Count Regalia of Frosthammark

Count Tharald Regalia of Frosthammark

A cold and calculating noble, his name carries the stern cadence of the northern storms he rules over.

Frosthammark is a cold and unforgiving place, mostly storm driven coastline. To survive you have to be cold as well, and Count Regalia leads not just through blood, but fear and respect. Strict in his enforcement of the law, he has increased the penalty for all crimes during his rule. One of his first acts after he took the County seat was to comb through the city guard and his standing forces to root out all the corrupt and lazy. Theft, rape, and murder are quickly met with steel or a rope, and even public disturbance can see you missing a hand or your family jewels.

The harshness is just a part of how he rules this cold territory. What people outside Frosthammark do not see is that while his people fear the consequences of doing wrong, they no longer are afraid of the guard or those that police them. No longer do the people sworn to protect them use that power to abuse. Also, with crime down the people are less afraid to be out and travel has increased, families long separated able to see each other again.

He doesn't want to be a cruel man, he wants to be remembered as the leader that lead his people to safety and prosperity. But he is willing to do whatever is necessary to find a way to make life easier for his people.

And once he settled things in Frosthammark and did what he could inside his own lands, he turned his eyes outward. On the other side of the river that separated his land from Solmark was Emberhill, a small land between two rivers bordered by mountains on the north, less then a tenth of the total area of Solmark. And yet, its importance outshined its size, as it held one of the largest silver mines in the kingdom. For years Count Regalia has been plotting and searching for a way to take it. Solmark has as many men as he does, and not only more knights but the famous Knights of Sunspire, lead by the Sunblade, Ser Galric Solhaime. So he waited, slowly trying to undermine the Solhaime family and convince the other counts and Duke Karr that the family had grown to strong, that they soon might challenge all of them for their lands and power. And while they listened and he did gain some support, none were bold enough to act. But then came the killing stroke. A young boy thinking himself a man, a second son feeling overlooked, a weapon to be turned on its owner.

Vaeron Solhaime had ambition, and Count Regalia decided to use it to his advantage. He would lead his forces to battle, have Vaeron take his men loyal to him and turn on his family, and then crush the remainder. Vaeron would take Solmark and be count, while Regalia would take only a tiny sliver of land as payment. A win for both of them. But Count Regalia was cautious, and he knew that the legendary tales of Ser Galric were no fiction. So to hedge his bets he personally went to see the Duke and gain his help. All he had to promise was something that wasnt even his to give, the Sunblade. In return for letting the Duke take the Sunblade, he would get 400 men and 100 knights, including the Dukes personal attack dog, the retired Ordo Serephine Sentential Ser Caldus Thorne, one of the few men who might be capable of beating Ser Galric

So, he goes to war. With 1700 men of Frosthammark, 70 knights, and 200 mercenaries hired with coin saved just for this purpose, he marches to meet the men from the duke and make his dream of a stronger, wealthier Frosthammark a reality.