It is a week’s journey to the farthest place you have ever been. It shouldn’t really take that long as the crow flies, but the Eastern road from Berwick curves around a large hill and skirts the edge of the White Wood. Mostly it crosses lowlands and dry swamps, making the road dangerous for carriages in the spring thaw. In several places large stone bridges span tributaries that connect the waters of the Lakelands. These bridges are old but sturdy – fashioned from stone brought down the river Tamm from quarries in Eastbrook and beyond. This is the road to Karshene – a fabulous city at the heart of the Kingdom of Millesi.
Along this route there are a number of villages – eight perhaps, with names like Rockwall and Pender’s Falls. The villagers keep sheep, cows, and pigs; grow corn, wheat, and vegetables; fish in the streams and lakes; and take timber from the Ashenwood forest to build their homes and buildings. They are a hard-working and industrious sort, living a rough, but free life. They owe allegiance to the King – and dutifully swear their loyalty once a year, pay their taxes, and offer their sons in service. Deeply superstitious and fearful they follow the acerbic ways of the Gemmenites. Most peculiar is the winter ritual – a two month period of prayer and penance to beseech the return of spring. Known as Ragnar’s watch this time is used to thwart the icy cataclysm at the end of the world. No laughter or talking, few candles, and no eating or drinking once the sun has gone down. Witchery and sorcery are particularly forbidden and woadish food is shunned. Since Woad food is whatever the Elfkin eat, and no-one is particularly clear on just what an Elfkin is, therefore they have absolutely no idea what might be Woadmettan (woad-food). Nevertheless, every season one or two townspeople are brought up on charges of creating Woad-food, consorting with Spirits, practicing witchery, or speaking in black-tongue. Since trials involve parading witness through to swear oaths, they become more of a contest of social influence than truth. Every year some folk are put to death the serve the piety of the many. Mostly though, a few days in the stocks, prominent in every village, restores the faith of a transgressor who has plead and cried innocent moderately well.
Priests, oddly, are the most likely to practice sorceries – their position and influence allowing them to pass their skills off as heavenly blessings rather than heathen occultisms. While priests have little to fear from the common man the political machinations of the various Gemmenite orders is a constant source of danger. While commoners may be put to death for practicing or benefiting from witchery, priests are tortured for heresy. It is not uncommon for entire orders of priests to be washed aside in the changing of a religious tenet. The common man, then, does a lot of agreeing, nodding and condemning and very little speaking about their own beliefs.
Animals are kept within the walls of villages. The forest is full of dangers. Wolves mostly – not the timid kind that you know about – these are the big, bad wolves that used to live in the old places of our own world. Darker, stronger, bigger, and far more violent than the modern kind, the old dire wolf is the wolf of this story. In the deep forests too, are the Khoshke. These semi-feral humanoids use crude axes and spears and tend to gravitate to the outskirts of any settled area. Hardened and savaged by occupying the same territories as the wolves and bears they are fearsome to encounter. Although they speak their own language, fashion tools, and have a society they are considered monsters by the people of Millesi. Vulyaegers from the lands to the West will hazard the deep forests and occasionally emerge from them to seek respite or trade in the cities. Such strangers are always greeted with distrust if not outright hostility (so long as they are suitably outnumbered).
Townsfolk consider themselves more civilized than the people of the village, although they share the same superstitions. Having more access to the trade routes of both the River Tamm and the old stone road, they are more likely to encounter different folk and different ways. Strangers from other places are viewed with distrust, but are treated well so long as they don’t work witchery, engage in revelry during Ragnar’s watch, or show disrespect to a priest. There are professions in the town of Berwick, lawyers, scribes, doctors, surgeons, barbers, smiths, and merchants. Merchants trade with people in other cities or sell goods on behalf of other merchants. In medieval law it is illegal to engage in mercantilism – selling a good for more than what you bought it for without adding value to it. If you bought something in one city and brought it to another, you have added the value of transport and may increase the price of the object. When prices are too high or the profits too large merchants are brought before the courts. Navigating back room deals, appeasing the guild of merchants, and making powerful friends are all essential skills in business.
Berwick is large enough to house a Lord and a full garrison of soldiers. The soldiers are used to keep peace in the town and are under the direct command of Lord Darllone. Son of some disinherited or fallen Duke, Jawein the Second – Lord Darllone, has not taken Berwick as his epithet. Whether this was a sign of ambition or resentment was hotly speculated in the years after he came. Now some twelve years later the topic has lost its lustre. Jawein is without a wife, a child, and at nearly forty years of age has been a relatively unremarkable master of the town. Three times he had mustered soldiers for a campaign – a crusade to prove his worth in the East; and three times he had returned the following season with a handful of men and little in the way of silver. While each family must present one son to the king for military service, a second son must be coerced with promises of rank, stature, riches, or conquest. So far the Lord of Berwick, clinging to an older name, has been largely unable to deliver on those promises.
Although the order of the town is kept by the King’s regular soldiers (those sons conscripted into service) the administration of Justice is performed by the mayor who uses his own lawyers and investigators to determine the guilt of those brought before him and seek out criminals who operate in less overt ways. Known as hawkers, these people often come into conflict with the Enred – groups of criminals who employ dangerous men to maintain their control of their trade. Trials involving priests are overseen by the Church, and trials involving soldiers are brought to the royal court at Karshene – where the Second Princess of Millesi resides. In Karshene the most accomplished soldiers can fulfil their ambitions as the Queen’s Royal guard has a full time regiment of Knights protecting the Princess. As Berwick is in the deme of Karshene, the knights can conscript from the town or the outlying villages. It is the dream of many boys to become a Millesian Knight through early conscription yet it rarely happens. Training a candidate to knight status is an expensive and time consuming process. Often it is easier to recruit from soldiers in the King’s regular service as they have already some training and demonstrated some talent. Besides, only two standards of Knights (16 knights per standard) occupy Karshene. Nevertheless, every so often a young boy is brought into the “Academie Gallante” at Karshene. It has not happened for a handful of years.
Being on the trade route makes Berwick a great place to receive news and hear rumours. To the East it is known that large parcels of land are being liberated from dreadful Kingdom of Vahanner. Far to the West the mighty empire of Rin, in league with Elfkin sorcerers, and river giants are invading the Lake kingdoms – the land of your ancestors. Once in a long while foreigners from these far off places will arrive. Peasants, soldiers, nobles, and merchants from the defeated kingdoms land in the taverns and docks of Berwick. Some seek to start a new life, others to rally support and promise great riches await those who will help them return to their mother-land. They bring tales of Wizards and mystics, stories of other kingdoms, and children’s tales. By in large the visitors to Berwick are from other cities, villages, and towns of Millesi. Places like Laushaine, Meerwold, Eastbrook, Pont’deMare, and Amardine are commonly heard of, though few people know anything about them. In a hard, busy life, they are just names. They won’t be important to you …
RAEL