Orange Marquissates

Here are the Orange Marquisates. This area is well known in the world thanks to its benign climate and fertile lands, which allows for the production of high quality citrus, highly appreciated across the world. The land is controlled by dozens of dozens of small marquisates, with all of the noble houses descending from the same lineage, started by the same noble hundreds of years ago: Gunther the Conqueror. However, after a series of internal wars due to inheritance rights, most of the noble houses decided to stop intermarrying to keep their lands, causing very week bloodlines, and in many cases clear diseases. This has benefited both the big merchant cities and those noble houses who have avoided this custom, and now they are waging a shadow war against each other, utilizing the easily manipulable inbred houses to try and conquer the land for themselves.
== Factions ==
There are four main factions in the Orange Marquisates. The strongest faction contains those noble houses who stayed strong and stable despite the weakening that most marquisates fell into, also called the healthy noble houses. They consider themselves as the true inheritors of Gunther the Conqueror, and want to see the land reestablished into its former glory, rather than the mess it's slowly becoming due to weak and corrupt leadership. They are a traditional lot, and by far the most powerful militar force in the land. However, due to their more archaic view of the economy, they haven't been able to catch up to the economic innovations that have been happening in the cities. As such, while they are very strong, they don't have the resources to fully utilise their armies, even if they are composed of mostly loyal knights, arquebuseers (one of the rare instances they immediately saw the utility of modernity) and court wizards.
The second biggest faction are the merchant cities. They were once the lands of very weak noble houses, which became so weak that the cities under their authority began conspiring against them. Slowly but surely, they ended up becoming the power behind those houses, and started a political evolution, taking the power away to give it to the merchant houses and artisan guilds. Their patronage of technological advance paid off the very first time they went to war against the noble houses, when they unveiled the newly designed arquebuses and gunpowder artillery (very volatile, but enough to give knights and court wizards pause). While their economy is booming due to sea trade with the rest of the world, the political infighting between the different factions stop them from coordinating unless given a clear cause. Their armies are mostly composed of mercenaries from around the world, armed with the best they can get their hands on. Most of the time they are used as police force, to stop both pirates and bandits.
However, since they have to avoid a direct war between them, due to the risks of peasant uprising against either one, their conflict has devolved into a cold war, mostly fought between the many sick noble houses, easily manipulable by both the healthy houses' charisma and noble past and the merchant cities' deep pockets. Their custom to divide the land between their many heirs has barely kept the land stable, mostly because many of them simply don't survive until adulthood due to the plethora of diseases acquired. The many threats of peasant and farmer revolts keep their influence over the land just enough to stay in power, often needing military aid from the other factions to keep their holdings. However, neither the healty noble houses nor the merchant cities ever try to start a peasant revolt, not wanting to repeat the events of the southern marquisates.
During a particularly bad drought, the lands of the south suffered many peasant and farmer revolts, which were suppressed by an unusual amount of force. However, the farmers actually managed to organize their effords to free themselves from the sick noble houses that ruled over them. The answer came when an emissary of the Faarowt druids promised help in exchange of dedicating the lands to the farming of many of the plants and crops the druids needed for their rituals, and even introducing ideas of naturalism, telling them that a return to a natural state would free them from their eartly needs. While the farmers were very distrusting of this, they were desperate enough that they accepted the deal. With the help of the druids, the farmers managed to take down the sick noble houses, and even expand their influence to other marquisates, until a coalition of forces managed to slow them down, fearful of massive peasant uprising. Now the lands aligned to the Faarowt druids dedicate their effords into commuting with nature through a mix between farming and commuting with nature
While both the noble houses and the merchant cities would want nothing but to reclaim the Faarowt lands for their own, the influence of the druids and the fear of a peasant revolt galvanising their own peasant populations keeps them at bay. Plus, after the initial revolt, the Faarowt marquisates (which don't have a marquis house anymore, but they kept the title for tradition's sake) pretty much kept to themselves, that way they can dedicate their effords into finding a way to enlightenment, similar to the druids they now worship as their saviours and liberators. The druids themselves don't really see what they did as a bid deal, since they just wanted the lands to grow the many herbs and plants needed for their rituals, plus they are very isolationists themselves.
== History ==
=== Age 1. The forging. ===
It's history began nearly 2000 years ago, when the lord of the land that would become the Marquisate of the Silver Lion reached adulthood, and inherited the lands his father had earned after years of fighting with the neighbour nobles. Gunther the IIIrd, commonly known as Gunther the Fat, was the bastard child of the previous lord, and had to fight with his legitimate brothers from childhood to earn his place in the land. After defeating his older brother in single combat (accusing his brother to have poisoned his father to inherit the throne), Gunther launched a campaign of expansion to the neighbouring lands. He not only used his armies to conquer the land, he search for poets, minstrels and clerics to make his vision public: The lands at the west of the Great Peaks should be unified under one singular king, to bring the light of order and nobility to all men who deserve it, and to civilise the barbarian tribes that occupied the land. After 50 years of campaigning, he was halfway to conquering the lands, but the southern regions weren't occupied by barbarians and bandits, but by burgeoning cities filled with fishers, artisans and wisemen. Their constant infighting was an affront to Gunther's idea of order, and despite all of his offers of annexation, he was rejected. Thus war started, which was handily won by Gunther's forces. However, the local resistance was a constant drain on his forces, thus he decreed the burning of the old cities, in what became known as the "Fires of Dawn", destroying centuries of history, killing thousands and breaking the spirit of resistance of the population. After the fall of the last fortress, Gunther became King of the Orange Kingdom, being renamed Gunther "the Conqueror".
Near a century old, Gunther could look upon the conquered lands and smile, but by then he was sick and tired of all the fighting. He left the task of organising the conquered lands to his heirs (which he had sired many, both legitimate and ilegitimate). After creating the administrative divisions of the kingdom, and putting each and every single one of his sons, he died. His body was buried in his birthland, where a great statue of Gunther wrestling a great lion was created (following the legend that Gunther had bested an albino lion barehanded).
=== Age 2. The fracturing. ===
After Gunther's death, the land stayed stable for around two centuries. And while the administrative structure of the kingdom was in theory strong, in reality every single noble was hoarding power for themselves. The marquisate system was ruled by the king of the land, but year by year he lost power and influence at the hands of his suppose loyal servants. Eventually, an uprising from the nobility ended up with the death of Gunther the VIIth, but the coallition easily fell upon itself to try and establish who would be the next king. That war would last for a century, and would shatter the structure of the kingdom, leaving the independent marquises as the true rulers of the now burnt and exhausted land.
=== Age 3. The Isolation ===
After a hundred years of infighting, the sheer human and economic exhaustion of the land was threatening to cause a civil uprising from the rebuilt cities and the peasant farmers, so the marquises reunited in the city of Leneas to established the Isolation Edict, forbidding each noble to interfere for ten generations with the politics of their neighbour in any way. While this pact seemed tenuous, the reality was the forces of the nobles were spent and the peasant uprising threatened the equilibrium of the land, so it was in everyone's best interest to focus on their own matters anyway.
However, that also came with the clause that there could be no political marriage between the different noble houses, so the already rather inbred houses became more and more isolationists, making the marriage pool smaller and smaller. Some of the more wise nobles took action to the clear blood degradation, marrying with nobles from far away lands, and even marrying with peasantry disguising them as far away nobles.
After 250 years, those houses that had taken measures against blood degradation could look upon the other marquisates and see the land in a state of disarray caused by the lack of strong leadership. Many of the marquisates started absorbing the weaker neighbours, and a new war of conquest of the land seemed to be brewing.
=== Age 4. The Night of the Rose. ===
The lands of the south had been at war with the descendants of Gunther in one way or another for centuries by now. After the "Fires of Dawn", the war had taken a cultural aspect, with each parent teaching their children to never forget the butchery, barbarity and slavery that the men of the north brought. Slowly but surely, the blood degradation of the marquis houses allowed the cities to regain their old importance, helped by the fact taxing the cities was a very easy way to get money, something very needed by the badly administered treasury. Out of all of the cities, the city of Citras, capital of the Marquisate of the Brown Hawk was particularly prosperous, due to the access control of the trade of all the Southern Inner Sea.
The marquis of the Brown Hawk, Gunther Kantor the 17th (also known as Gunther Kantor "the Manpig", a title created by Gunther Kantor himself), after spending the entire treasure in a week long party to celebrate the birth of a two headed horse in the royal stables (something that was taken as bad luck by the rest of the court, but it was ignored by Gunther Kantor), he ordered the city of Citras' population to pay for all the debt caused, under penalty of death. When the city refused to pay, Gunther Kantor ordered his army to kidnap every young maiden in the city to sell to the slave markets overseas. Once the population heard the news, they rose up in arms and butchered the soldiers in the ciry, in what was know as "The Night of the Rose", which was the emblem used by the population to represent the treasonous orders of the marquisate against the maidens of the city. After the uprising, the soldiery, with little to no loyalty remaining and with no real desire to die at the hands of the masses, threw down their weapons and walked away. Gunther Kantor was captured, his arms and legs cut and his still alive body was fed to the royal pig herd.
The news of the Citras' victory against the nobility quickly spread throughout the land, and many of the biggest merchant cities started plotting as well, sensing the weakness of the marquise houses. Not through violent means, but through manipulation, weaving nets of control through many means upon the marquisates. Soon, near half of the land had ended up under the control of the merchant cities. Sensing impending doom, the healthy noble houses organised a crusade against the rabble that was threatening to uproot the marchisate and throw it into disarray.
=== Age 5. The War of the Burnt Incense ===
Having preserved their military strength and cohesion, the healthy noble houses put together a massive army that managed to stop many of the urban uprisings that were popping up throughout the land.
The fight became a dance of intrigue and political manouvering, using the dozens of sick marquisate houses still around to grapple as much power as possible, with neither side managing to break the political equilibrium of the region.
=== Age 6. The Uprising of the Green Heads ===
After 800 years after the end of the Burnt Incense, a massive drought came upon the lands of the southern marquisates. At the time, the political attention of the great powers was focused on a succession crisis on the northern sick marquisate houses, nobody really reacted immediately when a peasant uprising took power in the southern marquisates. They had always been unstable and scarcely populated, so regaining control of the area was easy. However, during this time, the unusual level of resistance ended up in many atrocities made by the nobility's forces forced the peasants and farmers to look for any possible help. Neither the healthy nobility nor the merchant cities would help them, so they sent emissaries to every possible foreign land they could, in the hopes for a miracle. The answer came when an emissary of the Faarowt druids responded to their pleas, offering a deal from the Great Druid Council itself. In exchange for magical aid, they would dedicating the lands to the farming of many of the plants and crops the druids needed for their rituals, and take part in their enlightenment rituals. While the farmers were very distrusting of this, they were desperate enough that they accepted the deal. With the help of the druids, the farmers (now called "green heads" due to the new druid rituals' effect on them) managed to take down the sick noble houses, something that took every faction by surprise. The news of the successful uprising quickly spread throughout the region, quickly creating new centers of peasant-druid rebellion. Sensing danger, the healthy nobility and the merchant cities agreed to put an end to this.
The Battle of the Lake of Peace was an event covered in questions, as there were very few chroniclers to explain what happened, but considering the tenuous alliance, the victory of the coallition was just enough to stop the green heads from advancing, but not to uproot them. To this day, the farmers and peasants rule the lands of the south, mostly following the rites and ceremonies introduced by the druids.
== Government ==
The Orange Marquisates long ago abandoned the pretense of maintaining the image a singular, unified nation. However, many marquisates desire to restore the old Orange Kingdom (with themselves as rulers, of course).  The War of Burnt Incense left very clear that in a military conflict, both the healthy noble houses and the merchant city marquisates would be evenly match, and that it would only cause upheaval and unrest within the peasants. As such, the war for domination between the marquisates has to go on either in the shadows or through the sick noble marquisates. Not to mention all of them want to isolate the druid influenced marquisates as much as possible, so that their ideas do not spread throughout the peasantry. Because of this, there are very few legal and governmental ties between the marquisates. 
The inner government of each marquisate depends on their rulers. Marquisates ruled by healthy noble houses tent to follow a very traditional structure, with the head marques at his family having the most power in the land, followed by those knights and vassals that have sworn loyalty to the noble house. They are the ones who rule and protect the land and its inhabitants, and the ones who collect taxes. They control the cities in their lands with an iron fist, least they rebel like in those marquisates controlled by the merchant cities. The rites of vassalage are of extreme importance here, and law in these areas take the bonds between lord and vassal very seriously. Breaking one’s word can mean exile or death, and this not only applies to the knights and nobles, but to the peasantry as well. The personal army of the healthy noble houses is the first and foremost tool to keep order and law within their lands, and the healthy nobles invest great sums in the arming and training of their armies.
The merchant city marquisates rule by different means. These marquisates kept their noble houses as mere figureheads, and many even stopped having a ruling house altogether. Instead, the power comes from the cities’ influence over the land. The more successful a city is with trade and business, the more control they’ll be able to exert within the marquisate. The cities themselves are ruled by powerful merchant families and guilds, who will simulate an image of cooperation and collaboration to the outside, but in reality they are meshed deeply in fights for control of the economy and trade. The growing merchant cities are always filled with conspiracies, betrayal and murder, and only the threat that the healthy noble houses pose keep them from an internal all-out war with each other. The rule of law in the cities depends on which family rules, with things such as police and tribunals being under the payroll of whoever gets to rule at the time. The merchant families and guilds hire many mercenaries not only to fight each other, but also to keep control of the countryside. Many lesser nobles were able to keep their fiefdoms if they swore loyalty to the merchant houses, keeping a veneer of historical continuity, and it’s also cheaper than directly controlling the land from the cities. 
The druid-influenced marquisates have a very different system of governance. The population has spread throughout the territories, leaving cities very underpopulated, preferring to live in harmony with nature. This, and the fall of the noble houses that used to rule here, meant that they have adopted a much more localized power structure. Rural towns rule themselves independently, organizing the needed works in a collective way. The towns are led by their elders, many of which have spent decades travelling the path of enlightenment. The decisions for the marquisate are decided by a council of elders done every year, in which they discuss both politics, economics and their progress towards enlightenment. 
== Economy ==
The economy of the Orange Marquisates depends on the type or marquisate, but all of them share one common element: the production of high quality citrus. The land of the Orange Marquisates produces dozens of different kinds of citrus highly appreciated in the diets of many lands in the region. The marquisate’s citrus are also a fundamental part for sailors, since citrus are highly effective against scurvy. Many powers buy citrus in bulk to distribute to their navy and their trading fleets, thus protecting the health of their sailors during long voyages. As such, the Orange Marquisates are a mandatory stop for all ships that want to trade from northern to eastern Giantstep. The region’s citrus plants are very resistant to colder weathers, something that has allowed them to prosper even during winter, having a substantial harvest multiple times a year all year long. The value of citrus production drives a lot of the fighting between the marquisates. Both the healthy noble marquisates and the merchant cities will spend a lot of time and effort to try to obtain more influence within the sick noble houses to get access to their citrus production.
Another product that is also greatly profitable for the region is wine. The Orange Marquisates produce many different types of wine, the most famous of all being a rosé wine made by combining fermented grapes and oranges, giving it a tinge of extra sweetness. However, unlike the region’s citrus, the local grapes are not particularly resistant to winter, and as such, most of the production focuses during the summer, and the vines need a lot of care and attention to not die during the months of winter. Many marquisates have also develop a competent artisanal glass industry, to bottle up the best wines and sell them in more careful selections, instead of in just wine barrels. 
The noble marquisates, both from healthy and sick houses, have the bulk of their profits from agriculture and farming, but there’s an increasing amount of interest in developing crafts, usually parallel to the region’s main activities. This kind of economy has evolved quite a lot in the merchant cities, where artisan guilds have gained a lot of influence due to the increasingly more profitable sales of their products. Their economic growth is frequently slowed down by the guild’s competitions with each other, as well as with other merchant marquisates. This can reach extremes of sabotage and murder, though local authorities try to stop the biggest displays of violence. 
The marquisates influenced by Faarowt’s druids have a very different economy. Due to their ties with the druids and their different ways of life, they dedicate a considerable portion of their arable land to cultivate many of the herbs and other plants the druids need for their rituals. This isn’t to say they don’t cultivate citrus just like the other marquisates, but they prefer to focus on their own crops. They have also dedicated a ton of efforts in developing apiculture, with honey production being the region’s best-regarded product. The druids’ knowledge about nature is used to cooperative with the bees in a way it is safe to collect the honey, allowing these marquisates to produce a lot more honey that could be feasible at first glance. The druid-influenced marquisates also prefer trading through land routes instead of using sea routes, to avoid friction with the rest of the marquisates. 
== Foreign Relations ==
The Orange Marquissates are a very important point for sea travel and trade in the region, and as such, they have plenty of strong ties with most of the nations in the area. However, due to the inability to unite into a singular power means that the marquisates frequently are in a position of weakness when dealing with bigger powers. Some powers are trying to influence the politics of the marquisates from afar, but for the most part, they are left alone as long as their commercial interests are secured. 
The Orange Marquissates have especially strong ties with the Woodcutter Cities, both due to their closeness and due to historical ties. Many areas of the Big Marianne Lake and the Twin Drop Lakes used to belong to the Orange Kingdom back in the day, but the shattering of the old kingdom made those areas develop into independent regions, with only nominal control by some marquises. The Woodcutter Cities also provide the marquisates with high quality wood for their fleets. 
Most marquisates have a great distaste for the druids from Faarowt, ranging from disgust to outright hatred and fear. The real threat of an expansion of the druidic ideas throughout the peasant population is an ever present threat, and there have been many rumors of a combined campaign from the healthy noble houses and the merchant cities to expel the druids and their influence from the southern marquisates, though internal strife always keeps those plans at bay. 
Outside of their local neighbors, the marquisates have a strong tie to the Platinum Princedom. Seeing as it is the door between the northern and eastern seas, it has an immense ship traffic, though the area’s agriculture is poorer due to the colder climate. As such, the Orange Marquissates are a mandatory resupplying stop for vessels wanting to cross the Platinum Strait, especially for things such as food and basic shipping equipment. The Platinum Princedom’s merchant guilds also buy considerable quantities of citrus to make them available in their cities, though the methods used to preserve the fruits are not perfect, and thus the quality is lower than if they are bought directly from the marquisates.  
The marquisates are very distrusting of the Avangar Empire. While far enough to not affect the dealings of the marquisates, the expansionist policies of Avangar means that once the east of Littlestep is fully conquered, Avangar might turn around and try to occupy the Woodcutter Cities and the Green Oak Forest, after which it’s only a matter of time the marquisates are threatened. Some marquisates have even participated in the secret talks that some of the region’s powers have had about taking measures to prevent Elyrian expansion. 
The marquisates are also very distrustful of the Kingdom of Drunigzar. While their trade is always profitable, their expansion outside of the eastern seas worries the marquisates’ merchant cities. They have also heard rumors of the drunig developing a technology to grow any kind of plant in any environment. If the rumors are true and that technology spreads, that could completely displace the Orange Marquissates as the foremost provider of citrus and other fruits to the region.
== Cities of the Marquissates ==
The capitals of the Marquisates are as follows:
Marquisates ruled by Healthy Noble Houses-Marquisate of the Sea Lion: Regalia 
-Marquisate of the Night Owl: Herminalia 
-Marquisate of the Orange Chalice: Naran Don 
-Marquisate of the Valorous Heart: Levagneus Marquisates ruled by the Merchant Cities-Marquisate of the Sailing Tiger: Tigris 
-Marquisate of the Grey Bear: Faros 
-Marquisate of the Brown Hawk: Citras 
-Marquisate of the Sublime Rose: Nenuconti 
-Marquisate of the Golden Sands: Old Clock 
-Marquisate of the Wise Fox: Oosterloo 
-Independent Marquisate City of Leneas: LeneasFaarowt-aligned Marquisates-Marquisate of the Fair Light: Casidiei 
-Marquisate of the Enlightened Path: Tona Village
-Marquisate of the Grateful Soul: Caohmin
=== Wübubao ===
Wübubao (Elder Orcinian: Wübü Oubao, lit. “Mountain Island”) formerly known as Sunset City, is the largest village of the Marquisate of the Enlightened Path. Wübubao is known for its maritime culture, ties to druidic faiths, and its printing industry.
Wübubao lies on an artificial island in Little Marianne Lake (formerly The Lake of Peace) near the Lake’s northern outlet to Gunter VIII’s River.
First settled by the Paleo-Merfolk culture, the site was abandoned at the start of the Last Hoary Period when the river dried up and the lake was separated from the Sea of Silver Foam for several centuries. The ruins were claimed by and built upon by the Isâni-gu until the city was razed and annexed into the Marquisate of the Silver Lion by Gunter III in The Fires of Dawn. Sunset City was built on the ruins of Wübü Oubao. The city became the capital of the independent Marquisate of the Black Crow during the Fracturing. At the end of the Green Head Uprising, Sunset City and the rest of the Marquisate of the Black Crow were reformed into the new Marquisate of the Enlightened Path with Sunset City being renamed Wübubao and the conclave location was moved to Tona Village.
==== History ====
Wübubao was first settled by paleo-merfolk who migrated from the Sea of Silver foam. Excavations of the old city show stones were used in its construction from as far as the coast of white stones. The site, like many Paleo-Merfolk sites, would be abandoned by the Last Hoary Period, as lowering temperatures dried out the river and cut the site off from the ocean.
By the 22nd century BBE, the Isâni-gu migration had reached the lake, alongside the rest of the modern-day Southern Marquesses. They used the underwater city as the foundation for an artificial island, which became a center for aquatic trade in the region to this day.
In 1211 ABE, Gunter III declared war on it and the other Isâni-gu territories in the south. The Island location let it hold out the most in the conflict because Gunter’s land forces were ill-equipped for Naval combat. After conquering the surrounding regions, Gunter used resentments between the rival Isâni-gu clans to recruit skilled kayakers who gained access to the city and burned it down in one night.
The ruins of Wübü Oubao were used to build Sunset City, whose proximity to both the rest of Giantstep and direct route to the Sea of the Lamb made it the richest trading port in the Marquisate of the Silver Lion. 
By 1430 ABE, the wealth of Sunset City funded much of the uprising that led to the execution of Gunter VII. In the aftermath Marquese Ricardo Areyda as the prime backer of the uprising crowned himself King of The Empire of the Silver Lion and established his court in Sunset City. The coalition immediately broke down into civil war that would last until the signing of the Isolation Edict in 1530 ABE.
Under the Edict, Sunset City was the capital of the Marquisate of the Black Crow. The House of Aryeda, forbidden from intermarrying with other mobility, fell into inbreeding. In 1800 ABE, Jon Aryeda III died without issue and the city and Marquisate fell under the control of a series of puppet monarchs, each in the pocket of various merchant houses.
When the new technology of the printing press made its way to the Marquesttes, the Merchant House of Brown Hawk saw an opportunity. Under Sunset City law, Druids were absolved from taxes. The Brown hawks used their financial leverage to establish a printing house in the city legally as a Druid business. With no taxes, Brown Hawk was free to purchase the books printed at a discounted rate, ship them though the Southern Inner Sea and mark them up overseas for massive profit.
The Brown Hawks were more concerned with gold than the actual content of the books, and since those books were written by actual druids, Sunset City became the center of the Druid Fiction market. “Pence Floppies” and “Wetscrolls” became relatively cheap entertainment across the northern trade routes, and in the absence of formal holy books, these stories served to export druidic values and morality across the world. 
The seeds of the Green Head uprising would spawn from this printing house. When the Great Heat reached the Orange Marquetes, the southern region fell into drought. The Brown Hawks saw an opportunity and built a massive dam of Gunter VII’s river, intending to hoard the lake’s freshwater and sell it to other Marquisates at extreme prices. Outraged by the abuse of the people in the name of money, the printing houses shifted from druidic morality tales to epic stories of revolution against tyrants. The Green Hood is the most popular Wetscroll of this era. The texts were circulated through Sunset City and eventually the rest of the Southern region, becoming fuel for a peasant uprising.
Marques Ayreada X, a full servant of the Brown Hawks, installed a brutal crackdown. Killing thousands of peasants and burning the city’s largest printing house. It was said the lake was died black for a week. The Peasant Groups were unbroken and using the remaining printing presses spread thousands of flyers asking for aid across the known world.
It was the Druids of Faarowt who replied. Inspired by the Druid population in the region, and aghast at the Merchant’s disregard for nature, the Druids invaded the south. The Battle of the Lake of peace is still buried in legend to this day, but at its end, the dam was destroyed, and the city was free.
==== Modern Day ====
Under Druid control, Sunset City was given the native name of Wübubao. In line with Druid philosophy, most of the city was depopulated to local communes and villages, with the capital moved to a rural conclave close to the center of the Marqueset.
The former palace is now home to the Greenhead Press. Publisher of newspapers, periodicals and graphic strips. Most members of the local Conclave are affiliated with the press in some manner, the culture being a mix of the at ties cutthroat combativeness of the old Marques filtered through druidic teachings.
Wübubao being one of the few Druid majority locations on a major trade route has made it a popular pilgrimage site for druids from across the world. In modern times, you can see pamphlets written in Lengi, Waldermarian and even High Voitan scattered through the streets.
== People ==
The chancellor of a sick and weak inbred noble's house, Chancellor Constantine Farvello rose to power in their bureaucracy as one of the few men advising them who were capable of getting results. He has started making political connections with the merchant city faction promising them influence over the affairs of his lord in exchange for their financial and political support. Not one to pick a side until the cards are drawn, Farvello also has amiable relations with the Healthy Noble Houses, placating them with flattery and gifts to appeal to their sense of pride. Farvello's ambitions lies far beyond the minor inbred noble house he is chancellor for and he seeks to take advantage of the conflict between the merchant cities and the Healthy Nobles for his own personal gain. He is currently in the process of acquiring an endorsement from the Healthy Noble Houses for himself taking the role of representative ambassador in (all interest) for his lord (which his weak and inbred lord has agreed to) in all diplomatic or executive matters regarding their dealings with the Healthy Nobles. At the same time he has convinced the merchant cities to invest infrastructure into his lords domain on the condition that he be given custody of the purse strings as representative of the local authority. He seeks to feed the conflict between the Healthy Nobles and the Merchant Cities and play them against each other to his own advantage. Gifted with a silver tongue and a knack diplomacy and stewardship Chancellor Farvello, while currently a simple councillor for an inbred, weak noble house has limitless ambition. His grand plan involves him placing himself as a partial mediator between the Merchant Cities and Healthy Noble houses in their proxy conflicts and reap the rewards until he is powerful enough to make a bolder play. He is patient, ruthless and extremely intelligent.
Category:Nations
Category:Littlestep
Category:Pages in need of revision