[The Barrow-Wight]

Rhûn Nation

Backstory
More than 100 leagues east of Mirkwood forest lies the Sea of Rhûn. This great inland body of freshwater, fed by watersheds of the Grey, Iron and Orocarni Mountains, has more than 2000 miles of shoreline and forms the natural boundary between two nations. On the western side, between the Gondath Hills and confluence of the Rivers Carnen and Celduin lies the country of Dorwinion, famous for its wines. Its people are a mixture of many societies, and it has always traded freely with the peoples of the west, though it has also always paid tribute Mordor. East of the sea, beyond the thick Ernaraw Forest, Middle-earth opens up into a wide land of rolling plains occupied by many small nations united into a confederacy known in Gondor as Rhûn but to themselves as Ozren. Ozren rule stretches to the Mountains of the East and hundreds of leagues south to beyond Mordor as far as Khand. Its chief city, Ozvalda, lies in the heart of the northern plains.

Ozren first came together in the early Third Age under the guidance of Sauron, newly arisen from his defeat at Orodruin. Before that time, it had consisted of small kingdoms contantly warring with each other. The Dark lord used his cunning to convince them to unite and expand to the west. Thus begun centuries of warfare between Gondor and Ozren, and countless lives were lost in the struggles. The enmity between the two lands countinued to grow, and many wars were fought. Finally, at the end of the Third Age in the War of the Ring, the armies of Ozren were devestated in the Battle of the Morannon and the Battle of Dale. Mislavini, Great Captain of Ozren, submitted to an unconditional surrender on 15 March, T.A.,withdrew his forces and returned to Ozvalda.

Since that day, Mislavini has waited in dread for a summons from the king in Gondor. Though there was no immediate occupation of his lands and there were no stipulations put onto him other than to withdraw and not come westward again, Mislavini feared that an invasion was inevitable. Even if the Gondorians were true to their word and did not attack, he knew that Variags of Khand, less devestated by the recent warfare, were likely to encroach. Combined with the exodus of freed slaves from Mordor, Ozren’s southern borders were a military nightmare.


Role-Playing Aid (for a Discussion Thread if there is to be one)
Ozren Society
Ozren Society is a very feudal society that developed from clans that formed nations that eventually formed one confederacy. Mislavini is the Great Captain and rules with an iron fist from Ozvalda. Ozren consists of 23 different nations, each run by its own Great Chief. Each nation is responsible for itself but answers ultimately to Mislavini. Justice is controlled internally and is seldom fair. The rich live well and the poor live dismally. Military service is a way for someone to become rich, or for a family to be rid of an unwanted son.
Ozren Technology
Ozren is less advanced than Gondor, but it is not stuck in the stone age. They have never had the close relationship with Elves that the west has, so their crafting is not as functionally or aesthetically effective as Gondor’s. That’s not to say that they can’t possess things of great make or value, but such things will be rare and highly valued.
The Military
Military officers have horses. Everyone else exept for cavalry walks or rides in wains. Cavalry is chariots and scouts, no heavy cavalry. Organization is simple but effective. Discipline is sometimes lacking but heavily punished.
The Ozren People
Ozrens are strong and brave people, and they are not stupid. They may be a bit dirty and uncouth, but they are not cavemen or hairy Vikings, though they are chauvensitic. They are somewhat superstitious. They are proud to the point of arrogance. They have many vices, including alcohol and smoking – a practice they invented independent of smoking in the Shire. Their pipeweed is not the same pipeweed, but it is similar.
Characters
All characters in this RPG must be Easterlings. Kasteni will be my (The Barrow-Wight) character and will be used to guide the story and introduce new characters. Pay attention to what he says and does.
[I]Our Game[I]
Our goal is to get to Minas Anor in Gondor. That’s a long way. We’ll have to pass through a several nations of Ozren, past the Ernaraw Forest and the Sea of Rhûn. We should pass through Dorwinion and then down to Dagorlad and Ithilien, perhaps straying into the Dead Marshes. Eventually we should cross at Osgiliath and reach the City of Gondor.


First Post
Mislavini sat on his great wooden throne and watched the tark emmisary pass through the tall doorway at the far end of the hall. His golden crown sat crookedly on his brow as he cradled his chin in his hands and pondered the summons from Gondor. Though it had been expected, its friendly tone had not been forseen. Mislavini had been prepared for a humiliating demand for his presense before the new king, but instead he had received what seemed to be a cordial invitation to dignified conversation. Perhaps it was a trick.

Since he was a small boy and his father had been Great Captain, he had heard of the treachery of the tarks and their wicked allies the Elves. His library was full of tales of the many Ozren peoples that had been slain by the enemy to the west, tortured and burned in a manner worse than even the Dark Lord dealt out to his foes. But when he had stood dumbstruck at the Morannon, suddenly bereft of the driving will of the Lord Sauron, he had witnessed mercy instead of malice, wisdom instead of cruelty. It had shocked him, and he had doubted its sincerity immediately, thinking it was but preparation for some later evilness. But the summons had finally come, and it had been a request for peace and friendship instead of a list of demands.

Mislavini stood and beckoned to his steward who stood in the shadows at the side of the hall.

“Kasteni, my friend. It seems we have a choice to make.”

“Indeed we do, my lord.”. The steward stepped into the light. His hair was dark and long like the Great Captain’s, and he shared the same long, hawkish nose and piecing dark eyes. But where Mislavini was massive and muscular, like most of the people of the northern plains, the steward was tall and thin, showing the Carnic* blood that flowed in his veins.

Mislavini stared at his steward, waiting for him to say more, but Kasteni remained silent.

“Well, what do you think?” the Great Captain asked at last. “You heard the message, and it is obvious that we will have to send a representative. With war imminent on our southern borders there is no possibility that I can go, so I must send my best man. But who will accompany you?”

Kasteni smiled and said, “I already have a few people in mind, my Lord.”

He pulled a small sheet of parchment from his pocket and wrote a few quick notes on it.

“Doorward! Come here quickly and then go summon the people on this list!

The chief guard at the door rushed forward, took the note and rushed from the hall.

Kasteni looked to Mislavini. “Let us have a drink while we wait for my companions.”

*The Carnic people were the original occupants of the lands that became Ozren. For many centuries they were persecuted, but over time they once again became prominent in the politics of their own land.