The Provinces of Belstrad
Inheritors of The Tarnished Lands
Belstrad is a nation in southern Arna composed of four provinces: Kaspar in the north, Bremska along the coast, Drosivec in the interior, and Krasnava in the south. Though technically still a kingdom, the king's position has been purely ceremonial for about three generations and he has little sway over actual politics. The real power lies with the Council of Altoven, chosen though indirect election. This nation could probably win an award for the Most Human Population as not even many halflings head in this direction. The largest non-human populace is in the Ostküste Mountains near the coast in Bremska. The mysterious dwarves of Khuzzud are very hostile towards outsiders and keep to themselves far below the surface for the most part. To many they are more a myth than a creature of fact- like a local and dangerous cryptid. Despite it's massive size, very few places in all of Belstrad feel well and truly safe.
Reputation vs Reality
Not many are drawn to Belstrad and there are many dark rumors and stories of the horrors that lie behind its borders. It is a haunted land, a cursed land, with culturally backwards, starving citizens and a cruel and fascist government. Most consider them xenophobic and hyper-religious and unwelcoming to visitors. Most of these rumors are half-truths. Its people are known for their stubborn and enduring nature- something that has resulted from near-neverending hardships. The truth is that their people enjoy a great deal of freedom compared to other places- no restrictions on religion, sexuality, and social mobility and they provide social services like free schooling and financial assistance for their elderly. It is incredibly bureaucratic with fairly low levels of crime and corruption within its governing body. A robust and well trained militia keeps law and order and keeps their borders safe. This country was never conquered by the Marasen Empire- no easy feat- and they have stood in the shadow of potential warfare for centuries. It has a legitimately benevolent religious institution (The Sisters of Mercy) dedicated to the welfare of its citizenry including housing and feeding the homeless, curing the ill, and keeping the rampant undead at bay. Being the massive area that it is, slightly different cultures have risen in the different provinces (of which there are four) and many in Belstrad have strong opinions of people from other provinces (largely north vs south). Contrary to rumors, most Belstradians actually hate each other more than they hate newcomers.An Inherited Fear of the Arcane
What causes most from the outside to consider Belstrad a backwards country is that the people of Belstrad hate arcane magic. Performing it is a punishable offense- in most cases capital punishment- and that's only if they are given a proper trial. Many of the smaller towns won’t hesitate to lynch a suspected wizard. They have a zero tolerance policy, something that forces many natural-born sorcerers to flee the provinces. There is a reason for this revulsion to the arcane- particularly ‘learned magic’. Belstrad was ground zero during The Event. There are entire fields that still burn with everlasting magical flames from the age of the magocracies. Massive swaths of formerly fertile plains are corrupted and blackened and fallow beyond repair. This country struggles to feed its people because the land is so barren from the wars between the ancient human mageocracies and the elves of Astrithyr and swaths of the undead still wriggle in through rifts to the shadowfell left in their wake. In their eyes, magic is something to be wielded only by the gods or their champions- it was not meant for mortal hands. It is too powerful and too dangerous and it corrupts anyone who wields it. There have been groups that have cropped up to defend Belstradian citizens born with sorcerous powers they cannot control, but it is a slow-moving battle against a very heavy tide of history. Kinder judges want to simply brand and banish them from the country instead of putting them to death, but others see those born with magic as a virus or infection that must be terminated before it can multiply. There are entire sects of the government dedicated to procuring and destroying magical items, scrolls, and books as well as tracking down rogue wizards, warlocks, artificers and bards and ‘bringing them to justice’.Conflict with Elves
Unsurprisingly, the citizens of Belstrad hold a grudge towards high elves who still worship and utilize magic without reservation and they see them as a their biggest threat short of the undead. If at any point the elves decide to take back the land they lost two millenia ago, Belstrad would likely not stand a chance in the face of their arcane power. It’s not likely to happen of course, because most of the land is beyond healing and not worth going to war over. The slowly growing and encroaching Astrithyrian forest in the north is seen by some as a passive aggressive attack and attempt to reclaim their old lands by some conspiracy theorists. Distrust and fear of the elves is practically an aspect of northern Belstradian culture- a tradition- a thing that binds them altogether in their united human-hood no matter how much in-fighting occurs between them. On that note, most Belstradians have also never met an elf, so their image of them has been largely twisted to look like the kinds of boogie-men who hide under children’s beds. Many bedtime stories involve devious elven enchanters charming and luring unsuspecting humans into the dark fey woods where they perform magic rituals and eat them to prolong their near-immortality. That said, in the south, anti-elf sentiment is not quite so intense. Most there have also never met an elf, but because huge swaths of flaming fields and blackened hills largely separate them from Astrithyr they don't experience the same fear as in the north of potential warfare. The elves are more out of sight and out of mind. They do come into contact with dwarves and others from the wild south so they tend to be a little more tolerant of outsiders and those that look different from them.Near-Monotheism
Belstrad is very unusual compared to many large countries of it's size because, despite the cultural diversity among the humans of the different provinces, the people all overwhelmingly worship one goddess. That is not to say they are fully monotheistic- some may worship other gods as well- but most everyone worships Helora above all others. Belstrad has a curious relationship with death- a bit of an obsession really. It's people are constantly on the brink of it because they are assaulted so consistently with the undead menace left from the Event. Death is a constant companion and few live to a ripe old age. People have unusual ways of coping with the anxieties of this threat and likely eventuality. It is only natural that they would worship the goddess of life and healing and mercy and she who shepherds the souls of the dead when their time finally does come. They worship her both for good health and for protection from the undead which, to her, is an abomination. They see themselves allied with her against the forces of shadow and many see themselves as her loyal soldiers. Many organizations in Belstrad are dedicated to her cause and the safety of their brethren. The Sisters of Mercy ensure lasting death and burials that stick, The Gravekeepers watch over cemeteries and graveyards to ensure they remain unmolested by ghouls or lingering spirits, the Watchers and Death Hunters actively seek out the wandering dead and put them to rest. Her chapels are found in every city and small town and are warded and safeguarded from the undead in case of a raid of zombies (which does happen in the south).The Bulwark Cities
Althoven Althoven is the capital of the country and the location of the Council of Altoven as well as the seat of the (ceremonial) monarch. It has the highest population largely because this region is where most of the remaining fertile farmland is (called the Twilight Tillage as it suffers slightly from a lack of sunlight, falling within the shadow of the Ostküste Mountains. This city is heavily fortified with walls and guards to protect the people and most of the governing body safe from attack- either from the undead or potentially elvish invasion. Its located on the Tenmo River near the intersection of the northernmost three provinces, making it a major hub for interprovincial trade. Though considered the most secure place to live in Belstrad (if not the most expensive) it is still just a stone's throw away from the burning fields of Čarovnik and the border with Astrithyr. Valwick Valwick, near the northern border but nestled safely in the surrounding hills, is the capital of of the Kaspar Province and the seat of military power in Belstrad. It is outfitted with armories, soldiers, barracks and bunkers in case of a potential war with Marasen- a repeating occurrence for most of Belstrad's history. They are backed by the nearby Fort Tirschden and Nuremgard. Like most Belstradian cities it is walled and is also kept well stocked (partially from Kardath to the north) in the case of a siege. The province of Kaspar lies on two potential battlefronts- Marasen to the north and Astrithyr to the west, and its people are kept very much in suspense. As such both Valwick and the nearby city of Rosengatter are both equipped with extra lodging for small-town Kasparians in case they should need to flee to one of these secure locations. Brundorf Brundorf is the capital of the coastal province of Bremska. Long ago it was the seat of the first throne of Belstrad, until Belstrad conquered the surrounding areas and repositioned it's seat of power near the interior. Now Bremska is a major trade hub, receiving imports from the many nearby ports as well as the mining settlements around the Ostküste Mountains, which it also is backed up against for protection. People call it the city of steel as much of the ores mined nearby are ultimately refined here. The city is almost defined by its odd rivalry with Port Hannestadt just up the coast a ways- a city that nearly equals it in size though it is a fairly new settlement in comparison. No one know how or why the rivalry began, but folks from each city simply cannot stand one another and they attempt at every turn to compete- economically, culturally, or otherwise. Oravnik Oravnik, capital of the Drosivec Province, is sometimes called the Lonely City because it is so far removed in location than many of the other larger cities and capitals in Belstrad. Drosivec in general is home to more ruins than standing towns, a result of the constant threat of the undead- a threat shared only by the province to the south- Krasnava. Most of the surrounding hamlets (mostly hunting camps) have ordinances in place in case they must flee to Oravnik for safety. Oravnik sees itself as the Bulwark that keeps the undead hordes from creeping ever further north into the more 'civilized' region of Belstrad. Oravnik was settled around a small lake called Živý Rybník that was said to be sacred and blessed by Helora the Merciful. Though it consecrates the city, some say claim it is a well guarded portal to the underworld and many stories and tales in the region are centered on it as a piece of living mythos. Residents of Drosivec are often 'cleansed' in the sacred waters of "The Rybník" as young children of infants and is believed that once this is done the person will never fear becoming one of the animated dead. It should be noted that the citizens of Oravnik are even more hostile than the average Belstradian in the case of magic users. The nearby hamlet of "Bonfire" was named as such for a fairly horrifying reason. They take religion and magic very very seriously in these parts. Podzámok Podzámok is the capital of the southern Krasnava Province despite its extremely perilous location and it continues to be out of sheer stubbornness. A sensible government would relocate to Port Lovinica, but the heads of the Krasnavan government feel the need to make a statement. Of all the provinces, no one deals with more existential horrors than the hardened folks of the fallow south. Most of the region lay blackened, plagued, or on fire- an everlasting magical fire which engulfed all the former elven forests that once called this region home. It is truly the province of ruins- both human and elvish. Podzámok stands as the only standing settlement as old as those ancient wars and it stands (much like Althoven) all too close to those burning fields for comfort. Most of the citizens of this province put down roots near the coast, away from the furious ghosts and banshees of the blackened lands. No one retreats to Podzámok when things go awry- that would be running towards the trouble. Podzámok stands in defiant opposition to the hordes of the undead, seeing themselves as the light in the darkness, the exterminator of the filth of Vanar. They hold the line in Helora's name, and their citizens take this divine mission very seriously. Most of the citizens are well armed and trained as early as they can be. The weak and fearful do not last long here- they die or they are sent south in shame to huddle with the masses. Podzámok is every bit as armed as the military capital of Valwick, but they carry holy water in addition to their armaments.
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