Ernoll

[Rethem Index | Scarlet Spear | Ernoll Introduction]


Location	Themesonshire, Kingdom of Rethem
Holder:	Cohorts of Gashang(Meketa Warian of Ajesh)
Liege:	Church of Agrik,
Population	430 + Manor folk

Ernoll is a large fife on the Rethem-Tharda border, held as a knight's fee by Meketa Warian of Ajesh from the Order of the Cohorts of Gashang from the Worship of Agrik in Rethem by right of conquest.

Ernoll is an old settlement, showing up as the town of Ernathar in documents of the Ancient Corani Empire. Townsfolk insist it was settled even before that and belonged to an even more ancient kingdom, but to that there is no proof. Over time it has grown, been subject to wars, plagues and natural disasters. All the stone houses in the village were built from the ruins of their predecessors.

Themesonshire is settled along the north bank of the River Thard and just south of the Hefiosa mountains. Themeson River completes its western border. Ernoll was prosperous before the invasion and has only now begun to reach the same levels of wealth. Only one quarter of the original tenants remain. New tenants were drawn from all over Rethem. Both taxes and fee reductions were promised to lure new tenants. Unfortunately the new tenants were not informed that they were being settled along a disputed border.

The fair grounds and fallow fields provide ample grazing land for Ernoll's massive herds. The manor is actually a Caer without a town proper in its shadow. This lack of any town or village market is relatively new, but the oppressive rule of the Agrikans has forced locals to adapt.

Current Affairs

The Cohorts acquired the land shortly after its invasion in 704TR and the capture of Themeson keep. The fleeing republican army made its final stand at the Sitarny River, two days after the initial incursion and successfully defended the river. They were unable to advance due to a lack of manpower and senatorial support. The church gave the borderland to its most aggressive Meketa, who died in 714TR when the Cohorts of Gashang split from their parental order, Red Shadows of Herpa.

Ernoll's fertility and location on the Sitarny-Themeson road promises relative safety and prosperity, so long as Tharda and Rethem remain at peace. The fief acts as a buffer zone for Rethem and the Thardic Republic.

His fellows consider the current Meketa a fop, but for all of that he is a surprisingly skilled warrior. He rules the fief with an iron hand and a cold sense of humor. His Terhani carry out his wishes and are quick to take offense and punish locals. They have, fortunately, learned to show more tolerance when dealing with merchants and strangers, at least at first.

In the spring and fall, small tourneys and fairs are held in Ernoll. There games are open to everyone. The fairs are well attended by locals from the Rethem side of the border, but the Thardians discourage their fellow countrymen from attending.

The politics between the Cohorts of Gashang, the Eight Demons and the order from which they succeeded, Herpa the Mace, are violent and dangerous. There are constant plots and counterplots between the two priestly orders - one plots against the Cohorts while the other uses the Cohorts in their plots. Members of the Cohorts often see very little difference between the two.

The local community is mostly still loyal to Tharda or at least claim to be when there is no knight of the Cohorts within range of hearing. Goods and legionnaires are smuggled across the border in the dead of night, providing protection and a level of comfort otherwise unknown under Agrikan rule. This black market has kept Tharda abreast of local politics and turmoil within the Cohorts for years. There are a few supporters of Cohorts within the village and a few members most consider traitors, but there is very little proof as everyone claims to be doing only what they need to do to survive.

Economics and Agrarian Life

Ernoll has a total of 4,250 acres, of which 425 is wooded, and tenants hold 2,145. The remaining 1,593 cleared acres are divided into: 17 1/5 acres of Rhy, 8 3/5 acres of Barley, 25 4/5 acres of Oats and Hay and 8 3/5 acres of apples. 860 acres are used for grazing animals and the rest remains fallow.

Ernoll keeps 86 Oxen, 43 Cows, 344 Goats and 1291 sheep along with 5 palfreys and 11 warhorses. Pigs and chickens are also kept but neither in great numbers in the Manors name. Each villager is allowed to keep pigs, chickens or goats on their own. The goats may be released into the manor's herds, but the pigs and chickens must remain on the tenants land. The Meketa does not like pork and so had the manor's pig herd slaughtered when he arrived in 715TR.

The giant herds provide most of the meat and labour for the surrounding villages throughout the winter. Oxen are loaned out throughout the spring, summer and fall to Racatter. Rather than let the herd remain unused, the Meketa rents them out to other holdings throughout the season. The additional income has helped fund the Caer's reconstruction.

Even though Rethem is known for cattle production, this herd was originally Thardic. It was one of four herds kept in what is now Themesonshire and used to feed all of Gerium province. The loss of the herds to the invasion made many legionnaires weep.

The sheep provide a vast amount of wool that is carded, cleaned and spun into wool locally. The spools of wool and extra bolts of cloth are then sold abroad. Locals take what they need from their cloth production, but most pay a tax in weaved cloth to the Cohorts of Gashang. During shearing season, everyone helps in the wool gathering, carding and cleaning. These days count as part of their labour owed to the Manor. Those that do not owe days help out and for every day they work, they can add one of their own sheep to the shearing.

The goats are primarily a source of milk and meat for the villagers. Hardier than either the sheep or the cows, the goat herd has exploded recently. The manor keeps 3 goats for every household and 77 for itself.

Local Map Key

The local map contains three areas outside the general village, they are:

A. The Caer: The fortified manor house.
B. The Ancient Ruins: contents of the local woods
C. The Fair Grounds: the open and arable fields south of the village.

The Caer

The manor is a well-fortified Caer that sits atop a natural outcropping of granite. The Caer was built during the Corani Empire as protection for trade along what is now the High Corani Road. Since the invasion the Caer has been under constant construction. While in Thardic hands the caer was kept at a reasonable level, but the siege that took the caer left it a broken wreck that the Cohorts of Gashang have almost finished repairing at long last. The Caer looks almost nothing like it did before as it now centers on an Agrikan temple that is the southern-most spire in the castle. The moat has always been dry but there are plans to try and fill it with runoff from a nearby stream.

The Caer houses the Meketa, and his assistant as well as their wives. The Meketa's Cousin Sorn of Tremen (a knight of the order) also lives here with his young son and wife. There are three bailiffs - one to manage the land and one to manage the herds. The third bailiff acts as a messenger between the Cohorts and their priestly order. The Meketa's squire, Charancë of Aramë is a young knight of the order who many believe will succeed him in within the next decade.

Servants in the household include: 2 chamberlains, 7 domestics, 1 gardener and 1 baker. Ale and beer is purchased from the local Inn at a greatly reduced price. The Meketa has a particular weakness for the Inn's home brew. A clothier, Hideworker, Metalsmith, Harper, Physician, Sage and 2 teamsters also live and work within the Caer.

The Meketa has two telmen, a squire and 2 men-at-arms in service, but usually another three telmen are in residence as visitors from Themeson. In reality they are there to help the Meketa hold Ernoll should Tharda invade. Ernoll is owed fealty from the nearby manor of Racatter, in the form of 2 knights and 9 men-at-arms. Considering the tension of the region, scuttage is not an acceptable alternative to service. The local militia counts as 100 soldiers who can defend the castle with a few hours notice.

The Ancient Ruins

All locals know the woods just north of the Caer are haunted and that the ghosts live in ruins made before the dawn of the age of man. The ghosts are vengeful for some past wrong that no living soul remembers.

The woods also hide a formidable sink hole and swamp. The areas is a danger to any goat or sheep stupid enough to venture within and so fences were built around its perimeter. Fortunately the cows and oxen seem to be more intelligent in that they are unwilling to enter the area.

The Fair Grounds

Just south of the village, the fair grounds are the sheep and goat-herders favorite place to rest their flocks. The thick green grass seems to flourish all summer long, after having carts and wagons sit on it through the spring and fall. Throughout the spring, summer and fall the horses, oxen and cows are released onto the Fair Grounds for grazing.

This page was last updated on June 8, 2002
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