County of Valen

**Ruler**
 **Ruling House**
 **Resident Houses**
* House Sarvein-Slade
* House Morton
* House Murchad
 **Seat**
 **Settlements**
* Port Chiswick
* Tycos' Landing
* Freeman's Port
* Sarrasport
* Verdanmere
* Sharpcliffe
* Stillwater
* Sarvisworth
 **Beliefs**
* Faith of the Drowned (47%)
 **Founded**

## Culture

They say hard places breed hard folk, and that is especially true in Valen; being deep within the jungles of Stranglethorn and given its proximity to Kurzen's Camp and Zul'Gurub. The smallfolk of Valen are all taught to fight with sword, spear, or axe - men and women and children alike are taught to defend themselves. The mile-markers within the county are often decorated with Troll skulls, tusks, or even (in the case of watchtowers closer to its jungle borders) the maimed and charred corpses of Trolls.

### Religious Beliefs

While the denizens who live in the inland holdings such as Dracos' Square, Verdamere, and Sarvisworth follow the faith of the Light, those on the coastal holdings keep to the Faith of the Drowned, a much harsher subsect of the Faith of the Tides. Many of the most devout denizens have gone through what they call the "Drowning Baptism", where in which they are drowned in the waters of Snake's Head Bay and come to with the blessing of the "Drowned God" (a humanized iteration of the Loa Gral)

### Local Holidays & Traditions

Every year on the 9th of October, the locals in Red Harbor chum the waters off the docks to make the waters run red, to commemorate the Battle of the Redwater fought during Slade's Rebellion.

For young men and women who wish to join the Iron Guard - a coalition of warriors who are responsible for maintaining the many forts and towers left over after Tycos' Conquest - they are sent to walk along Troll's Bane Road to find and capture a Troll to crucify and cauterize it upon a mile marker post. They will either put up a new mile marker or replace a Troll corpse that is too rotted.

Pilgrim's Bounty is a beloved holiday in Valen - many will gather in Dracos' Square for a huge feast. All are welcome to participate in an evening of communal bonding and feasting.

## Economy & Resources

Valen is one of the key providers of food and ore to the greater Kingdom of Stormwind. Though majority of its farmlands and orchards are in Verdanmere, there are many ranches and farms within the Verdant Valley that produce all manner of crops and fruits. Valen's farms export root vegetables in the winter, and all manner of fruit during the summer, as well as wheat, barley, and hops year-round, though their grain contribution is paled by that of Westfall.

Valen is also highly desirable for its rich mines that harvest silver, gold, and various other rare-earth minerals. The gold and silver smiths of Sarvisworth and Sharpcliffe are highly sought-after by much of the wealthy in Stormwind for not just the qualtiy of their smiths but the natural brilliance of the minerals that come from their mines.

In addition to its rare earth minerals and crop production, Valen's strategic location at the mouth of the Nazferiti River gives it very high potential for trade. Though the sea routes in this area are generally considered dangerous due to the Troll and Horde presence in Stranglethorn, House Slade is determined to create pacts and trade deals with other naval forces to keep these waters safe and establish new trade routes that will bring wealth to Stormwind and Valen.

## History

### Founding

Valen was a parcel of land initially conquered by Tycos Sarvein in 470 K.Y. from the Gurubashi Trolls that held it. As a reward for this valor in battle and initiative to lead the conquest into the Troll lands, Tycos Sarvein was named Baron of Tycos' Landing by the King of Stormwind at the time. However, Tycos would go on to push further east and drive the trolls from their lands. He would go on to establish the baronies of Dracos' Square (named after his then-infant son) and Port Chiswick.

Over the next few generations, the heads of House Sarvein would be renown for their prowess in battle and their singular ferocity (though some may call it cruelty) towards the Trolls. In an effort to show the Trolls that they were a force to be reckoned with, the Sarveins began hanging the charred and maimed corpses of vanquished trolls from their guard towers and mile markers defining their territory within the Trolls' former kingdom. With fire and blood, the Sarveins conquered much of the lands north of Zul'Gurub, near the mouth of the Nazferiti River.

### Corruption

In 603 K.Y., Dacre Sarvein became the Count of Valen after the death of his father. Under Dacre's leadership, the country bled. Things seemed to be well for a time, but eventually Dacre's experimentations with dark magics would come to light after the scourging of Sarrasport in 625 K.Y. The graveyards of Sarrasport were affected by latent magics, the byproduct of some of Dacre's dark experimentations at the Carmine Keep. These magics caused the dead to rise and lumber their way into the port town and wreak havoc.

In the wake of the scourging, Baron Daigan Slade of Sarrasport began to question Dacre's leadership and was rallying several other barons to his cause. Dacre, who had come to learn of the enemies Slade made in his days as an undercover asset for SI:7, sold him out. Daigan Slade was ambushed and presumed dead, but was smuggled to safety by his old crew.

### Slade's Rebellion

In 628 K.Y., a naval force of pirates, privateers, and Kul Tiran navy under the command of Daigan Slade and Sellien Feaster along with assistance from the Count of Coldwake, Finnegan Cayden Quill, would arrive to challenge Dacre's hold over Valen. A rebellious war would break out and for the next year, the shores would run red from the fighting, as Slade's forces fought their way from Pyke's Rest to the Carmine Keep.

The rebellion was incredibly violent - Slade and his allies executed the loyal lords appointed by Dacre as well as any heirs or claimants, placing newly appointed nobles to take the place of the old ones. Dacre's loyalists were butchered by the score and their names burned from records and history - a warning for many of the other lords in the county to question their loyalties to Dacre, and a deterrent for any future rebellions against Slade.

By February of 629 K.Y., Daigan stormed the Carmine Keep and captured Dacre and the rest of his family. A subsequent trial condemned Dacre to death and his siblings were given clemency. Dacre and those who remained loyal to him were burned alive and Daigan ordered Carmine Keep to be demolished and built his new seat of power - Serpent's Rock.

After liberating Valen from the tyranny of Dacre, Slade married Lady Talissa - cementing his claim as Count of Valen - and gifted baronies to the houses who were loyal to him during the rebellion.

## Settlements

### Red Harbor

Currently held by House O'Reeves. Red Harbor got its name from the red in Snake's Head Bay after Tycos Sarvein first conquered the lands that Red Harbor stands upon from the local Trolls. Red Harbor is one of 3 key trade ports in Valen, the other two being Tycos' Landing and Port Chiswick.

### Port Chiswick

Currently held by House O'Reeves. Port Chiswick faces the ruins of the Temple of the Drowned Loa - the Troll altar to Gral was destroyed by Tycos in 480 K.Y., and was repurposed as a holy site for the Faith of the Drowned God in 483 K.Y.

### Tycos' Landing

Currently held by House Dustyn. Tycos' Landing is a site of historical prominence for Valen, with a marble statue of Tycos Sarvein in the town's square. Tycos' Landing also contains the headquarters of the Iron Guard, and is one of three key trade ports in Valen.

### Freeman's Port

Freeman's Port is a unique barony in that there is not one single lord over it. Though House Dustyn and House Slade are responsible for securing its safety and overseeing it, the smallfolk of Freeman's Port elect their own mayor and value their independence.

### Sarrasport

Currently held by House Murchad and is the main trade port between Valen and the other Stormwind holdings further up the Nazferiti River. Upon conquering Valen, Slade ordered a gilded statue of his first love, Lady Sarra Rivers, constructed in the town square. "The Lady of the River", the smallfolk call her, and the statue stares longingly in the direction of Serpent's Rock.

### Verdanmere

Currently held by House Morton, and is the primary contributor to Valen's harvest.

### Sharpcliffe

Currently held by House Sarvein, and is the largest gold mine in the region. First operational in 582 K.Y., it is one of the greatest contributors to Valen's wealth.

### Stillwater

Currently held by House Dalton, Stillwater is largely an outpost-turned-town. The folk who live here are marsh-dwellers and excellent hunters. Many of the Iron Guard are trained in the art of hunting and killing Trolls right here in Stillwater.

### Sarvisworth

Currently held by House Dalton, Sarvisworth is the center of silver and rare gem mining in Valen.

### Pyke's Rest

Currently held by House Feaster, Pyke's rest is a fortified keep and the first stopping point for many of the trade vessels and other ships seeking to pass through Valen.

## Points of Interest

### Tycos' Gift

Ruins of a Troll temple wherein hangs many charred and mutilated corpses of Trolls - an eternal reminder of the ferocity and strength of the humans who claimed these lands from them. It serves as a glowing reminder to the Gurubashi Trolls that they better keep to their side of the jungle, lest they earn another one of Tycos' gifts.

### Troll's Bane Road

The northernmost road leading out of the county, there are roughly 50 mile markers along this north road of crucified Troll corpses - a show of power to any Troll reavers who may think to push too far into Valen. All of these hanging bodies are relatively fresh, as each Iron Guard must place a new mile marker or procure a more fresh specimen for the road as part of their initiation.

## Houses

* House Feaster
* House Sarvein
* House Morton
* House Illyn
* House Dustyn
* House Murchad
* House O'Reeves
* House Dalton