The Duchy of Taella Thir (TAY-lah-THEER) lies on the Kingdom’s eastern border, beneath the cliffs of the Scarthwall that separates the Rothlin river valley from the Tomarran Plateau. The Duchy consists of gently rolling hills covered by highly productive farms and orchards and studded by towering outcrops of blood-red gneiss and schist. Many of these Bloody Fangs, as they are called, host rich deposits of iron and Adamant, making Taella Thir the Kingdom’s only source of these metals within its borders. Unfortunately, the Bloody Fangs sometimes also house ancient Zunolosi Vaults, remnants of Zunakhar’s empire that still house that Old God’s horrific experiments; miners must be careful as they delve beneath any of the Fangs, lest they break through into a chamber best left unopened.
Taella Thir has been raided by the Tomarrans for millennia. The Scarthwall has a tendency to drop avalanches on structures built beneath it, making it impossible to permanently plug or fortify the passes leading up to the Plateau; instead, the Marchers have learned to watch the passes, make the terrain around their towns and villages difficult to navigate, and keep garrisons of cavalry ready to sally forth and drive back any raiders who dare to trespass upon Taellan land. Centuries ago, these garrisons formed into the first Knightly Houses of the Kingdom shortly after its founding. The Taellans are fiercely proud of their Knights and the Ponters who build and maintain the fortifications that still stand across the Duchy.