Elkmarch

*"I am, admittedly, not a very brave man. The spectacle of these fearsome and rugged hunters dressed in beastskins and antlered masks of anger, whooping and howling as they wildly dance about in leaps and bounds, bells clanging with every step as they scamper through the darkened forests... Well, let's just say I'm very glad that I have a horn of smoky and sharp Hardoaks whiskey to grant me some courage."*
―*A Taste of Home: The Cuisine of the Small Country*, written by Gilug Mereside of the Order of Chroniclers
The Kingdom of **Elkmarch** was an Oakfoot (later Bluefoot) halfling kingdom in the northeastern Small Country known for its dense forests and multiple conflicts against the County of Uelaire.

## History

Elkmarch was the eastern frontier of the Gnomish Hierarchy through which trade and war with Castanor passed through over land. At this time, Elkmarch stretched eastward to meet the Dameshead, including the lands that would become Uelaire, then called Minsford. In the aftermath of the Dragonwake, gnomish administrators and soldiers retreated to the Dragon Coast, leaving the local halflings to fend for themselves against the invading Alenics. They would join the nascent Small Kingdom soon after its founding in 478.

The War of the Sorcerer-King saw Elkmarch's northern neighbor Gawed taken by Castanor with a puppet state established in the Vertesk Dominion. Preemptively, Lorent extended a protectorate over the Small Country, Elkmarch included. Nevertheless, Castanorian forces invaded, taking the northern fort of the Approach. Elkmarch would largely remain under occupation during the war, its halfling residents largely abandoning Minsford for the safety of the forests, where they would achieve victory against Castanor in the Battle of Hardoaks. Damerian forces under the command of Eustace síl Uelaire would liberate the eastern coast for the League of Free Realms, only to remain occupying the lands following the end of the invasion in 1007.

The Treaty of Anbenncóst guaranteed Elkmarch's independence but also recognized that of Uelaire. Incensed, Sybille Locke declared war to reclaim what was perceived as rightful Oakfoot lands. Uelaire defeated them, yet the claims remained; the conflict between Elkmarch and Uelaire simmered on and off for many decades as low-intensity guerilla war, leading in part to the increased paranoia of the Uelairey.

Elkmarch was later annexed by Gawed, and the local Oakfoot culture blended with those of the other northern halfling vassals to form the Bluefoot culture. In the mid-1500s the inhabitants would participate in the Small Country Rebellion and join the Small Country, with Elkmarch's irredentism lending claims to the lands of Uelaire.

## Culture

The halflings of Elkmarch, unlike most of the Small Country, have not quite abandoned their archaic roots and retain many customs lost elsewhere. Unlike the largely-deforested hills and field beyond their borders, Elkmarch maintains strict forest codes to prevent wood shortages, a law dating back to the 600s.

This preservation of the forest also allows them to maintain their hunting traditions; it should then be no surprise that Falah is revered in Elkmarch and that it contains her largest temple west of the Dameshead. Falahite clergy has traditionally served as a unifying force in the region, bringing a sense of community and unity to the populace even when the new Corinite and Ravelian faiths emerged.

A holiday unique to the Elkmarchers is the Woodrunner Chase: at the end of the year, unmarried halfling rangers across Elkmarch dress in elkskin garments, horned masks and large bells, parading across the villages and dancing until the dawn. There are many legends of this peculiar tradition's origin: some say it originates from the Dragonwake when halflings dressed as forest monsters to scare away Alenic invaders fleeing from Lencenor, while according to others they're scaring away evil spirits or the Winter itself.