Location: Halinar Duchies, Shaemin Duchy

Characters: Duke Holdrin Chaemos, Duchess Syrinna Haestar

Duke Whistar of Shaemin hosted the annual Convocation of the Halinar Duchies, in 1332 Avard. Duke Whistar, located near the northwestern borders, was a militant soldier that fought his way to the top by using his forces to bully many of the other dukes and their underlings.

The Haestar Duchy used a rational, logical quota system of feudalism. Duchess Syrinna of Haestar had built her lands in the northern lakes region into a powerful fishing and lumber cartel, and nearly dominated the oils market in the region. The duchess also put a lot of her fiscal resources into investments, and at the Convocation of Duke Whistar this meant that the Haestar duchy had little money for bribes or counter-bribes. Her military situation was a bit more defensible – highly fortified towns, a moderate army size, and strong foreign contacts. The Church of Galgiran had sent a contingent of dwarves, and the Sebre Druids were well known visitors of the duchy.

Duke Holdrin of Chaemos was a more autocratic and dictatorial ruler, though his iron business model used fines, first, and then prison labor. The plains of the Chaemos duchy produced cattle, beeswax, mead, grain, and finished wood, and served as a the bread basket for the duchies. Chaemos duchy's only defended city was its capital, but it made up for it with a strong military presence. Despite having such assets, Duke Holdrin was adamantly against assassination – something many of his contemporaries had no compunctions about using.

The Duchess Syrinna had recently survived an assassination attempt, and she also shared significant trade relations with Duke Holdrin. For the 1327 Convocation, the two worked well together to protect Haestar from the machinations of the other duchies and from their host.

Date: THU, JUL2012

DM's Notes: I waited too long to write a recap, and lost a lot of information on what took place. Essentially, I handed the characters to Bill and Ross (Sommer couldn't play with us, that night, and Caileb was out), and had them help me create the Halinar Duchies. Until this night, they had been nothing more than a concept for me, and the guys helped me flesh the duchies out.

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