Gray Marches

Hardy land for free folk

The Gray Marches is a small and independent loose confederation of townships that exists along the southern coast of the Ice Floes in the Eastern Continent. It a small corridor region that runs from the easternmost border of Nestoria, the northern border of Al-Andalus, touching the southern border of Rian, and the westernmost border of Romanorum.

Lastport, one of confederation of towns of the Gray Marches

Table of Contents

History

While an independent entity, the Gray Marches are not considered a nation by most of the other nations of Arda. It is more accurately described as an unincorporated and contested territory between numerous other nations. At the crossroads of four nations - Al-Andalus, Nestoria, Rian and Romanorum - the Gray Marches are frequently called the "four corners region" by the locals. While numerous nations eye the region for potential expansion, none do so in the likely event of retaliation by the other three powers of the region, not to mention the famously stubborn and staunch locals.
In terms of geography, the Gray Marches is a narrow basin land that stretches along the southern coast of the Ice Floes. It is a land of pine forests, plains, hills, and rivers. The region is famous for its long winters, getting the name the "Gray" Marches from the long and bleary winters of the region, where snowfall regularly exceeds a foot and often more. The summers are green and cool, and just long enough to grow seasonal crops.
The four corners region does not have a long history by most standards. Following Romanoran expansion across Arda, the Gray Marches were one of many largely uninhabited regions that were never seriously developed by the Romanorans or their legions. During the events of the Second Primordial War, any of the minimal Romanoran presence in the region completely vanished as they were recalled to other battlefields in their eastern homeland. As a result, the region never truly developed until the general diaspora of men in the years after the Last of the Primordial Wars.

It was by this point in history that the Romanoran Empire was at one of its weakest, heavily extended after sending numerous attempts to eventually dislodge the Shadow from the lands of early Harad. This ultimately allowed for the independence and cultivation of several new nations, namely Al-Andalus and Rian. It was during this point that the Gray Marches also quietly claimed their independence by chasing out the Romanoran tax-collectors. Too stretched by other concerns, the Romanorans never returned in any serious capacity.

Today the region is one made up of a confederacy of small townships that stretch throughout the relatively small region, most of which are port towns upon the edge of the Ice Floes. These towns are fiercely independent, cultivating a culture of hard work and rugged individualism. The towns are populated largely by men, but there are also numbers of dwarves, orcs, and elves in the region. Capable of making and seeing to most of their needs, the people of the Gray Marches rely on their neighbor towns only for mutual defense or for securing famous local commodities, such as specialty cheeses, clothes, crops, or casks of craft ales or beers. Each town has a famous local export, such as cheese, forged goods, whale products, or so on.

Of greatest concern to their neighboring nations is the stretch of the seasonal trade route from Nestoria to the other nations of the Eastern Continent. The general coolness of the Gray Marches makes it comfortable to travel during the summer, making it the ideal trade route from late spring until mid-autumn, when snow begins to fall across the region. While the locals couldn't care less for the foreign merchants, they still welcome the business it brings to their small communities and businesses.

Trivia

• The Gray Marches are loosely-based on Tentowns region from the Forgotten Realms.

See Also

A part of

• Eastern Continent

Quick Reference

Type

Region

Plane: Arda 
Region: @east