The Empire of Neundorf
Defenders of the Gilded Lands,
The Life of the Sellsword
Blood and coin, that is the life of the sellsword. The lands are incredibly dangerous, and the Kaiser and Provisional Barons have long since learned that depending on a feudal military can be difficult. The armies cant stay out as long without having to return to tend the fields, and largely are disbanded after every campaign. Not to mention if too many day, it can harm the production and maintenance of the cities. Though the cities and the Kaiser do maintain a regular army, it is small in nature and built more for defense of the cities immediate borders. Thus it falls to the men and women who work outside official structures. Those who make up the dirt, the greedy, the proud, the brave, and the bloody points of society: the Sellswords. While mercenaries are used all over the world, Neundorf is famous for them. These mercenaries walk the lands of Neundorf while the rest of the citizenry are protected behind large walls, and these sellswords fight all the dangers of the land. While many types of mercenaries are made in Neundorf, none are more famous or numerous as the Landsknecht. These Landsknecht are well dressed and proud mercenary warriors operating in either big armies or small bands of hardy men and women, they are some of the best and most sought after sellswords in Nilush, for their determination and willingness to get the job done are good for their line of work. They can regularly be seen marching in small bands across Neundorf, seeking adventure, drink, and trouble to get themselves into. Though the Landsknecht can be seen as trouble makers and vagabonds by some, many young Neunmens look up to them, and so many foolish and young men and women try to become like these famed Landsknecht. For the lands of Neundorf however, early mercenaries are chewed up and spate out onto the bloody ground regularly, and so only the best and bravest survive to become a true Landsknecht warrior.Structure
The structure of Neundorf politics differs when discussing city and village politics. The cities of Neundorf have had a long time to centralize and consolidate power, and so are a complex web of politicians and advisors. At the top is of course the Kaiser and the royal family. Under them are the Provisional Barons who rule each of the great cities. They as well have their own hordes of advisors and politicians, and each city has representatives from other governmental organizations. Some have even said that Neunmen city politics are a labyrinthine web of schemes and rivalries
In the villages, the leaders are chosen from the best out of a tribe, being a collection of clans. These leaders form a sort of Tribal Council that in turn helps decide on local matters and also meet with and represent themselves to the Kaiser directly, forming an important part of the royal families court as they represent the many smaller, scattered rural villages across the land that make much of the crops for the cities.
Culture
One cannot talk about Neundorf without first recognizing the divide between the cities and the villages. The cities can be seen as most familiar to foreigners, being forward thinking and centralized, they have become very used to living close amongst one another. However, the Neunmen spirt is as stubborn as it is glorious, and so the mostly rural villages live in the culture of their ancestors, the ancient tribes that made up the first settlers of the land. This divide perfectly encapsulates the united yet stubborn independent nature of the Neunmen, so much so that foreigners debate if the lands truly are united as the Neunmen claim.
For the cities, all nine are unique in their own way, but there are many similarities. Life is full of work, in much cases hard work to till the local farms and amongst the many businesses of the city. For this reason, family and friends are some of the strongest bonds a Neunmen will have, and for this reason many families take great care in recording their history. Many young Neunmen also seek to add great deeds to their family line, often meeting a grizzly end outside the cities borders for the lands around these cities are dangerous indeed. In fact the lands of Neundorf as a whole are incredibly dangerous. Forests full of orcs, strange fey like creatures, and the ever encroaching risk of undead make the lands highly dangerous to travel. For this reason most city dwellers and even rural villages and tribes prefer to not travel to much, many preferring to stay behind secure walls and fortifications to protect themselves. The cities are also highly spiritual, worshipping Rodina and the Flame with equal reverence, though in recent years the Church of the Flame has been getting more and more political power in the nation, and some believe that Rodina will either be abandoned for the Light Pantheon or simply officially incorporated into the Light Pantheon.
For the villages and rural communities, worship of ones ancestors and the spirts of the land are paramount. Family and clan ties are also important and many clan feuds have been spawned for seemingly "minor" reasons to outsiders. The rural communities know that they cannot expect the cities to reliably defend them, and so are fiercely independent and protective of themselves. These people live life surrounded on all sides by enemies, and so are some of the most fearless people in the land. Many families keep a shield that is passed down through the family, so that any man, woman, or child can rush to the defense of the community in desperate times. Besides that, the rural folk live backbreaking lives, but do so out of a sense of pride, and are some of the most proud of the nation.
Regardless, Neunmen can be described as a stubborn and proud people. They are proud of their heritage, and proud of their strength of arms. They are courageous and wise, and can be expected to march to certain death with black comedy, an ale in one hand, sword in the other, and patriotic songs coming from their lips.
History
Long ago, the people of Neundorf were like many others, tribes inhabiting their small patch of land. Many were actually tribes coming from the lands of Ashenfeld, rejecting the king currently leading a great unification of Ashenfeld and seeking to live in peace away from his rule. As they settled in however, they realized that there move to what would be referred by them as the Rhineland, would not be so peaceful. A great horde of Ogres and giants would descend on the land, having heard that these largely peaceful tribes were the only people inhabiting the land, and looking for very easy meals. The people would try to defend themselves, but the sheer brute force power of the Ogres and Giants, calling themselves "The Kraken Eaters", and would suffer terrible losses.
It wasn't until a group of the Nuenian warriors would be traveling in a forest when, according to the legends, a woman called out to them. They would seek out this voice and find a massive tree, and before it they would see a blinding visage of the goddess of nature, Rodina, appearing before them as a beautiful, almost elf like woman. The warriors would kneel before the goddess and beg for her blessing, and she would give it. The warriors would become clad in the finest plate armor, bearing the crests of their homes, and with mighty weapons. She would then tell the men a great warrior would join them on the eve of battle and then disappeared. Reinvigorated, the warriors would ride out, and as they went to meet the army of the Kraken eaters, the 25 warriors would then see a man riding atop a large griffon, a elven man wearing armor wreathed in gold and jewels from the beautiful forests. Led by this man who called himself Ottfried, they would vanquish the Kraken Eaters in but a single battle. After this battle, Ottfried would declare the lead warrior, a young man named Volkmar, Kaiser of the tribes. Ottfried would then disappear into the mountains, where it is said to this day he waits for when the fatherland will need him most, and then ride out into battle.
After this, Kaiser would seek to unite the nine largest villages together to form this new empire, and thus Neundorf was born in the year 76EC. The villages would grow into cities and become more centralized, though there was always a divide between the city folk and the rural communities. While not openly rebellious there was some underlying tension. However for the most part Neundorf was united. That was until the year 3251, in where a massive civil war occured between the nine cities and the crown itself. This civil war would ravage the land and lead to many deaths, but the Kasier was able to regain some control and the civil war died down. However Neundorf was forever changed as to this day each city is fiercly independent of one another, almost to the point that some foreigners argue the nation inst united at all. However all this pales in compariosn to the situation Neundorf now finds itself in, for the failed Crusade of Light has had lasting impacts. With Ashenfeld burning in civil war, Vebastonne fighting its own bitter war against High Elven aggression, and the Deadlands seeking to encroach on their lands, the Neunmen are now backed against a wall, with few allies to call upon. However they have grown strong to the many wars they have fought, and are determined to push through this tide of darkness and make it out the other end.
Religion
While Neundorf allows all religions to flourish in its borders, save for any fiendish gods, the most popular goddess of the land is Rodina, goddess of nature. It is her that keeps the forests as majestically beautiful as they were the day the first Neunmen traveled into the lands, and keeps their borders safe. She is the personification of Neundorf herself, a being of pure beauty and resilience in the face of adversity, for even in the face of natural or man made disasters, the beautiful forests always return afterwards. The church of the Flame, however, is growing in power, and some wonder if there will come a time when Rodina takes a backseat to the Flame. Regardless, the lands of Neundorf are a religious safe haven for mcuh of the world, so long as one doesn't worship demons or other undesirable creatures.
Foreign Relations
Foreign relations have always been a complicated matter for Neundorf. With the Deadlands, there is only bitter war as the vampiric lords seek to continue expanding their domains of dread. With Ashenfeld, Neundorf has mixed opinions, having worked alongside them as much as they have warred with one another. With the Ashenfeld civil war, however, Neundorf seeks to simply stay out of its affairs and keep an eye on its border, lest the conflict spill over. Vebastonne as well is a complicated matter, though there is more friendship amongst the two nations then there is hostility. However with Vebastonne burning in the Third Great Elven War, Neundorf knows that it can only rely on itself in this dark time.
Agriculture & Industry
Due to the fertile lands, Neundorf is an agricultural powerhouse, rivaled by very few other nations. This is due to the blessing of Rodina, for the fields of Neundorf are some of the most fertile in the land. Only problem is of course, how dangerous it is for food caravans to transport their goods to sell them off.
Trade & Transport
Due to the clever political machinations of the first Kaiser, Neundorf was and to this day still is, a large trade hub of the land, being famed for many of its luxury goods, crops, and weaponry and wood working.
"für kaiser und reich!"
Maps
-
Neundorf
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Demonym
Neunmen
Leader
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Subsidiary Organizations
Official Languages
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
