Blood and Magic: A Treatise on Modern Renvere Politics

Scribed by Jasoll d'Edeau, who the copier remarks passed away suddenly after the publishing of this tome when he suffered injuries from a terrible accident, falling down several stairs while visiting Hoss.

The Cold North: Malaster

The seat of Barony of Malaster shares its name with both its capital and ruling bloodline. The Malaster go back to the end of the War of Ash, where when the conflict moved on from Renvere, the Malaster family was able to seize power and eventually mold their influence across the north. It was the Malaster king who bent a knee to King Toren the Restorer, and as a reward they were able to retain dominion over their region, so long as they paid tribute to the king. Of the three regions Malaster is by far the poorest. They used to have a good silver trade with the dwarves of Argenthrane, however those economic alliances deteriorated when Argenthrane went for Celestine, and new trade alliances were forged with the Imperial city. Its recent poverty is perhaps why Malaster is the only region without a direct descendant branch family ruling over another city.

Its court is composed of only four lords, the smallest of the regional courts. Both Lord Terence Templeton and Lady Delyla Farriers families gained their titles through tribute. When the Malasters began to fall on tough financial times they disinherited their branch families from those posts and sold them to the highest bidders, in this case Whelker’s Point to the Farriers and Han Harbor to the Templetons. Both families are happy enough to give a small pittance of tribute to the Malasters in exchange for the favorable new conditions their businesses had. They are obedient when convenient to the Malasters, but loyal only to their wallet.

Longburrow has long been a place of prosperity and is ruled oddly by the Countess. The Countess is an odd figure, as she is not a true countess, but should share the same title as the rest. The Count and Countess of the family Derringer were near equals with the old Malaster kings, and have always been afforded special care. Part of what was negotiated back when the Malasters bent the knee, is that the Derringers be able to keep their title, even if in name only. The other oddity is the name of their city; Longburrow. As many would notice, this is the name of a halfling settlement. The Derringers used to rule over a sizable town on the lake that towered over Longburrow, but some time ago when the current head of the house, Countess Silgrid Derringer, closed the doors to their mansion and was little heard of for years. It was rumored that she went mad after her sisters suicide. Without their governance the town quickly fell to crime and poverty and was abandoned within a year. The halflings of Longburrow however did not, and they began to spread into the new abandoned space. Some years later the doors to the manor opened, as did her sizable coffers. Countess Silgrid began commissioning repairs to the town and quickly people became flocking back. She now rules quietly, allowing the halflings of this new Longburrow quite a large range of freedom in governing themselves.

Then finally there is the podunk town of Gravesend. High in the mountains, it took years for the Malasters to realize it had been rebuilt and resettled. It wasn't discovered until the mountain pass to Edeau was carved out. It is ruled by a Lady Illene, known to be a proponent of the Celestine faith. It is quite rare for either the Lady of Gravesend to come down from the mountains or for the Baron Malaster to make his way there, if either have ever even done so.

All in all, the Malaster court is quiet and obedient when it is convenient. If the Malaster ever needed to truly exert power over any of its individual vassals, a lot would need to change for any of them to actually to comply.

Strong as a Rock: Renshire

Renshire, the small and verdant valley between the mountains and the sea. Its hillsides are rich with or and the Great Mire provides access to peat and rare herbs. It sits at the feet of Ferethrane and sees a great deal of trade with the dwarven kingdom and from Old Buck beyond. At its seat sits the Duke Torenson, the cousin of the current king. Renshire was given to the second son of the first king of Renvere, in part to wedge a loyal equal between the two new constituent kingdoms that had just bent the knee. It was the first Duke Torenson to make good with the dwarves of Ferethrane and established a lucrative trade relation that would ensure the Hoss family would never be able to surpass the Toren family in wealth.

The court of Renshire is also quite interesting, as it is the only one that contains a halfling lord, Buckland Stoor. Lord Stoor was the most recent addition to the court, but still forty years it’s been. Lord Stoor lords over Badenburrow, the largest halfling settlement. Unlike any other major halfling settlement, the largest population by far are halflings. It is said more halflings live in Badenburrow than everywhere else in the world, combined. While he does not garner much respect from the other lords of Renshire and of the greater courts, it is said that his counsel is valued most by the Duke. And that isn’t the only non-human to sit on the Dukes court. Master Shipwright Relayn Cobellus, also gives counsel, as a representative to the Tenari settlement of Elemaya. The town is technically an exclave of Dol Gorak, however the land was gifted so the elves and dwarves could aid in the construction of ships for the royal navy.

The fortress town of Ren’s Crossing is ruled over by the Duke’s sister in law, Lady Fairbanks. It is unsurprising that the royal line would keep a family member in charge at Ren’s Crossing as it is a key strategic position to hold if there was ever conflict with the Malasters. Otherwise the court consists of Lord Dunford of Sweetwater, Lord Bluebell of Daromere, and Lord Sutherland of Waybridge. Each of these three lords are fairly new nobility who have been shown to possess a great capacity in their bloodlines for magic.


Only half of the book seems to be intact, the rest is missing.

Type

Manuscript, Historical