The Spur

The Spur is a small country located on the furthest downstream bend of the Spurnian river. It is bordered by Flenburgh and Omeland.

The Spur was one of the countries that contributed soldiers to the Varholdian repulsion of the Tungrids, financing many thousands of mercenary pikemen to fight.

The Spur is not a single country per se, but a loose confederation of city-states centred around the Spur, an island in the Spurnian River. The country itself is heavily populated, with over half a dozen large cities; the Spur has a higher population than most countries in Tairghol despite being fairly small.

The roadwork system in the Spur is simple: arrow-straight roads in all directions, regardless of geography.

 History

There is no concrete reason for the concentration of cities on the Spur; most were founded in the early centuries, a few even before the 5th Century BC, making them among the oldest settlements in Tairghol.

It is known that the great population of the area made trade with the rich surrounding farming countries a necessity - several of the Spur cities, Mossfort and Spurtown in particular, used to be the capital cities of their own kingdoms.

The rise of Varhold in the 4th Century prompted the Spurnian cities to coalesce against the possible threat. This threat proved false, though, as the Varholdian kings were always amicable to the Spur on account of the booming food trade. The Spur made most income by taxing traders travelling along the Spurnian River, then traded this income to Varhold for food. The original Spurnian nation stretched along the Spurnian River from Pendell to the fork of the Spur and Arahagh Rivers.

The Spur was invaded by the Vardanids shortly before the Great Gap. Though the war ended sometime during this lapse in time, it is evident that the Spur lost - by the end of the Gap, the Spur had ceded Omeland and Flenburgh to their own kingdoms, and land further afield was also lost to the Vardanids.

After the Gap, the Spur was quiet for a time, until the Tungrid Migration. Here the Spur banded together with Varhold and cities in the Spur sent a total of forty-five thousand levies, as well as fifteen thousand mercenaries from Parsana, led by Faruj the Black. After the loss at Vorgebirge, Varhold disintegrated and the few cities with holdings on the northern bank of the Spurnian River lost them to marauding deserters. Since then, the Spur has held a strict policy of no land on the north bank - this has become as much superstition as the Chaonic practice of living only on the west banks of rivers.

## Geography

### **Location**

The Spur is located on the geographical Spur, a high outcrop of rock and earth between two flows of the Spurnian River. A large number of settlements on the southern shore of the same stretch of river also pledge allegiance to the municipal confederation. The land itself is soft and arable on the mainland, and minerals on the Spur facilitate the growth of fruit trees. Most other required materials are purchased from traders operating on the Spurnian River.

### **Climate**

The Spur's climate is identical to that of its neighbours - summers reach around twenty-five degrees and winters drop to zero. The height of the Spur - around three hundred metres above sea level - means it is exposed to high winds during the spring and autumn.

### **Settlements**

Cities in the Spur can be split into those on the Spur itself, and those on the southern shore of the Spurnian River.

On the Spur itself, major settlements are Edgeview, Highrun and Fairscar. These are surrounded by the smaller towns Mutecliff, Hollowmoor, Northvale and Edgebay.

On the mainland, the larger cities are Spurtown, Quickmere, Autumnrun, Hazelfort and Lagonmount, while the smaller towns comprise Lasthall, Bellshade, Coldgate, Wolfacre, Limenstar, Mossfort, Stagstall and Riverbreak.

## Politics

### **Government**

The Spur has no central government; it is instead a confederation of the cities it comprises. The politics are dominated by the large cities, though given their density the larger cities depend on the smaller towns for food. This creates a mutual dependence and brings the cities closer together.

### **Legal System**

Each city has its own legal code, with the exception of several laws that are universal in the Spur. These are codified in the Highrun Stones, carved into the cliff-side below the city of Highrun.

## Economy

### **Agriculture**

The Spur is mostly dependent on imports for its food, though several settlements contribute a relatively large amount of food, especially the smaller towns in the central part of the Spur's mainland holdings - the towns of Wolfacre, Limenstar and Coldgate are the largest of these.

### **Transport**

One of the few agreements between Spurnese cities is that the roads between them are built straight and true, regardless of topography. Most are wide, paved thoroughfares.

The people of the Spur mostly travel either by foot or by horse and cart. The whole country is only ten leagues across its largest diameter, so travel by foot is manageable for most.

## Demographics

### **Class Division**

The Spur is a capitalist confederation - serfdom is a thing of the past, making it a popular refuge for lower-class citizens of other nations. This means that the Spur has a large population of dirt-poor foreign immigrants, upon whom the worst jobs are usually foisted. Some smaller towns in the Spur offer financial support to these immigrants, though the larger cities can do nothing about it without angering the higher classes.

Above these immigrants are the working-class population, who run farms and offer services to earn money. Further above are the middle-class, who work mostly white-collar jobs in the burgeoning Spurnese economy.

## Military

### **Strength**

The Spur has a high population compared to the surrounding area, leading each city to be able to raise an amount of levies nearing the exorbitant. Spurtown alone managed to raise three thousand men for the Battle of Vorgebirge, among a total of forty-five thousand. They tend to be led by officers of their respective city guards - these commanders are ritually well-trained and instil discipline into their troops as best they can. This is helped by several cities having time set aside for the levies to regularly practice pike work.

The cities also pool their riches in times of war and hire mercenaries, normally cavalry from the southern deserts to make up for the weaknesses of their levy pike formations.

### **Equipment**

The richer cities, close to the river, can afford to provide their levies with sallet helms and brigandines. Poorer settlements require their levies to provide their own armour and weapons, which for the most part are family heirlooms from past wars.

Spurmen move in tight pike formations, and most families maintain at least one pike to be used in times of war.

## Culture

### **Flag**

Flags are a touchy matter for Spurnians; there is no national flag as factions on the mainland and Spur grapple for control; each has its own preferred flag. At the moment the de facto flag is the coat of arms of the most powerful city in the confederation, currently Highrun. This flag is the unnecessarily complicated 'Party per fess Azure and Vert, on the upper a pile inverted Brunatre on which a tower mortared and bricked Or; on the lesser a morion helm Argent upon two quatrefoils Or either side of an otter Brunatre'.