Barony of Sembourg

**Ruler**
 **Ruling House**
 **Resident Houses**
 **Seat**
 **Settlements**
* Sartou
* Athdoran
 **Beliefs**
 **Founded**

The **Barony of Sembourg** is a territory in the southern half of central Alcestenne, ruled by House Tuillieres from Boursier Keep. Sembourg is a mountainous and hilly land, and has been a fiefdom of Alcestenne since 130 K.Y. when the Tuillieres family was estabished.

## Culture

Sembourgian culture revolves around agricultural production and the extraction of materials from the mountain mines in the region. Highly utiliarian, Sembourg operates on a cuisine primarily composed of root vegetables and pork products, and like the rest of the Duchy of Alcestenne, there is a strong culture of hospitality in spite of their inherent insularity.

The people of Sembourg can be regarded as less friendly nonetheless, as a strong work ethic and devotion to Balor and Alcestenne above all results in their looking down upon many mainland cultures and non-human groups.

### Religious Beliefs

Like the rest of Alcestenne, Sembourg adheres to the highly traditionalist, downright reactionary orthodoxy of the Church of the Holy Light and the doctrines which have long guided the fiefdom; resulting in a strong sense of human primacy and Light-centric orthodoxy in the Barony just as everywhere else.

Sembourg is served by a special religious organization known as the Steel Clerics of Sartou, which lends the strength of their holy men and women to expeditionary forces mustered by the Baron of Sembourg.

### Local Holidays

In Sembourg, August is known as the Month of the Stag, and August 22nd is known as the Day of the Stag, celebrating the month and day when the raiding clans that hounded northern Balor in the Ten Years' Strife were decisively defeated at the Battle of Athdoran by Andria Laurent and Isperia Allaire, being federated by House Laurent and eventually forming House Tuillieres, celebrations for the Stag Month include a hunt for a Baloric stag on the 22nd, and two weeks of feasting beforehand.

Just like the other provinces of Alcestene, the spring season is marked with parades through many of the major settlements of Sembourg, celebrating the time of Balor's liberation. These parades are accompanied by the organization of various town faires, where cultural traditions and celebrations are carried out and displayed for any visitors to the region.

The first morning of spring is spent in mourning and prayer, honoring the sacrifices made by the people of Balor, before the celebrations begin.

## Economy & Resources

The Barony of Sembourg places half as much emphasis on their agricultural production, primarily centered around grains, roots and pork, as they do on their efforts to extract iron and stone from their mostly-fallow landscape.

Ruined by the invasion of the Orcish Horde, Sembourg is still languishing after decades, with the soil only half-recovered, and so 'steel and stone' has become the lifeblood of the Barony, their mined, quarried and forged products buying the lion's share of Sembourgian food from bordering fiefdoms.

While Sembourg has a handful of highly profitable gold mines, the bulk of their products consist of silver, copper, iron, tin and lead mined from the mountains, and some gems, primarily sapphires and rubies.

Many types of stone are quarried in Sembourg, but the most common is basalt, which is used for the bulk of local construction projects, making dark grey bricks a common sight in Sembourg.

One special source of revenue is the toll gate at the crossing over the Ganvereaux River to the west of Sembourg, which is a major lane of commerce over land.

## History

### Founding

Sembourg was established as a fiefdom of its own in 130 K.Y. when House Laurent elevated House Tuillieres to nobility. This was the same year that invasive raiding clans began to hound the northern shore of Balor, eventually being struck down by Andria Laurent and his Lord Marshal, Isperia Allaire.

These raiders were federated thanks to the mercy of Andria, and were assimilated and naturalized as the Tuillieres family, ruling over Sembourg in the name of House Laurent.

### Destruction

Much like the majority of the Kingdom of Stormwind and Duchy of Alcestenne, Sembourg was made victim to the ravages of the Orcish Horde in the First War, though the stiff resistance brought to bear by the Tuillieres family and the people of Sembourg resulted in a more thorough destruction of the Barony, resulting in the razing of the fields, cities and forests-- Leaving Sembourg a fallow place to this day.

### Present Day

Sembourg has not seen a great deal of the reconstruction fund that helped rebuild most of Balor, owing to the belief among the rulers of House Laurent that the Barony could finance their own rebuilding thanks to the rich deposits of gold mined from Sembourg.

Sembourg still serves Alcestenne, loyal to the end, and offering gold, ore and stone to the entire Duchy, as well as manpower for the military ventures of the northern Baloric holding.

## Settlements

### Sembourg

The namesake city, Sembourg is perhaps the only part of the Barony that could be considered 'metropolitan,' with a robust urban environment established on a plateau flanked by a mountain, the Spire of Boursier is the seat of Sembourg and House Tuillieres, a massive fortress that looms over much of the city.

The regions surrounding Sembourg are spotted with mining operations, quarries and farms, and it is not uncommon to find pigs and boars grazing the fields around the city, let out to pasture by ranchers.

In the heart of the city is the Basilica of Agostín and the Saint Alvira Academy of Sembourg, which is a rare center of scholasticism in a largely working-class Barony.

### Athdoran

The second largest holding in Sembourg, Athdoran is a quarrying town, overseen by House Adalbertu, a third order vassal under House Tuillieres, Athdoran is highly lacking in the way of agriculture, their economy largely based on the series of quarries and mines, of which they run the lion's share.

A township woven into valleys and hills that flank the largest share of the residential regions of Athdoran, the town has a sordid history with worker populism, and a permanent contingent of the Knights of Balor now garrison the town to prevent any strikes by miners.

### Sartou

The primary agricultural center of Sembourg, Sartou is directly ruled by House Tuillieres, and produces over two thirds of the domestic agricultural output of the Barony. Even still, Sartou boasts a higher industrial output, with large forges and fabrication centers, Sartou, alongside Sembourg itself, produces much of the processed material coming out of the Barony.

This makes Sartou an important center of Alcestenne, and it boasts a garrison second only to the city of Sembourg.

### Rounoît

A small township administered by House Erculanu, this southern region is a militarized pass that protects Sembourg from the south. With another set of productive mines and small farms, Rounoît is yet another important piece of the Sembourgian economy, though it is still small.

## Houses

House Tuillieres reigns over the Barony of Sembourg, renowned for their martial prowess, loyalty to House Laurent and reactionary politics, largely in line with the rest of Alcestenne.

The small houses of Adalbertu and Erculanu also serve in Sembourg, third order vassals under House Tuillieres, both were sent to the region by the Laurent family in the years following the federation of the clans that would soon make up the now-reigning House, aiding in the assimilation and naturalization of the foreigners to Baloric culture.

Over the years, these two junior houses have gone from watching over the Tuillieres, to serving them faithfull.