The Rusilyvania Empire
Land of snow, courage, and division
Structure
The empire is united through a council that meets together and represents the united lands of the empire. They are made up of the boyars, the tzarinas, the barons, the baronessess, the dukes and duchessess of the land (whatever noble titles that land has). Such councils can be slow to act, as they regurarly descend into shouting matches, but for the moment it has worked in keeping the land running.
Culture
To call the Rusilyvanian Empire wholly united is a grossly inaccurate statement. While all consider themselves citizens of the empire, they also consider themselves members to their own kingdom within that empire as well. inter-conflict is abound in the empire, as citizens are often competitive with others of the different kingdoms, and its not unheard of for fights to break out in taverns and city streets. The kingdom of Bolsilva are a proud nation of wealthy nobleman and elite warriors. It is also a kingdom dedicated to the mainline Church of the Flame. A nation of proud history and prouder nobles made wealthy from the trade lanes of Ustaria, are also a people who know that they must defend the lands with a fury unheard of, bordering the ever ambitious Vebastonne Kingdom and more recently the Goblin Bandit Kingdom. They are much famed for their rich history of old glories and their Winged Eagle Cavalry, who wear screaming banners of feathered wings on their backs, many of these warriors being Winter Elves who painfully shave their antlers down to show their devotion to the kingdom and the empire.
Rustil is a land of cold and of death. Ever since Mosaleva Amaliya Petrovna would ascend to the queen of the Tsardom of the Rustilians, the kingdom fo Rustil would turn into a Matriarchy, where it was decreed only those wise magic woman could rule in the offices of the land. Men wishing to advance politically would have to prove themselves in the military and become high ranking generals of the Rustil kingdom and of the empire. Amaliya would help form the Cult of Ice and the Cult of Death, essentially schools of magic where witches would help train woman into being powerful magic users, and to prepare them for life as nobles. This means that the Rustil lands are surprisingly accepting of liches and of necromancers, save that they arent men as the art of death is considered a sacred art that only one closest to the goddess Melania, this being a woman. Due to being surrounded by many strange creature infested forests, and being almost permanently a snow blasted land, life in Rustil is hard, especially when they border their mortal enemies of the vikingir. However this life breeds hardy folk, and no other group of people in the empire is as persistent and as tough as a Rustilian warrior.
The kingdom of Trilvania is a land beset by superstition. Even if they had agreed to accept the church into their land, the likelyhood of it gaining any significant power would have been unlikely. Many dark spirits and creatures haunt the land, and it is even said that the vampire clan of Balaur originally came from here. However, this superstition has led to the people being adept at expelling said creatures, and even a mob of peasants fighting a vampire could prove rather dangerous to the vampire. As well as having many great trade deals, the cities of the Trilvanians are vibrant with life, though at night many seek to hide in their homes, for the creatures of the night are truly terrifying indeed, which leads to many mercenaries being hired to help get rid of these creatures.
The Raskovian people are devout in their adherence to the faith. Having been the first to petition for the Church of the Flame, their cities are resplendent with churches and holy symbols everywhere. The holy city of Nikepho is truly a magnificent place, with enough churches to turn even the faithless into a saint of the cause. The Rasko are also some of the most fanatic people in the empire, and it isn't unheard of for Raskovian battalions to make glorious last stands against a surrounding enemy in hopes that the Flame will grant them a place in the Celestial Heavens. They are also the quickest to anger when visiting the other kingdoms of the empire, for few can stomach the idea of those of different faith in their presence, and coupled witht he strict gender roles imposed on the Raskovian kingdom as well as the Bolsilvian kingdom, means that many can find it jarring to see a woman in power. Regardless, no one can question that the clerics and holy men of the Rasko are truly powerful.
The Trocnovian people are a rebellious people ever since the great rebellion of old. Their version of the Flame faith instead names him as Bivoj, and have many different customs, ways of prayer, and of holidays. This is a point of pride of the Trocnovian people, as they feel they are the only ones who truly understand their god. The Trocno people are also a rather crafty bunch, having some of the best blacksmiths of the land thanks to a large portion of dwarves living in the land, and of their commanders being some of the most crafty and resourceful generals of the empire, due to their positioning so far east from the main route to the southern kingdoms. This coupled with the Badlands being its direct southern border, mean a strange since of peacefulness is across the land of the Trocnovian people, where many merchants and nobles can live off of the wealth they receive from their Trilvanian neighbors
History
Long ago, the land was divided by four tribes of nomadic hunters, who eventually began to form cities within the lands of cold Ustaria. These 4 tribes were that of: the Rustil of the northwest, Bolsilva of the southwest, Trilvania of the midsouth, the Rasko of the northeast, and the Trocno of the east. These cities would form into vast kingdoms all hellbent on domination for Ustaria, and would regularly war with one another. However, all this could come to an end when the War of Dark Skies. Without warning, a portal forming in a "tear" would sprout within the far mid north leading straight to the abyss. Demons and devils would pour fourth and ravage the lands. Countless villages and castles were raised tot he ground, and unspeakable horrors befell the citizens of Ustaria. This would continue for 3 years, before one day in the region of the Rustilians, a lich woman named Mosaleva Amaliya Petrovna would be wandering a shrine to the Rustilian goddess of death and winter Melania when she would suddenly be surrounded in ice and bones, and then be confronted by the goddess herself. She would be instructed to go and drive back the hordes of the Abyss and was gifted the mastery of ice magic, on top of her already masterful use of necromancy. She would summon fourth and army of fallen warriors and rouse the spirits of her fellow kinsmen and launch a devastating counter charge against the demons. With this significant pressure put on the hordes, the other kingdoms were able to unite and drive back the hordes, and Amaliya was able to seal the tear, thereby stopping the invasion. Amaliya would ascend to the throne of the Rustilian Tsardom, but now was the time to consider what to do of the kingdoms, who just united against a common foe. All the kingdoms would agree that in the end, the kingdoms were weak divided, and so the 5 kigndoms would unite under one banner: the Rusilyvania Empire.
However one part they were never able to fully agree on was a question of the faith. While the Rustilians and Trilvania wanted to keep their own near paganist beliefs, the kingdoms of Tronco, Bolsilva, and Rasko wanted to instate a state religion of the Church of the Flame. Not being able to agree on an outcome, the kingdoms simply decided to keep to their own beliefs and for the most part not bother one another. Though this would form the basis of the religious tension that now plagues the land to this day. Despite this, the Rusilyvanian Empire would go on for the next few thousand years of remarkably peaceful times, however this would end when the vikingir raids began, and hit the western areas of the empire. This would eventually cumulate into the War of Bitter Cold, where the Rustil and the Bolsilva would lead the charge in the absolutely bloody conflict against their Aldinian adversaries. This war would last for one hundred years, and untold millions of souls would perish from both sides, but eventually the raiders were routed from Ustaria, and the Rusilyvanian Empire would prove itself in repelling a foreign power no other kingdom could have.
Some five hundred years later however, a Trocnovian preist would write a new holy book of the Flame based on the words of a past holy saint. This would provoke Bolsilva and Rasko to deem the pastor a traitor and burn him at the stake. This would cause an open revolt as the Trocnovian militias would demand retribution and to break away from the mainline church. Bolsilva would call upon crusaders from Ashenfeld, and even tempted some crusaders from Neundorf the promise of a land just for them if they put down this rebellion. However, much to the shock of all, the Trocnovians would repel four different crusades, albeit at a heavy cost of life. After the fourth crusade, many were simply wanting an end to the bloodshed, and so the mainline church of Bolsilva and Rasko would begrudgingly relent and allow Trocno to adopt its breakaway faith. To this day the Rusilyvanian Empire is a culturally and religiously divided empire of kingdoms. However, at the end of the day, all consider themselves Rusilyvanians, and all are willing to fight together to destroy those that would threaten their families
Demography and Population
Humans, Winter Elves, Dwarves, Ursine, Catfolk, and a type of Lamia known as Drako make up a majority of the population
Territories
Ustaria is the home of the Rusilyvanian Empire
Religion
Religion is a complicated topic for the Rusilyvanians. Bolsilva and Rasko both worship the Church of the Flame, and to this day seek to convert the other people of the nation to the true faith, causing much tension ever since their religious tax they impose on their lands. The Trocnovians worship an offshoot of the Flame, named Bivoj, which differing tenants and customs then the mainline church, much to the annoyance of the Bolsilvians and Raskovians.
The Rustil worship four gods, but the two main ones are: Perun, god of sky, thunder, lightning, storms, rain, law, war, fertility, oak trees, and bears. Melania, goddess of death, winter, natures rebirth, and dreams. The two others are: Svetoslav god of fire, smith-craft, forge, and the one who forged the earth and Zovia, goddess of the sun and moon.
The Trilvanians have quite a large pantheon, but the top ones are: Horváth - “Dawn Mother” and the head of the pantheon. Hegedüs, “warlord” god of war, Oláh “devil” god of death disease and wicked things and ruler of the underworld. They also have "Mother and Father" gods for the sun, moon, and elemental forces of the elemental planes
Foreign Relations
Relations are shaky, as while the direct neighbor of the Rusilyvanian Empire is the Vebastonne who are typically caught up in their own affairs, some wonder if its only a matter of time before they seek to secure the resources of their northern neighbors. Due to their distance from the other kingdoms, many do not parlay much with the Rusilyvanians unless to secure trade deals. However the vikingir of Aldinnheimr are the sworn enemy of the empire ever since the raids and the War of Bitter Cold. Recently, Rusilyvania has sought to open up trade with Catai and Al-Hinoso, in hopes to secure the wealthy trade opportunities of Orliea
"Leave our enemies as cold as the plains!"
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Demonym
Rusilyvanian when dealing with outsiders, though when dealing internally this changes based on which ethnicity one comes from
Power Structure
Federation
Economic System
Traditional
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members