Barony of Wandermere

**Ruler**
 **Ruling House**
 **Resident Houses**
 **Seat**
 **Settlements**
* Westholde
* Mad-Mouth
 **Beliefs**
* Northern Pantheon (secondary)
 **Founded**

The **Barony of Wandermere** is the largest barony within the Duchy of Zollern. It's capital is the quarry town of Hewe, located within barren flatlands in the far north of Zollern, a prime source of slate, rock, and stone, and other base mineral for construction purposes. The name of the barony derives from the idea that one can seemingly wander across nearly the whole county with no civilization to interrupt them.

## Culture

Like Northfront View as a whole, the Barony of Wandermere is a largely autonomous region of wandering tribesmen who still cling to old ways of life. However, if any of the three baronies within Northfront View could be considered civilized, Wandermere was the best bet. Hewe, being on the southern border of the county, was a center of trade and travel, whether it be from the transporting of earthen material away from the town, or the traveling of those passing further onto Hearthglen.

Wandermere's folk are more amenable to travelers and tourists, what with Westholde being a popular refuge and layover for travelers and tourists, and Hewe being a haven for free trade. With such passerby's being a common occurence, the people of Wandermere are not as stuck in the ways of worshipping the Northern Pantheon, but instead, the general Shamanism that most else of Zollern revere. Indeed, Westholde is said to have a large following of members of the Church of the Holy Light, probably due to their close relationship to members of the Argent Crusade.

## Economy & Resources

The Barony of Wandermere is a scarce place. For want of resources, folk tend to travel eastward to the Barony of Laencaster, or smarter yet, travel south. Wandermere has few trees and even fewer places to grow any such crop, so foraging and hunting is how the tribesmen survive. In the civilized Hewe and Westholde, folk barter and trade for food, rather than go on long hunts or picking through forests.

The main resource of the Barony of Wandermere, however, is its abundance of rock and stone. Mountains and flatlands, barren of fertile soil, grasses, or minerals make ripe pickings for simply quarry making. The folk here made light of a bad situation and began to harvest large quantities of stone - whether it be churning the earth to gravel or carving granite and slate - and shipping it away. Their proclivity for manning quarries puts them in a unique position; elsewhere, there are folk that are less than agreeable to the idea of breaking their backs in a mine or quarry, and so the people of Wandermere can make profit by exploiting their laziness.

## History

### Founding

The Barony of Wandermere was settled by hardy tribespeople and pioneers, probably the most stubborn of the already stubborn people of Zollern. They traveled farther north than any other early settler of Zollern, climbing high peaks and making claims for themselves. The toughest and strongest became the Bearmen of Bearmark, though at the cost of a lack of progress, remaining so stuck in their ways of barbarism.[1]

### Recent History

Hewe was one of the final sites reclaimed during the previous Campaign for Zollern, though within the peaceful years following, it has flourished. Stone and other resources are routinely shipped out, either for domestic usage and tithing, or are sold as an export. After years of neglect, Westholde has finally begun repair and renovation, beginning to transform the meager and primitive motte-and-bailey to a proper keep and accompanying town.

## Settlements

### Hewe

Hewe was built in flatlands, some of the most common land available throughout the County of Northfront View. The land is dry and hard, with harsh winds and natural temperament making farming ill-suited. Not much grows around the alpine territory, but with such plentiful mountains scattering the landscape, it became apparent to the settlers here to instead open quarries. Stone and other such material is much needed in construction, both domestic and abroad, and so Hewe's miners and workers dedicated their economy to exporting stone and slate and what else they mine up, leading to their early development in stark contrast to their fellows.

### Westholde

The last holding before leaving the lands of Zollern on it's northwestern border, on one's way to Hearthglen and beyond, is Westholde. It is an antiquated motte-and-bailey with a wooden palisade surrounding it. The town is more of a sentry point akin to the forts around Densewood Thicket, such as Woodfort Watch, rather than any civilized city. It is a trade point between the Argent Crusaders that patrol their own borders and border sentries of Zollern, as well as a stop of refuge for travelers in the area.

### Mad-Mouth

Mad-Mouth is a small village sitting on the eastern border of Wandermere, just at the opening of Mad-Mouth Pass that leads into the Barony of Bearmark. It is named so because mountain clansmen are often found hailing each other loudly across the long landscapes, shouting cries of battle or triumph, and other noises by the rowdy folk therein.

### Slateside

Slateside is less a single town, and more a conglomeration of quarries spread out in the lands north to Hewe, but also a few subsidiary locations elsewhere. Forming a crescent-shaped neighborhood of sorts, Slateside consists of miners that live and breath quarry work, honing their craft to eventually be recruited to work in Hewe itself. It was Hewe's initial business success that led to these copycat villages popping up around it.

## Houses

House Hillegas is the overlord to the Barony of Wandermere. Like the County of Northfront View at large, House Hillegas' intervention is few and far between, acting in a very laissez-faire manner more so than anywhere else in the entire Duchy of Zollern. However, within Wandermere, House Hillegas has taken a direct interest within the town of Hewe, maintaining the supply of stone and natural resource for construction and exportation. Regardless of such interaction, the Barony of Wandermere is not directly owned by any one baron, or count, for that matter. House Hillegas has not yet appointed anyone to the role because of Northfront View's natural predisposition to remaining independent and rather incongruent amongst themselves.