The Four Counties

==The Four Counties==
The Four Counties is a union between the four former towns of Gugiromon: Allelide, Ucimedri, Upirusna, and  Aciknithros. They are currently ruled by Lord Hathur Tammunique.
==Secession from Gugiromon==
Gugiromon, a once powerful human nation, lies roughly one hundred kilometres to the northeast of Spearbreakers. In its heyday, it was a proud and powerful nation, founded in year 1 PS, by Lady Geño Konutdar.
Today, Gugiromon is a shadow of its former self. Most of the western half of the country has been overrun by Holistic Spawn and Mountain Barbarians, with towns and fortresses falling to their onslaught. Eastern Gugiromon is quite safe, still; the Capital, Huromab, lies in the east, but has nothing protecting it to the west.
Under Lord Hathur Tammunique, then a young nobleman, four cities peacefully seceded from Gugiromon, forming the union of the Four Counties. These cities are Allelide, Ucimedri, Upirusna and Aciknithros, four small hamlets who bordered each other.
Gugiromon was in little position to refuse, so the Four Counties were formed. The abandoned fortress of Ceshcacil was repurposed to act as the seat of power for Hathur.
==The Early Years of The Four Counties==
At first, as the towns were small, the country focused on growing. Hathur began his military expansion; recruiting men from the towns for the defense of the Four Counties.
This proved enormously effective, and so the country grew in power both economically and culturally.
Four Counties main exports were metalworks, food, and wicker crafts. Their craftsmen were known continent-wide for their skill.
A few skirmishes between the Four Counties and the Spawn of Holistic have occurred, though never any concerted efforts, barely just raids, that are fought off fairly easily. Because the inhabitants of the Four Counties are all human, they have needed not fear the infection of the Spawn since the fall of Headshoots.
In more recent times, with the release of Parasol's version of the Spawn, HS-3, the inhabitants of the Four Counties have feared the Spawn and attempted to erect defenses against them. This new strain is capable of converting most domestic animals and intelligent life to its cause, and is feared by dwarves and humans alike. Caravans routes are gradually falling into abandonment.
==Modern Day==
In the past twenty years, Hathur grew progressively more deviant. He began enacting 'tributes' of woman to work as prostitutes for his Counties Guard and a smaller cohort as personal concubines, replaced every two years. This was the only tax, besides a small amount kept for the operation of services and payment of civil servants.
While the guard was undeniably useful, the people of the Four Counties became weary of having their daughters, nieces, wives, etc. taken as 'relief' for the soldiers, and were at the point of thinking of revolting.
When Reudh arrived, he persuaded Hathur to give up the practice of the tributing, as it was causing major social unrest, and the women freed could return to work, and with more workers, more money would flow into the Four Counties, allowing Hathur to replace the payment of the guard with money instead, and a personal treasury for himself.
Hathur gladly agreed, seeing the error of his ways; and as predicted, the Four Counties began to prosper again.
==Future...==
As Hathur is now quite aged, being in his late sixties, quite old for a human, the succession is a constant thought on everyone's minds. Whether it would be wise to set up a monarchy, no one knows; Hathur has had no wife and no heir his whole life, and his family remain in Gugiromon and are excluded from succession.
Provided the Spawn do not multiply out of control, and Gugiromon manages to hold the horde off to their west, the Four Counties looks to prosper for a long time indeed.
Category:Places