The total number of inhabitants in Gronne-Haute is estimated at 320 000
(the County is roughly 8500 square miles in area, compared to Hordaland's area of 6030 square miles, Østfold's of 1615 sq. mi.)
(The river Gronne has a catchment of about 9000 sq. miles in Gronne-Haute)
Politically, the Gronne-Haute area is the northernmost district ruled by the Arch-Duke. The six titled nobles of the area are best described as belonging to three groups, each of which also includes a number of bannerets.
The area is dominated by the Count (who is Viscount of Naras) and the Baron of Montcuivre. These two noblemen form the diumviratic leadership of the so-called "copper lords", who have gotten their wealth from governing the land where copper is mined, and the city where it is worked, respectively.
The Baron of Molagne and the Baron of Champs-Bluets are at the vanguard of the "lords of the soil" who base their income on the grain harvests of the Naras valley. Molagne dominates downriver from Naras, while Champs-Bluet hold sway upriver, and could also be called a lord of the copper, as his mines are also quite great.
The third and smaller group of noblemen are the "border lords" whom have neither copper mines nor prime farmland. Headed by the barons of Valsangé and Bois-Alsante, these nobles are respected for their valiance, but are sneered at for being parsimonious and uncultured.
Militarily, the two pivotal points of Gron-Haute are the settlements of Naras and Trecore, which control the bridges over the Gron, and effectively bottleneck movement in the district. Another important bottleneck is the Castle Garde-des-Dragons which oversees the entrance to the Sidrenna valley, where the greatest number of copper mines are found. Each of the five barons has at least one castle, as do the Viscount and Count, of course. The Count's castle, and the Baron of Montcuivre's castle are both quite strong.
It is said that over a century ago, Sir Hercules de Valsangé, a puissant knight returning north after the Clementian Butcher had been repulsed for good, came along the road through the valley of Naras.Here, he was greatly annoyed by a madman, a Fool who yelled and screamed and proclaimed that all men bearing arms were damned to drown in blood. Eventually driven to a rage by the filthy fool, whose yells grated on his ear and his pride, and drove his horse to distraction, the knight drew his sharp-edged sword. With one fell stroke, he severed the fool's head. Then he turned back to the road. But behind him he still heard the fool's head scream. "Bloody-handed knight, you may think that the days of fear, blood and toil are behind you, but rest assured that your time of peace is at end, and your life will soon follow suit. Your bane will be a trusted friend, and that even rest after death shall be denied to you."
The knight hurried home in a great fright, and banished all his men from his sight. He refused to have contact with any friends or relatives, eating little, and spending most of his time in melancholic rides around his fields on his warhorse. A few days later, his horse broke a leg in a mousehole, and he was thrown to the ground, breaking his neck. At his funeral, the faint tinkling of a fool's bells could be heard. Since then, the knight has been doomed to ride his ghost-horse along the valley; He strikes down in a rage upon all he encounters, but fears greatly any Fool which may come along. For this reason, locals from the valley who encounter lone horsemen after dark, tend to behave like idiots.