Bittermarch

Originally known as Lesser Morley, the now more aptly named Bittermarch is a rather unpleasant land for most, composed primarily of cold, treacherous marshland with little truly safe land to settle on. It is here, away from the squabbles of the other counties, that most of old Scarlet’s necromancers retreated to, having valued the freedom to practice their craft over the ambitions of their former kingdom. While Bittermarch is without a leader in an official capacity none among the populace would dispute that the Dread Lich Falghul, mightiest among them, is their de facto ruler.

The only settlements within the marsh itself are often on stilts, raised above the sodden ground, while the town of Necra sits on some of the only decent ground within the county. It serves as more of a hub for trade and meeting than a true dwelling, though a couple of the more powerful necromancers do make residence there.

Demographics

Bittermarch is a foetid swamp, rank with death. A paradise to the necromantically inclined.

While not a race themselves, almost all mortals within Bittermarch are some form of necromancer, having found their home there to avoid persecution and interruption. Of course, many necromancers transition to a form of undead themselves, usually a form of lich or otherwise. This makes up the majority of free-willed, intelligent undead. Other intelligent undead are mostly in the thrall of these necromancers and liches, slaves to their will.

Naturally this means the vast majority of creatures in Bittermarch are mindless undead servants and minions, carrying out the orders of their necromantic masters. It isn’t uncommon to encounter surprisingly well organized groups of them wandering on patrol through the marshes while the few villages and the town of Necra make extensive use of them to address mundane, physical tasks.

Given the frequency of their visits to Necra, and their general good relations with the local necromancers, it is rumoured that the mysterious Body Snatchers too call Bittermarch their home, the exact nature of their base unknown.

Law, Crime and Punishment

Bittermarch is, as a whole, a rather lawless place though interestingly this does not equate to much tumult or chaos. Most of the remaining necromancers respect one another enough to leave each other alone, at least directly. It also helps that of Falghul’s sparse moments of enforcement, he has come down hard on those that would ‘disturb the peace’ by directly inciting greater conflicts. Indeed, what little judgment he has cast seems to paint him as rather fair and level headed, at least as far as liches go. Necra’s laws are stricter, but still enforced by consensus rather than decree.

With all of this said, the necromancers do often enjoy a bit of ‘friendly competition’ among each other and often entertain rivalries. These rivalries inevitably lead to conflicts in which their minions fight battles out in the marsh away from civilization or as part of a mock siege on each other's lairs with the idea being to hone one another’s craft and test out their minions with the worst case scenario being annoyance rather than fatality.

Outsiders get a rather mixed perception, though they are far more tolerated within Necra than elsewhere, welcomed there for trade. Most necromancers will view mortal outsiders in the wild as material to be harvested and their undead servants are usually instructed to capture and return unfortunate prey for their experiments.

Diplomacy

As far as the four counties go, Bittermarch is as neutral as it gets in the wider conflict. They care not for who wins the war and remain rather ignorant of Bleak Spire’s desire to conquer everything, them included.

They trade equally with Greater Morley and Shelburgh, though the relationship remains tense in both cases. For Morley, it is that they frequently trespass to go grave robbing and even poach the living. In Shelburgh’s case it is due to the intelligent undead that escape Bittermarch and seek refuge in the county away from their former masters.

They have, of course, failed categorically to make meaningful contact with Lord Isaaks, though it is rumoured that the Dread Lich Falghul may have struck some sort of bargain with the Death Knight.

The Deep Marches

A wordplay on the wider area, The Deep Marches are a particularly dark and foreboding section of Bittermarch that is home to truly terrifying works of twisted nature and necromancy both. One wrong step can spell doom, the waters not only teeming with disease but also seeming to pull people under and drown them as if possessed. The trees dampen near all sunlight with what little can get through smothered by unnatural gloom. It is here that those known a Blight Druids dwell.

Blight Druids

A Blight Druid of The Deep Marches

Tales tell of a time when druids from a distant land came heeding the call of the wild, to cleanse the foetid Bittermarch of its taint, much to the displeasure of the few necromancers that dwelled there at the time. No one tried to stop them though, largely because they didn't want any trouble and on account of Bittermarch's sparse populace. The unexpected happened however and they failed, utterly in fact. In their attempt to understand the place they ended up corrupted and drawn in by it, feeding and being fed upon in turn by the festering blight at the heart of the foetid bog. This, it is said, only made it worse as they began cultivating its darkness with their magics, bringing forth the blight-born dead, most notably the frighteningly intelligent Mire Wendigo.

One of many possible mutated Blight Druids.

Since then these druids have lived their twisted lives in the deepest reaches of what would become known as The Deep Marches, forming a few villages and settlements from which they encourage and experiment with the corrupt essence of their foul home. They are identifiable by their shamanistic attire of bone, feather and horns over leather and hide clothing, as well as their typically greying skin and tribalistic markings. What is known about their activities is that they practice and partake in the ritual consumption of flesh, fresh from the living or carved from the undead, and that they actively develop new and deadlier disease to let loose and wield in battle. Particularly adept members of the sect, in tune with the foul energies of The Deep Marches, undergo a ritual to bring forth a variety of differing corrupt mutations, and supposedly further increase their druidic casting potential.

They are near enough exclusively hostile to outsiders, though they take an interest in druids and rangers that might take on the challenge of the place, hoping to twist them to their way of thinking and add another devotee to their ranks. Otherwise it is said that the Blight Druids are the source of the Mire Wendigo, knowing well the cursed runes to carve into their captives that they might release more terrors into the swamps. Some even speculate that it is the cursing of adept rangers and druidic wardens that produce the rare and dangerous Wendigo Knights.

Mire Wendigo

A feral Mire Wendigo in the marshes.

Mire Wendigo, more often than not just referred to as Wendigo within Old Scarlet at large, are tall, powerful undead created by a foul and transformative curse inflicted upon the living. Despite their sometimes emaciated appearance they are both fast and strong, capable of going from an entirely upright stillness to a feral charge in the blink of an eye. Unlike true wendigo these creatures are more akin to an imitation, wholly physical entities without the ability to Wind Walk and with entirely intact legs. The differences extend to the method of inflicting their curse, again a wholly physical act, though they maintain the ability to haunt the dreams of those foolish enough to bed down in The Deep Marches. These creatures feast exclusively on flesh, preferring that of the living but satisfied with the rotting meat of the dead and undead also. Though never truly satisfied, a recently fed Wendigo is the most likely to try and pass on its curse, carving a series of corrupt druidic runes into their flesh and pouring their own black blood into the wounds, after which the victim will slowly but surely warp into another of these creatures over the course of a few weeks unless treated by powerful magic.

A Wendigo Knight decorated in the refashioned armour of The Deep March's victims.

Wendigo Knights

While the 'feral' Wendigo are intelligent and cunning there are rare examples that go above and beyond, capable speech, though wise enough to leverage it rarely. These sapient Wendigo, referred to as Wendigo Knights, are few and far between, though they often dwell in solitude near the settlements and villages of blight druids, conducting themselves with the inhabitants. They remain plagued by the same hunger for flesh by all accounts, though in a less severe form, allowing them their greater civility. This does not, however, mean they are even remotely friendly to outsiders. Indeed, they are enamoured with protecting The Deep Marches from all that do not heed its corrupting sway and violently strike down any others with both claw and weapon. Their curse is much the same as that of their feral kin, seeming not to produce others of intellect with any additional frequency.