Tervain Village

Biodata

Feature	Information
Name	Tervain Village
Alias(es)	Tervalin Village
Affiliation	Tervalin family domain; later administered by Ergons Tervalin
Occupation / Role	Border fief and fortified settlement near Tevalinburg
Status	Active
First Appearance	1

Background / History

Tervain Village began as a small knightly domain named for Tervalin Castle. It had only 17 households and fewer than 20 adult men, yet was legally obliged to provide 12 self-equipped soldiers when its liege called for service. After Sir Nova Tervalin died, four able-bodied villagers were killed in the same battle, while the remaining elderly and weakened men were injured; the village's coffers were nearly exhausted by severance costs, armor, and weapon repayments. 1

Following Ergons Tervalin's return, the village became the base of his power. He recruited local volunteers, used the System to turn them into militia and light infantry, and gained the villagers' full loyalty through repeated displays of “divine favor.” At this point, the settlement was described as prosperous, with productive fields and orchards, stored wheat and dried meat, an aqueduct, and temporary laborers drawn by available work. 15

Old Adam and William Adena helped govern and defend the settlement while Ergons expanded its military organization. Soldiers from the village and Tevalinburg were divided into rotating patrol groups for the manor, village, border, and duchy road. 27

The village repeatedly became a target or staging point in regional conflicts. It was threatened by forces associated with the purported County of Tervain, besieged by Swedish forces, and later surrounded by an army of more than 5,000 soldiers that used its fertile fields as a transit camp. 5 36 120 After a later battle, the village had to mobilize its entire population to contain more than a thousand captives. 125

Appearance

Tervain Village is a fortified rural settlement amid roughly 50 hectares of fertile land. It lies near the Transverse Mountains and an old, mostly dry channel of the Giovanni River, which once flowed beside the village before changing course. 30 120

• A manor and surrounding fortified walls form the settlement's defensive core. 14 120
• Its dry ditch is the former bed of the Giovanni River and only fills to knee depth during flood season. 30
• The village's fields, orchards, pastures, and later-built infrastructure distinguish it from an ordinary border outpost. 15 41
• Its walls were reinforced several times before the Swedish County army encamped outside. 120

Governance and Population

• Ergons Tervalin — De facto ruler and local lord; he recruits, trains, equips, and personally upgrades much of the village population. 15 18
• Old Adam — Oversees village affairs, defense, agricultural work, patrol arrangements, and later the mine project. 18 27 81
• William Adena — Assists Old Adam with the village's administration when Ergons is absent. 47
• Adamson Dickens Rilanka — A village native elevated into a knight; he remains one of Ergons's key military supporters. 56
• Villagers — Initially common peasants, laborers, and families, many become Ergons's vassals and System-recognized troops through his upgrades. 15 64

Economy and Infrastructure

• Agriculture — The village produces wheat, dried meat, hides, dates, and other farm and pasture goods. 15 41
• Water management — Ergons improves water access with waterwheels, canals, a windmill, well pulleys, and river-pond maintenance. 27 41
• Pottery — Purple-clay pottery production becomes one of the village's listed specialties. 41
• Iron mine — A deposit south of the village, first believed to be silver, is identified as iron ore and opened for extraction. 81 83
• Steelmaking — Villagers construct a steelmaking furnace and cast their first batch of molten steel after about a month of work. 84
• Fungus grass cultivation — Proposed by Old Adam to reclaim barren land, prevent desertification, support mushroom cultivation, provide employment, and conceal mining activity. 83
• Far East Bread — A soft white bread originating from the village becomes widely popular, reducing common households' reliance on costly saws for cutting hard bread. 92
• Commoners' school — The village establishes a school teaching literacy and numeracy to common children; its first class has seven pupils. 85

Military

Early Militia

The village's original levy was devastated after Sir Nova's death, leaving it unable to meet its required 12-man obligation. Ergons began rebuilding this force by upgrading six peasants, five of whom received leather robes, padded helmets, spiked clubs, shields, boots, and hunting crossbows. 1 4

Tervalin Militia

Ergons later recruited 16 volunteers and upgraded them into Tervalin Militia. They received kite shields, hunting crossbows, quilted cotton armor, leather aprons, fighting hoes, and linen headcloths. 15

Fortified Garrison

By the time of the later Swedish invasion, the village had a small but highly upgraded force, including 30 Northern Legion soldiers and seven knights from its main contingent. Despite this, Ergons estimated that the community could barely field 100 combat-capable warriors against an army of more than 5,000. 120

Civilian Mobilization

Ergons incorporated much of the civilian population into his faction. Seven elderly peasants became Level 3 Caravan Guards, while five children under 13 became Level 2 Hired Sentinels. 64

Story Role / Major Arcs

Inheritance Crisis

The village's weakened condition makes it vulnerable after Sir Nova Tervalin's death. Sir Davis Tervalin is expected to take control, but Ergons survives, undermines Davis's claim, and begins consolidating power within the fief. 1 3 5

Divine Favor and Consolidation

Ergons's troop upgrades transform villagers into armed followers and establish his reputation as a favored agent of the Holy Light. The settlement becomes prosperous, loyal, and increasingly militarized. 15 27

Sieges and Regional War

Tervain Village serves as a border defense point during conflict with Swedish forces. Its fortifications, fields, and strategic location make it both a target and an ignored transit base for larger invading armies. 36 120

Industrial Development

The discovery of iron ore changes the village's economic prospects. Mining, fungus-grass planting, steelmaking, and pottery production expand its resource base while attracting labor and settlers. 81 83 84 85

Captive Crisis

After a major battle, the village must manage more than a thousand prisoners with limited manpower. Its mine output is redirected into forging shackles, while captives are put to work replanting forests, clearing bodies, repairing fields, and rebuilding damaged camp areas. 125

Trivia

• The village was originally home to only 17 households, but later growth made it no longer recognizable as the same small settlement. 1 85
• Its location was once beside the Giovanni River; the river's altered course left behind the dry ditch outside the manor. 30
• The settlement's early specialty goods were hides, dates, and dried meat; later descriptions also list pottery products. 41
• Although neighboring forces frequently call their enemy the “County of Tervain,” Ergons later learns that this name arose from a long-standing misunderstanding of the Swedish name used by islanders across the sea. 89