Archduchy of Boslig

Boslig is one of the major successor states of the Occidental Empire, situated northeast of Mavorenia in the rich and forested region of the Verdant Coast. In the east it is bordered by the Lac-du-Lenn. While its history is shared with Mavorenia, Boslig sees itself as the more "pure" of the two, not corrupted by south-western decadence or the overarching struggle of the empire.

History

Boslig has existed in some form since the days of Remara. Originally the domain of the Bashulagoz tribal confederacy, composed of numerous Kernuzdaic peoples, they fiercely resisted the encroachment of Remaran power, remaining independent well after Mavorenia was subjugated. However, they were brought into the fold during the reign of Argant II, father of Avgus. The bashulagoz tribes were offered a place in the Empire as warriors and lumbermen, and would be allowed to keep their own traditions and practices. This agreement was upheld by Avgus the Great, who even took the Bashulagoz goddess Fekla and incorporated her as Masegra, the mother-goddess of his new religion of Nonerianism. To this day many Bosligers are still proud of their nation's status as one of the few realms in Occident to never be conquered by Remara, instead treated as equals by that great empire.

However, while the Bashulagoz may have never been conquered, they were slowly assimilated. With every generation their chieftains acted more as Remaran Praetors than as the first amongst equals they were under native law, and the new cult of Nonerianism, while drawing heavily from their beliefs, gradually displaced them all the faster for it. The ancestors of the Bosligers remained a distinct people throughout their history, but were (and are) still much closer to the Remarans than the other Kernuzdaic peoples to their north and east.

Their spirit of independence, however, remained untainted, and as the Remaran Empire became more and more decentralized they naturally slipped into the warlordism that had engulfed it, local strongmen quickly taking back their positions of influence that they had lost to Remaran praetors. Under the subsequent Occidental Empire the dukes of the inland region of Siklei became increasingly influental, welding the squabbling fiefdoms together into the Archduchy of Boslig. Following the death of Thietmar, the last High King of Occident, both the Bosligers and Mavorenians laid claim to his throne and crown, the Mavorenians championing his brother Arsibault, from whom the Mavorenian kings are to this day descended, and the Bosligers choosing instead Thietmar's daughter Slivan. Slivan had been born in Boslig, and was rumored to have had a romantic affair with her bodyguard Wilton Mallory who had perished in the war. This had resulted in a child, also named Thietmar. The resulting conflict, known as the Princess's War or sometimes the War of the Bastard, tore the Occidental Empire in half. Seeing the weakness of their rivals, the Great Northern Alliance and Senesia invaded, the former hoping to take the lands across the river Krallen and the latter seeking to depose the pretenders and restore rightful Remaran rule. By the time the war was over, only the Northern Alliance had achieved their goals, and the empire was forever sundered between the two competing claimants. Of the two, the richer Mavorenia would be favored by history, with Boslig's allies falling to the northern Alliance and boslig herself restricted to the thickly wooded and poorly developed areas of its own Archduchy.

Religion

The Bosligers have a strange relationship with Nonerianism. It is in part based off of their own ancient practices, but has long been used to justify outsiders' rule over the area. Additionally, their peaceful manner of integration into the Remaran empire ensured that their local faiths and cultures remained relatively intact. Boslig also hosts the seat of the Church of the Mother, which takes a particularly syncretist viewpoint, even in comparison to other Nonerian churches. Some see the religion as practiced in Boslig as an entirely distinct form, and they are not necessarilly wrong.

"Sturdy as Oak"

Type

Geopolitical, Archduchy

Capital

Mother's Oak

Alternative Names

Oakland

Predecessor Organization

• Occidental Empire

Demonym

Bosliger

Leader Title

Archduke

Power Structure

Feudal state

Official State Religion

Nonerianism

Official Languages

• Occidental

Neighboring Nations

• Kingdom of Mavorenia