Soma
Ruler: Grand Duke Drago Koshevek and the Crimson Court
The southernmost province is entirely under the thumb of the Crimson Court, a cabal of vampires that have ruled the land for centuries. From their capital of Nov Ostoya, the Court projects their power across its borders, backed with undead soldiers and necromancy.
Nov Ostoya sits at the southeastern end of the province. A natural harbor, it was once a popular port for trade ships. However, an Empire blockade currently prevents most trade to and from the city, so Nov Ostoya must do with what raw materials the outlying towns can extract from their mountains and forests.
Nov Ostoya is a walled city, known for its tall spires, stained glass windows, pointed arches, and stone gargoyles. The tallest structure, Blackharbour, is the fortress stronghold of Grand Duke Drago Koshevek. The Karstein Market serves as a central hub for goods and services, but one will be hard-pressed to find weapons and armor of quality—most of these have been co-opted by the nobles for their own armies. Other places of note are the docks, where a local unit of the Ebon Syndicate operates, and a small temple devoted to Solyma, goddess of righteous vengeance.
Soma’s wealth is concentrated in the capital; each day, the goods from farms, workshops, forges, and fishing boats wind up here, as do taxes from all provincial towns. An underground economy does exist—the Ebon Syndicate does brisk business here when it comes to smuggling and human trafficking, but even they are obligated to pay a cut to the nobility.
The Court’s vampiric nature is universally known by the citizenry but never spoken of, especially not to outsiders. In fact, despite the prodigious cloud cover blanketing Ostoya, which allows vampires to walk about for short periods during the day, neither the Grand Duke nor his Crimson Court is often seen in public. Instead, the aristocrats prefer to hold lavish masked balls every few months.
The further one goes from the capital, the more the wilds take over. The lush forest runs rampant along the hills and even up the mountainsides of the Grey Spine. One finds fortified towns with farms, lumber yards, and mines—all mired in grinding poverty.
The Ostoyans are not ones to question their lot in life. They remain loyal to the nobility who protect them and their families and who keep them safe from the dangers the Soman nights bring. And if anyone thinks of the aristocracy as oppressive, they do well to keep that opinion to themselves.
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