Torgil

Torgil is a nation in maligon

capitalistic nation defined by its border with Gesurb and its mountainous regions, considered a staging post community by many.

Sumitzell, Thurvitor and Rosegeorge.

Torgil is best summarized as a nation that is not for the feint of heart. As with many of the human kingdoms, its exact origins are lost with their short life span and poor record keeping. Seemingly tribes from within Gesurb made their way out bearing the banner of Leholimo, but died after the cold temperature and exposure made it too difficult to establish a homestead. Other humans followed, in closely knit tribes and had marginally more success, enough for the town of Thurvitor to be established amongst the footholds. After the death of the everlasting empress and the silence of Gesurb, Sumitzell was made as a freehold town beneath the high wall for the humans that had stopped receiving direction from the dragonthrone. By the time of the Irongate war, the town had no longer any camaraderie with the endless castle and began approaching the hardy humans of far Thurvitor to form an independent nation.

Torgil, named for the old dwarven name for the range of mountains developed rapidly, eventually establishing one of the highest elevated towns in maligon, the mountain top Rosegeorge. In the last great war, Torgil’s parliament spent the first years, waiting to see what Gesurb would do as the war raged. When not a peep nor a roar was heard from the dragon castle, they set about selling and transporting supplies to both the allied and the armies of the bear. The Torgil government made stacks of gold by sending their mercenary knights to borders across the continent with the intention of holding medical supplies and weapons hostage to the highest bidder. As the war raged on, and the opposing forces began to solidify supply routes to avoid these Torgil profiteers, The mercenaries became a hot commodity in themselves, a fresh and well trained fighting force that shared no alliance. Rather than being used by the allied or the bear, the government offered their fighters to the nations that were content to defend themselves. Yalmiront, Clifant, Jiomak city and even Saihal had a one point hired the soldiers of Torgil for platinum and political favour, something that helped the nation skirt punishment for its deeds in the grand Kalev conference.

Sumitzell is the capital of Torgil, seat of the parliament and largest city. The buildings are tall and narrow with the strange feature of metal nets pulled tort across the streets attached at rooftops. These dragon nets are to prevent aerial attacks from the dragons Gesurb, or more accurately give a moment of preparation for the towns guard before a full out dragon assault. While it has been a few hundred years, there has been records of the strategic nets working in times a juvenile dragon has sought to do battle with the humans on their doorstep. The parliament building is a grand domed hall of white stone and golden embellishments, built shortly after the Kalev conference. Inside it not only has the parliament house where both elected and hereditary lords of districts debate the nations future, but also the many courthouses of justice and the guild of Landsknecht companies that attempts to regulate the Torgil mercenary bands. In the seventy five years since the last war, the opportunistic spirit of Torgil has seemingly become less patriotic. Those mercenary groups that used their Torgil national identity as a selling point have reputations of their own now, and many do not pay the fees and taxes that made Torgil so rich while holding up supplies or supplying warriors. It is now punishable by death to bear arms in Torgil or claim any background in Torgillian mercenary groups anywhere on the cog without several writ papers of office. As the Torgillian soldiers are already notable for their elaborate uniforms and personal style, some have taken to having their writ and mandate embroidered onto their capes and sleeves. While there was ten years or so that going rogue from the government was incredibly profitable for a Torgil band, in the modern day it means that the government will simply send three or four state sanctioned bands after you. Often holding pay from these assassins until every member of an unsanctioned group is dead.

The first freehold of Sumitzell was governed by a few members of the human nobility from Gesurb who employed sheriffs to uphold their rule. When Thurvitor agreed to share banners as the nation Torgil, Lord Jancito Reiser who considered himself the chief diplomat in this agreement declared himself king of Torgil. When he returned to Sumitzell he was promptly assassinated with a crossbow bolt by an unknown assailant. This lead to a more codified constitution being written where the current lords of Gersurb would represent different town districts and vote amongst themselves. Assassination is still a popular tool of political change in Torgil though, something which the towns guard Sheriffs are wary of. The current council of seven districts are chaired by lady Céline Badertscher of central Sumitzell, whose polices of sweeping reform and anti-corruption makes her a very likely candidate for attack and assassination. Her biggest enemy is the lord of north-west Sumitzell, Oscar Stegmann who has written laws to place himself in charge of theguild of Landsknecht companies at the same time as holding office. Much of Sumitzell is awash with this tension, as posters depicting a saintly Badertscher are often hung next to posters of a strong and heroic Stegmann.

Sumitzell is the only place in the north east or on the eastern coast that manufactures large numbers of firearms. During the last war, The pikemen of torgil became famous for their shooting lines, creating choke points and decimating whatever entered their semicircular firing pit. Since they have repeatedly updated their designs, taking pointers from both mosstand rifles, Dinackluft repeaters and the zimayik copies of both. The firearm most associated with modern Sumitzell is the three barrelled Landsknacht favourite the ‘Wolfensberger hammerlock’ invented by Klaus Wolfensberger and designed to be used in short range as a surprise advantage of the Torgil Specialist. The pistol is also known as the ‘mage-killer special’ as its decent reloading speed and unexpectedly good of fire has been used to kill several war wizards. Torgillian mercenary training puts special focus in defeating spellcasters with material means. Smaller companies of Torgil weaponsmiths are famed for their ‘trick weapons’ that provide adaptive functionality in different situations. Midja Wissing’s shop is where she makes the Wissing blade, a shortsword with a midpoint break that turns into a flail. Gaetan Augsburger is a shield-smith, who makes small shields and bucklers that contain a single shot pistol hidden within the handle or a crossbow that forms part of a kite or square shield for entrenched fire. Jocky Weissbrodt is a torgil gnome who has tried for over three decades to perfect the gun-sword, but has made some interesting failures along the way including the rifle axe combination. While these gimmicks are unlikely to win a war, for a Torgil mercenary they show the expertise and skill of their approach to violence and are a boon to intimidating foes as much as they are a reliable weapon.

Sumitzell does have a handful of taverns, but has one of the lowest rates for alcohol consumption for a city its size across the cog. The beverage of Sumitzell is the ancient elven hot drink coffee, made from coffee beans harvested in warmer climbs towards the south and in places nearer the spoke. Torgillians drink three or four cups of coffee a day on average, and most have a ceramic coffee cup made in pritberg or labremulyor on their person at all times, often hanging from their belt. Notable coffee houses include ‘mountain view’ ‘Claudio’s’ ‘Rüegsegger blend house’ and ‘watchtower’ which is named after its initial surge in popularity as a way of keeping soldiers awake during the night. The most popular Tavern in the city is the ‘Token of triumph’ that proudly displays weapons, tapestries, shields, roll calls and other such relics of the Landsknacht companies. The owner, Camilla Greuter is a decorated veteran herself and famously beheaded a troll outside Liberty that made her an honorary duchess of Suntij. No true ales are served in the token, certainly no dwarven ones, instead a low alcohol level lager called ‘Zenternweissbeir’ that is the cold beverage of choice on holidays.

While Sumitzell is the power and administration of the landsknacht guilds, Thurvitor is where most of the mercenaries reside. The town’s outskirts are Small keeps with grounds built by the successful bands as sort of guild halls, where they can train apprentices and squires and keep private treasuries. When in Torgil, the Landsknacht bands work as competitive hunters of game, for trophies and of more dangerous creatures in the mountain. They have traditionally hired tenant farmers for the lands as well, blurring the line even further between hired soldiers and liege lords. Despite Sumitzell being on the boarder of the great wall, it is recommended that anyone brave or stupid enough to want to enter Gesurb should begin in Thurvitor. Here the Torgil mountains slope gently, eroded by the river Torgil, and the ‘cresent road’ takes a traveller up the mountains to overlook a large swath of the south-east part of the endless castle. Mercenaries, guides and treasure hunters can be hired to take a traveller up to the point where hundreds of pitons and ropes have been left to scale the outer wall down, or even give more specific locations of the castle that have been viewed. The people Thurvitor are very protective of this route and have guard houses to enact a high toll to travel the harsh and unforgiving route. Thurvitor has a high number of skilled blacksmiths and blade makers, many specialising in the pole arms, halberds and long hammers that are associated with a solider of Torgil. These blacksmiths are highly respected, regarded, and idolised not simply for skill, but they were declared the ‘heroes of the last war’ as the government paid for hundreds of thousands of weapons to be made and then sold at enormous profits to both sides of the conflict, raising prices in areas more desperately in need of arms. Thurvitor is also home to many of the cloth-workers and tanners of Torgil, who are primarily commissioned for the uniforms, regalia, boots and belts of Landsknacht guilds.

Rosegeorge was established soon after the nation of Torgil came together. while it was a harsh and difficult place to settle, it has flourished into one of the most successful mountain communities. The Rosegeorge mountaineers that first explored this new territory discovered a large elevated freshwater lake that ran began up in the mountains and formed the Torgil river. They began harvesting fresh water and ice they could drag down the mountain and sell to countries of the north east. As the Torgil economy became more mercenary, the wooden huts of the Rosegeorge cliff were replaced by stone and metal buildings to weather the cold and the town gained a second incredibly lucrative source of income: Banking. Due to the unscrupulous nature of the Torgil government and the isolation of Rosegeorge, organisations flocked to the no taxation and low interest banks. Money, bond papers and items are stored by the most successful criminals including the Misawateeth family, the Tosslecloak concern, the Goldentooth gang and other organised groups in Jusadal and grand Kalev. The benefits are also that Torgil has fought for its sovereignty and refuse to have their bank vaults examined by any foreign power. Fiercely guarded by the most highly paid of all the Torgil landsknacht a robbery of the vaults and the treasured within are almost unthinkable. Almost.

The mountains of Torgil are incredibly hazardous, especially the uncharted areas above Rosegeorge. Trolls, ettins, tribes of wild orcs and ogres, giants, enormous predatory birds called Rocs and even, if reports are to be believed, adult or larger dragons from Gesurb can be found in the peaks. The Torgil mercenaries train all types of attack dogs, wolves, boar, lizards and other trained creatures they pick up on their deployments across the cog.