Kingdom of the Claw

The Claw is one of the four kingdoms in Western Terronem. It lies north of Steed, east of Badger Island and north-west of Greatgreen. It is ruled by House Claude.

History
The original inhabitants of the Claw were the bloodfolk. Little is known about their lives before Mykael and his followers arrived.

In 936, Mykael proclaims himself King of the Dominlands and sends his forces throughout the western region of the mainland. Mykael is able to take the whole region, largely due to the bloodfolk tribes being small in population. This is regarded as the first official meeting between the bloodfolk and the people of Quentas.

In 1430, following the conquest of the bloodlands, now named Terronem by Kalan and Terronce, Terronce took the Dominlands from Kalan and renamed it Terealm; proclaiming himself King.

In 1541, following Queen Virance Tarem’s death, her sons Martun, Varrince and daughter Kella each laid claim to the throne. This marked the beginning of the War of Three. The War ended in 1543, following the deaths of Martun, Virance and Kella. Terealm was divided into three kingdoms shortly after: The Claw, Steed and Bram. Samantha Claude of House Claude was crowned Queen of the Claw.

From 2254 to 2264, during the War of the Red Waters, the Claw battled the invading forces of King Renyel. Despite being heavily outnumbered, and having the enemy reach their shores several times, the armies of Claw managed to fend off the invaders.

Geography
Around half the kingdom is covered in forests and grass covered hills. Flat grasslands are more abundant than in Bram and thus more farming takes place. The rest of the land is covered in mountains and forests, most notably Eran’s Peaks, the Northern Range and Bluewatch Forest. Sallen’s Bight is the Claw’s largest waterbend, followed by the much smaller Bay of Fish and Torr’s Point. Half of Perrin’s Point lies within the kingdom’s lands.

The largest river is the Range, which splits into the Straight and Snake rivers. These rivers feed into the two lakes of the kingdom, Lake Mace and Lake Hook.

Culture
Clawmen

Military
The Claw possess a standing military; the Royal Military of the Claw, consisting of both a naval and land force.

The Clawmen are most powerful on the water. Their naval expertise is considered the greatest in all of the kingdoms.

Naval soldiers are armed with short swords and short axes, though their favorite weapons are bows, crossbows and throwing spears.

The Royal Fleet of the Claw, also known as the Claw Fleet, is a two hundred strong fleet of ships. They are owned by the Claw Throne and are used at the king or queen's disposal. They are of varying sizes, each armed with specific weaponry, such as ballista's, catapults, trebuchets and scorpions.

The most well known of this forces battles took place during King Renyel’s war on Terronem. Throughout the entirety of the war, the fleet successfully defended Sallen’s Bight

Several other fleets also exists, owned by various lords of the Claw, though not one of them is even half the size of the royal fleet.

The Royal Army consists of archers, infantry and cavalry, armed with swords, shield, spears, bows and axes.

Armour of all soldiers typically consists of padded clothing, chainmail and hardened leather, so as to move around quicker and more freely.