Woking

Woking is a bimonarchy (a kingdom with two separate ruling royal families) in Terrimoire on Shade.

It is not a major power. It is part of the fragmented further reaches of the former Pais Meizurs empire and has been functionally independent for perhaps 40 years before the start of the Twine Wars events. It was allowed to maintain its royal family while under Maizur control and declared formal independence perhaps 8 years before the events.

Population

Largely faleigh. There's been a little movement of population (ferais, faleigh and voks) in recent decades from the former PM, but Woking was never very interesting or strategically important, so it's mostly been left alone.

Geography

Landlocked. A range of mountains along the western border make Woking an unlikely prospect for invasion from the Soprone-controlled west, and the closest neighbour is anyway the largely peaceful Montuone.

Temperate with generally good soils. One or two major, fast-flowing rivers from the west (ie from the mountains).

Applestone belongs to the southern Crown. It is in the fertile forested belt nicknamed "Woking's orchard".

Economics

A moderate food producer with the odd useful mineral and metal deposit. Can't match up to Montuone in manufacturing power and trade links are somewhat hampered by geography. Bulk transport by river and human-made canals. Well-maintained road links between locations with King's Mail stations.

Wildlife

As Terrimoirine wildlife. Wild wolves and foxes are found, with some bears in the less populous regions; very few wildcats, some dulsets in the north, occasional unicorns; wild herbivores include goats, rabbits and hares, boar, deer ranging from tallhorns in mountainous regions to forest deer lower down. Healthy populations of amphibians and small reptiles.

Military

No navy. Breed relatively large horses because of high proportion of faleighs (being the biggest sape species apart from the far-distant rocca), hence heavy cavalry is a speciality. Something of a tradition of chivalrous pursuits. Woking's longbowmen have been notable in the past.

Seats of government

Crown city	Heycron	Sucrouw
Location	North-east	South-east
Monarch	Queen ?	King Roy IX

Language

Original roots pseudo-Germanic, modern language and culture owes more to PM influence (pseudo-French). PMish names particularly common among aristocracy (exotic, cultural excellence -- plus most of them are of Eastern descent).

Culture

As reflected in the language, Woking is unable to resist secret shameful dalliances with Soprone styles while at the same time aspiring to be the sophisticated Pais Meizurs. Their arts and music are a mixture of these influences along with local traditions. In the realm of literature there is more of a sense of stubborn independence, while the influence-makers at court are as swift to denounce anything that's too foreign as they are to leap upon any ridiculous new fashion from abroad.

Law enforcement

(applies to most or all rural areas of the country)

In peacetime, law is traditionally kept by the writer, which is always a local person. (It'a homonym, meaning something different from "writer" as in "somebody who writes".) The writer solves most disputes, except those that need to be referred to the lord (or des steward) because of seriousness or legal complications. The writer has deputies called beagles.

During war times or whenever the master has a standing army, the position of chatling becomes more important. The chatling's duties include keeping order among the soldiers. Usually the chatling desself mainly does paperwork, leaving the day-to-day arrangements of hearings and punishments to des subordinate, called a sousha. ('Sousha' is a word also found outside military contexts, where it can mean one of several civic deputy-type roles.) The chatling is authorised to perform marriages during wars.

Other things called Woking

Woking is also a town in the county of Surrey, England [1], notable primarily for being attacked by Martians in The War of the Worlds and secondarily for being home to some of Herm's ancestry.

Word of God states that the name of the fictional Woking was actually arrived at by taking "two kings", removing the first and last letters and running the remaining letters together - although, obviously, the result was made more attractive by the coincidence in name.