Previous section Section 1: Introduction
The Fenland region
Fenland is a poor but proud land of many independent villages. Though all of them are under the rulership of Henri Duke of Murate, and technically this is the Duchy of Murate, these have been the people of the fens long before there was Duke or an empire in Covi. The nearness of Covi, and these costal nature of the local villages assured that this land was amid the first that was conquered those three hundred years ago when the Urdish arrived from across the Western Sea, but though the rulers changed, and the faith changed the land did not, and the Fenners have always been people of the land.
The village of Ten Alders is a popular starting point for Adventures in the Fenlands because the village itself is small and humble, but it is near an area of great local importance, the Abbey of Saint Cluny. The monks of Cluny make a local cloth from the wool of the sheep of this region. Near Ten Alders is more good pasturage than the next three closest villages combined possess. The Abbot of Cluny is a wise old holy man who uses the influence bought by his order's efforts to keep the Bishop at bay (with ample tithing) and the Duke at bay (with the Bishop's power). This has allowed the area the prosperity of a rich village and the freedom of a poor one. This also makes them somewhat dependent on Adventures to handle what local possies cannot.
The Fenlands faces the northern mouth of the Channel of Man's End. Though, the next hundred miles south is dotted with human settlements, the rule of law, be it Imperial, Church, or Duke, ends south of the town of Rivers Meet. This area marks the southernmost area of Imperial dominion on the west coast of the Southern Reaches. Truth be told the Empire never gave much effort to the rulership of these lands, as they were poor for agricultural use and high in cost of manpower to defend.
This area is marked in the north by the village of Ten Alders and its nearby Abbey of Saint Cluny, on the west by the coast bordering the Channel of Man's End, in the East by the Castle Murate, and in the south by Rivers Meet. Though a large map would show one major river in the area, this river is given to tidal flooding and it has hundreds of tributaries that split the land into ever shifting islands. Though most of the time much of the land is dry, because of its hilly nature, the low spaces are packed with willows and alder and reeds and they flood unpredictably. Because of this settlements can be found either on costal hill areas, to take advantage of the sea traders, or deep in the fens amid the large and hidden hills.
Culturally the region is split between Urdish peoples on the coast, who still feel a connection to the Empire in the north, and Southies (the descendants of the native peoples of the Reach and their Urdish conquerors) in the fens. While there is no hostility between these folk overtly, the Uridish folk follow the Orthodox traditions of Tah, and most Southies are Reformed Tahist with a strong strain of local spirit/saint veneration.
The Fenland region
Fenland is a poor but proud land of many independent villages. Though all of them are under the rulership of Henri Duke of Murate, and technically this is the Duchy of Murate, these have been the people of the fens long before there was Duke or an empire in Covi. The nearness of Covi, and these costal nature of the local villages assured that this land was amid the first that was conquered those three hundred years ago when the Urdish arrived from across the Western Sea, but though the rulers changed, and the faith changed the land did not, and the Fenners have always been people of the land.
The village of Ten Alders is a popular starting point for Adventures in the Fenlands because the village itself is small and humble, but it is near an area of great local importance, the Abbey of Saint Cluny. The monks of Cluny make a local cloth from the wool of the sheep of this region. Near Ten Alders is more good pasturage than the next three closest villages combined possess. The Abbot of Cluny is a wise old holy man who uses the influence bought by his order's efforts to keep the Bishop at bay (with ample tithing) and the Duke at bay (with the Bishop's power). This has allowed the area the prosperity of a rich village and the freedom of a poor one. This also makes them somewhat dependent on Adventures to handle what local possies cannot.
The Fenlands faces the northern mouth of the Channel of Man's End. Though, the next hundred miles south is dotted with human settlements, the rule of law, be it Imperial, Church, or Duke, ends south of the town of Rivers Meet. This area marks the southernmost area of Imperial dominion on the west coast of the Southern Reaches. Truth be told the Empire never gave much effort to the rulership of these lands, as they were poor for agricultural use and high in cost of manpower to defend.
This area is marked in the north by the village of Ten Alders and its nearby Abbey of Saint Cluny, on the west by the coast bordering the Channel of Man's End, in the East by the Castle Murate, and in the south by Rivers Meet. Though a large map would show one major river in the area, this river is given to tidal flooding and it has hundreds of tributaries that split the land into ever shifting islands. Though most of the time much of the land is dry, because of its hilly nature, the low spaces are packed with willows and alder and reeds and they flood unpredictably. Because of this settlements can be found either on costal hill areas, to take advantage of the sea traders, or deep in the fens amid the large and hidden hills.
Culturally the region is split between Urdish peoples on the coast, who still feel a connection to the Empire in the north, and Southies (the descendants of the native peoples of the Reach and their Urdish conquerors) in the fens. While there is no hostility between these folk overtly, the Uridish folk follow the Orthodox traditions of Tah, and most Southies are Reformed Tahist with a strong strain of local spirit/saint veneration.
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