The Margrave of Araluen is the hereditary Warden of the Northern March, a noble title forged in the crucible of war and frontier duty. Tasked with the defense of the Kingdom of Caorran’s outermost border, the Margrave holds both civil and military authority over the March and commands the loyalty of viscounts, barons, and sworn bannermen alike.
Though southern Marquesses also carry the burden of guarding the frontiers, Araluen retains their older title of Margrave as a deliberate distinction, born of its deeply martial ethos and proud frontier legacy. In Araluen, the Margrave is not merely a noble commander, but the embodiment of vigilance, grit, and autonomy. The title evokes a hardened tradition where lords lead from the front, rule with tempered steel, and stand ever watchful over the realm’s edge.
The Margrave of Araluen is a warlord in both practice and spirit, a leader for whom failure could mean invasion, rebellion, or ruin. To bear this title is to carry the weight of the realm’s safety upon one’s shoulders. It is a badge of earned authority, not merely granted, and a reflection of Araluen’s enduring defiance in the face of peril.
The Margrave Consort of Araluen is the officially recognized spouse of the reigning Margrave (or Margravine) of the March of Araluen. While not sovereign in their own right, the Consort plays a vital role within the court and the broader governance of the realm.
Designated heir to the March of Araluen, the chosen scion of the Margrave, entrusted with the heavy responsibility of preparing to inherit its command, defense, and legacy. As the bearer of the coming standard, the Lord or Lady Heir stands as a symbol of the March’s enduring strength and resolve. Bound by oath and duty, they are sworn guardians of all that lies between the towering hills of the west and the last stone of the borderlands to the east.
With eyes ever watchful and a heart forged in the fires of war, they must master the art of leadership, diplomacy, and strategy to defend the March and uphold the honor of their bloodline. The weight of Araluen’s future rests upon their shoulders, as they stand ready to lead, defend, and inspire when the time comes to answer the call of destiny.
The Lord Chancellor, or Lady Chancellor, serves as the steward of justice and order within the March of Araluen. Tasked with overseeing the legal, judicial, and internal affairs of the realm, they hold the crucial responsibility of ensuring that the rule of law is upheld and that justice is dispensed fairly and impartially. The Chancellor is entrusted with the crafting and implementation of laws, addressing grievances, and maintaining the delicate balance of domestic order.
As the chief legal advisor to the Margrave, they provide counsel on matters of governance, diplomacy, and policy, and play a key role in shaping the March’s legal landscape. In addition to their legal duties, the Chancellor manages the affairs of the court, supervising both the judiciary and the legislative processes, ensuring that the March's institutions run smoothly. A figure of authority and wisdom, the Lord or Lady Chancellor is integral to the stability and governance of Araluen, ensuring the preservation of its laws and the just rule of its people.
The Lord Steward holds the vital responsibility of overseeing the governance, financial stability, and day-to-day operations of the March’s lands and household. Acting as the Margrave's trusted steward, they ensure that the economic and administrative aspects of the March run efficiently and smoothly. This includes managing the collection of taxes, overseeing the March's finances, and ensuring the proper allocation of resources for the realm’s growth and security. The Lord Steward is also charged with supervising the internal operations of the March, ensuring that estates, villages, and fortifications are properly maintained and that the needs of the populace are met. In addition, they manage the vassals and lesser lords of the March, holding authority in matters of internal policy and economic management.
The Lord Steward is empowered with delegated authority from the Margrave to make decisions that impact the realm’s day-to-day life, from organizing resources for military campaigns to overseeing infrastructure projects. A trusted administrator and financial expert, the Lord Steward plays a central role in the functioning and prosperity of Araluen, ensuring that the land remains strong, stable, and prepared for the challenges ahead.
Entrusted with the organization, discipline, and command of all standing forces and levied bannermen, the Lord Marshal is the Commander of the March, the highest military authority in Araluen. Responsible for formulating and executing military strategy during times of war, they oversee the training of soldiers, manage the allocation of resources for defense, and provide counsel to the Margrave on matters of defense and expansion.
In times of peace, the Lord Marshal ensures the readiness of the forces, maintaining a constant state of vigilance. In the heat of battle, they embody the will of the March, leading troops with both wisdom and resolve. Whether a seasoned veteran or a noble born of blood and deed, the Lord Marshal holds both sword and seal, dedicated to safeguarding Araluen’s borders, honor, and sovereignty.
The Primate of Araluen is the highest religious authority in the March, appointed by the Margrave from among the clergy of the Holy Covenant. As the spiritual leader of the Faith in the March, the Primate oversees the Covenant's teachings and ensures the purity of the faith within the realm. They guide both clergy and laity in their devotion to The Divine, representing the Light’s will in all matters of religion.
The Primate is responsible for interpreting and applying the doctrines of the Covenant, offering counsel to the Margrave and the nobility on matters of faith, virtue, and morality. They preside over important religious ceremonies, offer spiritual guidance, and lead the Faith with authority, embodying the ideals of the Holy Covenant in their actions and teachings.
A sworn vassal of Araluen, bound by oath and duty to raise, command, and lead troops in service to the March. The Bannerman must answer the call to war without hesitation, riding beneath the March’s standard, and standing as a steadfast symbol of loyalty, martial prowess, and unwavering readiness. Entrusted with the defense of the March's lands and people, the Bannerman is responsible for organizing forces, ensuring the security of their holds, and leading their troops in times of conflict.
In times of peace, they maintain their forces’ readiness, ever vigilant for the threats that may arise. With honor and dedication, the Bannerman pledges to defend the March, upholding its strength and integrity above all else.
The March of Araluen is the ancestral home of the Caorrani clan Rivacheg.
The Araluani Rulers after the Unification of Caorran:
"The wind may scatter the leaves, but the root holds fast." — Old Saying of the Border Clans
Before thrones were crowned and banners raised, there was Araluen, a land not of conquest, but of choice. When the Rathgari began their great migration from the frozen highlands of the lands of Rathgar toward the fertile western lands, not all followed the same path. Some, unwilling to abandon the ancestral ways entirely, diverged. They settled in the shadowed middlelands, between the headwaters of the Farudi River, the rising realms of Caorran, and the fading Grand Fate. Amid dense forests, wind-scoured hills, and forgotten ruins, they took root.
In their migrations, the Rathgari encountered the Farudi River Tribes, a collection of tribes who lived in deep harmony with the land, stewards of the forests and rivers that shaped the valley of the Farudi River. These tribes revered the natural world and shunned places where the wild had been stripped away. Though initially wary, some among the Farudi recognized strength in the Rathgari’s resolve and began to engage with them, fostering cautious trade and cultural exchange. Yet most clans remained distrustful, for the Rathgari’s bond with the land was one of dominion, not reverence, a stark contrast to the Farudi ethos of coexistence.
Decades later, tragedy struck. Following the sudden death of their leader, Elise Coldmoon, most of the Farudi were eradicated, some by Rathgari hands who came to see them as a threat when many of the now independent tribes demanded their expulsion, and many more by the rising kingdoms that surged across the land in the wake of the old world’s collapse. In this new age of thrones and order, there was little room for those deemed uncivilized.
After years of conflict and the death of most of the Farudi, a few of their descendants, having endured through assimilation, merged with the Rathgari. These remnants of the Farudi brought their knowledge of the land and a reverence for nature, influencing the Rathgari’s evolving culture and contributing to what would later become the Araluani way of life. The influence of the Farudi remained in the Araluani connection to the land, their customs, and their practices of living in balance with nature, though few in number.
Thus was born the Araluani, a people shaped not by destination, but by decision. While the Caorrani pressed onward and many years later forged a new Duchy under the banner of Eoghan I, the Araluani remained on the margins, close enough to feel the pull of civilization, distant enough to preserve their own.
The Araluani held to the old rites, to the austere pragmatism of their Rathgari ancestors, and to the sacred bond with land and kin. Yet they did not isolate themselves. Their proximity to the emergent Caorrani Duchy and the decadent remains of the Grand Fate brought change, not through surrender, but synthesis. Araluen became a living braid: resilient, noble, and dutiful.
They built fortified steadings and manorial holds, worshipped in sacred groves, held clan councils, and spoke a tongue shaped by three worlds: the weight of Rathgari, the rhythm of Caorrani, and the elegance of the Republic. Their homes bore steep-pitched roofs of stone and timber, adorned with arches and carvings in the old style, taking from nature only what they needed, just as the Farudi had once taught them. They wore plate armor crafted to Caorrani standards and silk garments reminiscent of the Republic’s fashion. Their culture was shaped not in isolation, but through dialogue with all that surrounded them. They traded, negotiated, and raided when needed, but never knelt.
All of this would set the stage for their rise.
The Rivacheg were more than lords; they were stewards of a threshold, protectors of a people shaped by winds from every direction. Firm in tradition, tempered by diplomacy, and ready for war, they became the backbone of the Araluani people and Caorran's northern frontier. Unlike many noble houses that ruled by virtue of lineage alone, the Rivacheg ruled by legacy, their right born of generations who had lived, fought, and bled in Araluen’s name.
They were the last to kneel and the first to ride when danger called. They held firm as the Grand Fate crumbled, as raiders poured through old passes, and as rebellion and ambition flared across the borderlands. And through it all, they endured, quiet power, grounded not in ambition, but in responsibility.
When Duke Eoghan Bardach began his great work of unification, forging a powerful realm within the waning Republic of the Grand Fate, he relied on the support of noble houses, among them the rising Clan Rivacheg. Though not of Caorrani origin, the Rivacheg had become indispensable allies, commanding the respect of the Araluani clans and securing the stability of the borderlands.
With the Republic’s blessing, Eoghan instituted sweeping reforms: feudal order, codified laws, and noble hierarchies. Caorran, the old city reclaimed, was reborn as a royal capital. Amid this flourishing, Eoghan turned his gaze north, to the rugged buffer that shielded Caorran from the Republic’s collapse.
There, in the untamed marches, stood Araluen.
Eoghan I, crowned King after the Republic’s fall in 34-19-2, formally recognized the ancient clans of Araluen. To ensure stability and honor their legacy, he elevated the Clan Rivacheg as the House Rivacheg, the most prominent and enduring of Araluen’s lineages, to rule the region as Margraves of the Northern March. And he swore, by crown and by sword, that Araluen would never be governed by one who was not Araluani.
Thus was born the March of Araluen: a feudal domain, legitimized by law and custom, yet never severed from its independent soul.
The Araluani people are strong and hardy, with dark brown or black hair being the most common. Their eyes range from deep brown to dark green, with a rare few having striking grey eyes, seen as a symbol of ancient, pure lineage. They have fair to medium skin tones, with some individuals from the rugged areas having a sun-kissed or slightly darker complexion due to their outdoor lifestyle. Their appearance reflects their resilience and strong connection to the land.
The March is a land shaped by rugged hills, the Farudi River, and dense forests, bordered by the Duchy of Falconreach to the east and the Imperium Asraniae to the north. The region’s culture is a blend of various influences but remains primarily defined by a martial heritage that permeates every aspect of life. Araluani society holds honor, courage, and loyalty in high esteem, with martial prowess regarded as the highest virtue. Governed under a feudal system, Araluen’s nobility controls vast estates, while the military forms the bedrock of both governance and social order. From an early age, Araluani children are trained in the arts of warfare, with their proud military tradition shaping them into a fierce and disciplined people.
Araluani culture values stoicism, duty, and restraint. Boasting is considered a vice, while humility is revered. Oaths are sacred; breaking one brings shame not only upon the individual but upon their entire bloodline. Elders are deeply respected, and storytelling is both an art and a means of imparting moral lessons.
Names carry profound significance, often chosen to honor ancestors or virtues. Noble families maintain intricate genealogies, and to speak a name with respect is to invoke the spirit of that individual. To curse a name, however, is a grievous insult that brings dishonor to the entire bloodline.
Araluani art and symbolism are rich with meaning, often incorporating motifs of fire, animals, weapons, and trees, each representing purity, strength, and endurance. Stonework and embroidery are highly prized crafts, commonly used to depict family histories and legendary tales. Clothing and banners are imbued with heraldic symbolism, with crimson, ash grey, forest green, and gold being favored colors. The stag, a symbol of the wild and a protector of the just, features prominently in many of their crests and emblems.
The bourgeois class of Araluen, though not of noble birth, is highly respected for its contributions to the region’s economy and culture. Their wealth, influence, and roles in trade and commerce grant them a status distinct from commoners, yet they avoid the opulence of the nobility.
Araluani cuisine is hearty and simple, with dishes rooted in the land:
Other common dishes in Araluen include root vegetable stew, grilled trout, fish stew, cheese, autumnal wine, wildberry tart, and mead. These are enjoyed frequently but are not as iconic or defining of Araluen’s culinary identity.
Araluani clothing reflects the people’s practical mindset and their social hierarchy, with materials, colors, and adornments varying greatly depending on class and role. Garments are designed for both utility and symbolism, often incorporating regional motifs and house crests to display loyalty and lineage.
The Araluani people are deeply spiritual, following the teachings of The Holy Covenant of the One God, commonly known as the Light. Daily prayers are a widespread practice, typically offered at sunrise and dusk. Small shrines to the Light can be found in homes, crossroads, and fields, serving as a constant reminder of their faith. In larger settlements, Temples and Cathedrals, referred to as Sanctums, serve as both places of worship and community gathering. Holy days are celebrated with communal feasts, fasting, and ritual reenactments of divine stories. The most prominent holy festivals in the March include: