Kopca Divoký
Kopca Divoký (the Wild Hills) is the northernmost Comitat in the Vojvodina of Boljova and is one of the more remote and sparsely settled Comitats in Dracia. The Morem River flows from high in the mountains into Falcon and Divoky Lakes before continuing on into Moremia. The Blue Lake and Wizard’s Lake lie in the southern reaches of the region, near the border with the Comitat of Lybkovria, with the Cirova and Rudváh Rivers feeding into Wizard’s Lake. The Trogesh River runs along the eastern border of the Comitat, which is slightly more densely populated than the rest of the region. The region is almost entirely dominated by rocky hills rising into the Challieann Mountains.
Čaznilin is the seat of the Comitat and home to the Pârcălab Vavřinec of House Lyubka. Situated on a peninsula jutting out into Divoky Lake, Čaznilin is an ancient castle that has a reputation for being almost constantly under repairs or expansion. The Pârcălab Vavřinec is devoted to Sarpedon the Shieldsman; his unswerving dedication and discipline has left him somewhat on the outs with the other members of House Lyubka, though he is well beloved by his own subjects (even those criminal elements in the region have a grudging respect for his fairness). Many people in Kopca Divoký affectionately refer to him as Strýko Vavř (Uncle Vavř).
There are two towns in Kopca Divoký:
Boglia lies in the east, overlooking the Trogesh Wood and serves as the main trade route into the Comitat, both from the Trogesh River and the Antovan Road. Boglia itself is known for its leatherworks and is often derisively called ‘the Seep’ for the dark stains from leaking chemicals that flow down the eastern side of the city. It is ruled by the Bȃn Ladisav of House Lyubka, the eldest son and heir of the Pârcălab Vavřinec. Ladisav was known to be a bit wild and reckless in his youth, but since coming to rule Vyšší Völgy, he has proven to be a patient and sober ruler with a keen interest in history.
Padra is a small copper and tin mining town in the crook between two mountains overlooking the hills of northern Boljova. Padra is a rough-and-tumble town, with a somewhat transient population of laborers who come to make their fortune and either succeed or die in the mines (or are disappear while trying to stake their own claim in the mountains). It is rumored that gryphons live in the mountains near Padra, though none have been seen in at least two generations. The town is the seat of the Banat of Padrova, ruled by Erik the Elder of House Lyubka. The Bȃn Erik is known for having more in common with the local hillfolk than he does with most nobles and was a reputed melee combatant in his day. Even at sixty years of age, he’s still a physical force many are willing to tangle with. Politically, he’s known to be fairly laid back and more than willing to allow men to try their luck at finding a new vein in the mountains nearby. There are ogres in the mountains north of Padra and Erik is known to periodically form up a posse to range around the mountains looking for ogres to slay.
There are a few significant villages in Kopca Divoký, including Drashene straddling the Cirova River in the west, known for its glassworks and a large population of hobbits living both in the village and in the nearby hamlet of Beglets. Tserevo is a small village with a temple to Minos just above the Trogesh Valley, known for trade in lumber as well as the horsemanship of its Bȃn, Matko of House Lyubka, who has seen action in battle from horseback and is something of a minor celebrity on the tourney circuit. Uglach Baňa (Uglach Mines) and the fortified village of Valchesh are iron mining towns, the latter of which has no small number of skilled blacksmiths and armorsmiths supplying the fighting men of the region. The small Krum on the southern border with the Comitat of Lybkovria is remote, poor and significant only in its insignificance. The independent village of Etrovo lies deep in the Challieann Mountains in the extreme north of the Comitat, peopled primarily by worshipers of the Gael gods that tend to keep to themselves.
Due to both rampant banditry and periodic raids by ogres from the mountains, the Comitat is littered with small strongholds and towers, though no true castles outside of Boglia, Čaznilin and Pevnost Vojny.
Unlike most of Dracia, Minos is not dominant in Kopca Divoký. The Pârcălab Vavřinec worships Sarpedon the Shieldsman and there are several temples dedicated to him throughout the more urban centers of the Comitat. The Kolostor of Sarpedon in Divoký is a retirement community of old monks that lies south of Čaznilin and is supported by generous donations from the Pârcălab and the local faithful. There are two major settlements dedicated to Minos the Cockerel: the Opátstva Saint Amandus the Venerable on the northeastern road into Inalt Antova, primarily an anchorage for priests and pensioners faithful to Minos, and Pokladna Strieborný, the Silver Treasury, near the Trogesh Wood that serves as the central treasury for the Comitat. Because of the often violent life Dracian hill folk live in the Comitat, Kratos the Steelhand, god of war, has no small following in the region, despite the Pârcălab’s distaste for the Steelhand’s faithful. Most significant of these is Pevnost Vojny, the Fotress of War, just southeast of Valchesh. The Pevnost is led by Major-Priest Zetan Vuković, a belligerent but dangerously cunning old warrior who is reputed to have been trained in combat by an orc in his youth. Opátstva Vyslúženec (Abbey of the Veterans) on the shores of Divoky Lake north of Čaznilin is a retirement community and hospital for aged or infirm worshipers of the Steelhand run by the Major-Priest Stanko of House Vãduva while Opátstva Vojny (Abbey of War) in the west, north of Drashene, is a training ground for Acolytes of Kratos and the seat of the Diocese of Moldogoi for Kratos, run by Tribune Želimir of House Lyubka. The Tribune Želimir and Major-Priest Stanko absolutely despise one another and the latter has reportedly challenged the former in single combat for the Diocese no less than half-a-dozen times, with Tribune Želimir having lost only once… it is said while he was recovering from illness… and he retook the Tribune’s seat the following year. Vysoký Domácnosť Doba, the High House of Time, is a small, remote temple to Tempus the Hoarbeard, god of time, high in the Challieann Mountains inhabited by reclusive monks who have retreated from the world to contemplate the teachings of the Hoarbeard. Despite its remoteness, it is led by the current Episcopus of Tempus for Northern Aurea, a mysterious and rarely seen clergyman named Father Clemen. The village of Banor serves the needs of the Doba and the villagers there tend to be xenophobic and very protective of the holy monks and their privacy.
Personalities
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