| The Lordship of Moria
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Duchy: Draught
Barony: Destine
Leaders: Vacant
Regent Elmyra Jordan.NPC
Population: 120,000
Known For: Astronomy, Astrology, Herb/Spice Fields, Lesser Alchemy and Navigation
Major Towns and Cities: Vega's Light
Characters of Moria: Here
Description: Often the more overlooked Lordship of Destine, Moria more than makes up for their more low key reputation in being arguably the more productive of the two as far as discovery and advancement goes. Without the distraction of the port, the people here are free to obsess, farm, build and study to their hearts content. Some claim that due to sharing a long border with Miller's Isle and being the furthest from the other influences of Purism and Healing, the people here are more mechanically inclined, which is why they've had such success advancing their knowledge of the stars and navigation.
The capitol city of Vega's Light sits near the southwest end of the Lordship, near what used to be the Omenal-Moria border. It is named after the brightest star in the constellation, lyrae, which was named in 3the year 241 A.G. by the astronomer, Theodore Lukhart. His daughter, Miranda, would become a notable astrologer and Lady Moria in 263, convincing her husband to rename the city from the traditional name, South Point City. The Lady's explanation was that she read it in the stars that it would please Providence. She was a very beautiful woman.
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| History
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The former family line had ruled for a number of generations, the last of the Pierce dynasty growing to be a very capable and competent man, single-handedly taking on the responsibilities of Moria and essentially rendering any advisers obsolete. When he took a gypsy as his bride, people began to stir and whisper. After the pair gave birth to their second daughter, the Lady passed quite unexpectedly, leaving the two girls without a viable female role model. Here the tale becomes a touch sordid, for the regal, heavy handed Lord took great favor onto his elder daughter, leaving the other to live in her shadow. So much in her shadow that while the elder, Jessaphine, was brought up with all the benefit, education and praise of a Lady Heir, the younger remained completely unknown.
The sudden death of Lord Pierce left his soft spoken, sweet, half-gypsy daughter with the mantle and a broken Lordship that only her father knew how to control. Coming to Gateway shortly afterward, the Lady found her best childhood friend as the new Baroness Destine and did what she could to fix and learn just what was needed to run her family's lands. Unfortunately, her time was not long enough to prove just what kind of Lady she would have been, as her life was cut short in January of 504 when she was murdered by religious zealots known as the Children of the Abyss.
The younger daughter was found missing for three long months as the Barony struggled as a whole as the Baroness became reclusive and Draught struggled with a deficit. The youngest Pierce Daughter and rightful heir to Moria still remains unfound, and by all intensive purposes, is presumed dead.
In April of 504, a new Lady was set in place. Unrelated in any way, if it caused a stir to have a Lord wed a gypsy woman, it more than raised eyebrows when the Baroness Destine set her own Chamberlain, Solphin Acaran, as Lady Moria. The newest member of the Moria line known as something of an upstart, a mischief maker, and to make things more interesting, claims to be a Gypsy, throwing the Lordship from the frying pan and into the fire.
Either by luck of the draw, or some good advice, over the years, Moria had grown into a stable and very nearly self reliant Lordship under the Acaran 'line'. One of the Lady Acaran's first acts being that of setting a council of advisors in place. The council is composed of two conflicting sides to every realm of interest and issue in the Lordship, one responsible for only the monetary and strict number game involved while the other plays the part of the humanitarian, looking after social and moral aspects. While they all still answered to the Lady, it is a process that is becoming more fluid, ensuring that in the case of being left without a ruler again, there will be no drastic downfall as before.
Some say that this is a sign of the Lady intending to abdicate and wash her hands of things prematurely, while others say it's simply good level headed foresight considering the lifestyle the woman seems to lead and the seeming impossibility to marry her off. It's become a joke in some realms, leading to jokes such as "The girl's got Acaran Blood" for unmarriable daughters, or "That was a case of Solphin's Luck" in cases of /extremely/ stupid and not quite good luck.
Contrary to all expectations, on December 30, 506, Moria once more had a Lord as Lady Moria was married to Tobias Branridge, a half Green Fielder mage, former guard for Crossroads City and Professor in Crossroads University.
To further the confusion and twisted history of Moria, by Imperial Decree on January 14, 507 A.G., Solphin Acaran was removed as Lady Moria leaving the seat unclaimed without an heir and the council of advisors now without a Lady or Lord to report to.
The Baroness was quick to make amends, setting a Regent in place. Elmyra Jordan, a native Morian and widow to a prominent astronomer in the land, she's sat as Governess of the capitol city, Vega's Light, for almost fifteen years, and on the Lordship council since its birth. Since then, the Regent has watched over Moria with sparse travel to the Capitol, preferring to remain a hands on ruler until (If) a new ruler is found.
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| Politics
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The political wheel in Moria is constantly turning, though rarely undergoes drastic change as most people simply enjoy the lively debate they inspire. Stuck between Ethos and Miller's Isle, Destine is filled with those that desire progress and those that are in favor of traditional roles. They border on democracy as much as the social structure can allow, especially since the implementation of the council of advisers, housing intellectual debates on issues. They are, as the rest of Draught, a barony of educated people. Moria is rich in educated theories, unaligned philosophies and superstition, thriving on the introduction of even the most ridiculous notions. It is all in the presentation of the material.
In January 507, the Lady Moria -- Solphin Acaran -- was stripped of title and rank by Emperor Rourke Caprios. Two weeks later, Baroness Destine raised Lady Jordan to lead the lordship as regent.
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| Succession of Lords
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January 25, 507 – Present
- Vacant
- Regent: Lady Elmyra JordanNPC
April 16, 504 – January 14, 507
- Lady Solphin Acaran (b. November 1, 481)
- m: Tobias Anslett Branridge (b. August 30, 472; d. January 507)
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| Geography
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The Easternmost Lordship in Destine, Moria is a land that takes full advantage of everything it is given, from it's long coastline to the manageable lands they've converted to fields to the skies that are invaded by their towers, telescopes and observatories. It is not really what one would call a beautiful land, and has in fact been referred to as a boring landscape, but it is worked hard, and is very much appreciated by those who live upon it. There is not much to it other than fields that are used to grow spices, and some manner of coastline which is not as breathtaking as other places within Draught.
As you grow nearer to the border of Miller's isle, the lands begin to even out once more, and the towers become fewer as squat stone houses appear--beginning the fade from the region's stellar scholars to the prominent mechanics and alchemists the thrive in their northern neighbor's lands.
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| Economy
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While Omenal held the port, Moria was content to sponge from her larger brother and learn by example. The people here know what they have to offer and sell it well on a daily basis, whether you know you need it, or not. Savvy businessmen and women ply their knowledge and skills , while spice and herb fields drown out much of the country side. In fact, Moria edges out Ethos' Lordship of Meritas for most herbs and spices produced, though Moria focuses more on variety and spices, roughly a 1:2 ratio of herbs to spice plantations. There is a slice of these plantations which are prized by alchemists who have spilled over from Miller's Isle, fostering some of the more rare and difficult to grow components, all while making a pretty penny along the way.
While their discoveries based on the skies, stars, navigation and the technology related are famous and renowned all over the empire, these things do not do much for the economy as far as cold hard coin is concerned. Private contracts for navigators and teachers are common practice, not to mention scientific grants and sponsors which allow for people to souly live off of the study of the stars and traveling. When the Barrier opened, there was a boom in need for navigators. One that Moria was happy to answer.
The concept of private schools, early apprenticeships and paid childcare is beginning to inch itself into the main stream as well, proving to stimulate its own kind of economic pull as parents look for ways to tend to their children without their work suffering and without breeding a generation of uneducated fools.
Along with the rest of Draught, in 503 the economy in Moria suffered as the taxes were dropped all across the isle by the Duke, a few curious months after Baroness Destine did so for her Barony. The next resulting years of economic drop, Moria struggled along as the Baroness bolstered the economy with her own funds and refused the Duke taxes, not to mention the introduction of the lottery and other morale boosting (which often in Draught also means 'economy stimulating') holidays.
In 505, cinnamon was introduced as a new spice crop and proven to flourish over the area.
By 506, the Lordship was able to pull itself out of the gutter along with careful guidance from the new ruling family put in place as well as the council beginning to smooth itself out, able to relax a little more.
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| Culture
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As far as Draughtians go, the level of obsession is healthy in Moria. Obsession for ones craft ranging very high, less than one half percent of the population invests in conventional marriage, most opting for Handfastings for companionship and care, and Covenants for children. The use of Covenants has become so popular, in fact, that they've found a high demand for nannies, mentors, apprenticeship programs and even small private schools to ease the children through those pesky dependent years.
On the flip side of that coin, Moria is second home to the many wandering spirits, fortunetellers, astrologers, and obsessive nomads that plague/enrich Destine. Some of these groups have a near cult mentality, their cultures peculiar and nearly completely unknown, fostering stories and rumors best told around a campfire or just before bedtime. Since the Gypsy nation was cleansed from the lands, these people seem to be growing less and less prominent in the minds of the people as far as cultural anomalies are concerned.
Many 'normal' citizens tend to ignore them or have reached a sort of symbiotic relationship with these groups. When in Destine...
Moria has not faded in color after the death and disappearance of the Lieberman and Peirce line. In fact, with the announcement of new Baronial holidays such as the Holidaze on April 20th, they are just coming into their own and coming in strong. They are known to work themselves (sometimes literally) to death 95% of the year and the remaining 5%, embracing the full color spectrum of life they've enhanced so greatly.
Religion
Faith is not something that is tossed around a lot in Moria, though there is also no indication that the people there are not faithful in their own way. While there are more scientific types in Moria than in the rest of Destine, science does seem to take a forefront to religion. There is not, however, anything that speaks badly of religion there, either.
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| Bestiary
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Content to follow!
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