The Maimah'Ladna Hedgemony

Summary
The Maimah'Ladna Hedgemony is actually an alliance between three major houses in the region of Maimah'Ladna. These three houses are; House Lambrick, ruled by Duke Thaddeus Lambrick, presiding over the lands of the Duchy of Trinion, House Silverhaven, ruled by Duchess Agatha Christine Hohenzollern, presiding over the lands of the Duchy of Silverhaven, and House Mallister, ruled by Duke Edelric Mallister, presiding over the lands of the Duchy of the Ironstorm Coast and the Ironstorm Archipelago.

Rulership
In Maimah'Ladna, there is a very simple feudal heirarchy in place, that distinguishes rank. It is the same within each of the three Duchies. However, any lord of the peerage does not necessarily need bend a knee to his feudal superior, only to his liege lord, and vassals of his leige lord of superior rank to himself. The ranking is as follows:

(Peerage): Duke > Margrave > Count > Viscount > Baron (Gentry): Baronet > Seigneur > Knight (Serfdom): Serf

There are three dukes within Maimah'Ladna, and every lord on the peninsula offers their fealty to one of the three. A duke thus owns an enormous portion of Maimah'Ladna, but his vassals, the lords who swear fealty to him, administer his lands. A Margrave will have more land than a Count, and so on.

Every member of the Peerage will then divide their lands below themselves to members of the gentry. Within a Margraviate for example, there may be six Baronets and twelve Seigneurs who divide the land being administered beneath them. A knight who is given land is given the title Seigneur. A Serf may never own land, and is more or less a slave under the possession of their liege lord.

Society
Society in Maimah'Ladna exists largely around the feudal heirarchy. For a member of the peerage, or a member of the gentry, there is a high society built around political scheming for greater power, but also balls, gallas, fine art, fine wine, and a great deal of feasting. A lord will never be without food, and they are always well off.

For a serf, or even a man-at-arms, there is a significantly lesser society. The majority of serfs are peasants, who live either in small villages under a lord, or on a small farm, owned by a lord. For those who work in villages, there is a significant tax on whatever they do. For those who work the land, there is a significant tax on the grain they produce. Many peasants may even starve if they do not produce enough for the tax in a year.

In Maimah'Ladna, a great number of gods are worshipped. The official religion in every one of the Duchies is the Church of the Holy Triumvirate. This is upheld to an enormous extent amongst the peerage and the gentry, many of whom claim they hold their titles by divine right. It is amongst the serfs where this is different. Many serfs worship darker gods, despite the capital sentence in Maimah'Ladna for the worship of Vlaahal, Kxli'Ne'Ur, or Daermon Naschezbaernezzon. This is due to the grim nature of the oppressive feudal regime, that causes many peasants to seek a freedom from darker gods.

Witch Hunters have thusly become a common sight in Maimah'Ladna. They are men of the faith, who hunt out heresy in weak-willed men. They largely work amongst the serfdom, looking for men who would worship darker gods. They are allowed to deliver the justice of any duke to someone accused of witchcraft. Witch Hunters often cross the borders between the three duchies, rarely meeting any level of resistance.

Economy
The economy of Maimah'Ladna is largely self-sufficient, though it often does trade with other nations. With a massive amount of subsistence farming, agriculture is sometimes an issue within Maimah'Ladna. However, with the taxes from the peerage, the upper echelons never go without, and often even export produce. Certain fine cuisines are sometimes imported from Celess'Dur.

Within Maimah'Ladna, there are an unusually large quantity of raw metals. As such, the main exports for the three duchies are these precious metals. In Silverhaven, there are the most numerous silver mines on all of Lesrilon, producing some of the finest jewellry on the continent. On the Ironstorm Islands, Iron is incredibly common. The Trinion grasslands, largely controlled by the Duchy of Trinia, control the largest supply of food on the peninsula, but also hold a large supply of copper. Maimah'Ladna maintains its economy largely on the export of these raw materials.

Architecture
Maimah'Ladna is renowned for its practical architecture, and its incredible talent for the construction of keeps and walls. The castles in Maimah'Ladna are the finest on Lesrilon, and many are considered un-breachable. The smiths of Maimah'Ladna are quite common, but their masons are the greatest on Lesrilon.

Despite this great talent, the architecture of Maimah'Ladna is often considered very simple, if even a bit dour. The houses are often very low and made of simple wood. They are normally cramped together, within a small village. The houses often remain well-insulated though, due to the quality of the stonework around the bases. The walls of the keeps in Maimah'Ladna are hardly intricate, but the statues adorning the walls are considered incredibly beautiful by many.

Major Houses and Military Capacity
All of the houses in the Maimah'Ladna Hedgemony are vassals to one of the 3 great houses, and every house fields a standing army. This force of men-at-arms is to be used by a vassal's leige lord whenever the lord sees fit. Knighthood is also a tradition in Maimah'Ladna, and so every house has at least a handful of knights.

The military of Maimah'Ladna is very varied in its own right. It normally consists of a small force of archers, alongside an army of serf militia. They are equipped with swords and sheilds normally, sometimes pikes. However, the armies of Maimah'Ladna are normally ill-trained, considering their background as serfs.

The knighthood is a significant force within the Duchies. Knights form the cavalry element of the army, and are thus invaluable. They are all incredibly well-trained, and armed only with the finest weapons, and the finest armor. Along with knights, another fearsome weapon oft used in Maimah'Ladna, is the trebuchet. These weapons are commonly used in Maimah'Ladna, and the three duchies are considered the greatest masters of seigecraft in all the realms. Ladders, catapaults, battering rams and seige towers are also common sights in the armies of Maimah'Ladna.

Main Article: Noble Houses of Maimah'Ladna