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[center][h3]Regency of the Veld[/h3][/center]

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The Veld is a large feudalistic realm situated in northeastern Kevica, on the prairies situated between the River Veld and the Eastern Sea.

It is a predominantly human realm with a smattering of beastfolk settlements - mainly Otem - found in the hinterlands and areas deemed unfit for men. It is an agrarian society, with two major settlements situated on the River Veld and a smattering of settlements in the interior of the realm ranging in size from modest towns to tiny hamlets.

The Veld is Getic - a culture that originated from the tundras of Endikigo like many societies in northern Kevica. The people of the Veld speak a language known interchangeably as Veldan or Getic, although the more pedantic scholars would argue that Getic refers to a range of tongues and dialects of northeastern Kevica while the term Veldan is specific the dialect of the Veld. Veldan is written in the Noromad alphabet borrowed from the neighboring Norovar, and the two languages are quite similar in many respects with numerous cognate words and similar grammatical structure.

Veldans mostly worship the Getic pantheon, a collection of gods and goddesses with obvious similarity to those of Noadam, owing to their shared religious origin in Endikigo before the two cultures diverged in antiquity. Most of the Noadamic deities have a nigh-identical counterpart in the Getic cult although Hogi, Lomki, Got, and Rogt are missing from the Getic pantheon. True Noadamism is tolerated in the Veld - as are most foreign religions - and is quite prevalent in the western marches of the Veld.

The population of the Veld is estimated to be 12 to 14 million souls, based upon the last census of the realm nearly 70 years ago.

Races
Getic (Human)
Like the Norovar in northwestern Kevica, the Getic people originated in Endikigo and migrated south at some point in ancient history. The Getic people went south earlier than the Norovar, following the coast of the Eastern Sea down from their homeland in Endikigo. Whereas the Norovar settled the Northwest of Kevica, the Getics inhabited the eastern coast of the landmass. Getics are white-skinned people, much like the Norovar. Their hair is typically black and coarse, although brown hair and even blondes occur among the Getic due to centuries of intermarriage with the Norovar.

Norovar (Human)
Norovar are quite common throughout the Veld, particularly in the west. These populations tend to speak Ceviserian rather than Veldan, and are more likely to adhere to the reformed Noadamic faith.

Belga (Human)
A seafaring people of Getic persuasion. They are the descendants of those ancient Getic migrants who did not settle in eastern Kevica and instead continued to lead semi-nomadic lives plying the coasts of the Eastern Sea. The Belga are most commonly fishermen and whalers, although they are known to resort to piracy and raiding when times are hard. The Belga have no permanent settlements in the Veld, and instead establish crude camps of tents and driftwood huts on suitable coastlines alongside their beached longboats. These camps attract merchants and local serfs, who barter with the Belgan traders for fish, whale oil, pearls, or foreign trinkets. The Belga do not typically stay on one beach for long; usually they sail off within a fortnight or two before Veldan knights and tax collectors arrive.

Frygga'Hol (Otem)
Otem settlements in Velda are concentrated in the northern hinterlands and coasts of the realm. Their warrens and hamlets were very common along the banks of the Velda in ancient times. When the Getic settlers arrived in these lands, however, the Otem were hunted en masse by ravenous Getic reavers for their flesh and pelts. Despite stern resistance the Otem were pushed out of their ancestral lands, relegated to the northern woods and coasts. The stronghold of Frygga'Hol was established to the north by Otem refugees fleeing the Getic invasions. Several half-hearted attempts by Getics and Belga raiders were repulsed. By the time the Kingdom of the Veld was established, the men of the Veld had lost interest in the remote Otem stronghold. With the rise of Lord Davgul the Usurper in the Veld, another wave of refugees has come to Frygga'Hol - humans this time. The Otem tolerate the human refugees in Frygga'Hol, welcoming their coin and hoping that their rebellion against their frightful despot weakens their perennial foes to the South.

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History
In ancient times before the arrival of men, the Veld was inhabited by beastfolk. Beryul occupied the hill country in the north, the Otem had settlements along the River Veld and the shores of the lake, and the northern coastlines belonged to the Tusaeb. These beast societies were partitioned by their preferred habitats, and excepting the occasional quarrel in those areas where these habitats overlapped, peace prevailed. Separation between the races preserved tranquility in the ages before the arrival of man.

When men first arrived in these lands, they upset the equilibrium between the indigenous beastfolk who lived in long-established domains. Man was adaptable and had little preference for his habitat, for he is just at home on the prairies of the Veld as he is in the wooded hill country, the riverlands, or the coast. Man could not be satisfied with any particular niche as the beastfolk were, and so would always overstep their boundaries sooner or later. Conflict flared between man and beast, but in ancient times man was held in check by the multitude of Beryul and Otem. Men eventually learned to sow grains and harvest them, and when they did they proliferated at a rate unsurpassed by any beast. Men gradually became more numerous than the beastfolk and came to dominate them.

Centuries later more men arrived in the Veld; not in a gradual, piecemeal fashion from the South as the first men had, but this time in a sudden and violent wave from the North. Traveling south on longboats from the grim northern reaches of the world, the Getics fell upon the Veld with terrible savagery. Though they wielded only axes and spears of crude arsenic bronze, the Getics made up for their unimpressive arms with remarkable ferocity. Beastfolk and indigenous men alike were raided and killed by Getic reavers as they tore a bloody swathe south and west into the interior of Kevica. The Beryul and Tusaeb societies in the Veld were lost entirely, the first men assimilated into the Getic society and the Otem fled to the northern coasts.

After their brief initial scourging, the Getics settled down and established settlements throughout the Veld. When hunting and pillaging proved unfruitful, the Getics adopted the indigenous practice of sowing and reaping grain. As the Getics took to sedentary civilization and farming, their society stratified into a feudal society. Thaines became lords, hauskarls became knights, and the unremarkable rabble that followed greater men to this new land in Kevica became the multitude of serfs who would work the soil. Lords established a number of petty kingdoms - too numerous and unremarkable to mention - that squabbled over the best harbors and choicest farmland for several centuries.

Lord Dalan Adalvolf the Eisenman, ruler of the kingdom of Solleck situated on the headwaters of the River Veld on Lake Eisen, discovered the secret to forging iron weapons from the Eisenfolk south of the lake. In those days, iron weapons and tools were rare and coveted items in Kevica, and the technique for forging iron was unknown to the people of those lands - save for the Norovars who jealously kept the method to themselves. With iron swords fashioned in the style of the Eisenfolk, Lord Adalvolf subdued the neighboring realms along the River Veld, and then swept north through the agrarian lordships on the prairies of the Veld, reaching the foothills of the Teeth and scattering the barbarous hillfolk into the deep woods. Lord Adalvolf, upon reaching the mountains, declared himself King Adalvolf of all the Veld, establishing an expansive Kevican kingdom ruled from his seat of power in Solleck.

King Adalvolf's declaration, while highly significant, hardly marked the end of the unification of the lands now known as the Veld. Rebellion and insurgency plagued the first King of the Veld until his death, which incited further unrest. The first three Veldan kings spent much of their efforts on putting down endless insurgencies. But as more time passed, and more rebel blood was spilled, Solleck's rule over the Veld was solidified.

The following three centuries of Veldan history were fairly unremarkable, with little of note occurring save for occasional Norovar incursions, Belga and Otem raids on the coast, and the construction of the Great Castle - the King's primary residence and seat of power - on a headland overlooking Lake Eisen. This historical doldrum ended a little over sixty years ago, when King Barad was deposed. The King's warlock, Davgul, determined that the King had been possessed by a demon, and declared that he was unfit to rule. King Barad ordered his sorcerer arrested and beheaded for his outrageous claims. When the King's knights and men-at-arms came to execute the warlock, Davgul either persuaded them that the King was in fact a demonic pawn, or cast some mind-domination spell upon them. Whatever the case, Davgul returned King Barad's court with a contingent of supportive fighting men, and ordered the King burned alive so as to dispel the demons possessing him. A tremendous skirmish broke out between the loyal guards and the knights and warriors under Davgul's spell. The Davgul's fell magic tipped the balance in his favor, and he and his men were able to kill the loyal guards to the last man. King Barad fled the throne room, gathered his queen, children, and the surviving guards, and withdrew to a spire of the castle. Davgul and his men cut through the guards and found King Barad in the top of the tower, wielding his sword standing between Davgul and his cowering family. Davgul cast a spell of hellfire upon them, setting the King, his wife, and his children ablaze. Davgul summarily declared himself the Lord of the Veld, acting as regent of the realm in the absence of any valid contenders.

Word of what had transpired was slow to leak out to the wider kingdom. For years, only confused rumors reached the ears of even King Barad's vassals. But after three years of King Barad's absence, it was apparent that Davgul had committed regicide. Rebellion broke out across the realm, as dukes and barons threw either declared independence or committed themselves to avenging King Barad and bringing Davgul to justice. Davgul took advantage of the confusion, and rallied support among the superstitious, who would believe that his slaying of the demon-possessed king was in fact justified. A decade of warfare broke out across the Veld. Over time, Davgul's persuasion and fell magics tipped the scales in his favor, and he was able to subdue his opponents and offer some power to the disillusioned and ambitious barons and dukes. Davgul the Usurper's rule over the Veld eventually became absolute. With his authority unquestioned, Davgul wished to legitimize his rise to power and the only way to do that was to erase any memory of how it occurred. Davgul appointed his barons to seek out demonic pawns throughout the populace of the Veld - a euphemism for any person deemed to possess unfavorable attitudes regarding their new master or anyone who even spoke of Davgul's rise. Davgul's men-at-arms now roam the countryside, tasked with ferreting out unfaithful subjects of His Majesty.

It has now been sixty years since Davgul's rise, well beyond the natural life of any mortal man. Hushed rumors now spread through the Veld and beyond that the Usurper is now an aspiring lich, using dark magic to prolong his life. These rumors also attest that such techniques are not sustainable, and that soon the Usurper will need to find a magical font from which to draw more magical power, or he will wither away. This belief has generated hope of late, and talk of rebellion is whispered throughout the realm. Beyond the Veld, this rumor portends opportunity. The human refugees in Frygga'Hol plan to retake their homeland from the diminished warlock, and the Eisenfolk zealots see an opportunity to dispose of the horrific Davgul and spread their faith through his ill-gotten dominion.