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Kingdom of Réthem COL5740

Contents List

Cover
Political Map
Poetic Map
Introduction
Credits
- Chronology Table

History
- - Western Expansion
  - Northern Expansion
  - The End of Imperial Control in the West
  - The Balshan Jihad
  - The Theocracy of Tekhos
  - The Interregnum
- The Kuboran Dynasty
  - Arlun the Barbarian (635–656)
  - Obras the Southron (656–672)
  - Nemiran the Zealot (672–681)
- The House of Araku
  - Puril (681–689)
  - Ezar’s War (682–697)
  - Kabe (689–692)
  - Chafin I, Winner By Any Means (692–703)
  - Chafin II, the Timorous (703–715)
Current Events

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Kingdom of Réthem COL5740

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**Kandáy Political Map**
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Rethem is a feudal kingdom in western Hârn. Founded in 635, the Kingdom of Rethem is the latest stage in a bloody evolution that started with Corani imperial conquest and passed through Morgathian revolt, barbarian conquest, Agrikan ascendancy, and a brutal attempt at feudalism by force. The political situation is still far from settled and the threat of civil war looms over the kingdom.

Rethem is bounded by the Kingdom of Kanday to the south, the Kuboran tribal lands to the north, and the Thardic Republic to the east. With its long history of violence, a rulership built on cunning and strength, and its shaky political structure, Rethem is viewed warily by its neighbors.

The Peran wilderness to Rethem’s north is home to the Kubora, one of the fiercest and most numerous tribal peoples on Hârn. The Kingdom of Rethem was created by the conquests of a Kuboran chieftain, something that neither the tribesmen nor the Rethemi are likely to forget. The Kuboran influence is still significant in Rethem and most Rethemi nobility are of Kuboran descent, although it is not currently fashionable to admit to it.

Rethem’s northern forests are rich in timber and furs and the abundant minerals of the lowlands have been extensively mined since Corani times. The fertile Thard Valley has long been one of the most densely populated regions of Hârn and boasts the strongest economy in the west.

Rethem’s eighth and current ruler, King Chafin III, is not the product of a long and respected dynasty, his clan having seized the throne a mere 40 years ago. Chafin III has constructed a network of allegiances that relies upon the careful placement of kin and the manipulation of competing loyalties that he himself may not fully command. Chafin often uses the threat of invasion from the kingdom’s neighbors to keep his rivals off guard.

Chafin III keeps his seat at Shostim and prefers to spend little time at the royal castle in Golotha where his wife lives. Chafin is aware that five of Rethem’s seven monarchs have died violently. Few expect the current uneasy bout of peace in Rethem to last long. If he can live long enough and unite his chronically rebellious kingdom, it is likely he will again attack hated Kanday. Chafin is more secure and shrewd than his predecessors but suspicion of his many rivals may cripple his state-building efforts. It is certain that both internal strife and external wars will reshape the kingdom in the coming years.

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Location: Western Hârn

Atlas Maps: C6, D6, E6, D7, E7

Government: Monarchy

King: Chafin III

Culture: Feudal

Population: 95,000

Royal Seat: Shostim

Largest City: Golotha (free city)

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CREDITS

Writers: N. Robin Crossby, Tom Dalgliesh, Rebecca Downey, Edwin King, Kerry Mould, Richard Porter, John Sgammato

Contributors: Joe Adams, Brent Bailey, Rob Barnes, Daniel Bell, Jonathan Davidson, Alun Rees, Matt Roegner

Art Director: Richard Luschek

Maps and Heraldry: C. I. Kocher, Matt Roegner

Editors: Brent Bailey, Grant Dalgliesh, Tom Dalgliesh, John Sgammato

Layout: Brent Bailey

**Kandáy Political Map**
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Chronology

BT 900 Atani Wars (900–683).

683 The Battle of Sorrows.

500 Lythian raiders push Jarin tribes into western Hârn.

TR 100 Lothrim the Foulspawner rules central Hârn (100–120).

301 Corthir unites the Corani tribes.

347 The Merdi Federation is established.

366 The Battle of Klondis: Raelan killed, Coranan threatened.

377 Battle of Hereg: Merdi Federation defeated by Arosta.

388 Merethos founded (later renamed Golotha).

392 The Corani Empire is proclaimed by Malian.

398 Jenath tribes assimilated into Corani Empire.

414 Fort Kustan established, limit of empire in Peran.

453 Aleathia joins Corani Empire under Mejenes.

471 Corani Empire adopts Tuzyn Reckoning.

474 Peran tribes unite under Nebran Bondbreaker.

477 Nebran leads massacre at Kustan but dies in battle.

491 Unification Writ outlaws all faiths but Agrikanism.

521 Thard River floods, half of Merethos destroyed.

556 Thard River floods again, three-year famine follows.

558 The Balshan Jihad (558–567).

559 The Red Death plague kills thousands (559–561).

562 Balshans take Merethos, rename it Golotha.

565 Coranan captured; end of the Corani Empire.

568 Theocracy of Tekhos (568–588, until 635 in Golotha).

625 Kubora unified by Arlun the Barbarian.

629 Arlun and the united Kubora take Shostim.

635 Golotha falls, Arlun founds Rethem.

650 Arlun restores religious freedom.

656 Arlun dies. His son, Obras, takes the throne. Alliance with the Kubora collapses.

681 King Nemiran is murdered. Puril proclaims himself regent, then takes throne at end of year.

682 Ezar’s War (682–697).

688 Rethem captures Sarkum and Hebon.

689 King Puril dies in Sarkum, Kabe takes the throne.

690 Andasin III of Kanday liberates Hebon but dies in assault.

692 Sarkum besieged by Queen Eriel of Kanday. King Kabe dies and Sarkum surrenders to Eriel.

694 The Order of the Crimson Dancer assassinates Queen Eriel of Kanday.

697 The Peace of Selvos ends Ezar’s War.

703 Chafin I dies; his younger brother Larril is crowned Chafin II.

707 Thard floods again, Golotha damaged severely.

708 The Order of the Red Shadows of Herpa seize Themeson Keep.

711 Earl of Tormau builds Weseda Keep without license.

713 Earl of Tormau wrests Ithius from the Earl of Ithiko.

714 Order of the Eight Demons and the Cohorts of Gashang split from their parent orders, take Themeson Keep and the surrounding lands.

715 Chafin II dies, his cousin Arech is crowned Chafin III. Most of Chafin II’s Royal Guard is disbanded by Chafin III and almost immediately hired by the rebellious Earl of Tormau.

720 Present day.

History

The Thard River valley has supported human settlements since before 1000 BT. The original human inhabitants were Jarin tribes migrating from the increasingly crowded Lythian mainland. The population of this fertile region swelled after the Battle of Sorrows (683 BT) as an influx of eastern Jarin and Lythians fled the aftermath of the war and dissolution of the Codominium.

By 100 TR, when Lothrim the Foulspawner conquered central Hârn, there were dozens of tribal peoples in current-day Rethem, collectively known as the Merdi in the lower Thard River valley, the Jenath along the northern coast of the Gulf of Andurien, and the Kubora throughout Peran. The Merdi traded with Lothrim’s empire but were never a part of it. When Lothrim’s empire disintegrated after the Battle of Sirion, the tribes’ simple economies were affected less than those of the civilized states to the east.

Several petty states and federations rose and fell in the wake of Lothrim’s empire. None achieved any degree of permanence until 301, when Corthir united the Corani tribal nation. The Corani empire came to dominate all of western Hârn before collapsing to the Balshan Jihad in 565. It was the largest human state in Hârnic history, stretching from Lake Benath to the Gulf of Andurien and from the Pemetta River in the north to Cape Gemal in the south. Seemingly destined to rule all of Hârn, it was brought down by corruption, too many weak emperors, and a series of floods, plagues, and famines. Many settlements in the Thard River valley had their roots in the empire and most of the region’s roads and ports were constructed during this period.

**Kandáy Political Map**
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Western Expansion

The Merdi tribes in the Thard River valley formed a federation in 347 to counter the growing Corani threat. The Merdi Federation was a loose alliance with an elected leadership but it managed to stop westward Corani expansion for 30 years.

In 377, Arosta the Conqueror defeated the combined Merdi forces at the Battle of Hereg, north of present-day Techen. Following the slaughter, the Merdi Federation collapsed and the various tribes were gradually assimilated into the empire. Techen Keep was built in 379 and a governor was installed that same year in a wooden fortification at the traditional Merdi moot site on Orman Island. Trade was fostered with every Merdi village that paid a voluntary tax to the governor. This was the birth of a bureaucracy that integrated the Merdi into the Corani Empire.

When Arosta died in 380, the Merdi threatened rebellion. Arosta’s heir, Malian, averted the insurrection by personally traveling to the Merdi Moot and appealing to the Merdi leaders for peace through mutual trade.

During Malian’s reign, trade and communications improved and the royal bureaucracy was strengthened. The governor’s fort on Orman Island and the ancient Merdi trading post there prospered as well. In 388, Malian improved the fortifications and founded the city of Merethos, now known as Golotha. The city enjoyed prosperity as a port and trading center, handling much of the empire’s trade.

As the unwieldy kingdom slowly became orderly and prosperous, Malian applied his successes at Merethos to other areas of the empire. By the end of his reign, Malian had divided the empire into provinces to ease administration and created a complex and sophisticated civil service.

In the fifth century, Merethos benefited from the attention of two long-ruling, competent, expansionminded emperors. Under Kobar and Mejenes, Merethos became a base for imperial expansion into the north.

**Kandáy Political Map**
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Northern Expansion

The Jenath, a collection of agrarian and fishing tribes, welcomed the Corani as allies against their aggressive northern neighbors, the Kubora. In 390, the Corani legions, led by Malian’s 19-year-old son Kobar, subdued the region and placed it under Corani control. Upon succeeding his father in 394, Kobar continued his policies of expansion. Caer Shostim was built to guard the northern approaches to Merethos and the Jenath, like the Merdi before them, were assimilated into the empire.

At the start of the fifth century, the Corani legions expanded into the northern river valleys occupied by the Kubora. Between 401 and 405, keeps were constructed at Ithiko, Zaza, and Tormau to secure the western coast and function as supply bases for northern expansion. The Kubora resisted this incursion but their frenzied attacks were no match for the trained legions of Emperor Kobar.

By 414, imperial troops had constructed the Hohnam Road and a fortress at Kustan. From there, the legions plundered the enormous natural wealth of Peran and built outposts throughout the region. The Kubora refused to be subjugated and Corani control of Peran remained tenuous except within a day’s march of Kustan. The Kubora rose in revolt 12 times between 414 and 477.

Sixty years of attempts to subdue the northern Kubora were a severe drain on the imperial treasury. Despite this, economic development of the Coranicontrolled areas was dramatic; paved roads were built and trade prospered. When Kobar died, the lower Thard Valley and the north coast of Boka Bay were prosperous and at peace but for limited skirmishing from the Kubora.

When Kobar’s son Laketta died heirless in 443, the Kingdom of Aleathia tried to take advantage of a succession crisis by seizing Heroth Keep south of the Thard River. This invasion was the catalyst that put Mejenes, a military leader, on the throne.

With the expansion efforts of Mejenes the Great, the empire extended as far as it ever would. Emperor Mejenes defeated the Aleathian forces under King Xuaka. When Xuaka died in 453, Aleathia was peacefully absorbed into the Corani Empire as Aleathia province, removing the southern threat to the empire.

Mejenes began a comprehensive assault on Peran. He built Mejetus at the far reach of Corani power but died of a fever while in the northern wilderness of Equeth. His death in 465 marked the beginning of the end of the Corani Empire. By 474, the Kubora tribes had begun to unify under the chieftain Nebran Bondbreaker, who made peace with the neighboring Equani and Urdu tribes and vowed to drive out the Corani invaders once and for all.

The End of Imperial Control in the West

Sylud “the Scholar,” Mejenes’ son, neglected the legions in favor of cultural and academic pursuits. In 477, an archaeological expedition was sent to Kustan to excavate the sacred grave of Kemlar the Guide, a Kuboran deity. This sparked a revolt that annihilated the imperial fort at Kustan. After Nebran Bondbreaker was slain in the battle, his fragile alliances died with him.

After years of neglect, the legions had few resources. The Kubora attacked the weakened settlements, burning them to the ground and leaving no survivors. The legions were driven from Peran and the region was left to the Kubora. The western provinces never again saw the level of imperial investment that had settled and built the area.

Saurach, Sylud’s successor, was a religious fanatic who attempted to create an Agrikan theocracy. In 491, he banned all other religions within the empire but was assassinated within hours by a female assailant. The Church of Agrik went into a two-century decline.

Several succeeding emperors were incompetent, their reigns marked by tyranny and a series of natural disasters. Emperor Korad “the Fool,” unable to respond to the crises, abandoned the west to a succession of incompetent governors and spent most of his reign issuing juvenile edicts that were promptly forgotten.

Medak, the last emperor, took the throne in 555 and worked to reverse the corruption in the provinces. His ruthless purges fell heavily on the governors of the western provinces, but the corruption ran deep.

The Balshan Jihad

During Medak’s reign, a local Morgathian demagogue named Balsha of Ozrada came to prominence. Little is known of his early life, other than he was born the son of a common soldier at Ithiko in 520. Balsha preached an unorthodox, activist view of Morgathianism, stating that the misery of mortal life could be mitigated by serving Morgath while alive and that those who pleased the god had the best chance of eternal reward.

**Kandáy Political Map**
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By 552, Balsha’s uncannily accurate predictions of a destructive series of plagues and famines that ravaged the provinces won him a massive following. In 558, Medak deemed it wise to be rid of the “petty troublemaker” and had Balsha dragged to the impaling stake.

The prophet’s martyrdom sparked the rebellion now known as the Balshan Jihad. Corani legions, crippled by the purges of Medak, were helpless against the growing revolt. The Balshans took advantage of the ravages of the Red Death and by 560 controlled Rethem province. Merethos fell in 562 and was renamed Golotha, meaning “dark victory” or “last victory” in the Morgathian temple tongue. In 565, Coranan fell after a two-year siege. Medak and his family, captured while fleeing to Aleath, were impaled outside of Coranan.

The Theocracy of Tekhos

Horahnam of Tekhos, former governor of Shiran province, was the victor of a savage power struggle among the Jihadists. In 568, he founded the Theocracy of Tekhos, one of Hârn’s most infamous and brutal regimes.

For 20 years, the religious tribunals of Tekhos crushed opposition and thousands were executed or forced into outlawry. In the settlements where the tribunals were based, public torture and execution became commonplace.

Horahnam was assassinated in 588 in Coranan. Within days, rebellions erupted throughout the Theocracy. Only Golotha resisted the revolt that swept Horahnam’s rule away in two months.

The Interregnum

The downfall of the Theocracy of Tekhos was followed by the Interregnum, a period during which western Hârn was beset by chaos as dozens of petty states vied with each other. There was little distinction between bandits, mercenaries, raiding tribesmen, and legitimate armies. Many mercenary companies that formed during the Interregnum have descendant units operating in Rethem today.

During the Interregnum, Golotha remained a lonely relic of the Morgathian theocracy. This “Second Theocracy” or “Golothan Theocracy” was the dominant political force among the diverse states of Rethem, most of which paid it tribute and looked to it for support. The Golothan Theocracy did not spread farther than a day’s ride in all directions from the city and its borders were ever tested by those seeking revenge. Revolts within the city were quickly quelled. As the population dwindled, the Golothan Theocracy grew weaker.

The Kuboran Dynasty

Arlun the Barbarian (635–656)

Arlun was a charismatic and highly skilled warrior of the Obodu Kubora. Arlun served as a mercenary at Tormau before becoming the warchief of the Obodu in 621. Inspired by a vision of Kemlar, Arlun unified 90 Kuboran tribes by 625. Convinced of his destiny, Arlun trained the tribes in military strategies that he had learned at Tormau.

In 629, Arlun and his warriors swept south, destroying the settlements in what are now Kelesa, Quarien, and Fesenor hundreds and taking the fortress at Shostim. The resources he captured made his united Kubora a formidable force. Arlun’s conquest was aided by southern elites who had suffered under Morgathianism.

Arlun brilliantly defended Shostim against the forces of the Golothan Theocracy. When the weakened besiegers retired, he marched half of his army north. Clan Lynnaeus, which had not allied with the Golothan Theocracy, surrendered Tormau to Arlun after a brief siege. In the two years that followed, Arlun conquered all of northern Rethem. He secured his conquest by allying with the Companions of Roving Doom, an Agrikan fighting order, and by marrying the daughter of Henail Lynnaeus, whose descendants hold Tormau to this day.

In 635, Arlun renewed his southward expansion. A third of his army attacked Quste while he led the remainder across the Thard to seize Thiri. The Golothans, unaware of his presence at Thiri, gathered a large army and took the bait at Quste. The Kuborans retreated to Shostim as planned, pursued by the Golothans. The Theocracy’s disastrously incompetent generals once again wasted men against the walls of Shostim while Arlun marched on a lightly defended Golotha. He took it with ease in the late summer of 635. The Golothan army besieging Shostim raced south to retake the city but Arlun had prepared a solid defense. The outmaneuvered Golothans came to terms. Arlun proclaimed the Kingdom of Rethem in the autumn.

The Agrikan orders that had allied with Arlun encouraged his attempts to exterminate the remaining Morgathian theocrats, but this effort succeeded only in driving them underground. By 650, however, Arlun had restored religious freedom throughout the kingdom. Some believe his wife, whose clan had Morgathian roots, was behind this move, while others believe Arlun acted to offset the rising dominance of the Agrikans.

Arlun spent his reign consolidating and expanding his domain against resistance from Kanday and the Thardic League, taking Menekai and Senun from the Thardic League in 639 and pushing his southern border to Dunir and Menekod by 654. Upon his death in 656, his kingdom was the largest since the Corani Empire, extending from the Gomisen River to Cape Vikod, and from the Ternu Heath to the Pemetta River.

**The Campaigns of Arlun**
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Obras the Southron (656–672)

Although some Kuborans had assimilated into southern culture during Arlun’s reign, many tribesmen spurned the soft life of civilization, maintained their traditional ways, and grew increasingly discontented.

Much of their displeasure centered on Arlun’s heir, Obras, whose mother was Sysene Lynnaeus, daughter of Earl Henail Lynnaeus of Tormau. Many Kuboran leaders were alarmed at the possibility at being ruled by someone of mixed blood. Arlun’s attempts to mollify the growing discord only delayed the inevitable. Upon Arlun’s death in 656, the Peran region was lost to the kingdom when almost all the Kubora renounced their loyalty to Obras, who they saw as a “weakling southron.” Even the fierce Obodu Kubora, Arlun’s original power base and the most trusted warriors in the kingdom, rejected Obras.

A series of poorly organized revolts broke out in Rethem in 657 and distracted the new king from trying to regain Peran. Obras lacked his father’s abilities and could not win the firm loyalty of anyone. He continued to be beleaguered by rebellion throughout his reign. He was killed in a skirmish near Tormau while suppressing yet another revolt.

Nemiran the Zealot (672–681)

Obras’ son, Nemiran, inherited a weak and chaotic kingdom and was forced to deal with several more revolts. He was a skillful politician who saw the folly of attempting to rule alone as his father had done. Using Kandian feudalism as a model, Nemiran assigned land and offices to trusted retainers in exchange for fealty and severely punished those who resisted his actions.

Nemiran is remembered as a brutal Agrikan zealot. Shortly after his conversion, Nemiran sponsored the Order of the Octagonal Pit and the Order of Demon Pameshlu the Insatiable, granting them charters to operate Pamesani games in Golotha and Shostim. He also financed the construction of their temple in Golotha. As “assistance” to his barons faced with revolts, Nemiran granted extensive lands within their baronies to the Agrikan orders, primarily the Order of the Red Shadows of Herpa and the Order of the Company of the Copper Hook.

Nemiran met the challenges of his day and created an ordered society from a failing tribal structure. Through murder and reward, he managed to unify the kingdom within four years of ascending to the throne.

Nemiran built the Palace of Perehyne in Golotha and the court moved there in 678. He was assassinated on its steps on midsummer’s day in 681. Nemiran was the last king of the Kuboran dynasty.

The House of Araku

Puril (681–689)

Puril, the commander of Nemiran’s bodyguard, probably ordered the king’s murder. After the assassination, Puril proclaimed himself regent and publicly vowed to find a proper successor. There were several possible claimants to the throne and Puril mercilessly destroyed all of these he could find. Within six months, the Kuboran dynasty was extinct and Puril took the throne in the last month of 681.

Ezar’s War (682–697)

In 682, the forces of the Copper Hook, under the direction of Akarata (fighting order grandmaster) Ezar Zhirdoka, attacked the Kandian keep of Imiden. The Laranian Order of the Checkered Shield quickly sent a relief force, forcing the Agrikans to withdraw. Ezar appealed to Puril for aid. The new king eagerly supported what became known as Ezar’s War.

For six years, the rival armies clashed along the border with little effect, neither side able to gain a decisive advantage. In 688, Puril sailed with an army from Golotha and landed near Sarkum, then an independent ally of Kanday. Puril’s plan was to take Sarkum and march east on Aleath. Achieving surprise, the Rethemi army overwhelmed Sarkum and Hebon, but Puril suffered a mortal wound in the campaign and died in Sarkum early in 689.

**Ezar’s War (682–697)**
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**Kandáy Political Map**
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Kabe (689–692)

The transfer of power to Puril’s son Kabe gave Kanday time to unify. The surviving petty states west of Aleath swore fealty to King Andasin III and, when Kabe arrived to take command of his forces in Sarkum, he found himself besieged by a reinforced enemy army. In 690, Kandian troops recaptured Hebon, an assault that cost Andasin III his life. Kabe was still besieged in Sarkum and stubbornly refused to abandon his army. His hope that the Kandians would lose heart with Andasin’s death was dashed when they rallied to the young Queen Eriel. In 692, a fire broke out in Sarkum, killing Kabe. His supporters believed he was murdered. With his death, the castle surrendered, but the war continued in the north.

Chafin I, Winner By Any Means (692–703)

Chafin, the eldest son of Kabe, was a competent strategist. Ezar’s War dragged on but Chafin was able to maintain the stalemate along the Kandian border except for the loss of Dunir in 693.

Determined to win the war by any means, in 694 Chafin ordered the Agrikan Order of the Crimson Dancer to assassinate Queen Eriel of Kanday. Although successful, the assassin was captured and confessed under interrogation. In the lightning campaign of 695, vengeful Kandian armies seized Selvos and Menekod, crushing the resistance of the Copper Hook. Fearing the loss of further lands, Chafin sued for peace.

In 697, the Peace of Selvos ended the bitter 15-year conflict and established the present Rethem-Kanday border. The debacle of Ezar’s War left Rethem on the verge on civil war. Looking for scapegoats, Chafin had Ezar executed in 698. The Order of the Crimson Dancer found itself in such disfavor with the king that they left Rethem for Orbaal in 701.

In 703, Chafin I died while hunting in the forests east of Shostim. His supporters found the circumstances questionable. Clan Lynnaeus was publicly accused of the assassination but no investigation was ordered by the new king, Chafin I’s younger brother, Larril. Chafin I’s mistress and two bastard children disappeared soon after his death. As Chafin I had many enemies, the truth of his death is likely to remain hidden.

Chafin II, the Timorous (703–715)

Larril, who took the name Chafin II, was a timorous monarch who spent most of his reign confined inside Caer Shostim protected by a large (and expensive) bodyguard of 300 men. Private wars and feuds replaced law and order throughout the kingdom.

In 708, the Red Shadows of Herpa crossed the Gomisen River and took Themeson Keep. The king took neither notice nor responsibility for the event, thwarting the Thardic Republic’s demands for remunerations and narrowly avoiding armed conflict with the Republic.

In 711, the Earl of Tormau built Weseda Keep without royal approval near his southern holding of Henwe on the disputed Kandian border. Weseda’s access to salt, stone, and iron greatly increased the autonomy of the earl. When the earl seized Ithius Keep from the Earl of Ithiko in 713, Chafin II again failed to intervene.

Although Chafin II issued a number of decrees intended to protect his kingdom in the event of invasion, many went unenforced. Powerful nobles, notably the Earl of Tormau, did what they wished, as did many of the fighting orders.

Chafin II died peacefully in his bed in 715. He left no heir, a shaky border, and a rebellious and emboldened earl at Tormau. A bloody power struggle ensued.

Current Events

A maelstrom of murder and intrigue followed the death of Chafin II. Arech Araku, cousin to Chafin II, emerged victorious, aided by a band of thugs that assists him to this day. This ruthless and amoral man was responsible for the murders of his uncle Mykkel and his female cousin Wyrede, both of whom had better claims to the throne. Only Wyrede’s children, Saval and Hesela, survived, having been taken to sanctuary with their uncle, Earl Denyl Lynnaeus of Tormau.

Taking the name Chafin III, Arech consolidated his position by placing his cronies in key offices. He has managed to reaffirm the fealty (or at least the neutrality) of the earls of Ithiko and Techen and three Agrikan fighting orders: the Warriors of Mameka, the Red Shadows of Herpa, and the Companions of Roving Doom. The Earl of Tormau gained power under the weak Chafin II and has yet to swear fealty or pay any taxes to the crown.

Unlike his predecessor, Chafin III is bold and capable. Many believe his skill and ambition will unite Rethem (probably by destroying or neutralizing Tormau) and redress the kingdom’s losses to hated Kanday.

Relations with the Agrikan Church

Chafin III is under pressure from factions within the Agrikan Church to lead a holy crusade to spread their domain across the west by the sword. The Warriors of Mameka wish to re-take Kustan and conquer all of Peran; the Red Shadows of Herpa want to achieve the same objective from Menekai. The clerical sponsors of these orders, the Apalankh (Agrikan primate) and Kemelras Royal (bishop of Rethem), see all this through a political lens. They both feel that the wealth of the Peran wilderness would enable an Agrikan empire to consume Kanday and the Thardic Republic. They differ over which of them would achieve greatness as a result. Their support of Chafin III is based on their hope that he will stabilize Rethem and lead the crusade they favor.

Relations with the Morgathian Church

The Morgathian Church is wealthy and powerful in Golotha but elsewhere its numbers are much diminished since the days of the Theocracy of Tekhos. Some nobles and common folk in remote Hohnamshire cling to old Morgathian traditions. Between a rebellious earl and the questionable loyalty of his sheriff, Chafin has enough problems with Hohnamshire. His wife and son in Golotha are close to the Morgathian center of power. Chafin’s tolerance of the Morgathians is practical, not benevolent.

Relations with Kanday

The Order of the Copper Hook has never recognized the Peace of Selvos, and for 23 years has skirmished with the Order of the Checkered Shield. This ongoing conflict is not officially recognized by either Chafin III or King Andasin IV of Kanday, neither of whom wishes to provoke a recurrence of Ezar’s War. Although both kings officially regard the skirmishing as a religious dispute, if either fighting order makes substantive gains, it is likely that the governments would become involved.

The Earl of Tormau views the struggle as a beneficial distraction to Chafin III. The earl has been giving covert aid in the form of money and arms to both orders through intermediaries. The earl wishes to reignite the war between Kanday and Rethem, which would allow him to make a separate peace with the Kandians and either destroy Chafin III, establish an independent kingdom, or make Tormau a major power in an expanded Kanday.

Relations with Tharda

Another problem for Chafin is the relationship between Rethem and the Thardic Republic. The seizure of Themeson Keep in 708 by the Red Shadows of Herpa has resulted in considerable strain between the two nations for the last 12 years. War was averted initially because the Republic was struggling to recover from the Thard flood of 707. Although the intrigue between the marshal and the magistrate of Gerium province (bordering Parachshire) prevents any effective action by the Thardians, the return of Themeson is a constant demand of the Thardic Senate. Chafin III has always answered these demands by claiming that, as the attack was carried out by an independent religious order during his predecessor’s reign, it has nothing to do with him.

There is a powerful expansionist faction in the Republic’s Senate. Chafin uses the constant threat of invasion to justify the brutal acts carried out by his forces in lands near the border with the Republic.

In 714, a schism in the Order of Herpa the Mace led to the creation of a new clerical order, the Order of Eight Demons. The fighting order forces holding Themeson came under the sponsorship of this new order and split from the Red Shadows to become the Cohorts of Gashang. The enmity between these two factions is considerable. Chafin’s inclination, if forced to make a choice, would be to return Themeson to the Thardic Republic in exchange for an alliance against Kanday, simultaneously ridding himself of the Agrikans there and further ingratiating himself with the Red Shadows of Herpa, one of his strongest supporters. However, he is not likely to initiate such an agreement before dealing with the internal threat posed by the Earl of Tormau.

Relations with the Earl of Tormau

The loyalty of one of the most powerful men in Rethem, Earl Denyl Lynnaeus of Tormau, is in doubt. This may lead to civil war, although neither side has yet gathered enough military force to be assured of victory. The earl detests Chafin III, accusing him of plotting to seize some of his lands. Chafin suspects the earl of conspiring with Kanday.

Earl Denyl has not sworn fealty to Chafin III and neither he nor his holdings have paid taxes since Chafin’s reign began. If the earl does not swear fealty soon, the king may be forced to declare him a traitor, strip him of all titles, lands, and offices, and even sentence him to death.

Upon ascending to the throne, Chafin III dismissed 180 of the 300 troops who had protected the paranoid Chafin II. The Earl of Tormau promptly recruited many of these well-trained men. Some serve him at Tormau while others are landholders in Weseda and Henwe.

The earl is actively building his private army. He has exploited his clan’s historical links to the Kubora to recruit widely among the tribes. His emissaries to Orbaal and Ivinia have brought many northmen to the earl’s service. He recently granted permission for a clerical clan to build a temple to Sarajin on the ruins of the old Morgathian temple in Tormau. The earl has a policy of pardoning brigands apprehended on his lands in return for service in his army or as irregular raiders to weaken Chafin’s loyalists in the north.

Earl Denyl’s nephew and niece, Saval and Hesela Lynnaeus, survived the murder of their mother and have a stronger blood claim to the throne than does Chafin III. Most nobles of Rethem are willing to ignore this fact as long as Chafin can maintain a degree of prosperity for his vassals. If Chafin’s enemies gain strength, many nobles may opt to recognize one of these legitimate claimants to avoid a costly civil war. Earl Denyl would be regent until his royal ward comes of age.

Clan Lynnaeus has a history of garnering power through intelligence, planning, and bold action. The isolated location of their main holdings has permitted the clan to avoid many of the conflicts that have shaken Rethem since 681. Earl Denyl benefits from the counsel of his trusted chamberlain, Nykkal of Claswith, but is unaware that Claswith is a covert agent of the Kingdom of Melderyn’s mysterious Council of Eleven.

The impasse between the king and the earl has not yet deteriorated into civil war only because neither is certain of victory. Soon, however, one of them is likely to decide that they must strike before the other becomes even more powerful.

Relations with the Earl of Techen

The relationship between Chafin and Revi Lenesque, Earl of Techen, can best be described as an alliance of neutrality. The earl has agreed not to involve himself in a civil war between the king and the Earl of Tormau. Earl Revi desires stability, an unusual trait in a Rethemi noble, and it seems likely that he will honor this agreement. Because Earl Revi is potentially the most powerful noble in Rethem, maintaining his neutrality is crucial to Chafin’s plans. The earl seethes at the raids and arrests made on his lands by the king’s men, but so far has done nothing.

Earl Revi wants the Themeson situation to be resolved to stabilize trade relations with the Thardic Republic. He is well aware that if the problems posed by Themeson result in war with the Republic, his lands and wealth will suffer heavily. The earl despises the Cohorts of Gashang and has urged the king to resolve the matter by driving them out and returning Themeson to the Republic.

Revi Lenesque has sent agents to Coranan to investigate commercial and political opportunities. Since he came into his inheritance, which the king delayed for as long as he could, his earldom has continued to be the weaponcrafter for the kingdom, supplying all sides for now. At the same time, the earl has begun to stockpile weapons and supplies of ore and charcoal.

Earl Revi has made half-hearted attempts to convince the Earl of Tormau to make peace with the king. He regards Lynnaeus as a clever but intractable man whose ambition is dangerous to the kingdom. Earl Revi is not willing to join with the king in a direct attack on Tormau, believing the expense and risk to himself and his lands far outweigh any potential gain from such a campaign. The Earl of Tormau regards Techen as “too timid for his own hall” and privately scorns him for his unwillingness to take a firm position.

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Relations with Queen Erela

Erela Lenesque became queen of Rethem at the age of 28. She helped her husband loot the Earldom of Techen during her nephew’s minority. Although Revi is now Earl, Erela continues to treat him with ill-concealed contempt. Her marriage is equally strained. The king’s principal seat is in Shostim, while Erela and their infant son reside in Golotha. Two companies of Chafin’s personal guard protect the queen and the heir according to the king’s wishes.

The queen demands luxury for herself and obedience from all others. She dreams up grandiose projects but cares little for planning how they are accomplished. Most of the castle staff have been inconvenienced or even endangered by the queen’s endeavors. Only the king’s mother has the power to disagree with Erela. The frequent, vindictive spats between the two women cause numerous headaches for Caer Chaftar’s Seneschal of the Chamber, Lady Aleta Borganau.

The queen spends much of her time in consultation with the Gurim (Hârnic primate of Morgath). A devoted follower of Balsha, Erela looks to his teachings for means to preserve her fading beauty. The city’s Morgathian temple provides guidance and subjects for her experiments. Erela directs a small power base of loyalists and paid informants throughout the kingdom.

The queen avoids conflict with the squabbling Agrikans, trusting her husband to maintain those relationships. The Agrikan Apalankh has worked hard to establish more cordial relations with the queen but the friction between the Warriors of Mameka and the Queen’s Guard in Golotha remains a barrier.

Succession Threats

Chafin knows he is subject to two serious succession threats. His rival in Tormau has the resources to break Hohnamshire away from Rethem but lacks the political support to keep Chafin’s loyalists out of a civil war. The loyalty of some of Chafin’s supporters is not reliable. The burden of a struggling economy, pressures from outside the kingdom, and Chafin’s own difficult personality all make it possible that one or more key allies might abandon him if the right political cover were to emerge.

The Missing Children of Chafin I

Chafin I’s mistress, Penethe Amagar, bore him a daughter, Pilnia, in 699 and a son, Kalab, in 701. Penethe and the children disappeared immediately after Chafin I’s assassination in 703. Months of searching by Chafin II’s Royal Guard failed to find them among clan Amagar’s holdings, which were subsequently confiscated.

The three are presumed dead by most Rethemi nobility and recorded as dead by the Sanguine Saltire. If they still live, Penethe would be 41 and the children would be young adults of 20 and 18.

Two Known Heirs to a Disputed Throne

In 708, during the reign of Chafin II, Vavryse Lynnaeus married Wyrede Araku, niece of Kabe, and fathered two children, Saval and Hesela Lynnaeus.

Wyrede was murdered in the bloodbath that followed Chafin II’s death, when Chafin III engineered the extermination of all rivals. By a twist of fate, Saval and Hesela escaped and were taken to their uncle, Earl Denyl Lynnaeus of Tormau. The earl blames Chafin III personally for the murder of his sister-in-law. Her children, now aged ten and five, still reside in safety at Tormau with their father, Vavryse.

Earl Denyl is working to seat one of the children on the throne. Their stronger claim to the throne has, thus far, been ignored by the Sanguine Saltire, Rethem’s college of heralds, and by most of the nobles of Rethem.

The Book of Lost Names

The power struggles in Rethem’s history have led to many disappearances with its ruling clans. Clan Araku and the clans of the Kuboran dynasty have many members whose fates are unknown.

The Sanguine Saltire maintains a Book of Lost Names that lists all known information about these missing people, including the date and place of last confirmed sighting, known aliases and alliances, and who is believed to have been responsible for their disappearance or death. The existence of this tome is known only to select members of the college.

Religion

Unlike other Hârnic kingdoms, Rethem is dominated by the churches of Agrik and Morgath, giving it a reputation as “the black-souled and evil” kingdom. Although other faiths are represented, religious freedom and tolerance are not a part of Rethemi culture.

Worship of Morgath

The religious climate in Rethem was forever changed by the Balshan Jihad and the two Morgathian theocracies that followed it. For almost 30 years, Morgathianism was the predominant religion of western Hârn. The masses flocked to Balsha’s teachings that each man is measured by his abilities, not his birth, and for the promise of the “half-life eternal.”

During the Theocracy of Tekhos, religious tribunals crushed all opposition. Those who failed to adopt the faith were executed or forced into outlawry. When the Theocracy fell, most people returned to their previous religion. Aspects of Morgathianism lingered, mixed in subtle ways with these other faiths.

The Morgathian power base that once prospered throughout the region is greatly diminished in size. It remains wealthy and politically strong only in Rethem. The worship of Morgath is popular primarily in Golotha but remains influential in other settlements where ambitious men have clawed their way to positions of power and status and intend to keep them. Outside Golotha, most followers are covert.

Under an edict issued by Arlun, largely ignored but never rescinded, no more than 12 people may gather to worship Morgath. The Church maintains a temple in Golotha and at Balsha’s birthplace in Ithiko, but few other temples exist openly. Repeated petitions to build one in Shostim have been denied, a sore point between the Gurim and the king. Isolated covens exist throughout the kingdom. Some of these groups remain more faithful to Balsha’s teachings than to the mainstream church and look fearfully over their shoulders for the Torkena-Matan, inquisitors who hunt down and punish those who practice heretical ways.

By law, all who die in Rethem are cremated. The right to bury or entomb the dead is an expensive privilege granted by the crown. Only the most wealthy and loyal Morgathians and Haleans can afford to pay the tax required for this privilege. The law is often ignored on lands held by Morgathian lords.

Rumors abound that Amorvrin, known as the “Gray Undead,” are involved in the Golothan temple and in Rethemi politics, and that they command legions of undead Gulmorvrin soldiers. Estimates in the thousands of such soldiers are rumored but officially denied; only the highest levels of the Morgathian hierarchy in Golotha know for sure.

There is considerable friction between the churches of Agrik and Morgath, as both endeavor to assert their power over the kingdom. The churches do occasionally cooperate: the Gurim and the Agrikan Apalankh are plotting together to destroy the Laranians of Kanday.

The Gurim

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The Khidarmur (high priest) of the Morgathian temple in Golotha is also the Gurim (primate) of Hârn. The Gurim is responsible for the Hârnic primacy, one of 13 in the Morgathian Church, and answers directly to the Vynkhadur (pontiff) in Meokolis. The Gurim is widely feared inside and outside the Morgathian community. While few would say the Gurim is loved by his followers, there is no doubt that he commands their respect. Few besides his Khalas (priests) know he is an Amorvrus.

Four of the seven positions on Golotha’s Heptarchial Council are held by the Gurim’s Khalas. The council is presided over by the Agrikan Apalankh, Sir Klyrdes Bisidril, but despite Sir Klyrdes’ influence, the Morgathians’ control of the council and the city is all but absolute.

The Gurim hopes the unrest in Rethem results in the deaths of hundreds of Agrikan and Laranian warriors. His goal is the restoration of the Theocracy of Tekhos with himself as ruler.

Queen Erela, driven by her intellectual loneliness and sheer vanity, has turned to the Gurim as a trusted spiritual advisor. Under his guidance, she prays, studies, and conducts experiments to learn the secrets to keep her youth and beauty. Information gained from her own small network of informants often reaches the Gurim’s ears.

Worship of Agrik

Agrikanism is the primary religion of Rethem’s noble class and the Agrikan Church is a major factor in kingdom politics. Although Agrikanism is not a religion of the masses, some members of the guilded and peasant classes have adopted the faith, often for political reasons, especially in settlements with a devout Agrikan lord.

The Regional Hierarchy

From its earliest days, the Corani Empire had a policy of religious tolerance. Missionaries from many Lythian religions found welcome. Agrikanism established itself quickly, particularly in the legions. The success of these missionary orders was recognized by the pontiff. A Hârnic primacy was created and a church bureaucracy was established. With a few exceptions, the orders that spread the faith to the empire were eventually absorbed into the mainstream church structure.

The tribunals of the Theocracy of Tekhos took a heavy toll on the Agrikan Church. The Morgathians raided and destroyed the temples of other faiths, confiscating wealth and executing priests. The Agrikan regional hierarchy in western Hârn was effectively wiped out and has never since regained its former power.

Today, the central hierarchy of the Hârnic church is weak and members of powerful clerical orders hold the positions of authority. Sir Klyrdes Bisidril, the Senesharil (clerical order grandmaster) of the Order of Mamaka, Master of Steel, serves as the Apalankh (primate) of Hârn. Administrative functions for the church’s operations throughout Hârn are carried out in his order’s temple in Golotha.

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Rethem’s only Agrikan bishopric is based in Shostim’s temple of the Order of Herpa the Mace. The Kemelras Royal (bishop) appoints the king’s chaplain and oversees the church’s efforts in the kingdom, including the collection of tithes. The Kemelras’ friendship with the Chancellor of the Exchequer gives him political sway.

Ulankhi

The Apalankh and the Kemelras Royal both employ a number of priests as spies, inspectors, and emissaries. Although some Ulankhi are itinerant mendicants, others hold offices in the church bureaucracy or are installed as chaplains in keeps and manor houses across the kingdom. They report regularly to the Apalankh or Kemelras, providing them with political and military information. These Ulankhi are expected to renounce any connection with their temple and order; their allegiance is directly to their appointer. They often maintain personal relationships that may serve them well in their career.

The Amanasurif (pontiff) and members of the higher church hierarchy in Lythia occasionally send Ulankhi to Hârn. One such representative of the pontiff is currently in Rethem. Since the destruction of the church hierarchy by the Theocracy of Tekhos, Hârn has been seen as a parochial backwater. It is believed that the pontiff ’s envoy has come to receive the Apalankh’s official reports on the state of the Hârnic church and its orders. While the Apalankh has managed so far to prevent him from meeting privately with the Kemelras and the grandmasters of the orders, the envoy has developed a range of other links with influential Rethemi. Much may depend on what he reports back to the Amanasurif.

The Orders

During the Interregnum, the Agrikan priests and Terahni who had survived the purges of the Theocracy of Tekhos banded together for protection, forming many of the orders in Rethem today.

Although the Agrikan clerical and fighting orders active in Rethem may be more powerful than the regional hierarchy, they are not a unified force. Clashes between orders are frequent and violent. The orders often operate independently of the wishes of the Apalankh, who commands only the absolute loyalty of his own order. The Ulankhi of the Kemelras often encounter interference carrying out their ecclesiastic duties.

Since the time of Arlun, Rethem’s monarchs have benefited from a close relationship with the Agrikan fighting orders. The advantages of granting land to organizations that can provide several score well-armed and trained soldiers who are unhampered by scruples have not been overlooked by the kings of Rethem.

Worship of Peoni

Although worshiping Peoni is officially proscribed in Rethem, most farmers and peasants are followers. Small shrines to the Lady of Industrious Labors are scattered throughout the countryside. While some nobles actively persecute Peonians, others see Peonianism as a pacifying influence on the peasants and ignore its activities as long as it keeps a low profile and stays out of kingdom politics.

Decades of Morgathian rule and legal isolation have left Rethemi Peonianism degraded from Peonian orthodoxy in many ways. Most Rethemi villages do not have a Peonian priest. In isolated settlements where no priest has visited for years, the faith is often kept alive by village elders with no theological training. Remnants of Balshan Morgathianism have been absorbed in some areas and Kuboran animist beliefs that predate the Corani Empire linger in others.

There is no organized Peonian Church in Rethem and the kingdom is considered part of the diocese of Kanday. The Sulaplyn (bishop) fears that the militant form of Peonianism practiced in some temples in northern Kanday, including Dunir and Zerien, will spread to Rethem and disrupt the tenuous situation there.

Mendicants disguised as laborers, peddlers, or craftsmen travel between villages, tending to the faithful and holding covert services, usually in homes or closedup barns. Many are part of a covert group known as Maermalites, whose name comes from Maermal the Ox, a semi-divine servant of Peoni who is especially popular among Rethem’s Peonians.

The Maermalites, or “Bullmen,” became active during the Theocracy of Tekhos and have continued under Rethem’s Morgathian and Agrikan regimes. They travel the countryside healing the sick, feeding the hungry, blessing crops, and carrying the message of Peoni’s love to those villages without a priest. They also provide support to the beleaguered priests who minister to covert parishes. Maermalites operate in secrecy and blend in with the people around them. Like many Rethemi Peonians, the Bullmen use ox horns as a symbol to recognize each other.

In most Hârnic kingdoms, Peonian doctrine stresses acceptance of one’s station in life. Balshanism left a legacy of self-determination that manifests as resentment toward the noble class. The Morgathian clerics in Golotha are aware of this simmering unrest and see in it the seeds of another uprising against the Agrikan nobility.

In defiance of the edict requiring cremation of the dead, Peonian embalmers in remote areas sometimes secretly inter the bones of the faithful in hidden ossuaries dating back to the days before the Balshan Jihad.

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Worship of Larani

There are few admitted Laranians in Rethem. The faith is proscribed throughout the kingdom and most Agrikan and Morgathian lords actively persecute Laranians found in their fiefs.

Tension is high along the kingdom’s border with Kanday and locals on both sides are suspicious of strangers. In many settlements in southern Rethem, travelers from Kanday who are suspected of being Laranian are apt to be convicted as Kandian spies on the strength of a rumor. They are forced to recant their religion or be tortured to death in a public spectacle.

Kandians are mostly intolerant of the dark churches and are suspicious of anyone coming from Rethem. Laranian fanaticism permeates all social and commercial activity in northern Kanday, making it difficult for Halean merchants from Rethem to operate profitably.

Menekod, the stronghold of the Laranian Order of the Checkered Shield, is a constant threat to southern Rethem. From Hyen, the knights of the Copper Hook continually patrol the region against incursion. Many among the oppressed Peonian peasantry would welcome a Kandian invasion.

The Rekela (bishop) of Perinore, whose Kandian diocese also includes Rethem, has been known to send spies and couriers into Rethem to communicate with those friendly to the Laranian cause. Some of these agents are Erken (“Chosen Men”) selected from the ranks of the common soldiery by the commanders of the Checkered Shield. These fanatically loyal men are used for delicate tasks and special missions. Their stealth and mobility make them valuable scouts and messengers. It is rumored that there are Erken in the employ of more than one Rethemi lord.

Other Faiths

Halea

The Halean Church is popular among merchants and some nobility along the Thard River. In Golotha, Haleans who travel without bodyguards risk beatings and murder. Worship of Halea is very rare in the countryside, where many see her faithful as bringers of moral weakness.

Although the Halean Church has a seat on Golotha’s ruling council, its appointees have been known to disappear before taking office or soon after. Several have respectfully declined the honor and the Halean seat has been vacant for almost two years.

Sarajin

The King of the Icy Wind is popular among the Ivinian mercenaries and traders in Rethem. Some Agrikan clergy are concerned that worship of Sarajin will spread to their faithful. There is a Sarajinian temple in Tormau and shrines can be found near the docks in a few other coastal settlements.

Naveh

The Navehan temple in Golotha supports a thriving business of death and destabilization that has influenced Rethemi politics since the temple was founded in 589. Temple priests find steady work as spies and assassins in the constant intrigues between the churches of Morgath and Agrik, powerful mercantile houses, and the nobility.

Bands of wandering Night People travel the countryside in black wagons festooned with brightly colored flags and painted images. They trade with the locals, who are fascinated by their exotic entertainments and strange revels. Some believe the Night People are favored by Naveh; killing or causing harm to one is considered an ill omen. The Night People are adept at gathering intelligence and fencing stolen goods.

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Save-K’nor

Save-K’nor is not widely worshiped in Rethem but a few nobles and merchants enjoy the prestige and financial rewards that can come from the Church’s vast knowledge of agriculture, trade, and other issues. Public temples to Save-K’nor are very rare; indoor shrines are more common but even they are often cleverly hidden.

Recently, the Ibarti (high deacon) of the Golothan temple of the Hyn-Aelori, came into possession of some tomes supposedly recovered from the fabled Corani observatory at Feniryn, on Kanday’s Tesien Moor. The Ibarti seeks to discover if anything else from the site survived the Theocracy of Tekhos.

Ilvir

Ilvirans in Rethem are not numerous and are poorly organized. The Order of the Pia-Gardith has a temple in Golotha. It is involved with procuring Ivashu for the Pamesani Games. The order seeks support and protection from the Agrikan Order of the Octagonal Pit.

Small congregations of Ilvirans, mostly artists and craftsmen, exist in rural Rethem but practice their faith covertly. A few shrines can be found near Kuboran territories, likely built by those hunting Ivashu.

Siem

Siem is almost unknown in Rethem and few can even describe his place in the pantheon. Those who mention Siem are more likely to meet with blank stares than active persecution, although professions of faith can lead to “friendly questioning” in the more paranoid Agrikan chapter houses.

The secretive Uthriem Roliri is active in Peran and the Rayesha Mountains. The brotherhood of the forest takes a dim view of activities that despoil the wilderness and this regularly brings them into conflict with Rethem’s charcoalers, timberwrights, and especially miners. The Uthriem Roliri frequently work with the Kuboran tribes to sabotage the activities of these guilds. It is fortunate for them that most Rethemi nobles have not the slightest idea of their mission or activities.

Kuboran Tribal Religion

Although Rethem was once conquered by the Kuboran tribesmen, the religious character of the kingdom shows only isolated Kuboran influence. Neither Arlun nor his army attempted to convert the people of Rethem to Kuboran religious traditions. Among the Kubora, worship is a matter of individual preference. When most of the Kubora returned north upon Arlun’s death, those who stayed behind assimilated into southern culture and adopted the gods of the southern pantheon.

ECONOMY

Rethem is largely self-sufficient. The kingdom exports wild beasts, leatherwares, and oils, with most other products consumed internally. The Thard River provides fertile soil, fish, and transportation. Its annual floods usually do little damage.

In general, the three shires of Rethem reflect their natural resources: Zabinshire is known for grainfields, Parachshire is home to mines and metalcrafters, and Hohnamshire is wealthy with oil, furs, and forest products.

Although there is limited trade with Kanday, wealthy Kandian mercantylers hold significant interests in a number of Rethemi commercial ventures.

Rethemi coins, mostly produced at the royal mint in Shostim, are hard to pass outside the kingdom due to chronic problems of clipping and debasing.

Agriculture

Agriculture in Rethem is dominated by the demand for horses and meat for the military units that help maintain the shaky status quo. Much of the best arable land is dedicated to oats and barley. Rye is planted on marginal land, but there is little production of wheat. Hay meadows on Rethemi manors are larger than the Hârnic average.

The most common livestock are tall, barrel-chested Thardic draft horses, red-haired Corani Wyvern-Tail swine, and both long-horned Rethemi and small Charred cattle, known more for their excellent hides and rich milk than their plowing ability. The Kandian Longhair sheep common in the Thard Valley produce excellent wool.

Fishing and Whaling

Fishing is a common activity and almost all coastal settlements have a few small, high-prowed fishing boats on the beach. Tormau and Ithius each have venars or niviks that stay out for days on end and undertake long whaling expeditions every winter.

The maritime holdings of Hohnamshire and western Zabinshire produce surplus whale oil for trade and it is a significant export from Golotha. Whale oil is very popular as a smokeless lamp oil and is in great demand in Coranan and Shiran. Up to 7000 gallons of oil can be rendered from the blubber of a single right whale.

Wild Beasts and the Fur Trade

Wild beasts from Peran, including large cats, bears, and wolves, are exported from Golotha via Cherafir to the Pamesani arenas of Azeryan. The beast trade is dangerous but lucrative.

Trappers make month-long treks into the Peran wilderness to tend their trap lines; many never return. Mercantylers travel the Scarlet Ribbon trading with trappers and tribesmen looking to exchange furs for goods of civilized manufacture. The Kuborans also trade beasts and slaves destined for the Pamesani Games. Trading weapons to the Kubora is lucrative but can result in painful death by torture if discovered by the Agrikans. Furs in great quantity are available from frontier manors but are of lesser quality than those from Kuboran lands.

The Hideworkers’ Guild

The Hideworkers’ Guild is prosperous in Rethem, as high-quality leather goods are in great demand by the military units, wilderness traders, and travelers. A few master hideworkers specialize in colored leathers, black from Golotha and red from Techen and Menekai. Such leathers are as popular in Tharda as they are in Rethem.

The Charcoalers’ and Miners’ Guilds

These two guilds provide the raw materials essential to equipping the fighting orders and enjoy a high degree of influence. Members are often of the Agrikan faith. Both groups are often found in despoiled areas of the wilderness in gangs of 5–10 men: a master, a journeyman or two, a few apprentices, and the balance in slaves.

The Miners’ Guild is favored by the king and enjoys friendly relations with the forest wardens. They suffer heavy losses from the Kuboran tribesmen, who consider the miners despoilers of their land. Guilded miners receive weapons training and must often defend themselves against Kuboran raiders and other forest perils. Some miners have consecrated weapons acquired in trade with an Agrikan chapter house.

Other Guilds

Salt is plentiful in the coastal settlements. The high demand for preserved food for warriors and travelers lead to high profits for members of the Salters’ Guild.

Chandlers are common and tend to be well-stocked. They supply not only caravans and warriors but also hunters, trappers, and other guildsmen who travel.

Guilded embalmers in Rethem actually embalm few bodies. By law, all who die in Rethem must be cremated. While Agrikan temples will prepare and immolate the bodies of their wealthy worshipers, embalmers are used by those unable to afford the temples’ fees. Morgathians have their own customs when it comes to the dead and seldom use guilded embalmers.

In the spring, much trade races upriver to Coranan to join the Salt Route caravan bound for Tashal. Traders must arrive before mid-Peonu to join the caravan.

ECONOMIC DATA

Major settlements listed below produce a Surplus (+), Demand (–), or are Self-sufficient (•) in the listed commodities. Larger settlements like Shostim have greater demand. Golotha has a demand for all commodities. Some settlements face trade restrictions imposed by their liege. For example, virtually all of Weseda’s goods go to Tormau.

The information is derived from natural resources, land quality, and the geopolitical situation. For example, the frontier keep of Bedenes produces an excess of furs, but lacks metals and horses. Listed under the nearest settlement, metals are owned by the crown and extracted by the Miners’ Guild under license. Quarries and salt pans are held from the local lord. Timber is in demand throughout Zabinshire. Unlisted commodities like wine are imported from other regions. Rethem exports hides, vellum, furs, and oil.

Use this economic data to generate realistic mercantile activity.

Table Data

Note: Check each Kingdom article for extra columns. ie. Kaldor: Furs, Herbs, Silver. Rethem: Beasts, Furs, Leather, Luxury, Oil, Preserved Foods, Slaves. For kingdoms without a particular resource, use N/A. Adding these shall allow for a better economic profile (maybe as a Template Sidebar) and contribute to an Economic Article.

Note: Add another table for Exports, ie. Kaldor exports grain, vellum, and wool. Kanday exports vellum, linen, and wool. Rethem exports hides, vellum, furs, and oil.

Note: MODIFY data to include P18 data for Réthem.

Note: ADD proper Naming from Maps and Subinfeudation naming conventions.

Réthem Economic Data
Name	Beasts	Charcoal	Copper	Furs	Grain	Horses	Iron	Leather	Luxury	Oil	Pres. Foods	Salt	Slaves	Stone	Tin
Arketh	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
AVERTU	●	–	–	–	●	●	–	–	+	+	+	●	+	–	–
CHISON	+	–	+	–	●	●	+	–	●	–	+	●	–	–	●
CUTON	●	–	–	–	●	●	–	–	●	+	+	●	+	●	–
DUNIR	●	–	–	–	●	+	–	–	●	+	+	●	–	●	–
DYRISA	–	–	–	–	●	–	–	–	●	–	+	–	–	–	–
EDINO	●	+	–	–	●	●	–	–	●	–	+	●	+	–	+
EWEN	●	–	–	●	+	+	–	–	+	–	–	–	–	+	–
FINDUMON	+	–	–	–	●	●	–	–	●	–	+	●	–	●	●
GIMON	●	–	–	–	●	●	–	+	●	–	+	+	–	●	–
HEBON	●	–	–	–	●	●	+	–	●	+	+	+	–	●	–
HEROTH	–	+	–	●	+	–	–	–	+	–	–	+	–	+	+
IBONOST	●	+	–	–	–	–	–	+	●	–	+	–	–	–	+
IMIDEN	+	+	–	●	+	–	–	–	+	–	–	+	–	+	+
KEDIS	+	+	–	–	–	–	–	–	●	–	+	+	–	–	+
MENEKOD	–	–	–	●	+	–	–	–	+	–	–	+	–	+	●
MINILAOUS	●	–	–	–	●	●	–	–	●	+	+	●	–	●	–
OHETIS	+	–	–	–	●	●	+	–	●	–	+	●	–	●	●
PINIDE	+	–	–	–	●	●	–	–	●	–	+	+	–	●	●
QUIVUM	●	+	–	–	●	●	–	–	–	–	+	+	–	–	+
SARKUM	–	–	–	●	+	+	–	–	+	+	–	+	–	–	–
SELVOS	–	–	–	–	–	–	+	–	●	–	+	+	–	–	–
SEPIRE	●	–	–	–	●	●	–	–	●	–	+	+	–	●	●
SUMON	●	+	–	–	●	●	–	–	●	–	+	–	–	●	+
TORTHAN	+	–	+	–	●	●	–	–	●	–	+	+	–	–	●
ZERIEN	●	+	–	●	+	+	–	–	+	–	–	●	–	+	+

Note: Maybe the Economic Data Tables can be modified with groups of each type, Minerals, Metals, Food, Manufactured Goods, Natural, and so on. Then adding these to a sidebar that has a complete list of these resources sub-grouped together, maybe even with expanded data on volumes.

Transportation

Rethem is a wild land with more than its share of brigands and long stretches of uninhabited land through which people and their goods must occasionally travel. The relative safety and ease of river and coastal travel has ensured the settlement of the Thard Basin, Boka Bay, and the Gulf of Pendos at the expense of the more dangerous inland areas.

The cobblestone-paved roads near the borders are not maintained. Their poor condition is seen as an obstacle for the inevitable invaders.

Unpaved roads and paths are much like those elsewhere on Hârn, deeply rutted and sometimes overgrown with brush. The unpaved roads near Agrikan chapter houses tend to be better maintained, with drainage ditches along one or both sides, depending upon local conditions and the order’s need for trade or transport.

The Hohnam Road through Parachshire to the Denia Valley is a relic of the Corani legions. It is isolated, unpatrolled, and dangerous. Ruined forts and settlements along the road shelter brigands and worse.

Those on foot have little difficulty finding room at the many inns in the heavily populated Thard Basin and south, but most inns farther north close their doors at nightfall and open them for nobody until dawn. Travelers on horseback find ostlers and feed plentiful and inexpensive except in time of widespread famine or war.

River travel is primarily by the ubiquitous 29’ talbars that are built, often poorly, by any number of small shipwrights along the river. A typical Thard River talbar can hold about seven tuns of cargo, a mule, and usually a few passengers. Passengers may be expected to work or to stay out of the way; it is best to make sure the terms are clear before getting underway.

Coastal travel relies mostly on niviks. Although less sturdy than the ubiquitous nivik, the venars made by Tormau’s shipwright are able to sail closer to the wind and are excellent for mercantile use along the coasts of Boka Bay. The nivik, which is much easier to sail, remains popular with fishermen and pirates. Fishermen also use coracles and other small craft.

CULTURE

P19

The Kingdom of Rethem comprises three very different worlds: the Thard River valley is the most heavily populated area in western Hârn; the hinterlands of Hohnamshire are sparsely populated, with few of the comforts of civilization; and Golotha is the end of many roads, both literally and figuratively.

Food and Drink

Rethem excels in the production of cheeses and sausages. Local salters produce Myrvrian, an excellent semi-soft cheese with a tangy flavor and an aroma akin to that of a rotting corpse. Tormal is a smoked, hard cheese popular among soldiers and the lower classes, especially when accompanied by crusty dark bread and the everpresent crisp rye ale. Rethemi dark ales are made with malt that has been cured by smoking. The kingdom’s climate is unsuited to viniculture.

Preserved meats are in much demand among the fighting orders and mercenary bands, especially smoked and dried sausages and hams. The flesh of swine is enjoyed by all classes and abject poverty has led to ingenuity in its preparation; every peasant goodwife knows how to prepare head cheese and blood sausage.

Salted fish is the most common protein in the diet of Rethemi soldiers and sailors, so many spend their meager pay on other foodstuffs to supplement their diets.

The success of a Rethemi feast is evaluated largely on the amount of food consumed; the presentation of the food and table are trivialities. A gracious guest falls upon his meal like a wild animal and noisy eating is considered a compliment to the host. Eating slowly or carefully is considered a mark of rejection or suspicion. Visitors from other courts consider Rethemi feasting habits as proof of their barbarian heritage. Rethemi travelers consider the restraint shown by these neighbors to be proof of their inferior cuisine. It is customary for noblewomen to dine separately from the men.

Music

Drums and brass horns are popular. The burhyn, a sturdy wooden hoop covered on one side with taut horsehide, is held under one arm and played with the thumb, little finger, and palm of the other hand. The atan is an unvalved brass horn made in six standard sizes, each with a characteristic pitch. The smallest, highestpitched atanes are popular as signaling instruments among the fighting orders. Heavy, decorative bronze bells are popular in Golotha and other places with strong Morgathian influences; these are seldom struck and often have their strikers removed. Cymbals are used during public holidays and festivals.

Arcitecture

Rethemi architecture has seen four powerful and very different influences. The first durable structures were built by the Corani Empire; those remaining resemble their domed counterparts in Coranan and Shiran and are best seen in Techen and Menekai.

Many buildings destroyed or damaged during the Balshan Jihad were rebuilt by the Theocracy of Tekhos. Grim and windowless, the Theocracy’s massive structures look like they were built more for the dead than the living. Golotha shows much of this architecture. Temples and fortifications built during this period often have serious structural flaws due to their rushed construction.

Since Arlun established the Kingdom of Rethem, the region has developed a political identity of its own. Structures from this period, built by those accustomed to violent upheaval, are designed for defense and the ability to withstand siege.

The final and overriding influence on all Rethemi architecture is the pervasive sameness of the Masons’ Guild. All castles and public structures are built by guilded masons and innovation is largely confined to ornamentation.

Prevalent along the stormy western coast, the domedeven is a small, sturdy house with a thatched roof that goes nearly to the ground on all sides except at the door. They are often round, but are found in many other shapes as well. The walls are much like any other wattle and-daub home but the low roof gives the home huge eave spaces where livestock gather and firewood is kept dry during the severe coastal storms of late winter.

**Kandáy Political Map**
900px

Clothing and Fashion

The people of the lower Thard Valley are much more cosmopolitan than their rural cousins and show much the same style of dress as seen in market centers across Hârn. In areas held by the Agrikan Church, a more localized style is discernible: warriors are clean-shaven and wear their hair long in styles reminiscent of their mighty barbarian forebears. When going into battle, the long hair is tightly braided to avoid offering an enemy something to grab.

In a violent and unpredictable land that encourages slavery and sneers at chivalry, peasant women strive not to be noticed; they tend to wear their hair short and dress in drab, loose-fitting clothing. If they must travel, they wear over-cloaks to hide their entire frame from view. In Golotha and elsewhere, noblewomen favor elaborate coiffures and brightly colored clothes. They wear gloves and cover their indoor clothes with thick cloaks that are richly adorned. Furs are commonly worn in the winter. Wealthier women of the guilded class follow these fashions as well as they can afford. In general, those who can afford protection try to look like they need it.

Peasant men look much like peasant men all over Hârn and are more likely to spend their few pence on beer than on clothing. Noble men dress richly in dark colors. All noble men carry weapons of some sort. Agrikan noblemen carry ornate maces and landholders carry a traditional whip modeled on Agrik’s Armahnh. Most also wear shortswords or broadswords. All ablebodied adult men in the kingdom receive military training; nobles who avoid it are scorned by their peers.

In the lands held by some Agrikan clerical orders and fighting orders, it is forbidden for non-Agrikans to wear red or orange clothing. Some freemen in those places wear only Agrikan colors as a show of devotion. Violating local rules can result in public humiliation, often including confiscation of the offending garb.

Tattoos are limited to sailors, mercenaries, and some Agrikan orders that use tattoos and branding to denote rank or victories in battle. These tattoos grow more and more complex as the individual advances in rank. To lose the limb on which the tattoo is placed is a dire omen. Some laumak (fighting order warriors of common birth) have their faces tattooed with marks that represent kills in combat.

Pipe smoking is popular among the Agrikan nobility and in the fighting orders. Pipeweed is grown in kitchen gardens throughout Rethem and each region boasts its own unique varieties. Respectable landholders grow their own and maintain a selection for guests to enjoy.

Folk Holidays and Festivals

The deeply divided religious makeup of Rethem is reflected in its festivals. Agrikanism is the most visible religion and its adherents openly celebrate their holy days, while Morgathians observe their holy rites in a much less public manner. Although most Rethemi commoners quietly worship Peoni, their holy days and festivals are not publicly observed.

Three holidays are peculiar to Rethem: Kingsday commemorates Chafin’s coronation, the Slaughterfest celebrates Golotha’s Pamesani arena, and Darknight marks the winter solstice.

Kingsday

On the anniversary of Chafin III’s coronation on 8th Nolus, every fief-holder is expected to host a lavish boonday feast for all unfree tenants of their lands. The sheriffs’ men often attend unannounced or question folk about the feast to ensure the lord exhibited adequate affection for the monarch.

The Slaughterfest

The Slaughterfest, held on 23rd Ilvin, celebrates the rededication of Golotha’s Pamesani arena. Agrikans from all over southern Rethem converge upon the city. Each clan brings one or more animals to be sacrificed in a day-long orgy of bloodletting. The festival generates considerable income for the Order of the Octagonal Pit and the primate.

Darknight

The eve of the winter solstice, the 30th of Savor, is known as Darknight. Throughout Rethem, especially in Hohnamshire, folk mark the start of the harsh winter months. Traditional activities include casting old possessions into bonfires to carry off ill luck and doing favors in return for objects of small value. Those who have reached adolescence that year are given the task of butchering the meat for the communal meal. In many homes, a great log lit that night will burn through the month of Ilvin, pushing back winter’s gloom.

The activities of the Darknight festival are remnants of rituals performed when Morgathianism dominated the area following the Balshan Jihad a century ago. Most who celebrate Darknight are unaware of its origins.

The Pamesani Games

The Agrikan Church operates the Pamesani Games to delight the masses with blood-sport while providing revenue for the church. In Rethem, the games are held twice monthly in the arenas of Golotha and Shostim. The games are far more than gladiatorial events. The bloodletting and depravity seems unbounded, but the seats are filled by noble and commoner alike.

CRIME AND PUNISHMENT Rethem’s nobles are not known for their mercy. While there is social pressure to observe the legal procedures, the importance of the form of the law often takes precedence over the search for justice. The Rethemi judicial system is notorious for corruption and abuses.

Rethem has one of Hârn’s most complicated legal landscapes. The kingdom’s laws are mostly based on Kandian feudal law but include a mixture of old Corani imperial law, Agrikan temple law, and even Kuboran dispute-settling practices. Many suits are settled in the Pamesani arenas.

Torture is a legitimate means of extracting evidence from witnesses but is infrequently used on nobles. In Rethem, this art is polished to a high degree even outside the Agrikan orders.

Legal proceedings begin when the bailiff of the hundred receives an accusation from a plaintiff against a defendant. The plaintiff must be the victim, a guilded litigant, or any person of higher social rank than the defendant. The bailiff should apprehend the defendant and charge the crime, but corruption is rampant and clan loyalties often interfere.

If both parties are unfree, the case is settled before the plaintiff ’s lord. Cases involving freemen go to the moot of the plaintiff ’s hundred. Crimes against the state are tried in the presence of the king. Slaves can neither make complaint nor expect justice. Slaves can only testify with their master’s permission and are rarely believed.

A defendant who has gained the protection of a powerful religious order may be difficult to bring to trial. Rethemi law permits Agrikan and Morgathian temples to offer sanctuary for up to a month. The defendant must then be admitted to the order or turned over to face the king’s justice. Agrikan temples rarely offer sanctuary. For the right contribution, the temple’s Master of Propagation will intercede on the defendant’s behalf, usually seeking to arrange for trial by combat. Petitioning a temple of Morgath for sanctuary is risky, as they have been known to yield up the perpetrator in exchange for a ransom. Wealthy defendants may pledge their own wealth to raise the ransom demand beyond what the plaintiff can pay.

In court, the burden of proof is upon the accused, who is considered guilty and is imprisoned until he can prove his innocence or come to a settlement with the plaintiff. The Rule of Eight decrees that the word of a noble has the weight of the testimony of eight free or 64 unfree witnesses.

Many secular and canonical courts sentence convicted criminals to the Pamesani arenas. This punishment may be for virtually any crime but is usually reserved for serious or repeat offenders. The duration of punishment can range from a single combat for a minor crime to a life sentence for a major crime. The treatment a convict receives depends on the whims of the slavemasters. Some gladiatorial training and assignment to a fair combat may be given, but many are condemned to participate in a spectacle in which the survival rate is rather low.

Typical Sentences

There is a constant demand for labor throughout the Rethemi economy and most crimes are punished by sentences of temporary or permanent slavery. Many courts condemn the guilty to the Pamesani arenas as slaves. Arena convicts can earn their freedom, if they survive. Other common punishments are listed below.

State Crimes

Rebellion: loss of property and title, death.

Regicide: loss of property and title, death by flaying for perpetrators, accomplices, their immediate families, and all first-born male cousins.

Treason: loss of property and all hereditary titles, death.

Privilege Crimes

Abuse of Trust: loss of office, restitution.

Breach of Rank: branding.

Obstruction of Justice: fine.

Temple Crimes

Blasphemy: scolding, removal of the tongue.

Breach of Agrikan Temple Privilege: flogging (or other torture) or burning.

Breach of Morgathian Temple Privilege: flaying or other torture.

Desecration: flogging, branding, death.

Heresy: mutilation, burning.

Unlawful Religious Practice: drowning, burning, mutilation.

Social Crimes

Abduction: restitution, fine.

Battery: restitution, flogging, fine.

Manslaughter: fine, restitution, flogging.

Murder: fine, hanging.

Obscenity: pillory, fine.

Rape/Adultery: flogging, restitution.

Slander: flogging, removal of tongue.

Economic Crimes

Breach of Guild Privilege: confiscation of property, fine.

Forgery: fine, flogging, mutilation.

Harming Another’s Slave: restitution, flogging.

Robbery/Theft: restitution, flogging, mutilation, hanging.

Poaching: flogging, mutilation, hanging.

Smuggling: imprisonment, hanging.

Tax Evasion: loss of property, fine, flogging.

State Crimes

Rebellion, regicide, and treason are always prosecuted, even against nobles and high-ranking clerics. Penalties include public execution; banishment is not a Rethemi practice. Perpetrators of noble birth are usually beheaded, while those of simple free or unfree status may be tortured for public entertainment and education. There are no appeals for verdicts of state crimes.

Those found guilty of state crimes also forfeit all wealth, holdings, and other hereditary rights to the crown. Claims of rebellion and treason are a favored tool for purging the nobility of disloyalty.

Privilege Crimes

Commoners usurping noble privileges are usually punished by slavery. Appeals are common and often resolved in the Pamesani arena.

Temple Crimes

The Agrikan and Morgathian churches may try cases of blasphemy, desecration, heresy, and breach of temple privilege in their own ecclesiastical courts. These church laws are complex and confusing even for the best litigants and no leniency is ever granted for ignorance of the law.

Any crime committed against a priest of Agrik or Morgath and any crime committed on temple grounds is considered a crime against that temple. Trials often have less to do with justice than with the temple’s current demand for slaves or sacrifices. Trial by combat is common and champions are usually permitted to fight for the accused. If found guilty, the champion suffers the penalty, not the accused. Execution requires the consent of the crown, but no recent monarch has ever refused a temple the right to handle their own affairs.

Tolerance of the various faiths varies from settlement to settlement in Rethem. Those accused of engaging in unsanctioned religious practices are often handed over to local temple courts.

The witchcraft laws common to other kingdoms are not generally enforced in Rethem but those wielding magic in a way that harms a plaintiff may find themselves in a temple court. Such cases are rarely successful where the Guild of Arcane Lore is strong. The temples usually negotiate a settlement with the guild. Unguilded practitioners have no such protections.

Most internal disputes in the Agrikan Church are settled by dueling, often in the Pamesani arena. In certain cases, the high priest or grandmaster may call for a hearing instead; decisions tend to be summary and fatal.

Social Crimes

Social crimes include abduction, adultery, battery, manslaughter, murder, rape, and slander. These are often punished by various forms of public humiliation including flogging, gibbets, and the pillory, sometimes in conjunction with fines. Nobles guilty of social crimes are usually simply fined but, in rare cases, may be sentenced to perform a quest for the sheriff or presiding magistrate.

Economic Crimes

The guilds are very powerful along the Thard Valley. Breach of guild privilege, forgery, fraud, larceny, piracy, robbery, poaching, smuggling, and tax evasion can be punished severely if the complaint is brought by a respected freeman. Economic crimes cannot be charged by serfs or slaves. Nobles rarely bring such charges, preferring to settle matters privately. It is not uncommon for hired thugs to exact revenge once the grievance has been privately aired to the appropriate parties. The Mangai has petitioned the courts to try these cases, but the pride of the nobility is not to be crossed lightly.

Gaols and Gibbets

Imprisonment in Rethem is unpleasant and often deadly. The family and friends of the prisoner are responsible for the prisoner’s food, clothing, and good behavior. Since anything is liable to be stolen by the guards, provisions usually include a gift for the jailer. This can become very costly and more than one defendant has been abandoned by his kin. Abandoned prisoners are sold to slave traders or left to die of hunger. Those with no kin are at the mercy of the lord, who can, by tradition, send down scraps refused by his hounds and servants.

Imprisoned nobles are fed and clothed according to their station and are normally kept above ground level.

While prisons require a keep or a castle, gibbets require only a tall, strong tree or a pole. In Rethem there is a gibbet at almost every crossroads.

**Kandáy Political Map**
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**Achievements of the Great Clans of Réthem**
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UPTO ADDING

P24

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INSERT TABLE

**Kandáy Political Map**
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**Kandáy Political Map**
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**Kandáy Player Map**
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**Kandáy Political Map**
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**Kandáy Political Map**
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**Kandáy Player Map**
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a
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Intro

Royal Domain

Freetown

Earl

Baron

Fighting Order

Church Estates

Settlement Index

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Notes

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@@ Line 2,449: / Line 2,449: @@
 seats are filled by noble and commoner alike.
+CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
+Rethem’s nobles are not known for their mercy. While there is social
+pressure to observe the legal procedures, the importance of the form of the
+law often takes precedence over the search for justice. The Rethemi judicial
+system is notorious for corruption and abuses.
+Rethem has one of Hârn’s most complicated legal landscapes. The
+kingdom’s laws are mostly based on Kandian feudal law but include a
+mixture of old Corani imperial law, Agrikan temple law, and even Kuboran
+dispute-settling practices. Many suits are settled in the Pamesani arenas.
+Torture is a legitimate means of extracting evidence from witnesses
+but is infrequently used on nobles. In Rethem, this art is polished to a high
+degree even outside the Agrikan orders.
+Legal proceedings begin when the bailiff of the hundred receives
+an accusation from a plaintiff against a defendant. The plaintiff must be
+the victim, a guilded litigant, or any person of higher social rank than the
+defendant. The bailiff should apprehend the defendant and charge the
+crime, but corruption is rampant and clan loyalties often interfere.
+If both parties are unfree, the case is settled before the plaintiff ’s
+lord. Cases involving freemen go to the moot of the plaintiff ’s hundred.
+Crimes against the state are tried in the presence of the king. Slaves can
+neither make complaint nor expect justice. Slaves can only testify with their
+master’s permission and are rarely believed.
+A defendant who has gained the protection of a powerful religious
+order may be difficult to bring to trial. Rethemi law permits Agrikan and
+Morgathian temples to offer sanctuary for up to a month. The defendant
+must then be admitted to the order or turned over to face the king’s justice.
+Agrikan temples rarely offer sanctuary. For the right contribution, the
+temple’s Master of Propagation will intercede on the defendant’s behalf,
+usually seeking to arrange for trial by combat. Petitioning a temple of
+Morgath for sanctuary is risky, as they have been known to yield up the
+perpetrator in exchange for a ransom. Wealthy defendants may pledge their
+own wealth to raise the ransom demand beyond what the plaintiff can pay.
+In court, the burden of proof is upon the accused, who is considered
+guilty and is imprisoned until he can prove his innocence or come to a
+settlement with the plaintiff. The Rule of Eight decrees that the word of a
+noble has the weight of the testimony of eight free or 64 unfree witnesses.
+Many secular and canonical courts sentence convicted criminals to
+the Pamesani arenas. This punishment may be for virtually any crime but is
+usually reserved for serious or repeat offenders. The duration of punishment
+can range from a single combat for a minor crime to a life sentence for a
+major crime. The treatment a convict receives depends on the whims of the
+slavemasters. Some gladiatorial training and assignment to a fair combat
+may be given, but many are condemned to participate in a spectacle in
+which the survival rate is rather low.
+Typical Sentences
+There is a constant demand for labor
+throughout the Rethemi economy and
+most crimes are punished by sentences
+of temporary or permanent slavery. Many
+courts condemn the guilty to the Pamesani
+arenas as slaves. Arena convicts can
+earn their freedom, if they survive. Other
+common punishments are listed below.
+State Crimes
+Rebellion: loss of property and title, death.
+Regicide: loss of property and title, death by flaying for perpetrators, accomplices, their immediate families, and all first-born male cousins.
+Treason: loss of property and all hereditary titles, death.
+Privilege Crimes
+Abuse of Trust: loss of office, restitution.
+Breach of Rank: branding.
+Obstruction of Justice: fine.
+Temple Crimes
+Blasphemy: scolding, removal of the tongue.
+Breach of Agrikan Temple Privilege: flogging (or other torture) or burning.
+Breach of Morgathian Temple Privilege: flaying or other torture.
+Desecration: flogging, branding, death.
+Heresy: mutilation, burning.
+Unlawful Religious Practice: drowning, burning, mutilation.
+Social Crimes
+Abduction: restitution, fine.
+Battery: restitution, flogging, fine.
+Manslaughter: fine, restitution, flogging.
+Murder: fine, hanging.
+Obscenity: pillory, fine.
+Rape/Adultery: flogging, restitution.
+Slander: flogging, removal of tongue.
+Economic Crimes
+'''Breach of Guild Privilege:''' confiscation of property, fine.
+'''Forgery:''' fine, flogging, mutilation.
+'''Harming Another’s Slave:''' restitution, flogging.
+'''Robbery/Theft:''' restitution, flogging, mutilation, hanging.
+'''Poaching:''' flogging, mutilation, hanging.
+'''Smuggling:''' imprisonment, hanging.
+'''Tax Evasion:''' loss of property, fine, flogging.
+State Crimes
+Rebellion, regicide, and treason are always
+prosecuted, even against nobles and high-ranking clerics.
+Penalties include public execution; banishment is not a
+Rethemi practice. Perpetrators of noble birth are usually
+beheaded, while those of simple free or unfree status may
+be tortured for public entertainment and education. There
+are no appeals for verdicts of state crimes.
+Those found guilty of state crimes also forfeit all
+wealth, holdings, and other hereditary rights to the crown.
+Claims of rebellion and treason are a favored tool for
+purging the nobility of disloyalty.
+Privilege Crimes
+Commoners usurping noble privileges are usually
+punished by slavery. Appeals are common and often
+resolved in the Pamesani arena.
+Temple Crimes
+The Agrikan and Morgathian churches may try cases
+of blasphemy, desecration, heresy, and breach of temple
+privilege in their own ecclesiastical courts. These church
+laws are complex and confusing even for the best litigants
+and no leniency is ever granted for ignorance of the law.
+Any crime committed against a priest of Agrik or
+Morgath and any crime committed on temple grounds
+is considered a crime against that temple. Trials often
+have less to do with justice than with the temple’s
+current demand for slaves or sacrifices. Trial by combat
+is common and champions are usually permitted to fight
+for the accused. If found guilty, the champion suffers the
+penalty, not the accused. Execution requires the consent
+of the crown, but no recent monarch has ever refused a
+temple the right to handle their own affairs.
+Tolerance of the various faiths varies from settlement
+to settlement in Rethem. Those accused of engaging in
+unsanctioned religious practices are often handed over to
+local temple courts.
+The witchcraft laws common to other kingdoms
+are not generally enforced in Rethem but those wielding
+magic in a way that harms a plaintiff may find themselves
+in a temple court. Such cases are rarely successful
+where the Guild of Arcane Lore is strong. The temples
+usually negotiate a settlement with the guild. Unguilded
+practitioners have no such protections.
+Most internal disputes in the Agrikan Church are
+settled by dueling, often in the Pamesani arena. In certain
+cases, the high priest or grandmaster may call for a
+hearing instead; decisions tend to be summary and fatal.
+Social Crimes
+Social crimes include abduction, adultery, battery,
+manslaughter, murder, rape, and slander. These are
+often punished by various forms of public humiliation
+including flogging, gibbets, and the pillory, sometimes in
+conjunction with fines. Nobles guilty of social crimes are
+usually simply fined but, in rare cases, may be sentenced
+to perform a quest for the sheriff or presiding magistrate.
+Economic Crimes
+The guilds are very powerful along the Thard Valley.
+Breach of guild privilege, forgery, fraud, larceny, piracy,
+robbery, poaching, smuggling, and tax evasion can
+be punished severely if the complaint is brought by a
+respected freeman. Economic crimes cannot be charged
+by serfs or slaves. Nobles rarely bring such charges,
+preferring to settle matters privately. It is not uncommon
+for hired thugs to exact revenge once the grievance
+has been privately aired to the appropriate parties. The
+Mangai has petitioned the courts to try these cases, but
+the pride of the nobility is not to be crossed lightly.
+Gaols and Gibbets
+Imprisonment in Rethem is unpleasant and often
+deadly. The family and friends of the prisoner are
+responsible for the prisoner’s food, clothing, and good
+behavior. Since anything is liable to be stolen by the
+guards, provisions usually include a gift for the jailer. This
+can become very costly and more than one defendant has
+been abandoned by his kin. Abandoned prisoners are sold
+to slave traders or left to die of hunger. Those with no kin
+are at the mercy of
+the lord, who can,
+by tradition, send
+down scraps refused
+by his hounds and
+servants.
+Imprisoned
+nobles are fed and
+clothed according
+to their station and
+are normally kept
+above ground level.
+While prisons
+require a keep or
+a castle, gibbets
+require only a tall,
+strong tree or a
+pole. In Rethem
+there is a gibbet
+at almost every
+crossroads.
+<center>
+{|
+|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Kandáy Political Map'''
+| [[File:Kandáy_Political_Map.png|900px|center|link= ]]
+|}
+</center>
+<center>
+{|
+|+ style="caption-side:bottom; color:#000000;"|'''Achievements of the Great Clans of Réthem'''
+| [[File:Kandáy_Political_Map.png|900px|center|link= ]]
+|}
+</center>
 UPTO ADDING
+P24
+A
 INSERT TABLE

Difference between revisions of "Hârn Kingdom of Réthem"

Revision as of 03:35, 17 June 2018

Contents

Kingdom of Réthem COL5740

Contents List

Kingdom of Réthem COL5740

Table Data

CULTURE

Arcitecture

Intro

Royal Domain

Freetown

Earl

Baron

Fighting Order

Church Estates

A

A

Notes

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