Great Kingdom, The Kingdom of Aerdy
The history of the Great Kingdom is too well known to dwell upon here. Once the most powerful force for order and good, the Aerdians have declined over the last century to an unspeakable state of decadency. After a millennium of leadership, its rulers and nobles turned to evil and irrationality. Its current monarch, Ivid V of the royal house of Naelax, is reported to be quite mad, but crafty and deviously capable nonetheless.
His writ extends to the Royal Demesne surrounding the capital, the Grandwood, and further only by threat and persuasion of the Peers whose fiefs comprise the balance of the realm. The Overking’s Companion Guard consists of 10 select companies of various arms (heavy, medium, and light cavalry, crossbowmen, archers, and five companies of pole armed foot).
Noble contingents allow the Overking to field an army numbering over 15,000 troops in a relatively short time, and if necessary a force of four or five times that can be called up.
Both the North and South Provinces are under the suzerainty of Aerdi royal houses and are ruled almost as independent states. The troubles in the Bone March have caused the Herzog of the North to fall into line, as the difficulties with the Iron League brought his southern counterpart into closer cooperation with the Malachite Throne (see North Province, South Province, and also See of Medegia.) The Sea Barons pay a token tribute to the Overking and conduct their piratical operations under letters of marque bearing the Overking’s Seal.
Capital: Rauxes (pop. 41,000)
Population: 5,000,000 (includes N. and S. Province and Medegia)
Demi-humans: Some (scattered on fringes of kingdom)
Humanoids: Some (mixture)
Resources: foodstuffs, cloth, copper, silver, gold, gems (IV)
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