They say the Domain of Hawkmoon was carved with a robber’s knife and bought with robber’s gold.  Encircled by the treacherous Scar-in-the-Sky Peaks and the Moonsilver Sea, the Domain is geographically isolated, its borders forming a natural barrier against invaders—as well as a wall to dissuade its inhabitants from leaving.  The region is said to be a haven of footpads, a place of succor for criminals fleeing persecution.  There is indeed a bit of truth to these rumors, as the Domain was first settled three hundred years ago by marauders seeking a refuge against the armies of those nations they’d violated.  Echoes of this grim legacy can still be heard today.

A thousand years ago, on the first recorded Moonless Night, a storied civilization began to dwindle and die. That civilization was composed of a race of humans called the Yalts.

The Yalts rose from the grave of the Age of Silence, and over the next two millennia developed into the greatest kings the planet of Kophyri has yet known. This was long before the Domain of Hawkmoon was ever established on Kophyri.  This era, known as the Age of Kings, encompassed the rule of seven different Yaltic dynasties, some lasting over 100 years and spanning several generations. A golden age on Kophyri, Yaltic rule predated Hawkmoon and saw the world’s great discoveries: advances in science and medicine, knowledge and magic, and peace and prosperity. Then the moon quit her orbit and gave up the sky.

With the vanishing of the moon, it wasn’t long that the first Dark Knockers emerged, hungry for chaos and blood.

The generally peaceful Yalts were unable to cope with the horrors that unfolded on the Moonless Night. Soon their civilization began to collapse. People were terrified. They revolted, they fled, or they died. Being a markedly nonaggressive people, the Yalts suffered more than the dwarves, elves, or neljis of that day, trying to hold the fabric of their culture together and protect those who lived under their monarchs’ beneficent rule. They failed. The land was overrun by Dark Knockers, the populace decimated. The Yalts gathered what was left of their people, built tall ships, and sailed into the dawn, intent on rebuilding their peaceful society in some idyllic setting.

Legend holds that most of the Yaltic ships made landfall on a beautiful isle of coral, where they became known as the Coralites and prospered for generations.  Some of their ships, however, broke off from the main flotilla and followed a particularly disgruntled captain to a new land, a land where they could arm themselves and protect their families at all costs from the Dark Knocker excursions.  The Coralite city, Coralis, became a city of legend, encountered rarely by wayward travelers and built up in mortal minds as the earthly abode of the gods.  The separatists followed a wounded hawk to shore and named their new land Hawkmoon.

Anarchy shortly ensued.

The settlers were by and large an unruly group, being comprised of malcontent Yalts who had seen too many loved ones slain by the ruthless beings from below.  These men and women fell immediately to fighting.  Unable to select a leader by democratic selection, they settled their differences with force.  Strong-handed warriors quickly surrounded themselves with bravos to enforce their wishes and protect their territory.  Though the land was free for anyone able to vanquish the roaming monsters—bugbears, lamias, ankhegs, ettins, mephits, and other fiends—only a few proved hearty enough to survive the rigors of life in the wild.  Word of this lawless territory spread to the Gilded Kingdoms of the distant north, and soon boats of runaway slaves, thieves, opportunists, wanted criminals, explorers, and daredevils alighted on Hawkmoon shores.  These are the types of folk who would eventually build cities, plow farmland, and construct the crude framework of society.

Today, five centuries later, a relative peace prevails.

At the heart of the Domain is the city of Hawkmoon, an independent city-state that answers to no foreign power.  The land outlying the city—the Domain itself—is officially a protectorate of Hawkmoon but not part of the sovereign state itself.  In other words, though Hawkmoon troops patrol the land, the Outfolk (as those beyond the city walls are called) are not beholden to the crown nor in any way obliged to follow its mandates.  The Outfolk pay no taxes to the mayor of Hawkmoon, though they do use his city as the primary base for the selling of their crops and manufactured goods.  This strange dichotomy is the result of the region’s oldest and most revered tradition:  Our ancestors came here to escape authority’s oppressive grasp, and we shall not dishonor them by submitting.

The Domain of Hawkmoon, then, still teeters on the brink of chaos.
Surprisingly, there is very little violence in the area.  For the most part, the denizens are hardworking folk, mainly farmers, ranchers, fishermen, and miners.  Without the burden of taxes, they are able to earn enough money through their respective vocations to enjoy happy if simple lives.  However, as the mayor has no hand in their affairs, it’s up to them to maintain their roads, sewage systems, and other pieces of the infrastructure.  As a result, there is no consistency in road upkeep or local law enforcement.  Some towns have very equitable and efficient lawmen, while others are under the thumb of thugs who call themselves constables.  Many towns employ foreign mercenaries as law officers.  One town might impose strict penalties on gambling and prostitution, while another might be founded upon promoting such pursuits.

Murder is rare in the Domain, but robbery of various sorts is rampant.  Cattle-rustlers, grifters, safecrackers and cutpurses—the Domain has them all. But the footpads are far outnumbered by the farmers.  Much of Hawkmoon is given to agrarian activities.  Wheat and barley fields seem everywhere.  Timber-cutting is also a common trade.  The exchange of goods from one end of the Domain to the other is facilitated by the mighty Delhari River, which is navigable nearly its entire length.  River culture is rich.  Bargemen and ferrymen represent a colorful and somewhat peculiar niche in society.

In lieu of taxes, the merchants of the Domain find their money going to support groups of bounty hunters and trackers colloquially known as Trunchers.  Part constables and part mercenaries, the Trunchers are sponsored by certain towns or business consortiums to keep the area free of those who would prey on shipping lines.  Not surprisingly, the quality of the Truncher groups ranges dramatically, from the honorable to the execrable.  Again, the only thing consistent from one Outfolk town to the next is inconsistency.

Governing the Domain—at least as much as this place can be governed—are six men and women of more or less equal power.  They are the heads of powerful families who are the heirs of the warriors who hammered order from the chaos that was the Domain of five hundred years ago.  Essentially, these six individuals are powerful and influential noblemen, soldiers, or merchants who have agreed to divide the land into six parcels, and then use their resources to shape those parcels into peaceful and productive provinces.  These six nobles are nominally of equal rank, though through the decades certain families have amassed far more resources than others.  The nobles are referred to (somewhat irreverently) as “the Graves.”  The lands they control are known as “domas.”

Altgrave.  Scar-in-the-Sky Peaks.
Burgrave.  Hawkmoon area.
Delgrave.  Delhari River between Hawkmoon and frontier.
Landgrave.  Leafton/Gaunt Wood area.
Margrave.  Southern frontier area.
Wildgrave.  Weir Wood/Mad River area, up to Swordport.

Altgrave Iskalphor maintains a holding that encompasses the Scar-In-The-Sky Peaks and all land within ten miles of the mountain range.  The Altgrave levies tolls for use of the mountain passes and effectively controls every mine in the region.  His doma is one of the least populated, yet one of the wealthiest.  His great fastness, Mount Celestius, built opposite the face of mighty Mt. Qar, is both affluent and presumably unassailable.

Burgrave Malva is perhaps the most influential and arguably the most important man in the Domain.  His doma encloses the city of Hawkmoon itself, through which all commerce flows.

Landgrave Rudemi oversees the northern portion of the Gaunt Wood and the rural farmlands to the northwest.  The Landgrave’s doma is a peaceful and bucolic one, with simple people, small villages, and rarely any trouble.  The economy is stable but entirely agrarian, so that the citizens easily sustain themselves but rarely prosper.

Margrave Nor administers the rowdy frontier lands of the *** Mountains and all points south.  The Margrave maintains the largest standing army of any of the nobles.  He is also an image of his people, being notoriously loud and short-tempered, an accomplished drinker and hunter, friend to soldiers everywhere but foe to all outsiders.

Rivgrava Liroco, the only female grave, governs the longest navigable stretch of the Dehari River, the southern portion of the Gaunt Wood, and all the land to the foothills of the mountains.  This sizable and trade-heavy doma makes the Rivgrava second only to Burgrave Malva in stature among the nobles.  She enjoys a wide array of resources, from forests to farmland to fish.

Wildgrave Ziker rules the Weir Wood and Miasmoor swamp—at least as much as those feral places can be ruled.  The Ziker family has always been saddled with this rather undesirable doma, but through the years they’ve learned to exploit it.  The Wildgrave has a strong bond with the elves of the Weir, due in no small part to the fact that his daughter is married to a renowned elven scholar.  The Wildgrave’s doma has a low population and a lack of marketable resources.

How the Domain is Governed

Every population center elects one reeve for every 500 citizens.  Towns of less than 500 people may not elect a reeve.  The reeve works with a staff appointed by the earl.  The reeve and his staff administer the town’s needs.  They have free reign to enact any type of law they desire and carry on their affairs as it suits them.  So long as the doma’s controlling city-state receives its annual tribute (a tax based on the town’s population), then the reeve and his staff may function in whatever manner they please.  It’s up to them to put together a militia (trunchers), establish trade with other towns, and take care of all problems that arise.

In the past, outlying towns have on rare occasion used their militias to attack the controlling city-state.  Victory means there’s a new controlling city-state in the doma, and likely a new Grave.  Nearly three decades have passed since such a coup last occurred, though the Graves remain very alert to the possibility.

Once a year all the reeves attend the Juris Forum in their particular doma.  The Juris Forum combines afternoon legal symposiums with evening bacchanals.  Festivals are held at this time.  Laws are meted out, political gambits won and lost.  The exact nature of the Juris Forum depends upon the attitude and traditions of each particular doma.

Trunchers:  The merchants of the Domain support groups of bounty hunters and trackers colloquially known as Trunchers.  Part constables and part mercenaries, the Trunchers are sponsored by certain towns or business consortiums to keep the area free of those who would prey on shipping lines.  Not surprisingly, the quality of the Truncher groups ranges dramatically, from the honorable to the execrable.  Again, the only thing consistent from one Outfolk town to the next is inconsistency.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:45, Fri 27 Feb 2009.