Welcome to Ohto County, a wonderful little fictional area of make-believe, nestled between Far Far Away and Oz. Nobody enters Ohto County on purpose; victims wander in by accident, carried on the fog of the coast roads. And nobody every leaves Ohto County, not even in death. Shadows walk and dance between the corn stalks and apple trees as the sun slides low and pregnant on the horizon. Ancient and largely hidden families control the lives residents and their livelihoods from the shadows of their moldering estates.

But, what is Ohto County? Rumors swirl of course. Residents cannot escape the reality of the fact that nobody ever leaves the valley that contains the county. Those who wander into the woods of the Lesser Hirvi Mountains, or strike out across the ocean waters simply never return. And those who attempt to escape via the coast roads simply circle back into Ohto County, again and again.

So again, what is Ohto County? Resident tell tales of a secret cult hidden even from the ancient families that rule the rest the county. And the tales speak of a secret world which this hidden cult guards: a looming deep well of mystery which lies metaphorically beneath the county. Ohto County is the skin on a stagnant pond that stretches deep down for unknown infinities.

Welcome to our forests and enjoy our wonders, don’t mind the ghosts.

FAQs about Ohto County

Etymology

The first arrivals to Ohto county were European settlers of largely Scandanavian origin. The settler named the county after a euphemistic term for a bear, a term often used to to mean the King of the Forest. The name was officially chosen because the lack of previous habitation by any humans, even first nations, meant that the valley was rich with wildlife included large mammals such as brown and black bears. Unofficially, the valley was named because the whole region seemed dangerous to refer to directly, seemingly possessed of a sinister intelligence that lurked in the trees just out of sight. And so concerned with the possibility of drawing the direct attention of that malign intelligence, the settlers used a euphemistic name drawn from their cultural folklore to protect themselves as best they could.

The name for the Karhu Delta Region as near identical etymology and meaning. The people who arrived to settle Ohto County realized early on that they have settled on cursed ground, and that the valley itself would not allow them to leave. Faced with a life and future in a malign and hostile place, the settlers did what they could to avoid drawing the attention and the ire of whatever it was that held them in the valley, between the teeth of the Lesser Hirvi Mountains.

Ohto County is the court of the King of the Forest, and its subjects are not free to leave.

History

The history of Ohto County is a twisted collection of rumors and legends, knitted together by town gossips. Popular myth in Ohto County is that nobody arrives in Ohto County except by the Coast Road. The reason for this is that path the Coast Road now follows, up to Lokki Point Crossroads is said to mark the trail of the original settlers: The Tyrfing Caravan. Both the Linna Family and the Sundberg Family were part of the original settlers.

The modern era unofficially begins in the year 1881 with the so-called Bloody Year 1881. In six month period in the 1881, five members of Sundberg Family and twelve members of the Linna family died of various accidents. At the end of the bloody year of 1881, half of Isa Island was declared a public park, and half was claimed by the Linna family and not contested by the Sundberg family. 1951 was the last year that any member of the Linna family was ever seen in public. Known later as the year of Ghosts, there was nothing at the time out of the ordinary. It was only as the decade wore on that people began to realize that the Linna Family, though still ostensibly very active in local politics, had not been seen in person for years.

Ohto County now sits apart from the rush of the rest of the world. And those who arrive find themselves seemingly locked in an anachronistic present.

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Government and Politics

The valley region known to its residents as Ohto County defies easy governmental and administrative description. Residents describe the region as a county, but a county of what is a question to which nobody seems to know the answer. New Vaarashire has a County Courthouse, and maintains county administrative duties at the court house, including keeping offices for county judges, and the county sheriff. Lacking outside intervention, the judge and sheriff are both appointed by the New Vaarashire town council. Both positions are frequently used as rewards for loyal allies of which ever Old Family is able to gain control of the Town Council at any particular.

In many ways, Ohto County is less an administrative region than it is an ongoing cold war and very polite blood feud.

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Geography

Ohto County sits in a valley delta and creeps up into the lesser Hirvi Mountains to the east. The rare visitors to Ohto County arrive either through the Green Brothers Marina, or the Sundberg Coast Road that runs along the Broken Coast from the north and into New Vaarashire. On the northwestern coast of Ohto County sits Isa Island. Just to the south and east of Isa Island, on the fertile Karhu Delta and just to the north of the mouth of the Katketty River, sits the small and aging town of New Vaarashire. To the south of New Vaarashire and on the south shore of the Katketty River sits the Katketty River Region. Following the Katketty River to the east, a visitor will reach the Black Lake. Coiling around the valley regions from the northeastern coast to the southwestern edge of the Katketty River is the Lesser Hirvi Mountain Regional Park.

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Economy

The economy of Ohto County is necessarily very insular. Goods do arrive from outside, how said good arrive is a matter of some mystery. Goods come in on train, but no citizen has ever seen anyone crewing the trains. The trains simply roll into the county at irregular intervals. And as with the trains themselves, nobody has ever seen the trains being unloaded. Residents will strenuously caution new arrivals against questioning this; because however it happens, the trains are the the only source of imports into Ohto County apart from the Coat Roads and the steady trickle of new arrivals.

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Demographics

The geographic location of Ohto County is unclear. The County sits on the west coast of North America. The population generally speaks English as a first language. And the ethnic background of the inhabitants suggests that county may sit somewhere between the pacific northwest and California.

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Notable Residents

Ohto County was colonized initially by a group of Norwegian and Finnish settlers, but the population now is composed of the lost wanderers who ended up in Ohto County through no fault of their own. And as such, the character of Ohto County is profoundly multicultural and diverse. Loyalties in the County are determined by which of two families one allies with, and whether one is a Townee (lives in New Vaarashire), a Katty (lives in the Katketty Region) or one of the Hill folk (lives out in the Lesser Hirvi Mountains).

Learn more about Notable Residents of Ohto County.

Notable Organizations

Allegiance to the Sundberg family or the Linna family may dominate local politics, but they are not the only power brokers. It is true that the Sundberg family trust is arguably the most influential group, but the Hunter’s Club and the Firebird Collective are forces to be respected and both have played kingmaker to both the Linna family and the Sundberg family over the decades. And many other smaller organizations also hold close their secrets.

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Education

Ohto County contains two school houses. One School house sits on the south slope of New Vaarashire. The other School House molders on the South Shore.

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Culture

The culture of Ohto County is best described as schizophrenic; with locals being both welcoming and reasonable to new arrivals, while also being insular and keeping outsiders carefully at arms length. Ohto County prides itself on being polite and reasonable, but residents are just as proud of their ability to keep to themselves and keep their loyalties to the various groups and families that jockey for power in the valley. Ohto County can, in a lot of ways, be likened to a great confluence of cliques vying for supremacy.

Learn more about the Culture of Ohto County.