Shuro is one of the larger provinces in Tora Danya and is administered by two separate noble families. It’s also one of two provinces divided into smaller regions, featuring North Shuro and South Shuro.

 

 

-GEOGRAPHY-

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Landscape

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A wide stretch of land between the Emilene River and the southeastern coast, Shuro contains most of Tora Danya’s southern regions. North-south, it begins just beneath the foothills of Arinnley and runs all the way down to the shore.

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The entire eastern rim of the Anderoth Forest is considered Shuro’s property, as is Lake Tarinon in the north. Shuro is mostly covered by plains, forests, and rivers, but being in the deep south of Tora Danya, its climate is more arid than that of the north, and winter snows are rare. Travelers can walk into South Shuro’s vast plains and vanish for months at a time, particularly those who don’t know where they’re going.

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The divide between North and South Shuro lies in the center, running east-west through a point roughly where Patra sits on the western rim of the Sablespires.

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Major Settlements

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In the north, the bustling provincial capital of Brewsk is just as impressive as any capital city in Tora Danya, situated along the Emilene River not far from the Anderoth Forest.

In the south, the population is less dense. Candory and Leeden are recognized as the only true centers of culture in the region. Outside those, the plains and forests are filled with rural settlements and stretches of emptiness. South Shuro also contains Aradine, a mercantile port on the southwest corner of the landmass, and Patra, a large mining colony at the lower corner of the Sablespires. Both places are considered far more modern than the region’s countryside.

 

 

-HISTORY-

 

Formation

 

Shuro has a long and bloody history.

 

During the FA, the area north of the Emilene River was home to the Niranites when they were at their strongest. At the time, Nira was recognized as a queen among the Gods, and the Niranites, though autonomous, considered themselves allies of the Ladinian Monarchy. Pockets of them were often seen training in the Sablespires, the Anderoth, or the foothills around the central region, where the royal fortress stood.

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However, the southern part of the land saw the rise of the followers, or “children,” of Aza, a wayward son of Mimevak who believed in the right to dominate. His followers, calling themselves “The Stoneforged” saw brute force as a means for the strong to rule the weak. For many years, they attempted to work their way north toward the royal city, but the Niranites acted as a barrier, while the Sablespires blocked them on the east and the Anderoth Forest blocked them on the west. Occasionally, they sent sorties across the Emilene River, below the forest, and march north through the highlands, but a heavily stocked garrison at Greythorn Plain held them back. As per their philosophy, however, Stoneforged clans regularly fought one another for supremacy.

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Toward the end of the FA, a warlord named Horgan rose to power among the Stoneforged, slaughtering his way through the clan leaders and uniting them under one banner. Once he secured power, he announced his intent to rule the landmass. At the time, the Niranites were led by a massive warrior named Ugorien, said to be the largest man ever born. Stories painted him as the offspring of Nira and a giant who lived deep in the bowels of the land. Horgan and Ugorien developed an intense hatred for one another, but Horgan was unable to defeat the Niranites until he turned to treachery. When Ladinian leadership arranged a tournament to test Horgan’s Stoneforged against Ugorien’s Niranites, Horgan arranged for an ambush and left many Niranites dead. Seeing this action as an affront to his honor, Ugorien led a raid against Horgan’s outer villages and returned the gesture by killing scores of Stoneforged. It was against the backdrop of this escalating feud that Ladinia’s young king was assassinated, putting Lord Regent Crael in charge.

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Horgan led a raiding party west to slaughter a commune of Elenkara worshippers who had seduced his son (see: entry on Bryswythe). Ugorien, believing that the warlord was becoming more dangerous than ever, finally slew him in battle. Though it was believed the Stoneforged would degenerate back into bickering clans, Horgan’s son Cargan rose to take his place, intent on revenge. However, Cargan’s Niranite problem took care of itself. Following the king’s assassination, as the land splintered into paranoid factions and political squabbles for the crown, Ugorien led the Niranites to the royal palace and demanded the surrender of Crael. The Lord Regent, he claimed, was not who he seemed. The warlord was stopped by the royal army, led by Grand General Lucas. The general declared the Niranites traitors and accused them of trying to overthrow the Monarchy at its weakest point.  A battle ensued, during which Crael was killed. Details of his demise are uncertain, but witnesses swore that Nira herself appeared and ripped him to pieces, before vanishing in a violent flash. She herself was declared dead, and a traitor to Ladinia.

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The realm collapsed. Lucas hunted down the Niranites, slew Ugorien, and forced the remaining adherents to scatter across the splintered kingdom. With the Niranites gone, the underestimated Cargan moved north and took the entire region for himself. Bowen and Arinnley went to war over the remains of Ladinia’s  throne, while Cargan declared his people the strongest and announced his intent on conquering the landmass. For much of the SA, the Stoneforged, led by Cargan’s descendants, fought bitterly against Bowen and Arinnley in a vain struggle for dominance. They occasionally made alliances with other regions, only to break their own treaties through violence and treachery.

 

Tora Danya

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By the end of the SA, Shuro was viewed as powerful, ruthless, and untrustworthy. At this time, they were controlled by two warlords: Solomon Fenwick in the north, and his brother Arik Fenwick in the south. When Edgar the Great rose to power in Bowen and united the land to form Tora Danya, Shuro received incredible pressure to put away the sword and join a new union. Solomon, fed up with the conflict, showed interest, but Arik refused to bow. A new battle ensued, during which all four of Solomon’s sons were killed and his daughter defected to Bowen; on the other side, the MacDougals of Arinnley lost three of their own. Beaten and lost in mourning, Solomon realized that the fighting had to stop. He was offered heavy restitution, upon which he agreed to join the union, and his daughter returned to him. Furious, Arik resolved to fight on, but pressure from Solomon and northern Shuro, as well as the budding kingdom, made it impossible.

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And so, Tora Danya was born. Solomon was made of member of the peerage and given Shuro as his barony.

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Usurpers and Old Shuro

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Even though Shuro had willingly been made a part of Tora Danya, an angry fire burned in the southern portion of the region, and Arik didn’t give up his goals of domination.

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When King Edgar died and passed the throne to his son, Elmar I, Arik began to stir. When Arik’s brother, Baron Solomon, died in 30 TA, Arik wrested control away from his son and declared himself baron. Then, in 32 TA, he used a combination of violence and treachery to usurp the young throne of Tora Danya.

Arik ruled sternly but fairly, though he was known for his prejudice against Bowenians. When he died in 49 TA and left his son Gareth I in charge, the crown changed hands between Bowen and Shuro no less than four more times over the next thirty years. The period included three regicides and nearly destroyed the burgeoning kingdom. The worst offender was Arik’s psychotic grandson, Gareth II, who took the throne twice and ruled like a tyrant for 8 years. When Gareth II was finally removed by William of Bowen, Edgar’s grandson, he seemed to be finished, but he rallied support from fanatics in southern Shuro... “Old Shuro,” as they called themselves... and took back the throne in 70 TA.

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He didn’t sit long this time. William’s sister, Dana, joined with Harald Fenwick of Shuro, Solomon’s grand-son, and killed the dictator. Dana married Harald, finally joining the two provinces and burying the hatchet. Sadly, the fanatics in Old Shuro continued to rebel. They weren’t quelled until 75 TA, when Dana defeated them at the Battle of Fairwillow and went on to become a famous Tora Danyan queen.

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Politics

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Once Old Shuro had fallen and the old prejudices waned, the province was content to evolve, and the more trustworthy northern Fenwicks were put back in control as barons. Due to the size of the region and the differing lifestyles of the north and south, the Monarchy eventually split the region in two once more. South Shuro was declared a barony of its own and given to the Douglas family.

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As of 1562, the Lords of Shuro are the Baroness Juliet Fenwick and the Baron Giles Falin.

 

 

-ECONOMY-

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North Shuro makes use of the Anderoth Forest for wood and herbs, as well as the Sablespires for ores and minerals. They also fish Lake Tarinon and the surrounding rivers. Along with plain-based farms, they’re able to produce a range of products for trade and survival.

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South Shuro is more self-sustained. They focus on farming, hunting, and gathering, but gems and metals mined at Patra are brought to Aradine for foreign trade.

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Shuro is also a leader in weapons production, employing craftsmanship that has been passed down from their warlike ancestors and has evolved into an art. From the way they treat their metals to the way they decorate their blades, a Shuroan blade can be identified on sight. Some of the strongest, most beautiful weapons and armor in the kingdom come from the Smithing Guild in Brewsk.

 

 

-DEMOGRAPHY AND CULTURE-

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Shuro is the third most populous province in Tora Danya, housing 3,500,000 people, although the census in South Shuro is only an estimate.

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In over 1500 years, the violent history of the Stoneforged has become a memory, and the province is a functional and supportive part of the kingdom. However, North and South Shuro are quite different, with the north taking a greater role in the modern kingdom and the south holding onto a slower and more detached style of living.

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Both regions of Shuro house a very proud, stubborn culture. North Shuroans are normally welcoming; South Shuroans are benevolent but keep to themselves.

 

Religion

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Shuro is a generally religious province.

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While battle is still revered in certain communities, Aza has generally been abandoned. Worship of Loria and Lanadain is popular in North Shuro, along with the usual nature gods. In South Shuro, it’s customary to worship the elementals, but some uncommon practices from Ladinian times are observed. Festivals are held for Satryn, Rena, and Ranaad, and the region marks one of the few places where dedicated shrines to Debenos, Lessa, and Lune still stand.