Kingdom of Ardechia
Government
The Monarchy
The Kingdom of Ardechia unfurls its tapestry of governance under the steadfast rule of a feudal monarchy, with the Knyez perched atop the hierarchy as the sovereign arbiter of the realm. His authority cascades down through the echelons of nobility to the Voyvoda, each a vassal entrusted with the stewardship of a Voyvodina - a provincial jewel in the crown of Ardechia. Starigrad, the beating heart of the kingdom, rises along the northern banks of the River Staya, cradled in the nurturing bosom of the Heartlands. This storied city, steeped in history and tradition, pulses with the lifeblood of Ardechia's noble lineage and serves as the fulcrum of the realm's political and cultural vibrancy. The seven Voyvodine of the kingdom are a mosaic of governance, each a domain under its own banner, yet all unified under the dominion of the Knyez. While the royal court in Starigrad proclaims the law of the land, a tapestry of local customs, traditions, and edicts colors the rule of each Voyvodina, allowing for a symphony of governance that resonates with the unique tenor of each province. This decentralized tapestry affords each Voyvodina a breath of autonomy, a delicate balance between fealty to the throne and the preservation of local sovereignty. In the halls of Starigrad, where the Knyez's court convenes, the complexities of feudal allegiance and provincial autonomy interweave. Here, the Voyvodas gather, each a voice for their people, each a guardian of their lands, to counsel the Knyez and to weave their narratives into the greater story of Ardechia. Yet, it is within the sturdy walls of their own keeps and castles that they truly reign, each Voyvodina a microcosm of the kingdom at large, reflecting the diversity and resilience that has long defined the spirit of Ardechia.Royal Court
The Royal Court of the Knyez is made up of his three major vassals, the head of the church, and the heads of the merchant and industrial guilds. All of the realm's most influential have a say in the formation of the realm's laws, and the Knyez is wise to keep heed of their wishes and not act against them too often.
Ruling Dynasty
The current Knyez is Radoslav Dragutin, age 31, who is married to his wife Jelena, age 22. They have a single son, named Bogdan, age 5. Radoslav inherited the throne 9 years ago after his father, known as Knyez Boromir the 3rd, died uniting the realm in to a more centralised state. He was fighting a rebel coalition of vassals and nobles aimed to depose him, which cost him his life. The war was finished by Radoslav, his uncle Mislav, and the crown's loyalists however. In the end, yet more holdings which were before in the hands of the rebel nobles became owned by the crown, and with the many vassal states integrated in to the realm proper, as opposed to being independent realms in service to the crown. The total number of Voyvoda fell from 11 to 6. In the near decade as Knyez, Radoslav has already proven himself worthy of the position, known to rule with an iron grip, he is ruthlessly efficient, driven, but fair and well mannered. He has the loyalty of his Voyvoda, and inspires hope in his people. He loves hosting tournaments, as well as organising military parades, mainly to be able to show off Ardechia's newest additions to it's arsenal. He is a proud man, and loves to gloat.Geography
Central Heartlands
The grassy lowlands that make up Ardechia's core is part of what is known as the Heartlands, which stretch all the way from the Diynar mountains on the border with Kyrus in the east, past Sturmgard to Lynora in the west. The Ardechian Heartlands are a wide fertile lowland with fields and pastures as far as the eye can see. Farming villages are arranged in chains along roads, one after the other, with larger towns and cities situated along major trade routes and rivers.
Vapline & Messial Foothills
The foothills of the two surrounding Valpine and Messial mountain ranges are as high as they are wide. Several valleys cut their way out of these hills, and widen in to the Heartlands from their hilly surroundings. The hills are heavily forested, but not at all unpopulated. Hillside and hilltop towns and villages are omnipresent, and have developed a form of sub-culture as opposed to the lowlanders.Pohorye
The high hills of Pohorye lie just off the middle of Ardechia, closer to the coast. These hills aren't numerous, but they are rather large, with plateaus, wide flat tops, and a few even having rocky peaks to be considered mountains. Pohorye and it's surroundings are densely forested, and scarcely populated.
Diynar Mountains
The Diynar mountains aren't the tallest, but they provide a nice shield both against Ardechia's neighbour Kyrus, as well as the colder northern climate. The southern half of the mountains, the one on Ardechia's side, has a much more temperate biome, as it experiences much more rainfall, and lies on the sunny side of the mountains. Meanwhile, the Kyrus side of the Diynars are much dryer, colder, and with scarce forestation. The mountains have very few passes.Bogland
The Bogland are a swampy region of the greater Heartlands, on the northern and eastern edges of Ardechia, along the rivers Staya and Sanya. The region is very wet and relatively colder than the rest of the lowlands, with many more pests and critters scurrying about. The swamps are often dark and misty, causing the common folk to be more afeared and superstitious.
People & Culture
The Ards:
Overview
The native Humans of Ardechia are officially referred to as Ardechians, but in more common terms, they are simply called ''the Ards'', while the Elves of the southern realms call them ''Ardlings''. They got their name from their bloody early history, from when they conquered these lands from the native Arborian Elves during the The Great Migrations. The word ''Ardech'' means ''red'', so the Ardechians are ''the red ones''. Ardechians belong to the Slaya culture group of Humanity, who similarly owe their name to their early history, ''Slaya'' being a play on the word ''Slayer''. The people of Ardechia are a simple folk, with the large majority living just above the poverty line, in rural and urban areas alike. They are traditionalists, clinging to old ideas that are tried and true, and are afraid of change. They are superstitious, and the majority are very pious, with the Church being a unifying factor for the people, and as such holds a lot of influence. The peasantry are receptive towards the advances made by the current Knyez and his father, believing that their recent endeavours to build a stronger state has benefitted the common man. With the people rallied behind him, and loyal vassals, only a fool would openly oppose the crown. The common folk view Ardechia's endeavours of industrialisation with suspicion, however. But both the Knyez as well as the Church assure them that they are on the right path. The people of Ardechia believe that for a man to be a man, he needs a mustache at least, short or bound hair, and wide shoulders, while women are preferred to be more thicksome. The traditional poor-man's dish in Ardechia is the buckwheat porridge. Buckwheat lumps go well with either cabbage or turnip stew, with pan-friend pork cracklings on top. Ardechians are traditionally more inclined towards drinking lager beers than any other alcoholic beverage all through out the realm.Plainers
The Plainers are the lowlander sub-culture of Ardechians who live in the fertile lowlands of Ardechia's valleys and Heartlands. They make out half of the Kingdom's population. Plainers are stereotypically rowdy, disorderly, are often rude and self entitled, and are suspicious of outsiders.Hillers
The Hillers are the highlander sub-culture of Ardechians who live in the hilly regions of the Kingdom. They make out a third of Ardechia's population. Hillers stereotypically consider themselves superior to the lowlanders, are more conservative, orderly, but have inflated egos. They do however understand manners and hospitality.Swampers
The Swampers are a sub-culture of Ardechia who inhabit, and you guessed it, the Bogland. They are a minority in Ardechia, making out a 1/6th of the population. Swampers are known to be very superstitious, backwards, and rather dimwitted.The Elves:
The Elves are an oppressed people since the fall of their own realm, when Humanity was forced to invade at the dawn of the 3rd world in what are known as The Great Migrations. The majority of Elven kind were exiled from Ardechia then and there, while the rest were either killed or enslaved. Those who remained were always viewed with suspicion and outright hatred by the Human settlers, who had a deep rooted hatred for Elven kind and their use of magic. Today, very few Elves are found in Ardechia serving their overlords, but there are others who have managed to brake free and escape. These escaped Elves, along with the exiles and foreign volunteers, have formed a resistance movement operating from the deep uncharted forests of the Kingdom, and pray upon the realm from the shadows. These rebels and saboteurs are little more than an annoyance to the authorities however, petty bandits, powerless to achieve anything of note in the past thousand and more years.The Dwarves:
Dwarves coming in to the realm have always been viewed favourably by the Ardechians, especially by the Church of the Mason. Dwarves who have settled in Ardechia's cities have always been a boon to manufacturing, and have always been shown favour by local authorities. In return, the Dwarves saw fit to introduce to the Humans some of their own innovations, such as steam power, water pumps, the lightbulb, automated gates and elevators, and the like. Because of the Dwarves and their contributions, Ardechia has begun the slow process of industrialisation.Religion
The Kingdom of Ardechia is a devoted follower of the Church of the Mason, commonly also known as the Masonite cult, as it is an industrialist branch of the wider Church of Fire. The Masonite cult is the leading preacher of progress, it has declared all magic, including shamanism, druidism, runewriting, etc. a heresy, and will prosecute all who practice it. The church preaches self-reliance, that no one can take from them what they have created with their own strength and ingenuity, without any reliance on trickery such as magic, which has saw the downfall of Elven kind once already, ''betrayed by their own gods'' as they believe, at the closure of the second world.
Military
Doctrine
The Kingdom of Ardechia is one of the largest, and indeed the most populous realm in Arboria. As such, it is convinced that might makes right, and swears on quantity over quality. It heavily relies on the feudal levy when raising an army, pulling from it's immense population pool. However, it fails to properly equip all of it's levies, usually having them geared with second handed equipment, while saving the higher quality gear for it's regulars.
Specialties
Ardechia specialises in artillery. With the advent of industrialisation, and with the aid of their Dwarven allies, Ardechia has at it's disposal advanced artillery pieces, such as the mighty Siege Bombard, the Mortar, the Organ Canon, Rocket Artillery, and the Volley Gun. All of these are put to good use in softening up, or outright devastating an enemy, before the attacker even reaches them. Ardechia also fields the mechanical beasts that are Steam Tanks, aka Landships. Mechanical armored wagons with heavy weaponry.
Navy
Ardechia has a modest navy, most of it are slim ships used to patrol it's two largest rivers, Bela and Staya. It's deepwater fleet is lacking however, and the nation does not seem to want to invest in it, as it's focus is on land supremacy.Air
Ardechia has no air capabilities, but it makes up for this with it's anti-air. It's Volley Guns are used for deterring organic areal foes, while it uses heavier AA guns to combat airships.
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Leader
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Related Species
Related Ethnicities
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