Mordehall

### Crest

A black spear crossed with a black paintbrush atop a golden background, with 4 silver rings.Gold for the wealth of Mordehall and the light of Yaerrin. Black for the night and the Lady of Shadow. The paintbrush for beauty and the spear for honor. One ring for each county, silver for strength.

### Population

8 million

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As Toalla is to trade and Roadon is to war so is Mordehall to art and study. The world’s greatest poets, painters, and scholars are all children of Mordehall. Every city and most towns have a college devoted to the many studies of lore. Many great strides in magic and the written word have left the country. The people take great pride in this. Even many farmers know how to read. The kingdom was founded on the principles of education and art and true to that they have stayed. However all is not equal in Mordehall where aristocracy is alive and well. The kingdom is ruled over by a kaiser of the family line Von Dorwitz. The kaiser is supported by a class of lords and ladies who hold control over local lands. There have been many conflicts in the past and present between the nobility and the Von Dorwitz line. The nobility seek for more power and the Kaiser seeks to hold them. Rarely has it led to bloodshed. Conflicts are resolved in the trading of land, art, and wealth. Mordehall is the home of the oldest government in Var’Tareen. It is yet to fall even with the tensions between the two groups of leaders. In the late months of AeP 446 these tensions began to translate into actions which included a small battle outside Pruzer and the assassination of Lord Gavin Bellest.

## Major Locations

Mordehall is split into four Counties, each controlled by a count. The most Northern of these counties is Tasserich. The other counties are Quarinov, Es'Resson, and Pellisberg.

### Dorlon

Dorlon the capital city, is constructed of two parts. Sitting on a great cliffside the city is split in the middle. On top of the cliff is the royal ward and home to the aristocracy. Grand marble buildings that are part of the government line the wide roads. Manors and walled complexes are home to lords and ladies. Elegant shops for jewelry, old books, and collectible art are found in plenty. In the center of it all is the royal palace. It is a stone building with many facades and statues of gold. But even more elegant than the palace is Dorlon University. A complex of nine buildings each one unique and built by The Order of Earthen Smiths. Not only is it a beautiful sight but it is also the best learning institution in all Var’Tareen. The Lower Ward is accessible by two giant metal staircases on the face of the cliff. Here the streets are tighter and the buildings smaller. But it is still Mordehall. Art galleries and book stores fill the ward. They say if you need something made, Dorlon is the place to go. The city is in the county of Es'Resson.

### Cape Red

Cape Red lies at the end of the Narin Peninsula in the county of Pellisberg. It is named for the red algal blooms that occur in the bay biannually. Cape Red is the home to most of Mordehall’s fleet as well as many private vessels belonging to lords and merchants. It is also home to a great magic school.

### Port Thresthelm

A map showing the neighborhoods and major locations of Port Thresthelm

Port Thresthelm, located as it is behind the island of Stormclaw is a safe and calm port. The port is a bustling center of trade and it lies on the site of an ancient human encampment. One used during the War of Ascendance but that humans were eventually forced to leave. It’s school is known for being the best for writers and historians. It is in the county of Quarinov.

Port Thresthelm is also a critical waystop for trade between eastern Carufell and southern Mordehall. Its proximity to the north gives it a steady supply of Northern Pine and a thriving carufellan community. During his tenure as head of the Kaiser’s Shipyards, Lord Gavin Bellest used Northern Pine to develop dangerous new ships.

### Pruzer

Pruzer is a city in the county of Tasserich. It is the artistic center of Mordehall. Most Mordish fashion trends originate from this city. Nearby Pruzer are mines rich with silver, gold, and gemstones. The city is also known for its university and its incredible cathedral to Ghuramor. But even with its splendor, unrest simmers in Pruzer. It is a center for the Mordish Birding Society.

Miirshire is a town travel East of Pruzer. On Mortus 4th, AeP 446 it was the site of a battle between a group of miners fighting alongside members of the Mordish Birding Society and about twenty Mordish soldiers.

## Culture

### Nobility

Mordehall has a highly structured and complex nobility hierarchy. At its most basic are three types of minor lords. Lords can only be appointed from the ranks of civilians by the Kaiser. The only other way to become noble is to be born into a noble landholding family. These families can sponsor people including artists, scholars, and bureaucrats. Most young people looking to get into art, academia, or politics must find a sponsor or else they will not be taken seriously by others or have funding. If the noble sponsor is particularly pleased they may be presented to the Kaiser for possible lordship. Being a lord or lady grants certain privileges not afforded to the rest of the populous. Should the Kaiser accept the plea for nobility they will be granted a ring and a scroll. Artists get gold rings and the title Lord Artist, scholars get iron rings and the title Lord Professor or Lord Scholar, and others get silver rings and the title Minor Noble. Henrus Kline was a Lord Professor and Lord Keel was a Minor Noble. One of the ways the Kaiser controls the noble families is by carefully choosing whom to grant nobility. Another way the Kaiser controls the nobility is by levying heavy taxes on militias and limiting the number of soldiers a lord can keep. Favored houses and individuals are allowed to ignore these rules and taxes. As a result, many nobles keep a primary bodyguard or champion. This one individual is often someone of extremely high skill. Nobles are often judged based on their champion. Though the Curator was not a lord, he had a champion named Skua. However he was rich enough that no one found this odd.

### Hereditary Titles

The hierarchy of nobility is

* Kaiser
* Count (4 counties)
* Viscount (3 Vicounties per County)
* Duke (3 Duchies per Vicounty)
* Earl (4 Fiefdoms per Duchy)
* Lord (varied lords per Fiefdom, a Lord controls one town)

These titles are hereditary and gender-neutral. It is up to the noble to decide which of their descendents inherits the title.
The Kaiser appoints a Viceroy to rule a city.

### Iron Tempest Commandos

Neither kaisers nor lords in Mordehall keep a large army. By law the lords can only have small militias no more than one hundred and fifty soldiers for even the most powerful among them. The monarchy of Mordehall keeps a small army by choice. Most citizens have no wish to serve in the army preferring pursuits of the mind over those of the body. Most of those that do, the Mordish regulars, are mediocre soldiers at best. No match for Roadon or Toalla. But Mordehall’s greatest asset is not it’s art or history. It is a group of one thousand soldiers called The Iron Tempest Commandos. Operating in groups of four these soldiers in white cloaks are the best in the world. They train from the age of seven to be masters with blades, magic, and deception. Operating in secret they are undercover in every country poised for assassinations, sabotage, or simple reconnaissance. Their loyalty lies solely in the kaiser and a few selected generals. Mordehall makes the promise that should any wrong be done on their country, The Iron Tempest Commandos will make sure to punish whoever is at fault.

### Cuisine

There is a stark difference between the meals of the aristocrats and the meals of the laborers. In Mordish High Society, every meal comes in many courses. Each course is meant to highlight one ingredient of the dish. Both high and low class cuisine is influenced by the region of Mordehall. In the Northern counties, they grow corn, tomatoes, barley, squash, apples, and root vegetables. They raise goats, sheep, and pigs. In the South they grow rice, olives, citrus fruit, and grapes. Farm animals there include pigs and poultry. In Pellisberg and Quarinov they eat lots of ocean fish and shellfish. In Tasserich they trade with Toallans and eat Toallan foods. In Es’Resson, the cuisine is a blending of all counties. Mordish cities also have a tradition of wine and tea houses. These cafes serve pastries and small dishes along with imported tea and Mordish wine. Es’Resson is known for its rich red wines. Pellisberg is known for its whites. The most prestigious white wine in the world comes from the Count’s own vineyard and is labeled as Three Dolphins Wine. In the North they make a corn and barley whiskey, much stronger than the wine. The best whiskey is called hillside and is grown and distilled on the slopes of the Spiked Peaks.

Mordish breakfast for high-class citizens is usually bread with savory jam or sugar glazed fruit. For common folk breakfast is usually porridge often with fruit or vegetables added. Lunch is often cheese, more bread, and dry sausage or roasted vegetables. In summer and fall, working class people will eat this all together separate or baked into a pie. In winter and spring, lunch is often served as a stew with barley in the north, or broth over rice in the south. Dinner is the meal that varies most by region. However in high society, the formula is the same. The first course is cheese and bread. The second course is a light broth. The third course is something heavy like bread, usually a rice dish in the South or pasta in the North. This dish is accompanied by a meat or fish sauce. The fourth course is a vegetable dish. Often only one vegetable, lightly spiced, served in a fashionable way. The final course is desert which is often cookies, cake, or a fruit pie. Lower class meals tend to be only the third and fourth course. However these meals are combined so the vegetables are cooked into the sauce.

### Mordish Birding Society

Not all in Mordehall are happy with the rule of the Kaiser. Many have noted the inequality between the peasantry and nobility. Many lords too are unhappy. They resent the Kaiser’s absolute rule. The result is an alliance between these groups and a secret society working to establish a Republic. Lord Keel and Janie Kerias were both members of this group. They went to the Southern Isles to recover human enchantment rituals. Keel felt this was their only chance of beating the Tempest Commandos. Their home was in Pruzer but many in the other counties were also involved in the Society. The Society was generally weak in Port Thresthelm, however they still pulled off a successful assasination of Lord Gavin Bellest.

### Death

Mordehall remembers it’s dead in a number of ways. This is primarily done by artists creating great paintings or statues of people they respect, or authors writing long biographies. Additionally the Kaiser promoting people to the rank of Minor Noble, is considered a way to remember people. It is occasionally done posthumously. Poorer families will commision a poem to be written about their dead relatives. Finally those who Mordehall feels deserves the most remembrance will have university wings named after them.

### Miscellaneous

The Mordish people revere the god Yaerrin for his scholarly teachings. Many of his order are from this country. But the lords revere Selviir. Her deception, secrets, and vigilance form the basis of the noble society in Mordehall.

## Events

AeP 446 brought the outbreak of the Mordish Civil War.

In AeP 446 the Mordish Birding Society was active and trying to form a Mordish Republic. Under Lord Keel they launched an expedition from Cape Red, and returned with artifacts to Pruzer.

* For more detail see Silver Mists and Bloody Tides

In Mortus of AeP 446 a group of people working for the County of Pellisberg stole parts of those same rituals. A group of Society members were dispatched to find the thief. In the end they recovered the notes in Miirshire. The Kaiser also sent an operative after the rituals. She was eventually killed in a small battle with a group of miners. This was the start of a rebellion.

* For more detail see A Thief Among Traitors

In Ghurumus of AeP 447 the Mordish Birding Society executed a series of assassinations. The targets were key allies of the Kaiser. One such person was Lord Gavin Bellest, head of the Crown Shipyards in Port Thresthelm. Organized by J’Kar Burin and carried through by Daxian, Alekiai, Willa, Jorso, and Ricard, Bellest was killed in the streets and his workshop destroyed.

* For more detail see One Crime at a Time

## People from Mordehall

Sylvie was a student of magic in Cape Red and later a member of the Mordish Birding Society. Art by Nebula Robo (https://nebularobo.weebly.com/)

### Nobility

* The Young Kaiser: In AeP 446 Grand General Prasus Ka of Roadon called the Kaiser "young and reckless"
* Count Inzo Loriana of Tasserich
* Count Penelope Shevenor of Quarinov
* Lord Gavin Bellest, Third Lord of Valrest and Royal Shipmaster
* Lord Petro Calvi of Miirshire
* Lord Professor Henrus Kline
* Lord Professor Janie Kerias
* Lord Minor Emilio Kent / Lord Keel

### Others

* Chrysanthemum
* Deryl Dunderheim
* Doc McPriam
* Feerik
* Genna
* Melar Peterson
* Palo
* Sylvie
* Tiihbid
* Weyland Pharus
* Woman in the Suit

## Craftsmanship

Mordehall is known for the exemplary skill of it’s smiths. The techniques perfected here for forging armor and weapons is passed down from Ghuramor himself. The blades, and armor are not only stronger than most normal weapons they are beautiful and elegant. Not every smith in this country has the ability to do this but still the smiths are known for the Mordish Make.

## List of Known Mordish Universities

* Cape Red University: Know as one of the best magical schools in the world. However as the chief school of a major city all fields were taught here.
* Dockside College in Port Thresthelm
* Dri'Farin School of Botany and Physical Sciences
* East Pruzer Numbers College
* Elmsville College of Arts and Aristocracy
* Inlet Academy of Unamancy and other Magics
* Lord Safron's College of Gentlemanly Arts
* Port Thresthelm University
* University of Pruzer

## List of Appearances

**Campaigns**

1. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 1: Blood Tide
2. Silver Mists and Bloody Tides Session 8: The Fury of the Isles
3. A Thief Among Traitors Session One: Nest
4. A Thief Among Traitors Session Two: Migration
5. The Hunters’ Codex: Draining Spiders
6. A Thief Among Traitors Session Three: Prey
7. A Thief Among Traitors Session Four: Territory
8. One Crime at a Time Session One: A Storm is Coming
9. One Crime at a Time Session Two: Revelations
10. One Crime at a Time Session Three: Honor Among Thieves
11. One Crime at a Time Session Four: Rat in the Trap

**Supplemental**

1. Cults of the North Supplemental Documents: Tlaloc's Backstory
2. Cults of the North Supplemental Documents: Ellenora's Backstory
3. SMBT Supplemental: Lord Keel’s Letter
4. ATAT Supplemental: The Boy
5. ATAT Supplemental: Epilogue- Loose Ends
6. OCaaT Supplemental: Alekiai’s Reflections- Night One
7. OCaaT Supplemental: Alekiai’s Reflections- The Tavern with the Blue Door
8. OCaaT Supplemental: Count Shevenor’s Note