Dominion of Carrick

## Carrick

The flag of Carrick. The green represents nature and the forest, while the colour gold represents aristocratic power and grace. The double-barred cross is an old anti-Imperial symbol, representing a broken sceptre, that now symbolises liberty and freedom.

The Dominion of Carrick is a small nation located between the Purple Sea and the Great Western Ocean. Home to some 800,000 souls, Carrick is not a heavily populated land, with no great cities or mighty castles, just miles and miles of meadows, forests and marshlands punctuated by an occasional castle or village. "Carrick" is an ancient word for "stones" and is used to refer to the whole peninsula west of Crow Castle, giving its name to both the realm and the people dwelling there. In modern ages, "the Carrick" is usually used to refer to the peninsula, while "Carrick" means the realm. In the past, when the Carrick was part of the Empire or Birchland, the two terms were used interchangeably.

According to the bards of Carrick, the people of the Carrick lived free in forest and field before they were conquered in ancient times by the legions of the True Empire. When the True Empire collapsed, Carrick was part of the lands that fell under the Purple Emperor, whose rule continued uninterrupted for centuries. As the Empire began to disintegrate, the lords of Carrick sent representatives to the Covenant of the Birch, and swore the sacred oath to raise the swords against the Imperial garrisons. The war was long and bloody, and many times the forces of the Covenant faced defeat, but the flame of freedom was always rekindled whenever the Purple Emperors faced a military or economic setback. Eventually, the Purple Empire´s forces withdrew from the contested territory, leaving only a few strategic garrisons under the Emperor´s rule, one of which was the port-fortress of Targath on the northwestern tip of the Carrick peninsula. With the Imperial forces gone, the Covenanting Lords set up a new realm - the Lands of the Covenant of the Birch, or more crudely, Birchland.

At first Carrick was the westernmost region of the newly established Principality of Birchland. The military and spiritual leaders of the Carrick people were recognised for their role in the Covenant, and were granted titles as Barons and Thanes under the Prince. But as years continued, the people of the Carrick began to feel that their freedom was still not truly won. The new Principality still retained much Imperial law, the Prince had little regard to the needs of what was considered a bucolic backwater of his realm, and nothing meaningful was done to protect the the Carrick´s coasts from Imperial pirates. Carrick, with few large towns and little industry beyond forestry and fishing, rendered few tithes to the Princes and as such did not merit much of their attention. More than a hundred years after the establishment of the Principality, the lords of Carrick came together to proclaim that their realm would no longer acknowledge the Prince. Another war brewed up, but the Princes proved no more able to yoke Carrick than the Emperors had, and eventually a treaty was signed at Crow Castle conceding the independence of the Carrick.

The lords of the Carrick refused to appoint one of their number as Prince, for fear of creating a new tyranny, so they instead agree to meet twice a year in a noble council, known as the Ferkeowar, to decide on the great matters of the Realm. When the Ferkeowar does not sit, the lords govern themselves. A few times in the past the Ferkeowar has appointed a lord or lords with a special title, that of "Lord Protector". The Lord Protector has the right to command the whole realm, usually with the goal to resolve a temporary crisis such as a war, a famine or some other disaster. There have not been many Lords Protector - the last was chosen fifteen years ago after a series of pirate raids along the south coast - and they are expected to stand down once the crisis has passed, which so far none have failed to do. Sometimes a Lord or even a commoner may be charged by the Ferkeowar with a special personal task, usually involving communicating with a foreign realm, but this authority is very limited and always explicitly temporary. The Lords of Birchland often remark that Carrick is not really governed, although Carrick folk do not necessarily take this as an insult. Just as it has no permanent ruler, Carrick has no standing army beyond a single company of guards, recruited from the town militia of Greathaven, whose job it is to guard the Ferkeowar while it meets. Lords Protector can usually assemble significant armies by recruiting from lordly retainers, town militias and the common folk of the forest and fens, whose skill with hunting spear and bow make them respected warriors. Similarly, there is no standing navy, but many able seamen and stout vessels can be recruited when there is a need.

The people of Carrick are fiercely independent, valuing a lifestyle based on nature and the land. Most folk are foresters, farmers or fisherfolk, although many practice crafts such as potion brewing, carpentry or stonework. They usually govern themselves through local councils of elders, and are mostly left alone by the nobles of the realm, who collect little tribute and live relatively simple lives - the castles and courts of Carrick are modest indeed compared to those of Birchland, let alone the Purple Emperor. Carrick folk traditionally wield spears and bows in battle and tend to wear light armour, the better to move unhindered through thick forest and bush.

Bound by sea on three sides, the lands of the Carrick are known for rain, fog and mist. The Carrick is mostly low-lying, although there are stony hills in the centre of the country and some of the sub-peninsulas. Much of the land is cloaked in thick temperate rainforests where dark-barked trees with thick, glossy leaves stand over shady undergrowth of springy ferns and mossbeds. The most common tree is the Carrick hemlock, a hardy tree known for its dark wood, its twisting, almost snake-like branches, and its reputation for snagging woodsmen´s axes. Carrick is largely a flat land, so the boundary between sea and soil is a gradual one. The coasts of Carrick are studded with saltwater fens, lagoons, estuaries and marshes. These treacherous shallows are fiendishly difficult for large cargo ships to approach, although small coracles and dinghies can slip through easily enough. The few open plains of Carrick, such as the High Meadows or the Pikestaff Plain, are scattered with small stands of marshland and forest.

There are only two towns of any real size in the Dominion - Port Carrick, the largest settlement, and Greathaven, the capital city where the Ferkeowarl meets. Most of the other settlements are small towns, villages or castles, such as Starry Woad, Three Moon Bay, Black Hedge, Clay´s Crossing, Diamond Harbour and Crow Castle.

The Dominion is bordered to the northeast by the Principality of Birchland and to the northwest by the Purple Emperor´s enclave around Targath. It is surrounded on three sides by sea - to the north is the Purple Sea, studded with small islands and beyond which shimmers the decadent citadel of the Purple Emperor. To the west is the Great Western Ocean, a trackless waste of salt water which is believed to go on forever. To the south is the Great Bay, another vast bay beyond which are said to lie unknown lands where strange tongues are spoken and stranger beings walk the streets of twisted towns.