Vharia is a Duchy of the Kingdom of Iskandar, and was once a regional Thaindom of the Kingdom of Urland.
In the mid-Third Age, the Cynarans first began to colonize Westvale Island. They met little resistance from the Grey-Elves, who were abandoning the region and sailing en masse for Eryn Norvë.
As the Cynarans migrated across the massive island, they set up several settlements, including one called Herronford, which soon grew into a large city. It was eventually chosen as the seat of "Vharia," an important Cynaran Thaindom, ruled by a powerful feudal Lord called a Thain.
At the time of the Iskari invasion, the last Thain of Vharia was Ethelred.
After the Forty-Years War, the victorious Iskari disbanded the system of Thaindoms and established various Duchies in their place. Vharia became one of the these feudal states, led by the House of Mandrake.
Vharia’s Role in the Iskari Civil War
In the year 1068/4, King Ilcanar Cyrenäe II of Iskandar was poisoned by Alokkair’s agents, leaving no rightful heir, and Foehammer; the King's Elanthir sword, was stolen from Erôn-Wyntharë.
At that time, the Duchy of Vharia was led by Lord Kalfus Mandrake, a powerful Cynaran noble who bitterly resented his Iskari overlords. This resentment was fueled by Alokkair’s treachery.
In the year 1068/4, Kalfus, along with the Dukes of Cynara and Rhoyden, rebelled against the Onyx Throne, sparking the bloody Iskari Civil War. For the next twenty years, a terrible conflict raged between the opposing factions before King Irenicus Blackburn finally crushed the rebellion in the year 1087/4.
Fate of House Mandrake
By the war's end, Duke Kalfus Mandrake and two of his three sons were slain in battle, and King Irenicus ordered his last son to be executed, destroying House Mandrake forever.
Irenicus then broke House Mandrake’s massive holdings into five baronies: "Barstow," 'Cragmoor," "Lhorest," "Stormchapel," and Vharia. all four of which were ruled by hand-picked Iskari Lords loyal to the throne.
The ancient home of Castle Mandrake; the family’s ancestral home still exists, atop a great hill overlooking the city of Herronford.
For centuries, the fortress has been home to the powerful House of Arzadon, whose current Patriarch is Duke Exley Arzadon.
Recent Events
the Duchy of Vharia has seen some troubled times of late. Starting about 30 years ago, a series of goblin raids came down from the neighboring Crystalpeak Mountains. A number of small frontier settlements in the Cragmoor region were sacked and became abandoned.
