Rustil
Structure
The land is a matriarchy, primarily due to the original tribes people venerating shaman woman, and also in reverence to Nedda. Rustil lands have long since been the primary powerhouse of the winter court, and so the ruler of Rustil is both a spiritual and political leader. Said ruler is the Tzarina (sometimes unofficially referred to as the Frost Queen) and is both a member of the royal lineage and an initiated member of the Rustil Cults of Ice and Death. This also means that many of said rulers have been liches, which can sometimes ruffle outsiders feathers to no end.
In theory, the Tzarina's power and authority are absolute and total. In practice, however, due to how isolated many communities are the cities are more autonomous than one might think. Under the Tzarina are the Boyaress's, who rule over general provinces. Most are appointed by the Tzarina herself, but some inherit the role due to complicated familial ties. Under the Boyaress's are the atamankas (masculine: ataman). These atamankas are the rulers of local villages and communities, and it is also the highest rank a male can achieve regularly (politically at least). There are technically higher ranks a male can go to but are more focused in the military, with the highest being both the commander of the royal guard and the general of the military.
Culture
Despite the constant idea that the land is constnatly a frozen hellscape of death and doom, in truth the land can be quite sunny and warm during summer time. However, winter is noticeably longer and the land is still typically colder than other places even on a bright sunny day. This means alot of fashion in the land of the Rusti use lots of animal furs and pelts to keep warm, as well as other beautiful looking styles of clothing. This, on top of the reverance for certain animals like bears, leads some to sterotype the Rusti as fur covered savages constnatly drunk on Nastva (a clear, strong alchoholic beverage said to be a recipe learned from dwarven master brewers). While they do enjoy their Nastva, and are at times a grim and gallows humor type of attitude, they are in truth lovers and warriors in equal measure. Some compare the Rusti to elves, in that they love hard and love loud, and typically experince sadness in equal volume. Family and tribal ties are important to the Rusti, and tribal politics even influence the cities they live in, and can make for complicated situations and political schemes within the cities and villages.
The Rusti are by no means a wholly united people, just like the rest of the Ustarian Empire as a whole. The steppe land and tiagas in between the cities and villages make it so even with magic communication and coordination challenging at best. Not to mention the weather, the countless monsters and knaves patrolling the roads has led the land being seen as a death trap. It is true that death is a fact of life here, more so than anywhere else for that matter. Some say the land is so grim and dour, that the dead do not stay dead, though this is likely due to necromantic energies than some ancient curse. This means the Rusti are superstitious and cautious by nature, always maintaining a healthy suspicion of outsiders and newcomers within their cities or villages. This is primarily why some foreigners see the Rusti as grim, serious, unsmiling people, but anyone worth their blade knows the Rusti can throw a hell of a party. The superstition is also bolstered by the many folklore tales, and strange wise woman and wise man that inhabit the land, and the place is no stranger to witches, mages, and warlocks.
Aside from this, the people of the Rusti are boisterous and proud, and have a steel bound love for their motherland. Some foreigners may find this surprising, espically given the fact that some of their highest rulers were liches. While many of these liches use magic to maintain their mortal appearance, it is not secret at all of their true nature. While some more zealous warriors of flame and faith may think the land fully endorses necromancy, it is a bit more complicated than that. Roaming bands of zombies and skeletons are not something seen as okay, obviously these are dangers that need to be taken care of. Magically gifted women are expected to either join the Rustil Cult of Ice and Death magic schools, or in one of the other minor academies for training in other skills. Spellcasting is seen as a traditionally femenine practice, and while men are by no means disallowed or hunted down for being magically gifted, it is typical that most men born with magical ability go through a ritual when young to suppress magic ability. Granted this is entirely a saying going around, but in actuality, its more likely that many nobles simply send their magically gifted sons to Bolsilva or other more nearby academies to learn and control their magic.
History
The land of Rustil is a harsh and unforgiving place. It is divided by large steppe, taiga, wetlands, and tundra. The land is bitter and crops can have difficulty growing, and great mountains jut out like hateful claws into the dark sky. No one would live here, and yet some do anyway. This is the land of the Rustil, or Rusti, and the strange and superstitious land of warriors and orators. While some foreign scholars argue over their origins, the Rustil hold that they were guided like the other Ustarian tribes by Veran and Nedda and the hags who helped them. In particular, the ancient spirit known as Old Yegi would speak to the shaman women of the early Rusti tribes, and would guide them to the land of Rustil where she adopted some of the shaman woman as the next hags and wise woman. This in turn would lead to the rather superstitious nature of the Rusti as they have many old fables of wise woman living outside of towns giving strange but sensible advice.
The land of the Rusti would remain on their own from the rest of Ustaria, being conquered by all manner of warlords and such. However, like the rest of Ustaria, doom would come soon enough. The hell portals opened with the sundering of Senredur, and the demons of the hell-realms poured forth. For 5 years, the lands of Ustaria were ravaged, while the rest of the world remained unaware. For 5 years, the Rustil lands were hit particularly hard, with the demons roaming the steppe and forest lands and ravaging the villages and cities. Yet for 5 years, the Rusti survived, and a savior came in the form of a lich woman named Amaliya Mosaleva would ride forth from the taigas of the hag women. She made a truce with the Winged Lancers of Bolsiva, and summoned an army of fallen Rusti ancestors to begin a large counter-attack against the demons. This display eventually united the rest of the lands together, and eventually the demons were pushed back, and the hell gate closed after one last climactic battle.
With this and the gods coming back together, Mosaleva would push hardest for unification with the other Ustarian kingdoms, and eventually the Ustarian Empire was formed. Taking inspiration from the gods, with the Rustil lands being the seat of the Winter Courts, and forming the Rustil Courts of Winter and Death. Amailya would be the Tzarina for a short time, but soon disappeared, supposedly ascending to the realm of the gods. While this did cause only a "minor" civil conflict, it was solved relatively quickly. So it was that the Rustil lands would take a Tzarina amongst the numbers of the Ice and Death cults, meaning quite a few of the rulers were liches. While this was shocking to the rest of the world (liches have reputation after all) due to the sheer size of the Ustarian Empire made retaliation unlikely from religions like the Church of the Flame.
Rustil has survived since then. It survived the War of Bitter Cold against the northmen of Aldinnheimr, and now survived the tumultuous modern age. With the Church of the Flame slowly weaving its way into the lands of Ustaria, the Winter Court has now found itself facing tension with the Summer Court. Word also tells of the corrupted shards of Senredur growing more active, and monsters stalk the foggy winter forests. Yet, the Rustil will most assuredly continue to live on, for they are a stubborn lot. So let the demons and invaders come, for they will find the sons and daughters of the Rusti standing there waiting for greet them with spear and blade.
Foreign Relations
"Some of the people here think we should burn Rustil to the ground, undead worshipping freaks they are. I disagree, only because who the bloody hell would want to take and hold the land. The land is cold and brutal, and if the frost or the nomads don't kill ya, some monster or barbarian will! I say they're welcome to stay in that hole!" - Nika Gassmann, Bergenshian merchant
"Don't know what all the fuss is about mista witch hunter, I mean the lady I was with sure didn't look dead to me! Had a lovely bottle of Nastva we did!" - Kevin Day, Ashenfeld peasent executed by a witch hunter after lengthy interrogation
"Let them look down upon us, let them insult us for all we care. We neither care, nor are concnerned with the opinions of those who don't struggle every day in their life just to surrive. I'm not talking about the cold or the beasts, but to any poor child who has angered their mat' after getting in a fight. Gods know hell is not nearly as scary as that." - Kislan Avilenk, Rusti guard
While many see the Rusti as drunken, dead worshipping witches and brigands, any who spend even a little time with them find that most of these sterotypes are baseless. Sure they are well known for their Nastva, but they are a proud people, and one who makes friends with people from Rusti find that they are some of the most loyal friends and companions one could find in the world. They are a colorful and joyous people truly, they just also live in a dangerous land.
Gods of Major Influence:
Nedda, Perun, and Old Yegi (only technically)
Type
Geopolitical, Province
Demonym
Rustilian, or sometimes Rusti
Parent Organization
