County of Farburgh

**Ruler**
 **Ruling House**
 **Resident Houses**
 **Baronies**
* Barony of Wolfmont
 **Beliefs**
* Shamanism (secondary)
 **Founded**

**Farburgh** is the farthest-west county of the Duchy of Zollern, and houses the baronies of Wolfmont, Middlehaven, and Barebruck. Middlehaven is the baronial seat for the county, and houses the rich and fortified city of Silverkeep. Some speculate that the Merchant-Burghers that rule Silverkeep actually rule the county as a whole, but this has never been proven. Currently, the Count of Farburgh is Caiaphas Arcturus.

## Culture

The civilians of Farburgh are two-fold. On one hand, there are the rich and snobby folks who reside within the Barony of Middlehaven, enjoying the protection of the Council of Merchant-Burghers and their private army, lavishly living above the levels of poverty and free to mine as much as they can, and on the other hand, there are the meek and more regular folks of the baronies of Wolfmont and Barebruck. Wolfmont provides more of a military force than Barebruck, while they provide more services to the county than Wolfmont does.

Middlehaveners oftentimes see themselves as 'better' than Wolfmonties or Barebrucks, for they don't have to deal with such wildlife intrusions or getting conquered by raiders and bandits. Their income is substantially higher than those of the others and they quite commonly get ruled in favor of. The people of Wolfmont reside in the northern portion of Farburgh, and it's capital city of Winterbreach is named so because of the winter dusting they usually get before anyone else, the harsh winds of Northfront View blowing it so. In Wolfmont, there is - as one may guess - a population of varied species of wolf, and the people here learn at a young age to fight against them when they are brave enough to try and steal cattle and livestock. In Barebruck, a much more meek lifestyle is lived. Nothing of importance really happens in Barebruck, but there is some farmland nearest to it's neighboring county of Dietenbeck, and lots of funerary and graveyard space is allocated in this otherwise unimportant and forgetful space.

## History

### Founding

The County of Farburgh was founded by miners and wanderers alike, scaling the mountains in search of new land that was worthy of settling in. These folks either became the people of Middlehaven and Wolfmont, or the more south-easterly folk of Barebruck. It was formally created as a county sometime after the Troll Wars after the settlements began to sprout up.

### The Discovery of Riches

In the outpost of what would become the fortified trade node of Silverkeep, fortuitous miners accidentally discovered deep and extensive rich deposits of several different ores and minerals, chief among them being gold, silver, truesilver, and thorium. The most ambitious, greedy, and powerful of these miners came together in a pact to create the Council of Merchant-Burghers as they would later be known, pooling their wealth and influence to turn the once-simple mining outpost into a fully fortified economic powerhouse, with high walls and four, great watchtowers to protect their city and riches. Ever since, Silverkeep has been a rival of power and economics against Starkfeste, much to the ire of House Hillegas' rulers.

### Present Day

The descendants or survivors of the Scourging of Lordaeron have flocked to their once-rich city or simple homesteads after loyally serving with Burchard Hillegas in his campaign for Zollern. In some cases, the greediest of retainers secretly fled during the force's arrival at Zollern proper, abandoning the cause of war to selfishly reclaim Silverkeep for themselves. Whether or not Lord Hillegas knows this is up to speculation, for he has not made any public announcement of such. Instead, Burchard publicly proclaimed the House of Arcturus to become the ruling family of Farburgh, vassalizing them as reward for their loyal service in the campaign for Zollern, making Caiaphas Arcturus the Count of Farburgh.

## Settlements

### Silverkeep

Silverkeep is the economic powerhouse of the County of Farburgh, and a top settlement rivaling the popularity of both Starkfeste and the Nightport. It has high walls and is protected by four, great watchtowers that sit at each corner of the walls, overlooking the perimeter of the town. The ruling Council of Merchant-Burghers have hired and financed their own private garrison force which they use to act as law enforcement and as their own army, instilling their influence throughout the Barony of Middlehaven.

### Winterbreach

The capital city of the Barony of Wolfmont is Winterbreach. It was named so because, as the northern-most settlement of Farburgh, it receives the first snows during wintertime, and receives some of the harsh winds native to that of Northfront View. It does not have a huge population, but it is modest in size. The primary output of the town is military troops, for the people of Winterbreach are trained to fight and survive in the wilderness due to local wildlife incursions.

### Hollowgrave

Hollowgrave is almost completely unremarkable. The lands within the Barony of Barebruck in it's entirety are unimportant and forgettable, save for the few tracts of land that are actually fertile enough to grow 'dry' crops, though not nearly to the same level as the Barony of Granholm. Because of this, much of the land within Barebruck is used for funerary purposes, and many graveyards are situated throughout. Hollowgrave itself is home to the most prestigious of graveyards within all of the Duchy of Zollern, with a few reigning monarchs and other notable folks having been interred there.

## Houses

House Hillegas is the overlord of the County of Farburgh. Interestingly, there has ever only been few and rather minor Counts of Farburgh as far as one may recollect, though this could simply be because there is no real attraction for vassals within the Duchy of Zollern, having always been a humble and strange place to outsiders. Instead, it is rumored that the Council of Merchant-Burghers have struck some sort-of deal with House Hillegas, and they instead control the County of Farburgh as a whole, rather than just the city of Silverkeep. However, this conspiracy theory has never actually been proven and is mere speculation by the rival traders of the Nightport and other folk within Zollern.

House Arcturus is the ruling house of the County of Farburgh, with Caiaphas Arcturus as the Count due to his position as the patriarch of their family. House Arcturus is an old and loyal Lordaeronian house whom lost their lands during the Third War. The Scourging of Lordaeron utterly and totally decimated their holdings, leaving nothing but rubble and death. They cast their lot with House Hillegas and their campaign for Zollern, and were granted Farburgh not only as reward for their aid, but also reconciliation of their lost glory. House Arcturus has developed not only a strong sense of Lordaeronian nationalism, but also a deep hatred for all things Undead.