Arabelle

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Timeline Note:

This information is for a historical game and may not apply to games using the modern world timeline. Discuss with your GameMaster before using this information for games later than 1000 FI.

Region/City

Arabelle (Fresia) / East Arabelle (Hakan-- officially renamed as Silenti, but the names are interchangeable except with the fiercest of the separatists.)

History

• Arabelle region (and city) is in a larger area known as "The Pinch" which covers the border between Fresia, Hakan, and Ulan.
• It used to be just one larger city, Arabelle and was solely Fresian. At the end of the Fourth Interregnum, part of it (East Arabelle) was effectively awarded to Hakan for their support to Dakt.
  • What led to the split: That part of the city was already really gnomish. Through some political trickery and indirect pressure on Hakan, those neighborhoods were taxed pretty heavily to fund Fresian troops during the war, creating a lot of displeasure among the gnomes who wished to keep their support with Hakan.
  • Relations between Arabelle and East Arabelle (aka Silenti) are better than ever, though-- the establishment of Silenti dramatically increased Hakan trade in the area, as Gnomes avoided trade in this region due to the punishing taxation. The increased contact with the outside since then has greatly benefited the entire region.
    • This development has not been met kindly by the natives of the Ulan, who have come to see the growth of the settlements as an encroachment on their domain; every year Alexandrian trappers, gatherers, and lumberjacks penetrate deeper into the forest and in greater numbers.
    • In recent years, raids around the periphery have become more common - including the recent destruction of an ancient but isolated Gnomish monastic library - leading to a high demand for Alexandrian mercenaries.
• The region and city gained its name as the locals believe Mythrian Arabelle's family/relatives hailed from there.
  • This is all entwined in Fresia's (quite passionately held) claim that Tragidore is from central/southern Fresia. Since Sterros was from central Fresia, and he eventually was the ward of Mythrian from Tragidore, everyone in these parts believe the Tragidore holy site is (wherever people say it is in Fresia).
  • Many people claimed lineage to the Arabelle family in this region (rightly or opportunistically) and they renamed the town to reflect that supposed heritage. All the locals believe that heritage to be true as there are no local teachings otherwise.
  • The temple in the city is reasonably well-visited by Fresians because it claims to have two of Mythrian's saddles. The greater church doesn't recognize them as religious relics even though priests claim that divination has shown the preserved saddles to have been used by Mythrian at some point.
• There are honorific gravesites here for Tedor and Lucanna (Mythrian's parents, killed in the razing of Tragidore), which receive many offerings, collected and used to maintain the local church.
  • Down the hill from the gravesites is a location known as Vendetta Wall. Bards tell of many different stories of who made the wall, but anyone taking an Oath of Vendetta before this wall, and contributing a blood sacrifice in the form of 1 hit point, will see their name and their target's name become etched in the stone. The taker then receives a +1 profane bonus on all rolls when facing the target of the vendetta in combat. Whichever of the two dies first will magically have their name crossed-through.
  • Near those gravesites and Wall is a dueling ground, where many local vendettas have been played-out.

Languages

• The primary Fresian language variant spoken in Arabelle is Dulisian, though other Fresian variants are common enough to run into.
• East Arabelle, as all of Hakan, speaks Gnomish primarily, but Dulisian is also common enough.
• The Barbarian tribes in this region from Ulan and Treulan typically speak Yarnich.

Location

Roughly in this area:

Politics / Government

Arabelle proper

Arabelle lies in the Treulan region, named centuries ago for the scattered barbarian tribes that live in its forests to this day. Treulan is ruled by a Prince of the Tetalar family, which has held a seat on the Fresian Council of Princes since its inception. Over the years, Arabelle has seen many different forms of government but typically includes a city council and mayor.

As of 950 FI, Arabelle's government is led by the Arabelle Six Family Council working with Mayor Jil Hurne. Both have been lobbying hard to make Arabelle an independent region reporting directly to the Emperor, fueled by its impressive growth. This is bitterly disliked by the current Prince Rer Tetalar and his family who already lost prominence among the Council of Princes over the Arabelle/East split in 931/932.

East Arabelle

East Arabelle since its inception has operated as one of the more progressive and experimental governments in New Hakan. It is typically given fair leeway by the country government as a testbed for new ideas and policies. Many of these new policies have trickled-down into a second-hand progressiveness that affects different cultures in the region, especially their youth.

As of ~950 FI, East Arabelle's government includes an elected Council of Supervisors and an elected mayor, Prio Noblood. The People's Diviner role is held by a Church nomination, Daitgursto Dorsidhion, who was confirmed by the Council in 948 FI. Rather than just leveraged for elections, the Council and Mayor make heavy use of the Diviner's magical communions with the people to make their everyday political decisions.

Metulan Trading Post and Pinch Tribes

Just south of Arabelle, is a small settlement frequented by Ulan traders and occasionally delegates from the Trio of Metulan, the elders that hold the most sway with the loose tribes in the area. Little specific information is known about the politics between the Pinch Tribes, but they are known to band together quickly to strike fierce retributions against any Alexian contingents sent into their region. While caravans and traders are permitted, settlers and military excursions are quickly detected and overwhelmed, often with revenge razings of settlements in Fresian or Hakan territory.

As of 950 FI, there have been many unprovoked Ulan raids of Fresian settlements and Arabelle farming villages. Tensions are high between the civilized lands of The Pinch and the Ulan tribes.

Economy

• TODO: Figure out economy.
  • East Arabelle has an up-and-coming gambling house, Providence Cart. Due to its success, a second is in the planning stages.
  • Sale of Darkwood has been growing considerably, as a previously unknown Darkwood Forest in southern Fresia has been discovered by a major trade company. Its whereabouts are a closely guarded secret, but the find has created a bit of a goldrush in south/central Fresia to find more hidden groves. The crafted results from the darkwood and the raw mineral itself further adds to the trade boom growing in the area.
  • I would imagine trade features heavily, possibly fur and hides from the interior. There is a LOT more forest in Fresia than is evident in that map, and so one would expect some sort of timber industry, and maybe even some woodworking industry of some level or the other. On the Gnomish side, Gnomes have all kinds of exotic wares, and as the city is on a major river at the border, one can imagine it being the primary gateway of trade to the rest of Hakan. I also notice there's not a great deal of rugged mountains and other stuff, so probably little in the way of metal working, meaning metal goods are probably highly prized here and especially in the Ulan interior. I can also imagine the Dwarves, who dominate trade in precious metals, might have a small outpost selling silver to the Ulan barbarians, because that place is lousy with lycanthropes and so silver is especially prized there. Depending on the size of the trade, there might also be some contingent of Boat Halflings there, acting as the ferrymen up and down the river in much the same way as the Wydmoor halflings. Depending on the size of the town, there's good reason to have small but significant numbers of most of the goodly races, although it's probably a little too cold for Lizardfolk to live comfortably. Needless to say, the holy men of the Ulan are almost always Favored Souls, with a small minority of Druids and literally zero clerics.

Maps

Large Map

Hi-Res Map 22MB

Smaller Map