Tier

Tier is a province marked by its proximity to the most untamed and wild place in Anuire, the Spiderfell. The dark and foreboding forest looms to the north of Tier, and the farmers and nobles alike know that the denizens of that fell place can come pouring out at any moment. While the danger is ever present, the erratic behavior of the goblins ensures that raids aren't as common as bards tell. With a unified Duchy under a strong duke it might also be that the goblins see it as more interesting to go raiding where it might be easier; typically in Medoere or Roesone.
While Tier has both fertile land and a long and proud history, it is also one of the areas that have suffered the most from Diemed's decline and fall. Just as the eastern areas that became Roesone suffered from economic stagnation, decline and depopulation, so did Tier. With a diminishing military capability that was more often than not utilized by one duke after another to persecute dissidents within his own borders, there was little left in the way of a defense in Tier. In the decades after the breakdown of the Empire, the Spider became bolder, constantly sending marauding bands of goblins into the surrounding realms. In Diemed he found a particularly easy target, and in all the following centuries there has not been single year of peace for the people of Tier.
While times are currently hard for the peasants with the villages being smaller and more impoverished than at any time in Diemed's history, it is the nobility that show the greatest decline. Without large enough numbers of peasants to work their lands, little trade to tax, and what few resources they have left demanded by the Duke's war effort, the nobles have little to show of the once renowned opulence of the Dieman nobility. Once proud manors are now half abandoned, with only the central keep and a few outlying buildings in use. No longer are great gatherings of nobles held in the Great Halls of noble families, but rather gatherings of refugees fleeing before yet another goblin raid in the area.

[top]Towns

There are few towns of worth of notice in Tier. What remains of the once numerous stops along the Northern Trade Road have become small villages where one can find room in once beautiful taverns. Much of the decay and depopulation have been hidden by the locals using what they could of stone and timber from abandoned buildings for repairs of what houses are still in use. The larger official buildings, and many churches too large for the local flock, have become abandoned and suffered from fire and rain throughout the last centuries.
The nominal capital of Tier is the town of Tierel. Once a thriving city noted for its craft and olive production, it is now reduced to the nominal administrative center of the province. The Duke has a sheriff stationed here with some men, and there are barracks for a sizable garrison of soldiers for the defense against goblins coming out of the north. These are rarely filled, but are more often used by forces on a 'training maneuver' towards the border of Medoere. The Orthodox Imperial Temple keeps a strong presence in the town, with a sizable abbey located just outside the town. Large tracts of land in the surrounding area are under the abbot of St. Tindelen Abbey, and the olive oil production is sizable enough to ensure a significant income for the temple.
The town of Herelen lies on the border to Medoere, not long from where the Dieman forces were decimated at what became known as Moonstrike Keep.

[top]Site and features

The castle of House Jeloere lies not many miles from the Spiderfell. Once a powerful and influential house, the last scion of the line died at the hands of the then Duke. In a fit of madness the Duke took the Lord?s own sword and stabbed him through the hearth. The wife, cousin and children of the dead lord were said to have fled the following night, but they were never seen or heard from again, and most people take it for granted that the Duke had them killed or even killed them himself.
The castle now lies partly in ruin, but the inner wall and the keep still remain largely intact. It is said to be a cursed place for House Diem, and any scion of that house entering the grounds will be stricken dead instantly in revenge for the wrongs committed against the family. Other say the castle is used by some bold goblins as a forward base and observation post for planning raids into the province.

[top]Inhabitants

Tier is the most sparsely populated province in Diemed, and only a few noble families still reside there. House Tier still holds the province for Duke Diem, and the current lord is Countess Arwen Tier. Of partly Khinasi heritage, she is the sole offspring of the late Count and Lady Aisha Sharazad. A beautiful woman from Ariya, Aisha came to Diemed about 40 years ago and married the Count of Tier not long after. The Countess has still not married, and there are rumors that she is looking for a suitable man to ensure her line can be brought forward. Like her mother the Countess is an accomplished wielder of the arcane arts, something that would be controversial enough in itself even if she was not of Khinasi ancestry and an unmarried woman of near thirty.