A union of lords, great in power and prestige, an ancient coalition held together by long tradition of nobility and rule of law.
Introduction
"Terrinoth," in the almost forgotten tongue of the Elder Kings means "The Land of Steel." The name is often thought to have described the mindsets and attire of its inhabitants as much as the wealth of iron deposits still found in its rugged mountains. The Elder Kings are now gone, and Terrinoth is no longer a kingdom. Instead, the region is divided amongst the Free Cities and the noble barons of the Daqan Lords.
The Daqan Lords of Terrinoth govern themselves and their lands through the Council of Thirteen, which meets each year in the citadel-city of Archaut. Each baron of Daqan holds a seat on the Council, and their wisdom and leadership has seen the people through many crises. While each lord is free to rule his barony as he sees fit, it is the Council that decides matters affecting the lords as a whole, resolves disputes between barons, or presides over important trials. On rare occasions, the Council is convened by reason of urgent crisis or other matters of special circumstance, and it takes such an exceptional event to mobilize the knights and men-at-arms of every barony to war.
The Council of Thirteen dates to the time of the Second Darkness and the fate of King Daqan. The king vanished in the early days of the crisis, and his fate remains unknown. He left no heir, and with no certain proof of his death none of the barons would accept one of their own ascending to the throne. Thus, the Council of “Daqan’s Lords” was formed. The Council, intended at first to be a temporary solution, endures to this day.
The people of Daqan whisper that King Daqan will return someday, and that he will suffer no other king to sit in his throne before he does. The superstition and legend of the Lost King forms as much a part of the character of Daqan’s former kingdom as the cult of Kellos or the Magistrates of the Common Law. As darkness gathers once more, some whisper that Daqan’s return is imminent...but the Council will not wait for the Lost King. The Daqan Lords march to war.
The Old Kingdom
Just beyond the rare plowed fields, decaying roads, and remote walled towns of Terrinoth, rise the ruined monuments of the past. The extravagant edifices of the Soulstone Dynasty and regimes even older, laid waste by past devastation, stretch their crumbling towers up above the grasping vines and lowering trees, reclaimed by the wild.
Terrinoth, the Land of Steel, is a land that knew the terror of the Uthuk Y'llan, the dread march of Waiqar Sumarion's undead legions, and the chill shadows of dragonlords soaring overhead. Deep forests and fallow mires threaten to swallow up what dangerous roads remain between far-flung settlements, while wide, rushing rivers sweep down from majestic mountains. Within overgrown and dilapidated structures of ages past, ancient dungeons hide terrible foes as well as awe-inspiring treasures, glimpses of a bygone age.
The forging of the Land of Steel began with the hero Arcus, first of the Penacor line. The Penacor kings called their realm Talindon, and they added to its glory over centuries. But the First Darkness extinguished their line, and the crown passed to Daqan, the legendary knight and baron who delegated much of the realm's power to his Council of Barons. Before the rise and hard-won defeat of Waiqar the Betrayer, Daqan was assassinated. By his will, no kingly successor was named, and instead the Council of Barons was to rule the land, bolstered by the growing wealth of the Free Cities.
The rebuilding that followed the First Darkness and Waiqar's betrayal was followed by centuries of opulent growth as lore and artisanship reached new heights. As the age lengthened, leaders within Terrinoth grew ever more covetous and assuming, and they forgot the lessons of those who had come before. The Soulstone Dynasty dismantled the Council of Barons, usurped the throne, and openly used the powerful and secret Stars of Timmorran for selfish ends. Others soon followed Soulstone's lead, and the magnificent age of the Elder Kings was borne by such power and splendor.
Alas, lured by the power inherent in the Stars, the dragonlords came. What more is there to say but that the wonders of the Elder Kings were reduced to cinders.
The Land Endures
Some call the current age the Grey Years. The Dragon Wars are long past, yet no new castles or strongholds have been built in the cloudy centuries since. Ruins are found throughout the land. The wild encroaches on field and town alike. Strife among Terrinoth's denizens is infrequent, but petty and brutal. Outlaws and goblins prowl the grass-choked roads.
With no usurper king to chain it, Daqan's age-old rule by the barons extends across the realm once more. Their few holdfasts keep watch over the distant corners of the vast realm.
Yet, the martial reach of the barons quickly fades into Terrinoth's ungoverned wild. If the times are not noble, the barons' duty to the realm is, and they still cling stubbornly to hope and honor. When the council of barons is not in session, the Warden of Archaut governs the central authority and collects the rents that fund the Archaut administration; the borderland garrisons; and the Citadel Guard, a small elite force assigned to the fealty of the Citadel alone. Except for its traditional oversight of the City of the Citadel, the remit of the Warden is limited to executing only those edicts and laws agreed upon by the last Council. If a true threat emerges, the Warden can order the barons to reassemble and hope that they agree to order a general muster, a right that has been passed down since the Second Darkness, when King Daqan last commanded the fealty of the barons. Such musters have been ordered rarely and always with much debate. When so ordered, barons gather their armies and march to war alongside the famed companies of the Free Cities in a pageant of glorious liveries and banners.
The eight Free Cities of Terrinoth stand tall and proud in this dangerous land - and Tamalir stands greatest among them. They are free, yet not wholly independent of the Council of Thirteen.
The Barons and Baronies
The kings of old left a warrior's path based on honor, loyalty, and duty. These traditions and institutions have preserved Terrinoth through the three Darknesses and countless other perils. Unfortunately, today's Council of Barons is a shadow of its former self. The halls of the Citadel echo with arguments over whose merchants have access to port towns or the safest roads, and upon whom the burden of shared tasks should be placed. While well-intentioned, the barons prove unwilling to take united action on any subject with urgency, accomplishing little except for that decided during the Council's annual congress at the Citadel in the monument city of Archaut. As a result, the barons of Terrinoth are often left to fend against enemies and disasters alone, or to form short-lived alliances with other barons in times of need.
The twelve baronies that sit in Daqan's circle today each have long histories and long lineages. Much lore, and some dark secrets, can be told of each of these old houses. The baronies of Terrinoth are as follows: Trast, Otrin, Frest, Dhernas, Kell, Pelgate, Allerfeldt, Cailn, Telor, Carthridge, Rhynn, and Forthyn.
Protectors of the Realm
Some believe the ancient sobriquet "Land of Steel" refers to the rich iron deposits of Terrinoth's mountains, while others believe it describes the shining swords and splendid armors of its nobles. Truly, Terrinoth refers to the deep resolve that lays within the heart of its people. The true strength of the realm has always been in the arms and legs of the common soldier. The warriors of Terrinoth are famed in other realms for their rugged fortitude. The infantry form the spine, cavalry the tip of the spear. The push of Terrinoth's shield wall has been the bulwark by which its enemies have been vanquished. When properly drilled, Daqan's soldiers are deadly, and their greatest asset is their courage.
Knights are the soul of Terrinoth's way of war: trained over years, selected through great tournaments, sworn to loyalty by their barons and proven in battle. Not all knights are as pure as the heroes from songs, but the virtues of knighthood do inspire great valor and the honing of a deadly prowess. Armored in thick plate and mounted on magnificent destriers, the swift, shattering charge of a body of knights is the essence of Daqan's calling.
Whereas a knight exemplifies the glory of the individual warrior, Daqan's doughty spearman knows that he is only as strong as those to his left and right. The baronies' spear infantry train to fight in tight order, locking shields together and presenting a thick bulwark that bristles with spear points. Such a formation proves deadly to charging cavalry and keeps most other foes at arm's reach. Though the shield wall is primarily defensive, when called upon to advance the spearmen lower their shields and thrust with their spears as one, before marching over the bodies of the slain to repeat the well-honed drill.
Many of these front-line infantry units are seconded from the baron's own forces. In time of muster, the Free Cities, too, are obliged to provide a strong contingent of troops and treasure to assist the Council in the struggle against what would threaten Terrinoth.
Tamalir is the greatest and most prosperous of the Free Cities, as well as first to have gained its freedom. In lieu of any baron, Guildmasters rule the city. These powerful merchants grow rich off the flow of goods up and down the Flametail River and along the roads that lead to Frostgate and beyond, including the famed crossbows that arm Tamalir's Red Echo Regulars.
Additional forces of renown hail from the other Free Cities. The expatriate elves in Dawnsmoor teach the most astounding techniques of archery to its soldiers. The city of Forge benefits from secret techniques of metallurgy shared by the dwarves who live there, and though the scholars of Greyhaven insist that Forge's creations are not magical, its unnaturally sharp weapons and thundering battle-chariots argue otherwise. Frostgate's Totem Guard is tough as thick ice, each weather-hardened warrior drawn from a different Frostgate clan and sworn to protect a sacred family totem. To the south, Riverwatch is famous for its riders, who can be seen everywhere in Terrinoth, acting as couriers and generally outpacing everyone else on the roads. When gathered in formation, the cavalry's deft and swift maneuvers terrify even the staunchest pikeman.
The Free Cities produce many of Terrinoth's greatest wizards and scholars. Greyhaven boasts Terrinoth's foremost universities, especially for magic. The schools of Greyhaven curate a truly staggering variety of runebound shards for study, and the mages who train there can use the shards for devastating effects. Magic is as dangerous as it is helpful, however. None know this better than the sorcerers of Nerekhall, some of whom have succumbed to the dark seduction of experimenting with magic drawn from the Ynfernael. Fearful to provoke the wrath of the realm again, the Nerekhall warlocks of the Yillak Tower have since created the Ironbound: animated suits of armor ensorcelled to combat both corrupt warlocks and the enemies of the realm, but whose alien emptiness causes unease and distrust among Terrinoth's other soldiers.
Finally, there is the secret weapon of the Daqan military legacy. Scattered throughout Terrinoth, beneath ruins and in the deep vaults of strongholds are hulking stone figures, carved in the likeness of men. They are the golems, and they are unknown to all but the barons, their generals, and the Runemasters of Greyhaven. No one knows precisely when they were crafted or by whom, but each golem slumbers until a unique runebound shard is placed upon its brow. When a golem is awakened, it strides forth like a mighty rampart given the will and strength to fight, the arcane channels in its surface running bright with colorful energy.
The forces of Terrinoth might well be needed again soon. A few strong-willed borderland captains have begun to call for the Council to show stronger unity and to bolster the borderlands forces in response to the threats that are mounting both within and without Terrinoth's borders. Rumors of deadly hosts emerging from the cold mists to the northwest and grotesque warbands gathering in the unforgiving east lend such reports a dire urgency. Does a new darkness gather on the borders like a storm that can be felt, but not yet seen? Up to this point, the Council has been slow to heed such calls for action.
References
- Rune Age
- Runewars Miniatures Game