Principality of Krachensvelt

## Krachensvelt

The coat of arms of Krachensvelt

The Principality of Krachensvelt is the easternmost fief of the Holy Human Empire. As one of the six fiefs ceded by the Second Elven Empire at the end of the War of the Alliance, the Principality of Krachensvelt is less settled and urbanized than the rest of the HHE. Despite attempts to root out infidels by the Church, a significant number of humans in Krachensvelt still indulge in druidic practices, especially the many hunters and herbalists which make their living in the vast woodlands of Krachensvelt.

### History

Krachensvelt was ceded after the War of the Alliance, after the formal renunciation of the Second Elven Empire of all human settlements.

#### Recent Events

Duchess Veronica has not yet visited or mentioned Krachensvelt.

### Geography

Krachensvelt is heavily forested in the north, but in the southeast has been deforested in recent decades by intensive logging for charcoal production. The sprawling forests cover rolling hills, punctuated by meadows. The trees (in)famously often grow crooked along rocky outcroppings in the sandy and loose soil of the region.

Krachensvelt receives its name from the complex braided rivers that form flowing from the northeastern mountains, which resemble the outstretched limbs of a kraken. That is, at least, part of the numerous legends that surround this land. Another says that Krachensvelt gets its name from the old "Krach" or fortress that was apparently impregnable. However, no ruins of that scale have ever been found.

#### Krachenshain

Groves of thick, twisted trees, especially common near the Elven borders, are known as Krachenshaine (singular Krachenshain). Krachenshaine are considered especially dangerous and home to beasts of unusual size, cunning, and aggression. These creatures are prized as trophies and as sources of *medica materia*, as are the strange plants which flower in these groves. A 'Hainsman' is thus an expert woodsman who makes their living by the bounty of such groves; an especially dangerous and difficult calling. It is said some especially successful Hainsmen do not truly hunt in the Krachenshaine, but instead butcher animals which meekly give themselves over by the will of the forest in exchange for dark and debased rituals of Elven origin. But of course, such things are just silly rumors and superstition...

### Economy

Krachensvelt is underdeveloped and impoverished. Most villages in Krachensvelt are little more than a collection of cob huts in the shadow of a meeting house not much larger or sturdier than the residences. A crude kind of existence is scraped out with mouldboard ploughs, with the adults working the fields, and the children gathering in the woods. The men hunt in the summer and fall, as Imperial restrictions on commoners hunting game do not apply in the Principality due to its poverty and legally privileged position.

To the chagrin of many Druidic practitioners, the southeastern forests have been stripped bare to feed the HHE's increasing appetite for charcoal in the fires of its industries. This has also led to the exploitation of coal seams in the southeast, by a mixture of convicts and local corvees. The mining towns that have formed around these seams have a notably more 'Imperial' character and culture than the long-standing hamlets and castle towns that make up most of Krachensvelt.

A thin strip of gold veins are nestled against the northeastern mountains, but between the hostility of the forests and the distance from the economic centers of the HHE, they remain extremely underexploited. However, it is uncertain how long they will remain so, as the Empire's appetite for coal, iron, and gold is seemingly insatiable...

### Culture

Krachensvelters are stereotyped as morose and quiet, with little appetite for (or understanding of) civilized comforts. Krachensvelters are also stereotyped as unusually tall; there is some truth to this as even in poor harvest years, meat is never inaccessible for the hunters of Krachensvelt. Many of the affectations and trends of Boisivalid and Imperial culture find no purchase in the isolated villages of Krachensvelt, which are deeply traditional and mistrusting of outsiders. Many still venerate old druidic circles deep in the woods, regardless of whether they follow the Deodatic Church. Nobility traditionally wear a wolf pelt upon their heads; however, since the advent of Imperial rule, the nobility have largely changed to wearing the traditional wolf pelt about the shoulders.

### Politics

Krachensvelt is ruled by the Prince of Krachensvelt. While Krachensvelt is poor and underpopulated for its size, it remains one of the largest holdings of the HHE, and the Prince of Krachensvelt is, furthermore, afforded many exemptions from Imperial taxes and duties due to the importance of Krachensvelt in forming a bulwark against Lacertia and the Elven Kingdoms. The term 'Krachensthurm' is thus used to refer literally to the innumerable small castles towering over the bare hills and thick woods of the Principality, and figuratively for any edifice conspicuous by lack of notable surroundings. The princes of Krachensvelt traditionally have close ties the King of Boisival, presently with Louis the VIII.

#### Prince Ebbo von Krachensvelt

The current Prince of Krachensvelt is Prince Ebbo von Krachensvelt.