Vescania
The Kingdom of Vescania, ruled by King Stagsworn XIV, has been long recognized as the oldest standing human nation in all of Vals’kar. Its age, deep-seated traditions, and hot-headed leaders have inadvertently made it a cultural chimera that is both fascinating to witness and painful to endure. Still, they’ve maintained an economic foothold for having some of the best armorsmiths in Vals’kar and the recent century-long armistice with the Astaguan Republic has been one of the longest periods of peace Vescania has lived through.
Vescania’s dense cities and generational war machines have all but guaranteed their military to be the largest in the world.
Military service is required for every male and female in the country, barring economic demand (i.e., farmers aren't required to join during a famine). Men may leave the service after two years; women may leave after one. Members may also leave after they have killed either 5 slaves in the wargames or 1 enemy soldier in an international conflict.
A citizen belonging to a caste (Royalty, Nobility, or Peasantry) may not move up or down a caste except in extreme circumstances and with a decree provided by the King or Queen.
Trial by Combat may only be demanded by the victim of a crime and under the presentation of sufficient evidence for a guilty conviction.
Vescania is a traditional Kingdom, with King Bau Stagsworn the XIV currently seating the throne. Likewise, the King is also the leader of the military while domestic matters are left to a small, albeit powerful, Council hand-selected by the King during his many absences. Slaves maintain a sizeable portion of the population of Vescania, but they aren't treated like slaves elsewhere. Instead, they are handled the same as prized gladiators - they are well fed, trained, and respected. The majority of the slaves are divided into battalions of no more than 500 soldiers and are trained to fight the military in wargames held once a quarter. Should the Captain of the battalion be successful in killing the the unit they fight against, then they and any survivors of their battalions are offered freedom in exchanged for the minimum required military service.
Vescania was founded in the year 363 in the 1st Era along the southern slopes of the Dawnchill Mountains, near modern-day Poria. The First King, King Osto, led his ragtag group of nearly 3,000 people east along the slopes to around Edlo, where they defeated a group of barbaric beastmen. Following the successful campaign and following peace in the area, King Osto decided to rid the land of any non-human creatures that couldn’t be enslaved or pacified. He didn’t make it much farther as a plague killed him and another 30 percent of the population. From there, the Vescanian people withstood decades of attacks from vengeful, wild peoples until King Bau Stagsworn the First came to power. Utilizing tactics considered now to be unethical, he fought back and exterminated just under 100 tribes of wild folk, pushing east until reaching modern-day Windfont. While he never saw its construction finished, King Stagsworn the First ordered the construction of Stagsworn Castle in Poria, which still stands to this day. From there, his decedents conquered all of the land that makes up modern Vescania, and then some. Other conquests took them west into modern-day Locrati, but they lost control of the land when magical forces turned the forest against the human invaders. They also colonized The Wilds in modern-day Oscad, but the colony was destroyed and King Bau Stagsworn the VI didn’t find the cost of rebuilding the colony and defending it to be worthwhile. Instead, he began to plan the campaign into Cairnbrow, but was stopped short of pursuance due to a rebellion that stemmed from Gilstead. It wasn’t until King Stagsworn the XI took power and the rebellion quelled that the conquest pushed them into Cairnbrow; by then, the city-states across the Astaguan continent had become allied well enough that Unification was swift and despite a well-coordinated assault, Vescania was unsuccessful. King Stagsworn XIV has been training, studying, and planning for his entire life in an effort to redeem the failed efforts of his family.
Laws
Aside from the normal social laws accepted across Vals'kar, Vescania has a few local laws worth learning.Culture
Vescania is a traditional Kingdom, with King Bau Stagsworn the XIV currently seating the throne. Likewise, the King is also the leader of the military while domestic matters are left to a small, albeit powerful, Council hand-selected by the King during his many absences. Slaves maintain a sizeable portion of the population of Vescania, but they aren't treated like slaves elsewhere. Instead, they are handled the same as prized gladiators - they are well fed, trained, and respected. The majority of the slaves are divided into battalions of no more than 500 soldiers and are trained to fight the military in wargames held once a quarter. Should the Captain of the battalion be successful in killing the the unit they fight against, then they and any survivors of their battalions are offered freedom in exchanged for the minimum required military service.
Religion
Vescania used to be far more tolerant of other religions until a recent decree by King Stagsworn XIV mandating the worship of Myrkul, God of Death. Those close to the King have suggested this change was made to deter the slave military from worshipping Tyr, the God of Justice. Rural communities are likely to attempt worship of other gods in the Vals'kar pantheon, but they do so in secret.History
Vescania was founded in the year 363 in the 1st Era along the southern slopes of the Dawnchill Mountains, near modern-day Poria. The First King, King Osto, led his ragtag group of nearly 3,000 people east along the slopes to around Edlo, where they defeated a group of barbaric beastmen. Following the successful campaign and following peace in the area, King Osto decided to rid the land of any non-human creatures that couldn’t be enslaved or pacified. He didn’t make it much farther as a plague killed him and another 30 percent of the population. From there, the Vescanian people withstood decades of attacks from vengeful, wild peoples until King Bau Stagsworn the First came to power. Utilizing tactics considered now to be unethical, he fought back and exterminated just under 100 tribes of wild folk, pushing east until reaching modern-day Windfont. While he never saw its construction finished, King Stagsworn the First ordered the construction of Stagsworn Castle in Poria, which still stands to this day. From there, his decedents conquered all of the land that makes up modern Vescania, and then some. Other conquests took them west into modern-day Locrati, but they lost control of the land when magical forces turned the forest against the human invaders. They also colonized The Wilds in modern-day Oscad, but the colony was destroyed and King Bau Stagsworn the VI didn’t find the cost of rebuilding the colony and defending it to be worthwhile. Instead, he began to plan the campaign into Cairnbrow, but was stopped short of pursuance due to a rebellion that stemmed from Gilstead. It wasn’t until King Stagsworn the XI took power and the rebellion quelled that the conquest pushed them into Cairnbrow; by then, the city-states across the Astaguan continent had become allied well enough that Unification was swift and despite a well-coordinated assault, Vescania was unsuccessful. King Stagsworn XIV has been training, studying, and planning for his entire life in an effort to redeem the failed efforts of his family.
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