# Introduction Duinn is a region located in the northern-most western peninsula on the [[Elphyne]] continent. It is only accessible on land by crossing the [[Geata Solais]] River, which forms its eastern border. Out of the way from most of the continent, it operates in near full autonomy, despite its status as a archduchy of [[The Aldbine Imperial Republic]]. # Statistics - Capital: [[Conclúid]] - Land Area: 60,000 sq. km + 4 islands with +1,000 sq. km - Population: 2 million - Military force: 2 legions+ # Climate ## Landscape Duinn is a harsh land, where greenery in the wilderness is somewhat sparse. There are large amounts of land where still-standing dead trees have had their roots choked to death by thickets of thorns, and now their remains are in various stages of being consumed by mycelium. ## Weather Duinn visitors often remark in [[The Coligny Calendar|Sal]] and Doth that the land feels trapped in the season of Bas. The weather is cloudy and cold in comparison to the average climate, although precipitation is uncommon. When it does precipitate though, it often comes in strong and heavy. # Regional History ## Early History The Duinn region was once a far flung part of The Elphyne Coil. Cold and barren, the land was sparsely populated for many years until The Expulsion of [[House Duinn]] in 509 GE. After the arrival of House Duinn, the population swelled. The poor farmland up north was less of a problem than expected, as several nearby islands proved large enough to function as stable farming operations and the fishing in the area was plentiful. After twenty years had passed, several lesser noble houses had followed Duinn north, and the region had the makings of the beginning of an independent nation. The [[Fourteen Families]] were furious, as this was the exact opposite effect that they had hoped to have on Duinn's future. With the emparch's backing, Duinn became the target of even stricter taxation and House Duinn's authority became increasingly undermined. Eventually, [[The Aldbine Empire]] succeeded on goading a civil war. ## Duinn Uprising The Duinn Uprising, 566-568 GE, was a response to the political and financial pressures directed at Duinn. Characterized by the Empire as orchestrating riots as revenge for their disgrace, House Duinn lost the support of several houses that feared the upcoming war. The Duchy of Duinn saw it's borders shifting dramatically, eventually finding a river that cut off about half of the peninsula proved to be crucial in stopping the might of the imperial army from crushing the underprepared and vastly outnumbered Duinn soldiers. Additionally, Duinn surprised the empire by outmaneuvering their navy considerably, and easily held the advantage in their waters. After two years, support for the war flagged with sentiment being tied over concerns abroad and the death toll climbing much higher than expected. In 568, the Duke of Duinn made a brash move in appearing before the emparch in the middle of the night, seeking reconciliation directly with the crown and bypassing the council of the [[Fourteen Families]]. The emparch saw this as an opportunity to wrest back imperial control from the council, and agreed to negotiate terms. By unilaterally undercutting the Fourteen Families, Duinn semi-temporarily restored their status. Taxes remained high, but Duinn's authority over the territory became undisputed. Additionally, Duinn was allowed to send a non-voting member to the council of the Fourteen Families. However, no land would be returned to Duinn. The river that had assisted them in holding their territory was artificially expanded by imperial human slaves, and several watch towers were constructed along the route. Additionally, [[Ionnir Abbey]] and [[Túr Faire Gréine]] were constructed as defenses from both a future Duinn civil uprising and potential odium pollution. Duinn agreed to finance the construction. # Social Class ## Proletariat The common tongue is almost exclusively [[Sylval]]. The average commoner is dressed plainly, but comfortably. They work decent hours and are relatively safe. Luxuries are limited, but available, and the people eat well, but with a somewhat limited diet. It's common for citizens to own small lots outside the city walls for personal gardening. Citizens have access to basic learning in childhood, for about three years, and literacy is commonplace, around 80% of the common folk one would encounter. The prevalent outlook is jaded resignation, with a strong trust in one's neighbors. Local soldiers have a lot of trust, but people are wary of outsiders, *especially* of outsiders from the [[Elphyne Springs|Deep Coil]]. There's a mistrust of larger government, and Duinn continues to yearn for independence. The people are aware that House Duinn continues their research into Odium and black magic, but the Heads of House have been reliable stewards, both just and wise. There's a lot of trust afforded to the nobility, who uphold fair laws and invest in their communities, resisting most temptations of greed. ## Bourgeoisie Nobles and Gentry are typically no nonsense and down to earth. They speak Sylval in their daily lives and [[Elvish]] is used exclusively in academia, government, and law as a dead language, leveraged to minimize definition drift. Noble history is rooted in their families working closely with their citizenry to fight off the Aldbine Imperial Army, and they are much more connected to their communities than the rest of [[The Aldbine Empire]]. There is a strong belief that each successive generation must earn the right to inherit their house, and while primogeniture is still the default, there have been multiple cases where secundogeniture has resulted, and even one case where tertiogeniture prevailed. House Duinn is unique in that it renews fealty vows every five years, and under extreme or persistent shameful behavior, Duinn has established precedence to replace the head of household by choosing a relative as if the current head of house had met a tragic end. In one unique scenario, a cunning noble had arranged the deaths of their next of kin, but at the time, had not yet been caught. However, because of their shameful behavior, the current Head of Duinn chose an heir from an unrelated branch family from an adjacent territory to succeed the seat of power, and the previous nobleman was left disgraced, homeless, and a worthless gentryship that he was unable to afford the next year. A few months later, the new head of house discovered his crimes and disgraced nobleman was imprisoned. ## Low Society (Maverick) The underbelly is strongly influenced by Riverwyrm low society and uses [[Riverwyrm Slang]]. However, on some of the islands, ==Kenor Thieves' Cant== is used instead. Smuggling is very prominent, as the large volume of traffic makes it impossible to tamp down. As a result, drugs are also easy to come by. Gambling, Theft, and Fencing are also readily available. Vagabonds are found in the port towns, but they never wander inland. Information flows freely here, and there isn't a need for brokers. Violent crime is difficult, but not unfeasible. Authorities are quick to suppress gang activity. With little violent crime and virtually no information brokers in the area, fixers are impossible to find. Frauds are also difficult to find, since old family roots and strong social bonds leave few isolated enough. The jaded outlook in this grim area also keeps people relatively skeptical. # Social Circles ## Martial Duinn is a region steeped with miasma in the east. The cities and villages are all well-defended, but traveling along the inner continent is fairly perilous. While the roads are relatively well-defined, they are rarely guarded. Bandits are uncommon; the biggest threat to travelers are miasma-infused monsters and dragonlings. Duinn seems to attract one or two low dragons every few decades, and while the local fauna are usually enough to satiate their hunger and thus avoid becoming a direct threat to the people, their offspring will flood the area, feeding off the darker magics of the land. This sort of atmosphere, along with relaxed racial tensions than most other areas of the Aldbine Empire, has attracted a lively adventuring scene for more experienced (or more desperate) monster hunters. However, Duinn is still a part of the Aldbine Imperial Republic and thus maintains strict adherence to the [[Aldbine Crusade Guild]] laws. All adventurers need to be officially registered as Crusaders, or else face imprisonment and fines. Egregious offenders will have bounties placed on their head, without regard for their wellbeing. ## Art and Culture Duinn is a land that embraces its dark history and reflects that in its culture aesthetic. Most color palettes offer one or two dominant colors in the design, and then incorporate blacks and greys as the accent color. Choosing black and grey as the dominant color is an aesthetic fad that waxes and wanes every few generations. Folklore and literature are highly moralistic, and reinforce the virtues of the day. The morals are harsh and violent fates are assigned to the wicked and naïve. There's a thriving market for political romance novels, but these books are only sold at port towns. Nobles inland will travel to purchase these novels discreetly. No one publicly acknowledges this. Plays typically relegated to tragedies with somber ends. Romantic notions are limited, since going to the theater is an inherently public space. Typically theaters are the domain of high society, but there is nothing to keep common and low society from entering if they have the money. Gentry typically sit in the auditorium, while the loges are exclusively reserved for nobility. Paradise seating does not exist culturally in Duinn. Theaters are not popular enough, nor affordable enough to be accessible. ## Mercantile Like all regions in the Elphyne coil, Duinn exclusively uses [[The Aldbine Pentacle]] for its currency. Duinn's main export is fish; it ships salted fish throughout [[The Aldbine Imperial Republic]]. One of Duinn's islands has become a key shipping port, linking supply chains between [[Kenor]] and [[Elphyne]]. They connect ports from the North Trifecta and Riverwyrm Canyon to international markets, and hold a majority of the nautical trading routes for the Aldbine Imperial Republic. ## Industry Because of the higher than normal population of local monsters, it is rather difficult for Duinn to effectively utilize their land and resources inland. In addition, because Duinn has become a major trading port, it becomes infinitely easier to simply ship in any supplies they need, rather than make risky investments. Only common people, who do their best to save money, make their own supplies. They hold a relatively smaller naval power than one would expect due to a lack of local materials, and rely on the naval power of [[The Outer Coil]] to protect their shipping interests. ## Law and Order The legal circles of Duinn are caught between the independent local culture, and the larger country as a whole. They often bridge the divide between the two, and work as peacemakers, historically. The times have shifted however, and the judges and lawyers have slowly moved further and further towards a Duinn favored approach. This has caused a small group of their peers to drift sharply to a hardline nationalist bent. The legal circle consensus is clearly in favor of Duinn's sovereignty, but nationalists become more extreme the further their position is cornered. ## Community Loyalty and practicality are the virtues that Duinn nobility pursues, and those virtues permeate the culture. It is seen as noble to sacrifice the self for the sake of the community, but needless pursuit of honor is identified and discouraged. If there is an option where no sacrifice is necessary, that is always the better option. Your life is always more valuable to Duinn than your death. Tempers are kept in check, but memories are long and grudges run deep. Acts of passion are looked down on, to the point of stifling healthy pubescent development. Affairs are discouraged, but when they do happen, they are to be kept entirely behind closed doors, and there is an expectation that spouses are informed. There's lip service to [[The Verdant Church]], but few are passionate. Part of the reason is that for years, The Verdant Church has frequently sent its most troublesome and problematic clergy to Duinn as punishment. The families feel little connection to Danu, and simply attend out of public perception. Attendance is pretty much all anyone ever cares about. ## Academia While commoners are only provided with three years of education as a child, the gentry and nobles enjoy extensive educations. There are gentry private schools in each city, and nobles will often employ accredited personal tutors and forgo the school system altogether until college. Colleges are specialized to specific fields and typically only provide four years of study. For gentry and nobles seeking an even higher level of education, the only available option is [[Oibídeach]] university, which is a research institute of advanced magical theory. Oibídeach accepts very few applicants, and graduates must work as researchers for a minimum of five years as part of their tuition. The research conducted, often rumored to be dark magic, is highly confidential, and the university answers exclusively to House Duinn. Oibídeach is not for the faint of heart; it is expected for a member of the facility to pass away about once every five years in the course of their studies. The confidentiality of the research and the unknown nature of their deaths fan the flames of conspiracy. While inland, these rumors never gain traction because of family loyalty. But in the port towns and beyond, gossip and slander spread easily. This is intensified because, in most cases, the bodies are unable to be delivered to the families. Despite this, Oibídeach actively and successfully pursues promising talent and dozens of applications to attend are received each year. # Locations ## Cities and Towns - [[Conclúid]] - [[loinncéim]] - [[Oícheburn]] - [[Gaothlach]] - [[Réaleag]] - [[Davenport]] ## Landmarks - [[Geata Solais]] (River) ## Other - [[Túr Faire Gréine]] - [[Ionnir Abbey]] - [[Saotharlainne Fuath]]