Voivode of Etrulium
The Voivode of Etrulium is a young state which has arisen from the chaos of the Dennonian Wars. Despite a mixed military record, Etrulium has managed to maintain a relatively powerful position in the center of the Erelting world, and the nation is well on the way to establishing a proper monarchial bureaucracy rather than being just another warlord-state. Etrulium will have to rely on itself for any sort of growth, however, as the state lacks strong allies due to their wide-ranging border conflicts over the past few decades.
History
Etrulium is a new nation, one lacking historical roots in the region they inhabit, owing to the chaos of the Dennonian wars. The region that would become Etrulium was rather peacful at the start of these wars, with their main threats coming from other tribes and the small Republic of Isileum. Composed of a mixed Valienen and Jujizuni population, the region did not come under the control of the famed Dragan Ivar' and his army, and was largely ignored by Ivar's forces even in his initial strength, and certainly by the end of his life.
However, with the beginning of the Alcediner counterattacks and the Little Dennonian War, many tribes began fleeing through the passes now controlled by the nation of Thrûdn, but which were at the time in the hands of weaker tribes whose members were largely fighting alongside Ivar'. Easily passing though, these tribes would wreak havoc on the northern regions, with certain tribes even pushing into Vucediklar lands and contributing to their later subjugation by Cavrasta. It wouldn't be until 1968 that the majority of the tribes, each acting individually or in small groups, were centralized by Bogdan Silevich of the Etrulium. Silevich had originally been a fairly inconsequential warrior in the Etrulium tribe, but through the wars of Ivar', he gained fame and prestige, eventually being trusted to lead his clan's warband. However, Silevich was never part of Ivar's upper brass, and did not take control of any of the troops after the war besides leading his warband to safety through the passes by 1962, helping establish a small fiefdom in the outskirts of the region. Silevich later used his shrewd intellect to play other tribes in the region off one another until he had gained dominance over his immediate area, before finally centralizing and expanding.
Ruling as a Voivode, he would soon enter a war against the Tritons of Jiwæiriḫ. Jiwæiriḫ, seeing the chaos in the region and the Alcediner reconquests, had decided to try their hand at gaining a foothold on land in 1963. Their target was the Federation of Bljedknat, a tribal federation which had emerged as the main competitor to Etrulium during centralization, though the two had not yet come to blows. Bljedknat was unable to stand against Jiwæiriḫ due to their lack of cohesiveness and the constant assaults on south by tribes fleeing the Alcediner, allowing Jiwæiriḫ to take control of nearly the whole lowlands region. However, Etrulium would intervene in 1970, having swept through the last few tribes in 1968 and 1969. As Bljedknat was on its last legs, Etrulium would establish them as a subject nation, and by 1971 was leading the charge against Jiwæiriḫ. Though the war was long and hard, the Tritons would eventually be pushed back to a small pale of land bordering the ocean.
Etrulium then set their sights on Isileum, hoping to seize the wealthy city and use it as a base against the Tritons, who would still remain a threat. However, it was also necessary to keep setting the sights of Etrulium's tribes on war, lest they get restless and causes chaos internally, which was perhaps even more important. Hence, in 1978, Etrulium invaded, and initially the war saw success, with several key victories against Isileum in the open field, with Silevich's tactical abilities and their forces outnumbering Isileum making up for the lack of technology within the army. However, they failed to breach the walls using rapid warfare, and were then forced to settle down for a siege. Although their armies outnumbered Isileum's defenders, they broke on the city walls in three successive assaults in early 1979. The final assault saw the death of Silevich, ironically by his own men in a case of mistaken identity, leading to the dissolution of the army. The chaotic retreat of these forces would see many killed by Isileum's other garrisons as they fled every which way, and Isileum managed to expand their buffer lands ever so slightly.
Silevich's death would see the state destabilized, and civil war soon ravaged the land, with his son Boris Silevich eventually coming out the victor, and cementing dynastic inheritance. However, this was was not smooth, as Silevich first had to gather the scattered troops and then crush tribes which became rebellion, especially Bljedknat, whose leadership decided to revolt in 1982. Although this revolt was put down and Bljedknat reduced to a rump buffer state, the civil war continued for several more years, leaving an opening in the north. The fey-worshippers of Gaugwuan, who before this had been mostly limited to the feytouched woods decided to stake their claim to parts of the upper plateau, and attacked in 1993. Etrulium, battered and with a lack of levies, was forces to concede after just two years of war, but this loss was compensated by the seizure of lands from Bljedknat. In 2000, Etrulium has recovered somewhat and now stands in about the same position as before the Isileum war, sans their tactically brilliant leader and a significant amount of men lost in the wars.
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