Capua

The County of Capua
House dul Terani
Liege	Alessandra dul Terani
Resources	Undefined
Population	141295
Income	0 weekly, 0 per annum
Size	4037 km^2 (1559 mi^2)

Forming the southern most tip of Vavard proper, Capua is the home of those fabled grapes and their remarkably high standards for brewing them. Parcelled out to the merchant lord Desmond dul Terani back in 278 from Duke Sivernus dul Acris, the Capuan county comprises a varied landscape and people. From the coasts in the west and south, the mountains and hills in the center of the county, and the flatter lands of the plains and rivers in the east and north, Capua is called home by a great many folk--farmers, merchants and traders, summering nobles, and glory-hungry knights. Blessed by a subtropical climate, a long growing season, and spectacularly rich soil, Capua is a true land of plenty both in its fishing and its farming, though none of its other products hold a candle to their brandy.

The brandy wasn't always there, of course. In the beginning days of the county, Capua was home to the same colonial struggle as the others. Natives had to be relocated, civilized, and shown the proper Davite way, after all. But in the aftermath of subjugation, the land quickly adapted to the skillsets of its ruler. The Terani's had excelled in a land of traders by not forgetting the importance of craftsmanship and exclusivity, and it was these qualities in addition to the extraordinarily brewable grapes that lead to the county's most famous product. For over half a century, the word capuan has been synonymous with quality and impeccable standards--a fact the local merchants are happy to relay.

In more recent years (since at least the second wave of colonization), Capua has traded its fear of incursions and the stresses of properly educating its native population for an atmosphere of peace and paradise--for those wealthy and/or Vavardi enough to enjoy them. Families famous for producing Knights of the Rock abound, and with less immediate need to test their mettle against actual threats, local youths with a martial bent keep the peace and law in the cities and villages--Vavardi peace and Vavardi law. The peasants might readily incorporate their family trees into the native soil, but above that station Vavardi blood is considered a point of pride if not a necessity.

The Terani family has overseen this all through the years with a strong, hands-on presence. Certainly some in its line have been less effectual than others since Desmond, but even its more scandal-prone Counts and Countesses have counted successes too. Even the late Nathaniel Lorenzo dul Terani cleared up his fair share of piracy and border disputes. Of course, he also passed with the lowest ratio of trueborn heirs to bastards in Capua's history, acknowledging but not legitimizing the lot before his passing in 363. Faced with a number of half-siblings, a title, and a host of other problems besides, the young and current Countess Alessandra Valentina dul Terani has since concentrated her efforts at home. After a Queenly visit through her Duchy and County in 368, Alessandra announced her intent to visit Lithmore City.