The Valley of Nomar

Krenn 4 - The Valley of Nomar

Located in the fertile and wealthy region between Uxkhal and Veluca, on the very edges of the Duchy of Dhirim, Nomar is cut in half by a tributary of the Lvenn River. It’s position in a hidden valley on the border between Rhodokia and Swadia resulted in its underdevelopment and thus the absenteeism of the local aristocrats and landholders.

Centuries ago, Nomar was inhabited mostly by the Calrado-Rhodok population of Veluca and Jelkala. However, with the Rhodok Rebellion many of the Rhodok people living in Eastern Swadia were exchanged with Swadians living in Rhodokia. With this, much of Nomar was emptied and replaced by new Swadian settlers. The great pain this caused to the Rhodoks would not be forgotten, however, as they bought their time and prepared for the inevitable…

With the Second Vaegir Invasion and the Fall of Dhirim, the Rhodoks seized the opportunity and marched north to reclaim long contested territories - Nomar among these.

The war with Swadia was short and decisive, and King Harlaus agreed to concessions along the border when the Rhodoks reached the gates of Uxkhal. The victorious Rhodoks still had a dangerous struggle to endure on the borders, however, as the old blood Swadian nobility was not so willing to give up its land to the Rhodok invaders.

A status quo came to settle over Nomar with the discovery of rich mineral reserves deep in the earth under the region, and a cold war began between the Rhodok Barons and the Swadian Counts. Both struggled with one another over control and influence over the town, while Nomar’s true overlord - the Count of Vyincourd - intervened from time to time to assure his lands were taken care of.

Such is life in Nomar in 1263 AF, and such it seems it shall continue for some time longer...

Faction/Group Overview

Nomar Town is a flourishing settlement on the border between Rhodokia and Swadia. Its absentee landlord, the Count of Vyincourd, allows the locals to vote in a mayor to rule over the town as castellan - while outside the town the Swadian Count of Nomar and the Rhodok Baron of Bracca wage a cold war against one another over their influence on the town and its economy.

The County of Nomar

The Counts of Nomar are an old and respected house in Swadia. Or at least, they were before the Vaegirs and Rhodoks invaded Swadia and the family lost most of its fiefs. With their familial estates in western Dhirim lost, the Count fled to Nomar - where he found the Rhodoks had also seized all his holdings south of the Lvenn. Forced deep into debt from this ruinous affair, the Count sold the Town of Nomar to the wealthy and influential Count of Vyincourd.

Now, half a decade later, the Count of Nomar rules the north of the region with the iron fist of Swadian feudalism. Few in Nomar would deny the Count’s influence over the region, yet it is far from the regional overlords the Counts of Nomar once were. The Count now conspires to reconquer Bracca, and to return Nomar Town to his family’s rule.

The Count uses his small yet professional retinue to assure the King’s law is enforced in Nomar, yet all know he is not strong enough to make a push for the south… yet.

The Barony of Bracca

A new power on the scene in Nomar, the Velucan Barons of Bracca seized the small castle they now call home from the Swadians during the war. They have now come to dominate the region with their political savviness and their ability to control the flow of trade through the region - as opposed to the Swadians’ lack of both of the above traits. The Rhodoks are respected as peacemakers and as potent supporters of an independent town.

The Baron of Bracca seeks to safeguard Rhodok interests in the region, and thus assure and pave the way for a future offensive into Uxkhal. Bracca’s garrison is strong and sturdy, yet it is nothing more than a garrison - in no way, shape or form suited to the harsh life of a full blown war.

The Town of Nomar

The rapidly growing settlement of Nomar is home to a constantly increasing population of Swadians, Rhodoks, Vaegirs and even Sarranids as the prospect of a new life on the border frontier between Swadia and Rhodokia attracts people from all sorts of backgrounds. The town is nominally owned by the Count of Vyincourd, Christopher de Montmorency, yet it is in truth managed by the Mayor of Nomar - a puppet to the schemes and plots of the two influential Swadian and Rhodok gangs, and their lordly benefactors in Nomar Castle and Bracca respectively.

The Mayor seeks nothing but to expand the interests of these two families at the expense of the locals, and recent attempts to curtail the gangs’ power and influence has resulted in bloodshed in the streets of Nomar.

The town itself is policed by the poorly armed and armored Town Guard, led by the Mayor personally, who in and of itself is simply an instrument for the Mayor to assure his own and his supporters’ interests are protected.

The Swadian Gang

Residing in the northern half of Nomar Town, the Swadian Gang is a supporter of a new Swadia - one in which the interests of the ancient Swadian dynasts and peers are held equal to those of the common folk and the influential merchants. They seek to curb both the influence of the Counts of Nomar and the Barons of Bracca, instead being potent supporters of their nominal master the Count of Vyincourd - himself the son of an affluent vintner. The gang makes much of its coin from the smuggling of arms from Rhodokia into occupied Dhirim, to support the partisans fighting against the Vaegirs there.

The Rhodok Gang

Having made its home in the southern half of the Town of Nomar, the Rhodok Gang is both a friend and an enemy of their Swadian counterpart. They often pose a united front when the town’s independence and their own livelihoods are threatened, yet they are otherwise at one another’s throats over control of the Mayor and the Town Guard. They are more than willing to accept money from the Barons of Bracca in return for the pushing of certain agendas in the town, yet are also at odds with the Barony for the attempt to cramp down on the illicit trade of goods flowing into Nomar from the Sarranid Sultanate. This gang’s income comes from its dominance of the trade of spice and hashish from Shariz flowing north-west and into Swadia.

Written by Arraknia