Alright gang, rough draft is here. I'll keep working on it. If I can, I'd take the bottom left section near the big island. Cheers, [hider=House Brunswick] [center][img]http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/warhammerfb/images/4/47/Bretonnia_Coat_of_Arms.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20110517162732[/img] [color=FireBrick][h3][u]House Brunswick[/u][/h3][/color][/center] [color=FireBrick][u]Nation Name:[/u][/color] Grand Duchy of Calenberg [color=FireBrick][u]Ethnic Peoples:[/u][/color] Calenburg [color=FireBrick][u]Ethnic Description:[/u][/color] The people of Calenburg are of the classic human stock, a tough, ingenious, industrious, and highly motivated species. Blonde and red hair is very common in this region, darker hair being much less so. Like most humans they breed quickly and there is never a shortage of new children to be raised in the true image of the Calenburg Knightly Spirit. The average male in the Grand Duchy is around six feet tall, usually has blue or green eyes and some variation in hair colour ranging from white to red. Albino's are not so uncommon that it would cause you to stop and stare. Men are typically clean shaven and wear their hair short. Knights on the other hand tend to wear their hair to collar length and the only ones you find with a beard are Master Craftsmen as a symbol of their own skill set. Women in Grand Duchy tend to be tall like the men, with fair hair, the longer the better, and strong lean figures. A woman who can fight is just as valuable as a man. Women have their own codes of conduct in some ways, and in fact tend to treat each other more civilly than the men do. The current fashion involves a long flowing braid down the back with a smaller braid that wraps about the right side of the head. Most have blonde or red hair, though the odd few are darker, hinting at their savage heritage. Some of the cruelest figures of the Grand Duchy happen to be female, the most famous being Mariel Skall, known for skinning her enemies alive and allowing her dogs to feast on the bloodied flesh. Not a pretty image, but one indicative of violence the fairer sex are capable of. [color=firebrick][u]Geography:[/u][/color] It is easy to see why Calenburg was chosen to be the landing place of Ardall the Conquerer. The land is fertile, lush and welcoming to a well mounted invader. The Emperors use of horses, now copied by the Grand Duchy, made it possible for him to subjugate the region with ease. The coastlines are long white sand beaches broken here and there by ragged outcroppings of rock and fine natural harbours. Impressive still are the huge rivers that pour into the ocean, creating vast deltas and sandbanks. Following these rivers inland reveals a landscape of rolling plains, semi-rocky hills, excellent fertile soil and huge lakes. In the midst of it all is a huge rift, known quite accurately as the Great Rift, all that remains of a great movement in the earth long before men came to Ardacia. The Great Rift is rumoured to have no bottom, at least none that can be seen by men, and into this mysterious gap pour a pair of rivers, one on either end. No bridge exists across its width though a man might shoot a straight bow across it with a favourable wind. The land on either side of it is particularly wealthy in small hard gems of various colours, the Imperials harvested them for their toughness and beauty and the Grand Duchy has continued the tradition. Spreading out from the rift lie great prairies, golden grasses and grains waving in the wind everywhere a man might turn. Hilltops are not so rare they are remarkable but any hilltop worth noting has a fort or tower upon it to keep watch for an enemy. Many of these, Imperial by construction, have fallen into disuse as their need diminished and the Grand Duchy only maintains the most necessary ones. Roads are straight as an arrow here, running from one city, town or fort to the next. Built by the Imperial Army to allow for quick travel they are of excellent fitted flagstones and marked every mile by well chiseled marker stones. Where they cross a river, a fine bridge has been built, where they meet each other a town has sprung up. Very few settlements lie far from the main roads. To the north the great forests encroach upon the plain. Smaller forests are common throughout the Grand Duchy but nothing like the immense woods that lie brooding on the furthest border. Being people of the horse, the Calenburg tend to stay well clear of the woods save for logging purposes and even then it is a rare venture. Their own buildings are of stone taken from massive pit quarries. The rivers are vast and deep, so wide in some places a man might not be able to tell where the far side ends and the plains begin. Ferry crossings are available in a few places but where roads end, river travel begins. Much of the trade and commerce in the Grand Duchy goes by the rivers, low barges with oars and square sails carrying the trade of the world up and down. In a few places there are waterfalls, cunningly avoided with a series of horse power locks that can be flooded and drained to allow vessels to pass. Lakes are equally deep and impressive, huge smooth surfaces that are always ruffled by the wind that never seems to entirely cease in Calenburg. Fishing boats ply the surfaces and occasionally one is lost to something far larger than fish. The attacks only occur at night and for that reason the lakes, and even the rivers, can be quite empty at night save for the call of wild beasts and the roar of some huge creature. And always there are the plains, huge wandering expanses that provide as much protection through their size as they do food. To move across the face of Calenburg is to be watched for two days and a night before one comes to their destination. The amount of water that exists makes it easy for an army to move across its face but the creatures that lurk in the plains can be deadly to man and beast alike. Predators of grace, power and great cunning, they hunt man and horse alike if given the chance. The only sure way to ensure they cannot prey upon the populace is to burn their habitat. One of the great fears in the Grand Duchy is fire. Every year infernos sweep the plains, burning and rejuvenating the landscape. This unfortunately often means man and horse as well for no horse can outrun the cleansing fire. The towns and cities have their walls as much for military defence as for keeping the flames from entering their streets. This is not always an advantage, one only needs to be told the story of Luneberg. This once growing town found the flames licking at its walls and the populace inside discovered that the town had been built in the wrong area when the wind was unable to lift the smoke and so several thousand died within the walls of smoke inhalation. The town still sits empty today, the smoke blackened gates closed for all time like a giant tomb. [color=FireBrick][u]Culture:[/u][/color] Generally speaking the people of Calenburg consider themselves superior to all of the other peoples they encounter. This is most likely a result of being the first conquered by Ardall, and so benefitting the most from his patronage. They are an arrogant, and sometimes rightly so, group of people. They are the jacks of all trades and work hard to achieve mastery in all that they do. The very nature of being human however ensures that there is a wealth of corruption and sinister goings on, and those who seek to work evil are just as skilled as those working for a better world. An undercurrent of kidnappings and sale of citizens is not uncommon, even if illegal. The existence of a Pro-Imperial undercurrent still exists and religious turmoil is almost constant. Some Imperial customs can still be found in the styles of Dance enjoyed in Calenburg, for no one can resist a classic Crazatian Whirl. It is a dance where a man and a woman alternate in taking quick steps over a pair of crossed swords to an ever increasing drumbeat, accompanied by Imperial Pipes of course. Education is encouraged in Calenburg and multiple universities and colleges exist, including a Mages College on the Island of Terazlein, in the centre of Selena Lake. The name of the lake, incidentally, is taken from a young woman who is said to have cried the lake into existence when the Imperial Army first destroyed the native temples that once graced the island. A story, but a good one perhaps. The various educational institutions tend to specialize in one thing or another. The most well known across the entire continent is the Navigators College. Here, amongst the great libraries of the Imperial founders, a young men or woman of any nation is welcome to study the world. Once they have found an interest they are encouraged to travel and seek out that interest, study it, and return with knowledge to share. The College even helps fund expeditions. The Navigators are generally considered friendly to all and not required to hold allegiance to anyone but themselves. There is of course the most important topic in Calenburg, one that could be devoted to a thousand books but the shorter version is more interesting and leaves out the bit about breeding. That topic is of course horses. The Calenburg consider themselves the People of the Horse. When the Imperial Army first landed the locals viewed the horse with awe and terror. As they were absorbed into Imperial society they came to master the great creatures and that custom has never changed. Every family owns at least one horse, for it would be unthinkable for them not to. The horses are more precious than slaves, or even some Calenburg lives if pushed. The Knights of Calenburg are the elite of the Army. Each Town or City is expected to provide at least ten percent of its populace for the full-time service of the Grand Duchy. Of these, at least five percent must be mounted as Knights. These Knights ride the biggest horses, are often the strongest men and women, and dress to impress. Bright colours, fancy horse hair plumes, dyed sword tassels, flashy banners, they are all marks of the Knights of Calenburg. Many an enemy, the Imperial Army included, saw these Knight, first known as the Brunswickers, and laughed. That laughter turned to silent admiration and even fear, for though they may look fancy, the Knights of Calenburg can fight, and fight well. Be it in massed units or individually, there is no army that can match them in hoof to hoof combat. Needless to say, one would not want to ride into a swamp or the forest as a Knight of Calenburg. For that task the Grand Duchy has a large levy of local troops. Every male and female of Calenburg is expected to serve two years, from their 18th to 20th birthdays, in the military, and then one month a year thereafter. They fill the ranks of pikemen, footsoldiers, flatbowmen, and artillerymen. They fight in massed blocks and are as dangerous as the Knights if not as skilled. Elite units exists amongst the footmen of course, the Greatswordsmen are renowned foot combat troops and respected by their mounted peers. Engineers are highly educated breed and work with their weapons full time. [Hider=Cultural Customs] The people of Calenburg have a number of customs that are worth noting for any visitors to the region. - Horses are virtually sacred in Calenburg as its people cannot function without them, and they make up the bulk of the nations armed forces. To strike a horse in anger is to earn a flogging yourself. - When at a Calenburg Noble table for a meal and a toast is called, glasses are not clinked. The tradition of cheers dates back to when highwaymen tried to drug their victims at way stations. It is assumed that all Nobles are trustworthy and therefore NOT clinking ones glass is considered a sign of respect, trust and good manners. - Women are considered equal to men in all things. There are no limitations placed upon a woman's place in Calenburg society other than those given to her by the Gods. Female Knights are rare but they do exist. - The Art of Brewing is considered to have no equal amongst tradesmen. The very best ales sell for fortunes and much is made of the issue that fraudsters often repurpose old barrels with lower quality product inside. - Slavery has its place in Calenburg. Wanton cruelty to slaves is frowned upon, it is against the law to enslave citizens of Calenburg but it happens. Every citizen of the Grand Duchy owns at least one slave as it is unthinkable that one would not. [/hider] [hider=Trade] Calenburg has need of any number of items but the most important are coal and wood. The region they call home is largely devoid of large forests or coal bearing mountains and since both are important to survival and the creation of goods, they fetch high prices in Calenburg markets. Luxury items are also welcome, wines particularly are considered a rarity and only the very wealthy can afford them. Exports from the region focus on foodstuffs, grains, excellent arms and armour as well as a brisk trade in unmatched cavalry mounts. The primary diet in the region is fish and grain based, there are little to no cattle due to the space being used for raising horses.[/hider] [hider=Facets of Dress] The citizens of Calenburg favour brightly coloured clothing in all forms. The most exciting time of year is known as the Grand Carnival. It is the one time of year a person can wear a mask without drawing attention. Styles vary between cities but the majority of mens dress involves a fine tunic, knee high riding boots, leather reinforced pants and a sword. Women dresses are slowly becoming more daring recently as they et shorter and involve less material.[/hider] [hider=The Arts] The Calenburg love their music and artists. Paintings, sculptures, choirs, orchestras, the Calenburg consider themselves people of the world and embrace all forms of art and music, especially foreign ones. A musician or artist of any race can find work and even a patron here and see their works sell for, sometimes, ridiculous amounts of money. [/hider] [hider=Feats of Arms] With a high percentage of the population serving, or having served, in the armed forces, it is no surprise that Calenburg holds contests all over the Grand Duchy for various martial skills. This includes jousting, archery, sword play, boxing, ground fighting, and so on. The joke often runs that Calenburg is an Army with a Nation.[/hider] [hider=Societal Ladder] Calenburg as a martial culture places heavy emphasis on military skill. As a result many of the Noble class once served as Knights. That is not to say that a common soldier cannot rise far, one of the wealthiest men in the nation is a former Sergeant who earned his fame and fortune on the battlefield. It is of course an advantage to have money in the family but anyone who Masters their chosen profession enough to make a living off of it is welcome by society as an equal. The Noble classes do consider themselves better than others of course but a deft merchant can easily buy a foolish noble, so the balance remains.[/hider] [hider=The The Calenburg Legal Codex] The Calenburg Legal Codex is famous for a few reasons. Firstly it is so one sided in the favour of nobility it is ludicrous. The second is that it actually has no clear laws pertaining to how the nobility should act. A yeoman or blacksmith accused, and convicted, of theft can expect to have a hand chopped off. But should a nobleman son commit some crime, it seems as if the Codex suggests his father can pick a punishment to suit the crime. It should also be noted that despite the attempts to link the Brunswicks to Ardall the Conqueror, his colors, orange and teal, still remain the color scheme of ancient buildings in the south and it is considered an act of blasphemy to construct a tapestry or painting of their sigil, punishable by a year of forced labor.[/hider] [color=FireBrick][u]History:[/u][/color] The Grand Duchy of Calenburg was initially a region awarded to Ardall the Conquerors most daring and reckless General, Dunstan Thorne. The City of Calenburg, now a shattered ruin of what it once was, sits at the mouth of the river which flows down from the former Imperial City of Cyneberg. Among Thornes more notable officers was an excellent cavalry officer who bore the name of the modern house he sired, Brunswick. The Brunswickers, as his unit would be called, waged war on behalf of Ardall and aided in subjugating much Ardacia. But we are getting ahead of ourselves. The peoples who inhabited the area that would one day play host to the initial invasion were a tribal people. They hunted in the summer and moved inland in the winter on small river boats, rarely going beyond sight of their own red sails if they could avoid it. They fought small skirmishes with each other, stole each others women, and in general bothered no one else. It is no surprise of course that when Ardall arrived he over awed the simple river folk. Those who would not join him died, and those who did soon lost any semblance of who they had once been. None now can even say for certain who their chief was, they had no written language. Instead Ardall settled his own people in the region, parcelling it up amongst Army officers as was custom. This ensured a loyal following at his back as he conquered the remainder of Ardacia. Dunstan Thorne served nobly, earning much wealth and gratitude from his employer, eventually turning his little Manor at Calenburg into a thriving seaside port and main stop for ships coming to and from Cyneberg. The fortunes of Calenburg were tied to those of the Ardall Royal Line. Things began to get even worse as the crow King took the throne. The Duke of Calenburg, the great great grandson of Dunstan Thorne, began to chaff under the heavy taxes and the waste created by the building of the Ashen Arena. Working in secret he quietly approached other Houses to look for assurances that should he raise his own banner against the Emperor, others would follow. The Crow King had his spies and soon got word of the traitorous actions of his once loyal Duke. The Imperial Armies marched on the same day that Brandon tossed Gertrude into the Ashen Arena. Calenburg burned the next day. The entire Thorne clan was destroyed and the Duchy and title transferred to the same Brunswick family for reasons not entirely clear at the time. It seems, since then, that the official dispatch naming a different leader was waylaid and a forgery appeared. It will come as no surprise that the guards for the messenger had been Knights of Brunswick. The Duke of Brunswick quickly moved to join the other Noble houses in their march on the Imperial City. The few battles that were fought were hardly something to sing songs about. The Imperial Army wanting nothing more than to return to its own lands and when they at last departed the Noble houses were left with a huge power vacuum. Brunswick would dearly have liked the title of Emperor but the decision was made that no one should have it. Instead the other Noble families left the Imperial region in Brunswicks hands and marched home. The wasted Regional capital was moved to Cyneberg, Brunswick declared himself Grand Duke, stating that he was related to the former Emperor by distant relation. It was a weak and pathetic attempt but it was enough to allow the remaining loyalists to grudgingly accept him, as well as keep the former leadership at enough of an arms length to appease the newly freed local populace. Since that time the Brunswick family has worked diligently to tighten their own grasp over the region, stamp out any dissent, and most of all, protect their own position. Now, with the destruction of a heavenly orb, religious troubles are threatening to tear the Grand Duchy apart. [hr] [color=FireBrick][u]House Name:[/u][/color] House Brunswick [color=FireBrick][u]House Members:[/u][/color] [hider=Grand Duke Karl Brunswick] [center][img]http://s33.postimg.org/x6ovd65lb/Colonel_Richard_Sharpe_2570.jpg[/img] [h3]Grand Duke Karl Brunswick[/h3] “A strong state is a united one."[/center] [color=firebrick][b]Name:[/b][/color] Grand Duke Karl Brunswick, Lord of Calenburg, Lord of Brunswick. [color=firebrick][b]Age:[/b][/color] 35 [color=firebrick][b]Loyalty:[/b][/color] Grand Duchy of Calenburg [color=firebrick][b]Appearance:[/b][/color] Karl Brunswick is a man of tremendous passion and drive, traits that express themselves all to well in his mannerisms and body language. He rarely sits still and is always fiddling with something near at hand. He is of average size for residents of Calenburg, just over six feet tall and broad in the shoulders. A thick head of shoulder collar length blonde hair worn loose with a cleanly shaved face in the style of the Calenburg Court are copied by many of his followers. A very minor limp can be detected in his left leg from where a horse fell on him. The Grand Duke often wears military uniform. A dark green jacket, black ridings pants and boots, the uniform of his personal Regiment, the Brunswickers. Unlike many military commanders he chooses to wear few items identifying his rank. A red cross sash pinned at his shoulder with a broach showing the Calenburg Coat of Arms is the only thing that marks him differently than military officers. [color=firebrick][b]Personality:[/b][/color] The Grand Duke is a fine tactician, a passable soldier, skilled organizer, and a good father. He cares for his soldiers almost as well as he does for his children, greatly concerned for their well being and health. As a soldier he is no more skilled than his own troops, his swordsmanship rivalling that of any Knight brought up from birth with a blade in his hand, but he is a far cry from an elite soldier. He makes up for this lack in his tactical and administrative knowledge. Some jokingly call him the Shopkeeper, he is always organized, knows where everything is, and never runs short on anything. It is not uncommon to see him wandering the tent lines with a horse blanket about his shoulders, sharing in the troops rations and sitting around their fires. He is as passionate in his private life as he is in public, just not about the same things. While he loves his children his marriage, like so many others done in the name of Politics, is anything but perfect. He tries deeply to love and cherish his wife and no one, not even his foes, would dare accuse him of being unfaithful to her, even if she does not extend him the courtesy. Being well known for generosity is not something one usually expects from a Grand Duke but he is just that. While the region is wealthy, it is not swimming in gold, and what he does have he tends to share. Brunswick see's not point in having heaps of gold stashed away in a vault, it is doing no one any good there. As a result he maintains a large reserve fund for the operation of the Duchy but his own personal fortune is in line with how much he spends. It should be noted that his own personal habits are somewhat spartan. He does not have a large number of palaces and he derides wastefulness and excess. His rooms, indeed most government buildings, are tastefully decorated and never to the point where a person might feel they had wandered into one of the old Imperial Palaces. Functionality seems to be his driving motive. As an administrator he has no equal. The taxes that were crippling the Imperial administration still needed to be paid even after they were gone and Brunswick moved to reorganize the tax system. For the first time in years, not only were taxes actually being collected, but they were being paid on time. Several practices, that had included the nobility being able to refuse their share of taxes, were eliminated and overall tax levels dropped from twenty five pounds a year to seven. Taxation is levelled fairly regardless of race, creed, religion, sexual orientation, etc. [color=firebrick][b]History:[/b][/color] As brief or as long as you'd like, describe your character's life. If you're using this sheet you're already accepted, so don't worry about giving me an epic ballad of life events for your ten-and-two princeling. If they've all had uneventful lives (boo) just give a bulleted list of tidbits of their history that reinforce their personality.[/hider] [hider=Grand Duchess Laura Brunswick] [img]http://s33.postimg.org/fyiakg53j/397222.jpg[/img][/hider] Elder Son Edward Brunswick Elder Daughter Anna Brunswick Younger Son Frederick Brunswick [color=FireBrick][u]House Motto:[/u][/color] Through Difficulty [color=FireBrick][u]House Sigil:[/u][/color] A Knight slaying a dragon, said to be the great Ardall the Conqueror, to whom the Brunswick's of course claim a discreet but well defined lineage. The modern tale is that the Dragon symbolizes the Ardall line being brought low by Brunswick. [color=FireBrick][u]House Seat:[/u][/color] Castle Brunswick. This huge fortress stands watch over the former Imperial City, within easy eye shot of the Ashen Arena. Here three major rivers converge before rushing towards the sea as one huge body of water. The entire city is walled, and an additional three layers of defences exist to keep out the curious. The stone was brought upriver from a quarry elsewhere in the world and the stones are of a reddish hue. The Citadel proper sits atop one of the rare large hilltops in the region on one side, with the river on all three other sides. It is accessed only by boat or by the three bridges that cross the aforementioned rivers. [color=FireBrick][u]House Heirloom:[/u][/color] Serpents Breath, a complicated enough name for a weapon that looks like any common blade. No great jewels adorn this weapon but, when covered in blood or breathed upon, it reveals the intricate patterns of a dragon along the blade. It is said to be the same sword that Ardall used to kill the last dragon. [color=FireBrick][u]House Themes:[/u][/color] WIP [color=FireBrick][u]Capital City:[/u][/color] Cyenberg (The former Imperial Capital) Banner Houses WIP [/hider]