Craincrath

A country virtually covered in forest much like Fornland, Craincath has the unfortunate luck of bordering Clan Geirfreki to the north. In the past, much of Craincrath’s military resources were spent in defending its northern borders. However in the past seven years, the military has become divided into two separate factions, and patrols along the border have lessened, as they have been pulled into internal conflicts between the King and his brother.

Like Morthir, the soldiers of Craincath are trained in small units, learning the tactics of guerilla warfare rather than large scale battles that can be utilized in the open fields of the central Empire. Craincrath heavily relies on trade with its southern neighbors for much of its food, as only so many trees can be removed to create usable farmland. Craincrath lumber however can be seen used in buildings as far south as Ankeadtir.

Dreki ruins can be found scattered throughout the forests of Craincrath, which often have become home to small towns and villages. The capital city of Deiremore was initially founded on old Dreki ruins off the side of the High Road.

In October of 427, one fateful night on her trip home from the second major city of Craincrath, Culthair, the carriage carrying the Queen of Craincrath,and her two daughters, were ambushed in the middle of the night by unknown assailants. Soldiers that discovered the wreckage the following morning describe it as one of the most brutal and messed up murders that they had ever seen. Among the bodies however, the young Princess of Craincath was not to be found. For days, search efforts were held but turned up nothing. The Princess was presumed dead.

King Tiernan’s response could be described simply as...appropriate. With the help of his advisor, Éibhear, the King launched an investigation into the matter and put pressure on the Fornish border, for the Fornish became an easy scapegoat for the attacks. It is unsure if the Fornish were the ones to commit the crime however.

Two years later, the King’s brother, Eoin, made a bid for power of the throne. The claim being that King Tiernan was no longer emotionally capable of ruling the country and no heir to take the throne should he pass away, while he himself did have two younger daughters. A year later King Tiernan married a Princess of Kuenbeg. Princess Aine and her younger sister Fiadh moved up to the north from Siarisfair that year, and two years later was pregnant with their first child.

In February of 432, luck would have it that two mysterious girls would appear on the footsteps of the Deiremore palace. The bells rang through the city with a proclamation: The Lost Princess hath returned!  While the citizens of Craincrath rejoiced that the supposedly deceased Princess was in fact alive, King Tiernan and Queen Aine seemed less than joyous. Especially Queen Aine, as now her two year old son held no claim to the throne. Doubtful at first that the black and silver haired girl standing before him was indeed his lost daughter Caoimhe, King Tiernan would test his daughter to ensure her true identity. Her tales of growing up with a Fornish family seemed all too convenient, and now with her she brought her  guardian “sister”. Caoimhe passed the trials and was officially redeclared as Craincrath’s heir apparent. One year later she would be sent to Portashan’s Cennaire Academy. She however refused to attend if her sister Bryndis was not allowed to enroll either. An exception was made, for the house professor of the Verdant Wolves was very accommodating and had an ear with the High Priestess herself.

Not one for defeat, with their own mysterious and unknown warlock advisor, Eoin has been sowing the seeds of discontent from their seat in Culcathir, pulling loyalties from various generals. Tensions have risen in the past several months as civil war between the east and west of Craincrath seems all but inevitable.

Though Craincrath is ruled through a monarchy, many notable and prominent houses are left in charge of some form of governing. With the political divide between the two royal brothers, these houses have become split in their loyalties. A line is drawn near perfectly down the center of the country. Those houses in the west pledge their loyalty to King Tiernan, those in the east to Prince Eoin.