County of Zaskayova
A successor state to the Kingdom of Polliers that lies on the most eastern border of the old kingdoms realm, occupy the region of Považ where the Považšov humans come from. Ruled by the Countess Stefania Korkowska, the county stands as one of the major powers in the world of Tír Suaimhnis.
Structure
Countess Stefania Korkowska
The county is ruled entirely by the Korkowska family both before and after the fall of the Kingdom of Polliers, the current head of the family and Countess of all Zaskayova is Stefania a proud woman who has fought hard to defend her county from the other successor states, the Felfalon Riocht and the Harrowing. She dresses in elegant dresses, favouring her counties colours of brown and black paired with her jet black hair and pale complexion gives her a dark and fearsome appearance. She has yet to take a husband or sire any children, instead choosing to play her boyars off against each other to win her favour with the promise that maybe one could be selected to be her husband. She rules from the Kedry Bastion and huge fortified city atop a great cliff just south of the Bellowing Slopes.
Boyars
The boyars are the rulers of the counties two towns and two smaller castles, they govern the provinces on behalf of the countess collecting taxes, maintaining infrastructer and training and raising men at arms. They have a minor amount of power and influence but without their support the countess won't be half as strong as she currently is, yet they are very unaware of the position of power they are in. Thanks to the countesses masterful skills of manipulation she has them all working against one another to vye for her attention, keeping them fractured and weak leaving little risk of an ambitious boyar thinking they can rise up. The current boayrs are -
Yasher Muratov
Boyar of Strasca, he is an old traditionalist with an affinity for horses, the Muratov families duty has always been to defend and care for the southern region of Považ where the rich fertile plains breed the strongest of horses a duty that Yasher is dedicated to upholding. He expresses little interest in the countesses determination to push further east across the Troik River into elvish lands, his superstitious nature believes that the denizens of the forests will not forgive their transgressions.
Šimon Povýšil
Boyar of Twierda Pyest, the oldest of the four boyars he and his family for generations have resided in the fortress of Pyest tasked with defending the Zaskayovan eastern border at the Troik river. Patrolling up and down the river always vigilant for elvish aggression, however since the borders have shifted so much further east the old barons duties have changed to patrolling the highroads, maintaining the villages and upholding the law within the county. A duty he is none to pleased with but will endeavor to carry out as his loyalty demands it.
Draza Slivka
Boyar of Jaworcie, the only baron that has little to no military experience or williness to fight, he is a trader and industrialist dedicated to turning the relatively new town of Jaworcie into a mighty city one day. As such he has been tasked with overseeing the counties trade and production, having opened up negotiations with the Illamel, Fawiyyah and Dern Kalduhr to hopefully bring in new produce and to sell off the vast amounts of timber that sits on his doorstep.
Olgierd Olkowski
Boyar of Zamek Zloja, a true warrior lord he is fully commited to the countesses campaigns to push further east and conquer more of the Felfalons lands provided that he gets the majority of glory and spoils. From his hilltop castle he and the Olkowski family are tasked with keep watch on the Felfalon wood elves, vigilantly watching the forests for the inevitable counter attack the Zaskayovans are expecting. He is headstrong and boorish not suffering indecisiveness and patience, if the county was his to rule they would have burned half the Ellsing years ago.
Bogatyr
The noble knights of Zaskayova take on the traditional Považ name of Bogatyr, they are unlanded nobles who serve the countess and her boyars. Well trained, highly disciplined and valorous without a fault they embrace the pride of Zaskayova, riding into batle alongside their lords, fighting duels on their behalf, attending banquets as political envoys and participating in grand tourneys. Every aspiring Považšov dreams of being a knighted as a Bogatyr.
Culture
Within the county the people have all adopted the Považšov humans culture and views on the world. They have a healthy respect for both magic and the gods, with a close affinity for the natural world and that of the fey. Especially when it comes to horses, every Považšov child is taught to care for and ride horses as such Zaskayova continues this tradition, which has led to them breeding strong horses and training superior cavalry.
Respect for the fey and nature only goes so far. As in recent years expansionism has led Zaskayova to fell many forests and invade fey and elvish lands to increase their borders and power.
Assets
The county has a rich supply of lumber from the Ellsing Grove which they have utilised in the construction of their towns and villages. Alongside good trade relations Dern Kalduhr for stone and ore to build castles, keeps, walls and forge armour and weapons for the army. The vast plainlands either side of the Troik River allow them ample room for pastures, fields and farming. Many human and halfling farms and hamlets bring in the much needed food for the county, while breeders of horses and stablemasters train the famous Považšov horses to be used for cavalry.
The counties wealth is generated through a mixture of taxes, trade and loot from conquest. The vast amount of peasantry contribute the most to the taxes, alongside the merchant taxes and revenue from trade. Many other nations desire Považ steeds and will pay handsomely for the well bree warhorses. The recent war with the Felfalon yielded much loot for the county. Elvish pottery, jewellery, clothing and crafts are highly valuable, several Bogatyrs and their lords adorn themselves with elvish trophies as a sign of status.
History
When the age of man came to pass and the first human petty kingdoms formed Zaskayova rose as a sovereign principality. Smallest out of all the petty kingdoms and geographically seperate it always stood alone from the other human nations. This led to the Považšov people of the principality becoming ethnically different from their Mont human neighbours. Physically taller and larger build adapting to a more demanding landscape, with their close proximity to both elvish lands and fey forests they developed a close relation with wild primal magics of nature and affinity for animals in particular horses. This developed the principality into a fairly stable realm, having good relations with their elvish neighbours and good resources to trade.
This didn't prevent them from being enveloped into the Kingdom of Polliers though. They were the final realm to be conquered by the powerful kingdom. As such, they stood little chance of holding out against them. Even with the support of the elvish empire at the time, the overwhelming force and numbers Polliers could muster was too much for the small principality. The war for Zaskayova was short but bloody, despite the elite Hussars and elvish trained Luchniki archers putting up valiant efforts to hold of the Polliers advance but ultimately the war was lost. The Zaskayovan Principality was abolished, absolved into the Kingdom of Polliers and became a mere county within the kingdom with the Korkowska appointed as counts of the realm. Tasked with maintaining the eastern borders of the kingdom and assimilating the Považšov peoples into the new global power.
As a vassal county of Polliers the Korkowska family were appointed the titles and lands of the old Principality. Before the king rose them up to being rulers of the county the Korkowska were mere minor nobility. Dating back to Pavel Korkowska who was knighted as a bogatyr by Prince Stanisław for his bravery and valour in a battle against Kingdom of Aviroux. The Korkowska served their new king diligently, holding the eastern borders, breeding mighty horses and producing formidible cavalry and archers to fight for Polliers.
When the Harrowing struck the royal family and the kingdom began to tear itself apart, the County of Zaskayova was one of the firsr to break free. Countess Stefania Korkowska has always been ambitious but also shrewd. She was well aware that with the collapse of the kingdom all it'a vassals would be vying for the throne. Therefore she took Zaskayova out of the battle for the kingdom, becoming an independant county, focusing only on internal affairs and defending Zaskayova from the other ambitious successor states. This did not stop their old rivals from Aviroux declaring war on them resulting in the loss of Rounau. Their powerful rival county had almost doubled in size and power during the collapse of Polliers, having conquered the Viscounty of Frénesse to the south. The Zaskayovans were far too few in number to stand against the new Aviroux army.
Since then Countess Stefania has looked eastward understanding that the three other successor states are far stronger than Zaskayova, even after the Harrowing. The elves of the Felfalon Ríocht however, they had not bounced back from the plague like the human states had. Splintered from the more powerful Illamel Ríocht, devastated from the Harrowing and spread thinly across east of Tír Suaimhnis. The invasion into elvish lands was met with little resistance. Expanding far beyond the Troik River which had defined the eastern reach of their borders for centuries. The Zaskayovan's cavalry broke the weak Felfalon lines and their archers went bow for bow against the elves, retaining the skills taught to them by the very people they were now killing. However their advance came to halt when the elves retreated to the sanctum of the Elllsing Grove, the dense forest changed the nature of the war. Ambush and guerilla tactics from the elves brought many casualties to Zaskayova, their famous Konnik and Hussar cavalry were rendered useless and while their Luchniki and Strzelcy were skilled shots on open fields they lacked the experience of the elves.
Frustration led to desperation as the war ground to a standstill. The Countess and her Boyars had no intention of being drawn into a long war. As Zaskayova continued to push into the forest fell trees as they went, the denizens of the Ellsing Grove began displaying their anger too. Forest dwellers, woodland beasts, fey creatures and even the plants themselves were assaulting the marauding humans. Their great push east was costing too much, lives were being lost by the hundreds daily. A full retreat was ordered and a truce was made with the Felfalon, agreeing that Zaskayova would stay away from the woods and the Felfalon out of the plains. How long will this truce will last though?
Demography and Population
The most populous of peoples here are the Považšov humans, since the county occupies most of the Považ region. Some of the other human races have settled here also but are in a vast minority.
Halflings are also quite plentiful here, the region is perfect for them to set up pastures, farms and work the land. They have settled in the towns and capital too, making the most of the Považ hospitality.
Gnomes and dwarves are present here too but in smaller numbers. Only those that favour the more rustic lifestyle of the Považšov chose to live here. Their efforts have aided in the construction of the many castles in Zaskayova.
Elves are a rarity here due to the continued conflict between Zaskayova and the Felfalon. Some high elves are present mostly for trade or to talk politics with the nobles. Wood and darks are highly unlikely to venture into these realms.
Territories
The county controls Považ the eastern most region of the old Kingdom of Polliers the old ancestral lands of the Považšov peoples and for centuries this was the only land within the counties dominion, however after the kingdom fell and the county broke free as one of the many successor states some of this ancestral land was lost to the rival County of Aviroux. In the last decade though the county has expanded its lands east into the weakened Felfalon Riocht, conquering a large amount of the elvish land and are now bitterly defending it from being retaken.
Military
The Zaskayovan armies are hardy and resiliant, though fewer in number to the armies of their successor state counterparts what they lack in size they make up for in tenacity, with elite cavalry, infantry and magics to aid them in battle. Most of the armies are made up of levy spears, pikes and axemen that will hold the line against the enemy while archers and blackpowder skirmishers pick them apart from afar, with their flanks protected by the elite light, medium and heavy cavalry that makes the Zaskayovans so formidable. All the while supported by the priests, mages and druids
Druzhina
Heavy armoured infantry, they are often small in number roughly no more than a thousand used as the Boyars and Countesses personal retinues. They are clad in splintmail armours and long chainmail coats, tall pointed helms with their faces covered by steel masks, they are armed with an array of weapons from swords and shields to great bardiche axes, black powder pistols and even bows. They are trained to use all sorts of weapons in order to counter any foe they might face on the battlefield, staunchly loyal to their lords and formidible in a fight.
Luchniki
The elite archers of Zaskayova trained in the use of both the bow and the bardiche axe, they are as adept at long range as they are in melee. Clad in scale mail brigandines and conical helmets over thick woolen tunics, allowing both mobility and protection.
Strzelcy
Elite skirmishers armed with crowssbows or blackpowder weapons. The Strzelcy are expensive to maintain due to their reliance on blackpowder so are only deployed in extreme circumstances. However, when they do take to the field their shots will deafen the enemy, casting fear into their hearts. Deadly accurate and able to rip holes through armour plate, they are one of Zaskayova's secret weapons.
Konnik
Light cavalry fast and armed with spears, sabers, bows and arrows. They serve as quick mobile units, able to manuever around the battlefield to strike at the enemies flanks or into their skirmish lines. Capable of rapid shock charges, sustained fights or ranged harrassment with their multitude of weapons. Equipped with conical helmets, scalemail and heavy woolen jackets to offer simple protection while remaining lightweight.
Hussar
What Zaskayova is known and feared for, not their guns, magic or zealotry but their Winged Hussars. Heavily armoured elite calavry, regarded in the highest of honours equal to a Bogatyr. They are the pride and soul of the county, the best of best when it comes to cavalry. Armed with huge lances, covered in banded platemail, tall helms, horses coated in bardings and of course the iconic eagle wings attached to their backs.
Koldun
Small in number but vital to Zaskayova's military, the Koldun are battlemages who predominantly specialise in nature magic. They provide more of a supportive role in the battlefield, debilitating, restraining and confusing the enemy to allow the elite cavalry and skirmishes to finish them off. The Countess and Boyars often appoint a Koldun as an advisor to address magical and mystic affairs.
Duchowny
Though the county worship the Pantheon they do not regard the priests, clerics and paladins of the Orthodoxy to conduct eccumenical matters within the county borders. Instead the Duchowny act as the representatives of the Patheon here, they are both warriors and priests, clergymen to the commoners and counsel to the nobility but when they march into battle with their warhammers and holy magic they are a force to be reckoned with. Providing necessary aid and protection for advancing armies, while also being formidable warriors capable of decimating the enemy
Laws
The Countess dictates all the laws within the realm and are enforced by the Okhrana, an organised body of lawmen that serve the Countess and her Boyars.
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