Principality of Birchland

The flag of Birchland. The crossed swords represent the covenanting nobles, and the tree represents the scared birch. The red of the field represents the blood shed in the wars of independence, while gold is a colour representing aristocratic power and grace.

The Principality of Birchland was founded by a group of petty warrior nobles who formally owned fealty to the Purple Emperor. Chaffing at the chauvinism and heavy taxation of the magistrates sent to them by the distant Imperial court, and repeatedly ignored in their pleas to the Emperor, the nobles, one hundred and twelve in number, met in a sacred grove where together they swore an oath to fight for their ancient freedoms. This oath became known as the Covenant of the Birch. Of the one hundred and twelve lords, some twenty odd were from the lands that are now Carrick. Although it took many years of war, the Covenanting nobility were eventually successful, and the lands they ruled became known as the Lands of the Covenant of the Birch, or to the common folk, Birchland.

Birchland did not enjoy uninterrupted peace and prosperity after the Emperor´s troops withdrew. There were famines, storms, noble rebellions and raids by Imperial corsairs. But the greatest crisis in the affairs of Birchland came with the uprising of Carrick. In one of the numerous ironies of history, the Birchland lords who had fought to free themselves from the Empire, found that the people of Carrick wanted their own freedom, and saw the rule of the Covenant of the Birch as ultimately little better than that of the Purple Emperor. The war was fought bitterly at the time, but eventually the Prince of Birchland conceded defeat, signed the Treaty of Crow Castle recognising the lords of Carrick as free of their obligations to the Prince, and allowed Carrick to go its own way.

Since the war that gave Carrick its freedom, the two realms enjoy reasonably warm relations. The war has vanished from living memory and, although there are sometimes squabbles between lords on differing sides of the border, the latter day Princes of Birchland see Carrick as not worth reconquering. Birchland is roughly three times the size and five times the population of Carrick and lies to its northeast. The border passes through sparsely populated areas and is not well demarcated, except around Crow Castle, where the historic treaty granting Carrick her freedom was signed. Crow Castle is formally within Birchland but it is treated by both sides as a neutral zone where trade and diplomatic meetings take place - usually the Prince of Birchland meets with a delegation from the Lords of Carrick once every two or three years. The people of the Principality tend to see the Carrick folk as unsophisticated rural types, although they respect them for their forest craft, their skill with bow and spear, and their knowledge of herbal tinctures that are unknown in Birchland. In contrast, Carrick folk see Birchlanders as putting on airs and pretenses, and as having a worryingly hierarchical mindset, but respect their commercial savy and skill in craftsmanship. Both Carrick and Birchland have rich martial traditions, but the Birchlanders prefer to fight in mail with swords and maces. Despite these stereotypes, the two cultures share many traditions and speak the same language, and the common folk generally get on tolerably well with their neighbours across the border - both sides reserve their real resentment towards the Purple Emperor and his subjects, who in turn scorn both realms and their people as dens of terrifying barbarism.

Birchland is mostly rolling hills and is not as wet or flat as Carrick. Birchland is a heavily forested land, but the forests are mostly oak, cedar and of course birch. The black, twisted Carrick hemlock so familiar to Carricklanders is rare in Birchland, although some patches of it do exist along the western coast. Although Birchland is more densely populated than Carrick, this is only relatively so - Birchland still contains many expanses of thinly settled land where one can walk for leagues without sighting a stone upon another stone.

Birchland is ruled by a Prince, the descendant of the Prince chosen by the Covenanting Lords when the Imperial armies abandoned Birchland. The Prince rules through many powerful noble magnates, most of whom are able to rule their domains with little interference. The hereditary succession is not guaranteed and the assembled Lords of Birchland often make demands of incumbent Princes before confirming them, and have on a few occasions refused to crown the eldest child of a deceased Prince, instead passing the crown to a younger child, or even an uncle or aunt. (The title "Prince" is unisex - there have been many female Princes).

The capital of Birchland is the inland city of Vitolden, but the Princes usually spend their time at Stirling Castle, their hereditary family fortress, in the woods a few leagues from the city. Other locations include Reefport, a port town on the Purple Sea, Dysul, a small fishing village close to the Lamping Slough, and Gallowswood, generally the first village encountered by travelers from Carrick. While not a city, the Sacred Birch at which the realm was founded still stands and is a very important place - Princes often hold royal ceremonies there. Crow Castle technically lies within Birchland but is generally treated as neutral ground.