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Gallica is a large country situated on the continent east of Araluen, across the Narrow Sea. It borders Teutlandt to the north-east, Toscana to the south-east, Alpina to the east and Iberion to the south-west.

Technically, Gallica was ruled by the elderly King Henri, but his reign is weak and he was unable to retain control over the various warlords who rule the country. He did send diplomats and messengers to other monarchs and rulers, as shown in Oakleaf Bearers

Consequently warlords control their own fiefs freely and often brutally as tyrannical dictators. Each warlord has an army of men conscripted from the fields to fight other warlords and knights for power. This constant fighting ruins most of the pastures and fields. Gallican knights guard crossroads and bridges, charging peasants or travellers a toll to cross. If the peasant or traveller can't pay they have to fight them, but as peasants fear for their lives they pay the fee. The knights aren't generally well trained, as Horace, a second-year Araluen Battleschool apprentice at the time, could defeat the vast majority of them. After the country fell under the rule of King Philippe, it appears Gallica has become a more stable government, although undercurrents of treachery and schemes still run through the political system.

Geography[]

Gallica

The climate differs greatly from Araluen, likely because Araluen blocks sea storms from the continent. As a result Gallica has a wider variety of crops, trees and foliage, the plant life receiving a steadfast source of water from the ice of strong blizzards that occasionally strike the countryside.

History[]

Not much is known about the history over the nation. At one point, it was a respectable and unified kingdom similar to Araluen, but internal struggles led to the nation's demise, with the Gallic political structure collapsing, leaving the country unstable and aggressive, riddled with corruption and fighting factions, looking outside it's borders and endangering the peace of its neighbours as the Gallicans sought to claim new lands, resulting presumably in a rise in tensions between Gallica and its various neighbouring kingdoms as invasions provoked by Gallic ambitions were launched on the various nations that it shared it's border with, despite being met with fierce resistance and constant uprisings. The country, however, eventually became to embroiled in internal strife to make any move to extend it's borders, thus allowing countries like Araluen and Iberion to rest easier knowing the potential invading Kings of the Galls was now to torn by their own problems to bother the citizens of the other realms. In fact the nation was so weak, that the Temujai were said to have conquered the large nation, except for its coastline, in several weeks. The only thing that saved the nation, in fact, was the sudden death of Sha'shan Mat'lik, resulting in his relatives - the three major army officials - rushing back to the Eastern Steppes to attempt to seize to vacant position. During the chaos caused by the retreat of the Temujai, many Gallican nobles seized semi-independence. They were still part of the Kingdom of Gallica, but ruled their own fiefdoms and duchies like warlords. The Gallic court also became a hotbed of intrigue and skulduggery. However, the richness in natural resources Gallica retained led to the country being a major focus point for invasion in the Riders of the Eastern Steppes's envious eyes.

While the country was officially ruled by a hereditary system of rule, which currently proclaimed the elderly King Henri as monarch, bar a southern area, Henri held no power over his lands, which became a scattering of semi-independent states ruled by mostly tyrannical nobles who warred with each other, struggling for supremacy and attacking violently, recruiting the farmers of their domain as men for their minor armies, resulting in Gallica deteriorating in quality farmland, the farmers unable to properly tend to the fields because of the raids they were constantly partaking in or defending from. The lack of a rule of law in Gallica also results in armed men on horseback being seen as a potential threat rather than peacekeepers. Indeed, many knighted individuals set themselves on crossroads and bridges, demanding 'tribute' from those who passed, who could either pay and fight, the latter of which was an unpopular choice. In Gallica, it became the policy for the stronger to control the weaker, taking what they wished without fairly compensating those they took from, but this also means that should a warlord like Deparnieux show any sign of cowardice (such as backing out on an official challenge), they will lose respect in the eyes of their followers, who will swiftly begin to fade away to join other lords. The Gallic knights are highly adventurous and enthusiastic on the subject of quests, which many knights will also go out of their way to take on. Due to its shared borderline with the Toscan Empire, the lands fringing the land of the Galls' south-west coast were once plagued by the sadistic and legendary Oblivator group, and although the attacks eventually ceased, the descendants of these scourges never truly left the country their forefathers once raided and the blood of Oblivators can still be found in the Gallicans and Iberians whose families have long resided along the Toscan border.

While the design of Château Montsombre is squat and ugly, designed for war without decoration, most castles, like Château La Lumiere, pay great attention to beauty, being elegant and highly decorated to both its living quarters and its defences, adorned with buttresses and archways. However, the castle's still retain their function as a place of sanctuary and the beauty does nothing to bite down on the built in and natural defences of the ground the Châteaus are often built upon. The typical attire of a pike man or foot soldier is a mail shirt, kettle helmet and white surcoat which (at least during Philippe's reign and in the case of those who fight under Philippe's banner) is emblazoned with the golden lily device symbol of the crown.

Like many nations on the western continent, Gallica possessed nothing in the way of a force of archers, leaving Gallican fighters with no experience in defending themselves from a barrage of arrows fired by a war bow, although crossbows are a weapon utilized. The Galls typically construct their crossbows with a simple, straight-line butt. Likewise, the Gallicans build their shield's with a wooden frame that is covered in a curved sheet of metal that are painted various colours, such as variations of blue and greens. The shield's are often kite-shaped, it's sides starting out straight before forming a curve halfway so they joined in a point at the bottom. The shields are also donned with a leather loop and handhold, allowing their wielder to wear them on the arm while fighting. However, the wood the shield's are hewn from is light and the sheeting thin and so are less then effective against an axe or heavy mace. Some Gallicans also wield sabers, though the weapon is not of the same common usage as those used by the Temujai or the Arridi, which are crafted with far more delicate designs than other weaponry and are seemly utilised for their lightweight build. It was also from Gallica that the trebuchet (or catapult) was developed and used as a weapon of siege.

The vast coast of Gallica, which spans across nearly the entire south-east side of the Narrow Sea, ranges in its populations from thriving seaside towns to windswept, sparsely populated ranges of foreboding cliffs doted only with the occasional hamlet or small monastery. The minor monasteries build on these foreboding clifflines are either abandoned and in shambles or the homes of small clergies of priests who choose to live in isolation, pondering the questions of the world. Its immense access to the sea had lead to a vast collection of port town and cities coming into existence that import locally-sourced trade as a main business.

Before they began enforcing laws on the high seas, Skandians like to plunder such monasteries and farms along the coast. The Gallicans are known among the raiders for their works of arts, which range from wood and stone carvings to chandeliers draped with crystals. A highly-valued show of Gallican artistry are the rugs woven by the artists of Tierre Valley after more than one decade, which are most often only passed to a different hand in return for a small fortune. The Gallica coast was a popular occasional raiding ground for Skandian raiders such as Gundar Hardstriker and Erak Starfollower, who often raided the countryside. In one such case, Erak captured a crystal chandelier that became on of the centrepieces of his treasury. After the Treaty of Hallasholm, Gallica was one of the nations that complained that the Araluens were helping the Skandians raid their shores by providing their wolfships with favourable trading terms to provisions and there seemed to be still a great deal of Gallic resentment towards the Sea Wolves, as Desmond made sure to seat the visiting representatives from Gallica far away from the warriors of Skandia during the Wedding of Horace Altman and Princess Cassandra. However, they might have later signed a defence treaty in which wolfships were hired out to defended Gallica's shores from roving corsairs, as, in 654 C.E., Erak was presented with an ornate walking staff that was at the time highly fashionable above the Gallican aristocratic class from several visiting Gallic delegates. Before this, however, the sight of the horned helmets of the Sea Wolves and the curved figureheads of their wolfships struck terror into the hearts of the people of Gallica, especially those who resided in the country's pleasant, peaceful coast centres. Skandia and the Gallicans seem to at least by cordial trade partners, for Gallic merchant vessels occasionally frequent the harbour of Hallasholm. However, like Teutlandt, many of the coast settlements of Gallica were still quick to turn on the Sea Wolves after Wolfwind, seized by the Iberian corsairs of El Despiadado, began attacking them.

Neighbouring each other with the only border being of the stretch of sea between them, Gallica and Araluen seem to be on relatively long-standing, friendly terms, with traders of the island-kingdom passing through the Gallican lands every day and seem to be trade partners. Similarly, one might cross paths with the occasional Gallican troubadours and jongleurs in Araluen and the villages of both nations enjoy when these entertainers pass through to break the repetition of their town life. Ghost stories and haunting melodies are both highly popular in the two countries and like Araluens, the common tongue is widely spoken as the main language, Gallican being a secondary one (though contrarily, according to Hal, the Galls have stubbornly clung to their own language, rather than adopt the common one (which, incidentally, is a mix of Teutlander, Temujai and Gallic merged in a simple structure), though most of its traders speak it. This suggests things have changed between them, perhaps due to a shift in power). The people of southern-most Gallica, indeed, speak in such an accent that their words are near indecipherable and the Galls are noted to typically have exceptional hearing abilities. Many Gallicans are superstitious and their belief in sorcery and the supernatural ranges from noblemen like Lord Deparnieux to common bandits like Vincent and even Deparnieux displayed wariness of those he thought to be sorcerers. Because of the more or less stable government in their own kingdom, a picture of unity compared to the dysfunctional Gallica, some Araluens, such as Will, regard Gallicans as strange people, although the royal heir to the Araluen crown, at least, is still apparently taught to be fluent in the language of the Gallicans, likely so as to converse with delegates from the country. Despite their alliance, Araluen Chamberlain Lord Anthony still maintains a network of informants within Gallica, as well as Iberion and Teutlandt to keep him informed of any liable threat, such as Baron Lassigny and events such as uprisings or changes in power rarely affect the way of life in Araluens.

Despite both states being in a seeming near-constant state of internal constant — be it physical or political — Gallica and the Teuts seem to be neighbouring trade partners, with merchant vessels from both countries going to and from the other. It seems Gallica and Hibernia, or at least the Kingdom of Clonmel, are allies, or at the very least trade partners, for children of the Royal House of Carrick, like the members of Araluen's royal family, are educated fluently in the language of the Galls.

Smugglers from Gallica trade includes their locally-sourced Brandywine, which is highly expensive. Due to the cheaper prices of smuggled items, the smugglers have highly keen customers amongst the smaller coastal settlements, like Cresthaven. Red wine is an item that it also smuggled or imported through to Araluen, as is Gallican lace, which is boasted by it's makers and sellers alike to be of a thinness that left it with a weight barely heavier than that of a feather. Gallicans occasionally launch slaver raids on the coastline of Araluen, striking quickly and ruthlessly from the shoreline, capturing half a dozen men and woman and repeating the process two or three times before escaping down the Narrow Sea and into the Constant Sea to sell the captives in the slave markets of Socorro. While some Gallic slavers continue the process of frequently the Arrida city-state, others have settled there. Despite this, however, Gallican slaves exist also, although it is unclear if they were captured and taken into enslavement by their own people or by foreign raiders. There also exists a minor but budding slave trade between Gallican slavers and the infamous pirates of Magyara, with the Galls kidnapping and smuggling youths away to a life of slavery in return for such pirates refraining from raiding - and sometimes even defending - parts of Gallica's shores from piracy. The shores of Gallica were also a popular area for Moondarking, especially after the Moondarkers were driven from Araluen shorelines by Halt and Crowley, the surviving wreckers fleeing to Gallica where their trade was more favourable. While the wreckers have again begun to occasionally frequent Araluen shores again, unstable Gallica remains the most popular ground of Moondarking, facing next-to-no opposition from what little law there is in the kingdom.

Under the reign of Philippe, Gallica seemingly became a somewhat more stable nation, albeit one still to consumed by its own inner disputes to look beyond its borders, with the nobles united into a council of barons, and its roads seemingly cleared of knighted highwaymen, though bandits remained a problem. Due to the united baron council leading to a fall in conflicts and minor wars between separate fiefs, Gallica gained far better farmland and its produce trade increased. Its seems that, while undercurrents of treachery still run within the noble class, Gallica had apparently as a whole settled under the reign of Philippe, who retained authority by keeping his nobles at each others through, to embroiled in their suspicions to bother him or their citizens, although the Gallic court remained overrun with jealousy and squabbles for preference. However, due to Philippe's status as a king prone to accepting bribes, Gallica still lacked the proper unity Araluen maintained. The legend of the Chevalier de Feuille du Chêne ('The Oakleaf Knight') continued on in Gallica and the famous oakleaf symbol continued to inspire respect - and, in the case of those of dishonoured to title of knighthood, fear - in the Gallics.

Though the majority of Gallica's farmers are locals, the presence of foreigners who have bought a small piece of land in the Kingdom is not entirely beyond comprehension. On that subject, Gallican farm products include pigs, homemade wine, sheep, apple sauce, vegetables such as chickpeas and red onions, preserved fruit kept in clay jars and amphoras and long loaves of bread and garlic is often heavily utilised to bring favour and indeed, Gallica is well known for its exotic and sometimes outlandish cuisines, one of the most famed being it's meat pies, which many foreigners consider a delicacy. Coffee, though often imported from Toscana and Arrida rather than grown locally, is also traded and is often on the menu in taverns. Like Araluen, Gallica, or at least villages like Entente, share a market day between each other every few weeks. The horses of Gallica are known well for their sturdiness and muscle power, particularly the Gallican Tireurs, which the Ranger horse trainers bred into their horses bloodline for that particular reason. The Gallic steeds of this breeding program included the dam of Abelard, the horse to the famous Ranger Halt. Gallicans, no matter their class, are often known for being riddling in their conversation with those of a different nationality and seem to enjoy in being abstruse, often raising their shoulders in shrugs that are typical amongst their countrymen and women. The skin tones of Gallicans range from fair and pale to swarthy and dark, presumably due to how the vast expanse of territory Gallica occupies ranges in climates.

The country, however, was nearly plunged into another royal uprising when the power-thirsty Baron Joubert de Lassigny of Château des Falaise captured Philippe's son, Giles, Crown Prince of Gallica and began plotting a coup with Prince Louis. Joubert claimed that Giles had decided to remain at the Château indefinitely of his own free will, a statement that all of his equals (several of whom were seeking any excuse to rise up and depose of Philippe) accept at face value. Fortunately, Will and Madelyn, with the assistance of Halt and Horace, liberated Giles from Lassigny's grasp, killed the wicked warlord and exposed Louis, who was subsequently executed without a trial.

Politics[]

Officially Gallica is an absolute monarchy, but in fact just a semi-anarchy. It is technically ruled by King Henri, but the nobles rule their fiefs independently. However, the king still sends emissaries to other countries in his name, and he still controls a part of land in the south of Gallica next to the Constant Sea. The law of Gallica, unlike in Araluen for example, is clearly one of strict patriarchal succession, meaning that if a king still in power by death die without a son, the nearest living male relative will assume the position.

The rest of Gallica was a lawless anarchy under Henri. Knights guard crossroads and bridges, charging peasants and travellers a toll. They force peasants to build strongholds and castles for them, and constantly fight each other. Indeed, they are nearly as bad as the Teutlanders (though, unlike Teutlandt, Ragnak never seemed to contemplate the chances of conquering Gallica with the small force Skandia had at it's command) and, even in the face of incoming invasion, the Gallics would be near-incapable of electing a single war leader to unite behind.

It seems that the person who has the largest army has the most power, yet makes no outright proclamation of being king. Indeed, in times of rebel campaigns, mercenaries such as Vikor Trask are seemingly hired, as foot soldiers if nothing else. During the campaigns Trask participated in, he was used simply as a blunt weapon by his Gallic employers, though whether this was typical or simply due to Trask's lacking in the way of a high level of intelligence. In Gallica, skilled fighting men are always highly-valued and will be offered a coffer of gold in return for their services, so the profession of a mercenary is a tempting prospect.

After King Philippe took power in an uprising, Gallica appears to have been solidified into a more stable government, with the king holding ultimate authority and the nobles being unified into a council of Barons, and, although none were particularly loyal to the crown, if the King called upon them with undeniable evidence, they are duty-bound to provide troops from their baronies. Though bandits like Vincent and the Black Vultures still appear to plague the countryside, the roads seem safe to travel without danger, Philippe apparently keeping his nobles at each others throat to keep them from attempting any form of treachery. Though betray still courses through Gallica's political systems, with Baron Joubert de Lassigny, a senior Baron, and Prince Louis, the brother of Philippe plotting alongside each other to provide Louis with the opportunity to become heir to the throne. Despite the stable rule, Gallica seemingly retain the policy that 'the strong rule the weak', for while most jousts will end when one is unseated, there is a challenge of Gallic origin known as à résultat final ('to the final result'), which when declared, honour bounds two jousters to continue fighting on foot until either surrender, or in some cases, death. The royal court, furthermore, is still riddled with treachery and struggles for power. Furthermore, the competency of Gallica's justice system is dubious, as Louis was sentenced to execution for his treachery without trial, despite the lack of solid evidence. Many Gallicans, like Lassigny, Philippe and Sir Armand seem to hold woman in contempt and regarded them as second-class to men.

Unlike in Araluen, were advancement depended on the man or women's actions, in Gallica, it depends on how much gold their offering the king. The selling of Fiefs and Duchies to the highest bidder is a common practice in the territory of Gallica, further fracturing the country with its provinces at risk of falling under disloyal or power-hungry individuals. Fiefdoms are furthermore seemingly typically passed down through the clans that control them, though, if the claim is distant, it may be possibly denied if solid evidence does not come to light.

Currency[]

The Gallic form of currency are golden coins - or 'eagles' - which are worth around 1.25 in the weight of Araluen royals. Silver and copper are also used, though at a lesser value, by the common class.

Religion[]

Nothing is known of the Galls' religion as of yet, nor is they even have one set of deities or are divided into separate factions who hold to separate beliefs, like the people of Arrida. The Gallicans, are, however, highly superstitious people, and many, no matter their class, believe in the idea of sorcery and fear those they believe might command the arcane arts, a suspicion that can be stirred by anything out of ordinary. This belief includes the idea of spirits and wraiths from another world that haunt the depths of great forests, protecting the area and most Gallicans have a wide degree of peculiar traditions performed to avoid provoking some sort of fate or divine influence.

Cities and Other Places[]

  • La Rivage: Major coastal town and trading port. 
  • Chateau Montsombre: Castle of the tyrant Deparnieux. Since Deparnieux's demise, it is Philemon's seat of power.
  • King Henri's court: The seat of the 'monarch' of Gallica during the reign of King Henri
  • Les Sourges: A town built on the banks of a river, which the townsfolk have utilized to form a ferry service ran throughout most of the year, bar the coldest of winter.
  • Tierre Valley: Tierre Valley is home to a community of weavers who's artistic rugs, completed most often only after 10 to 20 years, are highly prized by collectors and worth a small fortune each.
  • Château des Falaise: A coastal castle that was previously governed by Baron Joubert de Lassigny prior to his demise. It was initially adjoined with another barony before being separated by the Gallican King at the time due to the power it possessed.
  • Château La Lumiere: Château La Lumiere serves as King Philippe's seat of power and, despite its beautiful appearance, like Montsombre and Falaises, La Lumiere serves as a powerful fortress with strong defences.
  • Lady Lassigny's Father's Lands: These lands are the area surrounding the estate under the command of the father of Baron Lassigny's wife, who was allowed by Horace to escape back to the safety of her father following her husband's demise.
  • Mount Gryphon: A cone-shaped mountain based near the Gallican border with Teutlandt that rears a kilometre from the shoreline.
  • Leduc: A seaside, seemingly-prosperous town. After Wolfwind was taken by El Despiadado's corsairs, Leduc was attacked and was left with it's people furious at the Skandians.
  • Limmat: A coastal city mentioned in the Brotherband chronicles, which Zavac pillaged. Lydia Demarek was born in this city.
  • Isle of Plessa: A remote island on the Gallic coastline that possesses a single fishing village. Its remoteness protected it from a raid from Despiadado's Iberians, who passed it.
  • Three League Beach: A open stretch of sand that is close to fifteen kilometres long that is close to Château La Lumiere. When transporting Horace and Halt, the Wolfship Wolftail beached there.
  • Gretagne: A rather noisome, unfriendly little harbour town on Gallica's Stormwhite shoreline, the main source of income of Gretagne comes from leathermaking, resulting in the dozen or so tanneries that line the harbour foreshores, discharging their unpleasant residue into the harbour itself so that the water is discoloured and foul smelling.
  • Ontifer: A small port on the coast of the Narrow Sea that primary imports trade between Gallica and the countries of Araluen and Celtica and providing supplies to the leaving and returning traders as ways of income.
  • Aules: A small town about nine or so miles inland from Ontifer, it served as the first settlement that Will and Madelyn, posing as jongleurs, performed at on their way to La Lumiere after making landfall

Trivia[]

  • Gallica is likely based on Medieval France, though Medieval France was more unified. However 'Gallica' is likely a reference to the Gauls, which is what the Romans called the Celtic tribes in that region. Another comparison is the similarity of the languages and the food. France is the only nation which has a land bridge to the Iberian peninsula, just like Gallica has a land bridge to Iberion.
  • Gallicans are sometimes referred to as "Galls". This may be similar to how real-world British people are sometimes referred to as "Brits".
  • Upon inspection the territory of Gallica is similar to France.
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