Painting of a village with a river and a few people on horseback

The Duchy of Genesee Article DRAFT PUBLIC Situated in the heart of the kingdom’s interior, the Duchy of Genesee serves a vital role connecting provinces and commerce. Genesee arose rapidly around hearty sawmills fueled by the region’s abundant timber. It is overseen by the merchant prince Lord Fenton from his growing riverside estate Fenton’s Landing. As virgin oak and hickory stands are cleared, quaint villages spring up along the fertile banks of the Flint, Shiawassee and Cass rivers. Log rafts and barges haul lumber through on route to distant mills. Homesteads sprout fields and orchards bearing crops, cider-apples, and honey bees. Livestock graze on lush meadows. At the confluence of key travel corridors lies the flourishing settlement Grand Blanc. Inns, granaries, traders and all manners of craftsmen provision the steady traffic of merchants, soldiers and settlers moving people, post and goods between allied realms. Even the royal army marches this way. Lord Fenton in particular has grown rich provisioning the influx of pioneers and facilitating inland waterways trade. Though lacking an aristocratic title, his enterprising ventures give him sway over local authorities. He now turns attention to burgeoning industry around the settlement Flint.