The Republic of Baystol
Baystol was not originally the most hospitable of places, as the world fell apart, sea levels rose, coastlines changed, ruins sank to the bottom of the ocean and remains of civilizations such as Sartov finally could be forgotten by the living. Three dominant groups were found within this region. Humans who fled the northern coast or fled from other colonial holdings, and war, the wandering nomads that were the shifters, and a significant number Eladrin who found themselves unable to return home to the feywild. All trying to survive on their own, all struggling to make it through these new conditions, it was not until one small community near the mouth of the Kelvanni river did these people see that through co-operation a better existence could be achieved.
Structure
Freeholder: Elected official head of state. Must own land, can be male or female. Must be 18 years or older. (or equivalent of). Serves a term of 4 years. Has power to enforce laws, collect taxes, put forward new laws, and raise the army/declare war.
Landsmeet: A board of representatives from each settlement. Each settlement gets 1 representative no matter the size. And they vote on laws, referendums, and taxation for the country which is to be brought up at session. They serve terms of 3 years.
Electus eques: Elected by the landsmeet to serve as a military commander for the armies of Baystol. The Freeholder may choose to appoint this individual as head of the military if they find themselves incapable of commanding well in military affairs. They serve terms of 6 years.
Provinciae Magister: Baystol is divided into 10 provinces and each is required to elect an magister to run the province and report to the landsmeet and freeholder on an annual basis.
Public Agenda
The current promises from the reigning government are to restore and rebuild the formerlly occupied provinces of Draconia.
History
The nation of Baystol is a rather interesting story to be told. There was no great war for unity, no great intervention by some powerful or charismatic leader. No otherworldly reason to unite and co-operate. Their story is that of survival, and overall desire to act pragmatically moved them to a more cooperative solution to their early situation. When the coastline advanced further inland, and the temperature shifted and the temperatures dropped more than usually do in the winter making it even more difficult to survive in these already trying times, for eight years these three groups of people wandered in the north settling down, and trying to eke out existences. In the summer of the eighth year after the war of the gods ended, the Skyfang clan of shifters who were wandering the coast in search of game bumped into a human caravan which had made a camp not too far from the coastline on the side of a river. The shifters noticed these humans were not prepared for the colder temperatures in the winter. They did notice the surplus of food present in their caravan and camp. So it began with a simple offer of a trade. The deal presented was rather practical furs and warm clothing for food and safety in their camp, simple and to the point.
Rather than moving on to the shifters surprise, the humans began building homes and constructing boats for fishing. The greater surprise to the humans was that these nomadic shifters decided to settle down as well, and help in building this new ‘home’. Bayshire was founded, on the 8th year after the war of the gods. It was a small settlement barely a few hundred humans and a few hundred shifters. They prospered for a time and within a decade’s time more people had moved into the town, a dock had been built, farms had been sowed, and more houses were springing up every day. Their luck was not to last forever. Magical disturbances began to plague the lands surrounding Bayshire. Massive creatures, lands shifting, waters rising, fires starting out of nowhere for no reason people began to despair and almost fall apart at the seams. It was not until a wandering group of Eldarin, a rather significant number who were now trapped in this domain saw the plagued settlement and approached the townsfolk with a proposition. The Eladrin would be given equal standing and status with all other people in Bayshire, and would be provided with homes. In return the Eladrin would deal with the magical issues plaguing these people. Both sides agreed and kept their word, and so the wandering Eladrin of several various ‘houses’ moved into Bayshire having beat back the magical issues which plagued the town.
But this does not explain how it became a nation. Bayshire was not a conquering force which overwhelmed the other cities in the north or the peninsula to the west. While they did have a standing force to defend themselves, they opted to send emissaries, who spoke of how wonderful their way of life was. How much their quality of life improved since they had begun to work together rather than working separately. They encouraged separated small settlements to join with their neighbors to form bonds and let each other provide aid to make up for the weakness of another. By some miracle it worked, and it worked well. So much so that within twenty years each settlement sent a representative to Bayshire asking if some sort of alliance or coalition could be formed between the cities. So was created the first Council of Bayshire. It was at this council that the chosen representatives of each town discussed, bickered and in some case threatened bloodshed to get what they wanted most. The host city turned out to be a voice of reason amongst the varying calls for representation in this ‘confederation’. The representatives of Bayshire argued for a government which involved elections of individuals whom own land believing that those who owned land within the country would be willing to defend it. The position would be limited and its power kept in check by separate branches of government to be created. The position whom would be at its head would be known as a freeholder for they would be a free-holder of land, and the country was named Baystol, stol being a word from the shifter old tongue meaning home.
The first Freeholder, a shifter by the name of Pavel Skyclaw was elected and invested with the powers to enforce laws, taxes, and in charge of raising armies to protect the country. But he was limited by branch known as the landsmeet which were to be representatives sent from the cities and settlements. They would continue to monitor affairs in their respective areas and vote on laws and edicts to benefit the country as a whole. Serrah Pavel Skyclaw and the newly established government was put to the test when a roving warhost of goblins began to ravage the peninsula. Tens of thousands of goblins swarmed the land ravaging it and pillaging it. Serrah Pavel raised forces in the western settlements going from town to town at record speeds and collected quite the force. While not organized into a professional military, they proved their mettle in the following four year campaign to expel the goblins from their land. The Goblin wars were a brutal conflict within Baystol, but the country survived and after the war was finished. Pavel Skyclaw finished his term and retired.
The country continued to flourish and prosper with the end of the Goblin wars, it became known to many as a land of tolerance and acceptance. The eastern districts rebuilt and re-organized but this event did show the country as a whole that they would need to work on building an actual standing military, rather than some militia which was called up after problems had begun. Freeholder Patrick Gordon would become known as the father of the military. He put a law forward to the Landsmeet that each settlement would have to put a certain amount of people forward if able to a standing army for the nation. It was agreed upon with a majority vote. It was a tiered scale so the smaller settlements did not have to provide as much as a city or large town. They were required to provide basic arms and armaments, and tax incentives were given to smithies and armorers to provide the state better equipment and arms for its soldiers.
Years passed without issue but as always in the Baystolian tradition the good always has bad follow in its shadow. It was a quiet year, under the watch of Freeholder Quinn Davenport. Under her administration the country was improving its infrastructure and trying to establish an education program which borrowed from the Ordenian system. But there was to be an interruption to these peacetime workings. A Human adventurer by the name of Marek de Nordenhiem landed on their shores, and perhaps this would’ve gone unnoticed by history if it were but one man. But it was not the case. Marek came with a full blown army. He claimed that his family had ancestral claims on this land and he had come to take his share. The war of Marek had begun, Serrah Quinn was forced to raise the army and battle this threat since her attempt at negotiations failed due to Marek killing the diplomat. For eight long years the battle to expel this new threat from their lands was waged, Bayshire itself was besieged during the time and taken at one point. Marek was a clever tactician and he was hellbent on taking what he saw as his land. At the battle of Westin the Baystolian army was forced to route to avoid destruction, and they fled the western districts to regroup. In the fifth year of the war Marek marched into Bayshire and proclaimed himself its lord and offered all ‘enemies’ a chance to surrender and keep their lives. The Peninsula refused to surrender and sought foreign aid at this point despite the landsmeet not wishing to involve foreigners. Serrah Quinn sent an emissary to the dwarves of Karak Vengryn, one to Lightbay and one to Orden. In some cases the diplomats resorted to begging for aid. Karak Vengryn offered aid but only if there was something to gain, Lightbay was willing to charge forth to overthrow what they viewed as a tyrant, and Orden while willing to aid but was only willing to make sure that Marek’s ports were blockaded for the promise of having access to their ports in the future.
The remaining three years were characterized by a slog through defenses that Marek had erected in haste. A maze of trenches and tunnels, outposts dotted the southern and eastern border in preparation. Marek was ready to defend his prize. Lightbay struck from the south and called a crusade to free the oppressed peoples of Baystol, Karak Vengryn sent forces from the east but only on the stipulation that they were privy to some special trade deals once the war was finished, and the ports of the ocean of Nordin were blockaded by a detachment of the Ordenian fleet. The Baystolian army regrouped in the west and marched east towards the occupied capital. As brilliant and clever of a strategist that Marek was, he found himself surrounded by unfriendly neighbors. His armies fought tooth and nail to repel the Allied forces but in the end the numbers were not in his favor. The siege of Bayshire itself lasted six months, and when the allied soldiers burst into the Castle of Bayshire they found Marek armed and ready. He fought them claiming “I will not be the last” he killed thirty nine soldiers before he was finally subdued. He was put on trial and found guilty of war crimes against Baystol and sentenced to death. His last words being “The north will be your undoing” Baystol spent the next decade rebuilding and repairing the damage from the war, but Serrah Quinn vowed before stepping down she would not rest until the country had recovered from this tumultuous period.
In the modern day, Baystol had long recovered and prospered for a time. Everything was peaceful, but that time tested tradition of the good being tailed by the bad remained ever true. Everything changed the day Draconia attacked. They landed on the western shores full legions at their disposal without any declaration of war, and besieged the main ports in the Baystolian peninsula. Within two weeks both ports had fallen due not being prepared for such an invasion. In the east Freeholder Kael’rath of house Silvor raised the armies and marched out to face them, it has been a Brutal war, one which Baystol has just finally halted the advance of Draconia. Both sides are exhausted and seeking peace.
Baystol after several hard years of fighting eventually recovered its territory with the assistance of allied nations such as Lightbay, and Orden. Their country is undergoing a great deal of rebuilding efforts.
Demography and Population
The country is divided between three groups. Eladrin, Humans, and Shifters. Each make up a decent portion of the population, the shifters tending to live in the western states mostly, the Eladrin sticking to the eastern part of the country, and humans spreading out evenly among the entire republic
Education
Education to a high school level is free and available to all citizens of Baystol. While the whole population is not on said level of education. The country boasts a high literacy rate, nearing 80% of its population being able to read and write.
Solidarity, Prosperity, Knowledge.
Founding Date
80 N.E
Type
Geopolitical, Republic
Capital
Alternative Names
Baystol
Demonym
Baystolians
Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Democracy, Representative
Power Structure
Confederation
Economic System
Market economy
Currency
Gold Ducats
Major Exports
Furs, Artisan goods, stone, amber, agricultural products
Major Imports
Various Metals, weapons, agricultural products, coal
Legislative Body
The elected political body is known as the Landsmeet. Citizens who have been elected to represent various, cities and states.
Judicial Body
The zakonnika, is the selected body of judges.
Location
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
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