# Sudermere — Drenwick's Duchy

The southern duchy of the Kingdom of Corvel. Contains Drenwick, the southeast coast, and the old pre-Compact ruins south of the city. Guild-dominated in practice because its duke does not govern in person.

## Position
South of the Crownhold, west of Vethmarch, south of Wenlow. Fronts the sea on the east and southeast. Two rivers flow through the duchy and meet at Drenwick.

## Ruler
**Duke Roderic Velthane.** Mid-50s. Absentee by temperament — prefers his coastal estate at **Velthane Hollow** to his titular seat at Drenwick, which he visits rarely. He collects his rents, signs what needs signing, attends court in Varenhold when required, and lets the guilds run Drenwick without interference. This is why Phelan has never had reason to think about a duke in two books of cases: Velthane's indifference is Drenwick's unusual freedom.

See `characters/duke-velthane.md`.

## Seat
Drenwick is the duchy's titular seat. The ducal residence in Drenwick sits on the Noble Estates on the Hill, but is rarely occupied — a staff keeps it ready, and nothing else.

Duke Velthane's actual residence is **Velthane Hollow**, a coastal estate near Saltern Cliffs. Comfortable, private, defensible, with a small harbor.

## Key places in Sudermere
- **Drenwick** — seat city, river junction, guild-dominated. See `drenwick.md`.
- **Velthane Hollow** — Duke Velthane's coastal estate. Near Saltern Cliffs.
- **Saltern Cliffs** — southeast coast. Ghostveil moss grew here before the Compact acquired it.
- **Greymarch Barrows** — pre-Compact ruin ~2 hours south of Drenwick. Sealed repository.
- **Velken's Drift** — abandoned magical ore mine ~3 hours southeast of Drenwick.
- **Caldburn** — small town, Phelan's prior residence.
- **Brenwick** — town east of Drenwick. Former ghostveil moss site.
- **Henwick** — rural orchard area east of Drenwick, source of Devod's delivery route apples.

## Character
Sudermere is agriculturally thin, coastally rich, and politically invisible. Its wealth flows through Drenwick's guilds and river trade rather than through ducal estate rents. Travelers from the Crownhold sometimes call Sudermere "the merchant province" — not as a compliment. The duchy has more old ruins per square mile than anywhere except Vethmarch, and most of them have never been explored.

## Book 3 relevance
The central structural question: **what does it take to get Duke Velthane to actually pay attention?** When the Compact applies real pressure in Drenwick, Velthane's absence stops being convenient and starts being a problem the guilds can't solve by themselves. Whether the duke gets involved — and on which side — is a Book 3+ hook.
