Mistlands - The northern most region of Adanion, it is a hilly tundra where few animals venture and only the heartiest of roots and oats can grow in the poor cold soil. What little farm land there is can be found in pockets of ground where the frost can melt or on the lower levels of the Misty Cliffs. The Cliffs however are much more bountiful than the eastern Mountains, providing ore, minerals and stone allowing for the construction of much tougher castles than their poor economics would otherwise allow. There are more castle along the border of Westmarch, officially there to protect the lands from the occasional nomad warband that wanders northwards.

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Frostmark - The coldest land bordered by the Great Bastion Mountains and sharing the vital Cradlespring Lake that feeds the most important river in Adanion with the Mistlands. It is a boreal tundra with interspersed boreal bogs, sharing in the poverty with the Mistlands, its economy relying on the trade of furs, hides, pelts and ice to other noble families who are willing to pay great sums for it during the summer months. Its people survive on fish and snowberries they plant around their fields of tough roots and oats to ward off herbivores who find its strong scent overwhelming.

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Crownmark - The most centrally located region and the seat of power in Adanion, sitting between the Splitstream and the Farwater rivers. It is a trade hub of the kingdom and where much of its wealth is funneled into. It has fertile land for vegetables, grain and fruits that are turned in famous wines and vintages while its ability to access all the raw resources of the kingdom grants it the largest population of tradesmen and craftsmen in the realm, even if most of its production is split between military equipment for Westmarch and jewelry for the Great Houses. Uniquely its roads and bridges are paved and well kept, an obvious sign of the capital's wealth.

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Westmarch - The largest of all the regions and important in the defense of the realm. Houses of Westmarch are typically called "Marcher Lords" or "Marquis" instead of simply "Lords" as they are charged with defending against the many nomadic tribes who raid and assail the kingdom. Every settlement has fortifications and defense for this reason, from the largest of towns to the smallest of hamlets, its martially minded people can live great distances from each other. While okay for farming, its vast empty spaces are more commonly used for herding animals, while it manages trade with some of the more hospitable nomads or even the rare and exotic merchants from the distant rajas, kingdoms and empires beyond the Timeless Steppes.

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Arbormark - Despite its name, the majority of its forest are actually the overflow of the forests and jungles of the Wildwood. Instead, Arbormark is known its farmlands that are even more bountiful than Crownmark and the banks of the Farwater River which they use to grow sweetreeds and collect clay for bricks and pottery. Arbormark nobles have long standing feuds with nobles of the Wildwood, some stretching back before Adandum's conquest, usually over control and ownership (and taxation rights) of the Archgates.

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Stormlands - Named for the seaborn storms that routinely wash over the land or even flood it, the Stormlands can flip between a beautifully sunny coast to a terrifying thunderous storm in minutes. It is the second wealthiest region (and also thus the most heavily taxed) in Adanion due to a combination of good soil with plentiful rain (or too much rain), the minerals and ores of the Dragon's Graveyard and the ports that connect the kingdom to the world beyond the Starry Sea. Unique among the kingdom, its said that almost everyone from beggar to noble in the Stormland knows how to swim and they field specialized "Marine-at-Arms" to protect the ships and trade ports.

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Wildwood - The region that held out against House Loyce the longest due to its easily defendable terrain; the Archgates are a defender's dream and the waters around it are treacherous at the best of times. Due to the pocket of mountain it exists in, its radically different than the rest of the kingdom. Hotter and wetter due to trapped moisture, the entire region is covered in dense forests and jungle. Some of the villages are built on stilts or even in treetops to get off the wet, marshy and often dangerous ground. Many believe the Wildwood to be too different than the rest of the kingdom for its people and nobles to be considered Adanion, a claim the Wildwoods disputes through loyalty to House Loyce time and time again. Trade with the outside world however is much more limited than in the Stormlands, largely because the same dangerous waters that defend its coast makes trading difficult especially with the much calmer (and richer) Stormlands close by.

Misty Cliffs - Sheet rocky cliffs with natural terraces and plateaus going up like giant stairs. Popular legend states that once they were stairs leading up to the palace of ancient giants. Its slightly warmer than the Bastion Mountains with waterfalls and rivers commonly rushing over ledges to make a beautiful sight. Its currently unknown how many "levels" there are, the most populated levels are the first three with the highest inhabited level being the 5th while explorers have found ways up to the 22nd level but the cliffs stretch above the clouds.

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Timeless Steppes - A seemingly endless grassland steppe dominated by nomadic tribes and their herds who have changed little since the time of Adandum's Conquest. Named so as its said a non-nomad who ventures into it will quickly loose any sense of time or direction as they get lost in the seemingly infinite flat steppes.

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Dragon's Graveyard - A smaller yet even more brutal range of mountains than the Great Bastions. According to myth, once dragons lived in the mountains, hoarding vast riches until they offended an old god of stone who in revenge raised the mountains into sharp points to tear the dragon's wings and gore them midflight while dragging their treasure hoards into the earth. A fanciful tale for sure but it has been used to explain the mineral wealth in them as well as the giant, mysterious "magical" bones that are routinely dug up. (Actually just dinosaur bones.)

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The Starry Sea - A vast blue sea, named so as during the clearest nights one can see the entire heaven of stars reflected upon its surface. Sometimes, stars will even fall from the sky into the sea and its said that those who find the fallen stars will be granted their greatest wish.

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Bastion Mountains - Vast, impassible mountain ranges that completely cut off Adanion from the other side. Few Adanions even realize there are other kingdoms beyond the mountains but even those who do can't agree on which Adandum was exiled from. The Lesser Bastion Mountain is also called the "Mountain Arm" as it splits off dramatically from the rest of the range.

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The Archgates - A trio of huge natural rock formations that leave massive openings in the mountains that are easily defended and heavily fortified. Some of the most defensible castles are built into the Archgate and are fought over fiercely by both Arbormark and the Wildwood as they are the only reliable routes out of the Wildwood. They are also the reason why the Wildwood was the last region added to the kingdom, unable to be bested in combat, House Loyce would eventually bring it into the kingdom through marriage instead.

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Cradlespring Lake - Perhaps the most important waterway in Adanion, its entirely encapsulated by the impassable mountains. Fed through underground springs and mountain streams, it feeds the Farwater and Twinsplit Rivers. Nearby hotsprings have made for excellent winter lodgings and even saunas. Just like with the Archgates and Arbormark and the Wildwood, both Frostmark and the Mistlands contest the few bridges over the Farwater River that divides their territory.

Name: Reiner Van Zielennemer (Zee-len-nay-mare)

Titles: High Magistrate of the United Creditors Guild of Lagebanken, and Lord Duke of the House Zielennemer, nicknamed "The Bear"

Description: A patriarchal figure in his forties, stout in stature and homely by most standards. He wears a bushy beard that seems to swallow the rest of his face, though his bulbous nose and sharp hazel eyes stand out, giving him a bear-like presence. Dresses almost exclusively in black and silver-hemmed tunics of a minimalist style, but with an admitted fondness for silver jewellery which ranges from bracelets, to necklaces, earrings, and cufflinks.

Claimant: While the UCGL actually holds accounts under both claimants, behind closed doors Reiner is backing Anyamara, because he understands that any formidable shake-up of the status quo puts his business at risk. The debts he is owed from several of the most powerful houses would not be able to be paid if they were dissolved in a revolution, violent or otherwise. In private, he does wonder at the economic implications of the Great Houses losing power to the middle classes, and if his House alone might be able to eke out a successful tranche in a new dynasty.
In summary, a casual observer would think that the Zielennemers are neutral in the power struggle, but insiders know his allegiances lie with Anyamara. Unbeknownst to any but himself, Reiner remains unsure that his position is the right one.

House Info: House Zielennemer’s coat of arms appears as follows; A sable field argent pale. Charged with proper bear rampant dexter, and sinister or skull. Three vert stars charged on the pale. Their house motto is “All Debts Must Be Paid.”

Reputation: Known to be a shrewd man of financial cunning, never letting a red cent slip out from under his fingers, a miser with most but generous to his friends. Cut-throat to those who cross him, though it is generally understood that he never wields the cutting implement himself. Startlingly well-connected through his various investments and without a doubt the architect of far too much human misery, not that the gentry, good and great, would care about that sort of thing.

Ambitions: Control over Adanion’s Royal Treasury and eventual acquisition of monetary authority throughout the realm. Reiner looks to a future where his family controls the kingdom not through steel, but silver, and he is very willing to play the long game to achieve a subtle but infinitely profitable grasp on the strings of power.

Aptitudes: An accomplished mathematician, able to calculate complex sums on the spot, and keep track of tallies up to and including his bank’s ledgers mentally. While his rough appearance and imposing physicality are intimidating, he is not an exceptional martial artist, relying exclusively on his ability to manipulate others to defend him. Second only to his skill with numbers, Reiner has extensive competence and experience in the field of diplomacy, or as it’s more properly known, wholesale corruption. Be it bribes, blackmail, or outright piracy, no scheme to make a profit is beneath the Bear.

Vulnerabilities: Reiner treats people like figures on a page, to be moved as he so chooses, and he expects that every person’s greed is as all-consuming as his own. Acts of charity, self-sabotage, or goodhearted well wishes all come across as false-faced, unexpected, or simply inscrutable to the man. He is also a chronic smoker, and this vice has impacted his health, though he would be the last person to let this be apparent. He holds little interest in physical intimacy, and it is a closely guarded secret that all three of his children were begotten by house servants, quietly executed in the hours after each child’s birth. This distaste for intimacy is such that he abhors being touched, even by his wife and servants. This revulsion has led him to attend to his own affairs when he rises from and returns to bed.

Additional Info: Originally from the Wildwood, the Zielennemers came to the Crownmark in slave carts, a past they would quickly seek to destroy, and which at present is anything but common knowledge. Over the course of generations, the family toiled their way out of indentured servitude to become free serfs. As the Royal Treasury began sponsoring various independent banks in order to shore up the realm’s tax bases, one Zielennemer, Reiner’s great-grandfather had the fortune of working under one such bank. Studious years of work coupled with a rumoured special relationship with the Head Banker led Willem Zielennemer to become his successor. As Head of the Bruinor Bank, he then spear-headed an ambitious move to confederate the various independent banks, each headquartered in a different region, and this organization grew into what is known today as the United Creditors Guild of Lagebanken.

Domain Info: The United Creditors Guild of Lagebanken, with branches in the Mistlands, Frostmark, Westmarch, Crownmark, Arbormark, the Stormlands, and Wildwood.

Domain Name: The United Creditors Guild of Lagebanken, informally referred to as “The Silvermark”

Domain Summary: Adanion’s entire breadth could be considered part of the Guild’s domain, as far as good silver is traded, there will be an interested party connected to the Guild. However, it is generally held that the major spheres of influence of the Silvermark comprise the major cities where its branches are located, with the most influential of these being the Central Branch Bank located in Adanion’s capital. The lesser parts of the Silvermark are the trade caravans which stretch throughout Adanion between these nodes at large cities, paid for by the Guild. House Zielennemer itself also has numerous holdings in various assets across Adanion, such as privately owned mines, fisheries, and lumberyards.

Major Holdings: The Silvermark’s reaches extend from the lowest marsh to the highest peak, but it is at its core, an urban realm. The major holdings are; Bruinor Bank in Capital City, Blitzschein Bank in Steinbach, Nevezeniya Bank in Silver City, Cufarinundat Bank in Julechton and … (waiting for other major cities to be named)

Reputation: The domain is known for its overwhelming wealth, second only to House Loyce and the Royal Treasury proper, and there are even rumours that that claim has its detractors. The personal estates of House Zielennemer and its confederated Houses comprise a miniscule physical territory, so it is also known as the smallest part of the realm. Despite this, the people who live under the Silvermark are known to be exceptionally loyal, brilliant, and ruthless in their exacting of unpaid debts. In many ways, the long shadow of the Silvermark touches every other part of Adanion, but whether that shadow is a shelter or a hidden blade depends on one thing; whether you have silver.

Wealth: The enormous wealth of the Silvermark comes from the United Creditors Guild, consisting of every major bank in Adanion, all of which are tasked with tax collection, money-lending, and sponsoring both military and commercial enterprises. Wherever the Silvermark’s coinage is spent, every effort is made to recover it, with interest. Only recently in the wake of the Mad King’s sudden passing has the Silvermark endeavoured to extend its influence beyond the strictly monetary, beginning to buy up private resources and the equipment needed to extract it.

Strength: While the Silvermark is in a prime position to afford as many mercenary companies as it could ever need, Reiner forbids the use of such forces. Instead, the military strength of Zielennemer is comprised of their tax-collectors, a force of private soldiers trained to the elite standards of the Royal Guard. Indeed, many Royal Guards retire into the Silvermark’s service, and serve as the training instructors for fresh recruits into the Tax Collection Division, or “Silverhawks” as they’re sometimes known, an emblem adopted by the very first cohort. Despite the quality of the troops, as Reiner is wont to say, “if you need to send more than one taxman, you’ve got a rebellion on your hands.” Consequently, the Silvermark’s forces are the smallest in Adanion, of an even number with the most elite forces in House Loyce. It is also heavily rumoured that a close group of Silverhawks, the oldest and hardest, serve the direct will of Reiner Van Zielennemer himself. Such rumours are wholly unsubstantiated, and yet the common folk still chatter about figures moving in the shadows, sporting green stars on their pauldrons, making people disappear into the night.