Rivalin

Rivalin, properly the Grand Duchy of Rivalin, is a region in south-eastern Heide. Though once part of Halgstov, Rivalin has since broken away and declared its independence. This is hardly surprising, as Rivalin has always considered itself separate from larger Heide. Many of its human inhabitants descend from the Yennish, a branch of the Gheds that settled on the Chalk Coast and fiercely resisted the Veldyn. The Yennish insist they are distinct from the Gheds, and though their languages are related, they are not mutually intelligible, having diverged over the millennia. Yennfolk and Ghedfolk, as the natives of Rivalin have it, are two very different peoples, though in appearance they are largely the same. Descendants of the Gheds are predominate in Halgstov, while Rivalin has long been the home of the Yennish, who consider themselves daring seafarers and compared to the dull, pastoral Gheds.
In the chaos of the Long Dark, Duke Wilhelm Elmist at last seized his chance and broke free of the Rohun kings, declaring his realm independent in 4161 IR. Though Halgstov fought several wars to reintegrate Rivalin, the Yennish remained free, and an uneasy détente has since developed. Rivalin is ruled by a Grand Duke, who has his seat in Breistoc, capital of the duchy. Breistoc is located about a hundred miles from Stellensport, formerly the largest city on the Chalk Coast. Today, the Ashen City, as it is known, is a haunted and fearsome place that few willingly venture near. North of Breistoc is Wavewatch, which presents itself as genteel and neutral, trading with everyone. Halgstov has designs on Wavewatch, and has been attempting to sway its count to declare independence of Rivalin. Past Wavewatch is Holt’s Bay, founded by Sebastien Holt, a Halgstovian captain who, during the Long Dark, carved out his own fief along the coast. Though nominally part of Rivalin, Holt’s Bay is an infamously lawless frontier port where pirates mingle with slavers, outlaws and smugglers of every stripe. Holt’s Bay must often contend with Vindholm, the most assertive of the Randheim ‘free ports,’ where Veldyn varangars and piratical jarls rule.
The most southern of Rivalin’s cities is Harrowgate, an inauspicious cove wedged between the Wormwood and the Ashen City. Though a foreboding location, it is also strategic and a useful port of call for those daring the journey to the Rift Sea and Atum, where marvelous contraptions and deadly firearms might be purchased from the Black Mechanics of the Voij. The folk of Harrowgate are infamously dour, and its said that anyone found outside at night is prey to hideous ghosts and demons.
The Yennish, being a coastal people, do not have significant holdings inland. Hartfield is the most westerly city claimed by House Elmist, and this is roughly where the border between Halgstov and Rivalin lies. The city is close to the Royal Hawkwood College, a school of magic nominally under the purview of Halgstov, but which accepts students from across Heide. The barons and border knights who have holdings here are a mixed bunch with varying loyalties. Skirmishes across the border and between rival households are common. Every few years, the Rohuns launch a major assault, seizing a castle or town. These holdings are inevitably lost a year later, but it is important that Halgstov continue to assert itself as the true claimant to the ‘Kingdom of Heide.’ Grand Duke Henry Elmist is largely content to let Halgstov cling to past glories and magnify its faded grandeur. Duke Henry is far more pragmatic, seeking to attract trade and settlers to swell his ports and reclaim the wasteland seized by beasts and monsters during the Long Dark. If the New Sun has truly dawned, then House Elmist fully intends to bask in its light. Rivalin is growing in power and prestige, and no doubt Halgstov is watching the duchy’s rise with wariness. War might very well be coming, on a scale not seen in many years. If Rivalin endures, it might yet be acknowledged as equal to Halgstov, and if not, then Halgstov might truly restore the shattered Kingdom of Heide. Much remains unwritten, and the New Sun shines with faltering light. The Long Dark could be but a prelude to a more absolute night, it remains to the powers and heroes of the Fifth Age to determine the future of the world. Opportunity beckons, in Rivalin and elsewhere, and the wise will seize such chances as fickle Siris, Lady of Fates, presents.