The heraldry of Graften bears a golden lion's head set against a field of alternating black and white chevrons. Proud and commanding, it reflects the quiet defiance and noble pride of this southern archipelago despite its isolation.
Graften consists of a cluster of small islands in the southernmost reaches of Steinau, surrounded entirely by the vast waters of the Nordsee. These isles are blanketed in dense, lush forests and dotted with fertile clearings ideal for farming. The coasts are rugged but navigable, with natural inlets that have long served as havens for fishermen and merchant ships.
Graften is a small but wealthy province, its prosperity built on trade. The islands’ abundance of timber and fish, along with their fertile soil, made them self-sustaining and a crucial trade point with the mainland and foreign markets, particularly those in Germany and the Netherlands. The Dutch influence is evident even in its names and cultural customs. Central to the region is the fortified town of Graafsteen, seat of power and trade, home to the ruling manor and once a beacon of affluence.
Graafsteen, a town nestled along the largest island’s southern shore was once a bustling port and seat of local governance. It thrived as a center for trade, shipbuilding, and storage. The manor of House Graften, built of red bricks and grey slate, overlooked the harbor with a quiet authority. The town’s markets were filled with barrels of smoked fish, bolts of linen, crates of grain, and the chatter of foreign tongues. It was here that deals were struck over tankards of ale and grain prices set for seasons to come. Unlike the mainland's cities of power and pilgrimage, Graafsteen stood as a monument to merchant wealth, not divine favor.
While the people of Graften are officially Christian, their devotion often takes a back seat to commerce. Faith here is quiet, pragmatic, and interwoven with the rhythms of trade. Prosperity and independence have shaped a culture of resourcefulness, seafaring, and adaptability. Festivals often center around bountiful harvests or successful trade seasons rather than saints' days, and many families maintain heirlooms from German or Dutch trade connections. Their dialect is said to carry a subtle Dutch lilt.
During the War of the Scepter and Crown, Graften threw its support behind the king, as he had been avidly incentivising their trade interests. Their geographic isolation initially protected them from the war’s devastation. Cut off from the mainland and roads, they relied on their ships for communication and supply, allowing them to hold out while much of Steinau burned.
That fragile safety did not last. The bishop’s forces, denied direct access by land, changed tactics. One night, under the cloak of darkness, a stealthy flotilla arrived on Graften’s shores. The attack was swift and brutal. Fires swept through the island settlements, consuming farms, mills, and homes alike. Graafsteen itself was abandoned, its once-proud manor now boarded shut, a haunting monument to the cost of loyalty in a divided kingdom. Graften remains a shell of its former self, its harbors empty, its forests silent, its people scattered or dead. Only the winds and waves remember the trade songs once sung in its markets.