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Duchy: Guardian
Barony: Smithfield
Leaders: Lord Mardaeus AureliNPC
Population: 44,500
Known For: Ironworks, craftsmanship, other stuff
Major Towns and Cities: Whitforge
Characters of Twisted Forge: Here
Description: Content to follow.
Twisted Forge rests on the western side of Smithfield, bordering the relatively flat lands of Tel Girade and Trickling Dart in Trebachas.
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Marsius Aureli was the first Aureli lord of Twisted Forge, but he had no noble blood. He was a one-legged veteran, entrepreneur, father, husband, and mayor of a coal mining community. When heirless Lord Twisted Forge died of influenza, Baron Smithfield elevated Marsius to the vacant position. He chose simple heraldry: Argent a Cougar sejant Gules.
He had a single son, Cassius. The young man then poisoned his father and usurped the lordship in 434, but he wasn’t convicted of this until years later when evidence was discovered. At the start of his reign he changed the family heraldry to: Ermine a Lion with Dragon Wings, Tail, and Tongue dormant Gules. Cassius claimed he was immortal moments before he was beheaded.
In an attempt to restore the family honor, Cassius's son, Gaius, testified against his father only days before becoming Lord Twisted Forge himself in the spring of 440. He was a man who seldom spoke, but when he did it was as thought out as a text. He was known for keeping things very close to chest and refusing to delegate even when overwhelmed. It served him well: Gaius died in his sleep from natural causes in 496 at a ripe age of 71.
His eldest son, Arenius Aureli, was far less prudent. He spent his reign inebriated and womanizing. It is said that he was sterile, as he had many lovers yet no heirs. Arenius wasted his sizable inheritance on luxuries over a period of five years, and then doubled taxes when he found himself too poor to continue his lifestyle. He died of a drug overdose, asphyxiation, or a combination of the two in 507.
Gaius's second son, Mardaeus Aureli, then mysteriously resurfaced from a fourteen-year absence from public to reclaim the lordship. Amidst much fuss, he replaced the entire staff of the house. When he disappeared a few short months later, kidnapped by bandits while touring his lands, it was Baroness Trebachas who personally scoured Twisted Forge with a small group of former legionnaires until he was found. Mardaeus was rescued and returned to his family estate, and the heads of the bandits responsible were set on pikes outside of his home.
Twisted Forge has been very quiet ever since.
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