- This article is about the province. For the city and its capital, see Tyso.
The County of Tyso is a region of Sommerlund. Its capital is Tyso.
History[]
Tyso was founded in MS 3436 as a small but productive fishing settlement on the coast of the Holmgulf, shortly after the Sommlending arrived on Northern Magnamund. It was named "Tyso", "flower" in Ancient Sommlending, after the acres of white Salt Poppies that grew along the cliffs and inland reaches of the area long ago. Tyso and its surrounding lands became known as the County of Tyso, and were led by Count Garrulen, a vassal of the Baron of Anskaven. During the Battle of the Lagan Marshes, the Sommlending hid some of their forces in the cliffs surrounding Tyso, and attacked the Drakkarim from the rear.
During the initial wars with the Darklands, Count Garrulen saved King Braern I from a Giak ambush in the Forest of Fryelund. As a reward, Garrulen was raised to a Baron, his lands became a new region of Sommerlund, and Tyso was chosen to become the fourth great city of Sommerlund.
During the War of the Black Muster (MS 3785–3799), Baron Elmyn Garrulen led the Fleet of the Holmgulf to break the Great Siege of Toran, aided by the Anskaven Fleet. The siege was broken, and the Toranese forces rallied, pincering the Darklands forces. However, Elmyn Garrulen died in the subsequent battle, and House Garrulen's lineage was ended. The County was mismanaged by several short-lived noble houses, with the vassal households feuding openly. An alchemist known as Luvias Kort made his name during this period as a poisoner and assassin, employed by these nobles. Kort was later sentenced to banishment through the Shadow Gate of Toran, but the feuding did not stop there. In MS 4355, King Ulron I finally decreed that the County of Tyso would no longer be held by a hereditary Baron, but as a Fryearl appointed by the Monarch of Sommerlund upon death. While the rivalries did not entirely disappear, by MS 5000, the County of Tyso had reached a degree of stability.
In MS 4770, the Guild of Sailors was established in Tyso by Baron Aran Kalen, and its naval academy has since produced more admirals, rear admirals, commodores and captains of distinction than any other city in Sommmerlund. True to its naval tradition, the Fleet of the Holmgulf in Tyso conducted multiple operations in the Kaltersee and Holmgulf, whether defensive against Shadakine Pirates or patrolling the coast as far as Durenor, or offensively by hunting down the pirates in the Kirlundin Isles. In MS 4891, Baron Rosk Kalen was able to force Captain Jhenga to submit, but treated him with honour, allowing him and his fellow pirates to join the Sommlending navy. The Shadakine Privateers were permitted to fly the Sommlending flag and operate in the Gulf of Durenor, fighting against the pirates of the Lakuri Isles. Later, these Shadakine Privateers settled in Tyso, and integrated themselves and their descendants into society, making them the second largest foreign ethnic group (after the Durenese) in Tyso.
In the winter of MS 4901, the Sommlending flagship Valiant sunk off the coast of Tyso in a ferocious storm. The wood was salvaged to construct the Guildhall of the Sailors in the city of Tyso, which also commemorates those who died in the disaster.[3]
Since MS 4998, the Lagan Marshes, located north-east of Tyso, were engulfed by strange mists, with scouts claiming to have heard whispers and seen ghost ships of ancient Sommlending longboats. This was followed by sightings of ghosts of Drakkarim warriors in MS 4999, with Baron Var Kalen asking the Order of the Kai to investigate. Further apparitions were seen in MS 5000, now within Tyso itself, in the Old Necropolis. Five prominent Tysoans, in the exclusive Noble Circle, were found dead in their beds, despite being healthy. A set of lockpicks, of Shadakine creation, were found in one of the homes of the deceased, leading House Crovan, a noble house hostile towards those of mixed Shadakine-Sommlending heritage, to accuse them of treason and necromancy.
Also in MS 5000, Baron Var Kalen ordered the expansion of the naval harbour in order for the Holmgulf Fleet to expand. It is a project that took many workers from all over Sommerlund, as well as Ragadorn and Durenor.[1]
In MS 5080, during the events of Wolf's Bane, the titular Wolf's Bane, a Jahksa and impostor of Lone Wolf, landed in Anskaven and wrecked havoc across Northern Sommerlund, before travelling to Tyso and hiding in the Old Necropolis. Lone Wolf and four of his most senior New Order of the Kai (Black Hawk, Star Lynx, Blazer, and Steel Hand) later entered the Old Necropolis to hunt down Wolf's Bane. Lone Wolf later pursued Wolf's Bane through a portal to the planet Avaros in a pursuit, later slaying him in a duel.
Geography[]
The County of Tyso is located in the north-east of the mainland of Sommerlund, south of the Baronial Province of Anskaven. It lies on the coast of the Holmgulf, with the Kirlundin Isles lying across the strait east of Tyso. Holmgard lies to the south, and the Kai Protectorate to the west.
The Lagan Marshes lie to the north-east of the County, which is the only notable marshland in all of Sommerlund. It possesses a diverse number of species of birds, crustaceans and amphibians, as well as algae and seaweeds that are used by herbalists.[4]
The Fryelund Forest is a large forest in the County.
Settlements[]
- City of Tyso
- Boonwold
- Worlan
- Stonefurrow
- Deerley
- Durnfallow
- Firton
- Shipser
- Crovan
Known flora and fauna[]
Politics[]
Nobility[]
- See also: Fryearl of Tyso and Baron of Tyso
The County of Tyso was first led by Count Garrulen in MS 3445, when it was established as a County as a vassal of the Baron of Anskaven. After rescuing King Braern I from a Giak ambush, he was raised to a Baron and styled Baron of Tyso. House Garrulen ruled the County of Tyso until around MS 3799, when Elmyn Garrulen, 14th Baron of Tyso, was killed in the ensuing battle after the Great Siege of Toran was raised. The Barony then fell into several short-lived, feuding noble houses, who even resorted to poisoning each other with the help of Luvias Kort.
In MS 4355, the hostilities had still not subsided. King Ulron I then abolished the Baron of Tyso title, replacing it with the Fryearl of Tyso title (although the ruler is still referred to as a "Baron"[1]), appointed by the Monarchy of Sommerlund after each holder's death, rather than being inherited. After the holder's death, the eldest son was given a lifelong stipend from the Crown and obligated to leave the stately home and move into a new home called a Fryemanor, built by the Crown. There are also typically 2-3 Fryearls-in-waiting who can take charge soon after, with these Fryearls typically not having had land to govern nor a Fryemanor to live in before this. House Kalen in MS 4361 was the first house to restore a sense of stability, although by MS 5000, the rivalries had not yet gone away.
The latest known ruler of the County of Tyso is Baron Tor Medar, as of MS 5080.[2]
In MS 5000, the vassals were:[6][note 2]
| Vassal | Domain(s) |
|---|---|
| House Boonwold | Boonwold (Fryearl) |
| House Evald | Worlan (Fryearl), Stonefurrow (Knight of the Realm) |
| House Deerley | Deerley (Fryearl) |
| House Durnfallow | Durnfallow (Fryearl), Firton (Basanet) |
| House Shipser | Shipser (Fryearl) |
| House Crovan | Crovan (Fryearl) |
Also in MS 5000, the power of the families were as follows (in descending order): House Durnfallow, House Crovan, House Shipser, House Deerley, House Evald and House Boonwold.
Known rulers of Tyso[]
- Baron Garrulen, first Baron of Tyso (unknown)
- Formerly Count of Tyso, vassal of the Baron of Anskaven (c. MS 3445)
- Baron Hul Garrulen, third Baron of Tyso (unknown)[7]
- House Garrulen (until MS 3799)
- House Kalen (during MS 4361)
- Baron Tor Medar (during MS 5050[8] – during MS 5080[2])
Government and law[]
The Baron of Tyso implements the laws from Holmgard. This duty is deferred to the Lord Mayor, who in turn defers it to the High Judge, who oversees a group of judges in the Law Halls, the courts of Tyso.
The following punishments are known:[1]
- Treachery
- Death by drowning
- Murder
- Death by hanging, often commuted to imprisonment in the cases of a single murder with mitigating circumstances
- Piracy
- Death by hanging
- Deception
- Long sentence of hard labour on Kirlu
- Theft
- Fine or incarceration
- If the theft involves Crown property, the right hand may be amputated
- All other lesser crimes
- Incarceration, fine, or both
In the gamebooks[]
In Wolf's Bane, the player, as Lone Wolf, travels to the County of Tyso, hunting down Wolf's Bane in the Old Necropolis of the city of Tyso.
Sources[]
- Dever, Joe [2017]. The Realm of Sommerlund. Cubicle 7, pp. 105–107.
Notes[]
- ↑ The total population of the County of Tyso is unknown, but the population of the city of Tyso, in MS 5000, was 50,000.
- ↑ On page 58 of The Realm of Sommerlund, it mentions "House Worlan". On page 107, however, it states that Worlan is the principal town of House Evald, ruled by Svor Evald. As such, it is assumed that the correct house name is "House Evald".
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Dever, Joe [2017]. The Realm of Sommerlund. Cubicle 7, p. 110.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Wolf's Bane: §260
- ↑ Dever, Joe [2017]. The Realm of Sommerlund. Cubicle 7, p. 113.
- ↑ Dever, Joe [2017]. The Realm of Sommerlund. Cubicle 7, p. 57.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Dever, Joe [2017]. The Realm of Sommerlund. Cubicle 7, p. 61.
- ↑ Dever, Joe [2017]. The Realm of Sommerlund. Cubicle 7, p. 58.
- ↑ Wolf's Bane: §345/§99/§154
- ↑ Dever, Joe [1986] (2015-10-31). The Magnamund Companion, Internet Edition, Project Aon, p. 53.