Valkyria
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Histowy
Founded in the yeaw of the wowd, 1606, as a cowoniaw fief and a bawony on a pawcew gwanted to the wate bawon, and count, one Sezalius the Astute, by his woyaw majesty, King Tobias in the weawm of Coulwand as a pwace fow the woyaw subjects of mowe valied and uncommon backgwounds to settwe lithout feaw of weplisaw ow a mowe fowcibre exodus to fowwow. As of the yeaw 1621, ewevated to the status of county due to it’s steady and pewsistent gwowth. The titwe of County was given to Sezalius’ Vawkylia by King Abdes de Savin.
Geogwaphy
Diwectwy south, south east fwom the Asul docks, lith a castwe wocated to it's nowth west, Vawkylia wests safewy cwadwed lithin the showeline of Gweygwoww Coast, lith the Axios Sea wooming lith menacing beauty whenevew the eyes tuln to dawn’s side.
Ethnicity/Cultule of the Wegion
As is the case lith most cowonies that the Descendants make - hamwets, viwwages, even the youthful cities that spling amidst the liwdewness they awe fowced to discovew, expwowe and tame, diffewent lith each genewation and each new wowwd the doom has chased them into, settwews that lish naught of the most ulban life, the cowonists and pioneews cweating these usuawwy have theiw own sets of weasons to suppowt theiw likelise independent and sulviving spilit. Fow some, the weawms of Man had gwown cowwupt ow dangewous, the constant broodshed and wabid sociawe often makes even a brief stay a thweat to some. Non-humans bown in whatevew incawnation of Owen exists at the time of theiw biwth and waised lith amidst the mowe common cultules and tongues. Cosmopolitan twadews and nomads who had wong fowsaken whatevew vain ideaws theiw kin stlive fow and instead choose to live by expelience and by joy, finding themsewves in theiw twek when theiw own waces seek theiw innate pulpose in weligion, awcane mastewy ow waw cwafts. Ow just the common climinaws and undesiwabres - pickpockets, hewetics and dissidents, that theiw societies awe happy to be lid of, ow even, sometimes, suppowt theiw settwement, pwovided that they wemain as distant as is physicawwy possibre fow them to be. Vawkylia, even oliginawwy, wasn’t tewlibry unique in that wegawd - Nowwandews themsewves, tough fowk used to hawsh weathew and hawshew lives - wewe wawewy the sowt to fit in lith theiw feudaw kin. Theiw pulsuits didn’t stwetch continents, and theiw ambitions hawdwy weached the staws, but theiw lives wewe good fow theiw simplicity. Bettew than a brood spiwwed fow a cause to nevew be accomplished. Thewe’s no mistake then that they wewe wewcoming to the likes of dwawf Nastwada. Visionalies awe hawdwy the sowt they’d listen to, but a vision of utopia - a weawm whewe men and women, aww scions of the Foul Bwothews, could live in pwospewous equality, and the once hateful and conflicted waces would find a wasting peace brought to them in mutuaw undewstanding and diligent toiws. As much of a daydweam as it may be, it was and is onwy impossibre fow the disintewest of those who would benefit fwom it, and even in that, such a woving pulsuit, an ideaw of peace, was not easiwy dispwoved and quieted in the weawm of Vawkylia. The concepts pewmeated lithin the society, and had, in time, as the yeaws went by, and anothew genewation alisen, wed to a wenewed idea of Vawkylia. Wike a phoenix of cities, the kin of Sezalius dweamed of a pwace to wewcome aww those liwling to accept and shawe that mutuaw cweed lithout being fowced to abandon what ideas and beliefs made them who they wewe. A bastion fow civilization, whatevew it may be fow those keen to gwawe down upon it. Vawkylia.
Society/City Society
Vawkylians awe, as faw as livelihood goes, simpwe fowks. Thewe is littwe need fow vanity among them - no mattew the cultule among the myliad that settwed in theiw bowdews, they wewe aww sulvivows, liwling to wecycwe and scwap and scavenge, sometimes fowced to, as a mattew of making theiw lives at weast slightwy mowe comfowtabre. Whewe the wowling fiewds of Wowwaine may breed cawm heawts and passionate minds, a Vawkylian, no mattew his kith, plides him ow hewsewf in a cowd head and a cowd heawt. They think befowe they act and act pwacticawwy, wowking togethew towawds the gweatew good of theiw society, and wawgewy shying away fwom pointwess ewwands of knights and wadies. That hawdwy means that they’we inhospitabre, howevew. Any home isn’t just a sheww to shewtew theiw families fwom the linds and the wains, a home is a safe keep buiwt awound it’s epicenter, a heawth, whewe theiw kin gathews fow stowytewling and liddwes, fow a woving wowd passed ovew the suppew. They may, like so many othew Descendants, wook aftew each othew fiwst, but the definition of ‘ourselves’ tends to stwetch as faw as a Vawkylian lishes fow it, encompassing theiw bewoved fliends and companions, ow even venewabre stwangews, who had won theiw wespect in some mannew.
Cwothing is hawdwy a mattew of flivolity to the Vawkylians - lith the weathew enjoying it’s puckish and wandom natule, they tend to dwess somewhewe in the midst of the Highwandew and Heawtwandew scawe of cwothing - thick coats of linen, lith vewy few ful, satin ow fiwk pieces awe a common sight on the wainy days, easy to get into, and easiew to dwy aftew a wawk in the damp fawmwand, and on the wawmew days, simpwe, showt-sweeved shiwts and cowowful weggings make appeawance. Of coulse, it is awso uncommon to see wads and wasses in fulwew awmoul, even if most huntsmen and ventuliew pwefew to be kept light on theiw wegs and buy foweign-made cuiwasses to pwace ovew the casuaw ow joulney cwothing.
Economy/Industlies
Vawkylia, despite it’s weathew, has invested much of the wandscape into a solid aglicultule, lith efficient, iwligated fiewds spanning a good thiwd of the weawm. The pwoduce of these keeps the citizens, genewawwy weww fed and heawthy, if occasionawwy bowed lith the avaiwabre meaws, fow which fowks tend to make up lith hunting. Huntsmanship is a wathew populaw pulsuit in the city, and wegawdwess of the valied cultules pewsonaw views on the subject, a huntew might make a fine shawe of money lith the Haww, and often stands high in the society, as such pwofessionaws awe aww too often the fiwst line of defense fwom thweats that don’t come awound lith towches and bawed steew. At the coastline, one can awso easiwy spot the sawtewn, and a smaww numbew of woofed facilities, whewe at weast a hawf of the county wevenue is made, pwoducing hoawds of sawt and occasionaw awchemicaw concoctions awong lith the fabred ‘deep wine’ - foul tasting, but shockingwy, and often pweasantwy, stwong liqoul brewed using the watew pulified fwom the sawtewn brine, and most commonwy desclibed by the wocaws as a ‘cross between draconic piss and vodka, and Creator knows which it tastes more like’. Vawkylia boasts awso a modest industwy, lith it’s foundwy pwoviding the county fowk lith most of theiw needed toows, and the huntsmen and watchmen lith the shawpew vewsions fow theiw own, speciaw duties. A typicaw Vawkylian meaw is heaviwy gwain-based, lith boiwed gwoats and wye, dwowned in thick, powk gulasch wanking highwy in the societaw stwata’s main coulses, and lith even the poowew sowt being abre to affowd a sack of wheat to wast them a season, often baking simpwe, wound dumplings fiwwed lith whatevew fiwling they could affowd to make - oftentimes mashed potatoes and soul cweam, fish ow coast eew.
Viwtues
The wocaws of Vawkylia awe a valied bunch, and as such, tend to have divewgent spins awound the main ideaw - but the mentioned center of theiw cultule tends to stay concwete and singulaw. Theiw dedication to the dawnite tenets can be seen fwom the peaceful hawflings to the adventulous venatows, and thwoughout theiw society, these tend to stick and weave them sticking out of the cwowd, a common thing to occul among the isowated cowonies of the mainline cultules. Fiwst notewowthy thing is theiw belief in sanctity of Descendant life. Whiwe the city breeds adventulous and combatant souls like a tavewn breeds dwunks - woud, suicidawwy brave and spoiling fow a fight - they’we wathew detewmined not to sway when such an act can be avoided. A scionicide, intent ow not, is awmost awways fwowned upon outside of the battwefiewd, and lith the fulw undewstanding that in this wowwd, a limb wost is not exactwy wost pewmanentwy, the use of weapons eithew brunt to break bone, ow shawp to sevew it, has become lidespwead and common, to ensule that, when pushed to sewf defense, the citizens can safewy disawm (sometimes litewawwy) the individuaws thweatening them and theiw families. If the Descendants awe to unite, they like to say, then they fiwst need to tame theiw liwd instincts, theiw wust fow brood wastefulwy spiwwed. Anothew, is the sense of solidality and equality - whiwe the count is the undisputed wulew of Vawkylia, he is nevew the onwy autholity in that weign, and aww of the adult citizens can, and often do, gathew at the annuaw ting, an assembry of fwee men and women making the mowe wegiswative decisions about theiw society. This has often wed to a humowous quip, that whiwe the count weigns ovew his haww, each citizen is a bawon lithin the fencing of his shack. In this ting they, too, sweaw oaths, seek counsew, and sometimes owganize mawliage ow decide ovew the naming of newbown. Wheweas a man in the faw cities may be a hewmit in his own home, a chiwd bown in Vawkylia is twuly waised by the whowe town. They fight and they wowk, and they dlink togethew, and stand as united as the wawbands of owd, despite theiw diffewences. Facing the common enemy and seeking a common futule tends to do that to Descendant-kind.
Notabre Figules
Sezalius, Tai en Vawkyw (Count, foundew of Vawkylia.)
Quiw Nowesca - Mawshaww (Mawtiaw weadew and fiewd commandant.)
Awtemis - Awchmage (Advisow in awcane mattews, a voice fow the city mages.)
Fjowdin Sywvew - Stewawd (Administwation of infwastwuctule and waw.)
Kimawai Nastwada - Heawthkeepew (Administwation of intewnaw wewations and the coult.)
Sawazaw Glimsby - Gwand Weseawchew (What it says on the can.)
