Yeomanry, League of the

The Yeomanry League, also known as the Yeoman Freehold, is situated in a valley between the Jotens and the Tors in the southwest corner of the greater Sheldomar Valley. The moderately sized realm is nearly surrounded by the Crystalmists and its spurs, though its eastern border with Keoland is generally regarded as the western bank of the Javan across from the county of Cryllor. Its border continues south to where the great river enters the Hool Marshes and the lands of the Sea Princes. The climate is hot nearly year round in the central valley, though the temperature moderates as one approaches the foothills, particularly in late fall and winter. The Yeomanry is a land populated largely by freemen farmers, who are mostly a Suel-Flan mix. With foodstuffs and cloth the major industries of the nation, the town of Longspear on the eastern border forms the major trading center for the country and the destination for most of its excess goods. Here, foreign visitors are usually welcomed, and much commerce is conducted, particularly with Keoland, the Yeomanry's nearest neighbor.
The Yeomanry is one of very few representative governments in Flanaess. Any citizen of majority who has carried a spear for the nation, either now or in the past, is eligible to elect spokesmen on his behalf from his community. In turn these spokesmen elect representatives, until one reaches the approximately one-hundred-member Council of Common Grosspokesmen. The council meets in the capital of Loftwick four times a year during the festival weeks to decide the affairs of the nation. These delegates act largely as a legislative body, and choose from among the greater landowners of the nation a citizen to act as Freeholder. The Freeholder is charged with being the chief administrator of the nation, and he also directs diplomacy and the heads the armies of the Yeomanry by leading the Free Captains of the Battles. The current Freeholder is Marius Lindon, a ranger from the eastern territories of the Yeomanry. He has held the office for scarcely two years, but was chosen for his expertise in dealing with the nonhuman invasions that have increased with frequency in recent years.

History

As the Suel migrated into the Sheldomar Valley, many of their number sought a peaceful existence. These people, primarily lowborn peasantry from the Suel Imperium, did not venture far from where they emerged into the Flanaess. They settled the high valleys between the Jotens and the Tors and mixed with the local Flan. These new lands, stretching all the way out to the Javan River, had been well explored by the Suel Imperium prior to the Twin Cataclysms. The explorers had established mining enclaves and scouting outposts decades before the onset of the final war, producing small but notable settlements such as Melkot in the Tors and Alran on the Jeklea Coast. For centuries, dissident individuals had escaped imperial eyes to the shores of Jeklea Bay after crossing the dormant Hellfurnaces, but these lands were not of great importance until the destruction of the empire.
In the century following the migrations, the humble folk who settled these lands were conquered and subjugated by a powerful Suel mage who mercilessly swept through their realm from the east. Lord Asberdies, as the tyrannical wizard was known, had emerged from the Dreadwood after the terrible destruction of his noble house, the infamous Malhel, some years earlier. Asberdies ruled the land and its people with cold blooded ruthlessness in a vain attempt to resurrect a vestige of the glory of the Suel Imperium. The tyrant was eventually cast down after years of dominion, during which his outrages ultimately grew unbearable. The yeoman farmers bandied together into small cadres of around a dozen fighters to overcome the forces of the mage in piecemeal fashion through relentless guerrilla strikes upon his forces. Asberdies was soon harried from his throne and realm by the insurgents, who successfully besieged his stronghold.
In the aftermath of securing their independence, these citizen-warriors realized that they had essentially formed the framework of a government. They elected their own spokesmen, who in turn chose leaders to direct the affairs of the realm. The Grosspokesmen, as these leaders would come to be called, established the office of Freeholder, who was essentially an administrator elected to run the government, military, and conduct foreign policy.
Almost two centuries later, in -96 CY, the leaders of the Yeomanry met with representatives of the expanding kingdom of Keoland to discuss their annexation into the latter. Its Grosspokesmen and Freeholder were welcomed as members of the Council of Niole Dra, treated as noble peers within the greater realm. Over the next four centuries, the Yeomanry contributed its well-trained warriors to support the efforts of the kingdom, primarily by securing its borders from invaders and marauders. They were instrumental in the efforts of King Tavish I to conquer the Pomarj and the southern lands that would become the Hold of the Sea Princes.
But this cooperation ended suddenly, during the reign of Tavish II, when the wars turned from defense to naked aggression. In 361 CY, the Yeomanry withdrew its forces from the Keoish armies and closed its borders in protest. It was over a century later that reconciliation between the two sides was finally achieved, when Tavish IV recognized an independent Yeomanry. Thereafter, the Yeomanry settled into a more peaceful existence that has lasted nearly to the present day.
Some dozen years ago, a cavernous bore was found at the foot of the Crystalmists in the western end of the realm. This tunnel, which supposedly pierces the range and leads to the Sea of Dust, has brought renewed (and unwanted) attention to the Yeomanry. This activity is concentrated on Dark Gate, a small town built near the site that enjoys a frontier economy, though it is a dozen miles from Westburn. In 590 CY, adventurers appeared in the town with armor and weapons made of a strange black metal that disintegrated within days. With tales of other great riches and wondrous magic just beyond the entrance to the passage, many have come to seek their fortune.
Freeholder Marius Lindon, elected in 589 CY, has paid little attention to these developments, concentrating on the "giant troubles" in the north. Raids from the Jotens in 590 CY threatened the city of Loftwick, and he has set about reinforcing its defenses lest in 591 his realm suffer the fate of Sterich and Geoff.

Yeomanry Coat of Arms

by Anna B. Meyer

Ruler:
Spokesman Marius Lindon
Government:
Democratic Republic
Established
-96 CY
Capital:
Loftwick
Major Towns:
Farvale (pop. 4,400), Loftwick (pop. 8,400), Longspear (pop. 7,700), North Reach (pop, 3,700), Westburn (pop. 2,500)
Provinces
Five high districts (towns governing large domains), thirty-one low districts (rural areas with scattered villages)
Resources:
Foodstuffs, cloth, silver, gems
Currency:
Freegold (gp), Halfgold (ep), Silver (sp), Cmmon (cp)
Population:
305,900 — Human 79%, Halfling 9% (stout), Elf 5% (high), Dwarf 3% (hill), Gnome 2%, Half-elf 1%, Half-orc 1%
Languages:
Common, Keolandish, Halfling, Elven
Alignments:
LG, LN, CG, NG
Religions:
Phaulkon, Heironeous, Allitur, Fortubo, Fharlanghn, Trithereon, Zilchus, Delleb, Joramy, Norebo, Kord, Halfling pantheon, Dwarf pantheon
Allies:
Keoland (weak), Sterich (weak), Knights of the Watch (weak)
Enemies:
Obsidian Confederacy; many giants and nonhumans in Hellfurnaces, Crystalmists, Jotens, Tors, and Hool Marshes; Iuz