Urnst, Duchy of
Ruled by His Most Lordly Grace Karll Lorinar, the Duke of Urnst, Warden of the Abbor-Alz
Urnst is blessed with ample access to both the Nyr Dyv and the Nesser River, waterways that provide critical passage for the duchy's legendary mineral wealth and foodstuffs (mostly seasoned sausages and rye).
Likewise gifted with a moderate climate, the farms of Urnst produce crops in all but the deepest winter Summer rains commonly flood the banks of the Nesser well south of the capital; wise farmers construct low stone walls around their fields, building outbuildings on short stilts. The famous rolling foothills of the north prevent serious flooding there, and make for breathtaking landscapes remembered in travelogues read across the Flanaess.
Though Urnst enjoys natural defenses on every border, standing border armies have long augmented the nation's strength. Problems from the old Bandit Kingdoms, Rhennee, desert nomads, primitive hill folk, and the odd band of ravaging nonhumans have found swift solutions under the well trained hooves of the Bar Rampant, Duke Karll's elite cavalry, stationed in Seltaren.
History
The main body of Suloise migrants passed through the gates of the Abbor-Alz mountains only one year prior to the Twin Cataclysms. There, three minor noble families split from their brethren. Tired of a years-long trek and willing to settle in largely uninhabited plains, these families banded together, forming a new Suloise House: the Maure.
Following clues of ancient dwarven settlements in the nearby hills, the Maure soon discovered the Delagos Caverns, a complex system of natural caves that seemed to promise a limitless supply of valuable gems. The Maure began construction of a grand castle not far from the mines, and the foundations of civilization took hold. The Maure called their new homeland "Urnst," after a founding Suel house of great import, both to hearken back to the old empire and to begin their lives anew.
Though based in the land surrounding Maure Castle, the rulers of Urnst claimed all lands west of the Franz River within a century—claims hotly contested by Oeridians already living there. An economic alliance with the organized Oeridian kingdom of Nehron, directly to the east, ceased most local resistance.
As the nation developed, it became clear that the seat of power would need to be shifted east from the original Maure Lands. The Suel established the city of Seltaren, nearer both the northeastern lands and the elves of the Celadon, who had become willing and wealthy trading partners. As the years wore on, the Delagos Caverns ran dry, and those few nobles who remained in western Urnst soon gained a well deserved reputation for eccentricity, poverty, and insanity.
After the foundation of Seltaren, the government shifted from a loose coalition of nobles to an actual "senate" of delegates selected by the noble houses. Though many residents of Urnst mixed with the indigenous Flan and the Oeridians of what would become the County of Urnst, the Senate enacted strict purity laws: No noble could sire a half-breed child, lest it be crushed to death in public ceremony (thankfully, these laws have long-since faded into obscurity). Though the Suel of Urnst were less debauched than most of their kinsmen, they remained paranoid and proud of their lineage in the extreme.
By 124 CY, the Great Kingdom sought additional trade routes to the highly successful Viceroyalty of Ferrond. In that year, delegates sent by the Malachite Throne presented a bold plan to Urnst's senators. In effect, they proposed to annex Urnst into the Great Kingdom at. a palatine state, sparing the burgeoning empire the trouble of an all-out invasion. Though a detailed analysis revealed that the offer was indeed far more beneficial to the local lords than to Rauxes, the haughty nobility of Urnst shouted it down without debate, much to the chagrin of the northwest lords on the Franz River, who had long coveted a closer relationship with Aerdy.
Decades later, however, the Senate had grown effete and corrupt. Crop blights (some say the result of druids bribed by Aerdy) and bread riots forced the leaders of Urnst to take action. In 189 CY, the Senate effectively sold to the Great Kingdom all of the land between the Franz and Artonsamay Rivers for an entire caravan of treasure and magical artifice. The lords of the north, long abused by the Suloise senate, rejoiced at the new arrangement. The Urnst nation was divided into a county, to the north, and a duchy, to the south.
Though the folk of the County of Urnst welcomed the Aerdy with open arms, the newly palatine government of the south was far less trusting, fearing that the influx of Oeridian advisers and regulars might degrade the "pure" Suloise culture. Much to everyone's surprise, the overking took a hands-off policy to the heartlands after disbanding the Senate and placing ultimate authority in the hands of the duke of Urnst, selected by the Suloise nobles in 193 CY.
By 200, Aerdy coin had seen to the construction of Leukish, at that time the richest and most splendid port on all the Nyr Dyv. Thirty-seven years later, the duke moved the capital to the new city, leaving Seltaren to degenerate into a swarm of old politics and run-down buildings. The duke's family established Shorewatch, a beautiful castle in the village of Nesserhead, just east of Leukish.
The dynasty of House Lorinar began in 497, and has provided Urnst with a number of capable rulers. The primary exception to this was Justinian, Karll's older brother, who ruled briefly in 570-571 CY. A devotee of the philosophical school of "Skepticism," realized in the writings of Urnst-born scholars Daesnar Braden and Elbain Hothchilde, Justinian questioned the divinity of the gods, increasing temple taxes some three hundred percent upon gaining office. The duchy had never been a particularly religious place, but the subsequent razing of Leukish's defiant temple of Zilchus triggered the Temple Coalition Revolt, during which great riots embroiled the capital. In 571, most churches withdrew from Urnst, declaring the duke and his noble advisers, the Honorable Chamber, heretics. When Justinian found himself sorely wounded in battle with Bright Desert dervishes later that year, no cleric in the land would heal him. His youngest brother, Karll, a ranger at Stalwart Pines, reluctantly gained the throne in 572 CY.
Though Karll is kind-hearted and a great friend to those he cares for, it took him a long time to care for the business of the nation. When a crisis emerged, the young duke could often be found hunting giants in the Abbor-Alz, or exploring the depths of the Celadon with his elven friends. While no one disputed his ability as a ranger, many questioned his aptitude for leadership. In this environment, corruption fermented in the capital. While Karll adventured, Hadric, a self-interested mayor, really ran Leukish, and gripped the entire nation in an economic stranglehold. It took the duke until just before the Greyhawk Wars to realize Hadric's power. Upon doing so, he exiled the man and set about cleaning up the capital and the local lords. While this had the effect of merely displacing most of the corrupt to Seltaren or the old Maure Lands, the ranger duke has been stripped of his old naivete, and knows well the challenges surrounding his situation.
Karll's new form of active leadership suited Urnst well during the war years, though its natural protection and relative isolation were the most important contributors to the nation's survival. While wars raged in distant lands, most folk of Urnst continued farming, mining, and raising livestock—industries that provided a solid financial anchor when most nations found themselves plunged into chaos.
While few overt threats presented themselves in the aftermath of war, the emergence of Rary the Traitor, in the Bright Desert, is a cause of great concern. Warnes Starcoat, Chief Mage to the Joint Courts of Urnst and a member of the Circle of Eight, warns that Rary's diabolical plans could soon lead him to covet the ancient knowledge of House Maure. Lord Robilar once spent his summers in Pontyrel, in Urnst's Maure Lands, and many suspect that it is only a matter of time before his soldiers cross the Knife's Edge Pass, making their way to Maure Castle. In anticipation of this event, the village of Kelefane, near the Knife's Edge, has become a prominent military outpost, and is personally administered by Karll's nephew, Ellis (CN male human Ftr7), a bitter man who looks for enemies at every corner.
Government: Independent feudal monarchy with hereditary rulership, owing fealty (in theory only) to the old Great Kingdom; duke advised in all matters by the Honorable Chamber, a delegation of noble and high-born Suel
Capital: Leukish
Major Towns: Goldplain (pop. 6,700), Leukish (pop. 22,300), Nellix (pop. 13,400), Nyrstran (pop. 8,600), Pontyrel (pop. 7,550), Seltaren (pop. 9,800)
Provinces: Fifteen low counties (each subdivided into various baronies and townships) and four wild marches: Cairn Hills [most of this march was recently given to Greyhawk], Western Abbor-Alz, Eastern Abbor-Alz, and Celadon Forest.
Resources: Foodstuffs, silver, electrum, gold, platinum, gems (I-IV)
Coinage: [Modified Aerdy] sterling duke (pp), gold duke (gp), bright (ep), shield (sp), common (cp)
Population: 751,850—Human 79% (S), Halfling 9% (lightfoot 80%, tallfellow 20%), Elf 5% (sylvan), Dwarf 3% (hill), Gnome 2%, Half-elf 1%, Half-orc 1%
Languages: Common, Halfling, Elven
Alignments: LG, NG*, N
Religions: St. Cuthbert (among rural folk), Pelor, halfling pantheon, Lydia
Allies: County of Urnst, Greyhawk (distrusted), Nyrond (distrusted), Furyondy
Enemies: Iuz, Bright Lands, Rhennee
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