Goldshire
Goldshire is the second of the two original Duchies of Shireroth. It flourished for three years before becoming a part of Brookshire during the reign of Kaiser Ari i.
History
Goldshire, along with Brookshire, was one of the two original Duchies of Shireroth. Its original Duke was Lukedu; after he left it was given to Tony Au. Original maps showed the area west of Goldshire to be Northshire; in summer 2001 it became the Duchy of Elwynn. Goldshire was given to Menelmacari Jadie Doran when she joined Shireroth as a wedding present, Au having been long since gone; her first husband, Jason Steffke, was therefore honorary Duke. During this period, Eriana Moon created Goldshire's Barony of Lunaris. When Jadie remarried Zarathustra Erutirn, he became Duke of Goldshire; due to differences between him and Baroness Moon, Lunaris was traded for the Kitanus Fields. When both Jadie and Zary went inactive, the Duchy gradually became empty, and was merged with Brookshire in the Duchy Rearrangement Act during the time of Kaiser Ari i and Steward Scott Alexander. Subsequently, it was a County within Brookshire, whose leader was also the Steward of Brookshire. With the Feudal Reorganisation put in place by Kaiser Yarad it has ceased to exist as an entity.
Culture
In the fictional histories of SSHIT, Goldshire was originally the great opponent of Brookshire and of Kaiser Raynor I, but was conquered in the Battle of Shirekeep. However, Goldshire never developed a very coherent fictional culture of its own. Duchess Jadie occasionally mentioned it as being inhabited by elves, or cats, or elf cats, and its palace was at one point a treehouse. Duke Zarathustra went further, creating the Florenet society of warriors and a detailed description of the County of Lombardia, but neither of these expanded Goldshire as a whole very much.
Goldshire was rec-invaded a few times, especially by other Duchies seeking to claim it after it became inactive. The invasion of Ric Lyon of Elwynn was the most successful, since at that time it was defended only by Hypatia's Mom
During the Shirerithian Civil War it was assaulted by a force of Báatharz paratroopers sent by Ardashir Khan to assist the regime in Shirekeep by preventing Goldshire from sending its forces to assist the rebellion in Brookshire. In this sense the mission was a success though it should be noted that the paratroopers were massacred to a man by the Florenet guards of the palace.
Geography
Goldshire is north of Brookshire on the MCS Map, and bounded by the Elwynn River. It is full of gold mines, though most of them were depleted in prehistoric times. The capital is Goldshire Hamlet.
