County of Kleaves
The County of Kleaves is an independent County in the Northwest of Ethrum.
It is the Hereditary seat of the HOUSE OF GUNSHOFF.
Eurich IV inherited a prosperous and peaceful Kingdom. His son the VISCOUNT EURICH seemed set to continue the family's leadership, but in 1223 the Viscount was killed leading a charge against a HOBGOBLIN Force attempting to breach the Great Wall. Eurich IV withdrew at that time and his brother BERNARD, The VISCOUNT OF SOUTH MARCH, became the defacto ruler.
Bernard would lead the county for the last 30 years of his brothers reign, and then became Count himself on his brother's death. In the 61 years of his rule Bernard left a definitive mark on the County. Bernard was able to stabilize the wall, and while not making a full restoration, brought it back to the point where it was a viable defense. He was able to win the THIRD HOBGOBLIN WAR, sending them back to the BLEACHED HILLS. He was visionary enough to know that the ultimate solution was not to build the wall back, but to civilize the lands to its west.
With this in mind he successfully enabled settlement in the area west of the wall. He did this by subsidizing ambitious knights. Making them prospective Barons of lands west of the wall. This practice continues today under his grandson AUDOMAR the current Count. Today not only are their villages and keeps, but market towns west of the Great Wall.
History
During the age of Winter Dark the lands of the whole of the Ethrum and the Aenochians were divided into provinces which reflected the realms as they existed in the days before the Dark Lord’s reign. The lands from the HANSE RIVER to the MASSIF, and the TWILIGHT WOOD were divided into nine provinces; ANGLAMAY, OLGDON, TILDUNE, LIMNULE, BEIUEL, THRACE, KAREELIA, Kleaves, and CEEANA. The folk who lived there, a proud people, traced their lineage to the ancient Ethrum, and as with their ancestors, they reveled in war and tournament. To bring these folk to heel, Unklar appointed governors to rule them and garrisoned cohorts within town and country.
Despite this, these warriors proved difficult to govern and they rebelled continually. To overcome this, the governors appointed them to administrative offices and gave them the title of knights. They exempted these newly minted knights from taxes and allowed them to employ small troops of retainers. To control these men further, a noble, usually the most influential, was appointed as count of that particular province. The counts, though locally powerful, ruled in name only, answering to the dictates of the governor. In this way, the governors pacified the region by creating an aristocratic cast of bureaucrats who made their wealth through controlling the whole of the region’s commerce.
When the WINTER DARK WARS began, Unklar’s generals, hard pressed in other regions, stripped the central lands of Ethrum, from the GREAT WALL OF ETHRUM to the STRAITS OF URSAL, of their garrisons. The lords of Aufstrag desperately needed experienced soldiers for the battles in the south and east. The central lands they deemed safe from rebellion, and they did not fear the consequences of withdrawing so many soldiers.
In 1123, when WILLIAM of Anglamay declared his independence and set himself up as Count of Anglamay-ot-Neider, all of the other provinces followed suite. Kleaves was no exception. There, the same family had ruled under the local governors for over a century. The HOUSE OF GUNSHOFF possessed great wealth in land and castles. Count EURICH GUNSHOFF I I held back during the initial days of the rebellion. This led the imperial governor, MENMTEBNO, to mistakenly think that Gunshoff remained loyal to the empire. He sent orders to the count to rally all his knights and attack William to the north.
Though well placed to carry out such an attack, Gunshoff had no intention of doing so. He ordered that the governor and his staff be placed in the castle of HARIDON upon the edge of the Great Wall. He informed the governor that it was for his own protection. The wizard priests of Unklar, always a large presence in Kleaves due to its proximity to the Great Wall, bid Gunshoff to release the governor and declare himself for Aufstrag or against it. In those days however, the Priests of the Paths of Umbra were much weakened. Their master failed them, for in truth,
Unklar could not answer their prayers, for he was pressed too hard and fought off the attacks of other gods and the COUNCIL OF LIGHT. When Gunshoff learned of their weaknesses, he ordered the priests to be rounded up and confined with the governor.
In 1124, the CRNA RUK, paid by coin from the governor, stole into the count’s castle of LET-OT-LITHANIAN. They slew him and his wife in their bed where they were found the following day. This proved a fatal mistake, for Gunshoff’s son, EURICH II, who took up his father’s crown and sword and declared himself, by the grace of Saint Luther, Count of Kleaves, completely breaking with the empire.
He ordered his knights to go to HARIDON and gather the priests, the governor, and all those within and put them within the inner keep. Eurich II forced them to carry their jewels and monies with them. “You may need these monies to buy your way into hell, for the light of day you shall never see again.” Once done, masons came and sealed all the doors and windows with stone and mortar. There the unfortunates lay in suffering misery. For days their cries and shouts for aid carried across the walls and into the lands about. Many went mad with hunger or fear, tearing at their fellows. The dying agony of those responsible for the assassination sent a clear message to the empire and all those who pretended overlordship of Kleaves.
Eventually all those within starved to death and their bodies, some half eaten, lay strewn about in heaps and piles. Ever since, the Haridon has been a haunted place. No one came to reclaim its walls and the castle fell into great ruin. Legends speak of ghosts and ghouls stalking the halls and the countryside about, looking for food, all the while calling for aid from their dark master. There it sits to this day, near to the Great Wall, its facade crumbling, vines covering the whole of it. The inner keep, sealed with mortared bricks, is a brooding place, as if possessed of its own soul, watching and waiting. But within are treasures of the Winter Dark, held dear by the priests and the governor, though they served them to no good end.
All these sufferings occurred around the 5th of Lexlicht, 1124. The HOWLING NIGHT, as the locals call it, became a holiday in Kleaves. The locals, peasants mostly, gather in great halls dressed as ghouls, feasting and dancing the whole night.
When Eurich Gunshoff II proclaimed himself count by the grace of St. Luther, he set himself apart from the rest of the rebelling provinces. In other parts of the land, the words of Phillip the Guileless carried the weight of gold. Whole towns and villages converted to the worship of Ore-Tsar. Knights, too, and above all else King WILLIAM of Anglamay called to the Horse God as his patron, but in Kleaves it was different.
As the worship spread into his own domain Eurich clung to the patronage of St. Luther. He built in the castle of Let-ot-Lithanian, a temple to St. Luther, where he invested his knights and barons with land. Many of the warrior aristocrats viewed Luther as a god of war. If not completely on the mark, their accolades proved good enough to attract the benefice of the Sainted One. Eurich and the whole of the knightly class bore testament to a collective vision where the Paladin God invested them all and their realm with his blessing.
The next four years were telling ones. Plenty of rain brought bountiful harvests and King William chose to allow the count his freedom, dropping claims to overlordship, and the wars which raged all around them seemed never to come home to Kleaves. The notion spread that the blessings of St. Luther brought this fortune. Soon the worship of that god spread even to the peasants and merchants, who built small temples of rock to pay homage to their Saint. Though the word of Ore-Tsar spread to the county and some converted, it never caught on as it did in the more eastern provinces of the region.
Eurich II ruled Kleaves for many years. He treated his people fairly, setting aside one day each week to hear their complaints. Any could come to him with any grievance and expect a fair hearing. He inherited a sizable treasury from his father and with this he managed to rebuild many of the castles of the county which had, during the Winter Dark, fallen into ruin. He traveled the length and breadth of the country, staying for many months in one place or the other, but ever did he come back to his favorite castle, Let-ot-Lithanian, to muse upon the world at large. His barons and knights, never great in number, were, as they still are, fiercely loyal to their lord.
Upon his death, Eurich II passed a donation of 100,000 golden crown to the priests and clerics of the PALADIN'S GROVE in Kayomar, for its continued maintenance. In turn, the priests gave the count’s son a seedling from the Grove, one of the SILVER TREES OF MORDIUS. This tree was planted
upon the heights overlooking the count’s favorite castle where his tomb lay. The tree took root deep in the ground and to this day, it is a holy place for all those who pay homage to the Sainted Paladin.
EURICH III reluctantly took his father’s seat. His reign, shorter than his father’s, was largely uneventful. He fought two short wars against hobgoblins from the west and spent a small fortune repairing a section of the Great Wall. He is most noted for bringing cotton to the peasants. No one could say where he acquired the strange plant, though many speculated that he took it from the hobgoblins, who were always dabbling in strange affairs. Regardless of its origin, the plant thrived in the low country of Kleaves and brought a great deal of revenue to high and low alike.
Upon his death, Eurich III granted a benefice of 25,000 gold crown to the Grove and in turn the priests brought to his grave a small box of holy earth. His son, EURICH IV, lay him next to his father at Let-ot-Lithanian.
Military
In war, Kleaves can rely upon an impressive array of mounted cavalry. The many nobles and knights of this realm bring what retinues they can to the field. There is no order to their armaments, however as each must supply his own. They of course bring small retinues of men-at-arms as well.
Religion
The worship of ST. LUTHER dominates the county of Kleaves, most turning to him as their patron lord. The worship of ORE-TSAR has spread recently.
Agriculture & Industry
Kleaves is one of the few independently wealthy kingdoms in the world; its villages produce an abundance of food, its fields cotton, its mines an abundance of wealth. It is one of the few areas in Ursal where diamonds are found.
Like much of the western lands, knightly traditions are strong in Kleaves. The local lords revel in tournament and war. The wealth brought to the country from cotton and mining allows them to build well fortified keeps. These are found in most areas and are almost always occupied by one or two knights and a handful of men-at-arms. Almost all the horses of the nobility are imported from CEEANA.
Small villages of thatched houses are found throughout Kleaves. The peasants farm a mixture of cotton, soy beans, and barley. Along the MASSIF are several small diamond mines and the villages there are a little more rugged. The peasants generally welcome strangers, particularly any KNIGHTS OF ST. LUTHER. Every village has its own brew house and the taverns, though small, are inviting places.
Stonework and engineering account for much of the count’s expenditures, particularly where the university is concerned.
Founding Date
1124
Type
Geopolitical, County / March
Leader
Leader Title
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Related Ranks & Titles
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
Eurich II (b. 1102 (1124 - 1167),
Eurich III (b. 1125 (1167 - 1180),
Eurich IV (b. 1149 (1180 - 1254)
Bernard (b. 1201 (1254 - 1285)
Audomar (b. 1239 (1285 - Present)
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