| Barony of Edenford | |
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Last Lord: |
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House: |
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Location: |
Southern section of the Range. |
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Holdings: |
Edenford, Fort Gaelik, Folston Village, Crossbrook, various small hamlets. |
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Seat: |
Edenford (Formerly) |
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Status: |
Crippled. |
The Barony of Edenford is the southernmost region of the Range, bordering the Icecrest Mountains to the south. Ravaged during the Invasion of Gilneas, it is one of the few regions of the Ashen Coast that remains largely in disrepair. The Barony was home to the seat of Edenford, the settlement of Folston Village and the fortified town of Fort Gaelik, all of which are either in ruins or abandoned, and it was once known for its richness in minerals. Due to being mostly abandoned, there was a noticeable lack of law enforcement in the region, which many bandits and criminals capitalized on, hiding in the ruins of Edenford. From there, they were known to occasionally harass the few locals of the region. They also sought the precious metals in the mines beneath the city, now very dangerous due to lack of maintenance after being abandoned.
History
Present day Edenford.
The region was originally founded as the Baronetcy of Edenford under Gaelik Chester, a commander of the newly-formed Gilnean Army under Aderic I in the War of Aderic. Due to the plethora of iron and silver beneath the town, the region became quite prosperous, and thanks to further meritorious service on Lord Chester's part his region was soon elevated to a barony, and was expanded with the construction of the agriculturally-centered Folston Village. Following Gaelik's death to Lordaeronian forces in the War of Silverpine, the town and outpost of Fort Gaelik was built in his honor.
In 400 F.A., the House of Chester was brutally wiped out. Lord Edward Chester and his entire family is killed when the family estate is sacked and burned to the ground, with the sole survivor being Lady Daphne Chester, who escaped into hiding with her unborn son and eventually reached the Headlands. With the region's former ruling house being presumed extinct, the title of baron was eventually passed on to Sir Byron Elmwood, a knight of Gilneas who had earned Queen Aerin I's favor for his efforts to bridge the gap between the followers of the Light and the followers Old Ways. Under Lord Elmwood, the raiders who had previously sacked Edenford were hunted down, captured and executed summarily.
Over the next few centuries, the region was elevated to the Viscounty of Edenford for meritorious service and loyalty from various lords, expanding into the current day Grand Fields. This time of prosperity remained quite short however, as during the Northgate Rebellion the House of Elmwood was disgraced by the treason of Lord Ulric Elmwood, who fought on the side of the Rebel Lord Darius Crowley. Lord Elwood was slain in action, and the lands were granted to his brother Lucien who had remained loyal. Though the new Lord Elmwood was not punished due to having remained loyal, the region was demoted back to a Barony and was reduced to Edenford, Fort Gaelik and Folston once more. The House of Elmwood would later be wiped out in the Invasion of Gilneas approximately one year later, and the rest of the region was ravaged as well by the invading Horde forces.
Following the Second Range Rebellion, the Banditry of Edenford, a group of bandits, smugglers, mercenaries and other unsavory sorts who were under the command of Bandit Lord Markus Benedict, took root in the region with a major cartel, establishing dominance over other criminals such as the Blades of None. With the former capitol as their base of operations, they took advantage of the general lack of law enforcement to hide.
With the Legion invasion, the Barony holds one of the last Legion holdouts in the Ashen Coast, holding the town of Edenford against the remnants of the Banditry. Many of the Banditry forces, including Benedict, were wiped out by the demonic forces, barely holding onto their portion of the town and rallying under Aaron Lunarward, Benedict's second-in-command and a former army captain-turned-mercenary. Currently, the only areas in the barony that are fully in Gilnean control are Fort Gaelik and Crossbrook.