+Khorne
Cackle of Ravens, Tales of Old
Left to right: Crossbowman, halberdier, pikemen (2x), swordsman, hand gunner and flag-bearer
In the east of Mardier the green lowlands of the Carolean Pale can be found. A land criss-crossed by rivers, canals and ditches and dotted by uncountable windmills, testament to the marshy and wet nature of the land in centuries past.
The Caroleans, or Karlomans in their own tongue, landed on the shores of Mardier centuries ago and after a turbulent and strenuous time pledged their swords to the King of Mardier, in exchange for being allowed to settle and cultivate the moors and lowlands between the rivers Riesa in the south and the Aurelia in the north. Thus, the so-called Carolean Pale was born.
A free-spirited and diligent warrior people, the Caroleans turned the land into fertile farmland and pastures, which are now famous for its great number of sheep, the core of the Pale's textile trade that made the myriad guilds and Free Cities rich.
The independent nature of the Karlomans is evident in the political reality of their home. While there is a certain cultural homogeny, despite regional differences, the Pale is a political patchwork of independent city-states, principalities and republics - many of which are de facto ruled by powerful guilds and trade leagues, the most well-known of which are the Garvian League in the south, centered around the city of Kieg, and the Riverlands Trade League in the west whose influence stretches from Veendam to the great city of Riesmond and ultimately Essen on the river Karn, and the far-flung seaport of Karnemünde.
The black raven of the Riverlands Trade League is a common sight in ports all over the world and on the banners of its soldiers, which are often rented out in a typical Carolean tradition called Soldatenhandel, or soldiers' trade.
The Caroleans are infamous and well-sought after mercenaries, or Reiseläufer in the language of the Pale. Perhaps a sediment of the warrior-spirit of their ancestors. Carolean mercenary corps are known to be primarily infantry based and heavily reliant on massed blocks of pikes, supported by handguns and crossbows to rain death upon their enemy.
Overall, the Caroleans are a mercantile yet principled people, far less conniving than the Namereens in the north and less pompous and extravagant than their Mardierian overlords. This has left others to describe the Caroleans as gloomy, stoic and sometimes even as dimwitted sheep farmers.
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A figbarf of troops showcasing some soldiers of the Riverlands Trade League in the Carolean Pale. For the BOBS prequel Tales of Old, on Eurobricks.
Cackle of Ravens, Tales of Old
Left to right: Crossbowman, halberdier, pikemen (2x), swordsman, hand gunner and flag-bearer
In the east of Mardier the green lowlands of the Carolean Pale can be found. A land criss-crossed by rivers, canals and ditches and dotted by uncountable windmills, testament to the marshy and wet nature of the land in centuries past.
The Caroleans, or Karlomans in their own tongue, landed on the shores of Mardier centuries ago and after a turbulent and strenuous time pledged their swords to the King of Mardier, in exchange for being allowed to settle and cultivate the moors and lowlands between the rivers Riesa in the south and the Aurelia in the north. Thus, the so-called Carolean Pale was born.
A free-spirited and diligent warrior people, the Caroleans turned the land into fertile farmland and pastures, which are now famous for its great number of sheep, the core of the Pale's textile trade that made the myriad guilds and Free Cities rich.
The independent nature of the Karlomans is evident in the political reality of their home. While there is a certain cultural homogeny, despite regional differences, the Pale is a political patchwork of independent city-states, principalities and republics - many of which are de facto ruled by powerful guilds and trade leagues, the most well-known of which are the Garvian League in the south, centered around the city of Kieg, and the Riverlands Trade League in the west whose influence stretches from Veendam to the great city of Riesmond and ultimately Essen on the river Karn, and the far-flung seaport of Karnemünde.
The black raven of the Riverlands Trade League is a common sight in ports all over the world and on the banners of its soldiers, which are often rented out in a typical Carolean tradition called Soldatenhandel, or soldiers' trade.
The Caroleans are infamous and well-sought after mercenaries, or Reiseläufer in the language of the Pale. Perhaps a sediment of the warrior-spirit of their ancestors. Carolean mercenary corps are known to be primarily infantry based and heavily reliant on massed blocks of pikes, supported by handguns and crossbows to rain death upon their enemy.
Overall, the Caroleans are a mercantile yet principled people, far less conniving than the Namereens in the north and less pompous and extravagant than their Mardierian overlords. This has left others to describe the Caroleans as gloomy, stoic and sometimes even as dimwitted sheep farmers.
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A figbarf of troops showcasing some soldiers of the Riverlands Trade League in the Carolean Pale. For the BOBS prequel Tales of Old, on Eurobricks.