The Kingdom of Fortes is a young but hardened realm founded by former mercenary-settlers who once served the mighty Kharsetian Empire. Called across the sea to guard the empire’s wild eastern marches, these warriors—speaking many tongues and carrying scars from many lands—earned plots of frontier soil in payment for their service. When the Kharsetian throne faltered during an age of war and insolvency, leaving its hired swords unpaid and unacknowledged, the captains of Fortes raised their own banners and declared themselves sovereign.
Fortes is a kingdom shaped by iron discipline and frontier necessity. Its culture prizes duty, resilience, and the quiet pride of those who carved their homes from contested borderlands. The people descend from a mosaic of foreign mercenaries—Northmen, riverfolk, hillborn clans, and knightly wanderers—who forged a shared identity through bloodshed and survival. Their heraldry is simple and stark, reflecting their belief that glory is earned, not inherited.
Geographically, Fortes commands a landscape of cold lakes, windswept plains, fortified river valleys, and forested highlands. Castle-towns and watchtowers dot the old imperial border roads, each a legacy of the era when every sunset might herald a raid from native warbands or imperial rivals. Skilled in both lake-borne warfare and land defense, the Fortesian people maintain a proud martial tradition—every village supports trained riders, shield-bearers, and bow companies sworn to the crown.
Relations with neighboring realms are shaped by Fortes’ origins. The Marquart Kingdom, forged by their sworn brothers in the same rebellion, remains a close ally—bound by shared history but marked by occasional rivalry over territory and prestige. To the west, the divided Kharsetian successor states eye Fortes with a mix of resentment and respect, remembering the mercenaries who broke free of their failing empire. To the east and south rise the native confederations—orcish, human, or mixed—who battled Fortes settlers for generations before finding uneasy balance.