Salfordshire

**Ruler**
 **Ruling House**
 **Capital**
 **Important Settlements**
* Blackgarden (75,000)
* Hullstone (55,000)
* Cottsborough (25,000)
* Swanscombe (20,000)
 **Location**
 **Faith**
 **Allegiance**

The **Duchy of Salfordshire** is a fiefdom within the Kingdom of Stormwind. Taking up a large swathe of land along the northern ridges of Elwynn's Mountains, Salfordshire is one of, if not the, industrial heartlands of the kingdom. Indeed, its perennially burning foundries and forges produce immense quantities of steel and machinery, fueling the king's military might and driving the state headfirst towards an industrialized economy. The alpine countryside outside of the cities is rife with mines and mills of its own, while the foothills that make up the Duchy's borderlands with the interior of Elwynn are heavily forested, providing the land with a rich lumber trade as well. Her western border is shared with the Duchy of Tannon, while on the east she borders the Duchy of Lyss.

The Stockbridge Ironworkers' Guild hold an immense sway over the fiefdom's governance. Acting as the representatives of the common folk in the face of the gentry, the SIG now function as an unofficial political society with memberships extending to artisans, tradesmen, and all manners of bourgeois folk, as well as the simple labourer. The region is rife with rebellious rhetoric, with some political analysts considering Salfordshire as something of a powderkeg waiting to explode.

# History

The history of Salfordshire goes far enough back through time that its earliest tales bridge into mythology. The earliest tales suggest that the region was under the rule of a dragon known as Ydras who lived atop Mount Bognor and engaged in a symbiotic relationship with the early tribal humans of Northern Elwynn, long before the arrival of Arathorian colonizers. As the myth goes, in exchange for their worship Ydras shared the gifts of fire with the tribal men in order to defeat an evil spirit that had enslaved the folk. Ydras is also said to have lit the first forges outside of the Dwarven realms with his flaming breath, in the mountain passes and valleys of what would eventually be known as Salford. Ydras is now seen as something of a protective deity that watches over the commonfolk of northern Elwynn.

# Holdings of Salfordshire

## City of Salford

The namesake and capital of Salfordshire, the city of Salford is the duchy's administrative hub and home to its rulers, the Dukes of Salford. Salford is situated on the Southwestern bank of the River Lyn, adjacent to the city of Stockbridge, and surrounded on all sides by the county of Lynmouth. As such, Salford is an enclave under its own separate governance, falling under the direct control of the ruling House Keating--rather than that of Lynmouth's lords--and acting as their seat of power. With a town centre crowned by an historic hilltop castle, Salford is a picturesque, moneyed town inhabited largely by Salfordshire's wealthier denizens.

## County of Lynmouth

The most populous of Salfordshire's constituent counties, Lynmouth is home to its two largest industrial centres: Stockbridge and Blackgarden. The entirety of Lynmouth falls within the large Lyn River Valley of the foothills of Elwynn's northern mountains, while Lynmouth's north end is often clouded by a dense fog produced by the fires of industry. The county is named for the mouth of the River Lyn, where it combines with the River Serry to form the River Ulder, which in turn is a tributary of Stone Cairn Lake.

### Stockbridge

If Salford is the de facto capital of Salfordshire, then Stockbridge is its de jure. By far and away the largest city of the duchy--indeed, its population is double that of the second largest of Blackgarden--Stockbridge is the premier economic and industrial power of the region. The city, in spite of having a Lord Mayor appointed by the Duke, largely falls under the leadership of the Stockbridge Ironworkers' Guild. The city deals in steel, and a heavy smog hangs over the city's rooftops, pumped into the air from the foundries and steel mills--though the air of revolution is just as thick as well.

### Blackgarden

The little brother of Stockbridge, Blackgarden is the second largest industrial city in Salfordshire. Located a mere ten miles down river from its larger counterpart, the city of Blackgarden is where most of the smithing in Salfordshire takes place, with shipments of steel and other raw materials travelling South down the River Lyn from Stockbridge.

## County of Serrymere

Though it cities are not the largest in Salfordshire, the County of Serrymere holds the second highest population in the Duchy. Similar to Lynmouth in topography--the county is comprised of River Serry's accompanying valley and floodplain--Serrymere has much less of the former's smog, though by all means it falls under the industrial umbrella of the rest of the duchy. The River Serry is sourced by the mountain lake Serrymere and its aquifers, from which the county's name is derived, creating some of the freshest mountain spring water that is bottled and sold throughout the Kingdom. With a myriad of towns dedicated to residential purposes, the scenic alpine region is definitely one of Salfordshire's more pleasant vistas.

## County of Keswick

If Lynmouth is Salfordshire's industrial ground, then Keswick is the centre of its militarism. The county alone houses three of the four regiments of Royal Stormwind Army troops that garrison the duchy, as well as numerous fortifications and armouries in the mountains and valleys. The northernmost territory of Salfordshire and thus its outermost shell, the practically insurmountable mountain range and impenetrable man-made defences have made the bulwark that is Keswick a veritable nightmare for invading armies to capture for centuries. Keswick is additionally home to most of Salfordshire's iron mines with the mountain passes and valleys rich with the metal; it is thus a common belief that a citizen of Keswick will either end up as a miner or soldier.

### Fort Lindis

The largest of all the fortifications in Keswick, Fort Lindis is permanently garrisoned by a regiment of the Royal Artillery Corps, as well a few battalions from local infantry and cavalry regiments, with each rotating onto the fort's roster quarterly. Located in the centre of the main mountain pass leading towards the Burning Steppe, the massive star fort shields many barracks, inner fortifications, and one of the largest armouries of any Royal Army installation within its sloped walls. Fort Lindis is something of a settlement of its own at this point; the Southern end--the end pointed towards the rest of Salfordshire--attracts many traders when weather allows, and the taverns of the nearby town of Lindis, for which the fort is named, are full with visitors during the warm Summer months.

## County of Broadhill

Named for the rolling foothills that cascade down from the higher mountains, Broadhill is the centre of Salfordshire's lumber trade. Broadhill is covered in pine forests, and with the rivers Lyn, Serry, and Ulder intersecting their way through the land like arteries, sawmills are abound in this heavily wooded county. The population of Broadhill is the second lowest behind Keswick, but due to its close proximity to the rest Elwynn Forest, in particular Stone Cairn Lake, Broadhill finds great wealth through its function as the gateway between Salfordshire and the Kingdom's other fiefs.

# Politics

While falling under the rule of the Dukes of Salford, and ultimately the King of Stormwind, the Salfordshire air is thick with the fumes of dissidence. Due to the industrial nature of the Duchy and the fact that around one third of its population live as labourers within industrial centres rather than in the country as peasants, there is a general desire held by the commoners of Salfordshire for self governance, in preference to the rule of nobility and the Divine Right of Kings.

## Noble Rule

The title of Duke of Salford is currently held by Martin of House Keating, and has been in the Keating family for centuries. With lineage traceable to the initial settlement of the South by the Arathorian Empire, the Keatings ruled as the Counts of Lynmouth until their promotion to Dukedom after opposing an ill-fated bid for the throne of Stormwind by the Duchy's former rulers, the House of Peverell, in the early 300s KC. House Keating's rule has been largely unpopular with the majority of Salfordshire's citizenry for decades, and the young Martin's frivolous leadership does not aid the issue. House Keating's coat of arms features a resting buck on a field of yellow, bordered by a shield of green and red.

Each of the constituent counties of Salfordshire falls under the rule of a comital family that follows the leadership of the House of Keating. The County of Lynmouth belongs to the House of Ostyngarde, with the current count being Lord Aderic. The Ostyngardes trace their lineage to a knightly family that climbed into the aristocratic caste due to prolonged and distinguished service to the crown. The arms of House Ostyngarde feature three golden stars arranged in a triangular pattern on a field of black.

The House of Longchamps are the masters of Serrymere, with the elderly Count Gospatric Longchamps acting as the current head. They boast a similar history of allegiance to the House of Keating as the House of Keynes, and were, too, once mere barons. House Longchamps' coat of arms feature a fish on a field of blue and gray, waved in the pattern of a flowing river.

Lady Jacqueline Fugwitz is the Count of Keswick. An ancient Arathorian family, the title has been under Fugwitz ownership since the era of Stormwind's independence; it is the only comital title in Salfordshire to have not changed hands since its inception. The Fugwitz family have a history of militarism and such is reflected in Keswick's culture. Perhaps ironically, the Fugwitz coat of arms features a swan on a field of blue and green split down the middle.

Finally, the title of Count of Broadhill is held by Lord Ralph of House Waleran. The Walerans, like the Keynes and the Longchamps, were given the title by the House of Keating for their service against rebellion. The Waleran coat of arms features a rampant brown horse on a field of forest green.

## Symbolism

 File:DragonBanner.png   File:DragonBanner3.png  The Dragon Banner is the symbolization of the commoners' defiance, most commonly depicting the red drake Ydras along with either a bloodied sword or an edelweiss flower on a field of gold. The flag is rarely flown aside from protests and rallies where there is safety and anonymity in numbers, as it is punishable by fine and imprisonment to show the flag at all. In spite of this, the common men claim it as the flag of Salfordshire, while in contrast those of the landed minority would say the region's flag is the stag banner of House Keating. Those of revolutionary dispositions are known to paint the red dragon emblem onto walls and buildings in the night time to show their defiance, though it is almost always swiftly dealt with by painting over the following day, and with imprisonment if the graffiti artist is caught.

Similarly, Salfordshire holds two separate mottos adopted by the nobleman and the commoner. House Keating's words, "The Shield of the Kingdom," in reference to Salfordshire's strategic position on Stormwind's Northern border, function as the region's official motto. However, the de facto words of the vast majority of her population are "Triumphant Through Labour."

Among the legends of Salfordshire is that of the edelweiss flower. The white flower only grows at high altitudes, making the petals difficult to acquire and hence a symbol of great strength for whomever wears them. In eras long passed, young warriors would ascend the mountains in search of the flower as it was seen as the mark of true resilience and strength. Contemporary soldiers who hail from the mountainous ranges of northern Elwynn have carried on the tradition of wearing picked edelweiss flowers as something of a good luck charm, with this practice particularly prevalent in the County of Stratspur. As it pertains to the region's revolutionary fervor, many of the more militant groups and factions of Salfordshire use the edelweiss as their emblem.

# Culture

Despite the fractured nature of Salfordshire's politics, it is culturally homogeneous with the rest of the Kingdom of Stormwind. Salfordians have perhaps a singular stand out cultural feature when compared with the rest of Stormwind's population: their mythology and celebration around the dragon Ydras. The common folk of Salfordshire engage in the Festival of Ydras on the first week of August, where dragon puppets and costumes are worn and feasts, tournaments, and games are held. In the city of Stockbridge a massive parade is held on the festival's last day. The city streets and the River Lyn are flooded with costumed people and balloons, and those of the merchant class often compete for the most lavish floats. The Dragon Banner is flown throughout the week, particularly in backwoods settlements, as the festival functions as something of a celebration of the commoner.

Many of Elwynn's other peasant deities are present features of the culture in Salfordshire as well. For instance, those who find work on the Rivers Lyn or Serry swear by the existence of the River Wizard, though in north Elwynn variations of the myth, the wizard is a Dwarf rather than a short fat man with a long beard.

## Sport

Like the rest of Elwynn Forest, sport is central to the lives Salfordians, rich and poor. Be it knightly tournaments for the nobility or simpler games for the commoner, the involvement in sport--in the stands or through participation--is a major part of the culture.

House Keating holds an annual tournament where knights from its vassal houses compete for glory. Jousting, horse racing, and knightly duels are particular favourites among Salfordshire's wealthier denizens.

For the common folk, the game of marmotball is a particular favourite. Stockbridge alone is home to three popular teams, while most towns and cities in the rest of the duchy have teams of their own, all of which experience regular attendance in the thousands at their matches. Pankration is widely watched and celebrated as well, as the combat sport is one of the true peasant competitions; indeed, Blackgarden and its famous training gyms are home to many champions.