Pezdeblon

The Comté of Pezdeblon is a small realm of the dry South, located to the southwest of the Varang City-States. Its people are poor, the desert providing little in the way of wealth and riches, but amongst the caravans of the South they are known for their loud and vibrant culture. Most are dark-haired, and they view those of lighter locks as inauspicious, a trait savants attribute to their struggles with the Dune People

Pezdeblon is ruled by a comte, who collects taxes and maintains armouries and fortifications, with the local nobility made up of those in the comte’s service as military professionals, in wartime commanding formations levied from amongst the common folk. The current comte is Ebles Manser. The major security concerns of Pezdeblon relate to raiders, from the nomadic desert tribes and the Dune People, both of whom come from the Southern deserts, and the Pack of Flowing Wine from the East.

While technically a vassal satrapy of the Realm, Pezdeblon’s satrapal post is traditionally held by the satrap of Varangia, who rarely pays much attention to the place or its meagre tribute. The closest thing to a Realm presence, and one with far more local influence than the secular authorities of the Scarlet Empire, is the nestor of the local Immaculate monastery, currently the monk Shattering Expulsion.

The capital of Pezdeblon, and its only major settlement, sits atop a high plateau, surrounded by deep furrows, the remnants of a long-crumbled Shogunate irrigation system. This position is naturally defensible, and a major reason for the existence of a state in a land mostly filled with nomadic tribal groups. During times of danger, the people of Pezdeblon retreat to the plateau, which is surrounded by low earthen walls dotted with mud-brick tower-gates.

The settlement atop the plateau is not particularly urban, with farms and houses dispersed across a large area. The most notable landmark is at the center, a large dolmen, a low but symmetrical hill. From five stone gates carved into the sides of the dolmen, entry can be gained to the Hypogeum of the Steady Stone, an Immaculate temple and monastery dedicated primarily to the Immaculate of Earth Pasiap.

The highlight of the cultural calendar in Pezdeblon is the Festival of Cacophony, a grand parade at the start of Calibration where the people take to the streets and march to the base of the Hypogeum, clad in their most brightly coloured clothing, shouting and singing and otherwise enjoying themselves.