Eastern Sea.   Adventures set in the Northern Kingdom could take place in the massive forests of the Druids of Emmenalora in the southernmost tip of the region.  The Chelsea River borders Tidestone to the south and is navigable from the Eastern Ocean all the way to Roxregal, the capitol city.  The river forks to the west to become the  Azure River which defines the western edge of the region. As the Azure River stretches northward, it feeds the waters of the Versan Swamp, a near endless bog of fantastic creatures, rumors of undead, and legends.  The northern region of the Northern Kingdom is the Duchy of Clinaugh when defends the south from the terror of Vampyrs Abyss, a mile deep canyon of black basalt filled with vile fiends that hide from the light of day.  Finally, the entire eastern coast hosts the temperate seas of the Eastern Ocean.   

Political Organization

Seven rival Duchies are united under a single monarch who reigns from the Grey Palace in the sprawling city of Roxregal, the largest town in the region. The current monarch is Ederveign the Pious, the fourth king of the house of Stagmore, the great-grandson of Hadervin the Great. The Duchies are often in wars of territorial expansion, and coastal duchies struggle with piracy from the Spine Islands and lawless seas.  The king is beholden to the duchies with massive debt to the religious orders and struggles to maintain control of the coast and especially the Duchy of Clinaugh. Humans, Half-Elves, and Halflings are the dominant races, but all races are welcome everywhere except orcs and goblins who are arrested on sight. 

The Law of the Doheaga

The religious orders of the twelve gods maintain an unofficial role of judges and arbiters during conflicts.  The Church of the Doheaga (which means 12) worships the new god pantheon of twelve gods and is led by Archbishop Javaar Faucheux.  Under the archbishop are the twelve sanctums representing the twelve gods.  Typically, each sanctum has a bishop or other leadership title that leads an order of believers.  For more than 200 years during the battles against the Corpsemarch, the leaders of the sanctums were effectively the leaders of the region.  The sanctums hold great power in the Northern Kingdom and often serve to keep the duchies in check when royals stray from the law. All laws in the Northern Kingdom are considered religious laws and Lavran Paladins (paladins of the goddess, Lavia) serve as traveling judges and regional lawkeepers. The Sacred Holy City of Doheag is the oldest continuously populated city and sits over a sprawling complex of tunnels used by survivors of the Gloom.  Arcane magic is strictly prohibited by the holy orders, and wizards are persecuted as heretics and atheists. Wizardry is blamed for the releasing of the Ancient Dragon, Mortinirious, three centuries ago leading to the death of more than half the  population of Sycharia and the absolute destruction of every major town.