The Barony of Aveil
(Ah-veh-eel)
- A barony in Sembara, Greater Sembara
The Barony of Aveil is one of the oldest baronies in Sembara, sitting between the Western Marches, the powerful Duchy of Wisford, and the sparsely settled Borderlands. The western third of the barony is dominated by the Cleenseau Wood, and ancient old-growth forest. In the north, the Aveil Ridge, a small escarpment, defines the northern quarter of the barony, and is home to the seat of the baron, Veltor, a small fortified castle near the headwaters of the Auberonne. Two rivers run through the barony: the Auberonne, which runs the length of the barony, and the Leandre which is smaller and flows from the Cleenseau Wood to the Auberonne.
The borders of the barony are the height of land of the Aveil Ridge in the north, 12 miles from the course of the Auberonne in the east, the Enst in the south, and, for all practical purposes, the eastern edge of the Cleenseau Wood.
The three largest settlements in the barony are Rinburg, a free city on the Enst, Cleenseau, an important market town, also on the Enst, and Aslain, a market town at the confluence of the Auberonne and the Leandre.
The barony is characterized by six major regions:
- the Cleenseau Region in the west is somewhat disconnected from the rest of the barony, there being no settlements for the fifteen miles between Dallet and Beury
- Rinburg and the Enst, a land of sheep herders and fishing villages, all clustered along the Enst and the Great South Road, including the market towns of Champimont and Dallet
- the Aveil Ridge in the north, a escarpment that rises about 2500’ above the land, the source of the Auberonne and little-settled hilly land of secondary forest. The seat of the baron, Veltor, is here
- the Auberonne valley, the richest farmland of the barony. Aslain, one of the largest market towns in the barony, is here.
- the Cleenseau Wood, and the small villages along its eaves, in particular near the Leandre
- the Madour Hills, which separate the villages along the Enst from the more northern parts of the barony
Most of the settlement in the barony is along the eastern valleys and banks of the Auberonne, where the farmland is better, and the sheep pastures along the Enst.
Map
In general, despite its relatively ancient roots, Aveil is a poor barony largely dominated by the powerful Duchy of Wisford to its west, save for the Cleenseau Region, which tends to see itself as more independent and if anything, more aligned with the powerful Army of the West. Rinburg, at the head of the navigation of the Enst is a wealthy and bustling market town, but as a free city, contributes little to the barony itself. Even the better farmland in the eastern Auberonne valley is not as rich as the heartlands of Sembara, and much of the land was pillaged by hobgoblins during the hobgoblin wars. Veltor never fell, and the Aveil Ridge, with its many caves, was a redoubt for Sembaran troops resisting the hobgoblins. There are several rich tin mines in the Aveil Ridge, but they are controlled by the Duchy of Wisford and contribute little to the wealth of the barony.
There is a maintained road the length of the Auberonne, from Rinburg to Veltor, and the Aveil Road which runs north from the tin mines to the Wistel.