Wallacia
Wallacia sits just across the strait from Cape Storm. It has two port cities on Brigand's Bay, which is the only safe harbor for several days journey along the shipping routes between the Inner and Solaran Seas.
North from Brigand's Bay, Wallacia has been slowly expanding its border and settlements along the rivers which feed into the bay. Areas with accessible natural resources such as fertile land or valuable minerals are cleared and claimed by a new prince, while less desirable areas have been passed by. This results is a patchwork quilt of civilized principalities and near-wilderness. Along the Arle River, Wlallacia has expanded as far as the pass between the dwarven-held mountains of Vul to the east and the gemstone elven forest of Mirinveld to the west. This pass provides a trade route to the wild lands in the far north of the continent during the summer and early autumn months.
Structure
Wallacia is a non-hereditary monarchy. The country is subdivided into a number of principalities, each ruled by a hereditary prince or princess. The various princes/princesses form the King's Council (or Queen's Council if a woman sits on the throne), which advises the king. This council can also overrule the king's decisions by a majority vote, including the ability to depose the king.
When a Wallacian king (or queen) dies, abdicates or is deposed, the King's Council selects the new ruler. In the two-hundred year history of Wallacia, the new ruler has been a child of the former king/queen about a third of the time. In the majority of instances, the ruler was selected from the current princes/princesses. When this happens, the new ruler passes their principality crown to one of their heirs.
The mercenary officers who founded Wallacia were all human, and the laws of succession were written to all but prohibit an heir of mixed heritage from gaining the crown of a principality. The entire human bloodline of the house in question would need to die before a mixed heritage heir would be considered.
Royal Ranks
- King/Queen The current ruler of Wallacia. Also is the default supreme commander of the Wallacian military, though often delegates someone else to this role. Also is the highest court of justice in Wallacia. The title is not automatically hereditary, as the King's Council may select someone else to the next King/Queen.
- Archduke/Archduchess Former rulers who have abdicated or been deposed. They can serve as advisors to the King's Council, but have no actual governing authority unless given a royal appointment by the current ruler. The title is not hereditary.
- Prince/Princess The current ruler of one of the Wallacian principalities. Also serves on the King's Council, and is the military commander of their principality's regulars, militia, and levy. Can administer high justice within their principality. The title is normally hereditary, though can be overruled by the King's Council.
- Duke/Duchess The immediate legitimate heirs of the current King/Queen or Prince/Princess. Often are delegated governing responsibilities by their parent as training, and to assess their abilities to succeed their parents. However, the title itself is largely ceremonial unless appointed such delegated responsibilities. The title is not hereditary.
- Count/Countess A title of nobility granted by the current King in recognition of special service to Wallacia. The title does not by itself grant government power, but Counts have the ear of the King, and often tasked by the King with special duties and powers. The title is not hereditary.
- Lord/Lady All other members of the Wallacian nobility. All heirs of higher noble ranks are assigned this rank unless they inherit a higher rank. The title itself does not confer special government authority, but Lords/Ladies have both greater expectations of service by the crown, and are viewed as above commoners in the eyes of the law. The title is hereditary.
Public Agenda
On the nautical front, Wallacia seeks free and open trade with all nations. As such, it tries to remain neutral in any conflicts between its sea-borne trading partners. Other nations, which lack Wallacia's unique geographic advantages, seek legal restrictions and tariffs on the trade of their rivals, as well as special treatment for their merchantmen. This often results in tense relations with Wallacia, but has only resulted in open warfare once with the island-state of Valara.
Wallacia's inland policy is to continue taming wild-lands and expanding their borders. Most of the later principalities were founded by descendants of the original mercenary lieutenants, though some were founded by non-nobles. In the case of a noble founder, a new bloodline is created, separate from his/her relatives in their parent principality.
The long-term goal is to expand their inland borders until they abut other civilized nations on all sides. The Wallacians expect greater trade from this, but their main goal is to eliminate raids from orcs, goblins, and other "savage" races on their outlying principalities. The expectation is that the existing tribes will be wiped out in the process. Currently, Wallacia shares a land border with only two nations: Mirinveld and Vul.
Mirinveld is the forest home of the gemstone elves. These high elves are aloof and isolationist, and trade only sparingly with the Wallacians. Officially, the Mirinveld lands stop just short of the Arle River long their eastern border. However, elven soldiers often patrol down to the waterline, and harass travelers on land. As a result, traders on foot usually stay on the eastern shore of the river, and those in boats avoid the western shore when they need to make camp. Although relations with Mirinveld is chilly, there has been one marriage between a Wallacian prince and an elven woman.
The mountains of Vul just across the river from Mirinveld are home to a kingdom of dwarves. Although reluctant to let outsiders into their realm, they are on friendly relations with Wallacia, and have a healthy trade with their human neighbors to the south. They also trade with others on the far side of the mountains, but have not relayed much information about them to the Wallacians.
History
The lands which comprise modern day Wallacia were largely depopulated during the God Wars and The Shattering. As trade between the Inner Sea and Solaran Seas began to recover, the strong winds and high seas created by Cape Storm to the south drove shipping to the north coast of the strait. Pirates soon took advantage of this, using the deep water bay at the mouth of the Arle River as their base.
As a result, merchant sailors started calling this body of water Brigand's Bay. Merchant guilds grew tired of their losses, and hired a mercenary company led by Wallace the Bold to launch raids against the pirates. His company struck the pirates twice, burning their ships and providing the merchant shipping a brief respite from attacks. However, the pirates simply obtained more ships. After being called back a third time to deal with them, Wallace came up with a more permanent solution.
Investing his life savings to expand the size of this force, Wallace's third expedition was not a simple raid. Instead, after smashing the pirate base and driving them inland into hiding, his company quickly set up a permanent fort. Once the fort was secure, they began sending patrols inland to hunt down the remaining pirates. Back at the fort, others began to build docks and homes, establishing the town of Blackrock.
Wallace declared himself ruler of the newly-founded Kingdom of Wallacia (named after himself). As the population grew, new lands needed to be secured for farms and logging. Wallace decreed that any lieutenants who secured a new territory would be crowned as prince of that land. The practice has continued to this day (albeit at a slower pace), with each new principality being founded by either one of the original lieutenants, by one of their descendants, or by some commoner.
Military
The armed forces of Wallacia can be categorized into three broad tiers:
The Regulars
These are the full time, professional soldiers who are pledged to one of the Princes or directly to the King. This includes both land forces and the sailors of the Wallacia navy, as well as a small number of clerics and wizards. Members of the Wallacian nobility who choose to take up arms full time also fall into this tier, although they do not receive any military pay.
The Wallacian Regulars are considered to be above the average of other national militaries in the Known World . The mercenary origins of Wallacia certainly play a part in this, as does a continued emphasis on regular training of their troops. The Regular troops are also well equipped, with armor and arms appropriate for each unit's intended role.
The Regulars can expect to deployed anywhere within Wallacia or bordering territories during their enlistment. Units are periodically swapped between remote and urban areas so that no troops feel that they've been "exiled to the boonies". However, Wallacia has little ability to project their power far outside their borders, lacking both sea-lift capacity and logistics experience.
The Militia
These are part-time soldiers who are paid for taking part in training throughout the year. This is usually about 2 days a month of local training, and a week or two of field training sometime outside of planting and harvest times. Volunteers for the Militia come from both former Regulars and those who show promise drilling in the Levy (see below).
It is believed by outside observers that the majority of the Wallacian millitary spell-casting troops are part of the Militia. However, there is no confirmation of this belief, and Wallacian government officials are deliberately evasive whenever this subject is broached.
The arms and armor provided to the Militia is adequate, though usually not of the same quality issued to the Regulars. The repeated training of the Militia means that most units are considered competent by Known World standards, though a few units each year fail inspection by the Crown. Failed units either improve within the following year (often via extra training without pay), or are disbanded.
Militia units are formed of people living in the same geographical area, and usually perform their field training nearby. This gives them an advantage if called upon to defend that territory, as several invading forces have learned over the years. However, the Crown does periodically call up a local Militia for service in more distant parts of Wallacia. This is both to demonstrate the ability to reinforce any threatened area, and to build up a sense in the soldiers that they are serving a larger nation, and not just their hometowns.
The Levy
All able-bodied Wallacian citizens aged 16-30 who live in a territory governed (and taxed) by a Prince are considered to be part of the local Levy. The Levy are required to take part in periodic, unpaid, military training. This is usually just a couple hours a month in small groups doing basic marching drills and rudimentary arms training, primarily with spears, pikes, and/or polearms. A few localities also do training with light crossbows or shortbows.
In the fall, just before the annual Harvest Festivals, the Levy does an all day drill in larger units, overseen by officers from the Regulars and/or Militia. Units which perform particularly well in these drills are sometimes recognized with small monetary or food awards.
Although each local Levy unit usually has enough basic weapons to equip all of its members, they do not have any armor for them. The Levy is not trained for travel beyond the local area, and has never been asked to do so during Wallacia's history.
Overall, the Levy cannot be viewed as an effective force when compared to the national militaries of other nations in the Known World. However, they are much more effective than the disorganized mobs which other nations have when they call their average citizens to take the field.
Flag of Wallacia
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Demonym
Wallacian
Economic System
Market economy
Subsidiary Organizations
Location
Controlled Territories
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