A land rich in resources and blessed with a moderate if damp and cloudy climate, it is little surprise that this region has been the hub for the entire eastern seaboard for
centuries. They are not noted for their seamanship, though their merchant fleet is substantial, but excel at extracting wealth from their lands: wool and coal most notably.
There is a pride to the Schewians which manifests itself in their bluster and sense of self-importance - and it is little tempered by the occasional raids and plundering done
to their coastal towns by their Calandesian cousins from the north.
The king is powerful, but bounded (and hounded) by an increasingly restive Parliament consisting of innumerable Lords and many fractious petty Dukes and Earls. It is a land of legends
and simple good folk, but the on-going battles with the newly founded Kingdom to the north have cost dearly in terms of lives and damage to the economy.
BACKGROUND
Schew is a hereditary monarchy, which has seen many changes in its evolution to its present state. From the days of the Six Kingdoms, to the more recent succession of its northern
provinces (see: Ocean Tribes) after a successful civil war, it has been in a steady state of flux since its Ylthic populace arrived from the far east.
The history over the last 300 years has been particularly tumultuous. The violent and bloody dissolution of the Six Kingdoms (3700-3730) resulted in a period of regional anarchy. This time was known as
the Storm Wars. What little structure remained devolved into innumerable feuding clans, warlike self-proclaimed
duchys and power hungry petty nobility. This was the state even in the two kingdoms which best weathered the Storm Wars (Gravyn to the northeast and Korshym to the southeast), while the other four kingdoms
effectively disappeared. This chaos lasted until the mid 3800s, when the gifted and charismatic Arym Memerio united the petty lords and tribes from Palunjura Bay to
the Bay of Bodej.
Conquering, negotiating and intimidating into submission all who opposed him, he won their long-term support and real loyalty by giving all the key figures part of the ruling power. While declaring himself
and his progeny Regent over the domain, he offered the 71 most powerful leaders lands and a permanent seat in his "Parliament". The fine details of this agreement were set out and signed as the
Memerioblygad (or "Memerio's constition"). It was signed and Schew became a nation in 3850.
Not all the subsequent rulers were so gifted or wily, but most did no lasting harm of significance until fairly recently. Through the early 3900s a series of short-lived and variously ham-handed, reclusive or
weak kings led to civil war. When the northern areas won their independence and became the Ocean Tribes in 3954, the then-King Katymyr Memerio punished the disloyal Lords (and even those who had remained loyal
and fought against the rebels but wound up being unable or unwilling to leave the north) by revoking their Parliamentary rights. He then reassigned these seats to others in Schew, even though their supposed lands
and holdings were in the north. These "Shadow Lords" have been promised Parliamentary Seats and their own holdings in the Ocean Tribes if they can return these
disloyal lands back to Schew.
This huge incentive has provided most of the fuel that keeps the two countries at war. While they may only be Shadow Lords in Schew, they have much to gain, and many of them are already wealthy and powerful in their
own right. Even the 46 True Lords like this arrangement and support the Shadow Lords with men and money: what had once been powerful upstarts with aspirations to parliamentary privilege are now focused on gaining this
power at someone else's expense.
Most of the more political Shadow Lords base themselves in Loridym (closer to Parliament and better able to lobby/badger other Lords for funds/support). The more action-oriented Shadow Lords are mostly found in Havyr
(busily scheming or hiring mercenaries), with a few others in Gyr Castle (leading raids, etc).
Ironically, the Shadow Lords often undermine their fondest dreams by their very efforts. Schewian raids and retributive strikes for Ocean Tribe assassinations often do more than sack a castle. The burning of a town or
death of innocents results in anger against Schew by the common folk. These are the same people that the Shadow Lords need to have support them if they are ever to re-unite the two countries. The common folk in the Ocean
Tribes have no love for their leaders, but when Schewian raids only harden them against their would-be liberators, the oppresive Ocean Tribe nobles win again no matter who wins the battles.
Nevertheless, the current monarch actively encourages the Shadow Lords. He styles himself an adventurer, and is schooled in the art of battle. He is Ytrim Memerio and prefers the outdoors to the Parliament buildings. He is a 6th level
Ranger and a 2nd level Abjurer.
STATISTICS
CAPITAL: Loridym (16,900)
TOTAL POP.: 1,360,000
POLITICAL STRUCTURE: Constitutional Monarchy
LANGUAGE(S): Ylid, Common
HUMANS: Over 65% Ylthic cognate, the remainder of mixed descent
DEMI-HUMANS: Comprise just under 10% of total population (largely Halflings and some Dwarves)
HUMANOIDS: Few
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