Campaign Design - Nations: Ersav

Ersav

Largest City: Cearaden

Blessed with the strategic Glasrehdeg River east-west trade route and the bustling port city of Cearaden, Ersav is the oldest, richest, and most powerful of the Freeholds. Much of the trade between the Freeholds and the rest of the Sky Empire was traditionally controlled by House Åchren. Populated primarily by humans, this land has a small but vital population of halflings, gnomes, and dwarves as a result of its central position and wealth.

In addition to being the most significant eastern trade hub for merchants from the Freeholds dealing with the outside world, Ersav has excellent farmland. As its borders extend deep into the Rhyfedd Forest, Ersav is also home to a thriving lumber industry. Ersav is also a critical trade route between Hartzstadt and the the Freeholds, as it controls most of the course of the Pale River.

Ersav enjoys the unique advantage of hosting the High Council in the city of Cærwent, located near the headwaters of the Liga River at its highest navigable point. Because of this, the rulers of Ersav have rarely had to worry about threats from their eastern border, because the forces of organizations sponsored by Council such as the Warders and the Warknights patrol the region for them.

Ersav is famous for its well-trained pikemen, who have historically formed the core of its land forces. Ersav also has a long established tradition of maintaining a strong fleet of warships to combat the pirates that plague the shipping lanes in and around Dirwyn Bay, although some have accused Mæva of sending her own forces on piratical expeditions to dissuade merchants from using Dunnum rather than Cearaden as a port of call. Mæva has recently recruited some Ahaliat tribesmen from the At'viras Steppes to provide her with a force of cavalry, a development that many others in the Freeholds regard as somewhat ominous.

Ruler: Mæva Seainsdottir of House Åchren

Currently, House Åchren is ruled by Queen Mæva pen’Åchren, a raven-haired middle-aged woman reputed to be both beautiful in appearance, regal in bearing, and stern in temper. Mæva and her predecessors have long campaigned for the Freeholds to secede from the Sky Empire and unify under the rule of House Åchren.

Other notable personages in Ersav include Mæva’s consort, and House Åchren Warleader, Lonn Ardrasonne, known as a cold, calculating, and ruthless sea commander, and Mæva’s court wizard, the enchanter Grimgower, who is reported to command a vast network of spies and informants throughout the Freeholds. Mæva’s court wizard is greatly feared by many, as those who cross Grimgower have a disturbing tendency to suffer debilitating or fatal accidents soon afterwards.

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