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Kingdom of Nerud
Overview
The Kingdom of Nerud is a relatively new addition to the continent of Arda, dating back only a few decades. Until very recently, the kingdom was divided into five semi-autonomous ducal feifdoms, each named for the Duke or Dutchess that oversaw them. These were Fief Cormryn, Fief Danforth, Fief Krastanov, Fief Craighead, and of course Fief Nerud, where the seat of the kingdom was.
History
With regards to the current, third age of the world, the northwest area of the continent of Arda can be thought of in two parts: prior to the wizard war and after the war. Before the war began, there existed a different kingdom – the Kingdom of Irulan. The Kingdom of Irulan was quite old by contemporary standards, dating back to the end of the second age, some 1200 years ago. It was not exactly a prosperous kingdom, mostly being comprised of small villages and open land. Still, some structures from this time exist even today. The temple of Niniveh in Summer's End, for instance, dates back at least into the second age and perhaps even into the late first age!
Unfortunately, the Kingdom of Irulan was essentially destroyed in the ten year course of the wizard war. After the war ended, a young heir to the throne of Irulan, Phineas Nerud XI, announced the dawn of a new kingdom and divided the land among himself and his four most trusted generals, each governing their own feif and answering to Nerud.
Since that time, the Kingdom of Nerud saw relatively slow growth. Suspicion of magic in the wake of the wizard war, both by the populace and by the governing bodies, served to hinder development in several key areas, and the kingdom remained largely rural.
In the past three years, much of this has changed, however. What started as a simple dispute between Fief Krastanov and Fief Cormryn led eventually to the derangement of once-benevolent Duke Cormryn, and his violent overthrowing of the kingdom with a small cadre of dark wizards, a black dragon named Glaurung, and an undying army. Today the area known still as the Kingdom of Nerud is a dangerous realm, overtaken with the undead and other horrors. Rumors abound of dragons, once thought extinct until the appearance of Glaurung, making a return to the realms as well – though this has yet to be substantiated.