Grand Duchy of Southfield
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CONTENT WARNING
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Grand Duchy of Southfield Tondenerden Mont den Kedrad Spanten | |
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 Flag
 Coat of arms
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| Recognised national languages | Asconian, Phyrean |
| Government | Duchy |
| Today part of |  Asconia |
The Grand Duchy of Southfield (Ascon: Tondenerden Mont den Kedrad Spanten), colloquially called the Ten-Month Duchy, was a short-lived state that seceded from the Kingdom of Asconia on the 11th of Mawbguwnt 1206, and was re-annexed on the 23rd of Janguwnt 1207. It was, and still is, notorious for the dramatic series of events that took place to form and end it.
Background
Before its dissolution, Southfield was a duchy of the Kingdom of Asconia, which around 1205 was leadered by duke Wallpeth Mandarg, a notoriously emotionally troubled man. Farms in the area had already been experiencing poor yields for many years, due to degradation of the soil and poor farming techniques. Beginning in 1205, a blight began killing cereals grown in the southern regions of the kingdom, of which Southfield was a part of. These factors were the cause of a large famine that overtook the area. The northern regions of the Kingdom of Amrhyl bordering southern Asconia also experienced the same blight, but managed much better thanks to support from the wealthier southern regions, along with better management of their farmlands. The northernmost march of Dwengoff-ny-Don bordered the duchy of Southfield, and upon request, marquess Gwenyn III refused to give support. The duke, unwilling to accept this, sent troops to invade the march, killing the marquess and his wife, and imprisoning his son, Gwenyn IV.
History
Secession
With the threat of a war between Amrhyl and Asconia on the horizon, duke Manderg decided to also declare war on his own kingdom. He seceded and formed the Grand Duchy of Southfield, annexing Dwengoff-ny-Don in the process. This effectively redirected the Amrhylian hatred of Asconians towards him, and started a short war that would persist for the entirety of the duchy's independence.
Post-secession
As both a sign of protest and a display of dominance, he then forcefully married the young Gwenyn, who was only 16 at the time, to himself. Keeping him prisoner in his castle, he made his subjects address the boy as a fellow regent, and publicly treated him with respect. However, privately, he was short-tempered and prone to psychological and physical violence, often escalating into sexual abuse. The boy was subjected to multiple violations, which would leave him with life-long scars in both his body and psyche. To this day, scarring on the walls and furniture of the blue room and the master bedroom remain as evidence of Gwenyn's distressing situation.
Death of Wallpeth Manderg and re-annexation
Sometime during Janguwnt of 1207, the duke and Gwenyn had a violent physical fight, ending when the boy got ahold of a dagger and stabbed the man 27 times in various parts of his chest, abdomen and genitals. He then escaped the castle and disappeared for various weeks. The duke had no heirs, and never appointed anyone else as his successor. Therefore, a power vacuum formed. Asconia and Amrhyl then took this opportunity to re-annex Southfield and Dwengoff-ny-Don respectively. Gwenyn was found, months later, by Asconian forces. He was barely alive, severely malnourished and dehydrated, and refused to speak. He would remain selectively mute for the rest of his life. The details of his abuse were only documented much, much later by a close friend of his, the only one able to converse with him, albeit alone and in private.
Legacy
The events that occurred during the existence of the Grand Duchy of Southfield led to much controversy within the Asconian Kingdom at large. This was a major contributing factor in the subsequent strife that pervaded the noble castes, and led to the mass secessions that dissolved and effectively ended the kingdom.
META: Doylist point-of-view
Hello. Camille here. This is the first real piece of lore I pushed out that personally reflects traumas of mine. I'm aware that there's a high chance that this article will be misinterpreted in bad faith, so I'm putting this section here to let people know that this is coming from a personal place. I tried retaining a descriptive tone while writing this, and I realise this made the topic kind of come out very sudden. Had this been a more narrative text, I'd have come about it in a subtler way. I'm sorry about that. But I'm not sorry about writing this in the first place. I'm over being afraid of putting my anguish out there for people to see, as it's extremely cathartic and helps me come to terms with it a ton. I can only hope you understand, and if you don't, and this article isn't for you, that is alright too. The content warning is there for a reason.