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

(286-335*) Twice-Queen of Montour

Goddess of forests, wild animals, and the hunt. She was once assaulted by an amorous-minded Hadur, and shot his eye out.

Elysia is normally portrayed as A young woman, long of hair (usually light) and long of limb, either dressed in hunting leathers and carrying a bow, or in a simple sleeveless dress, with flowers in her hair. She is often accompanied by young deer or unicorns in the latter guise.

Elysia has followers among the rural people. The main temple of Elysia is located in the forest outside of Monistral.

The dwarfen term for a fairy. See Fairy.

(b.314) Montese knight and one-time King's Champion. A powerfully-built man from a minor gentry family of the Warlands, Emeron attracted the patronage of Duke Simon Garnier and, through him, of King Vandrad. Sir Emeron was more thug than paragon of knightly virtues, functionally illiterate and not a sound leader of men, but he performed admirably during the Crusade of 337. A frequent victor of tourneys, Emeron was named King's Champion following the rise of Duke Simon to the chancellery.

Sir Emeron was a leading figure in the Garnier army that fought at the Ford of Harloc, but he met defeat at the hands of Werner the Grey and his enchanted sword. Vanquished, he fled with the remnants of the faction to the Isles. He returned to the kingdom openly in 358, leading a Dornite force on a mission to rescue Lady Julienne du Valier. He was defeated by Duke Raymond du Plessey and Hugo du Valier at Brecourt Manor and was last seen fleeing towards the coast.

Goddess of the dead and the Underworld. She is served by 10 Judges of the Underworld, who determine the fate of the dead, as well as by the Reaper, one of her sons. Her other son is Hadur, and Her daughter is Niyl. In times of war enemy armies are ritually sacrificed to Her and cursed in Her name.

The Empress is usually depicted as a woman of indeterminate age and of stern visage, dressed in a severe white dress, seated upon a throne in a deep dark cavern. She is often accompanied by a raven or an owl. The one is symbolic of death, the other of wisdom.

There are no large temple complexes devoted to the Empress, but every graveyard or cemetery has a stone shrine built in the middle of it. This tomb-like structure is the location for all funeral services. It is completely unadorned except for a stone bier. All services are conducted here, with the doors closed and the room lit only by candles, before the body is removed for burial. Living quarters for the priests are underneath the building, as if the priests are already in their tombs. Some more important or wealthy families are buried in crypts underneath the temple. The Empress demands no sacrifices from her followers, knowing that everything will come to her in time anyway.

A city of Karakiraz.

(316-358) Prince of the Kingdom and former Regent. The oldest acknowledged child of King Vandrad and Queen Ekaterina (see Anne), Prince Erling early opposed the craven policies of Duke Simon Garnier towards the Gel Empire, and was forced into exile by that nobleman. The Prince returned in 353 at the head of an army of mercenaries paid for by King William of Valliore, and defeated the Garniers at the Ford of Harloc. Thereafter he assumed the regency for his dotard father. Although widely considered the greatest soldier in the kingdom, Erling seemed powerless to stop the continuing raids on the coasts launched by the Dornites, although he introduced various measures which were of some use, including the expansion of the Royal Navy and the division of the Kingdom into defence provinces each with a Lord Lieutenant to coordinate defence. In 358, Erling, against the advice of Count Brian Monroy, took his newly-launched flagship out of Ravandil to intercept a reported raid. The top-heavy ship capsized in heavy seas and sank with all hands.

Erling was married to Isabelle, daughter of Duke Raymond of Aguiliers. They had three children- ~Michael (b.346); Catherine (b.352) and Melissa (b.356). He also acknowledged as his Zaria (b.336), a daughter by a minor Thestrian noble.

Prince Erling relied on a small circle of intimate friends, retainers and allies to advise and assist him. For the most part, they were childhood friends or attached themselves to him during his period of exile in Valliore. While the people of the kingdom came to respect if not love the Prince-Regent, there was never a great fondness for the number of foreigners in his train. Several of the more important members of the Inner Circle were-

• Verdelet
• Trikesia
• Comte Konnradin of Raracas
• Earl Alrik of Requer
• the Grayson Brothers
• Count Roger de Rayno of Harloc
• Lord Robert Fitzshaws

Once an almost purely feudal state based on the relationship between territorial lords and the crown, the Kingdom of Montour has changed into one in which bastard feudal relationships, based on money fiefs and indenture contracts, are now the norm. While most noble estates remain concentrated in certain areas, these estates are by no means single blocks of territory. There is nothing unusual in the Duke of Aguiliers, say, owning large estates just outside the walls of Darklairstead, or for pockets of land within the Duke's estate which belong to the crown, or to a monastery or a minor lord. Noble estates can be alienated to others, and more than one lord has lost his whole estate in surrender of debts to some merchant. Many in this circumstance appeal to the crown to redeem their land, but not many are successful. However, since most nobles see their estates as really belonging to their heir, such events are uncommon.

Many of the lesser lords have little or no landed estate, and their means of living come from pensions and retainers paid as cash by the throne or a great lord. These lords (they are referred to disparagingly as pillar lords“ by the landed nobles, for they seem to stand around the court doing little) typically come from non-noble backgrounds and have reached their position through services rendered to the king through his Household offices.