For as long as memory there has been a low level of magic use among humans, though such individuals who demonstrated magical skills tended to be seen more as wise women and cunning men than malevolent witches or sinister warlocks. Their weak skills meant that the likelihood of their summoning armies of giants to dominate the region, or dabbling with the netherworld powers, was very small. The feats they could do were more along the lines of increasing the yield from a milk cow, or mending holes in pots, divining for water or healing minor scrapes and injuries. Since the Fairies gave humankind the key to greater magicks, however, there has been the emergence of the mad archmage, fully capable of wrecking whole environments, of raising armies of the dead and other such feats. Magicians are now often held in suspicion by the bulk of the population. Even the sort of individual which was once a valued member of the village is now seen as somewhat different. The few who do transcend the petty magicks and become proper wizards are generally feared and mistrusted. There are simply too many stories of the terrors that evil or mad mages have inflicted on the people for them to be widely accepted members of society.

As a consequence mighty magicians are few and far between, and most live away from the centres of population. Some of the more enlightened among the nobility support individual wizards, and still more seek out individuals such as the Warty Ones or the Witch of Eye for advice or aid, but more than one wizard who dared to live amongst the people has found himself the target of an angry mob after some minor misfortune has struck the community. These anti-magic attitudes are generally much stronger in Thestria and especially Voorland, where some churches even promote the feeling. See also Wizardry, Orders of.

Magical items are rare in the world. Wizards occasionally put enchantments upon staves, and create wands to help their endeavours; hedge wizards claim to create magical charms and elixirs that are then sold to the gullible, the desperate and the wealthy. In the legends there are stories of strange and wondrous devices created for specific purposes, and some churches claim to possess specially blessed items imbued with the power of the gods. But the average person sees none of these things in their entire life.

Rarest of all are enchanted weapons and armour. Wizards, who almost alone have the power to make such things, are generally uninterested in doing so. Creating magical items is complicated, expensive and exhausting, and it is generally seen as pointless to enchant a suit of armour that will just go to some mistrustful, unthankful knight. There are some such things, of course, but many of these are legendary, like the sword Thesuril.

See Great Lord.

A trio of large mountains that stand in formation in the centre of the Eastern Plains of Tafaszes.

A mysterious man of Ghorgandi background, who appears to be older than he seems.

Trial by combat. Under the King's Law trial by combat is only allowed as an option in cases of accusations of treason and for certain crimes grievous. The option can only be taken by the accused, not the prosecution. The accused can ask for the manduel to be to first blood, to incapacitation or to the death. In cases of treason the accused is taken to court and has his manduel with the King's Champion. When the crime is merely grievous the presiding magistrate first calls for a volunteer to stand in the Champion's place. If no volunteer steps forward, the trial is delayed and the magistrate orders the accused taken to court to face the King's Champion. Strictly no magic is allowed in the manduel, and the fighting must be hand-to-hand. Other than these restrictions there is no limit on the weapons and protections permitted for the fight.

If the champion is victorious the accused is deemed to be guilty of the alleged crime, and suffers the normal penalty for that crime. If the accused bests the champion he is deemed not guilty and released. If the accused has been taken to court to face the King's Champion it is his own responsibility to return himself home.

A member of the Slavers Guild of Atabash.

A silver piece. Standard unit of currency in the Kingdom. See Money.

One of the great Offices of State. The Marshal is the battlefield leader of the King's armies when the King is absent.

Title of the ruler of the Grand Duchy of Thestria. One of the titles carried by the King of Montour.

An incorporated body of merchants from Shalgreth. They have a contractual arrangement with the crown of Montour enabling them to travel freely without let or hinder by local law enforcement, tolls and tariffs. As a result they have become very wealthy.

King of Montour (50-71)

King of Montour (279-303). Michael II conquered Thestria in 293.

King of Montour (303-316)

Most of the armies recruited by Prince Erling and Duke Simon Garnier to fight during the Restitution have been disbanded and sent home, and the Regency has retained only a small force under the Regent's direct control. In times of war he relies on the contingents supplied by the nobles (either through levies or by contractual arrangements) and the men owed by the towns as part of their incorporation agreements, as well as mercenary forces paid directly through the fisc and controlled by royal captains.

These professional forces are supplemented by militias called out by Lord Lieutenants. These militias are generally poorly equipped and trained and are typically only used for local defence.

Only the King, his nobles, the City, the Orders and some Churches are allowed to maintain more than 200 men under arms. Mercenary companies, providing they are registered and licensed, can have up to 100 members. Any unregistered, unauthorised armed force of more than 10 individuals will generally be seen as bandits, radiers or rebels, and prone to harassment, if not outright attack, by other soldiers.

See alsoRoyal Navy.

(b.327) Voorish noble. Moligok was the son and heir of Golem, King of the Horsetamers but was forced into exile in 353 for his opposition to Sir Daniel de Vabre. Along with his brother Katorga, several warriors, his wife Vetla and her slaves, Moligok settled in southern Breakingdale.

The standard unit of currency in Montour is the silver mark (sm). A gold piece does exist, but it is rare and quite valuable. It is called the pound (pd) and is worth 10 sm. Copper coins exist in large numbers. They are worth 1/50th of a mark, and come in various denominations, 1, 5, 10, 25. These are quite similar in size, and only the stamp provided by the royal mint makes the 25 worth more than the 1. The copper coins are called pennies (pn). Other coins, from foreign nations, and, especially, old Imperial Castrovian coins from Thestria, are occasionally found. They are worth only their weight in silver or gold, if they are accepted at all. There have been occasional finds of caches dating to the old dwarfen period, as well.

Only the royal mints have the right to create coinage, and the crown guards this right jealously. Forgery is a common practise, but the penalties for being convicted of this crime grievous are severe.

An incorporated town on the lower reaches of the River of the Woods.

Count of Ravandil. The richest man in the Kingdom, thanks to his widespread trading concerns, private fleet of ships and control of the Ravandil docks.

An incorporated town near the upper reaches of the River of the Woods. Montcoal is the last major centre reached on the road between Montour and Valliore.

(b.290) Grand Matriarch of Montour (since 335).

The once famed gold mines of the Mount Or are now virtually worked out, and the capital is now focussed on agriculture. The farmlands of the rolling hills surrounding Montour are some of the richest in the kingdom, and support a large rural population. The wines grown around here are the best in the realm, and some light forestry is undertaken in the Kingswood. However, a large number of artisans have established themselves here to service the royal court, and the city is also a stop on the trade route between Shalgreth and the south and Valliore. In some vastly extended caverns deep in the Montour mines lives the great old dragon Gagravax.

Montour sits atop a sheer-sided hill, which rises to a height of about 800' at its southwestern end. The top of this semi-plateau measures about 1.5 miles from northeast to southwest, and is only 3000' across at its widest point. The overall shape is somewhat like a teardrop, with the rounder and taller end that facing the southwest. It is surrounded all sides by a tower-studded wall, and has three gates. The main gate is on the southern side of the city, approached by a winding, zig-zag road, which is itself defended along its progress by no fewer than 5 massive gatehouses and ramparts on the side facing away from the city.

The other two gates are smaller, little more than glorified sally ports. Their approach roads are narrow and very steep, unsuitable for wheeled vehicles and most animals must be walked, not ridden. They are located on the northeastern and northwestern ends of the city.

The entire mountain is riddled with abandoned dwarfen delvings, as in former times there were very rich seams of gold to be had within. Most of these tunnels are now unexplored, and most of the known entrances have been sealed up. Major exceptions are an area directly underneath the Royal Quarter, which has been expanded to form large storage caverns, and another section in the east, which serve as burial catacombs. In addition, in one of the deeper caverns, reached by a long series of large tunnels leading to the southeastern slope, rests the great dragon Gagravax. About 100 years ago one of the most heavily tunnelled areas on the northern flank of the mountain collapsed after an earthquake, taking a section of the walls and a few blocks of the city down with it. The resulting gash in the city was named the Tumbles, and was carefully stabilised by dwarf artisans from Rakrast and re-walled. In the Tumbles valley, however, a small community of outcasts, hermits and the like established itself in the caves that the earthquake opened up. The slopes of the Tumbles are even steeper than the rest of the scarp, and many of the cave dwellings can only be accessed by ladder.

At the foot of the mount where the main access road reaches the flat, a suburb, called the Undertown, has built up. This suburb houses some 1500 people. Undertown is unfortified.

In the city proper, the higher one climbs, the more exclusive the quarters get, until, at the highest point, at the southwest end of the city, one reaches the Royal Quarter, separated from the rest of the city by its own wall and a great ditch.

The crown has long forbidden the city to become incorporated, and instead of a mayor and council the city is governed directly by the Lord Chancellor's office on behalf of the crown. One important bylaw that has been instituted is the banning of all missile-casting weapons and all weapons of medium size or larger, as well as armour, except for nobles, knights and official law enforcement types. While being taken to and from lodgings, armour must be removed and stowed, and arms must be stowed or peace-bonded.

Goddess of healing, protection, life, the arts, learning, patronage of marriage and children. She is the mother of Tarastia, Kandarian and Solana.

The Great Goddess appears to be an ageless woman of dignified bearing and kindly visage.

The Mother is venerated by almost everybody, especially the poor and peasantry. Her priests are the most common in the realm. Every village, no matter how small, has its local priest, who often acts as doctor, midwife, teacher and counsellor. Low-level ministers are called Brother and Sister (since all are children of the Mother), while the prelates of the church are called bishop, archbishop and patriarch/matriarch There is a notable difference in the attitudes of the churches of Montour and Thestria, especially as Castrovian doctrine holds it allowable for priests to wear armour and fight, if only defensively. The Church of Montour has its main basilica in Montour and is headed by a Grand Matriarch, who answers to the head of the church in Valliore. The Church of Castrovia, once governed the Thestrian domain from its main church in Tharkad, but is now ruled by an archbishop in Sardeth, since the old cathedral was taken over by the Montese church. The Castrovian Church is technically under the suzerainty of the Patriarch of Castrov, but since Castrov has been occupied by the Gel the Thestrian Church has basically been autonomous. Relations between the two churches are generally peaceful, though there are occasional spats over doctrine. Since both branches claim members who can perform minor miracles, neither side can claim sole legitimacy.

(b.309) King of the Blooddrinker tribe of Voors. In his youth he was a mighty warrior, but in the last few years he has got less active and turned to fat. A close ally of the Montese of Breakingdale, and in particular with Sir Mordoc Torsilley, with whom he claims some blood relations. Muchbled is not an ally with the druids, who he claims hold the Voor people back through foolish adherence to tradition. His brother, Jarrm the Skeletal (d.353) attempted a coup with the backing of the druids, and this has further inflamed Muchbled's dislike of their kind.