Duchy of Lanslet

**The Duchy of Lanslet** is a territory within the Kingdom of Lambert that is ruled over by the monarch of Lambert. The Duchy of Lanslet was the first vassal territory created by the Kingdom of Lambert that was promised to be the monarch's territory due to the duchy encompassing Stoneport, the capital of Lambert. The duchy is largely controlled by the King of Lambert whose court resides in Stoneport and has control from the center of the kingdom to most of the border that is shared between the kingdom of the Holy Empire of Visimar. The Duke of Lanslet is a title usually given to a close relative of the king as courtly matters usually far extends the mundanities of bureaucracy.

The duchy is also well enriched within the international trade system as the Jaded Road extends into and out of the territory. Although the road ends in Porterdenn, a large town in the Barony of Bragos, most merchants usually end their journey in Stoneport before moving further inland or returning to Midheim.

## Inhabitants

Most Lambertians who fought in the slave rebellion which created the Kingdom of Lambert can trace their heritage to most of the serfs and middlefolk that currently live in the Duchy of Lanslet, as similar to other baronies within the Kingdom of Lambert. Most unnamed and named villages within the duchy usually exploit the wetlands presented to them and harvest wheat and other vegetables. Many bakers within the duchy came together one day in the 4th century and prepared a unique meal to the king, calling it a sandwich. The recorded to have been so impressed with the meal that he named a valley outside of Tatodenn in their honor and gave them each a plot of land. Because of this legend, many baker's guilds have been created across the duchy in numerous states of membership who compete with one another to who makes the better sandwich in a festival usually celebrated in years of peace, but seldom in war.

A considerable population of elves and dwarves exist within the Duchy and both races are equally distributed among the lower and middle class within the duchy. A known full-elf by the name of Zelphar whose served the royal court as a court mage has been known as one of the only well-known full elves within the duchy who served multiple kings throughout his life since 742. As of 1300, Zelphar is reportedly alive and well, not looking over 50 despite his age.

The rest of the half-elven population encompass the lower class and some positions within the merchant guilds of Stoneport, rarely taking arms in the call of war unless forced to by conscription. Most elves share the same villages as humans which most allow to some extent while others tolerate. They share the same jobs as humans regardless of status. Half-elves number around 5000 within the Duchy, with around 2000 being known to live in Stoneport.

Many dwarves settled within the Duchy of Lanslet following the Paragon Heretic Trials as the Kingdom of Lambert stubbornly fought for their safety against hordes of crusading paragonists. Most dwarves had settled within the city of Stoneport and Tradersdenn to live as metalsmiths, blacksmiths or soldiers. One of the more dwarven-cultured settlements comes from the small town outside of Stoneport known as Quarry Rock, where a majority of the duchy's dwarven population lives and works as they work on gutting an unnamed mountain that used to be within eyesight of the capital, but has been shaved down from generations of quarry workers tearing the mountain down and extracting the stone and ores to be processed in the town. During conflict, many of the quarry workers enlist in a large militia force that had taken part in most wars involving the Kingdom of Lambert. Although they started with using nothing but padded clothing and their working tools like pickaxes and shovels, the militia has grown to great proportions where they are able to send an entire formation of dwarves fully armed with plate armour and steel weapons provided exclusively by the mountain they work on in times of peace. The dwarven population largely never exceeds 7,000 and usually sits around 3-4,000.

## Notable Locations

**Stoneport** - The capital of the Kingdom of Lambert and the seat of power for the monarch and duke of Lanslet. The city is diverse with races and many merchants credit it for being one of the most defended cities in Clamund, with several rings of stone walls to protect from invaders with several large towers to garrison archers and crossbowmen and eventually gunners. The merchant's district is by far the most profitable place in Clamund outside of Midheim.

**Watcher's Keep** - A sizable castle that borders the Holy Empire of Visimar and acts as a control post for traffic using the Jaded Road. Most of the Duke's knights as well as most Royal knights signed to deployment are stationed at this keep with their retinues. Border conflicts are often and it is not unknown for the Lord of Castle Enkle to send skirmish forces to harass the keep every so often during times of unrest and strife. It's walls are slate black and it stands out among the plains and forests that dot the Jaded Road.

**Quarry Rock** - A settlement inhabited by the duchy's dwarven population. The settlement sits at the foot of a huge mountain that has been quarried out of most of its resources for hundreds of years. Now, it is simply a huge crater with a small fortress and settlement in the center with a large moat which acts as the working area for digging deeper.

**Tradersdenn** - A town along the Jaded Road that acts as a stop between Midheim and Stoneport. Similar to its Visimarian counterpart of Grunberg, not a lot of trading has been exchanged as merchants usually bypass the town for Stoneport or Midheim, hence why it has never expanded beyond the size of a town. A crime syndicate is known to roam the streets of Tradersdenn who usually sells information of the payload of certain merchant caravans as they pass by to Stoneport, but efforts to upkeep the safety of the road diminished their significance in 1000.