Mercenary Houses of Verrich

The Mercenary Houses of Verrich are a collection of territories within the Korskar Valley, within the region of Karn's Cradle.

There are eight Territories currently recognized by the last revision of the Confederated Charter of Verrich, in which the dissemination of the land within the Korskar Valley is organized. Greater Houses are Mercenary Houses who hold claim to one of the territories of the Valley. Only the Greater Houses may elect a mercenary Lord, and in the same fashion, only a leader of a Greater House may be elected to that prestigious position. Thus, the Greater Houses are differentiated by the Lesser Houses by their privilege. In order for a Lesser House to be recognized within Verrich, they must be sponsored by one of the Greater Houses and must establish their base of operations upon the territory of the Greater House.

There are a number of ways for a Lesser House to initiate the process of becoming a Greater House, but they must be confirmed by the Greater Houses while one of the territories currently has no Greater House. A three fourths positive vote is required for the motion to succeed.

Houses may select their contracts at their own initiative and may even end up fighting against other Mercenary Houses in the process. Such is the nature of being a mercenary.

The Territories of Korskar

 * 1) Korskar - In the heart of the valley lies the original Settlement of Korskar, the first district of Verrich. Much of the administration for the nation is handled here, and most of the embassies are also found here. Its architecture is largely reminiscent of the original buildings of the Korskan Humans.  Korskar is still held by House Korskan.
 * 2) Arkad - Arkad is notable in that it is not found within the valley, but rather, around it. The second district of Verrich encompasses the mountains that encircle the valley, so whichever house holds this territory is in charge of the first line of defense from any attackers, as well as receiving any visitors that travel to the valley.  Arkad is currently held by House Remirian.
 * 3) Drulbaz - Drulbaz is the westernmost territory of Verrich, and as such, handles any traffic passing into the valley from the dwarven empire's subterranean roads. Due to this fact, this territory also controls the largest concentration of dwarves in the entire valley, and the house that controls it is typically made up of dwarves. This trend holds true, currently, as the territory is held by the dwarven House Grulbreaker.
 * 4) Goldfield - Goldfield is found in the north-east corner of the valley, where the sun passes closest to the middle of the day. While not exactly warm, this territory is still more suitable for farming than anywhere else in the nation.
 * 5) Gorvar - Gorvar is the southern-most territory within the valley, and it is within this area that the mercenaries of Verrich do business with the Orcoids of the Dagger Tooth Mountains. The Orcoids plunder quite a decent amount of coin in their raiding parties, but have little need for it, so some of the cleverer Warlords will exchange their coins to the mercenaries in order to bolster their Warhorde's numbers in battle against their rivals. Many of the mercenaries of Verrich refuse to do this sort of work, but the vast majority of House Gavlelt feel no qualms with such work, so they are the Greater House that controls this area.
 * 6) Atulharst - Atulharst is found just east of the central territory of Korskar. This territory is known for the strange mercenaries that typically work out of it. Many of them do not typically work for coin, but only in exchange for mystical items or tomes of lore. Some of the houses here hoard the items they find, but many choose to sell them off for exorbitant fees to interested buyers, making them quite a rich territory. Known for their secretive magical arts, this territory has been held by House Catrice for quite some time.
 * 7) Farhaven - Farhaven is another farming territory, and while it is not as fertile as Goldfield, it is notable because it serves as a gathering point for many of the halflings that find their way to Verrich. Located in the southwest of the valley, the mercenaries of Farhaven typically make their money through odd-jobs and unique labor, such as cooking or sewing, as the halflings from this territory are particularly good at that sort of thing. The halfling-dominated house Brightstep is currently in control of this area.
 * 8) Darkast - This territory is almost as large as the valley itself, existing beneath the ground in a series of sprawling tunnels. This territory handles many of the disreputable and shadowy dealings that Verrich might be involved in, ranging from dangerous smuggling work to quiet assassinations.  The house of Harrowmere is in control of this subterranean labyrinth and has been since the territory was first created.