County of Cryllor

Adapted from Kingdom of Keoland, Living Grayhwak Journal, Issue 1. by Gary Holian

The Western County of Cryllor is one of Tavish’s wealthiest and most strategically powerful provinces. The County stretches along the banks of the Javan in a fluvial vally cut by the riverbetween the Good Hills and the Little Hills, which border the lands of the Agoraian Confederacy. The Walled city of Cryllor (pop. 8,400) whose western district opens onto the banks of the Javan, is the fourth largest in the kingdom after only Gradsul, Flen, and Niole Dra. The city and its wealthy Suel lord benefit strongly from the river traffic and trade that passes just alongside his walls on the road between Niole Dra and Longspear. Additionally, riches are still drawn from the lower Good Hills, Where skilled artisans are known for their metal work. The counties of Flen and Cryllor have been rivals for centuries, but while the rulership of Flen has been relatively stable over that time, the lordship of Cryllor has changed hands many times.

Government

Count Lord Ignas Manz

The current count is Lord Ignas Manz (LN male human Ftr 16), a former warrior turned wealthy lord and civic magnate. His personality is often described as imperious, boorish, and unforgiving, and while Manz is often called orcic by rivals in the Court of the Land. This calumny he ascribes to envy, for his success and power in the region are very real. Manz styles himself as a merchant prince, and his relative isolation from the rest of the kingdom has bred indifference to the politics of Niole Dra. Count Manz has made himself very wealthy from the ores he draws from prodigious mines in the valley, much to the chagrin of the gnomes of Plim’s Delve, who find his methods unscrupulous. The Count is a firm believer in the concept of bread and circus, and he does not disappoint his citizens. He spreads around just enough of his coin to keep the people happy and his rivals among the lords of the county off balance. Toward this end, Ignas Manz has turned to an annual swordmeet held during the Brewfest, called Tocsin of Kelanen, into a festival of competition that draws participants and spectators from across the Sheldomar Valley (and no doubt considerable coin into the count's coffers).

Defences

• Cryllor's Claws

Natural Resources

Count Manz has long harbored a desire to annex the rich highlands in the Little Hills, which are believed to hold unexploited mineral wealth, but has garnered no support to do so from his peers in the Court of the Land. He has made is clear to the Countess Elgarin that any alliance with Flen depends upon her support in this endeavor, which she will not give. The western half of the provence of Cryllor, refered to as the Trans-Javan, extends from the western bank of the river to the foothills of the Gajarpan-Aduz and the Little Hills. Much of this land was acquired following the Greyhawk Wars, when forces of the count marched across the river, ostensibly to secure his lands from invaision from the Gajarpan-Aduz. Interestingly, while raids have continued in Flen and the Confederacy, Cryllor has remained relatively unscathed. Manz has further provoked the confederacy by mining the foothills of the littles in abrogation of long standing treaties. There are rumors of the discovery of a vien of mithral well within Confederacy territory, but the location of this mine , if it exists, remains unknown. Its discovery would likely be greatly rewarded by the court of the Speaker should it be revealed.

Type

District

Location under

Good Hills