Hewrot

Hewrot is formally a small fiefdom adjacent to Rowen, with a population of roughly thirty-five hundred. While officially part of Rowen, Hewrot has its own monarchy, who are an off-shoot of the Rowen royal family. The "kingdom's" roots go all the way back to the Mage Wars. The royal line is by no means unbroken, but the fiefdom has always been ruled by a wealthy family with ties to the Rowen monarchs. The king of Hewrot is part of the Line of Succession of Rowen Monarchs.

Culture

In general, Hewrowens self-identify as Rowens and practice the usual customs and traditions of the region; but there are a few distinctly Hewrowen customs: among them, a deep commitment to hospitality. Being a mountain kingdom, prone to severe snow storms, the Hewrowenese feel that if a traveler comes to your door seeking shelter, he should leave your home better equipped than he arrived.

This extends to a general culture of giving and sharing. While most Hewrowens do not enjoy as high a standard of living as the average Rowen, their state has virtually no poverty. Many who cannot provide for themselves, are fed and housed by the community, and in exchange, offer what skills they have.

Crime, while rampant throughout Rowen, is extremely uncommon in Hewrot. Money and objects of intrinsic value are rare, but the culture also heavily believes that it is better to give something away than to have it taken. To steal is considered very shameful, when most would freely give what they have. To steal for personal gain (not for food or survival) is worse than murder in the eyes of most Hewrowen. Murder, incidentally, happens about once a century.

Economy

Hewrot's primary industries are talc and salt mining, as well as producing some iron, gold, and other precious metals. Though the soil in Hewrot is very fertile, the high mountain conditions leave the region with a very short growing season. As such, most of the country's food has to be imported at great cost.

The day-to-day economy of the region depends largely on a barter system, with actual money being quite rare. Most Hewrowens survive on a traditional system of 'ojat': a form of voluntary servitude, by which a individual works a few hours a day for another in exchange for food and shelter, then uses the rest of the time doing odd jobs to provide other essentials.

Many Hewrowen survive by growing and storing food in the short growing season, and subsistence-hunting in the mountains the rest of the year. It is not uncommon for a farm to have a number of such people living on the property, who work the farm during the brief growing season for a share of the crops, then spend the rest of the year living in small shelters and surviving off the land.