Mulberry

Mûre, three mulberry leaves Or
Vassal of	Bowcourt
Status	Coronet Barony
Location	South of Remy, West of Borderlay, North of Chartres
Area
Geography	Fertile river valleys, well-drained croplands, stony soiled areas under viticulture
Population
Urbanisation	9%
Major Towns	Armagnac (8,500)
Languages –Lalange –Common –Elvish –Others –Literacy	95% 60% 30% 10% 20% (mostly urban)
Exports	Wine, Spirits (Eau de vie)
Imports	Wood

Overview

Fertile, but otherwise fairly dull Barony with some notable wine growing lands. Officially named Mûre, (being its name in Lalange), but commonly known as Mulberry to both neighbours and residents.

Places of Interest

Almost none

People

The most interesting features of the Barony are probably Baron Henri de Mulberry (or "de Mûre") and his (younger) twin brother Sir William de Mulberry.

Sir William de Mulberry is magical advisor to her Radiance Dulciena de Bowcourt and perhaps the greatest living magical theorist in Western Alusia. He is not a mage himself, apparently having insufficient magical aptitude to learn any college... including Namer. His magical designs include the permanent portal that operates between the Elven Isles and New Destiny. He is pleasant and happy with a child-like fascination for any new things, speaks multiple languages and is used to navigating the corridors of power (having no doubt designed a number of devices to assist with this). Physically he appears to be in his late 50's, small and unassuming, with a round, cheerful face and thinning mousy hair.

Baron Henri is a Shaper of considerable ability, taking his brother's designs and making them real. He is quiet and introverted, though pleasant enough to talk to, speaks only a little Common (preferring his native Lalange), and avoids visitors. When not shaping he can often be found tending his prized roses. Physically he is the spitting image of his twin.

Literacy in Mulberry

Both of the de Mûres have an atypical belief in the value of education and have invested considerable time and money into the spread of literacy within the Barony. As many as 1 in 5 people within the Barony are fully literate; a remarkable number when compared to western Alusian norms.

Resources

Wines

Mulberry has significant acreage under viticulture, almost exclusively in the Clairette Blanc grape, and produces two main varieties of wine, neither of which approaches the quality of wines from neighbouring Borderlay. Most of Mulberry's wine is intended for distillation into its famous Eau de vie d'Armagnac.

Mûre Blanc

An undistinguished vin de table made mostly from Chenin Blanc with Clairette Blanc blended in to add sweetness to an otherwise quite acidic wine.

Mûre Piquette

Made from grape pomace. It is generally of low quality and alcohol content. It cannot be stored for long and tends to be consumed locally.

Eau de vie

In contrast to its rather poor quality wines, Mulberry produces distilled spirits of good through excellent quality, and exports find their way throughout the Baronies, to Alfheim, and beyond.

Eau de vie de Mûre

More commonly known as Mulberry Brandy, this is a Pomace brandy (made from the solid remains of grapes -- the pulp, peel, seeds and stalks of the fruit after the juice has been pressed out -- and then distilled). This produces a transparent spirit with an alcohol content between 40% and 60% by volume (80 to 120 proof). Some Eau de vie de Mûre (usually high potency varieties) are further coloured and flavoured with actual mulberries to create a rosé liquor somewhat confusingly also called Mulberry Brandy.

Eau de vie d'Armagnac

The very best Eau de vie produced in Mulberry is the single distilled Eau de vie d'Armagnac, commonly known simply as Armagnac. It is distilled from young fruit and aged in oak casks, preserving the freshness and aroma of the original fruit. Once aged for three or more years it is bottled and shipped all over the Baronies and beyond from the river port of Armagnac (from which it derives its name).