Bleakhoar

**Ruler**
 **Overlord**
 **Resident Houses**
 **Settlements**
 **Beliefs**
* Shamanism (secondary}
 **Founded**

**Bleakhoar** is the capital city of the Barony of Bearmark. It is the northernmost settlement in all of Zollern, situated in rocky, mountainous terrain. It was named because of the bleak atmosphere around it, and the hoary, harsh winds. Not many people make the trek all the way up to Bleakhoar, and those who reside therein are the sturdiest, hardiest folk the Duchy of Zollern has to offer.

## Culture

Bleakhoar's villagers are hardy folk. A common term to reference them and others like them is simply the Mountain Clansmen. One might claim they are the single most isolated people within the Duchy of Zollern, just as other peoples within the County of Northfront View are. They are unique in the sense that they are some of the tallest within the duchy, and most broad in shoulder and stature. Some unsuspecting travelers have confused them with Northern raiders, and others claim rumor that the traces of Vrykul blood still runs strong through their veins. Stranger yet, some claim that Vrykul themselves even still roam in Northfront View, though none have been able to prove so.

Due to isolation and such harsh landscape, the few villages that dot the landscape around Northfront View are small and meager - and Bleakhoar, being the harshest of them all, is no different. Situated near the top of a crude mountain range, the arid land around gives little-to-no farmland, and thus they rely on hunting prey such as goats, bear, and aerial creatures. Northfront View also produces few resources to be considered useful, though some of the villages - such as Hewe - are able to provide minerals, and the Barony of Laencaster provides lumber. Bleakhoar, then, produces manpower. The large, imposing 'Bearmen' make strong soldiers.

Politically, the denizens of Bleakhoar have no desire to get embroiled with the affairs of the outside world, and even those within Zollern itself; whether it be scheming Merchant-Burghers from Silverkeep, or the envious rival House Aarden wanting to hold dukedom themselves, the Bearmen, as they are nicknamed, have kept to themselves and lived their harsh lifestyle the way they want. However, with their lives in exile, Bleakhoar descendants have made a fierce pact of loyalty to Lord Burchard Hillegas, and have agreed to come to his call of aid, should he wish upon them. Religiously, the isolation of Bleakhoar stemming from it's beginnings has left the worship of the Northern Pantheon strong here, rather than the Shamanistic worship that most others within Zollern turned to over time.

## History

### Founding

Bleakhoar was one of the last settlements founded within the Duchy of Zollern, due to the fact it's far out of the way of normal travel, and is in a rather inhospitable spot. Somewhere along the way, a rather stubborn and hardy group of settlers chose this spot, and have slowly cultivated life there. This isolated lifestyle led not only to a proper lack of evolution from tribal lifestyle into a feudal one, but also a regression of sorts into a feral way of life. The denizens of Bleakhoar in particular are nicknamed the Bearmen of Bearmark, for they growl and roar in battle, wear bearskins, and are large in stature.

### Campaign for Zollern

Bearmen were spotted amongst the ranks of soldiers under Burchard's command during the Second Siege of Starkfeste, used as shock infantry to storm the walls and tie up the bandit defenders. It was said that the Bearmen were responsible for ending the encirclement around the traitors of House Aarden at the Aarden Estate, as well, for their hardy nature allowed them to withstand a siege much longer and easier than the Aarden's.

### Present Day

After the Campaign for Zollern, the village of Bleakhoar has been re-populated with the Bearmen, and they have sworn their oaths of loyalty to Burchard while going back to being the speculative and reclusive Mountain Clansmen.

## Houses

No large or recognized vassal House has ever chosen to reside their seat of power within Bleakhoar, instead the lands have just been maintained by the Bearmen themselves. Some of the snarkier and derisive members of Zollern society instead remark that none are brave enough to attempt to pacify the Bearmen of Bearmark, let alone rule over them as a baron.