Kingdom of Lundene

Summary:

The Kingdom of Lundene is one of the many petty kingdoms in the lands of Pettylin. It is made up of eight constituent earldoms, the largest of which gives the kingdom its name. Each earldom is made up of a town or large village which gives the earldom its name, and from which town the ruling ealdorman governs, and less densely populated hinterlands surrounding such town or large village. The population of the kingdom is mostly human, with not insignificant numbers of dwarves and halflings, who may make up a large minority or even a majority of certain earldoms. The level of development is relatively high as measured against the various Pettylin kingdoms go, due in large part to trade along with the mighty Ryk River which runs through the heart of the kingdom.

Like nearly of the petty kingdoms and organized communities in Pettylin, it has no clear borders and no immediately adjoining kingdoms. To the north of the kingdom lie great forests occupied by the Wat-Takka and Wat-Chakka tribes of the Wood Elves, followed by the Kingdom of Bebbanburgh. The Aerohunt Swamps can be found some days travel from the east side of the Aero River, which are populated by the mysterious Drake. Well more than a week's travel to the south lies the Kingdom of Lorn, nestled in the mountains of Lorn.

History

The history of the Kingdom of Lundene has not been the subject of substantial scholarship. The kingdom, in its various incarnations, is at least several hundred years old. Some generations past, it was a member of the Northern Ryk League, which has long since ceased to exist but has recently been reformed by King Aerthos of Lundene and King Uhtred of Bebbanburgh. It has a long history of alternating alliance and conflict with the Kingdom of Bebbanburgh to the north, and more recently, a loose diplomatic relationship with the Kingdom of Wintanchaester a month's travel to the south due to the personal history between the now late King Athelred of Lundene and King Aethelstan of Wintanchaester. Conflict between the residents of the kingdom with the wood elves of the Wat-Takka and Wat-Chakka tribes was likewise frequent, and river trade along the most easterly fringes of the kingdom suffered from occasional piracy by the Drake. As with most of the petty kingdoms in Pettylin, raids into Lundene by its neighbors, and vice versa, were common.

Prior to his deposition and ritual execution/sacrifice, the Kingdom of Lundene was governed by the now late King Athelred. Athelred was neither a popular nor competent ruler. A drunk, wifebeater, and fratricide, he murdered his older brother, the atheling Aelfred, following the death of their father, and was elected to be king by the Clutiwitan following a brief and bloody civil war with other ambitious ealdormen. In his youth, Athelred was also tied to the enslavement of Uhtred, now king of Bebbanburgh to the north, with whom he had a long and fractious relationship. This relationship led directly to ongoing conflict between the two kingdoms, culminating most recently in a planned surprise invasion of Bebbanburgh by Eathelred, which was delayed by the refusal of Aelfric the Godly, ealdorman of Mordgard, to participate in such invasion. Aelfric's refusal resulted in Athelred and his assembled army besieging Aelfric in Mordgard with the intention of deposing the ealdorman. The planned invasion of Bebbanburgh ultimately frustrated by the invasion of a hobgoblin legion under the warlord Tizzold the Dread, which ultimately led directly to Eathelred's downfall.

The hobgoblin legion spilled out suddenly from the Underdark, sacking the sacred Shrine of Mordor, butchering nearly the entirety of its residents, and proceeded to march on Mordgard intending to conquer and subjugate the Kingdom of Lundene and bring it under the rule of the goblin king Ziggy Stardust. The sack of the shrine was discovered by a group of adventurers, who were able to alert Aelfric the Godly, ealdorman of Mordgard, Aethelred's army and the assembled ealdormen of Lundene of the shrine's sack and the impending invasion. The efforts of the adventurers, combining both cunning and daring, culminated in Athelred's deposal, and the accession of the current king, Aerthos Brightblade. Thanks to the aid of the adventurers and their timely warning, King Aerthos was able to lead a hardfought but ultimately successful defence of the walls of Mordgard which nearly annhilated the hobgoblin legion.

In the chaos leading up to the attack on Mordgard, Stiorra, the daughter of King Uhtred of Bebbanburgh, was callously and suddenly executed by Lord Hael Bebba. The ensuing investigation revealed that Lord Hael had made a pact with demons, potentially Grazz't, and been acting in concert with them for some time. While covert efforts by Lord Hael to sabotage the defence of Mordgard were ultimately unsuccessful, he and his most dedicated followers, now popularly known as the "Demon Dwarves", were able to escape the attempts to bring them to justice by the adventurers, Aerthos, and Hael's son Bael. After escaping, Lord Hael exterminated or enslaved the town of Hailburg, then sacked and briefly occupied the town of Lundene itself, killing nearly a third of its population in the process and burning the kingdom's entire navy.

Following his accession to the throne and successful defence of Mordgard, King Aerthos subsequently married Leoffaed of Swifryk, Lundene's sole female ealdorman, and has begun to take steps to strengthen both the kingdom and his rule, making peace with his neighbours, strengthening and expanding the kingdom's military, and personally healing its citizens. While he is increasingly popular, his accession to the throne is recent and the degree of influence he is able to wield over the kingdom outside of the earldom of Lundene continues to be tenuous, hampered by a depleted treasury, a historically weak monarchical rule, and independent minded ealdormen.

Most recently, dragons, previously thought to be creatures only of legend and myth, have been spotted in the kingdom, causing significant alarm in the populace.

Governance

The kingdom of Lundene is a weak monarchy. The kingdom is made up of eight earldoms: Lundene, Mordgard, Hailburg, Themill, Lykgard, Rykmill, Lunryk, and Swifryk. Each earldom is ruled by an ealdorman, and consists of a central town which gives the earldom its name, and supporting hinterlands that supply each town with food.

The position of ealdorman is typically hereditary, but some ealdormen are sometimes appointed directly by a monarch.

The ealdormen, together with theigns, constitute a body known as the Clutiwitan, which elects a monarch. While in theory any ealdorman or theign of the kingdom may be elected by the Clutiwitan as king, in almost every case, this election is a formality and there is very rarely a doubt in the outcome. Typically, the Clutiwitan will elect as the next king the eldest son of the last king, unless the dynasty has been otherwise overthrown.

The kingdom's monarch claims religious and social authority by acting as the central figure in important communal ceremonies (even marrying prominent members of the community). For practical purposes, the king's most important attribute is his ability to protect the people within his kingdom. A King who fails to win battles or deter raiders will find himself replaced by a more able warlord.

The ealdormen of the Kingdom of Lundene are independent, and their rule within their respective earldoms is typically strong, restricted only by their ability to effect their decrees through force and their limited ability to monitor occurrences outside of the earldom's main town. While the rule of the ealdorman is theoretically expansive, on a day to day basis, ealdormen (and the king) most typically exert authority over military and criminal matters. While specifics differ from settlement to settlement and earldom to earldom, other aspects of rule are frequently governed by a town or village council. These councils are, in turn, often overseen by an official known as a reeve, and work to settle civil disputes, manage local economic policy, and deal with other matters not controlled by the lord.

One power of a king and ealdormen is to summon the Fyrd, which is a militia that consists of every male of a certain age — although it is common for women to voluntarily join the Fyrd. The Fyrd is used to augment the standing army of the nobility in times that perpetual raiding is replaced by all-out war between neighbours. A less official but still critical role of the Fyrd is that it is often the deciding factor in political disputes between nobles or between a noble and the council. Whoever the Fyrd will follow, has the true power.

Law

The legal system of the Kingdom of Lundene is relatively primitive, and due in part to the illiteracy that plagues the kingdom and a weak monarchy, suffers from a lack of a written code of law. Informed by a combination of tradition and self-interest, legal disputes are adjudicated by the governing ealdorman, or, in the case of a dispute between ealdormen, by the monarch.

Economy

By the standards of Pettylin, Lundene is economically prosperous, although the level of development lags far behind that of Francia and the Tillian city-states.

The economy of Lundene is generally centred around agriculture and river trade, both of which contribute to the kingdom's relative prosperity and wealth. There is a small but well-established shipbuilding industry, centred nearly entirely in the town of Lundene proper. There is a growing wool industry, which has increased exports of both raw wool and some finished textiles along the river Ryk. The steelwork of their smiths is well-respected in Pettylin and Kuronia, although far from the quality achieved by the master smiths of the Francan kingdoms and the Tillian city-states.

Recently, as part of an effort to begin construction of a road network stemming from the town of Lundene and in order to fuel the rebuilding of the kingdom's navy and reconstruction efforts following the sack of the town, King Aerthos has overseen some limited logging of forests immediately adjacent to the town - however, this industry remains in its infancy, and it remains to be seen if it will continue in the long term.

The towns of Lykmill and Rykmill both have major grain mills.

Military

Lundene does not maintain a standing army, per se. Its military strength is made up of highly trained men at arms, armored in chainmail and equipped with sword and shield. All men at arms directly serve an ealdorman or the king, who is responsible for their pay and upkeep, although men at arms supply their own weapons and armour. A core determinant of the strength of an ealdorman or monarch is how many men at arms they are able to maintain and muster. Men at arms are trained to fight both individually and as a cohesive, organized unit. While fighting as a unit, their most typical tactic is to form a shieldwall.

An elite group of men at arms serves the king directly. These are known as the Kingsguard.

The kingdom has no cavalry to speak of. Although ealdormen, theigns, and wealthier men at arms will typically own horses, these are typically ridden to battle and the riders will dismount before fighting.

In times of war, an ealdorman or the king may summon the Fyrd to augment their bands of men at arms. This consists of every male of a certain age, although it is common for women to voluntarily join the Fyrd. Members of the fyrd typically wear cloth armour or leather armour, and are equipped with either a short spear and shield or a shortbow and shortsword. Lundene's fyrd is known for the skill of its bowmen, which was instrumental in achieving victory over the hobgoblins at the Battle of Mordgard.

Population and Culture

The kingdom of Lundene firmly belongs to the Saxangle culture and worships the Norse gods. As with all kingdoms in Pettylin, there has never been a proper census. However, based on agricultural and economic patterns which he observed, noted scholar Dr. Koppel Schleppen has opined that the population of the entire kingdom, discounting less civilized groups such as jackalweres and goblinoids, is likely less than 20,000 adults.

Within the earldoms proper, the population is predominantly human, with some halfling and dwarven minorities. Until recently the population of the earldom of Hailburg was historically largely dwarven and the earldom continues to have a dwarven ealdorman, and Lykgard similarly has a large halfling minority and a ruling halfling ealdorman. Even those dwarven and halfling minorities belong to the Saxangle culture, though there are some minor subcultural differences. The population is largely illiterate.

Most of the population live in small walled villages and are involved in farming and herding. While men and women are recognized to have distinct social roles, in practice, the culture is fairly egalitarian. While it is unusual for ealdormen to be female, the current Queen, Leoffaed, was and continues to be an ealdorman in all but name. Similarly, while it is unusual for men at arms and the theigns themselves to be female, it is not at all uncommon for women to fight alongside men in the fyrd, or to have an equal place and say on village councils.

The smaller villages and hamlets in the rural hinterlands support a central town in each earldom, wherein live the majority of the skilled tradespeople and such nobility as exists.

The vast majority of the population generally follows the Norse gods. Several days travel to the north of Mordgard, located next to the lake Lacmor, lies the Shrine of Mordor, a large and fortified temple complex dedicated to the Norse god Freya. Historically, pilgrims from many races across Pettylin would journey to the shrine and seek the blessings of the goddess, which typically dealt with fertility. However, the Shrine was recently sacked by a force of hobgoblins which spilled forth from the Underdark, and laid waste to the shrine and all its inhabitants.

The culture has a martial bent. The culture is generally fairly unintellectual, and histories are generally kept orally and grow in the telling, bringing their accuracy into question. The people are also superstitious. While the population is generally suspicious of outsiders, this is to a much lesser degree than in other kingdoms due to the prevalence of trade along the rivers and the frequency with which merchants and pilgrims travel through the kingdom. There is a strong bardic tradition, and bards are welcome in nearly every one of the few public houses that exist.

Within the forests and less settled areas, there are all manner of less civilized creatures, such as jackalweres, bugbears, and goblins. In some of more distant northerly parts of the realm, hill giants are spotted on occasion.

Geography and Climate

Geographically, the Kingdom of Lundene is centred around the great River Ryk, which runs through the heart of the kingdom, and the river Them. To the west and northwest, it extends as far as the lake Lacmor, besides which is the Shrine of Mordor. The easternmost earldom, Lykgard, lies on the river Lyk which branches off from the Ryk, while the Aerohunt swamps lie to the east of the northernmost earldom, Swifryk.

Topographically, the kingdom is mostly made up of low hills and plains, with large areas covered by old-growth forest.

For the most part, Lundene has a generally temperate, though humid, climate. Temperatures in winter will typically be at or slightly below freezing, while temperatures in summer are warm but not excessively hot. Due to proximity to the great rivers, humidity throughout the year tends to be high. Rainfall is spread fairly evenly throughout the year.

Nature and Wildlife

The rivers teem with fish and waterfowl, and the skies are filled with all manner of birds. Deer, wolves, rabbits, squirrels, foxes, and mink are all common in the forests. Recent talk has spoken of the reemergence of great wolves or dire wolves as intelligent as any man or woman. While this finds a ready audience in many of the populace, many others remain skeptical of their existence.

The forests are largely deciduous, and oak, ash, maple, beech, aspen, and birch are all common. In the north of Lundene, and in the higher altitudes, coniferous trees, particularly yew and pine, become more common.