Kiern Vale Handbook

Chapter 3: Life in Kiern Vale

The Population of Kiern Vale

There are approximately around 75,000 people living in Kiern Vale. About 12,000 of them reside in the environ of En’mirlor – which is the district city and the only real city in the Vale. Around 10,000 live in the fertile lands surrounding Lake Relnar and the ancient vineyard towns on the hills to its west. Many people (around 15,000) are scattered throughout the large agricultural region on the central part of the vale, inside and round the official and unofficial domains of Lord Anzarion.

Additional population concentrations are clustered around the two remaining large noble estates (Kor Omthel on the foothills of Karansil ridge, and Avaril on the southern pass leading to Vartharon forest), as well in the vicinity of the grim military fortress of Gren-A-Drum, overlooking the descent into the unending swamps of Urgaka. Apart from these, around 4,000 people reside in the ancient shepherd village of Tolo and the secluded valley around it. The rest of the population is scattered in smaller settlements, including isolated farms and semi-nomadic tribes of hunters and gatherers.

Many ruins are scattered throughout the valley, and existing settlements are surrounded by broad swaths of deserted outskirts, indicating that the region once held a larger and more urban population, with much more significant agriculture, crafting and trade.

Humans

Around 90% of the Kiern Vale population are humans. Since the vale was part of En’mirian empire for about 400 years, not much remains or remembered from the time preceding the En’mirian conquest. It is rumored, however, then in older times, several small kingdoms (some of them somewhat peculiar) resided in the vale, frequently fighting each other. Nevertheless, most of them appear to have fallen or deteriorated long before the arrival of the En’mirian legions, and even their memory has faded. Only the inhabitants of the ancient valley of Tolo stubbornly preserve their ancient traditions up to this day.

It seems that most of the original human inhabitants of Kiern Vale were distantly related to the Far’lil, mixed with ancient, forgotten tribes of other origins. During the Imperial era, the population rapidly changed due to extensive trade, especially along the main road descending from the Karansil mountains to the east, crossing Kiern Vale and continuing westwards through deep tunnels under the Telmora ridge into the plains of Tilmaris province, ending in the mighty port city of Tyl’mirlen. Some of the traders and migrants – mostly En’miri - who passed through the green and relatively peaceful vale, decided the settle within it. In addition, over the years, several En’mirian noble houses were given or acquired estates (and the land surrounding them) in the vale. Some of those houses still exist and rule to this day.

Until the Great Shattering, and to a large extent, until very recent years – the majority of the human population saw themselves as not much more than “subjects (or former subjects) of the empire”, with the majority of the population being of mixed En’miri and Far’lil extraction. As a general rule (through there are some exceptions), the higher the status of the family (especially nobility, military bloodlines, or a dynasty which produced priestesses in the past), the more En’mirian it appears and behaves, and vice versa.

In fact, the growing trend (especially of those who are not nobles) to firmly affiliate themselves and their family with either En’mirian or Farilic descent, is a largely recent development, influenced by the rising tensions in Kiern Vale, the changes (some might say madness) in the kingdom of Orm’theril, and the shadow of the Great Prophet Galard Frun, who seeks to restore the glory and purity of the Farlil in the elder days, thus to purify the Farilic tradition from anything perceived as En’mirian.

People of mixed heritage and game rules:

This situation can raise a question about a player character of mixed descent: should she or he be considered “En’miri” or “Far’lil” insofar as game mechanics and recording their race on the character sheet? The answer is there is no clear answer, and it is subject to the decision of the game master and mainly the player. A good decision can often depend on how the character’s family sees itself and presents itself to others. By default, families from a lower to middle social standing that did not maintain ties to the high imperial culture and values, will be considered Far’lil, even if some En’mirian blood flows in their veins.

Demi Humans

Among the demi human residents of Kiern Vale, around 80% are Gurg. There are five major Gurg clans in the vale:

· Bumz and Yuk, who live by the Kierna river, on the outskirts of the dangerous mushroom forest of “Three mills”.

· Clan Yim, residing in the lands near the marshes not far from the fortress of Gren-A-Drum.

· Clan of Gyr-Mirch – peculiar Gurg living in the rocky lands of Lord Avaril.

· Clan Krig – a large and notorious clan living on the outskirts of the City of En’mirlor. More than any other Gurg clan, this clan resemble the common stereotypes about the Gurg.

In addition, a few other Gurg living in smaller and less known clans, or outside the clans entirely – whether temporarily as wanderers, individuals who left their clan by choice, and even a small number of Gurg travelers from foreign lands.

The remaining demi human residents of Kiern Vale are mostly Mistweavers, many of them refugees from the ruin of the Kingdom of Blessed Light in the far west; and a small sample of other races, including several Ogres from the less hostile ogre clans.

Population Table by percentage

D%	Race and origin	population
01-05	A person from Tolo valley	Around 4000
06-20	“Pure” or nearly pure Far’lil	Around 11,000
21-70	A person of mixed blood (En’miri and Far’lil)[1]	Around 37,500
71-90	“Pure” or nearly pure En’miri	Around 15,000
91-98	Gurg	Around 6,000
99-00	Mistweaver or other	Around 1,500

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Created and edited by Gideon Orbach (2017) © All rights reserved. Commercial use and/or any profit-making purpose is strictly prohibited without explicit permission from the creator, in writing and in advance. Noncommercial/personal use with no profit aim is allowed (and even recommended!)

[1] Most of them still consider themselves as Far’lil or simply “locals”.