Greater Morley

Ironically both the vampire and mortal capital of Old Scarlet. Of the counties it is probably the most temperate land within Old Scarlet with many villages dotting the landscape and some surprisingly viable farmland still worked for what sustenance it can bring the mortal proportion of the populace.

The main fixture of Greater Morley is the city of Morcourt that surrounds Castle Morley itself, though the surprisingly well managed Barony of Ansbhuel would be a tempting prospect for any invader with its rich material deposits.

## Morcourt

Home to Countess Erika Morley, Morcourt is defined primarily by the city of the same name. Here dwell the majority of the county’s vampires, living decadently and holding court in something of a bizarre ignorance of their declined nation. The city itself is mostly slums with an inner ring of strikingly well maintained and decorated noble districts that, even within itself, is a mere façade for the rot that festers within.

### Demographics

Greater Morley has the largest population of mortals, primarily humans, of all Scarlet Counties with the formerly enslaved mortal chattel now questionably emancipated as per Countess Erika’s decree. Of course, the reality is that this had more to do with Morley’s inability to maintain such measures and almost nothing to do with genuine good nature.

   Second to these humans by a large margin are the vampiric aristocracy, living either among the noble districts of City Morcourt or in their own castles out in the countryside. Dhampir, once outcast by both human and vampire, have found a new role by necessity as ideal soldiers, enforcers and retainers among their vampiric progenitors.

Other intelligent undead are few and far between with most unable to put up with the snobbish superiority of the vampiric aristocracy and moving to Shelburgh County to congregate with their own kind. Mindless undead roam here just as they do throughout Old Scarlet, either feral and dangerous in the wilderness or carrying out the last task they were given before the collapse. Many clever and enterprising mortals have even found ways to make use of these cadaverous servants by carefully repairing the farms upon which they work and taking advantage of the free labour.

### Law, Crime and Punishment

Law in Morcourt, and in Greater Morley at large, is very much a one-way affair. Crimes against a vampire or their belongings are punished harshly and swiftly while the common folk are left mostly to dispense justice among themselves. Every so often the aristocracy will descend from their districts to make examples of loud, unruly mortals, but only to keep the rest of them in line while reminding the rest just how good they have it now that they aren’t kept in chains and pens.

Magic and other such supernatural powers are considered by law to be the purview of the vampiric aristocracy and, as such, openly practicing it without express permission and favour of the Morley family is punishable by death. The enforcement of this rule wanes significantly outside of the city itself, most witches and other mortal practitioners of the magical arts finding that they need only exercise a modicum of caution, even less if they're actively useful to their communities.

### Military

A lot of the attention and resources that could be spent on better infrastructure and conditions throughout the county look to have been employed in service to the standing forces under Morley control, though not without reason.

The most basic troops are those raised via levy from the peasantry, forced to serve out of necessity though woefully under equipped. It was noting this sad fact that lead to the creation of the 'Morcourt Wight', a derivative of the common wight more suited to military service. These creatures now fill the majority of ranks and receive most of the funding necessary to make them a considerable threat. So great was their success that more elite wights were conceived, leading to the formation of the elite retainers of the Wightguard.

Beyond these troops the use of unintelligent undead and necromancy are common for further bolstering their forces or just as shock troops in certain tactical considerations. Vampires themselves often occupy officer and command roles, usually out of nepotism though a level of military and tactical training is now required thank to various reforms.

#### The Wightguard

   While officially an elite arm of the military, the Wightguard are more aptly the personal retainers of the Morley family of vampires and serve near exclusively their interests and the interests of those aligned with them. This, at least for now, extends to most vampiric nobility within Morcourt. The Wightguard are made of sterner stuff, literally, using a rigorous selection process to determine which warm bodies are suitably for creating a superior wight.

Once created they are trained via a variety of drills and mental warping to ensure both absolute loyalty and martial competency. So highly are they thought of that some training in the profane arts is permitted, granting them the power to strike down their masters' foes with unholy fervour and zeal. This elite force is made use of extensively within and around the central district and even more so in the Morley estate at the city's heart where they serve as guards, bodyguards and enforcers.

### Diplomacy

Countess Erika’s ambition is to restore the original vision of Old Scarlet, minus some of the more backwards policies, and strike out further to cement the Morley name in history. This, of course, requires the defeat of Lord Isaak’s and the forces of Bleak Spire before she can even move on to addressing Bittermarch and Shelburgh County.

Officially Erika still considers Shelburgh to be part of her domain, though this claim is hardly enforceable and Greater Morley mostly just ignores them.

The necromancers of Bittermarch do maintain some basic relations, often plying their services in exchange for materials or components. This may not last however as the repeated poaching of mortal life from Greater Morley, as well as the occasional grave robbing, is grating on the patience of both the aristocracy and the living peasantry both.

## The Barony of Ansbhuel

Once a successful industrial powerhouse due to their multitude of mining operations, Ansbhuel (pronounced Ans-vool) has since fallen to poverty on account of dried-up resources and the unrest which also tore apart the rest of the  kingdom. This poverty begot desperate measures, even by the standards of Old Scarlet. The nobility, primarily the widowed Baroness Gael Cridhe, turned their already prolific magical talents from the traditional necromantic pursuits to diabolism, summoning and bargaining with the forces of Hell for the renewed prosperity of their lands. Ever since the land has slowly returned to stability and prosperity, but at great and frequently unspoken costs. What was once a fairly standard community (or as standard as a community of career necromancers can be) has grown gradually more  insular, obsessive, and cultish- the majority of the common folk see the boons brought by the nobility and clergy as all that keeps food on their tables and wild undead out of their walls, and thusly treat their leaders and hellish benefactors with ever more fervent adoration and worship with each passing day.

The mountainous region is once more home to successful mining operations- caves once thought bereft of ore and gems seem to simply sprout new veins as if they were mosses, allowing the locals to revitalize their industries by clearing the caves of beasts and undead who have come to inhabit them.

### Demographics

Natives are largely normal mortals, primarily humans and dwarves due to the rugged and mountainous environment. Since the shift towards accepting diabolism many natives have developed some degree of devilish features, whether due to inter-breeding or the results of hellish bargains and curses. Tieflings and similarly tainted creatures are openly accepted, though such inhuman features are often obscured in the presence of outlanders to avoid complication in the case of those less understanding visitors. Most residents are native-born, as outsiders are generally treated with suspicion or even outright hostility. Resettling into the lands of Ansbhuel practically requires marrying into an established family and converting to their faith, lest one wishes to be treated as a traitor, heretic or spy for the rest of their lives. As for the non-living inhabitants, necromancy is as common within Ansbhuel as in any other region of Old Scarlet, and wild undead are prolific in the expansive mountainous forests and caves of their land. The creation of undead from animals and outsiders is considered the same as any other mundane craft, but the creation of undead from the bodies of natives requires their approval- something quite commonly given as the legal system of Ansbhuel considers one's eventual corpse no different from another belonging where buying, selling, and loaning are concerned. Most natives worship the various Archdukes of hell, primarily Mammon, the lord of their Baroness, Gael Cridhe. While it is an open secret this worship is at times only lip-service as very few individuals would be foolish enough to openly deny the church of Hell.

### Law, Crime, and Punishment

Law within Ansbhuel is based entirely on arbitration by the church and nobility- who have rather extreme overlap at this point, all nobles being church officials, though not vice versa. In general terms, living locals are assured comfort and security so long as they maintain their tithes and fealty, but outsiders, heretics, and defaulters are protected only under specific contract. The legal system values official bargains and contracts as ironclad even when it would be to the detriment of locals (infrequent as that is, with the legalistic scrutiny of Hell at their back), honouring agreements to the letter if not to the spirit. To this end, frequent visitors and business partners with the communities of Ansbhuel are sure to arrange meticulous and long-running deals to ensure the safety of their business and their bodies alike. Punishment is infrequently focused on true justice and retribution, but rather on restitution for the act- punishments are almost always in the form of financial recompense, or forced labour in the event that the offender cannot afford the payments dictated by the church. For especially egregious crimes, however, these payments can approach what most lands would see as abhorrent- years of slavery, the loss of rights to one's corpse, even the sale of one's soul to diabolic powers, are all seen as fair payments by the church. Most magic is free to be studied and practiced by any possessing the aptitude, but divine magics, even those not drawing from the gods, such as druidic studies, are required to be supervised and approved by the church personally.

### Diplomacy

Ansbhuel is officially still subservient to Greater Morley, though they express great independence compared to other lands under the Countess's reign for a simple reason. The diabolists' mines provide an invaluable source of metals and gems, and neither side can justify the expense of fighting for independence or firmer subservience respectively, leading to an uneasy peace between them. This, consequently, puts them at great odds with Bleak Spire as a valuable resource base and vital strategic supplier to Lord Izaaks's primary nemesis. This paints quite a target on their back; were they any closer to the Death Knight's lands it is doubtless that they would face his wrath on a regular basis.

Shelburgh County and Bittermarch are frequent business partners, though locals show mutual and well-deserved distrust during these dealings. Most notably, natives from Ansbhuel who balk at the diabolic practices of their home, default on their loans to the church, or otherwise feel a need to flee their homeland frequently flee to resettle in these lands. While they are not likely to be trusted by the locals of Shelburgh and Bittermarch, it is better than the risk they feel when resettling to Greater Morley due to its greater allegiance with Ansbhuel.