KENDACH (County of)
Location: Centre of the neck of the Isle of Dawn, between East and West Portage. SD
Area: 20,810 sq. mi. (53,900 sq. km.).
Population: 40,000, including 5,000 in the capital of Kendach.
Languages: Thyatian (Thyatian and Redstone dialects both common), Alphatian (Hillvale dialect).
Coinage: Thyatian Standard: emperor (pp), lucin (gp), justiciar (ep), asterius (sp), denarius (cp). Alphatian Standard also very common: crown (gp), mirror (sp), judge (cp).
Taxes: 25% income tax collected quarterly on the aristocracy, nobility, and wealthy; 20% income tax collected quarterly on everyone else (Va. 1, Ya. 1, Fy. 3, and Ei. 1). Thyatians abroad must still pay their taxes. Expensive and magical items are also taxed 25% of their worth. 10% imperial commercia sales tax on all goods except food, clothing, and fixed assets; levied on imports, rebated on exports. Tax on slave owning equal to 50% of the slave's value annually. Property tax levied based on quality of land, roughly 6% of its value annually.
Government Type: Dominion, member of the Thyatian Empire.
Industries: Agriculture, trade (especially portage of goods from West Portage to East Portage), iron ore.
Important Figures: Marie Kendach (Countess).
Further Reading: Dawn of the Emperors boxed set, previous almanacs.
Description by Demetius Vannopolus.
This small county is located at the neck of the Isle of Dawn, roughly southeast of West Portage. The settled part of Kendach is mainly fertile farmlands. The southern edge of the county is dominated by grassland where goblinoids and bandits are known to dwell. Kendach has always been heavily defended-generally against the Alphatians but lately patrols have increased in the south, to deter raids by the creatures of the Great Escarpment. The fortifications are in top condition, and the town has centred its industry on entertaining the military and provisioning tradesmen and travellers on the Crossdawn Road. The citadel of Kendach itself is a large, imposing structure, second on the isle only to Redstone in size and strength. The Kendach Plateau to the south falls under the jurisdiction of the countess, but is unsettled. Before the war, the previous countess, Julia Kendasius, built a fortified observation tower on this plateau, but it was destroyed during the war. There is some thought being given to rebuilding it, as it would make a good communications link on the way to the Tower of Lucinius in the Province of Septentriona. Some in town think there might be minerals worth developing in the plateau as well, but no one has done a full survey yet. The larger plateau to the east falls within Naycese jurisdiction, though that plateau too is unsettled and unexplored.
The People
As a frontier county, Kendach suffered heavily during the Great War and was one of the first places attacked by the Alphatians. The arrival of thousands of colonists from the mainland has replaced these losses and more. The town bustles with new life and enterprise. They trade, mine (mostly iron), and have farms and ranches in the area. The lands around Kendach are especially good for ranching, with herds of cattle and sheep common.
The people of Kendach have a rough, frontier spirit, and are always
alert. The Kastra (castle) of
Kendach itself is smaller than the citadel of Redstone, but no less well made,
and constructed with artillery and other air defences. Kendach doesn't have the same distinction of
Redstone, having fallen not only in the Final Alphatian War but also having
succumbed to assault in the Spike Assault War in AC 959 as the Alphatians
pushed to West Portage. Yet Kendach
remains a stout barrier against all but the most major assaults, having
withstood many a siege in its long history.
Kendach's defenders are all the more valiant and dedicated as they know
the important role they play as the imperium's first line of
defence. This is why the local
militiamen and reservists are ever ready to spring to the defence of the
empire. Their now notorious lax and
unready state during the last war is a source of great shame to them, and they
have redoubled their resolve, promising to never allow such to happen again.