Savaria
Savaria is a vassal state of Saol . In the eyes of Saol it is not so much a sovereign nation as a glorified trade route.
Assets
The success of the Duchess' orphanage graduates has drawn notice in Saol. With the old empire weakened and its enemies gathering, some Saolish have begun to look toward Savaria both for investment opportunities and as a potential first line of defense against Augustia. The increased Saolish presence is welcomed by some and quietly resented by others, but none can deny that perhaps for the first time, Saol seems to have taken a serious interest in bolstering its vassal state. There are even rumors that Savaria’s longserving Steward , Ursus III , may soon be forced to abdicate his seat. Though Ursus has always been a loyal right hand, House Cator has expressed impatience with his incompetence and a desire to see Savaria’s throne occupied by someone more capable. This rumor has mostly been met with shrugs in Savaria, where Ursus is widely regarded as a Saolish puppet who has neither the interest nor the ability to help his own people. The overgrown remains of massacred towns and unmarked graves neglected since the Goblinhorde Wars, stand as mute testament to that.
History
The Savarians were nationalized after the conquest of the Tordalean 7th Army of Exploration.
Trade with Mat Khadur
The dwarven nation of Mat Khadur was founded in 1392 ZR in the Pentaregnum Mountains northeast of Savaria, and its capital, Khadhal, became an important center of trade in the region. It became so important that the governments of the Tordalean provinces of Savaria and Saol petitioned the dwarves to build a surface city to increase their access to dwarven goods and services. Jern Kanton was built as a sister-city of Khadhall in 1220 ZR and quickly became a trade center for over 500 years until both cities were destroyed by the eruption of the volcano Dogrim's Crag in 691 ZR.Thrall of Saol
Savaria remained a thrall of Tordal for nearly two thousand years, until another Tordalean province, Saol, broke free from their imperial masters during the Balanced-hand Conquest. In 590 ZR, Saol wrested control of Savaria from Tordal, and Savaria has remained a vassal state of Saol ever since. Even when several other vassal states, such as Augustia and Hashek, successfully rebelled against Saol in the 1st-century ZR, SAvaria remained firmly within Saol's grasp.Exploitation of resources
As a vassal state of first Tordal and later Saol, Savaria's natural resources were heavily exploited over the millennia. Eventually, the only thing the state had to offer its imperial masters was its valuable location as a trade route between Saol and the rich nations bordering Pentaregnum Mountains to the northeast. This route led up the Urkesh River from Saol, Across the Bhatti Steppe, and from there into the foothills of the Pentaregnum Mountains then the nations of Thom and Tordal. As a result, the Savarian government has concentrated most of its resources to communities on this route, leaving the rest of the nation to become an impoverished, bandit-infested hinterland.The Goblinhorde Wars
Savaria suffered terribly during the Goblinhorde Wars when hundreds of tribes of goblinoids (including powerful Hobgoblin warlords and their Goblin slaves) emerged from the Gaftzleck Forest in southern Savaria in 26 AS, killing all in their path. Savaria's army was unable to stem the invasion. The goblins were eventually defeated by an unlikely alliance of military forces from neighboring nations, including the Talon Knights of Augustia , the Hellknights of Saol, and the Blackcoin Guild of Badia . Each fought to keep the goblinoid forces from overrunning Savaria and spilling out into their respective countries. With the enemy armies defeated, the victors put much of the Gaftzlek Forest to the torch in an attempt to deprive the goblinoids of a home. Although thousands of goblins died in the conflagration, many fled into the caverns below the forest and survived.After the war
The Goblinblood Wars were marked by heavy losses on both sides, especially among the Savarians, and thousands of orphans were left to fend for themselves after hostilities ceased. Their numbers even continued to rise in the post-war period, as chaos and banditry swept through Savaria's hinterlands. The only organization that stepped in to help these orphans was the Asmodean Order supported by Saol's House Cator . They built a number of monasteries throughout the country where they fed, clothed, and indoctrinated Savaria's youth into the faith of the Prince of Law. The most famous of these is the monastery run by the Sisterhood of the Golden Duchess , where children are not only schooled in infernal philosophy and politics, but also in hard-to-master martial arts.Goltan Plague
Trade caravans have recently reported strange sightings near the village of Goltan on the edge of the Gaftzleck Forest. It seems that its inhabitants were transformed into ravonous undead, and that this so-called Goltan Plague has spread to other nearby villages as well. The plague is blamed on necromancers and powerful priests of Hagurta, who are believed to have taken advantage of the chaos in Savaria's hinterlands following the Goblinhorde Wars. Some believe that the most powerful of those infecting the countryside is a diabolist named Lady Apella Pulex, a cleric of the archdevil Mammon. Lady Pulex is even rumored to secretly control Savaria's rulers and be building an undead army from the dead of the Goblinhorde Wars.Demography and Population
The people of Savaria are still suffering from the devastation of the Goblinhorde Wars. The wars left behind thousands of orphans who have been left to the tender mercies of the Asmodean Order. A number of monasteries have been established to care for the orphans and indoctrinate them in the ways of the Prince of Devils. Apart from the country's dominant human citizens, Savaria also contains Kekeri, a predominantly gnomish town, and has one of the larger halfling populations in the region. Most of the latter group are held as slaves, and many are bought by the Asmodean Order to work in their orphanages. Even though the Goblinhorde Wars killed thousands of their kind, Savaria is still a major center of goblinoid culture in Saskhij.
Flora and fauna
Savaria is home to a large number of freedom-loving Copper Dragon who fight a guerrilla war against the Savarian government in an effort to end their tyranny. Most of these Dragon immigrated from Augustia recently when their presence there threatened the economy and ecosystem. Northern Savaria is also occasionally threatened by the great Red Dragon Yzzyrxadas who lairs in the Pentaregnum Mountains to the southeast. These events are rare, but always disastrous, as the Great Wyrm is one of the most powerful of his kind on Gradus. Related to these dragons, attacks by flame drakes from the Lunar Vale region of Augustia have begun raiding Savaria through the Shahr Pass. On a more mundane level, southern Savaria is also home to a well-known vulpine, the Firefoot Fennec. These small, fox-like creatures are sometimes domesticated and traded as pets, as they are seen as symbols of good luck.Goblins
Goblins in Savaria live in the loncshurko Cavern beneath the Gaftzleck Forest . During the Goblinhorde Wars, a massive horde of goblins organized and led by Hobgoblin poured out of the forest and overwhelmed Savaria's army. They were eventually defeated by an unlikely alliance of Saolish Hellknights, Augustian Talon Knights and the Badian Blackcoin Guild. All sides were devastated, but the goblinoids were defeated; most of the survivors fled back to the caverns from whence they came. Numerous crafty and well-organized goblin tribes, most still led by hobgoblins, plot revenge from their caves, including the Czogja Hoard, Gutter Harvesters , and Stirge Jut Clan. In addition to the caves of Ioncshurko, some Savarian goblin tribes also inhabit the mine tunnels beneath the town of Srefs. This shift in relations is driven by need. Undead have long bedeviled this land, particularly in remote places such as Highbore and the plague-ravaged ruins of Goltan, where rotting and ravening Zombies stalk through the crumbling houses of the dead. Hagurtans proliferate among blood-soaked battlefields and the blackened remains of torched villages, feeding on the fear and pain that still linger in those haunted sites. These malign forces have grown stronger and more numerous since the Goblinhorde Wars and, some say, since Phar'bhat’s rise. Whether or not that rumor is true, it is certain that neither Goblins nor Human can afford to ignore the rising tide of undead in Savaria’s hinterlands much longer.Territories
Forests
Much of the Gaftzleck Forest was burnt in the aftermath of the GoblinHorde Wars, but it still remains as a geographical feature. Beneath the forest, goblin tribes remain in the loncshurko Caverns, perhaps gathering their forces for another invasion.Military
Savaria is officially ruled by Steward Ursus III , but it is an open secret that he takes his orders from Saol's House Cator. Ursus is regularly summoned to Asur, Saol's capital, to receive his instructions. The emblem of the office of the steward of Savaria is a bejeweled, yet fully expended Rod of Rulership, symbolizing the apparent grandeur of a position with little (if any) true power.
Savaria lacks a proper standing army following the losses suffered during the Goblinhorde Wars. As the army is too small to effectively protect all of the country, it now limits its patrols to important trade routes. In an attempt to curb the banditry which is now rife in outlying areas, the steward has issued bounties on the known brigands. It is not yet clear whether this is having the desired effect, but the steward continues to give the impression that he doesn't much care what happens outside of the country's trade routes. Because Saol is only interested in keeping the trade route through Isger open, it provides little material support to the army of its client nation.
Although they are not part of the Savarian armed forces, the Hellknight Order of the Lance has been expanding their monster-slaying expeditions into Savaria from their headquarters at Citadel Nero in Western Saol.
Religion
Isger's most prominent religion is naturally that of the Asmodean Order, along with the practice of more generic Diabolism. Other important faiths include that if Manael, as well as Martinia.
Foreign Relations
Since its founding, Savaria has been a vassal state. It was formed with Tordal’s conquest of the area and, centuries later, it was annexed by Saol in the Fair-Handed Crusade of 590 ZR. Unlike some of Saol’s other holdings, Savaria did not break free during the Cator Ascendancy, and it remains in thrall today. However, there are signs that the neglect and exploitation that have long characterized Savaria’s relationship with its patron state are beginning to give way to a new era of closer involvement, for better and worse.
Nation 18
- Alignment- Black Green Alignment Savaria is a vassal state of Saol. The regency bonded itself to the ambitions of Saol; these ambitions are tempered by the traditions of its lands.
- Government- Bonded Pricipality
Maps
-
Savaria
Founding Date
-2538
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Capital
Leader Title
Head of State
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Semi-autonomous area
Economic System
Mixed economy
Currency
cp
SP
GP
PP
Parent Organization
Location
Official Languages
Controlled Territories
Related Ethnicities
Official Religion
Historical Ally
Historical Ally
Remove these ads. Join the Worldbuilders Guild
Comments
Author's Notes
Adapted From pathfinderwiki- Isger