Perrenland, Concatenated Cantons of

Ruled by His Gravity, Karenin, Voormann of all Perrenland

The eight cantons that form the nation of Perrenland are cradled between the Yatil Mountains and Lake Quag. Perrenland's frontier sweeps south from the Mounds of Dawn to Krestible and the upper waters of the Velverdyva, then turns north to include the western Clatspurs and most of the Sepia Uplands north of the town of Traft. Perrenland claims the waters of Lake Quag as well, though it cannot hold the northern shore. Considerable traffic is on the lake for most of the year, including Rhennee bargefolk in the summer, though the surface often freezes in midwinter. Special sledlike boats called iceskimmers sometimes sail on the lake then, though it is dangerous to take them far from shore.
Three wide roads and numerous smaller tracks connect the cantons. From Schwartzenbruin to Krestible, then to Molvar in Ket through the Wyrm's Tail, runs the Krestingstrek. Quag Road carries traffic through Schwartzenbruin, from as far south as Highfolk on the southern edge of the Vesve Forest, then continues north along the shores of Lake Quag until it enters the Mounds of Dawn to terminate at the city of Exag. The High Gallery runs through the Clatspur Ridge from Traft until it intersects the Quag Road, first crossing the canyon of the Velverdyva on an old stone bridge called the Witch's Hinge.
Perrenland's militias, mostly pikemen and polearm-bearing mountaineers, support a relatively small standing army of medium and heavy infantry. Crossbowmen and some heavy cavalry can be found in the lowland regions, especially in the canton of Schwartzenbruin, while longbowmen and bow armed cavalry can be found in the cantons of Clatspurgen and Traft. Such militias will hire themselves out as mercenary bands to neighboring nations, and many are seen to include high elves from Highfolk serving as scouts and light infantry. These bands of mercenaries are the nation's chief export, though trade with the northern nomads and Blackmoor is usually funneled through Perrenland as well. Much river traffic heads south into the central Flanaess along the Velverdyva.

History

The inhabitants of this region have always been fiercely independent. During the Migrations, the warlike Flan tribes of the Yatil Mountains absorbed most of the Oeridian, Suloise, and Baklunish invaders flooding the great Yatils pass called the Wyrm's Tail, though several Flan tribes were driven from the lowlands by Oeridians who established freeholds for their own clans. The disunity of these small clans was taken advantage of by advancing Aerdi forces, c. 97-100 CY. The Viceroyalty of Ferrond quickly gained full control of the eastern and southeastern sides of what is now Perrenland, making it a part of Ferrond's Quaglands. The fishing towns of Traft and Schwartzenbruin were forced to accept the authority of stern Aerdi bailiffs.
Rebellions were endemic from the beginning of the Great Kingdom's presence in the Quaglands. Most Aerdi bailiffs were practical overseers, not given to excesses of taxation or punishment, but the intractable natives seemed unable to learn obedience in any form. Nor, it seemed, could they learn unity, as decades of Aerdy rule turned to centuries. Many mountain and lowland tribesmen eventually served in the military of Ferrond, then in Furyondy after 254 CY; from this they gained the experience and discipline necessary to mount a successful rebellion. They took the first appearance of the Relentless Horde in the north (c. 320 CY) as the opportunity to break free of the yoke of their overseers. The bailiffs and the troops loyal to them were expelled, and the distracted kingdom of Furyondy was unable to spare the forces necessary to put down this last rebellion.
The nomads were indeed a threat to the Quaglands freeholders, and the Sepia Uplands saw many bloody skirmishes between the two peoples. Even the death of the nomads' Kha-Khan Ogobanuk and the division of the horde into twin nations (345 CY) did not completely end the hostility. Nomad raids continued for many years in the north, while Ket several times invaded the Wyrm's Tail and nearly took Krestible. The Quaglands and Yatil freeholders defended their borders tenaciously, but lacked the strength to make themselves truly secure. A plan was then devised to unite the defenses under a single leader, while allowing clan holdings to remain relatively independent. The freeholds were marked into eight cantonments, joined by oaths of mutual armed assistance called the Covenant of Concatenation. The leaders of these collected states elected the strongest of their number, Perren, to be their voormann, c. 400 CY. Such was their devotion to this great warrior and statesman that he was elected voormann five consecutive times; after his death, the young nation adopted his name.
Perren's successors were neither as competent nor admired as he, but generally proved able executives. Still, in the later part of the last century, Perrenland was threatened by a force of overwhelming evil, in the person of the Archmage Iggwilv and her armies of evil humanoids. Attacking from her base in the legendary "Lost Caverns" in the Yatils in 480 CY, Iggwilv enslaved Perrenland from 481-491 CY. Its citizens were subjected to violence and robbery; the nation was looted, and ships on Lake Quag sunk at will. Minions of the witch probed into nomad lands as well, finding some allies but even more foes. In the canton of Clatspurgen, the monastery-fortress of St. Cuthbert in Kershane Pass was the center of opposition to Iggwilv, holding the great valley through which the Velverdyva leaves the realm.
At last, a great demon prince that Iggwilv had sought to control escaped confinement, and the witch was brought low. Her armies fell into disorder, and Perrenland threw off their yoke and destroyed the nonhuman legions. Even to this day, certain valleys in the southern cantons retain an evil tinge from the brief years of Iggwilv's reign, as their residents assisted with Iggwilv's directives. The nation recovered from this war and a two-year famine that followed, but it has retained a deep fear of Iggwilv. The knowledge that the demonic empire-builder Iuz is Iggwilv's son has haunted the sleep of many Perrenders, and recent rumors that Iggwilv has returned to Oerth have sparked public panic.
The destruction of the Greyhawk Wars was diverted from Perrenland's borders by the signing in 583 CY of a formal agreement promising to maintain neutrality toward the bloodthirsty Iuz. Mercenaries were even offered to Iuz, though this act was reviled by Perrenders, and not one man volunteered to serve the Lord of Pain at any price. The pact seemed politically expedient at the time, but it did not please the Cantonal Council. Voormann Franz was unanimously rejected at the end of his first term in office, then replaced by an executive willing to bow to the council's wishes to put more distance between the government and the wicked Iuz. Unfortunately, Voormann Karenin has sought consensus to the exclusion of any real leadership. As his term ends in 592 CY, he has little time to remold his image to be more authoritative, and a new and bolder voormann is likely to be elected.

Government: Independent parliamentary republic; Cantonal Council (collective feudal clan leaders) handle legislative matters and elect executive leader (voormann) for eight-year term; voormann conducts diplomacy, commands military, etc.; cantons have varying internal governments; family heads elect town and city mayors, but clan leader positions are hereditary
Capital: Schwartzenbruin
Major Towns: Krestible (pop. 7,300), Schwartzenbruin (pop. 27,500), Traft (pop. 12,000)
Provinces: Eight cantons (Krestible, Quagfludt, Clatspurgen, Traft, Schwartzenbruin, Nederboden, Yattenhied, Hugelrote)
Resources: Copper, foodstuffs (fish, dairy), mercenaries
Coinage: Grossmark (pp), mark (gp), hafmark (ep), kleinmark (sp), pfennig (cp)
Population: 468,000—Human 79% (OFsb), Dwarf 8% (mountain 90%, hill 10%), Halfling 6%, Elf 3%, Gnome 2%, Half-elf 1%, Half-orc 1%
Languages: Common, Flan (in Yatils), Oeridian dialects, Dwarven
Alignments: LN, N, LG*
Religions: Allitur, Ulaa, Zilchus, Berei, Pelor, Beory, St. Cuthbert
Allies: None, only trading partners
Enemies: Knights of the Hart, Tiger Nomads, Iuz (distrusted disliked greatly by Furyondy, Veluna, Highfolk, and others because of "neutral" stance toward Iuz

  Location in the Flanaess