Kingdom Name: The Septentrion
Government: Feudal Monarchy
Ruler: King Eldris
Trait: Schemer
Preferred Location: Blue
Predominate Race: Humans
Bio: Since the the death of King Marten last year, the Septentrion has been a kingdom divided. Upon Marten's death, the kingdom was split into three duchies each lorded over by one of Marten's three sons. Eldris, the oldest of Marten's sons, became the Septentrion's king, ruling from Nistria  - the kingdom's heartland. Youngest Melor was granted the Reach, a rugged and wild region on the northern extent of the Peninsula of the Septentrion. The middle son, Ragnar, was granted dominion over Brackland - a barren expanse of bogs and marshes on the kingdom's southern flank.

Immediately, Ragnar voiced his dissatisfaction with his post in the worst of the three duchies. He insisted that a redrawing of the duchial borders take place, such that southern swathes of Nistria's rich farmland be incorporated into his duchy with some of the Reach's territory ceded to Eldris in order to distribute the territorial burden more evenly. Ragnar's proposal was a non-starter with both Eldris and Melor.

That year's winter was a particularly difficult one throughout the northern kingdom. But in Ragnar's realm, typical poor harvests combined with a severe winter meant starvation for the peasants. Ragnar himself went to his elder brother's seat of power at Velken in the height of winter and lamented the plight of his people, blaming Eldris' refusal to cede Nistria's fertile farmland for the famine. Eldris rebuffed Ragnar, laying the blame for Brackland's famine squarely on Ragnar's inept rule. Lord Ragnar returned home insulted and empty-handed. If his brother would not redress the situation, Ragnar decided he would take matters into his own hands.

When Eldris' taxmen went throughout the land in the spring demanding taxation from all the King's vassals, Lord Ragnar's counts refused payment. Lord Ragnar had informed his vassals that they had no obligation to pay taxes to King Eldris on the account of the King's refusal to assist Brackland during the winter. Ragnar sent parties of his knights against Eldris' tax collectors, chasing them out of Brackland. Not long after the King's tax collectors returned from Brackland empty-handed, Melor - who had paid his dues - was aggravated when he learned of Ragnar's nonpayment. Lord Melor threatened to refuse future taxation as Ragnar had if Eldris did not collect Ragnar's delinquent taxes.

Grave words have now reached the King's ears: Ragnar has already spent every coin of the gold due to his King in fielding an army. Lord Ragnar's counts have raised levies in time for the summer campaign season. An attempt to collect on Ragnar's due taxes now would amount to a civil war in the north, but doing nothing proves to both Ragnar and Melor that their king brother is a spineless craven. With the neighboring kingdoms licking their chops as his recalcitrant brother threatens war, these are dangerous times indeed for King Eldris and all of the Septentrion. His next moves must be cautious and well-executed.

Geography:
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[img]http://hdwpics.com/images/144BC7F22837/Altai-mountains.jpg[/img]
The Reach: the northernmost reaches of Crypso are a rugged and varied land with diverse habitats. There are open rolling hills, river valleys, evergreen forests, and majestic snowcapped mountains on the northern coasts. The terrain does not lend itself to traditional farming practices and so most settlement is concentrated on the western coasts along the interior sea, such as the duchial seat of Gullstone. There are a handful of towns present in lowland valleys and rivers in the south, and some remote whaling villages can also be found. In the interior of this region, a nomadic horse people known as the Narze live in the unsettled wilderness. Fair-skinned descendents of ancient Norsians, the Narze have little interaction with the settled people. The Narze have sometimes served as mercenaries. Narze horsemen armed with their traditional javelins, are perhaps the finest light cavalry in all the world.

[img]http://www.woodlands.co.uk/woods/south-east-england/vane-wood-6.jpg[/img]
Nistria: The extreme terrain of the Reach mellows substantially as one moves southeast. Occasional hills and knobs can be found here, but the terrain is quite subdued in general. Poplars and aspens intermingle with the evergreens in the forests, which have been cut back into a patchwork of woodlots surrounded by tenanted farmland. This is a land that has been inhabited for a very long time - various ancient civilizations and peoples have left their mark on Nistria in the form of abandoned stoneworks and fortifications. Most of Nistria's old castles are inhabited by modern counts and lords. It is said that Velken has been inhabited on-and-off since before the Cataclysm. On the eastern coasts, a population of swarthy seafarers from the East have established a number of coastal villages with economies based on trading and fishing. Their foreign goods are welcome, although their penchant for poaching and evading taxation is not.
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