County of Summerswane 

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Formal Name: County of Summerwane
Ruler:  Count Aelfred Maltasian
Motto: "Peace & Prosperity for All"
Government:  Feudal within Divine Empire
Capital: Merriport
Major Settlements: Calsidron, Tourador & Great Library
Resources: Farming & Wine
Population: 385,120 (5% urban) ~   76% human, 10% half-elf, 5% elf,
    5% halfling, 2% sylvan, 2% others
Languages: Common, Elven & Sylvan
Common Alignment: Good
Major Religions: Numerous religions including Berei (NG), Old Faith (TN)
Allies:  None
Enemies None
 

On the northern shore of Western Warlderia lies the County of Summerswane. Far removed for the Divine Throne it is a rural and untroubled place lacking the trappings and sophistication of the Capital. Summers are hot and winters cool with pleasant sea breezes and light rains. The County is primarily an agriculturally based one with the population spread out in many small hamlets and thorps. The land is very fertile, crops are abundant and the county’s wines highly sought after.
 
The venerable Count Aelfred Maltasian rules theses lands with the lightest of touches.  He is an elderly and well respected half-Elven noble who fought in the Divine Wars with the Emperor. He is aloof from the politics of the Empire and only really concerned with the wellbeing of his people and his vines.  The Count himself is very old, even for a half-Elf, and has been a constant and popular figure in the life of his subjects for almost one hundred and fifty years. Aelfred has outlived his three children by his human wife and his heir is his elderly human grandson, Waeltar.

Settlements

Fey Ruins (Village): Alignment: NG, Population: 420, (92% human, 8% half-elf) Authority figure:  Greenawl (half-elf, male, publican)
 
Heading north from the Capital you will eventually enter Summerswane at the site of the Fey Ruins with its cherry blossom trees and old Elf tower. There is a single Inn, the Cherry Blossom, at the ruins and all the lands north of it are the County of Summerswane. The village itself is a quiet a sleepy place and the Inn is clean and friendly.

Great Library (Small Town): Alignment: LG, Population: 1,700, (70% human, 15% half-elf, 10% elf, 5% other) Authority figure:  Lady Bronti (half-elf, female, librarian)

Beyond the ruins a traveller will come to the site of the Great Library. It was once a temple to Labelas Enoreth, the Elven god of time, knowledge and history, but was taken by Kaegor in the wars. He decreed it should be his Great Library and had all the great works to be moved to it. Sadly he died soon afterwards and his wishes were never fulfilled. It is still a fine structure with an impressive collection of literature and science tomes within but it is not the library dreamed of. It has a mixed staff of human, half-Elves and even a few Elven academics who maintain the library. There is a town based around it with a temple to Deleb, the LG god of reason, intellect, and study. The towns folk have access to the library and are a surprisingly well read bunch though they also have an opinion on near anything and everything.

Merriport (Small City): Alignment: NG, Population: 10,050, (80% human, 10% half-elf, 5% elf, 5% other) Authority figure:  Count Aelfred Maltasian (half-elf, male, noble)
 
The major city of the county is is Merriport which an old provincial one founded by Elves and expanded by Man. It is a popular holiday spot for wealthy merchants and affluent nobles. It has an elegant centre with broad boulevards and sun drenched squares. It has a modest harbour with, mainly, fishing vessels and some merchant ships. It is also a home of learning and the arts with both a temple to Delleb and a shrine to Lirr, the CG goddess of prose, poetry, literature, and art.

There is also a large and impressive but also largely unused temple to the warrior god Heironeous whose preceptory her was abolished decades ago. The passive nature of the folk of Summerswane and the peacefulness of the County means few worship the valorous war god.

Tourador (Small Town): Alignment: CG, Population: 1,800, Mixed (79% human, 9% half-elf, 5% elf, 3% dwarf, 4% other.). Authority figure:  Miriam Loir (human, female, mayor)
 
Tourador is home to a temple complex and tower to Myhriss the neutral good goddess of love, romance, and beauty. It is a beautiful location and is the most famously romantic spot within the Empire. Young lovers often elope to Tourador, while fashionable noble marriages take place here.
 
There is also a more hedonistic feel with several shrines to Olidammara, the chaotic god of music, revelry, wine and tricks. Away from the tower are often the locations for wild parties and celebrations being thrown by some of the more decadent visitors. The road north to Merriport winds along the coast and links many a fashionable villa. To the south and west of town near the rolling moors are small suburbs of Halflings.
 
Calsidron (Small City): Alignment: NG, Population: 8,500, (70% human, 20% half-elf, 5% elf, 5% other) Authority figure:  Lord Waeltar Maltasian (human, male, noble) and Mother Vohis of Berei (Human, female, cleric)

Calsidron is an ancestral home of the Maltasian house. It is a heavily Elven influenced settlement with a high number of the residents possessing some Elf blood. It is much less fashionable the Merriport for visitors and is a lot more homely in nature. There is an old but serviceable Elven lighthouse built before Kaegor’s time and a sprawling palace within which the extended Maltasian family reside.

At the city’s heart is a large market square and with its old winding streets, getting lost is easy for those unfamiliar with them. Calsidron has a fishing fleet and thriving merchant quay from which wine is exported from its extensive cellars.  There are numerous small shrines and a temple to Berei, the NG agricultural goddess, like many settlements in Summerswane.
 
Restendel (Village): Alignment: TN, Population: 700, (95% human, 5% others), Authority figure:  Bruno (human, male, publican) and Father Mingand of Pholtus (human, male, cleric)
The small settlement of Restendel lies just off the road between Tourador and the Great Library. It is a quiet sleepy place being a small agricultural community with a cluster of buildings around the crossroads. It is near to the ancient burial mound of the old savage dead king which is meant to be highly steeped in old lore magics and the like.
 
The heart of the village is the Inn, the Saucy Turnip. It was once called the Plough & Pixie but the unfortunate impregnation of a guest noblewoman by a wandering Satyr from the Fawn Lands led to such a scandal that the Inn changed its name. A solid built affair with a decent kitchen serving high quality meals for passing nobles and more reasonable simpler fayre for the other sorts. Run by Bruno, a retired adventurer, and his wife Willow. Bruno was a fighter and has seen plenty of action in the Divine Legion before retiring. He is a big beefy fellow in his late fifties.

The old faith was popular till a Pholtus Temple was built by the father of the impregnated noblewoman. This beautiful building is to ensure the locals did not slip back in to old lore barbarian ways and to keep at watch on the Barrow. It is a lovely temple of limestone stone imported from the south with a white marble altar on which burns the eternal light of Pholtus. Father Mingand holds services here for the faithful and apparently faithful.
There is a well stocked but chaotic shop run by Erskine the Gnomish proprietor. He has lots of items of varying levels of usefulness and is well known as an honest trader and keen follower of Pholtus.
 
Fawn Lands (Village): Alignment: CG, Population: 900, (65% fey, 25% half-elves, 10% human), Authority figure: Faybel (satyr, male,noble)
 
To the south and west are the rolling Fawn Lands, a sylvan setting full of fairies and other fey creatures. Elves live here within the woods and are at peace with Man though they do not seek his presence. Within is a Druid grove to the old faith and numerous Elven shrines.  On the northern edge live humans and half-elves that are in tune with nature. They recognise and respect the rule of Count Aelfred as it is both kind and negligible.