Barony of Felderelle

*"Felderelle used to be my home, when I was a boy. The mountains were my unending adventure as I wandered about them, sometimes for days, aimlessly, while I'm certain my mother was afraid I'd never return. And I would return, of course, bringing back the meat of rabbits or a basket of berries I'd found. Those were the best days of my life! But you aren't wandering those mountains now, my boy. It's a dangerous place, not for your life, but for your mind. Those Priests own Felderelle now. Their fortress monastery sits atop the mountain peaks, visible all the way to the shoreline, and it's without question that the King doesn't own this land anymore. They do. And if you say otherwise, well, you'll have to answer to that Goddess of theirs."* - Taken from an interview in the History of Arkland Vol III.

## The Baron of Felderelle

Felderelle first and foremost is the home of the great fortress monastery of the Priests of Light, the place where new adepts come to be trained in the ways of Light Magic and be indoctrinated in the dogma of their religion. It has been that way for nearly 150 years but officially so since the Decree of Light officially established a portion of the mountains of [[Felderelle] as their home. This was done because the Geran family line originated in Felderelle, and as such, they had the power to bequeath land to the growing religion. As such, and since then, the Baron of Felderelle, whomever it may be, must always be a pious person, and from there, had better pay respects and homage to the Light of Arkland.

For the last one-hundred years, the Barons of Felderelle have all been religious zealots, some so much so as to suggest that the Kingdom should be taken over completely by the Light of Arkland, thereby surpassing the authority of the King. There aren't many powerful families now residing in Felderelle as the nobility typically shy away from dealings with the Priests of Light. As such, the ruling families from which the Baron of Felderelle is elected are typically very old, having been in Felderelle since it was established, or very young, having established themselves in Felderelle to serve the priesthood. The Baron of Felderelle then typically comes from one of these newer families as the older families tend to keep to themselves.

Wealth and power in Felderelle is acquired typically be either controlling the farmland to the east, controlling the land based access to the mountains and thereby the fortress monastery which dominates that region, or by controlling the salt mines. To establish domain as a Baron of Felderelle, therefore, the current Baron must have also established good will with the priesthood and negotiated their free access to the monastery and surrounding lands. Also, there is much wealth to be made from the fields of Felderelle in providing goods and grains to the monastery.

## Places of Felderelle

The capital city of Felderelle is Bretigny. Like most larger cities in Arkland, it is located on the shores of the Bay of Kings. Bretigny, aside from being the seat of power for the current Baron, is also the home of many of the old noble families in Felderelle. Bretigny maintains a small trading port where grains can be shipped across the Bay of Kings to other counties. It also acts as a small fishing hub. As many of the old nobility within Felderelle have long been patrons of the arts, Bretigny also boasts a museum of fine art in which painters and collectors from around Arkland all display their works.

The fortress monastery of the Priests of Light is also found within Felderelle high atop the southern mountain chain. Several notable villages and towns dot the paths in the foothills of the mountains and act as the trading posts for goods that make their way to and from the monastery.

The salt mines of Felderelle are in the foothills of the mountains. It is the only area in Arkland where salt is found naturally, and it is an extremely rich deposit. This salt mine is extremely important for Arkland, a sea faring nation.

## Geography of Felderelle

Felderelle as a county begins just south of King's Crossing and like all counties, borders the Bay of Kings. Most of the west and south-western portion of Felderelle are mountains, with gates built in the style of the Walls of Arkland acting to keep foreigners out. The shoreline is shallow but not fertile as it skirts the Bay between where the mountains and hills start and the coast ends. As you travel east, eventually the mountains give way to rolling hills and then to plains. Here, water which comes down from the mountains creates rich farmland, and although most of this farmland is not contained within the borders of Felderelle, it is enough land to provide crops for food as well as wealth to the noble families who control the land.

The mountains of Felderelle are largely barren. There are no known resources there. However, in the foothills of those mountains are the salt mines of Felderelle in which an extremely rich, natural deposit of salt is found.

There is also a large lake in the east of Felderelle where the streams from the mountains drain. Around this lake is the vacation home of many rich noble families from King's Crossing but it is also a main water source for irrigation for much of the surrounding farmland.

## Fortress Monastery

The Priests of Light were officially granted the land atop the mountains of Felderelle as part of the Decree of Light made by King Geran. There, with the assistance of the noble families of Felderelle, they established the great Fortress Monastery. This monastery came to serve as the official headquarters of the priesthood, and as it expanded, it also became the academy whereupon new recruits to the priesthood are trained in both Light Magic and to become ministers to the people. The monastery is positioned across the ridges of a few close mountains, with roads connecting its various areas. It is atop some of the higher mountains meaning that the monastery can be viewed all the way from the shore of the Bay of Kings.

The monastery is also a fortress, perhaps impenetrable due to its precarious perch. Should the priesthood ever come under assault, it is believed they could hold up in their monastery indefinitely or at least until they ran out of food. The land surrounding the monastery is largely poor soil, and supplies and food must be carried, typically daily, to the store houses on top of the mountain. The priesthood, however, does not lack in volunteer laborers to complete these tasks.

The monastery consists of two major campuses, the one on the eastern mountain being the academy, and the fortress on the west acting as the palace and fortress for the High Priests. In between are the structures of the priesthood including barracks for Paladins, quarters for adepts, and many other structures effectively forming a small city.

The Fortress Monastery is now easily the primary source of the economy in Felderelle. Commoners used to inhabit the mountains, scratching out on an existence, but now, those same commoners serve as the guides and transporters to bring food and supplies to the monastery. They now live in small villages at the foot of the mountains.

## The Noble Families of Felderelle

The nobility of Felderelle is commonly referred to in two groups, the Old and the New. The Old are those families which have owned Felderelle since the beginning of Arkland. It is from these families that King Geran came. The land of Felderelle used to be separated therein by families which controlled the mountains, shoreline, and passes and then those families who controlled the rich farmland to the east. However, those days are now long gone. The families which used to control the mountains and shoreline has since had their powers usurped by the New nobility, devout followers of the Priests of Light. These followers, believing that only true followers should control the lands around the Fortress Monastery, have worked their way into power, typically from foreign counties, and often did so through use of force.

The New are young families, at least in the eyes of a citizen of Felderelle. In fact, most are families that were long ago established in other lands but had a religious bend which caused them to want to migrate to Felderelle. There was a time of strife around 108 AF in which the banners of several families from all across the bay marched on Felderelle. King Geran was unwilling to stop them, in fact, lending them aid in their martial overthrow of the Old families of Felderelle. Therefore, the Old families still control the farmlands of Felderelle and are largely, extremely distrustful of the new families.

In either case, the families of Felderelle are for the most part, much poorer than families in outside counties. This is because Felderelle doesn't have much to boast in terms of natural resources nor in population. To be nobility in Felderelle has always been to be somewhat outcasts or simply looked down upon. This is not lost on the nobility and has historically created either a sense of distrust for other counties in Arkland or a since of fierce pride in their own small plot of land.

## Banners of Felderelle

With the Priests of Light now controlling the politics of Felderelle, the nobility have been downsizing their banners. This is because they widely believe that they have no reason to invest in maintaining an army as the priesthood would never let Felderelle come under attack, anyways. There is not a single lord or lady in Arkland who would ever try to challenge the Paladins that guard the Fortress Monastery. With that, the Lord Commanders of Felderelle are quite few, and the armies that they do command are generally small. Their presence is more often used to maintain order within the farming villages to the east.

However, because of their close relationship with the Paladins, the Lord Commanders of Felderelle are also more in line with the idea of how to incorporate Paladins under their banners when they do march. Thus, armies which are formed in Felderelle often march to war with a sizable force of Paladins within them.

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--Neil (talk) 22:51, 15 October 2016 (AST)