Westfallen

== History ==
Westfallen developed in the Aloric Plains sometime after the Lizardfolk were pushed out. The people of the Aloric Plains rarely had to fight full scale wars, instead, from time to time, small Beastfolk or Lizardfolk raiding and war parties would invade and plunder. The people of the Aloric Plains began to heavily rely on castles and castle towns to simply wait out these war parties until they left. 
Eventually, Aleric Westfallen would rise to prominence as the first Held of the regions. Today he is viewed as the first proper knight and his heavily armoured yet mobile cavalry was able to crush many of the warbands as they were retreating out of the plains. Slowly overtime, his example was adopted by most cities and people of the Aloric Plains, shaping the foundations of what is now know as the Westfallen culture. 
This style of defensive castles and settlements together with the highly elite knights, meant that relatively few people were soldier, those soldiers however were elite and very well equipped. Overtime the new knight class replaced the older nobility as the de-facto highest class in the land. As the Confederation of Haystan colonised ever further westward, the frequency of warbands falling into the Aloric Plains fell drastically. 
This caused a second shift, with increasing tension between the Westfallen settlements, internal wars and squabbles began to break out. Whereas the knights were highly effective against smaller less armoured enemies, against other knights both sides of a conflict lost so many knights that playing for the training and equipment to replace them would bankrupt entire duchies. The region moved away from settling internal disputes through war and instead began to favour conflict resolution though duel. Two settlements or states in conflict would seek a third neutral arbitrator. The two parties would then send a single champion to fight for their cause. The outcome of the duel or joust would then decide the resolution to the conflict. 
This system only worked as long as the losing party held to their word and the Westfallen culture began to highly respect vows, promises and oaths. Being known as an oath breaker is considered a fate worse than death. It brings dishonour to yourself and all who associate with you. 
== Culture ==
Westfallen is in many ways very similar to Hylthian and still maintains many of its core concepts.
=== The Standings ===
The view of the Westfallen on the Standings were almost entirely inherited from the Hylthian. While the Westfallen are somewhat more flexible than the rigid Old Imperial understanding, it was harsher than the Hylthian view and even the most noble of Beastfolk knights would be rejected from most orders and associations, at best being relegated to being a guard in a minor castle.
Category:Culture