The Scourge

Overview
As wars of independence raged across the southern regions of Ealsimorr late in the Fourth Age, various factions resorted to unsavory tactics to gain the upper hand. Pacts were forged with powerful forces of darkness, forbidden magics were practiced with abandon, and conquest tainted the desires of nobility and gentry alike. What followed was, some say, a punishment from the gods, or perhaps a dark spell gone horribly wrong, or even nature itself rejecting the burden of evil placed upon it. Whatever the case, a horrible blight fell on the land known simply as The Scourge.

"The Scourge" refers to a number of different aspects of the curse. It can refer to the single event of cataclysm which marked the start of the Fifth Age. It also describes the horrific ongoing effects of that event. More recently, The Scourge refers to the land itself, as those still within it have begun to model an independent nation whose borders are defined by the blight.

Overview
In the aftermath of the appearance of the Scourge, brothers Balticore and Vandergast Greytower realized that enough of their army had survived to bring what remnants of civilization remained in the region fully under their control. They began a campaign to scour the region for any remaining life. Their former subjects and allies were all too keen to pool resources, and through threats of destruction or promises of power, any other settlements were assimilated into the newly formed Kingdom of The Scourge. While the Greytowers like to make a show of their refinement and nobility, the truth of the matter is their Kingdom and their Court is little more than a collaboration of robber barons and bandit chieftans.

The Kingdom of The Scourge began as a secret endeavor, but as border skirmishes became more frequent, news of the Greytower's ambitions eventually reached the ears of the powers that be. For the most part, the other kingdoms of Ealsimorr are content to let the mad rulers of House Greytower carry out their little fantasy on a patch of blighted and useless land. The druids of the Enclave and the Church of Kordova on Mon Duvant are much less inclined to let the charade continue.

Structure
Following the dual-leadership structure of House Greytower, the Kingdom of The Scourge is ruled by two kings. The High King of The Scourge oversees the armies of the realm and the border raids and espionage that constitute "diplomacy", as well as interior trade of the resources stolen from the surrounding regions. The Witch King of The Scourge organizes the magical and undead aspects of the armies and leads any research done to discover the nature or cause of the blight on the land. While the High King has far more responsibility and sees much more action, the role of the Witch King is absolutely essential, as it is only through arcane mastery that the Kingdom is kept safe from being annihilated utterly by the eldritch forces that warp and twist their lands.

Presently, the titles of High Queen and Witch King of The Scourge are held by Odessa and Vandergast Greytower, respectively. With Odessa in exile, the aging Vandergast is overseeing the responsibilities of both positions, barely holding back young Leonora Greytower from seizing all power for herself.

Beneath the lofty rulership of the Kings, the Scourge Court is a shambles of upstarts and climbers. The small handful of titled lords command a loose organization of bandit regiments that assemble to steal essentials from outside the kingdom and to fight back the horrors the plague the realm. If ever they were to unify utterly, they may be a force to be reckoned with, but so long as there is such strife among the ruling Houses, the Scourge will never be a serious threat to any other sovereign power.

Houses of the Scourge Court

 * House Greytower - Founders and Rulers. All Kings and Queens of The Scourge are of this bloodline, and it is only their relatively immense power that keeps the Kingdom together.
 * House Scormere - An ancient and noble ally of the Greytowers. They furnish most of the officers and leadership of the Scourge's armies.
 * House Flaggus - Upstart spawn of a very lucky former farmer. They multiply like crazy and have taken very warmly to the luxury their new position affords. A vast host of increasingly distant Flaggus cousins comprise a significant portion of the Scourge army's footsoldiers.
 * House Odelvild - Masters of ships and overseers of the Scourge's maritime needs. Deeply resentful of the fact that the Scourge has no need whatsoever for ships.