Barony of Granholm

**Ruler**
 **Ruling House**
 **Resident Houses**
 **Seat**
 **Settlements**
* Esteredge
* Wildeholt
 **Beliefs**
* Northern Pantheon (secondary)
 **Founded**

The **Barony of Granholm** is the breadbasket of the Duchy of Zollern. The barony is small, but the lands are wisely and strategically used to every little bit possible by the well-respected farmers that tend to the land. The food produced here is not plentiful enough to feed the entire duchy, so it is firstly shipped to the capital, with excess going to places most closely situated to it.

## Culture

Granholm's culture is largely based around farming, scavenging, hunting, and living off the land. Many of it's denizens are considered farmers, hunter-gatherers, and herders or ranchers. The barony is one of, if not the only, good tract of land fertile enough for good crop harvesting. As such, the farmer caste of folk is largely respected throughout the duchy, for it's peoples would not survive as well as they do without the diligent and honest work these folk commit themselves to.

## Economy & Resources

The barony has the most unique resource of all Zollern - crops. Throughout Zollern, most places can only grow 'dry' foodstuffs such as turnips, carrots, and tomatoes. In Granholm, most farmers are devoted to growing grains such as barley and wheat, as well as potatoes. Other crops grown include lettuce, leeks, spinach, and other leafy greens. There used to be an apple orchard, but it has since withered and died. Some of the farmers are considering asking the local druids to help regrow the trees for next years harvest.

## History

### Founding

The Barony of Granholm directly borders the capital of Zollern, and due to it's important role in society, was one of the first places settled and worked upon by early inhabitants of the duchy. It has remained an important part of Zollern, feeding it's hungry citizens and providing a bit of variety to an otherwise mundane diet.[1]

### Recent History

Farmers, bolstered by recent trade agreements made by Lord Hillegas, have begun planting seeds for some crops not typically grown in Granholm, praising nature and committing themselves to the respect of harvest witches. In Esteredge, the denizens therein have begun considering their options on how to re-grow their once-beloved apple orchard, and may send a delegation into the large Densewood Thicket for an appeal to the House of Willow.

## Settlements

### Granholm

Granholm is the capital of the Barony of Granholm, owing to it's namesake. It is the largest town of the barony, home to many granaries and other food storage facilities, as well as several of the largest farms in all of Zollern. The farmers who toil here harvest grains above all else. Wheat and barley are churned into bread and feed and crusts, or cooked into food and shipped off. Excess food not to be kept in stores for winter are given freely to nearby towns of Zollern. The people here are some of the most highly respected of Zollern, and are exempt from military service.

### Esteredge

Esteredge is a northeastern settlement of the Barony of Granholm, and was once home to an apple orchard, a rare oddity in Zollern due to the alpine terrain. It was a source of pride for the people herein, and rumored to have been the product of a harvest witch ritual, a display of the minor and crude form of nature magic they can utilize. However, after the Scourging of Lordaeron, the orchard has since died out. The current residents are attempting to send a delegation of folk into the Densewood Thicket to try and appeal to the great harvest witches of House Willow to revive their orchard so that they may disperse apples throughout Zollern once again.

### Wildeholt

Wildeholt's land is perhaps the most bountiful of Granholm when it comes to produce, aside from dry crops and grains. Berries and leafy greens sprout wondrously throughout it's plots and a decent-sized brush has sprouted from the edge of the forest nearby, upon which the other side resides the town of Greene's Pond. These two towns are closely intertwined in trade. A few burrows and dens of Wildeholt give home to rabbits and other small creatures which are hunted for small game.

### Greene's Pond

Greene's Pond is a settlement founded by Gage Greene years ago. It resides on the other side of a twisting forest with a high canopy and thick brush, and sits next to a large pond, likely having formed from water flowing down from a mountain's peak. The people of Greene's Pond are more akin to hunter-gatherers, often found hunting game from the forest or out picking herbs, spices, and wild berries, then trading across Granholm, especially with the neighboring town of Wildeholt.

## Houses

House Hillegas rules the Barony of Granholm. Burchard, the current head of the House, has yet to appoint an official baron of the land, for he has not found someone he trusts enough to rule over the breadbasket of his duchy without fear of corruption or blackmail. Though House Hillegas' men are more laissez-faire in their ruling style of the barony, a few of Burchard's personal ducal guard can be seen patrolling between towns or posted at the capital city of Granholm. Otherwise, the peoples here are largely expected to live for themselves.

House Greene is a minor family that occupies the town of Greene's Pond. They are but a footnote within the Duchy of Zollern, lower than the status of even that of baron. However, their history is ancient, and their skills of living off the land are not to be ignored. Gage Greene was their founder, and currently Jake Greene heads their family.