County of Carafonte

**Ruler**
 **Ruling House**
 **Resident Houses**
	+ House Palerma
	+ House Maso
* House Donati
	+ House Schiavone
* House Udinesi
	+ House Allesi
	+ House Neri
 **Seat**
 **Settlements**
* Soreto
* Aleserta
* Parevas
* Aversa
* Evoras
 **Beliefs**
 **Founded**

The **County of Carafonte** is a comital fiefdom in the north of Balor, nestled within the range of mountains that separates the northern and central regions of the isle, founded under the purview of House Belrose in the wake of the Peasant Rebellions of 306 K.Y. in the hopes that they could establish order over the unruly island that had been conquered not long before the revolts began.

Now, Carafonte is a center of faith, having served as refuge to resistance fighters in the Great Wars, and being host to saintly visitation during the occupation by the Blackrock and Stormreaver clans. After the Stormwindian Civil War and a succession crisis with the death of Alfonso Belrose, the County of Carafonte lies firmly in the hands of Faustine Belrose, who enforces her rule with the aid of a fringe sect of the Church of the Holy Light called the Convocation of the Flaming Heart.

## Culture

The people of the County of Carafonte are haughty and highly devout, taking great pride in being the center of the Baloric resistance at the height of the First and Second Wars, helping resist the yoke of Orcish occupation until the Baloric people could liberate themselves. In spite of the great appeal of Carafonte to tourists, the locals are not fond of visitors who act contrary to the cultural mores of the region.

They are a people not known for their merriment, or their hospitality towards guests, and they value being left to their own devices. A dour people, most would consider the Carafontians uniquely resistant to outside meddling unless it should benefit them, or their beliefs. However, if the people of Carafonte are obligated to carry out a task, they take to it dutifully, as they did when the northern Baloric states required aid in the face of Orcish invasion.

### Religious Beliefs

The Church of the Holy Light reigns supreme as the common faith of Carafonte, with most Carafontians putting stock into the doctrines of the more traditionalistic and conservative Bishops of the Church, though with the accession Faustine Belrose, a fringe cult of Light worshippers have taken root in the county, spreading quickly into the cities of Carafonte and slowly infiltrating the rural communities beyond.

This sect, known as the Convocation of the Flaming Heart, follows a priest who claims to have seen prophetic visions of a flaming heart with a golden eye, teaching him of new doctrines. This priest, Pèire Azalais, teaches that the soul is in the heart, where the Holy Light's eye resides, and that sin must be washed away by fire, whether that entails ritually burning the palm of your hand, or burning enemies of the faith at the stake.

Now, Azalais serves as the Bishop of the County, proselytizing to all Carafontians and the people of lands beyond, spreading the doctrines of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart further and further with each year.

### Local Holidays

In the first month of springtime every year, the people of Carafonte celebrate the arrival of the Baloric resistance in their mountains, alongside the saints of the northern coast, with two weeks of religious ceremony and a week of feasting to follow.

When the first leaves fall to foreshadow the arrival of winter, the people of Carafonte who place their faith in the Convocation of the Flaming Heart erect massive bonfires that remain burning for a full week, praying for the Light to shield their souls with offerings of jewelry, livestock and food thrown on the fires to appease the Light.

## Economy & Resources

A land of high mountain peaks and deep, fertile valleys, Carafonte is capable of sustaining itself agriculturally and industrially, making it something of a local powerhouse, but the most important strategic resources are the reserves of sulfur left behind by volcanic activity in the southern reaches near Parevas and Satrezzo, and the ancient limestone caves that allow for the production of saltpeter, and thusly gunpowder, making Carafonte a massively important resource zone.

## History

### Founding

Carafonte was founded as a comital fiefdom in 318 K.Y. when House Wrynn elevated House Belrose to nobility in the midst of the Peasant Rebellions of 306 K.Y., needing the previously baronial family to serve as stewards over the land in a time of social strife that had loosened the grip of the Stormwindian crown over the isle of Balor. The Baron of Soreto, Urbano Belrose, was raised to the position of Count of Carafonte, and helped forces loyal to the crown quell peasant uprisings that persisted until 321 K.Y.

### The Great Wars

When Balor was overrun by the forces of the Blackrock Clan and the Stormreavers, and the subsequent occupation began, the Duchy of Alcestenne, and many other neighboring polities found their forces retreating into the mountains of Carafonte as a safe haven against the Orcish armies that had established their rule over the coasts of the isle, where they could more effectively project power.

Then-countess of Carafonte, Carlita Belrose, took to the mountains as well, taking refuge with her people personally, and entertaining visitations from many leaders of the Baloric resistance that would go on to be canonized by the Church of the Holy Light, turning Carafonte into a hotspot of religious activity and pilgrimages.

### Stormwindian Civil War

In the years before the Stormwindian Civil War, the Count Alfonso Belrose married Faustine Comtois, a mainland aristocrat whose family had lost their landed status in the years prior, with the hopes that he would gain further connections with the mainland courts and an heir through their marriage. Over the next few years, and during the Civil War, Alfonso fell sick, and his condition slowly deteriorated until he died just prior to the cessation of hostilities and the capture of Redmarch.

In his waning years, Faustine served as the virtual ruler of Carafonte, arranging for populist revolts to be put down, and making a name for herself as a strong-willed leader. With no heir to his name, Alfonso's title and lands would be disputed between his nephew César, and Faustine.

With Alfonso dead, and no heir to succeed him, César and Faustine both declared their intent to claim the comital titles of Carafonte, with César Belrose supported as the rightful heir by the Duke of Athlone, longtime rival to House Laurent, and the legal liege of the County of Carafonte.

### War of the Clerical Countess

César called upon any loyal men of Carafonte to take up arms against Faustine on the grounds that she was an illegitimate claimant to the title of Countess, and began spreading further a rumor that she had poisoned her husband in a bid to claim his title and land at his own expense. He furthermore called upon the Duke of Athlone to support his claim with military force in the brewing feudal conflict.

Inversely, Faustine kept her husband's name, and while César had to travel back to Balor from Elwynn, had herself declared the rightful and Light-ordained Countess of Carafonte in a ceremony in Sorieti by the shepherd of the Flaming Heart, Pèire Azalais, winning her the support of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart, and cementing an image of great faith in the Holy Light that endeared her to the sensibilities of the Carafontian people.

A month passed, and Athlonian and Belrose Legitimist forces marched on Soreto from the southern pass under the banner of César Belrose, alongside the Baron of Malriene, Rolande Traverse and the Duke of Athlone's son, Lionel Gauthier. The city of Soreto fell within a fortnight, with a skeleton crew garrison protecting it from attack, allowing the armies of César and his allies to occupy the city.

While they celebrated their easily-won victory, the Seventh, Eighth and Ninth Hosts of the Flaming Heart encircled the city and began a protracted siege that resulted in the capture of Lionel Gauthier, the withdrawal of César Belrose. Rolande Traverse, however, was dragged from the battlements as he led the defense personally during the fourth assault against Soreto.

Before the city walls, in sight of Gauthier and César, a screaming Baron Traverse was tied to a stake and burnt as an offering to the Holy Light.

Soreto had fallen by the fifth assault, with César having fled, and Gauthier captured alive in the defense of the city, his remaining men were given the choice to join the ranks of the Hosts of the Flaming Heart, or meet the same fate as their baronial ally.

César's retreat was covered by a cloud of smoke that billowed from the Soreto plateau, and he returned to the Athlonian territories to deliver news of their defeat, telling the Duke of Athlone about the capture of his son, and the death of his vassal.

By this point, having lost a large army and with his son in the hands of the enemy hordes of religious fanatics, Astor Gauthier was unwilling to commit further forces to a war he considered too troublesome for him to continue, and the Duke of Athlone sued for peace, especially with rumors that the Duchy of Alcestenne planned to involve themselves in the conflict.

With the Duchy of Athlone surrendering the territory of Carafonte, César Belrose stood alone against Faustine, and gathered whatever men loyal to the memory of his uncle he could for a final and daring assault on the seat of House Belrose, the city of Sorieti, crossing through the towns of Vapallo and Valearta to gather more fighters and supplies before the final confrontation was to take place.

In the final march on Sorieti, militants of the Convocation of the Flaming Heart struck their supply trains from the hills of the Carafontian plains, leading a haggard and half-starved force of legitimists to the doorstep of the great city, where they saw a thousand gilded eagles hanging from the walls of Sorieti, the crest of House Laurent, which had established a garrison in the city as part of an arrangement made with Faustine Belrose.

When the siege was begun, Laurentian archers let loose volley after volley on the encampments of the Belrose Legitimists through day and night, and on the first night that César chanced an assault on Sorieti, the First and Second Hosts of the Flaming Heart, having disguised themselves among the local populace, drew their blades and struck the rear of the Legitimist encampment, slaughtering their support staff and livestock, and blunting the momentum of their assault within three hours.

In the aftermath of the battle, a column of black smoke drifted southwards from Sorieti as the Legitimist encampments were burnt, and the Legitimist forces fled into the countryside of Carafonte, rooting themselves in the region as an insurgency for years to come, with César having fled into the mountains, where he leads his insurgents with the unspoken support of the Duchy of Athlone.

### Reconstruction

With the resolution of the feudal conflict, Faustine Belrose was sworn as a devoted vassal and ally of House Laurent and the Duchy of Alcestenne. The Faustinite branch of House Belrose came to be known as the Belroses of Carafonte, and those sworn to César were known as the Belroses of Athlone, taking refuge in the lands of the Gauthier family.

The ransom won from taking Lionel Gauthier as a prisoner funded the reconstruction of the eastern heartlands of Carafonte that were ravaged by the brief but brutal conflict that won their independence from the Duchy of Athlone.

Now, Faustine takes to the task of cementing her order in Carafonte, changing out the heraldry of the Belrose Crane for the Flaming Heart, and brooking no treason in her land, whether great or insignificant.

## Major Settlements

### Sorieti

The greater of the twin cities of Carafonte, Sorieti is a rich urban center on the northern shore of Lake Sarlet, and serves as the current seat of House Belrose under Faustine Belrose, a center of economic, religious and cultural activity, it is the most vital city in Carafonte, from which power is projected from Parevas to Almaso.

### Soreto

The lesser of the twin cities of Carafonte, Soreto was the previous seat of power of House Belrose, and the site of the greatest battle in the War of the Clerical Countess. Less densely urbanized, but largely considered to be a more defensible position thanks to being positioned atop a great plateau with only one thoroughfare large enough to accommodate the passage of armies. It is an active economic region with a great many mines dug into the plateau upon which it sits, and much rebuilding being done even still.

### Aleserta

The largest western city of Carafonte, Aleserta lies along the Morincord River, a large waterway that ferries much trade into the central Baloric basin. Aleserta also guards the two prominent crossings over the Morincord, both great and ancient bridges built even before the era of Stormwindian rule on Balor. Aleserta initially declared for the Legitimist cause in the War of the Clerical Countess, but was quickly quelled by the Convocation of the Flaming Heart after Faustine Belrose was made Countess by Bishop Azalais.

## Houses

House Belrose rules Carafonte, previously known for their hardy demeanors and martial strength, the house is now split between the Faustinites, or Convocationists, known for their religious fervor and having won the War of the Clerical Countess, and the Legitimists who swear their swords to César Belrose, son of Perceval, and nephew of Alfonso.

Many baronial and knightly families reside in Carafonte:

* House Trevisan
	+ House Palerma
	+ House Maso
* House Donati
	+ House Schiavone
* House Udinesi
	+ House Allesi
	+ House Neri
	+ House Baroffio