Confederacy of Kurnhuelde

Confederacy of Kurnhuelde
A view of Kjuldis Village, one of the Confederacy's territories. Artwork by Daazed-DA Background Information
Type of Government	Territorial Confederacy
Location	Northeastern Voreld
Capital	None
Founded	???
Ruler	None
Communities	Kurnish
Languages	Kurnish, some Serran
Span	???

The Confederacy of Kurnhuelde is a sovereign country in Northeastern Voreld, and is the ancestral home of the orcs.

Government

A confederacy of divided and individually sovereign powers, Kurnhuelde lacks a central government that other sovereignties exhibit. Instead, the region consists of a number of territories of various size and power, each one governed by a chieftain of a clan. The chieftain and his clan is responsible for governing its own territory, including its army, economy, and ability to thrive. Because of the independent nature of the territories, there are no universal taxes, tariffs, or laws.

The Kresh'madal (Moot of the Summit)

The chieftains of each clan gather together at the summit of Kresh Garuul during the annual summer solstice in order to discuss inter-tribal relations. This event is known as the Kresh’madal, or Moot of the Summit. Most of the content discussed is trade agreements, but it is also used to try and find peaceful solutions to territory disputes, avoiding warring. Because of the hallowed ground associated with Kresh Garuul’s summit in Kurnish Folklore, the Kresh’madal is traditionally meant to be a gathering of peace and prosperity. Therefore, it is taboo in a religious sense to bring up rivalries or grudges between clans, though this happens semi-often.

In the event of wartime with outside forces, the clan chieftains will use these meetings (oftentimes with more frequency than once per year) to temporarily work in tandem against invasions. This historical alliance-building was evident during the Serran Invasion of Kurnhuelde in the early Second Era.

Origin

Historically, the Kresh’madal became prominent sometime in the late Age of Myth. Through the First Era, they were typically spiritually-based events to put aside disputes or bad blood and worship their deity. However, the function of the moot evolved at the onset of the Serran Invasion. When it was clear that the Serranborn were a huge threat to not only the southern clans, but all of the Kurnish people, the clans used the Kresh’madal to meet in a military fashion. Together, they put aside age-old spite and distanced ideals to temporarily bring together their armies. Having a loose, temporary alliance changed the atmosphere of Kurnish politics, and after the war, the moot continued to have more political function than.

Modern Kresh'madal

In the Sixth Era, the moot still lacks the ability to make universal laws, taxes, or dealings, but is a powerful tool for the territories to align with each other in trade or military alliance. Leaders of the richer and more populous cities like Groznid Bay and Balkred Bay have begun to push for the possibility of a central government at the Kresh’madal meetings, irritated by the politics between some of the territories. The traditional and less-mercantile territories have responded with opposition, having no interest in unification. This has led to a schism of ideas -- some willing to entertain ideas of unification while others promising no part.

Coups, Assassinations, and Aggressions

With the Kresh’madal bringing together most of the most powerful people in the region to one place, the threat of assassinations, coups, or general aggressions have become commonplace.

Throughout Kurnish history, there have been many attempts, most unsuccessful, to assassinate political targets during a moot. The most infamous of cases was during 2E Y156, when a rogue group from Kresh Mataan infiltrated that year’s moot. Descendants from the original Clan Garuul, this group was offended and angry after the area had been resettled after Kresh Garuul's eruption. They succeeded in assassinating the acting Chieftain of Clan Garuul, causing soured relationships between Garuul and Mataan for decades to come. In addition, heightened military activity came about in successive years. Forward from then, many more attempts were made throughout the eras but because of how well-defended and patrolled the summit became, they had little chances of success.

Attendance

The Kresh’madal is open to chieftains and ambassadors of every clan, whether officially recognized or not. Typically, almost every clan will have an appropriate figure attend, having much to lose not being a part of the talks. However, it has been an effective maneuver historically to deliberately not attend, usually in protest. This has happened throughout various times in the region’s history, most notably in the Sixth Era. A handful of the more traditional, inland-based clans have withheld their attendance to show their opposition to the idea of an official, central government. These leaders lose out on sway that they would have had by being there, but it does send a message to the rest.

Chieftains and their Constituency

The orcs of Kurnhuelde look up to their chieftain leaders as the authority over the entire clan and its territory. Chieftains typically manage the organization of the community and settle any problems that emerge in day-to-day life. The larger clans may have an advisory council that assists the chieftain in diplomatic matters, similar to a king’s court.

Typically chieftains are either elected or the title is passed down via lineage, but they are not limited to those forms. Some clans rely on the concept of seniority, where the oldest orc is by default the acting chieftain at their option. The territories vary on their methods, but in most cases, power begets power. Heads of families, businesses, or established military members are usually in a strong position to be chieftain.

In the event that a chieftain has lost the approval of his constituency, it is possible for he or she to be ousted by their people, and this shows up in various manners across Kurnhuelde. Some of the more traditional groups hold on to ancient customs that any orc may challenge the incumbent chieftain to a death-match, with the winner taking (or resuming) leadership. Though chieftains are usually in middle or older ages, this tactic is surprisingly used minimally. This is because most subjects understand the necessity of a sagacious and experienced orc being the chieftain, regardless of physical prowess. Other clans take more peaceful and political options such as voting them out or simply exiling them.

Economy

Industrious and shrewd traders, the Kurnish have a thriving economy that is driven by high-risk and high-reward practices.

The Confederacy and Trade

Due to the Kurnhuelde lacking a central government, the territories do not have universal taxes, tariffs, or other fees. All of this is governed by the territories themselves. The larger cities like Groznid Bay have experimented with taxation throughout history to varied success.

Agriculture and Industry

With a large portion of Kurnhuelde being mountainous, hill-ridden, or taiga, much of the agricultural industry restricted to pockets of the peninsula. The bulk of fertile land that is farmed is along the Gryhst, within the Drekkis Valley, and along the Crossing’s coastline. The Kurnish are hardy folk that can get crops to sprout in just about any location, however, so there is still much farming that happens in the foothills of the Kresh’aran.

The orcs grow a variety of crops throughout the year, including barley, rye, oats, and wheat. Oats are very common to the land, seen in a variety of zones. The mountainous areas of the land rely almost entirely on barley and rye, whereas the more temperate regions of the Drekkis Valley grow wheat.

Kurnhuelde’s industrial strength comes primarily from the plentiful forests and the potential that stems from them. The region is known throughout the realm for its high-quality timber that is very dense, long-lasting, and durable. Groznid Bay is by far the largest exporter and commonly receives much of it from Kjuldis Village upriver, exporting it across the sea to whoever will buy it. In addition, in modern years, the Kresh’aran has afforded the orcs a moderate interest in shallow mining, especially for iron ore. Copper, zinc, and other various metals have been found in the Kresh’aran, leading to the experimentation of interesting aesthetics and alloys.

Technological Progress

Throughout history, Kurnhuelde had never been the most technologically forward region, with their gap of knowledge varying between eras. In the First Era, with the onset of the Age of Knowledge, the orcs were seen as backwards by the Serran Empire. The violent eruption that marked the Second Era pushed the gap further, with the population near-decimated. Things like metalworking, alchemical science, and advanced shipbuilding were introduced to the land later than its neighbors, and a bit of disdain developed toward the Kurnish from the outside world.

The orcish homeland stayed in a state of being perpetually behind until the beginning of the Fifth Era. With the onset of Imardin’s conquests into Forelle as well as Kurnhuelde’s coastal cities becoming more integral to the world-market, knowledge and technology began to spread via trade routes. Taking plans from Tulrisse and Imardin and developing their own, Kurnhuelde began to boast some impressive coldwater vessels. Arms, armor, and scientific research made their way into the land. In the Sixth Era, private research had begun to crop up in Groznid Bay, Balkred, Tjordek, among others.

While copper had always been known to the world, the modern push for the orcs to explore the buried wealth of the Kresh’aran turned up successful in the form of zinc. The denizens found that the mountain range held large amounts of zinc, a metal that had only been found in trace amounts across the rest of the world. Experimenting with this poorly understood metal allowed the Kurnish to discover zinc-based alloys such as brass, which revolutionized their currency and aesthetics, among other parts of their culture.

Trade

Internal Trade

Kurnhuelde’s political structure of independent territories lends itself to a lot of inter-territory trade. One territory that might have a surplus of timber such as Kjuldis may trade with Berrid for its renowned clay production. Large-scale agreements may be made between chieftains at the Kresh'aran, but most of them are done on a case-by-case basis.

Because of the risk for highwaymen and ambushes, caravanning is a dangerous but still worthy investment. Guards are highly sought after and paid well. Clan Mordrar in particular is one group that has caused much grief to the other territories, due to their mountain passes being plagued with banditry.

Global Trade

What was originally a region with very little international marketing and mostly internal trade, Kurnhuelde has grown in recent eras to be a strong entity in the world-market. Due to the region’s populous coastlines and industrious denizens, there exists a lot of timber, mining goods, and other resources that are exported. While Groznid and its surrounding territories use sea trade, the Drekkis Valley relies heavily on ground-based trade into Serranak and parts of Serran.

Currency

From the Age of Myth into much of the first eras, Kurnhuelde was reliant on barter systems as the primary form of trade. Bartering and favors were quite common between clans as a way to exchange goods. Many clans would demand tribute of weaker neighbors, using supplies or physical territory as a form of payment.

In the middle eras, the denizens of Kurnhuelde relied on iron as a form of currency, because of its universal usefulness. Primarily valued in the form of weight, smiths commonly would smelt it into round coin-shaped pieces, ingots, rods, rings, or cubes to make it easier to handle. This form of currency was agreeable with most of the communities because it could always be turned into weapons, armor, utensils, among other goods. However, iron's use as a weighable currency was called into question when many smiths began employing alloys of less valuable materials. This made the coins or other units heavier while containing less valuable metals. In reaction to this, some of the territories made attempts to standardize the iron used in trading. This failed initially due to a lack of understanding about the metallurgy behind it all.

In modern eras, with the aid of technological progress and global trade, Kurnhuelde’s currency has evolved into tier-based coinage. Now standardized by an overarching agreement between the Chieftains (one of the few wide-scale engagements between them) Kurnish currency has respected merit globally as well as between the territories. With the luxury good of copper becoming very profitable by surface mining, the Kurnish began using simple copper for low-tier coinage, with more rare or difficult alloys such as brass or copper-nickel providing higher-tier coinage.