Ironwall Freeholds
Summary
Across Temu one can encounter all sorts of pocket 'cities', so called freeholds, that arose from the many nomadic clans that once spanned the land. While Temu itself is bordered in the south with massive mountains, many smaller ones dot the breadth of it. Somewhat 'sanded down' over the eons by storms from Vastia, they are wider and flatter than they are taller. These areas became valuable for mining, lending the clans quite a lot of different metals. The titular name of ironwall came about because they had so much iron they practically made their walls out of it. A fact that would come up time and again in tales of triumph as much as defeat. While Temu itself is rich in biodiversity, its alpine and temperate climates carry their own strains of hostility. Active hunting became a mainstay, and farming land hard to find–harder still to hold onto. The storms from Vastia especially played havoc on early homesteads, and only a sparing few managed to hold their ground. These holds in turn employed raiding tactics on their neighbors, sending warriors out far to acquire easy gains in goods and people. The arms race escalated from there, culminating in the freeholds that many clans banded together to form. Some continued their raiding traditions, others establishing more firm diplomatic options, creating wide-sweeping alliances. A complex webwork built its way across Temu, bonds of blood and word forged in conflict and survival. While great freeholds rose and fell over the eons, there are eight major freeholds that bend Temu around themselves in modern times.List of Freeholds
Jorna Shieldbearers
A freehold nestled in the middle of Temu, on the coastline of Mother's Shield and between two great inland seas. Thanks to their prime location, they are insanely difficult to siege, and host arguably one of the largest standing navies in Temu. They traditionally have patrolled Mother's Shield since their founding, hunting pirates, slavers, and tariff-dodging merchants. The freehold itself actually extends into the ocean, where their shermadi residents live. Those from Jorna abhor dishonor and the broken word, but they also abhor weakness in the face of adversity. As a result, while standoffish, a number of settlements ultimately call for help from them and the Jorna trade their arms for goods in exchange.Whiteflame
Located in the general south of Temu, along the coastline of Mother's Shield. They're the furthest 'southern' freehold, sitting at the mouth of two bays and Immensio within spitting distance across them. The Whiteflame operate huge swathes of land, rapidly farming in the warm seasons, and trading in the southern, warmer reaches of Immensio during winter. The balancing act lends them a fair bit of merchantile prowess, and many goods from the south ultimately flow north through them. Their titular name comes from their whiteflame torches. These torches burn even during rain and snow, making them unerringly reliable in bad weather for guidance.Windwall
Far at the northwestern end of Temu, the massive freehold of Windwall awaits. About half-way up the length of the landstrait that connects Temu to Varnkof, they act as the final hub of civilization before a vast and treacherous wilderness. Once one passes them, it can be many months more before they reach the coastal civilizations of frigidly cold Varnkof. Being on the strait, they're also smack in the middle of the storms from Vastia, and so their architecture emphasizes unyielding durability over everything else. That being said, they have unrivaled hunting grounds, decent fields for farms, and two oceans to fish with impunity. Many smaller settlements built around them, collecting these riches before sheltering in Windwall itself during storm seasons.Webwood
Situated in the largest single super-forest on Temu, Webwood is also the only principally rachtoh freehold in Temu. Thanks to their backs being against the vast mountains of northern Sa-Kemet, they enjoy a incredible defensive position. Webwood sprawls throughout the forest and into the mountains, being both vast and intricately layered in their unique topology. All sorts of craftswomen call it home, being rich in textiles, smithing, jewelry, and many more luxurious items. Remarkably, a number of dragons also live there, practicing their legendary expertise. Webwood traditionally trades with those in Akpahm, northern Sa-Kemet, and a number of freeholds in central Temu. Their goods can practically be found everywhere in Temu, though, such is the demand for them. Food is an overbearing concern of theirs, and they aggressively defend their satelite settlements from raiding attempts.Storkaed
A prominent freehold in the 'mainland' center of Temu, stretching from an advantageous position toward a military port at the tail-end of the Duskveil. Long poised to strike anywhere they could desire, Storkaed's many clans have been some of the most prominent overland raiders throughout Temu's history. When the age of settlements arrived in proper, they switched toward extortion and protection rackets, as well as choking out trade routes with tariffs. As they see conflict as a rite of passage, they are naturally strong-willed and freely bully those around them to instigate a good fight. Similarly, to prevent an inward implosion over power struggles, they'll frequently send out 'expeditions' to pillage away from the homeland.Arnkar
Across Mother's Shield is a large 'subcontinent', generally by then name of Arnkar–realm of desolation. On the storm paths from Vastia, its also buffeted frequently by the Tempest Seas, leaving its relative northern and eastern faces almost completely sanded down into vicious, barren terrain. The titular freehold of Arnkar is supposed to have been founded by criminal exiles, and indeed, many outcasts are banished to Arnkar. They have survived in spite of the cruel hands dealt to them, taming the livable portions of the subcontinent. Still, as their size increased, they needed more resources, and so turned toward raiding the coastlines of Mother's Shield. Braver groups will make landfall onto Temu proper, striking inland before retreating to their greatships. They're almost universally despised and feared, but all efforts to lay waste to their freehold has failed thus far. Because of the insanely plentiful amount of crysium on their land, their mages are capable of ridiculously expensive but powerful magics.Moibendu
Located on the large island south of Arnkar, the Moibendu freehold is closer to a monastery than the freeholds of the others. Being generally isolationist, they keep to their island and do infrequent trading with passing merchants. While at first it seems they would lack for combat training, the priestesses of Moibendu religiously study martial forms over philosophical pursuits. It could be said their interest is in physical perfection, in a roundabout manner not unlike immortality. There are other rumors, though, that their monastery sits upon a massive mountainous entrance into the Underworld. All kinds of terrible creatures emerge from it, and they fight nonstop to keep them at bay. It would certainly explain the exotic trophies and animal products they have that nowhere else in Temu seemingly has.Safu
The gateway freehold between Sa-Kemet and Temu, Safu is a mixing pot of northern desert dwellers and the central-southern peoples. As such it is a rather open freehold, with migratory tribes coming and going as the seasons dictate. While there are few trade routes heading through the deep deserts properly, no end of aspiring merchants desire to reach Atenkhet somehow. More practically it tends to be the Sa-kemet Tribes who come through. Given the relative abundance to the north, Safu makes a great deal of business in handling food and water for the desert peoples. Being close to Storkaed, though, they are constantly at odds with belligerent raiding. Those same tribes are more than willing to fight Storkaed back in exchange for vital supplies. Hence, although Safu's numbers are so-so, their actual power is tremendously higher because of how they support the northern deserts. Although each of the freeholds maintain their own distinct cultures, there is a fairly common exchange between them for the most part. Even Storkaed, belligerent as it is, can do peaceful trade on the occasion (by sending out huge party caravans full of bachelorettes, anyway). While they may call themselves different peoples as a result, there is often an acknowledgement of coming from the 'same land'. It is a kind of cultural bond harder to explain than to experience, and one that palpably gives identity to Temu as a whole.Structure
The title names vary, but every freehold is usually overseen by a queen-like analogue. Whether through merit or blood, this singular ruler acts as the main authority throughout the freehold. Some may be more of a figurehead or diplomatic existence, and usually a council underneath them operates the greater 'governmental body' of the freehold. Storkaed is a prominent example of the former, while the latter is how Webwood and Safu run their business. Veteran warriors and craftswomen usually form the surrounding body of leadership, being the heads of families, business, or war bands.
The actual power of a freehold rose and fell with the various families that lived within it. Ancient lineages with long-kept secrets sequestered their holdings, keeping a firm grasp others found difficult to dislodge. At times a virtue, others a serious problem, the constant social battles between these families form the dynamic ecosystem of each freehold. Those who could fight often kept great positions, but as easily as one could reach up there, they could be knocked down. Others, like smithing families, could eventually command timeless respect from the quality of their goods.
By their virtue of being freeholds, the many people of Temu believe in clean, simple ownership. If one bought or took it, it is theirs. If another can take it, then they were too weak to protect what is theirs. Recognizing that powerful forces can disproportionately ruin such an arrangement, certain common ideas emerged to prevent them.
Generally, whatever one can carry with them should always be theirs, and slavery as a whole is abhored. In doing so, a person could 'build themselves up again', as good clothes and a solid axe in hand is enough one needs. Indentured servitude through honor-debts, however, became a mean for one to pay in lieu of goods. Such persons were seen as wholly committed to the arrangement, and being freedom loving peoples, they were often seen through a noble lens of self-sacrifice. Most criminal offenders found various means of redemption to society through such servitude themselves.
Demography and Population
Military
The people of Temu are quite robust and hardy, well-versed in wilderness survival, squaring off against the Relentless, subduing frequent Forsaken outbreaks, and the very weather itself. Much of their training is an informal series of practical experiences and passed down wisdom from elder warriors. How well any one family or clan fares, thusly, depends on prior successes and capitalizing on them. Those who survived are those quite capable in doing so, and taking Temu head on.
Lacking any formal armies, the various warriors band together into their own micro-groups. To acquire their fighting power is to essentially win their group over, and entire military alliances become based around good charisma. Matters of succession can become tricky, especially as younger generations come into their own and start disrupting the status quo. No matter how great the pressure may be to maintain old alliances, some invariably explode for one reason or another.
Those who are attached to landed concerns, unable or unwilling to take up the warrior lifestyle, or for other reasons often form semi-permanent garrisons. These local defenders may be scorned by their free-ranging brethern, but they are committed beyond death to their locales. In that respect they become fearsomely dangerous, and with a willingness to die before others they care for are put in harms way. Given they often know local terrain and fortifications better than foreign raiders, they're the number one problem any would-be attacker thinks twice about.
Religion
Differing forms of ancestor worship mix in with deific reverence; typically around ancestors believed to have ascended to divinity in one form or another. Some common underpinnings stitch them together somewhat, such as Arnkar being a realm of oppressive punishment for evil doers. Generally, Temu itself is carved up into different 'realms', which coincides with the eight freeholds that dominate it.
Two additional realms exist, being metaphysical ones where divine beings of good or evil natures reside in. Who exactly ranks among the divine, is known for what, or holds dominion differs greatly from freehold to freehold. Safu itself is notably a freehold that follows Uatkara, albeit a very distant and heavily changed variant.
Agriculture & Industry
Hunting was, and generally remains, the primary source of edible income for Temu. Actual land farming is a varied and difficult problem due to the climates and weather patterns. Storm grass grains do very well, for example, but soft fruits like oranges struggle, while nutty fruits with hard shells endure quite well. Foraging for mushrooms, edible berries, and more uniquely quick-growing foodstuffs rounded out their diets. For those along coastlines or near rivers, lakes, and inland seas, fishing is a heavily consistent return they use on the regular.
Herding and ranching at large remained a small-time occupation until better farming methodology emerged. Since the foods didn't strictly need to be people-edible, it dramatically widened actual farming ability by simply having herd-worthy animals feed from them. Milks, meats, furs, and other products soon flowed, becoming a vital backbone Temu cannot survive without anymore. With more time settled down in one place, newer stuffs like beers took off and cemented the rise of freeholds later on.
Thanks to its plentiful metals, most freeholds have access to viable mines and their own metalworks. The quality of said metals is debatable, as most need to go through various additional steps in refinement to reach serviceable use. Quantity is a quality of its own, in a way, and so most everyone in Temu has access to metal tools, weapons, armors, and various oddities they could ever conceivably need. Combined with a long and storied history around martial warfare, and the freeholds of Temu boast considerable skill in forging their equipment. It may not stack up to the immaculate caliber of somewhere like Atenkhet or Votyoger, but they make up for it in practical experience.
Education
No real common education has existed in much of Temu's history, as familial knowledge and one's acquaintances or friends is what ends up teaching them. Books, scrolls, and tomes do exist, but the languages they're written in are of a different caliber from the 'common script' used by everyone else. Actually finding people who can teach the language so that one can read such items is a bit of an ordeal. Most are on retainer for more powerful families and the ruling elite, and the rest are often reclusive hermits or otherwise inaccessible.
Foreign scholars and missionaries, ironically, end up being the more accessible sources of formalized education. Whether to study Temu's cultures and bridge their way in, or convert the populace to some new ideology, these learned minds are quite capable detangling the messy script situation. Between them and resident mages, a patchwork understanding of 'higher' script languages is more prevalent than it ever has been.
Schools eventually sprung up because of the forge workers needing better educated people to do forge work with. Their families simply weren't large enough to do the ever-increasing amount of metalwork needed. If they were going to surrender their traditional secrets, they elected to do so by expanding their 'ownership' to a wider ideological idea. Once the results for this showed up within a few decades, all the other craftswomen took notice. They hurriedly started throwing up schools of their own, redefining the idea of 'work' one could do beyond just what their family usually did.
Its arguable these ideas ultimately took inspiration from Webwood. While great families there have long kept their secrets, they've shared commonalities to help better 'lift up' their foundations. Although not called schools per say, and not open to the public, they sought higher education for ideal people outside their families. The other freeholds might deny taking the inspiration, but it certainly fits the painting for how they designed their own methods similarly.
Type
Geopolitical, City-state
Training Level
Semi-trained
Veterancy Level
Experienced
Government System
Meritocracy
Power Structure
Feudal state
Economic System
Barter system
Location
Neighboring Nations
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