Frosthold

The Frosthold in the northern reaches of Bretonia is the smallest of all the King's duchies. The Frosthold is the only region in all of Bretonia to have entered into the lands of the ancient Golden Empire on even terms, and has many traditions and quirks which set it apart from the rest of Bretonia.

The seven Holds of the North are ruled by seven arls. The chief among these arls is the Arl of Frosthold. Rather than a selection by blood, the Arl of Frosthold is chosen by the vote of peers. This arl is said to be First among his Brothers, and serves the King of Bretonia in lieu of a Duke. The Crown recognizes the other six arls like unto counts in their Holds.

The rare visiting nobility find the Frosthold to be an uncouth place because, more than any remaining home of humans in all of Bretonia, Gaurial, and the Eastern Kingdoms, the Frosthold respects less the title than the one who has earned it. If a noble were to demand a place at a tavern in the Frosthold with nothing more than a family name and badge of office to back the demand, the noble would find himself laughed out of the establishment. Unless the visiting noble were of a royal house or an influential duchy, the noble would be told to perform deeds worthy of the table at which he asked for seating.

Officially the folk of the Frosthold deal in the king's Aenglish, but many other impositions from the kingdom, this edict goes largely unheeded. In the Frosthold itself most folk speak Aenglish because enough trade passes through from elsewhere in the kingdom. While most folk of the Holds speak both tongues, as one passes further from the principal city hearing Aenglish becomes less and less likely.