Overview
The isolated position of Geoff, surrounded on all sides by mountains, hills, and forests, has made it virtually immune to the normal warfare of the Flanaess. Its position also accounts for some unusual weather. Morning fog is common near the Dim Forest, giving northeastern Geoff a reputation for secrecy and hauntings. Rain is plentiful, though thunderstorms are short, violent affairs. Winter brings significant snowfall, especially in the west and mountains.
The inhabitants of the Grand Duchy are a Flan-Suel-Oeridian mix, seemingly combining the best features of each. This is fortunate, as they are continually threatened by incursions of formidable ogres and giants coming down the Crystalmists. The Geoffites dwell in harmony with the elven folk in the realm, and these two peoples often combine to combat the invading monsters. The Grand Duke, Owen I, is a clever and valorous leader, on friendly terms with the Earl of Sterich and the King of Keoland alike. The forces of the Grand Duke include horse, bowmen, and contingents of pikemen from the mountain holdings.
Geoff is well known as a source for wool and furs. Animals, both wild and domesticated, freely roam the countryside. Geoff’s roads, like most of Keoland's former holdings, are well-maintained, and traveling them is relatively safe.
Battle of Gorna — The Betrayal & Defeat of Imperial Keoland
Geoff is among the oldest nations in the Flanaess. Settled by migrating Suel and Oeridians who befriended the native Flan tribes, the land has benefited from its geographic isolation for centuries, seeing little war or bloodshed. With the help of the sylvan elves of the forests and the gnomes of the Stark Mounds, the Geoffites erected Gorna more than nine hundred years ago. In 316 CY, the region was peacefully incorporated into Keoland, its nominal leader gaining the title of Grand Duke of Geoff.
As the ambition of the Keoish kings grew great, the councils of the grand duke urged their leader to distance himself from the philosophy of the Wealsun Proclamation, which announced manifest destiny upon the entire Sheldomar Valley. Though the dukes of Geoff did not openly oppose the measure, Duke Arnod II failed to supply any troops for the king during the Small War with Veluna, claiming that the royal messenger bearing the mustering order (a minor Keoish noble named Dartun Dasco) had never arrived. Thereafter, relations between the court of the Duke Arnod and King Tavish III grew cold.
The discovery by a Keoish spy of a desiccated, poisoned corpse beneath the grounds of Eagle Peak (the duke’s castle) in 450 CY triggered a series of events that would end in war between Geoff and Keoland. When divinations revealed the body to be that of the missing knight, Dasco, the king ordered his armies across the Stark Mounds, intent to teach Geoff the price of ignoring Keoish edicts.
The result of this was the bloody Battle of Gorna, which saw the defeat of the Keoish force. Some claim that powerful magic employed on behalf of the duke by the archmage Vargalian had a dire origin; many of the slain Keoish warriors remain in the Stark Mounds as undead swordwraiths to this day. The defeat was profound, and it resulted in great humiliation for King Tavish III. In the following years, Geoff continued to pay tribute to the crown, but with confidence that never again would the nation fear an attack from the east.
Duchy of Geoff — A Return to Peace
The nation, however, lay exposed to a deeper threat from within its own borders. In 497 CY, the unthinkably rich Count Granus of Pregmere made a play for the capital, using as his army a well-paid force of mercenaries and, it is whispered, the secret support of the Knights of the Watch and certain forces within Gran March. Grand Duke Rohan III was slain in early fighting, which encouraged three other counts to join the fray, challenging Granus’s claim upon the entirety of Geoff. Keoland, who stood duty-bound to quell the fighting, watched from afar, still aching from the defeat suffered in the Stark Mounds. At the end of the battle, the heir of Count Granus took the title Rohan IV. With a surprisingly gentle spirit and even-handed philosophy, he pacified his wounded nation.
Over the past seventy years, Geoff has lived in relative peace. Raids by giants, ogres, and orcs from the Crystalmists are a continual nuisance, but the creatures never work in concert and are easily laid low.