Duchy of Ashfall

Traditional boundaries of the duchy

Ashfall is a duchy within the realm of the Kingdom of Stormwind. Located on a spur of land jutting eastward from the Redridge Mountains and the Burning Steppes, it dominates the coast of the Forbidding Sea.

The duchy is currently under reconstruction, with a small but growing population in the city of Bel Lonn.

## Geography

The duchy occupies a spur of land on the northern shores of the Bay of Lonn, opposite the Swamp of Sorrows, and extending north along the Forbidding Sea toward the Badlands.

The geography of Ashfall is varied, given its peculiar location and the upheaval in the wake of the War of Three Hammers; these variations create a natural division between the four counties that comprise it.

### **Locations**

* Redgold County
	+ Bel Lonn
	+ Cinderwatch
	+ Ironwall Keep
	+ Candlemar Mine
	+ Trundleton
	+ Anvilstead
	+ Fort Varian
	+ Wesrill
	+ Dunhaven
* Seabreach County
	+ Pinehold
	+ Halimar
	+ Two Hills
	+ Forbidding Reach
* Highplain County
	+ Retaliation Point
	+ Ashenlode
	+ Willowbank
* Emberwind County
	+ Phoenix Cross
* Horizon City

## History

### **The Early Years (prior to the War of the Three Hammers)**

The Duchy of Ashfall, when it was first established, was known as the Duchy of Gaunt, so named because unlike the other territories of Stormwind, it was only able to support subsistence farming due to its poor and thin soil.  It did a brisk trade in various iron ores, and a gold vein in its southwest permitted the import of what the population needed.  Highplain also boasted fine cattle, which were grazed on the plateau.

Due to its richness of resources but poverty of cereals and produce, more opportunistic nobles of the Redridge Mountains frequently attempted to annex parts of Gaunt.

### **The War of the Three Hammers to the First War**

The catastrophic eruption of Blackrock Mountain at the end of the War of the Three Hammers, however, changed a great deal.  Not only did it lay waste to large portions of the Redridge Mountains--including the lands of House Morgan to the west of Gaunt--but the constant volcanic plume thereafter began to rain down ash upon the northwest corner of Gaunt.

It is said that the Duke of Gaunt was inspecting the results of the fallout some months after the end of the War when he noticed the forest that would become the Greenbelt, growing almost before his eyes.  He took back some of the ash to his own lands and experimented in mixing and watering it into the soil--and after a bumper crop, he ordered the ash to be harvested from the Drift and shared with his vassals.  Soon, the Duchy of Gaunt boasted generous agriculture, and became known as Ashfall instead.

### **First War to Reconstruction**

Ashfall carried on in its humble way until the First War.  Cut off from the rest of the world by the orcish invasion of Redridge, the people attempted to flee to safety through the Burning Steppes.  Unfortunately, the way was too hard for most, and there were very few survivors.

When the reconstruction of Stormwind began after the Second War, however, those survivors resurfaced.  Led by Baron Alistair de Stopham of Pinehold, they struck out into their homeland, intent on re-establishing themselves.  However, as the raids of the Black Tooth Grin clan (and later, the Blackrock Clan) intensified, communication was cut off, and Pinehold was assumed destroyed.  Ashfall would remain (assumed) unoccupied, as Stormwind devoted most of its resources to rebuilding the nearer, more productive, and more defensible territories.

### **The Legion Invasion**

The defeat of the Black Iron offensive drove the remaining orcs back into the depths of Blackrock Mountain.  King Varian’s advisers recommended that this opportunity to retake a long-lost territory be availed, but the Legion invasion forced the plan to be laid aside temporarily.  It was not until his son, Anduin, ascended the throne that the matter was taken up again.

More pressing was the possibility that, due to the duchy being unpopulated, the Burning Legion might use the opportunity to establish an outpost for further invasions of the kingdom. The person selected to reclaim Ashfall would need not only to be a systematic thinker and able to address the ordinary threats the region could present, but also have a strong tactical understanding of the Burning Legion, its structure and races.The potential candidates to retake the duchy were assessed, and most dismissed for various reasons.  Finally, King Anduin selected, with the advice of his councillors, Jeremaias Auromere, and elevated the young Lordaeronian immigrant to the rank of Baron in-chief-of-the-king, giving him lordship over “all of the lands you reclaim in our name”.