Wintercrest Dominion
The Wintercrest Dominion is a series of settlements and cities which are found across the Wintercrest Peaks and The Northern Wildlands. Many of these settlements are co-operative in trade and defence policy, though lack in the same political centrality as a territory such as the Kingdom of Edea. The settlements in this region range from several to over a thousand years old, many of the oldest being dwarven settlements founded by the sons of the Dwarf Lords.
Demographics
The majority of settlements located in the Wintercrest Peaks are majority dwarf demographically, ranging hill, mountain and arctic dwarves, though some of the smaller states have large halfling, gnome or half-dwarf populations. Most of the settlements in the Northern Wildlands are majority human and halfling, built after some residents of the kingdom moved north fleeing the Wars of Men.
Government
Due to the more independent nature of most settlements in the Dominion, there is little governance which supersedes that of the settlements themselves. As such, a range of government types such as dynasties, democracies and autocracies are found between states, though influence does spread from one settlement to another through trade.
Defences
The rich mineral veins mined beneath the surface of the rock provide ample supplies for strong armour and weapons, such as legendary Mithril found in the depths below wintercrest. As such, Dwarvern defences are built on strength over numbers, known to supply armies of no more than a thousand men in impenetrable armour weighing 10 times the weight of the soldiers. In the northern wildlands, settlements hire mercenaries or train local militias to defend their towns, often patrolling trade routes and sending supplies between one another to avoid raids on their towns. Occasionally, the Kingdom will deploy crown guard regiments to defend a trade route or convoy outside of their borders, or send defences to a settlement for a diplomatic mission.
Infrastructure
Various paths, roads and underground tunnels can be found joining the settlements together, particularly neighbouring dwarvern cities. The top layer of the underdark tunnels beneath the peaks are also used to travel between settlements moving goods, and are also used to enter the depths to mine for minerals. Large mines are found quarrying deep into the earth under many of these settlements, digging miles beneath the rock to locate gems and minerals. Large smelters, forges and foundries are also found in many of the largest cities, which are used to build legendary dwarven weapons and armour, as well as other metal goods. In the settlements of the Northern Wildlands, farms, fisheries and lumberyards also provide raw materials to be shipped around the region, which are bought and sold to home and feed the citizens of the independent settlements.
History
Following the end of the Astral War and the aftermath of the Schism, the Kings of the Dwarvern Kingdoms across Auxis lost great numbers of Dwarvern soldiers and most of their homelands. They fled northward to patch their wounds and rebuild their mighty empires, colonising the newly formed mountain ranges of Whitecherish, building a fortress deep within the great mountain of Dohmbur. The rulers of this mountain built their civilisation for 200 years, mining deep into the mountain and discovering the light and tough material of Mithril.
The revenue made off of this material after selling it to various other nations and armies was gifted to the sons of these King of Dohmbur - the highest military generals of the Dwarvern army - who branched out across the mountain range. The 9 sons of the king built their own kingdoms with their son's men and their families, expanding in the fields of mining, crafting, farming and magic. These sons, along with their father, became known as the Dwarf Lords of Wintercrest.
For the next thousand years and beyond, the descendants of these Dwarf Lords and the families who moved with them have expanding their dominion to become the second largest national territory on the continent of Edea.
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