Imperial Mazovian
The people of the western principality are slightly taller than average, having a median height of 1.85m and their physique is fairly muscular.
Their skin tone is on the lighter side and their hair is almost always blond or red, rarely light brown, and rarely a dark color.
Their eyes are usually light-colored but it's not unusual to see darker-colored eyes, some even have yellow, orange, or red eyes.
Military
Militarily the Mezovian army is almost entirely made of cavalry, except for the village and city guards. The best riders form the Mezovian Royal Guard, highly skilled and with the best equipment the kingdom can buy, full plate for the rider, mail for the horse, a lance a scimitar, and as of recently a long cavalry black powder pistol. Those who can't make it in the royal guard form the hussars, an elite force of heavy cavalry dressed in chainmail with a metal chest plate and helmet armed with a long lance, a scimitar, and sometimes a black powder rifle, the most distinguished among the hussars wear wings made of wood and ostrich feathers (imported from the colonies in Uxal) and are called winged hussars. The vast majority of soldiers form the druzyna a light cavalry equipped with whatever weapons and armor can be spared, this usually includes a lance and a shorter melee weapon, mostly axes due to the fact they are cheaper than swords, some carry wooden shields and the armor might be a simple gambeson or for the best-equipped mail. Those who aren't fit to join the druzyna are conscripted into the local guard, the only veteran guard in the country is in the capital Dolina which recruits its members only from retired accomplished veterans in the army. Every healthy citizen has to serve at least two years in the army, then it is expected to be called for in case of war, those who prove their worth may also make a career in the army. Though its population is comparable to the central and eastern principality the Mezovian kingdom maintains a far larger standing army, this, combined with the fact that the army is very mobile being comprised mostly of cavalry, means that they are very quick to react to new threats, conflicts like the demon war or the war of the mages reminded the empire why having an army that can deploy quickly in force to give time to the other parts of the Empire to muster their armies is vital to the survival of the Empire itself. Command of the army is not directly controlled by the nobility so Mazovian necessitates a series of military ranks, Marsz is the highest rank commanding an entire army numbering usually between 5 and 10 thousands, Broni is the title immediately after, and commands forces of around a thousand men, a Pulko may lead a battalion or roughly a hundred men, Sierzant commands a small squad of five to ten soldiers and a Kapral acts as the Sierzant second in command. Ranks are supposed to be awarded by merit but as always corruption makes it so a disproportional amount of high-ranking positions are occupied by the Sarmatian nobility.Government
The kingdom is a hereditary agnatic-cognatic absolute monarchy. The city, Dolina, is governed by the King or Queen, the villages and towns are governed by a Graf a title historically reserved to the Sarmatians the Mazovian nobility, but in modern times the title has been given to commoners who distinguished themselves in the arts of war, Grafs are life-long titles invested by the king meaning they are not legally inherited, although practically they almost always are. Although in theory, the Monarch may do as he pleases having absolute power, the reality is that the large standing armies commanded by Marsz and financed by Grafs would quickly rebell against an unfavorable Monarch, so the role of the Monarch is more of arbiter between the powerful individuals in the realm.Economy
Economically the kingdom is mostly self-sufficient, although most modern luxuries have to be imported. Exports include non-precious metals such as lead and iron and hard grain, a type of grain larger than other varieties and with a sour taste, bread made from this grain has a much longer shelf life, taking months to spoil, the grain is used for rations by the various armies of the empire.Culture
Culture and cultural heritage
Culturally they are a homogenous population with few immigrants and few slaves.
Everyone from nobles to commoners is expected to learn to ride a horse by the age of 12, and those who demonstrate talent are recruited to a local cavalry regiment, by imperial law no one younger than 16 may be part of an army or guard but they can start training early.
Funerary and Memorial customs
Mazovians do not have extravagant funerary rites they tend to burry their people in shallow graves topped by piles of rocks on designated funerary hills in the countryside, the rich might have a tombstone.
Related Organizations
