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Witherlands
Capital: Grand Stead
Ruling House: House Carter
The Witherlands is the largest kingdom in Marin. Situated farthest to the North, it is capped off by "the abyss", where the known world ends and no one has dared venture before. The Witherlands is considered the harshest and most unforgiving kingdom in all of Marin due to its never-ending winters, ominous, land-roaming beasts, and practically uninhabitable environment. Mountain ranges surround the kingdom and make it difficult to navigate and travel, along with thick and dense pine forests that make it seem like the journey never ends.
The Witherlands is comprised of six main regions, all ruled by respective Great Houses, which are families even more powerful than traditional noble houses.
GEOGRAPHY
Reapers Skull
Southernmost, at the border of the Witherlands, is Reaper’s Skull, ruled by House Vivayn from their ancient seat of Wingsway, where they serve as gatekeepers to the kingdom.
Great Walk
In the centre of the kingdom is Great Walk, which is composed of vast, open, fertile reaches of land that have seen the most battles and warfare throughout Withic history. A large body of water known as the Gritline runs throughout the region and is used to navigate the majority of the kingdom. It is ruled by House Torck of Snowhall.
Ashfields
Farthest to the north is the Ashfields, which earned its name hundreds of years ago after the conclusion of the battle of Fire and Ice. It is ruled by House Carter themselves from the kingdom’s capital of Grand Stead.
Binding Point
To the west of the Witherlands is Binding Point, ruled by House Syreth from their seat of River of Three. House Syreth owns Shildrink, one of the main port towns in the entire North.
Iron Plaines
Disappearing east into large pine forests is the Iron Plaines, ruled by House Barrmount of Castle Barrmount.
Crakefall
Off the coast to the north-east is a duchy island known as the Crakefall, still under dominion of the Carters. It is ruled by House Demott from their seat of Thunderbreak.
ECONOMY
Due to its overwhelming conditions, the Witherlands does not have much arable land on which to farm and grow produce. Though some farming is possible, farmers in the Witherlands are rare and go through much hardship in order to harvest even the meager produce put on offer from the kingdom's mostly barren ground. Therefore, many of the country's peasants are hunters or otherwise farm hardier livestock (such as caribou) and whatever vegetables or grains will take to the soil.
The Witherlands does deal heavily in exporting materials necessary for weaponry. Its mines produce a lot of iron, tin, and copper, and the vast amount of pine forests found throughout the kingdom, particularly in the Iron Plaines, are used to chop down and export timber and lumber.
CULTURE
Calendar
The people of the Witherlands use a lunisolar calendar for daily life, which has been adapted to the unique weather conditions of the kingdom. This calendar is based on the faith of the Frozen Gods and contains twelve months, though every third year or so a thirteenth month is added to keep the calendar parallel with the seasons.
Language
The language most spoken by the Withic is Northtongue. What the Withic call Oldtongue is an ancient, archaic language used in religious rituals and spoken in deep, isolated pockets of the kingdom. Most Withic people also speak Commontongue.
Religion
The great majority of Withic people worship nameless, faceless deities known as the Frozen Gods. Believed by their worshippers to control all events, the Frozen Gods appear foreign and alien to outsiders. It is said the vagrohls of the Order of the Frozen Gods can hear the gods' whispers and commands in the winds and snowfalls.
HISTORY
After the Fall of Feyshore, the Brother's Rebellion occurred between the Ice Lord Marshall Carter and his turncoat younger brother, Felix. The Brother's Rebellion ended in one of the bloodiest battles in Marin history and with Felix's defeat at the hands of Marshall, who remained as Lord Ruler of the Witherlands. In the finale of the Brother’s Rebellion, Marshall spared Felix but left him to bleed out, leaving his fate unknown. The Ice Lord assumed his post without any true family left, keeping Felix’s son and wife as hostages in Grand Stead.
In response to the rebellion, Marshall Carter ordered the execution of all of Felix's strongest supporters, including, among others, the heads of House Barrmount and House Torck. Only those members of nobility who professed support for Marshall were spared.
Felix Carter ultimately survived the encounter and returned to Grand Stead to claim his family back. This led to yet another duel between the brothers, which was interrupted by a crisis call from the Crakefall.
Lord Nathaniel Vivayn of Wingsway, who was married to Lady Kierra Demott (Marshall Carter's niece and sister to Chaol Demott, the duke of the Crakefall), attempted to besiege the Demotts' seat of Thunder Break and threatened to flay Kierra alive if Chaol did not surrender the fortress to him. Marshall and Felix fought together to fend off the Vivayn forces.
Nathaniel, who was already the most wanted man in the northern half of the continent, plotted for war against House Carter. Nathaniel broke into the new Duchy of Astoria with a skeleton crew to uncover the corpse of Prince Mikhail and take it back to Wingsway. With the help of the dark arts, Nathaniel managed to resurrect the prince to hold him for ransom for Queen Anyanka Durkhan’s army to aid him against the Carters. However, the Astorian Guard managed to successfully retrieve the prince, despite Nathaniel sending a hunting group after them.
Marshall, undecided on what to do with Felix, called for the banners loyal to House Carter, readying for war. Felix offered to go on a suicide mission with the deadliest killers in the world to House Vivayn's seat of Wingsway in order to retrieve Kierra and kill Nathaniel, in hopes of avoiding unnecessary bloodshed.
Meanwhile, Nathaniel consolidated his own forces and marched directly from Wingsway to Castle Barrmount (while House Barrmount was holding a wake for its late ruler), hoping to threaten Lady Sibyl Barrmount into joining forces with him.