Government: The Alfar Nation

Structure of the Government

Similarly to the Human and Hodekin nations, the Alfar nation is divided into a number of townships each with their own leader, but one of them is superior to the others. In the Alfar nation, however, the townships are somewhat larger as there are only three. Paradoxically, the townships ruled over by the Alder, who also serves as leader of the nation as a whole, is not the largest, rather he rules Benshaw Township which controls the Alfar territory on the islands, including Usk, Felling, and Gordon. The other townships are led by individuals called Onders. The Onder of Ringwood Township has control over Tantham and Upham, as well as the villages in Willem’s Land and Sulliver. The last township is Nefyn Township, which includes the villages of Ruthin, Pallywick, Castol, and Yonder. All of the smaller villages are led by a Ritter.

The positions of Alder and Onder are similar in many ways, particularly in their method of selection. Each year the currently serving Alder and Onders declare their choice of successor should they die that year; most years this is little more than a formality as the choice will not have changed from the previous year. On occasion, however, the chosen successor might die himself or perhaps earn dishonour to the point that he or she is no longer considered worthy, and this process allows a new selection to be made. The position of Ritter is treated differently, in that it is appointed by the Alder or Onder of the township. A currently sitting Ritter cannot be forced out of his or her position, but ultimately don’t control who succeeds them, though they may be consulted for a recommendation. Though death is the usual mode in which any of these positions become vacant, the individuals holding the positions can also choose to step down.

Geography

The Alfar nation controls four rather distinct areas, largely divided along townships lines. At the core are the islands, which fall into Benshaw Township. The western half of Perry Island is part of this region, as well as Doal, Usk, and Sholner Islands. The bamboo forest covers most of this area, though Doal island is an exception as it is treed with blackwoods. Across the main Bay from Perry Island is Nefyn Township; this region is almost entirely fertile farmland, though it becomes somewhat rocky further north, and a fraction of the Wachoer Forest extends into the territory near Pallywick. At the northern end of Nefyn Township the border with the Elben nation is delineated by the Canal River.

Returning west, Willem’s Land is a long peninsula extending eastward. It is separated from the Human nation by Prewett Sound on the south side, and separated to the north from Perry Island by the waters of South Circling and from the Ringwood by the Solsund. Two rivers mark the edges of the region on land, the Silver River, and the Coney River. Most of the area is grassland and farmland; the Roscoe Forest has a foothold in the south around Sulliver, stretching almost to Darby. On the other side of the Coney River is the Ringwood, a heavily wooded area dominated by conifers such as pines and firs, with blackwoods spattered about liberally. The Fairdon River flows through the forest in the north before it gives way to a large rocky hill riddled with caves called the Mound that splits Tantham Bay from the Narsund. Though the mound is rather geographically distinct, there are no real settlements there, and so it is generally considered to be part of the Ringwood. The Ringwood and Willem’s Land together comprise Ringwood Township.

Industry

Farming is important in the Alfar nation, especially in Nefyn Township, which is part of the same fertile stretch of land as Tideswell Township in the human nation. Ruthin, Nefyn, Pallywick, Castol, and Yonder are all either devoted to farming, or lean heavily in that direction, though Nefyn itself is also a food distribution centre. There is also a fair amount of farming in Willem’s Land, though there it shares equal dominance with herding. Fishing also has a presence in the nation, particularly in Ruthin and Gordon, though also in Castol, Tantham, Darby, Upham, and Benshaw. Hunting parties venture into the uninhabited wilds beyond the Friar’s Wall regularly. The last food industry in the Alfar nation is on Usk Island, where they grow several different species of bamboo, harvesting new shoots before they have really begun to grow.

Reindeer herding provides not only meat, but also leather and fur; some are even kept as pets or pack animals. In the same area, Darby boasts one of the major horse-breeders in the Bay. On Perry Island, the bamboo that grows there is harvested for timber, being the principal industry of Felling and Benshaw. In the Ringwood as well, lumber is the principal industry, occupying many of the people of Ringwood, Upham, and Tantham. And finally, Sulliver, near the border with the Human nation, is the site of the Bay’s only silver mine. Some of that silver is sent to the mint in Mortehoe, but a fair amount of it goes directly to the vaults in Benshaw for potential future use.

Possible Adventure Hooks

The fertility of the Nefyn region is a significant factor in keeping the people of Butter Bay fed each year. Perhaps the boats carrying food from Nefyn are mysteriously disappearing; a hefty reward would likely be offered for anybody able to find the cause and put an end to it. Potential causes could range from particularly aggressive butterbasts, to elben-uruk naval vessels capturing the boats, or even alfar-hodekin vessels trying to frame their enemies for the crime. The land itself could also come under attack; one unscrupulous and malicious arcanist, perhaps even expelled from the Academy, might concoct a spell or ritual to poison the land. If using the second, you could tie this into retrieving tomes from Tolling Keep, the adventurers themselves gave the arcanist what he needed to perpetrate this act.

The caves within the Mound could hold unknown secrets to be discovered, there might also be unknown dangers lurking there. Exploring these caves could be an adventure in itself, or the adventurers could simply end up there in the course of another mission, such as finding a lost child. A scholar of ancient history might present a theory that the Mound holds the tomb of some long forgotten monarch, along with many treasures, or it could contain the lair of a dragon, in a thousand-year hibernation. It might be more interesting to combine more than one of these ideas.

The politics of the alfar are full of potential plots. Rival families trying to discredit one another, assassinations, manipulations, individuals seeking positions of power, or trying to protect the power they already have. The Vo Nayer family should always figure into these plots in some way, as they are the single most powerful alfar family with members serving as Alder, Seer, Arch-Seeker, and two of the three Arch-Druids.

Wednesday: Death