The Free Hills
Freedom Does Not Mean Peace
The Free Hills is an inland region of the Unclaimed Lands. It contains several independent communities that are often in conflict with one another. Currently there are four prominent villages in the Free Hills. Those villages are;
- Cartha: The largest town in the Free Hills. It is located in the north closer to the Malles Jungle. It is a human settlement founded by the Carth.
- Regius: A village bordering the Kato Plains. This is the most diverse community in Free Hills due to their frequent interaction with New Polis.
- Stonefield: A small town on the eastern slopes of the Red Rock Mountains. Its name comes from the rocky fields that surround the town.
- Tharos: A village bordering on the Shugod River and the Kuddo Region of the Orc Domain. They have a strong trading relationship with the Kuddo Region.
Geography
The Free Hills is almost completely covered in jungle with the exception of the Red Rock Mountains. The region is flanked by the Lower Shugod River to the northeast, the Malles Jungle to the north, and the Red River to the East. It shares its western border with the Kato Plains.
History
The Free Hills is a region where independence is seen as non-negotiable. This philosophy formed when the majority human population int he area, known as the Carth, came under the rule of New Polis in the Kato Plains. This rule lasterd for about one thousand yuears until the people of the Free Hills won their independence in the Liberator's Rebellion. The Liberator in question was a female human warrior named Sisa Domina. Liberator Domina was a Carthan girl that grew up under the oppressive rule of a New Polis official named Roxane Hekaline. Governor Hekaline had been charged with ruling over the Free Hills in the final years of the New Polis rule of the region.
Governor Hekaline viewed the people of Free Hills as inferior to the New Polisians and treated them as such. When one of her personal guards killed Liberator Domina's friend in a tavern brawl, Domina demanded justice from the Governor. Instead Domina was arrested and flogged for making false accusations and stoking rebellion. This was a grave mistake by the Governor as she turned Sisa Domina into the Liberator. Rallying people with stories of the injustices suffered under the rule of Governor Hekaline, Liberator Domina united the Free Hills.
Domina marched her forces on the Governor's Estate and wiped out the garrison. She then burned down the estate after personally executing Governor Hekaline. Legend says that the Liberator told Hekaline "this is the price of injustice" before she drove a sword through Hekaline's heart. After the death of Hekaline, New Polis responded by sending an army to crush Domina's rebellion. However, Domina and her freedom fighters utilized the jungle and hit and run tactics to harass the New Polis forces at every turn. With supply lines broken, soldiers dying, and the cost of the war mounting by the day, the leaders of New Polis agreed to negotiate with Liberator Domina.
After days of negotiation talks the leaders of New Polis agreed to give up control over the Free Hills and leave the people to govern themselves. This was an incredible victory, but also one that shattered the untiy amongst the people of the Free Hills. No one could agree on who should rule the Free Hills, and while many respected the Liberator, not all were willing to be ruled by her and by extension the Carth.
The various villages and communities in the Free Hills determined to rule over themselves. Periodically the people of the Free Hills would come into conflict with one another, or one community would attempt to dominate the others. Any attempt at untiy was short lived and ended in tragedy. Some say this is due to some ancient curse laid upon the Free Hills by the bitter leaders of New Polis that once were forced to give the Free Hills their independence. But this is merely a rumor.
In the modern era, the Free Hills is divided amongst four communities. The region is still dominated by the Carth but there are a number of ancestries that call the Free Hills home.
The Free Hills: General Features
- Government: None
- Current Ruler: None
- Important Personage: Aulus Metillius Solus, Judge Advar Baltazar, Mayor Fenmila "Fen" Sparklestone, Protector Kritho Amberrider, Rivermaster Hemal Bal
- Capital: None
- Towns and Villages: Carthan, Regius, Stonefield, Tharos
- Notable Places: Lower Shugod River, The Red River, Red Rock Mountains, Xeran Swamp
- Climate: Temperate
- Inhabitants: Dwarves, Elves, Gnomes, Humans, Leonin, and Orcs.
- Common Monsters:
