Sabadell
The region of Sabadell (pronounced: sah-bah-DELL) is a lush green haven for the farmers and merchants who live just outside of the great city of Gelene and the suburban Gelene Outskirts. It is for the most part a very peaceful land, and that attitude has meant that over the years very little war or strike has touched the region. Sabadell itself is a large division of land, but the populace is sparsely spread.
It offers only average output of food and gold, but what it does contribute to the realm is of the highest quality. What the region lacks in production, it gains in character and beauty - the Mountain of Woe can been seen in the distance by the peasants farming, and is a perfect backdrop to the bluebell meadows and rolling green seas of grass.
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Climate
Sabadell is an inland region that has historically enjoyed warm and fresh weather. The sun maintains hot weather in Sabadell for nearly seven whole months each year. Summers are prosperous - warm and rainy conditions allow the local farmers to enjoy great crops and have no difficulty with famine. The excellent irrigation allows the water to leave the region through ditches, creeks and small rivers to nourish the bordering regions.
While the summers are extremely pleasant, as the seasons progress and autumn and winter arrive, the region does get bitter cold at times. For the most part, however, Sabadell is a temperate region that experiences very few extremes which would be considered harsh weather - thus its people tend to be happy and healthy, often more than their neighbors. Sabadell often attracts people from the surrounding regions who are looking for respite away from the scolding hot summers experienced in Gelene, or the violently cold and difficult seasons seen in the mountain ranges.
The main good produced in the north is wheat, as the rainfall through winter creates a perfect ground for the plant to take hold and grow fruitfully. Thanks to the warmer summers the south is rich in vineyards like its neighbor Ammando, although the relatively high amount of precipitation provides grapes of lesser quality than the east of Ammando.
Geography
According to a local legend the region owes its name to a giant who ruled the southern part and protected his people against monsters from the mountains in the west. When he grew old, he desired to continue to protect his tribe and changed into a hill, so the monsters would change their trajectory. Thus he could protect his tribe for all eternity. The hill, however, also changed the course of the rivers, so the people grew angry and planned to remove it. Ionia and Etrani, the daughters of Sabadell, were torn with grief due to this ingratitude and rushed up the hill, where they shed their tears for their father and thus they changed into rivers, which provided the lands behind the hill again with water. Their tribesmen honored the daughters by planting vineyards along the Etrani (her favorite fruit) and trees along the Ionia (she always loved to have animals around her).
The forest around the Ionia separates the region into a north and south part. The most important town is Jonaford, which is situated where the northern road crosses the Ionia. The hill Sabadell also belong to the jurisdiction of Ionia and used to be te residency of the counts of Sabadell, from which they exacted toll from travelers passing north or south of the hill. It is because of this that the north and south became one region despite their differences. After the collapse of Astrum, the hill was deserted and the Westgardian senators seated in Ecester, which was much safer.
A trade route from Gelene to Eidulb largely follows the Etrani, which has hardly seen any monster incursions. So compared to the north there are quite a few larger towns. From east to west: Etranbury, Langing, Espring, Dyzig, Vinstow, Ackey, Ecester, Burnsted, Ashsted and Wesbury. The chiefest of these towns is Ecester, which is the starting point for the road north and the seat of the Westgardian senators.
On the north side of the forest is the plain of Northrich. Thanks to the Mountain of Woe the land has many creeks, the most important one being the Gelene, which flows to the city that bears its name. The Brenna starts at the southern foothills of the Mountain of Woe and flows into the Gelene. The Kowmer starts at the north of the hill of Sabadell and flows through the south of the plains into the Gelene. Finally the Liger forms the border with Forguthrie and Zereth. The most important towns of the north are Brennaborg (build at the junction of the Brenna and the Gelene by orders of Senator Marcus D Luffy to protect the north against raids), Esquery (a town of masons at the foothills of the Mountain of Woe) and Ardast (where the Kowmer meets the Gelene).
Native Plants and Animals
The region of Sabadell is home to a great number of plants, birds, beasts and animals of all colors shapes and sizes. While the region does not command as much plant life as many of its neighbors, it is home to one of the most beautiful landscapes: the bluebell meadows in the north are a famous feature of the land, causing many a traveler to lose their breath as they look upon the rolling blue sea. Outsiders have been known to mistake these fields for gentle oceans, until (much to their embarrassment) they approach and find that the blue is but plant life swaying in the gentle breezes of the countryside.
The most prominent creatures found in the countryside are small field mice, as well as the falcons that prey on them. When walking across the great fields of Sabadell, it is easy to see these two icons of the land - mice gathering food, and falcons soaring overhead looking for a nice lunch. There are a great deal of other creatures that call Sabadell home, but most are small animals that scavenge for food. The forest in the center was originally only home to deer and foxes, but Meginhard Brennaborg also released hogs in the western forest. There are no large predatory creatures roaming the land.
Economy
Farmers make up a majority of the population in this region, and tend to trade amongst themselves for goods and services. Sabadell is a self-sufficient region, and rarely needs to rely on any surrounding areas for their livelihood. Trade usually passes through: in the south between Gelene and Eidulb, in the north between Gelene, Shrine of Seeklander and Gaston. What little trade is done in Sabadell mostly happens at farmer's markets in some of the southern communities near the border of Gelene Outskirts, Ammando and Eidulb Outskirts. People from the towns bordering the great cities have been known to come to Sabadell looking for some "local flavor", returning with some of the farmed goods sold at these markets.
Sabadell is not a major source of agricultural products and rural goods, but what it produces, Gelene needs. Lumber from Ionia and stone from the foothills of the Mountain of Woe make their way to the great city in the east. Also the wheat of Northrich is needed to feed the city. It is said that the combination of these materials made Westgard particularly keen on keeping the province, while neighboring regions were abandoned after the Great Rush West.
In the south wine is produced at a large scale, but wine from Ammando is more popular. Meanwhile hunting is done in Ionia and attracts rich young men from Gelene, who enjoy the sport. Merchants who try to sell wine from Sabadell do this by claiming it has a 'wilder' taste than its Ammandan counterpart.
People
Sabadell is not a culturally unified region. The people of Ionia are considered to be the original inhabitants. They are very distrustful to outsiders, but Gelenian merchant claim that once you break though the tough outer shell, the Ionians are kindest of all people in the world. The people of Etrani have more in common with Ammando and would still be considered part of it if the counts on hill Sabadell had not claimed it for themselves. The people of Northrich have more in common with the people of Aquitain. The harsher life in the north causes the northerners to look at the south with both contempt and envy. The northerners often consider the southerners if not outright lazy at least not as hardworking.
Sabadell is made up of mostly farmers and traders, and there is no long standing militaristic culture here. As such, its citizens are not particularly good infantry soldiers or bowmen. Those soldiers that do call Sabadell home are good people, loyal to the army and follow orders diligently - they simply do not have any great skill that sets them apart from their peers. The major danger the citizens faced were the roaming hordes of monsters plaguing the west. In the past these beasts largely ignored the farming population of Sabadell, instead focusing their blind rage on the mountainmen further west. As the monster threat grew and spread, it overran the mountains and descended into the plains below. The locals lived in constant fear of monster and undead uprisings, until the military reforms of Marcus D Luffy, who enforced training with the bow among all men in Sabadell.
Politics
Despite their loyal nature, the people of Sabadell can be a fiercely independent group. A number of times in its early history, the region decided that it wished to rule itself, and thus expelled the rule of the local Lord, in favor of local peasant rule. Under Westgardian rule the area was secured against monsters and the rebellious attitude has since subsided.
Everguard Period (April 23, 2008 - May 17, 2009)
- Arthur Spindle (April 23 - 27, 2008) was the first to settle on hill Sabadell and commenced to exact toll from people passing his hill. The following day his tax collectors were killed by insurgents, who assembled and attcked the hill a day later. Despite being outnumbered, the self declared count easily beat the rabble and continued building his castle. Three days later, however, a newly assembled mob succeeded in routing the count and Sabadell regained its independence.
- Inagon II Gamgon (June 21 - July 14, 2008) reclaimed the region for Everguard. He crushed an initial rebellion, but when he was out on an expedition, the peasants took possession of the fortifications on the hill and declared themselves independent again.
- Sabadell then was ruled by a man whose name is not found in the records of Everguard and locals simply remember him as 'Chief'. Chief had let the revolt against Inagon II and defended the region against further assaults from Gelene. Everguard decided to change its strategy and on October 9, 2009, Chief signed an agreement in which he voluntarily joined the realm. Although later propaganda from Astrum claims Chief was pressured into an agreement, the original document has been rediscovered in the library of Gelene and scholars agree the terms of the agreement were beneficial to both Sabadell and Everguard.
- Loki Ravenwulf (March 2 - May 17, 2009) was the last Everguard count. When Astrum started to gain territory on Everguard, it was feared that the local lord of Sabadell would change sides, so he was imprisoned and replaced with Loki Ravenwulf. Although Loki successfully increased the defensibility of the region, he was ousted with the help of the local population, which was angry about the betrayal of Chief.
Astrum Period (May 17, 2009 - 2014)
On May 17, 2009, Channing Harte was hailed as a liberator and succeeded in wresting the territory from Everguardian control. Under Astrumese leadership the keep on Sabadell was completed. The Astrumese also brought Sanguis Astroism to the region, which helped pacify Sabadell further.
As a remote border region, Sabadell, however, did not receive full attention from Astrum and historical accounts were not kept by counts who were sometimes not much more than robbers. Because of this, it is not clear how long Astrum controlled this region, but during the Great Monster Invasion, monsters overran the west and were attracted by the castle clearly visible on the hill. Astrum was forced to pull back and the locals destroyed the castle to prevent a renewed habitation from attracting monsters.
Westgard Period (2015 - present)
Initially Westgard had a hard time to expand outside Gelene, eventually Sabadell, however, became a solid Westgardian border region - even after the collapse following the Great Rush West. Paradoxically, Sabadell became more peaceful when the monsters became more dangerous by learning how to swim. This meant that monsters, normally directed at Sabadell, now had other targets to go to. Westgard expanded westward and Sabadell became a safe province. Due to the Gold Sea Conflict and ensuing civil strife, Westgard shrunk and Sabadell became a border region again. The north suffered a lot because of this and lost much of its economic significance.
- High King Gheric Arylon (February 2 - December 18, 2020) was forced to abandon his estate in Walefishire and decided to settle in Sabadell, which up to that point was ruled by local lords. Although Gheric would resettle to Eidulb, Sabadellians still take great pride in having housed a king.
- Lowry Cameron (December 18, 2020 - July 22, 2022) was entrusted the king's estate when Gheric left for Eidulb. He popularized Sabadell Wine and hunting parties in Ionia forest, thus increasing the wealth of the south. This earned him a position as banker, in which capacity he wrote a treatise on provincial management, which served as a standard to later senators. On July 30, 2021, Lowry was crowned High King - again something Sabadell prides itself of. Even though Lowry became High King for life, he decided to step down after protests from the nobility. As a reward for his cooperation, he was granted the much richer Ammando.
- Marcus D Luffy (August 8 - October 18, 2022) was appointed by Duke Sparticus II Bathgate of Gelene with a the responsibility to secure the food production of northern Sabadell. He enacted military reforms , the most important ones being the building of a fortress in the plains (the Brennaborg) and enforced training with the bow for all men. When he had implemented his reforms, he retired to his estate.
- Meginhard Brennaborg (October 18 - November 29, 2022) had been tasked by Marcus to build the Brennaborg. When Marcus retired, he left the management of Sabadell to Meginhard. When Westgard expanded to Gaston, Meginhard moved his estate to Forguthrie.
- Aelius Rousselor (November 29, 2022 - present)
