Chastonia

Chastonia is an earldom of the Turamzzyrian Empire.

Crest

• A golden hawk head facing right on a field of Kestrel blue

"Since the rise of the Kestrels, the hawk has been the family's chosen symbol. It is not a coincidence that they share a color with the current ruling Anodheles family, as both have shared the privilege of ruling the empire. Instead of the crimson of Tamzyrr, the Kestrels created a unique blue through deeply guarded magical means. Upon the grant of land to the Kestrels by Emperor Trydall Anodheles, any old symbols of Toullaire and the Swale were swept aside for the Kestrel Hawk. The rare item, a survivor of days before the disaster of Toullaire, may retain the old crest of the region: a simple golden chalice on a field of dark green."

— Culoney of Hendor, The Crests of the Turamzzyrian Empire

Geography

"Chastonia is bordered by low mountains to the west, which block out the severe storms that move in from the coast. The moderate climate makes for many large farms and vineyards. The southern borders of Chastonia are often raided, making that area less settled than most of the rest of the Empire.

The Swale is a center for trade, as many of the regional trade routes intersect at the great caravan hub in this city. Though The Swale is not famous for any particular product, almost anything wanted can be found here. The people in The Swale are suspicious of strangers because so many traders make their way through the city, many with ill intentions. The Swale also hosts a satellite college of the Hall of Mages in Tamzyrr.

Numerous trading and caravan companies are based in The Swale, including the powerful Company of the Three Maidens and the Ulterlain Traders.

Toullaire was once a center for magic and prominent Mage Households within the Empire. Toullaire was utterly destroyed in 4593 in a magical catastrophe, creating the magically-ravaged wasteland known as Ba'Lathon. The destruction of Toullaire supported the Empire adopting a more rigid stance regarding arcane instruction.

Chastonia produces considerable amounts of food, and fair quality wine. Though land-locked, Chastonia enjoys frequent trade with Selanthia. Due to the heavy trade traffic in this duchy, Chastonia has a great number of wagon and wheelwrights to build and repair caravan wagons.

The most prominent Chastonian wines include Chastonia clarets and a rosy Chastonia blush."

— Deinirius Antroydes, A Traveler's Guide to the Turamzzyrian Empire

Customs

"The inhabitants of Chastonia have been known to keep a bit of dirt inside a small pouch around their necks or to fasten some turf to their hatbands in order to protect themselves from magic and possession. Similarly, it is common to hold a small handful of earth to one's forehead when swearing an oath.

A curious yearly custom known as "lifting" is followed by the peasantry of this region, wherein a person sitting on a chair or stool is lifted from the ground three times in succession. In the morning of the Festival of Oleani the men lift the women, and in the evening the women lift the men. The person being lifted is expected to give a few silvers to all those who exalt him in the name of good luck."

— A Traveler's Guide to the Turamzzyrian Empire

Organizations

Company of the Three Maidens

"It was in the year 5048 when the Horned Cabal led a massive offensive in the southern region of the Turamzzyrian Empire, their undead forces cutting off critical trade between the Swale and Idolone. It took almost three months for the undead force to be driven back, and it was due to no small part from a company of heroes comprised of Imperial Drakes and knights of Idolone. After their victory, business slowly returned to the old trade routes between the Swale and Idolone, but fears of the Horned Cabal returned to the area and continued to stifle the growth both regions needed so desperately.

So it was that a wounded knight of Idolone named Sir Clayton Grantham started up the Company of the Three Maidens. The knight had been injured during the final battle against the Horned Cabal, and it kept him from performing his regular duties as an oath bound knight. Despite his new physical weakness, he refused to sit idly by and not contribute somehow to the protection of the Empire and the defense of her people. The knight started up a mercenary company that was dedicated to aiding and escorting travelers and caravans along the trade routes between the Swale and Idolone. The name of the organization is said to have been named after the knight's three young daughters who he himself claimed would be maidens for all of eternity, and never allowed to wed.

Despite the overly protective nature of Sir Clayton Grantham for his daughters, his claims eventually became false, when two decades later he died of natural causes, and his daughters went on to take over the mercenary trader group, marry, and have children of their own. Two of the daughters help run the organization based out of The Swale, while the third daughter manages part of the business on her end in Idolone. The Company of the Three Maidens are a fair and just group of mercenaries, mostly comprised of loyal soldiers who prefer the freedom of being hired help over conscription into the imperial army.

In recent years, as the success and wealth of the Company has grown in the south, the leadership of the organization has looked into the possibilities of extending their operations even further north.

Their symbol is three golden rings on a field of blue."

— Lord Brieson Cassle of Highmount, Orders of the Turamzzyrian Empire

Ulterlain Traders

"The Ulterlain Traders face fierce competition with the Company of the Three Maidens when it comes to landlocked trade routes between The Swale and places like Idolone, but their business has flourished in their dealings with Ubl and Tamzyrr, where they have set up smaller headquarters in each port city location to expand their reach throughout the coastline. The Ulterlain Traders originated in The Swale, where they maintain a number of warehouses and barracks for their mercenaries in need of shelter, and their hubs in Ubl and Tamzyrr are growing rapidly.

Because The Swale is landlocked and a heavily trafficked area for trade, the Ulterlain brothers, Roland and Randall, have invested heavily in fleets of merchant vessels and shipwrights throughout Ubl and Tamzyrr, providing a luxury service of quick and far reaching trade, and ensuring high profits from it within The Swale. The Ulterlain Traders are the go-to mercenary and transport company for many nobles in the region, who hardly mind the higher fees, which is a small price to pay for the luxury transports provided, and the powerful, guaranteed protection afforded.

Their symbol is of a crossed silver and gold swords on a field of blue."

— Orders of the Turamzzyrian Empire