¶ Ikhil
Ikhil is a predominantly rural, farming region in south-central Tarleaux. It is bordered by the sea to the southeast and east, by Crazula to the southwest, and by Barston to the north and west.
It is populated by a matriarchal society that highly values land, and the ownership thereof. It happens to be where the campaign begins.
¶ History
For many centuries the region known as Ikhil was a vassal state of Barston, administered by sixteen local noblewomen on behalf of the King of Barston. In 1024 those leaders, sensing that the leadership of Barston was weak, led a war of rebellion and established Ikhil as an independent, sovereign state. They found that getting 16 people to agree on governance is much harder than uniting 16 people in a war.
So rather than building a central government they divided the land into 16 counties and dubbed themselves the Countesses of Ikhil. Each Countess was the supreme ruler of her county, and they collaborated only about mortal threats to their continued rule. The Countess owned all of the land within her county, with the remaining population consisting mostly of tenant farmers.
When a woman who owns land (initially, just the Countesses themselves) dies, it is divided among her daughters according to the following scheme: the first-born daughter gets very slighly more than half, the second-born daughter gets very slightly more than a quarter, the third-born daughter slightly more than an eighth, down to the last heir who gets just slightly less than her closest sister in age.
This left the county without a ruler, and so the three daughters of the first Countess to die decided to rule as a panel. The other counties followed suit, adopting a tripartite government even if that was not the number of heirs left by the Countess.
It did not take many generations of this to break up what had been enormous fiefdoms into many interlocking smaller estates. Today, about half of residents can trace their matrimonial lineage back to a Countess, and those who can often use her name as an additional surname / title.
¶ Demographics
Approximately 75% of Ikhil residents are Humans, with about 15% Halflings, 5% Half-Elves, and the remaining 5% split between the other races. (Each of the original Countesses were Human). Most residents worship Chauntea, Goddess of Agriculture, though there are also enough adherents of Eldath, Goddess of Peace; Gond, God of Craft; Lathander, God of Birth and Renewal; and Yondalla, Halfling Goddess of Fertility and Protection to support at least one temple to each.
¶ Geography
Ikhil is divided into 16 counties, each roughly the same size, laid out in a 4x4 grid. Their names are April County, Bea County, Cornelia County, Dawn County, Edna County, Fiona County, Gail County, Harriet County, Iona County, Juliet County, Kathryn County, Laura County, Madison County, Nanette County, Ophelia County, and Pearl County, with April County being in the northwestern corner of Ikkil, Bea County to its east, Edna county to its south, and so forth with Pearl County being in the southeastern corner.
Most of each county is privately-owned farmland. Each county has a single significant town, named April County Seat, Bea County Seat, etc. All of the land within this town is owned by the county collectively and rented out to artisans and merchants, with the rental fees being used to cover government expenses.
A single significant city exists in Ikhil, outside of any of the counties: Jalabard. It might be considered a capital in other nations that have more central governance. It does contain a great hall where the inter-county council very infrequently meets. It also has an academy that trains professionals, and most importantly vast storehouses and a market for trading commodities.
Jalabard is also the site of the Brothers of Ikhil Monastery. Its members consist of the male children of land holders who do not receive an inheritance, do not successfully marry someone who does, and do not desire a mercantile or professional life. It was originally staffed by the literal brothers of the Countesses, or at least those who did not choose to remain loyal to Barston. These monks are the closest thing Ikhil has to a military, but have more of a policing role.
¶ Governance
Each county is ruled by a panel of the three women who control the largest land holdings in the county. In the case of two women holding the same amount of land, the families bargain to determine which one will buy a small parcel from the other at a cost far exceeding its value, and thus trade wealth for prestige and power.
Each county has a few appointed officials who manage the day-to-day operation of the county govenment on behalf of the ruling panels. In most counties these include:
- A sheriff who maintains order and investigates wrongdoing.
- A recorder of deeds who maintains records of land ownership and transactions.
- An intervener who travels the county casting Plant Growth in a different spot each day to maintain a continuous state of blessing for all of the fields in the county.
There is very little inter-county governance, though a full council of all of the county panels may be called to discuss matters of regional importance.
¶ Culture
Land, and in particular the ownership of land, is very important to residents of Ikhil. The terrain is filled with small stone markers that signify the extent of one's property, and surveyor is one of the more common professions among those who do not own land themselves.
¶ Economy
Ikhil is thought of as the bread-basket of Tarleaux, and its most significant exports are staple crops such as wheat, barley, and rice. Some smaller farms focus on more specialized products such as tomatoes, lettuce, radishes, etc.
A small number of Ikhil residents live in the county seats and work as professionals or artisans. Each county seat has at least a few government officials, an innkeeper, some surveyors, a general store, and people who manufacture farming tools and other products that are widely used througout the region. An even larger number of non-farmers live in Jalabard.
Markets in Jalabard control the prices of staple crops. Farmers can bring their bounty here and leave instructions for professional negotiators, who find a buyer for them at the highest possible price. Merchants from surrounding regions come to Jalabard to bid of these products, which they often take possession of in smaller amounts throughout the year.
¶ Recent Events
The Blight has dramatically reduced the productivity of farms in Ikhil, and many who had once been able to sell produce now grow only enough to feed themselves. Wealthier residents have fared better, as the shortage of food has also driven their prices up extensively, such that anyone who still produces more than they themselves need can sell far less than they used to, but at the same profit.