Capital: marigund-city
Government: Monarchy with some Democratic elements.
Location: Outer Midlands
Borders:
- North - Elderwood and the Great Barrier Range.
- South - The Sylvan Mountains
- East - Salinon and the Forest of Aelfwood
- West - Kelewair and the Southern Midlands
Economy: Mostly farming, cattle (mostly sheep) and some trade with Salinon. Raising sheep for wool is a growing business in Marigund and there is even a Wool Guild.
Marigund is a country of contrasts. Peace and love. Hate and violence. The nobility are mostly Rebuilders. The lower class is mostly Ecclesia. The middle class, including the merchants, are an even mix of just about everything else. One large group is the Yehudim. Being neither Rebuilder, Follower nor Lightbringer makes them neutral in the religious strife. Many of the Kings own gaurd and advisors are Yehudim. Others act as neutral middlemen for the other religions.
With so many diverging faiths so close by, hardly a day passes without an Ecclesiast or a Rebuilder getting into a scuffle of some kind. It's never more than a few hotheads throwing stones or punches, though; not even they would tolerate it escalating any further than that. Marigund is their home and they would not see it torn apart by religious strife as much of the countryside to the South has been. Still in spite of the seeming peace the tension remains but pushed below the surface.
Religion has become a matter to be practised in one’s homes, and spoken of nowhere else. It is, in fact, a forbidden topic in the Court and in the Hall of the Mages' Guild. The first offense earns a flogging, the second a beheading. Those who would stir up a frenzy amongst the people are not tolerated; they are either thrown from the city, or executed publically. Such harsh methods have kept the peace for a long time, but it is a peace that stands on a knife’s edge, teetering precariously every moment of every day towards a bloody civil war.
Ironically the ultimate answer to all this trouble lies OUTSIDE of the country. If there can be a reconciliation between Ecclesia and Rebuilder then Marigund can see real peace. Until then the tension remains always ready to boil but never quite boiling over.
In a world of religious intolerence and where bloody wars of religous cleansing are the norm Marigund is unique. All faiths are allowed to practice in peace. This has earned them many enemies. The Ecclesia, in particular, considers Marigund a place of evil. Several crusades have been launched against the country over the years but all have failed. Ironically enough, this has drawn all the people of Marigund closer together and left the country something of an armed camp.
One counter to the threats is a very strong interest in magic. The Mages' Guild in Marigund is one of the largest and most powerful in the Midlands.
Note: Although religion is an important part of the culture it is NOT the overriding concern of most people. People are more worried about the weather, their families and how their trading ventures are doing. It is never mentioned publically and ALL the people of Marigund dress and act alike (mostly). It is impossible to tell the difference between a Lightbringer, a Follower or a Rebuilder merely by looking at them. And a large crowd gathered in the Grand plaza is sure to include people of all the religions intermingling. They are all also very carefully avoiding any mention of religion. Even if only to avoid being flogged.
Basic culture: 16th Century England with a strong Celtic element in the mountainous areas. There is an old, noble class that controls most power. But there is a new middle class/noble class gaining in numbers recently.
Government: Monarchy (a king at the moment), but most cities and towns are allowed to elect their own leaders.
Overlord or High King: Although an independent country Marigund does owe fealty to Duke Otakar of Salinon who rules all of the Outer Midlands.
There is also an assembly (parliament). It has no real powers and is a new creation (established in 697 CR) and is more like an experiment. It is the one place in the entire country where religion can be mentioned openly. Even there, such discussions must be kept 'civil.' This has led to some really raucous debates (yelling and screaming and several fist fights). One story goes that a nobleman who was sent there by the king as an observer after attending one meeting asked to be sent back into battle - where things were quieter and less dangerous.
But it has helped lessen tensions by giving the leaders of all the different faiths a place to meet and debate problems openly. "It's better to scream and yell in the assembly then to have a riot in the streets," is the thought of many people. Only time will tell if it helps lower the tensions or fails.
Notable organizations: Marigund Mages guild , Royal Order of Dobrina
Military: With so much hostility directed against them by the Ecclesia (and a lot of Lightbringers as well) the people of Marigund have a well developed army.
The army is feudal but with a large core of professionals. This army is bolstered by varying number of mercenaries. The feudal element is made up of various nobles whose owed duty is usually anywhere from 60 to 90 days but that number can be doubled in an extreme emergency.
The primary weapon of Marigund is the composite longbow. This powerful weapon has turned the tide in many battles. It is a law that every boy MUST learn how to use a long bow. Even noblemen in Marigund are expected to be able to shoot a bow with decent accuracy. Also most women learn how to shoot. Shooting competitions are a large and well attended part of every festival and fair.
One other weapon worth mentioning is the battleaxe. This weapon has long been a favorite of the Centli mountain folk who found it useful for cracking open the tough armor worn by knights and noblemen. It has since been adopted by many Marigund nobles who enjoy the fear factor that facing such a fearsome weapon can engender.
A Marigund army will usually consist of 60% archers, 20% infantry and the remainder cavalry (almost exclusively nobles). The Marigund Mages guild routinely sends a good sized group of mages along with any army. Their spells giving the soldiers some powerful firepower to back them up.
Random notes
Aelrig the Even: also called the Bloody, or the Peaceful. He is credited with making the peace between the faiths that now holds sway in Marigund. When tensions between all three major groups broke out into open warfare he brought peace by killing everyone involved with the fighting regardless of faith or social class. He did bring peace to the country and laid waste to a third of the capital in the process. This whole period in Marigund history is called 'The Burning' an apt description.
He was also the one who laid down the laws against mentioning religion in public. Aelrig showed his sincerity by having his own son flogged publically when the prince broke that ban. Ironically although he was loved and hated by Rebuilder, Ecclesia and Lightbringer alike his own faith is still unknown. He never revealed it to anyone. His ultimate legacy is hotly debated and probably always will be. But in a region full of bloody religious strife he gave Marigund something all too rare in the Midlands - peaceful coexistence.
Economy notes: Placed at the juction of 4 trade routes Marigund always has lots of merchant traffic. Trading and merchants are an important part of the economy. A new element rising in importance is sheep. Wool is fast becoming an important industry both raiding sheep and processing the wool. Also there is a small amount of copper mining in the mountains to the south.
