The Barren Flats are the region in the most north of Broecien, named after it's flat, but desolate and barren lands. As a result of the lack of anything noteworthy here, the region only produces fleece, besides small sustainability farming. There are many sheep farms in the area, each with a small flock. Besides the flat lands that lie here, there are also many forests with pinetree's. As a result of that the wood industry is also quite big here, with most of the wood travelling to the Barren Hall to fortify it, atleast recently. With the area being so grand, but having little capability of sustaining a large populace, the population here is very spread out. It can sometimes take three days on horseback to deliver a message to your neighbour, although this differs greatly in the area.

The Barren Hall is the keep most prominently present in the Barren Flats, in the main passage way from the kingdom into the North. It is essentially the last stop before you enter a white wasteland of snow and ice, and therefore it doesn't see many people travelling by. This is not an issue, however. The keep features large, high walls, grande towers and many positions for archers. The castle was clearly made with the intent of stopping tribal attacks, as well as providing a toll point on one of the few passable mountain passes in the area. The Barren Hall acts as the main fortress in the area, and is under command of lord Jachsen of Hayhill, a young noble lord who wishes to prove his skill to the king with martial skills. As such he has made it his mission to greatly increase both the number, as well as the skill, of the local militia hailing from the area surrounding the Barren Hall.

Grosswick is the name of the center region, where the forests are green and the grass is.. greener. There are many farms here, mostly tending to the production of grains and potatoes, and other such foods. There is also small scale horse breeding going on, but there's no entire industry dedicated to it. Instead, a horse just gets made 'naturally.' There are many forests, rivers and open fields in Grosswick. It's also the largest region of all in Broacien.

There are noticeably more keeps and castles here, although they are smaller than those in other regions. This is due to the fact that many of the nobility are centered around the town, paired with the castle-keep, of the king. The town and castle are, together, called Hoffburgt, which is located in the utmost north-east corner of Grosswick, on the cliffs near the Crashing Gulfs. The entire region of Grosswick, as well as Broacien, is ruled by king Gregar Barin Grochain.

Grosswick seems mostly the political center of Broacien, ofcourse due to the presence of the king and his sons and daughters. The court is always filled with nobleman, knights, merchants, wealthy people and peasants who have a complaint to make to the king. Grosswick seems to have the largest amount of population in the entirety of Broacien, although getting a census for this has proven pretty impossible, even with the help of the Monarchist church.

Murkran is the name of the swampy, grassy area to the west. It is home to an exquisite diversity in interesting points of interest, and many explorers have travelled here to simply investigate the wildlife. The swamps are home to many interesting newts, salamanders, snakes and frogs and toads. Besides the travellers and explorers that come here, caravans also frequently pass through here on the Pentol river, which flows from west to east, from the great mountains in the far west, to the Raging Gulfs in the east.

The main stronghold of this area is the Witches' Crest which is commanded by lord Griven of Lanthford, an old and battle weary man. Old lord Griven has fought in many of the campaigns and even fought in the last Broacienian rebellion. As such, he is more than double worth his rank, and is well respected throughout the realm, although some now doubt his skills since he's growing old and senile. Never the less he commands the Witches' Crest and maintains it with remarkable skill, as the Crest has flourished over the last few years.

Redsand is a very small frontier to the south, just before the borders of Broacien clash with the ibn-Wahad sultanate's borders. Being a small frontier, the region can hardly be called a region, but never the less it is so diverse and different from the others that the king has issued a decree stating that Redsand is to be seen as a place to do battle with the Sultan, Kamil al-ibn-Wahad, if the time comes. As such there is little to be found here except for Coedwin. The region is not under noble command, as there are no noblemen living in this area as of yet. As of that reason, the region is commanded by commander Reginald Griswich, a veteran from the kings castle guard, who has now been put in charge of Coedwin.

The area is arid, and there is almost no resources here. As such all the resources Coedwin needs are supplied by caravans that travel there every month. Main supplies delivered here are food, drink and weaponry and armor, as well as additional recruits to be stationed here. However, unlike in the North, Redsand is an open land, with many sandy plains. As such there is no natural chokehold and Coedwin is merely a station, rather than a defendable location. If the Sultan wanted, he could ride straight past Coedwin.

Neighbours

The ibn-Wahad sultanate is a collection of desert lords, desert tribes and loosely organised village federations, all coming together under the banner of Kamil al-ibn-Wahad. They follow the Sawarim religion, believing in God and his wife. Their religion heavily conflicts with the Monarchists in the north, and as such they have launched several invasion attempts that have often been thwarted, but have resulted in massive casualties on the Broacienian sides. Their invasions were usually followed up by invasions from neighbouring countries who saw a weakened Broacien and grabbed their chance. Because of the history a lot of prejudice and hatred exists for those from the desert lands. 'Desert lords' as they are called are often mistreated in Broacien and it's for that reason that there isn't many, if any at all, to be found in Broacien.

In the sultanate, there's a heavy fixation on following faith. Those who do not believe, or are not a hundred percent dedicated to faith, are outcasted and will have to live their life in shame on the outskirts of society. Besides that, horses play an important role in society as well as in their armies. If a man can ride a horse, he instantly rises on the social ladders. For that reason a lot of low born peasants attempt to learn how to ride a horse, by stealing them. For some strange reason, that Broacienians don't understand, if you steal a horse and get away with it, you can keep it because it shows you learned how to ride a horse while stealing it - you are worthy of that horse. A strange practice, though it rests in practicality.

Besides horses there is also a large fixture on family in the sultanate. Where the Broacienians focus solely on the nuclear family, meaning parents and child, the desert lords and their people focus on the entire extended family, grandfathers, uncles, great grandmothers. It's all important, and they live on a basis of 'honor your forefathers'. Burials are, for that reason, a very big thing. Even lowborn people have large and exciting burials, with grand tombs that are either placed on holy sites, or that are placed underneath the house of the family.

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The North, not as much a name as it is a direction. The North is home to many tribal federations who struggle with eachother for hunting grounds to obtain food, since the land there is even more barren and snowy than the Barren Flats in Broacien. The people living here all follow the Nordic pantheon, with many gods each with their own speciality.

At best the people living here are pagans and heathens, at worst they are savage. The differences in morals and norms are a complete opposite of the Monarchists, and it's more likely that a Monarchist would find something compareable in the Sawarim than in the Nordic pantheon. Never the less, the people here are somewhat friendly towards the south, not coming closer than the mountain pass ever since the Barren Hall was constructed. Now they only show up to the Barren Hall to trade fur and such for foods and drinks, and perhaps a weapon.

The societies in the North are constructed around a family, which is usually about 3-4 families with the same ancestors. These are a single group, which will then group up with others when needed, such as during hunting seasons. The women stay at camp, keeping a fire and the kids safe, while the men go hunt. The hunting groups can reach anywhere between 10 males to 30 males. Common hunting targets are white hares, stags and, when the time is ripe, seals from the frozen over Crashing Gulfs.

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Where the Grosswick plains end, the land curves up in a mountain range that has never been crossed by man, and then rolls down into a grassy field full of horses, atleast if you believe those drunkards in the inns who claim to have explored it. Although this isn't completely true, there's a core of truth in it.

In the east, there is a mountain range that has indeed never been crossed once, and at the other side of this mountain range lies grassy steppes that go on for miles without end. The horsemen of the east roam here, a society constructed on owning horses and archery proweess. These people follow their own version of the Nordic pantheon, having given them more suitable names in their tongue, as well as changing their gods meanings and ideas.

Not much is known of these people, after all, these people have never crossed the mountains, and neither have the Broacienians. Perhaps one day, someone or some group will find a passage across the mountains and pass into these lands to make contact, and see what these horsemen will say? Perhaps they will answer with words, or perhaps with arrows. Time will tell.



On the west border lie two countries, one lead by king, the other by queen. And the king and queen, they both bear the same surname, being brother and sister. These kingdoms are Cherwin and Ridran, who are lead by king Rechwan Tourlais, and queen Anne Tourlais. These two kingdoms are not at war, as one would expect, but have a strong binding alliance. The two kingdoms were, not long ago, part of a single kingdom which was Cherwin, whom controlled bith the areas of Cherwin and Ridran, as well as holding a small piece of Broacien. But with the death of the old king, the lands were split in two and handed to his two children, Anne and Rechwan.

Now, the most north country of the two, Ridran, lead by queen Anne, has gone to war with the tribal federations. Queen Anne wishes to take control of several parts of the north, to extend her influence and have more land for herself. Perhaps she wishes to overtake her brother, and to claim his lands as hers. It's only guesswork, and as long as she fails at her military endeavours, she will never show her brother how capable she is.

In the war that has been going on for two years now, the Ridranian soldiers march into the white lands of the North, only to be forced to fall back by heavy snowfall and skirmishing tribes. Never the less queen Anne seems certain that she wants to take these lands. Any sane queen or king would've given up long ago, but perhaps she isn't so sane.

Meanwhile Cherwin has it's eyes aimed at the east, carefully poking at the weaknesses in Broacien. It knows that it can take Broacien in a war, but is afraid that it's neighbour, Ridran, will attack once it's weakened. Because of that reason it seems they've abstained from war, but it's not a sure thing, as ultimately a king is not a rational being in all cases.

Monarchism bases it's teachings off of the holy book it has, otherwise known as the 'Monarch's Law'. This book has many, many deep, complex and often layered stories about the creation, history and values of the Monarchistic faith. All coated in nice wording, whilst hiding the shameful aspects of the religion. Some of the base religious laws in this book include generosity, justness, fairness and piety. Several laws that are not explicitly mentioned, but that are implied in stories are the fact that slavery is deemed 'acceptable, but cruel' and that rape within marriage is allowed. Rape outside of marriage is allowed only when the victim is not married. Since these 'laws' are never explicitly mentioned, these laws are often twisted to fit the whims and wishes of the king and the Monarchistic priests.

With the 'Kings Additions' to these laws, new virtues have been added. These include bravery, strength and loyalty, while being craven, weak and unloyal is seen as a very bad thing, with disloyalty even being punishable by death, if the king decides that you arenot worthy of mercy. This goes to show just how well the king can influence the Monarchists, but also how the Monarchists can influence him. Other additions are focussed around a support for having children, in order to create a bigger populace and thus a bigger army, or at the very least a bigger basis of believers for the faith.

The faith is very tightly organised with an internal hierarchy, rated based on the size of the 'colony' that a given priest hosts. As such the leading priest will always be in the Hoffburgt, since that's the largest town. Furthermore there are several priest ranks below the head priest, namely a prince-priest, or otherwise a priest that has noble blood in him. These are typically put in command of castles and fortresses, atleast in the religious department. They have considerable influence compared to others, given their influence in both religion and politics. Once you take to the robes of Monarchism, you forfeit your rights as a nobleman, but when was the last time anyone abided by these type of rules?

Chant of the Robed Swords

Below the prince-priests are the Robed Swords, an order of religious zealots who are both priest, and knight. They are not always of noble blood, although it is possible. They act as the arm of the religion, and are responsible for keeping order in churches, masses and other such trivial tasks, as well as rooting out witches, pagan and heathen believers and Ketters, people who take the true form of the faith and twist it to their imagination. The Robed Swords are not many in number, and prove little threat to any nobleman with an army, but serve their purpose well. If there are Robed Swords in your town, you know that there will be pyres burning before nightfall. Most of the Robed Swords are not very good fighters, akin to a militia, but the leaders and higher ups of the organisation mostly have a history in the military - knights, veterans and zealots are amongst them.

Then come the regulars, all referred to simply as priest, although influence and importance depend on the size of their colony. Although many of these are, thus, not very influential there are a few that have a large amount of influence, and some even have their own small keep in a region of Broacien. Even still, the nobles have little to no problems with these men unless they are accused of being sinners. In that case, it will be a battle of powers. And in a land where religion is so important, you better fight the battle well.

Sawarim roughly translates to 'Swords' although there is no proper translation for the title as, according to Desert lords, the religion is named after the sword god handles. In their view, the sword of god, is all of the swords that are held by Sawarim believers. As if one, they shall strike down the foes that oppose Sawarim. Since there is no word for 'Swords of all Sawarim believers' the Broacienians have redubbed it 'Swords'.

The Sawarim teachings are taught in churches of their own that are similar to Monarchistic churches. Their priesthood doesn't know ranks, and every priest is of similar rank. After all, in the eyes of god, all are equal, although man has different duties and rights in life, explaining the difference in king and peasant. The teachings of Sawarim also plead dutifulness, providing the Sultan with a very loyal people beneath him, who will follow him everywhere.

The Sawarim has many, many followers, both in the Sultanate and in the other countries, although those who are in foreign lands often face discrimination, and worse, persecution by the Robed Swords and similar orders in other countries. This is often used as a reason to attack these countries, to protect the followers of Sawarim. The Sawarim is a warlike religion, if that couldn't be understood from their name, and will often toil in raids into Broacien and other nearby countries, giving reason for others to invest heavily into defensive fortifications near the border, even for small villages.

Although slavery is accepted in Monarchistic countries, the Sawarim actually promotes the taking of captives. For one, capturing an enemy means you have both defeated him, but were merciful enough to spare his live. This is, ofcourse, a good thing. But more so, enslaving your enemy provides you with a workforce, as well as people that you can convert. Converting is a duty of every Sawarimic believer, so converting slaves is a good way to fulfill your duty.

The faith of both the North, and the Barren Flats of Broacien, the Nordic pantheon is a stark contrast to both Sawarim and Monarchism. It's belief system is based on a multitude of gods, going by different names in almost every tribe, but maintaing a degree of uniformity in the Barren Flats.

Due to the tribal organisation in the North, it would be a large task to identify and name all the Gods in the tribes themselves, and by the time you would be done, there would be countless more gods invented and destroyed as they seem to change every time a major event happens. For a society that thinks hunting is all there is to life, a major event seems to happen every hour, as even a branch falling from a dead tree can be an omen according to them.

As such it is easier to focus on the Barren Flats and their beliefs. In the Barren Flats there are a multitude of gods, which are headed by the all-father, Audrun. He is the one that holds power over life and death, creates life in plants, humans and animals, and takes life through the form of deaths and decomposing of bodies and nature. His wife, Gidja, is the one that holds power over birth, fertility and age. She seems to be related to time, although that is not neccesarily her main task. She decided to bless people with children, and decides when people are most fertile. She also seems to decide when it's a persons time to pass to the next world, and will advise Audrun to take this person away from the current world, and into the next. This explains why they are a pair - they go hand in hand.

They have a multitude of sons and daughters, who all have varying powers and tasks, and some are more noteworthy than others. For one, there is the son of war, called Rikke, blood and partially of death. He seems to also work closely with his father, as he picks who dies in a batte. If you fight well and valorous, you live on to prove your worth to Audrun. If you fight cowardly and badly, you will die. Atleast, this is the underlying belief. If you fight well or bravely, but not well enough to overpower your enemy, you will die and pass on to Sjeahalle, a green field with flowers and trees, where men do eternal battle and everyone is immortal. The only rest you get is during the hours where Rikke pauses the battle and calls all to feast on the meal that was prepared, and the mead that he himself made personally.

Rikke's sister, Syvinne, is the daughter of peace, justice, rationality and consolation. She is responsible for maintaining peace, something near impossible in the North, and as such she is more revered in the Broacienian Barren Flats. Besides peace, she also takes care of the justicial systems, which mostly seems to go by an eye for an eye basis, as befits the situation. Someone's motives and such are to be taken into consideration too - a murder in exchange for a rape will be considered 'just', but a murder in exchange for a minor theft will not be seen as just. For the reason that this seems to mostly resolve the conflicts internal to a group, the people that believe in the Pantheon regularily do not look for the lord or his lawspeaker to fix their issues and rather fix it themselves.

There are countless more daughters and sons of Audrun, but they are widespread and some are even not accepted and labelled imposters. The religion of the North is not particularily warlike, or atleast not inherently, but the want for men to go to Sjeahalle means that combat is revered mostly, and is considered an important skill.

Magic is inherently a part of medieval culture, and leaves people wondering if something is truly magic, or a sick twist of fate and luck. Never the less there are those that claim to be magically gifted. Sadly for these people, there are many pyres prepared for them if they openly proclaim magical powers. As such, those who believe in themselves, and their 'gift' are usually pushed out to the outskirts of Broacien, taking up refuge in the swamps, the north and east mountains or the deserts.

In truth, magic seems to be mostly a matter of opinion. Sometimes it manifests in superstition - walk past a woman who is wearing blue without looking her in the eyes, and you will die a hundred deaths. Born with red hair that later turns darker, means you will later become a great leader of armies. It is superstitions like these that prove to be mostly harmless.

Ofcourse there are also the witches in their cottages, that claim magical powers, and usually this manifests itself in 'reading' of minds, cards or other strange rituals that can 'read' your future or other likewise important things for people to know. It's never quite sure if the person reading your hand, cards or mind is truthful, and they are usually vague. This type of 'magic' is seen as heretical by priests and is met by the sword or the pyre by the Robed Swords.

In truth, magic is nonexistant, and is used as a tool by those who are clever and have an extensive knowledge of either rudimentary psychology, a good understanding of herbs and such, or simply know how to trick people. Many market's will have travelling troupe's of entertainers, who will dabble in a grey area of magic like reading a persons hand. It's accepted by local churches because, logically, these people pay taxes to the town upon leaving the town. As such they are accepted as long as they are not a major bother and keep their bussiness hidden, or atleast attempt to hide it. If caught, they suffer the same punishment as witches.

This goes to show that 'magic' is truly for the smart, and cannot be used by just anyone who thinks they can trick an individual or two. Pair that with a high level of religious zealouts in the country and you are met with a large taboo on magic, where even speaking about it can be seen as a bad omen. As such many people choose to ignore it, even if there are many theories around Broacien about how it works.

Gregar Grochain is a man in his late thirties, and a face that shows experience, know how and charisma. His wooden crown, a leftover from Iochlan's times, is adorned with leaves and twigs, an insignia of the local Grosswick biome of naturally beautiful trees and plants. He looks very noble, in every possible meaning of the word, even though he is a bastard in essence.

Gregar is a man with a military background, serving amongst the Servants for several years. As such he has both tactical skills as well as personal combat skills. Not to say that he adores war, as he is rather fond of peace, but he's a smart man that knows that there is a time of war and a time of peace. Furthermore his history in the Servants has proven to many that he is a religious man, serving the Monarch with utmost compassion, which has granted him the support of the priesthood and the religious inhabitans of Broacien.

As king, he is just and strong-willed, and has the capability to pass judgement with no remorse if it's required of him. He is a very loyal man and thus values loyalty as the most important value there is, and does not tolerate unloyalty from any of his vassal lords and knights. He is, however, not a man that doesn't realize loyalty comes at a price, and as such he frequently grants lords and knights privileges, that are meaningless but offer symbolical value to the title of lord and knighthood.

Besides offering privileges, Gregar is fond of feasts and frequently hosts feasts in the large feasting halls in the Hoffburgt, which is no problem since there are three feasting halls. Even some of the less noble, but important and influential people, are allowed to show up. People such as wealthy and influential priests, merchants and foreign lords that are passing by.

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Queen Anne is a gentle soul, unlike her husband. While they are opposites, Gregar a trained soldier with military insight, his wife is a more peaceloving soul than him, while she realizes like Gregar that war is a part of life, she'd prefer if it wasn't. Never the less she accepts it for what it is, which is something she had to do a lot ever since she married with Gregar. The man has made her realize that being noble of blood means giving up a lot of things.

Regardless of that she does truly love Gregar, he fathered her children after all and she decided that perhaps an arranged marriage wasn't so bad after all, since through work and time spent together the both of them got along perfectly well. As a result the royal family is a happy family, which it happily shows to the outside worlds. Not that happiness is a shield against bad events happening - the dangers of being royal still lie around every corner and that is one of the many fears Anne has. After all, what if something befalls her children?

Her biggest fear, is indeed that something happens to her children. Each one of them is a big part of her life, and she loves them dearly. Despite that, she knows that the males will be sent off to serve under the companies, and the females will be sent off to marry some lord or foreign king to secure alliances. While saddening, atleast she knows she'll get grandchildren that way.

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Erica is one of the most pious ladies in Broacien, a woman who has devoted her life towards the Monarch and serves him with utmost servitude. Erica has barely reached her 20th year, looking quite young on her own, and has numerous suitors who are waiting for her hand. So far, king Gregar has abstained from promising her hand to anyone, either waiting for a proper suitor, or not wishing to send off his daughter.

Erica takes after her mother, being a kind soul and gentle to everyone, whether that is due to personality or due to being taught to behave this way by her tutors. She has numerous maidens which are all treated with respect that she deserves, and she is allround loved by everyone in the castle, and dare it be said, the entire kingdom of Broacien.

The only people she has little sympathies for are the Ketters, those who twist the word of the Monarch to fit themselves, who twist the truths of God for benefit. As such she's attempted to persuade her father to crack down on these people by offering more support to the Servants, of which he was one to begin with. The situation remained unchanged, but the Servants noted her support and are seemingly waiting for the right chance to offer lady Erica a suitable knight from the Servants to marry, which would greatly increase the influence of the Servants.

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Aren is the oldest of the king's three daughters, and as such has already been married off to a lord. Aren has been married to the lord of Barren Halls, lord Jachsen of Hayhill. This was done in order to secure the loyalty of this lord, and thus strengthen the Northern keep of Barren Halls in order to make sure that there was no tribal wars like years ago. And succesfully so, as Aren seemed to be a perfect match for Jachsen - both were militant, although in different way. Aren understood perfectly well her task as princess, namely in ensuring that Jachsen remains loyal to the crown and not his own interests. Her beauty and seductive voice did well in assuring Jachsen that he was indeed the favorite lord of the king.

Aren enjoys living in the North, being a child of the winter very much so, and more so enjoys dealing with the Northerners. She seems to have some explorationlust, constantly asking her father and her husband if she can mount an expedition of sorts, atleast to go see what it's like in the tribal camps. Being a princess this is a hard task, but her father has promised her 'one day' and that was enough for her. Her father is honorable and just, so surely the promise will get acted on.

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Caterina is the youngest of the three daughters of Gregar, and as such enjoys a moderate amount of freedom to do as she desires - atleast until she comes of age. Currently she is 15, meaning she is on the verge of a childlike personality, with a new view of realism as she begins to learn about the world around her, about the world of politics, religion and war.

Her older sister, Erica, and her brother Bjorn, are pretty much the only people in her family that she sees daily, as father is too busy with ruling the kingdom, and mother needs to tend to the duties of a queen. As a result of only seeing these two people, she has quickly become adapted to both the life of a knight and that of a lady, although she is not sure if she fully believes everything that her sister tells her. Never the less she adores the stories, that are more like a childrens goodnight tale to her than a religious vision of how the world came to be.

She is like her mother, a gentle soul. Likely more so than her other sisters, as Caterina doesn't have any interest in war whatsoever. The only thing that interests her is love, friendship and peaceful times, lovely feasts and balls in the kings halls'. Ofcourse this is still part of her childhood dreams of marrying a prince, which might even happen, although she would likely find that the reality is not what it seems.

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Bjorn is the second born son of the king, and as such has taken up duties with the Servants as his father did. Unlike the other Servants, he spends his time in the Hoffburgt, acting as the local head of the Servants that arrive here to do investigations into religiously rooted problems. This has given him both time to hone his martial skill, and time to dilly-dally with the local noblewomen. He is well loved around court, although his brother is slightly more famous and loved than Bjorn. Not that Bjorn cares, he is happy to court women, fight in tournaments and on the off day that he feels like it, go to a tavern for a drink.

In reality, Bjorn is a ladies man, who enjoys talking to women and girls alike. It's not even that he wishes to bed them, he simply thinks they are more fun to talk to. Regardless of that he's quite manly, good with a sword and somewhat decent looking, but probably a handsome man compared to some of the other lords walking around.

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Dorran is perhaps the most famous of the royal family, whose name extends far beyond the Broacien borders. He is known as a handsome, and stout man. He's brave and loyal to his father and family. Willing to risk it all to gain what his family needs, he is the one that will ride in the Vanguard in name of his father when needed, he is the one that leads the charge and he is the one who will sacrifice his life for those after him.

As Dorran is next in line to the throne he has been groomed into a capable ruler and king - trained in aspects of rulership like castle keeping, warfare, combat and economics, as well as diplomacy, foreign customs and religious know how. The heavy focus of his studies layed on justice, as this was what his father deemed important.

Besides the personal traits, he is incredibly handsome according to the ladies of the realm, and those outside. He looks good, and looks even better when wearing armor. Although he pays little mind so far, he makes women swoon as he walks past. Maybe an exageration of the tales, but he certainly turns heads if he walks by, from both men if they are that way inclined, and from women.