Old Scarlet

The remains of the cold, dark Scarlet Kingdom, once a bastion of the forsaken and the damned. When a large chunk of its ruling class departed the kingdom a rush to fill the void took place, ultimately tearing the country and its infrastructure apart in the ensuing chaos. At first it split in half, torn between the vampire, Countess Erika Morley on one side and the Death Knight, Lord Izaaks, each purporting to emulate one of he two former rulers. It didn’t take long for further schisms to form though and, before long, the land lay in five distinct pieces, each a barony of its own with distinct and separate interests in the future of their former nation.

Greater Morley

The vampire bastion of Old Scarlet and the former capital region of the kingdom, Greater Morley is arguably the most hospitable of the counties with farmland still being worked and mortal life struggling on in spite of the land and their circumstances.

Despite this most of the region's population can be found within and around its only city, Morcourt, where the vampiric nobility rule from their decadent central district and the mortal peasantry struggle for scraps in the outer districts.

Beyond this Greater Morley is most evidently occupied with an expanding military, supplied at the cost of a neglected citizenry and with thanks to ingenious, if cruel, immortal minds.

Bittermarch

Home to a great deal of necromancers and their minions, Bittermarch is a effectively a foetid swamp well suited to beasts and mindless undead, for no one in their right mind would want to live there. This is primarily why necromancers chose it, for it provided ample cover in the days of old before the land became so thoroughly cursed and infused with death.

The town of Necra is set on practically the only usable ground, more of a trading post than an actual settlement, home only to a select few of the county's more social and outgoing necromantic enthusiasts while others are merely passing by. It is also rumoured to be one of the few places where a direct meeting with the Body Snatchers can be arranged, many suspecting their base of operations to be in the area.

Bleak Spire

The mountains of Bleak Spire, as unforgiving as they are treacherous.

Named for the mountain that dominated the western part of the county, Bleak Spire was the military heart of Old Scarlet before the collapse, though not much has changed since. Following in the footsteps of their last ruler it is a county only in the loosest sense, ruled by the Death Knight Lord Izaaks from atop the fortress built into Bleak Spire itself. Among the counties Bleak Spire as a whole is easily the least hospitable to the living, not only cold beyond measure inherently, but enhanced further by the influence of Izaaks himself.

Most signs of civilisation are outposts and military installations with next to no civilians at all given that such roles can be filled by mindless servants. Tunnels and mines extend deep The Spire itself, excavating precious metals for the forges and stone for the fortress repairs, but work is slow with such unskilled servants. Indeed, it is said that if the production of arms and armor could be sped up that Izaaks would already be at open war with Greater Morley.

Demographics

There is a distinct lack of life here. All known beings are undead in some form or another, usually of the more offensive and militaristic types too. Death Knight lieutenants command forces of skeletal knights and other undead suited to battle and the cold. Zombies and skeletons work the mines, forges and perform what maintenance is required.

Law, Crime and Punishment

Predictably there is little in the way of crime, though if there were it would be dealt with instantly and no mercy shown. Any intruders are executed and added to the ranks with no recorded exceptions known.

Diplomacy

Lord Isaaks has a very simple approach to diplomacy, there is none. The other three territories are just conquests waiting to happen. Of course, his primary focus is Greater Morley, the biggest threat to his conquest, but after that he intends to reconquer the entirety of scarlet and remake it to his liking.

Shelburgh County

An area of cold plains and boreal forests that expanded to encompass a large swathe of wilderness terrain following the collapse, Shelburgh County was initially claimed by Countess Erika Morley after the collapse but simply could not be held due to a severe lack of resources and manpower. Indeed, it is because of her poorly conceived attempts to exert control over it that she eventually had to both retreat and commit to the emancipation of her human chattel. Shelburgh has since become the haven of intelligent, free willed undead both from before the collapse and after.

The town of Shelburgh expanded quickly to accommodate its influx of residents.

The only real settlement is the city (formerly just the town) of Shelburgh itself, having expanded significantly to accommodate the larger population, making it just over half the size of City Morcourt. The question of who rules is an interesting one. Shelburgh is officially run by Mayor Jared Cauldworth, a rather overworked wight that has held the position since before the collapse and done what he can to keep up with the growth of his charge. Beyond this, the city is helped along and maintained significantly by the city council.

Beyond the safety of the city walls it is a rather bleak land though, primarily wilderness with little wildlife. The land is cold, though not bitter enough to present a great deal of danger to the well prepared traveller. No, the true danger lies with the feral undead that roam the plains and forests.

Demographics

The vast majority of people in Shelburgh County are of the intelligent, undead variety though some fiends and some outcasts among the living also fit in well enough. Vampires are very few and far between here, most having migrated (or rather retreated) to Greater Morley following the Countess’ failure to exert control. Some of the more reasonable ones do remain though, equally put off by the decadence of their kin.

Undead servants are less common here but still feature in daily life, performing what tasks are needed and beneath the general populace.

Law, Crime and Punishment

Shelburgh is probably the most recognisable place in terms of law and order when compared to more classically civilized parts of the world, and no wonder given those that occupy it. Keeping the peace is at the forefront and the people’s rights respected, for the most part. While the laws themselves are fairly reasonable, enforcement is still harsh and even cruel, making examples of those that would threaten the stability of their haven.

Some of the more minor, fringe laws can change rather frequently at the whim of the city council, itself being a rather frequently shifting group of ‘well meaning’ citizens.

Diplomacy

Shelburgh County’s stance on its neighbours is rather straightforward, to deal with whoever is left. They know well that a conflict between Bleak Spire and Greater Morley will come before either turn their attention towards the city. Unofficially their preference would be for a Morley victory, mostly because this would be the far easier obstacle to surmount than the highly militarized forces of Lord Izaaks.

Otherwise they maintain an uneasy peace with the necromancers of Bittermarch. Trade between the two is maintained and the necromancers occasionally cross into the wider Shelburgh County plains looking to enslave the feral undead. The uneasiness is mostly insofar that those intelligent undead who break free of their masters often find refuge within the city of Shelburgh, starting their new unlives there. At this time no major incident has occurred off the back of this, though both sides feel it may be a matter of time.

The Wilderness

Vast swathes of land, often furthest from those pockets of civility within each county and collectively referred to as 'The Wilderness' in most cases, if not by a specific name. They are among the most dangerous places to travel within Old Scarlet and perhaps even on Siacros itself.

The Wasted Lands

Dread Wraiths are worryingly common at night.

The largest stretch, that which is referred to as the 'Wasted Lands' , bridges the border of all counties, but mostly Greater Morley and County Shelburgh. It is primarily a cold plain of perpetually withering grass, tainted by the overuse of necromantic magic both active and ambient. Here it is not uncommon to find wandering zombies, ghouls and other mindless undead though these are far from the worst things you'll find.

Sticking to the badly kept roads and pathways might see a traveller only mildly harassed and threatened, but venturing off into the wilderness itself will reveal the presence of worryingly powerful undead, remnants of the past and other strange necromantic phenomena. Weapons of past wars, be they stitched abominations of flesh or powerfully animated warriors, still seek to deal death as they were instructed back then and the tortured spirits of powerful, dread wraiths and spectres haunt the nights. Even the wildlife has changed to become more akin to 'wilddeath', zombified wolves, rabbits and deer all playing out their mimicry of animal life. It is said that these creatures remain so plentiful on account of a certain pull, drawing the dying to this place so they might rise again and again.

Pale Riders

A typical Pale Rider on the plains.

Of the least explained phenomena are the Pale Riders. In many ways they resemble the archetypical depiction of Death, the Daemonic Horseman, a shrouded figure on a skeletal or otherwise undead steed, though enough notable differences exist to disprove the surface level connection.

These riders are almost always seen alone, with the few exceptions giving no indication that they communicate to one another or even really acknowledge the other's existence. Most times they appear at a distance (often during misty and foggy weather) and follow travellers, watching them but never approaching. Rarely they are can be found lingering near the recently deceased, fallen undead or otherwise, seemingly just staring at the dead before riding off. If approached in any scenario they either stand their ground and do nothing or slowly canter off.

Getting too close or attacking them almost always provokes a simple but final response in kind, a slowly raised skeletal finger outstretched to the source of their ire and followed by instantaneous death with no exception. Whatever the effect, it seems to work just as well on the undead as the living themselves. Usually, after inflicting a casualty, the rider will leave unless further assaulted. The only other mysterious deaths linked to these beings are those that die in their sleep upon the wastes, usually under the distant and watchful gaze of a Pale Rider.