Panteria (Marquisate of)
Location: Continent of Brun, northeast of Leeha, on the northern coast of the Great Bay. NW
Area: 2,494 sq. mi. (6,460 sq. km.).
Population: 7,200, including 1,500 hin.
Languages: Alphatian, Thyatian, Heldannic, Lalor.
Coinage: Alphatian Standard: crown (gp), mirror (sp), judge (cp).
Taxes: Vary in nature and amount, averaging to 25% of income, collected regularly by the guilds. People not affiliated to the guilds do not pay taxes but generally cannot work either.
Government Type: Marquisate, member of the Kingdom of Alpha, member of the Norwold Confederacy. Any and all activities are supervised by the powerful guilds.
Industries: Trade, some crafting.
Important Figures: Celia (Marquise), Weston (Governor), Lucci Dhay (Dame and Headmaster of the Trade Guild, actually a spy from rival Causa Nostra).
Flora and Fauna: The uncultivated lands of the marquisate are sparsely covered by short grass and shrubs that can resist even the most frigid winters under several feet of snow. Hin cultivate snow tulips in their gardens, which appear to be dead plants during their eight months hibernation but blossom in the spring into beautiful flowers larger than hin hands. Snow crabs come ashore during the winter to mate, but crab-hunters are careful not to stumble on deadly frost salamanders for whom the ice-plated crabs are a delicacy. Deer, wolves and other woodland animals can be spotted during the harsh winters. On rare occasions, frost giants come this far south in their forays into human lands, but the marquise is generally warned of their approach by Zoltan's elves or by Duke Ney.
Coats of arms: Marquise Celia: Black panther lying at the foot of a white oak, background silver (top) and gold (bottom); Governor Weston: Two diagonally-crossed black daggers with four gold circles (one in each quadrant), red background; Marquisate of Panteria: Black panther head, silhouette of a white sphinx (bottom left), gold background; City of Panteria: Black panther head, four coppery ships (one in each corner), gold background; Town of Cape Westria: Black dagger (blade pointing up), four gold circles (left half), black panther head (right half, top), silhouette of a white sphinx (right half, bottom), red background; Panterian Guilds: Copper ship (heading right) with two silver waves below, black lion head (or specific symbol, by guild) (bottom), gold background.
Further Reading: CM1 Test of the Warlords, previous almanacs.
Last Year's Events: Thanks to the Panterian ties with Minrothaddan merchantmen and Oceansender exiles, Thyatian representatives reached agreements with the marquisate. However, so has rival Latela-which has the advantage, to Thyatians, of being settled by Thyatians and not affiliated to Alpha, and therefore much more in tow-and the Thyatian-Heldannic agreement over Oceansend might also hurt Panteria.
