The Kingdom of Oussaine

The Kingdom of Oussaine, also known as Oussaine, is a highly traditional human feudal kingdom that lies between the Pleinedor Mountains and the Agnosic Ocean. Oussaine's society revolves around the ideals of nobility, a strict social hierarchy based on birthright, and the upholding of a strictly enforced code of chivalry.

Oussaine is widely considered to be the fairest and most beautiful land in the world. It is a green land of fertile farms rolling hills, starkly beautiful mountains, and airy forests. The population consists of noble and courteous knights, fair ladies, and contented and deferential peasants. Oussainian chefs are famous for their culinary skill, and the wine produced in the vineyards of the country is renowned throughout the World.

This is the image Oussainians want to project, and it is not entirely false. It does, however, conceal problems. The mountains are home to monsters, the forests to foul creatures. Many peasants are starving, and knights who use courtesy to cloak brutality are found throughout the land.

## Regions

### The King's Land

The crown estate or royal domain are the lands, fiefs and rights directly possessed by the kings of Oussaine. The term refers to the network of "castles, villages and estates, forests, towns, religious houses and bishoprics, and the rights of justice, tolls and taxes" effectively held by the king or under his domination scattered throughout the land.

The land directly controlled by the kings of Oussaine, has throughout the kingdom's history been relatively limited. There have been reigns that have seen the royal domain grow as the monarch attempted to centralise rule over the nation, but due to its culture and size these periods were short-lived due to necessary concessions or violent responses.

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### Duchy of Ombreangne

The name of the Duchy translates to "in the Mountain's Shadow" or more simple "Mountain's Shadow" derieved from a large portion of the land lying just south of the ~~north~~ Mountains.

#### Barony of Arbete

The Barony of Arbete is a small, fortified region situated on the border between Oussaine and mountainous dweorg kingdom of Khun Azor. The landscape is more rugged than its neighbouring Oussainian baronies, with rocky terrain and less vegetation. The region has been scarred by war many times, and the people are accustomed to living in harsh and militaristic conditions.

Over its history, Arbete has been ruled by stern and capable lords, normally given the land due to their experience of defending Oussaine from her enemies. The land is constantly at threat from its neighbours; Khun Azor and ~~Hungary.~~ The barony has always had the command of a small but well-trained army of soldiers, renowned for their discipline, experience and skill in battle.

The Barony's economy is largely based on agriculture and mining. The people grow hardy crops such as barley and wheat, and raise livestock such as sheep and goats. The mines in the nearby mountains yield precious metals and minerals, which are traded with merchants from neighboring regions.

#### Barony of Gwalar

The barony of Gwalar lies east of the ~~north~~ mountain in the Šiaurė Nord Valley, west of the Basleon Hills. Ruled from the eponymous Castle Gwalathar, the barony benefits from the deep rich mineral deposits of the Basleon Hills and the rich trade and fishing facilitated by the Mèrpay lake. The land is highly valued due to these resources and due to the area being relatively safe from foreign invasion (as it is surrounded by other baronies with militaries bolstered by the King).
Despite its prosperity, Gwalar is not immune to challenges. Bandits and raiders roam the surrounding countryside, threatening the safety of the barony's people. Additionally, creatures from the Basleon Hills are a constant threat, and even from time to time, creatures decending from the ~~north~~ mountain. To keep their land the baron must be vigilant and ensure that his land is well-protected from these threats and the threat of intrigue from other lords wising to take his highly-valued land.

Settlements and Features

* Castle Gwalathar
* Bellefleur
* Châteauvieux
* Treeve
* Sainte-Clair
* Palmèr
* Bellemare
* Feraille
* The Chapel of Saint Vènard
* Lumiere Forest
* Mèrpay lake

### Duchy of Noumerdusone

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### Duchy of Aquisse

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* The City of Arloir

#### Barony of Arloir

The Barony of Arloir completely encompasses the capital of Oussaine, Arloir, yet the Baron that rules over this land does not hold any jurisdiction within the cities walls.

#### Barony of Prise

The taken lands

* ~~Sentrumstad (Luxembourgish Zentrum Stad)~~
* ~~Sentrumstad Mill~~
* ~~Prise Jail~~

#### Parish of Frênionge

~~ety: ash tree Frene. inspired by Averoigne by Clark Ashton Smith~~

Frênionge lies in Southern Aquisse. It has one major town, the walled town of Boisdeclar, the seat of the Archbishop and home to a magnificent cathedral. The other important towns and villages are ~~Ximes~~, ~~Perigon, FrenÃƒÂ¢ie, Sainte Zenobie, Moulins, Les Hiboux, and Touraine~~. The best road in the province travels between Boisdeclar in the north and ~~Ximes~~ in the south. The Abbey of ~~Perigon~~ is the main source of learning, and the Abbot’s library contains an impressive collection of rare tomes. The river ~~Isoile~~ winds through the center of the province and empties out in a marsh to the south. The most important feature of Frênionge is the thick forest that covers most of the center of the province and gives the region its sinister repute. Other places in Frênionge with sorcerous reputations are the ruined castles of ~~Fausseflammes~~ and ~~Ylrougne.~~

* Boisdeclar

### County of Merduborde

The county on the sea border, or County of Merduborde is a southern county of Oussaine that has been under Oussainean rule since the Rule of the Oussake.

## Demographics

Unlike the Oralean Empire, Oussaine is populated almost entirely by Humans. Dwarfs come from the X mountains occasionally to trade, and only three enclaves of Polders exist throughout the entire land, located in Quisonne. One could spend months travelling through the heart of Oussaine only ever meeting humans .

Whilst Oussainians, like all Humans, vary a great deal among themselves, there is one feature shared by so many that it is regarded as the national character. Oussainians live for the moment and pride themselves on this fact. This does not mean all Oussainians are wild hedonists, partying constantly, though some members of the nobility do fit this image. Rather, it means that, for an Oussainian, what matters is what you do now, not what you may or may not be able to do in the future. A dedicated Oussainian craftsman might labour long into the night to make the shoes he is working on now as good as they possibly can be. Oussainian knights choose their actions to ensure that they are always acting honourably. An Oussainian peasant concentrates on getting through today, rather than storing up worries about tomorrow. Oussainians try not to worry about the consequences of their actions. When those consequences come, they deal with them in the same spirit; few Oussainians waste time whining about the unfairness of life.

This does not mean that Oussainians eat the entire harvest over the course of a month; they are neither suicidal nor idiots. On the other hand, they might eat well on a holiday and then poorly thereafter because the stocks have been reduced. Very few Oussainians would reduce their intake before the holiday, so as to have enough in reserve for a feast.

More generally, Oussainians tend not to invest for the future. Large buildings are constructed for immediate display, not to increase the wealth of their owners. Similarly, programs of social reform are unpopular because their benefits are entirely in the future and distract from doing good now. An Oussainian would rather feed the starving than campaign to remove the causes of starvation.

This attitude has been blamed, particularly by Imperial citizens, for Oussaine's relative backwardness. Whilst the Imperial armies of Orale fight with musketeers and cannons, the Oussainians still rely mostly on mounted knights. Similarly, printing has taken the Empire by storm, but most books in Oussaine are still written by hand. On the other hand, it cannot be denied that the individual products of Oussainians craftsmen tend to be superior to those produced in the Empire. An Oussainian swordsmith lives to make the best swords he can, not to make as much money as possible.

Adventurers are almost the epitome of the Oussainian mindset, and Oussainian adventurers are therefore much more common than one might expect. There are exceptions, particularly among the merchants of Oussaine. Indeed, many Oussainians with an inclination to plan for the future find themselves drawn into trade almost against their will, as they find they have a surplus to sell at a time when other people are desperate. As a result, merchants in general are poorly regarded by most Oussainians, but are far, far richer than their compatriots.

### Social Structure

Oussainian society is divided between nobles and peasants. The division is enshrined in law, and the laws governing the two classes are very different. The notion that all people are basically equal seems laughable to most Oussainians.

Every Oussainian is born into one class or the other, and it is almost impossible to change. A true noble is someone who can show that all his (or her) ancestors for five generations were nobles. As the names and pedigrees of all members of the nobility are recorded in the Registers of the Peerage, this is merely a matter of showing all your ancestors are in those registers. As well as the generationally inherited nobility, certain ranks of office in the employ of a high ranking noble will grant an individual the honour of nobility so that they can carry out the will of their liege. Additionally, on occasion, the King will offer a letter of Peerage, granting someone an honourable status of nobility. Neither of these latter two forms of 'nobility' are not passed down generationally so most do not really consider them nobility.

Everyone else is a peasant. Thus, in particular, the children of a noble and a peasant are peasants. Since a peasant cannot inherit a noble fief, landed nobles never marry peasants. Almost all nobles regard all peasants as their inferiors. Peasants live to serve their lords. The nobles, in return, should protect the peasants and provide justice. Lords do, however, have other duties than to their peasants, most notably to their own lords, and these other duties are generally regarded as more important.

There are two groups of exceptions. First, foreigners are not Oussainian and are thus neither noble nor peasant. This also applies to the Dweorg and Polders in the kingdom. Such characters are treated with the respect that seems to be due, which in practice means that they are treated according to their clothes. Second, the religious people of Oussaine stand completely outside the system being treated with respect by everyone.

## Culture

### Language

~~The official language of France is French, a Romance language derived from Latin. Since 1635, the Académie française has been France's official authority on the French language, although its recommendations carry no legal weight. There are also regional languages spoken in France, such as Occitan, Breton, Catalan, Flemish (Dutch dialect), Alsatian (German dialect), Basque, and Corsican (Italian dialect).~~

### Cuisine

The cuisine of Oussaine is justly famous. The land produces a number of strongly flavoured herbs, which, used in moderation, produce delicious dishes. Used more liberally, they
can even make rotten vegetables palatable, and many peasants use them for this purpose. Whilst a Oussainian meal might give you food poisoning, it is unlikely to taste foul.

Diet does differ between the nobility and the peasants. Peasants eat very little meat, whilst a noble meal is almost always dominated by the meat course. Farmed meats, such as pork, beef, and mutton, can be eaten by peasants; game meats, most notably venison, are restricted to the nobility by law. A peasant who knowingly eats venison is liable to face severe punishment; in the darker fiefs, he is fed to the lord’s hunting dogs. As a result, serving venison to noble guests is a sign of respect. Serving nothing but bread and vegetables is positively insulting.

The Oussainians are also notorious for eating things other nations find repulsive. Truffles are eaten raw as a fine delicacy. Frogs are boiled alive at the table, eviscerated, and eaten whole, bones and all. Snails are fried with garlic and eaten from the shell. Finally, the eyeballs of sheep or cattle are added to thick soups. The eyes tend to rise to the top and become visible once the soup is disturbed, often by the diner beginning to eat. Many Oussainians take delight in serving these delicacies to their honoured foreign guests.

## Feudal Hierarchy

Families of the Oussainian nobility could have two origins as to their principle of nobility. Firstly the immemorial nobility for the families recognized for having always lived nobly (or at least for the last five generations). Secondly, the ennobled families (ennobled by an office or by Letters patent from the King).

### King

The King is sovereign, which means he is not bound by the law. He can make laws as he wishes, and is not himself bound to them. Some may believe that the King is essentially bound to law due to their actions being judged by their vassals and that a good King would live within the bounds they set for their subjects, yet to say such a thing would undoubtedly end in execution.

### Dukes

Dukes hold land directly from the King and have the highest rank of nobility second only to the Crown. Their rank and superiority comes from either the grandeur of the land they have been granted, or from the grandeur of their blood and lineage. An Oussainian Duke has royal power within his duchy, but he is still subject to the King. That means a Duke acting within his own duchy cannot break the law, unless he disobeys a direct order from the King himself.

In theory, the King can create as many Dukes as he wants by stating that the lineage or land is a exceptional merit, though without substantial land the title may become meaningless. In practice, only a maximum of six Dukes normally exist at one time. The six Dukes hail their honour from the six swords of the Sangversé be it through blood or land.

### Count

Counts can be seen as similar to Dukes in the way that both ranks hold land directly from the King, yet a count is not bolstered by

### Marquis

A marquis is a noble responsible for a fief in an area subject to attack, often on the borders of the kingdom. A marquis is allowed to gather forces and build fortifications without seeking permission from his superiors.

### Castellan

A castellan is a noble with responsibility for a major castle, which is usually held by his feudal superior. He has full authority over the castle and its lands unless his lord is present.

### Paladin

Paladins are renowned knights, normally with deeds of greatness or religious notoriety allowing them the honour of the title. Although the rank of Paladin holds no land, many paladins are given dangerous lands and made marquises to put their talents to good use.

### Knights

The realm of Oussaine has been known throughout the kingdoms of Men for having the greatest knights in the entire world. The knights of Oussaine are trained to fight from childhood, and even the lowliest Knights Errant are considered superior to ordinary warriors. Their skills are further enhanced through constant training, battles and tournaments.

## Military

### Royal Army

The crown of Oussaine has one of the largest professional armies of all of Hemes. While they commonly bolstered their numbers with mercenaries, these soldiers were highly trained and were housed across multiple barracks throughout the land, going on campaigns many times throughout their careers.

The existence of such a force became necessary due to the increasing number of men at arms available to each member of the nobility through the bastardisation of the Oussainian feudal system after the creeping death pandemic.

## History

### The Sangversé

The Sangversé. or those who spilt blood, were the six knights who stood by the side of ~~NAME~~