Vasfold

This far eastern expanse is littered with the remains of the goblin-dwarven conflict from the days of old. While the Dhakaani ruins only protrude minimally from the surface, their roots extend down into Khyber; in the millennia since the conflict, most of these passageways have collapsed, but when they open it can spell trouble for anyone who lives nearby.

Of all the regions that Karrn conquered to forge Karrnath, Vasfold was the least unified; the towns of the region were fiercely independent and did not join arms to resist Karrn’s army. The creation of the duchy gave the region a new identity, one very different from the distant capital of Korth; even the very weather was opposite, as while Korth is cold and wet the grasslands of Vasfold are warm and dry. The sheer distance meant that Vasfold was largely left to its own devices so long as taxes and tribute continued to flow west; it was only when a Karrnathi king developed imperial ambitions over the rest of the continent that Vasfold recognized the outside world.

The success of Galifar and the subsequent ambition of his son to conquer the Mror Holds was the first time in a thousand years that Vasfold was seriously forced to reckon with the outside world. Soldiers and support staff from across the continent flowed into Irontown, marshaled to lay siege to the reclusive dwarves. The sudden shock of exposure hardened the distinct identity of the people of Vasfold, especially as their beloved duke, Sigismund ir’Tanar, pushed on Prince Karrn to recompense the people for the damages wrought by the war. 

With the success of the campaign, Karrn chose to appoint a new duke of Vasfold who would be loyal to Korth while managing the flow of tribute from the freshly conquered Mror Holds. The displacement of the ir’Tanar family was deeply unpopular and further entrenched the sense of independent identity among the people of Vasfold.

Unfortunately, despite their desire for independence from Korth, Vasfold never succeeded. In the over eight hundred years between the conquering of the Mror Holds and the death of King Jarot, Korth put down seven uprisings for independence, although three of these successfully displaced the warlord and forced the crown to appoint a new family to fill their place. The reasons for any individual failure were numerous, but the open plains made it easy for an army to sweep in and crush rebellion.

Economically, the addition of the lightning rail from Krona Peak was an enormous boon to Vasfold. Irontown was established and, both responding to and promoting the rest of Khorvaire’s hunger for metal in everyday life, quickly grew into a major industrial town focused on processing the raw ore shipped in from the mountains. Cannith inventors partnered with dwarven smiths to create industrial forges, beginning the process of mass production that would define Jarot’s reign and the coming conflict.  

The advent of the Last War was hard for the people of Vasfold due to both the successful Mroran independence movement and the plagues and famines that led Kaius I to make the Blood of Vol the state religion. Vasfold largely rejected the religious shift, and resentment festered when Kaius raised taxes to compensate for the famines in the west. The first failed campaign to recapture the Mror Holds triggered another unsuccessful rebellion by the people of Vasfold, adding to Karrnath’s military deployment difficulties by splitting attention between the war and internal suppression. When King Jaron assumed the crown in 961 YK, he reduced internal suppression, increased draft requirements, and played to nationalistic sentiments that Aundair and Cyre were far worse, a strategy that largely worked to stabilize the region. 

Unfortunately, Vasfold has not experienced a post-war peace like most of the other duchies. Raids from Valenar warbands agitate the deployed Karrnathi forces, hoping to bait them into escalation. At the same time, renewed international trade brings wealth to the region but doesn’t distribute it equitably. The duchy is politically unstable and its collapse could be the tipping point for several other brewing crisis within the nation.

Falko ir’Jaranus (human he/him) is the current Duke of Vasfold, but his family has only held the title for two generations; his mother Forsindh allied with the Karrnathi crown during the uprising of 957, earning a promotion from Countess to Duchess. He’s currently looking to secure a political marriage for his eldest child, Oydelis (human they/them), a choice that will likely decide the future of the duchy. On one hand, a marriage to a prominent family from Korth could secure the favor of the crown; on the other, a marriage to a prominent Mroran family could secure future business relations as well as provide a backstop if the duke tried to defect from Karrnath. 

For their part, Oydelis has grown up more focused on military success than relationships and is deeply uncomfortable at the prospect of having a partner at all; even a political marriage arranged for them would be an unwanted intrusion. Their younger siblings, Fraedus (human he/him) and Bauin (human she/her) are still a few years away from participating in noble courting rituals and not yet candidates for a political marriage like Oydelis, even if they were to abdicate their claim to the title.

Failed Independence. Vasfold has repeatedly struggled to assert the independence its residents believe it deserves. The actual reasons for its persistence and failure are complicated and contested by historians, but the general sense is that its distance from the capital generates resentment but its open fields and connection to the resource rich Mror Holds make it important enough to the crown that it never actually breaks away.

Vassals. Few elves made their way this far inland during the early days of Karrnath, and Seekers were less necessary to manage the effects of Mabaran manifest zones, as they were much rarer in Vasfold than in its southwestern neighbor, Vulyar. While the beliefs of the halflings and dwarves that immigrated to Vasfold over the years may not have exactly matched the Pyrinean Creed that humans brought from Sarlona, there’s a general agreement on the shape and structure of divinity. The people of the duchy resisted the state institution of the Blood of Vol by ignoring it, continuing to worship the Sovereign Host. Various carrots and sticks failed to change this reality in the 80 years the Blood of Vol was the state religion.

Cultural Mixing. Situated at the foot of the Mror Holds and the northern edge of the Talenta Plains, Vasfold has a wider diversity of ancestries than the rest of Karrnath. Literal small towns aren’t just rural and sparse in population but are communities that are literally built smaller than anything you would find in the west—5’ tall door frames are more than enough for a halfling or dwarf and the lower ceilings are a practical way to save on construction costs.