Frisland: The County of Hosseta

Continued from "Frisland: Maegryn of Searock"

Bulwark of Freedom, Inheritors of the Glorious Banner, Shining Heart of Frisland and Greatest County of them all. . . Not everyone agrees, but Hossetan inflated pride is easily pardoned thanks to their popular beers and fine chocolates.

County of Hosseta -- Map Scale: 1 hex = 8 miles

Hosseta is the smallest of Frislandic dominions. Its origins go back to a small Alphatian kingdom carved out of the wilderness, before the time of Old Argonath. Tucked between the Malfati River and the northern Kerothar Range, it survived the unkindness of time and war. After the ill-fated Orzafeth crusade had foundered, its old dynasty was replaced as the result of its duplicity in the plot to misinform imperial circles. When the Kingdom of Greater Frisland was reestablished, the small realm returned in the form of a county subject to royal authority in Shiell, with imperial supervision from Sundsvall.

Frisland: Maegryn of Searock

When Geoff Gander and I chatted about the previous article, he mentioned he was curious about the story behind the Duchess of Wyllareth’s ancestor—the one who brought the curse upon their House. The previous chapter having exceeded 7,500 words, I decided to punt the idea for a later day. Catching the ball in mid flight, Geoff wrote this precious nugget:

Maegryn is a reclusive spellcaster who made her home on the island known in Wyllareth as Searock, near Mafertat, more than a century ago. Calling the damp, salt-encrusted, gull-infested rock an island is at best charitable, as her equally damp and salt-encrusted tower occupies almost every square inch of it. Wyllarethians who are aware of Maegryn believed her to be long dead, but whenever storms lash the shores around Mafertat, the superstitious are prone to recall the legendary rage and spitefulness of the sea-witch.

Searock Island -- 2 Miles per Hex

History: In truth, Maegryn, in whose veins runs the blood of generations of Antalian sea-witches and Alphatian mages, is the last in her line. She is potent combination which, combined with her passionate nature, produced a powerful, temperamental spellcaster whose mood could affect the very weather around her. Her family was initially well connected to the ducal house of Wyllareth, and Maegryn spent part of her youth as a courtier in Mafertat, where she became known for her forceful, but joyful, personality. Her high spirits caught the eye of the duke's eldest son, Dorelion, and the two enjoyed a romantic liaison.

The time soon came for Dorelion to spend a season at the imperial court in Sundsvall to complete his education, and he left her his ring as a promise. He soon forgot Maegryn amid the parties and trysts with girls who had more distinguished bloodlines. In the meantime Maegryn waited in Mafertat and obsessed over her promise ring while planning her marriage. Her closest friends, who had connections in Sundsvall and had learned what Dorelion was doing, advised her to forget the future duke and find her own happiness. She would have none of it. Dorelion returned months later, with a young bride. Devastated, Maegryn withdrew for weeks while Mafertat suffered the worst weather ever recorded.