Rillia

[Shimitar]

Ionna

Ionna’s first permanent inhabitants were no less than savages, raiding on the more advanced lands to the south. Around 792 years Bmt (Before Modern Times), the Turgic Empire invaded the region, taking most of the land. After a long and bloody conquest, Ionna was annexed by the Empire. The taming of these pillagers and the waves of immigration from the Empire fleeing the high taxes and merciless authority contributed to bringing Ionna to the world stage.

Around 450 years Bmt, the Revolutionary Wars (479 Bmt-412 Bmt) reached it’s climax when the Ionnan people rose up against their oppressors and overthrew the Turgic government. This was followed by the declaration of the Ionnan monarchy and the liberation of the Sjorl Mountains. This aid against the Turgans was not to be forgotten by the newly-formed Sjorl Federation, which, in it’s debt to Ionna, effectively became a puppet state.

Ionna has greatly prospered since then; it is now a fully fledged power, both feared and respected by its neighbours. The people of Ionna have never lost their warrior soul, however, and still cry out for warfare against the eastern nations, who’s very existence is a mockery to the Kingdom. It is needless to say that the fate of the continent may very well lie in the rugged northern peaks.

Sjorl Federation

The Sjorl Mountains once harboured an ancient civilisation which predated even the Turgic Empire. The region has long been an important strategic point, being between two powerful rivals ready to invade the mountains at any point to be able to reach the other. Its relationship is not only one of debt, it is also one of survival.

After Ionna freed the Mountains from Turgan occupation, the people set up a federal government and went back to mine in the vast caverns that dot the Federation, blissfully unaware of the dangerous political situation hovering above the region. Indeed, in truth there was nothing democratic about the Federation. Ionna had the power to overturn, or force into application, any law that it wanted. The fate of Sjorl depends on the whims of Ionna. Many have theorized that the only reason the Federation hasn’t yet been annexed is because Ionna cannot spare the men to occupy the territory. Should Ionna emerge victorious from the coming conflict, there is little doubt that Sjorl would become a meager province.

Nikar Anash

In 439 Bmt, Nikar Anash was engulfed in a bloody civil war, with the locals determined to overthrow the Empire’s hold on the territory. The conquest of the south, or as it’s known in the nation’s language, Anash, was taken long after the end of the Revolutionary wars in 412 Bmt. It was only in 385 Bmt that the Turgan Empire abandoned it’s territories in the east, allowing the Kingdom to form.
Nikar Anash views itself as the protector of the weak and the defenceless, a stark contrast to the expansionistic Ionnans, which contributes to the tension between the two. For as long as it has existed, Nikar Anash has tried to liberate the western Sjorl Federation from Ionna n influence. While it’s peoples are peaceful and will try to solve problems with diplomacy, they also stand united so that any invasion will face the iron will of the east.

And with tensions on the continent at an all-time high, a war seems likely. The collapse of the Turgic Empire will likely put the Rillia to the flame, with war’s devastation leaving no land untouched. It is in these dark times that Nikar Anash, the protector of the weak and the shield against imperialism, must stand strong if it wishes to survive the century.


Rillia

It is a curiosity that the continent is named after the smallest nation on it’s face.
When the Turgans invaded in 856 Bmt, they found not the divided tribes they were expecting, but a people united against a foreign invader. The small resistance became notorious for it’s deadly guerrilla ambushes and surprise attacks. It is estimated that out of the 16,000 Turgic soldiers sent into this front, only 3,750 survived the ordeal. The Empire’s naval dominance also collapsed here when most of the Turgan fleet was burned by rebels at a Rillian port during a surprise attack. While the resistance was eventually crushed and the rebels executed, the Turgans never forgot the tenacious defenders and named the continent after them as a sign of respect.

Rillia is also marked as the first nation to free itself from Turgic control. In 480 Bmt, it sparked the Revolutionary Wars when hundreds of thousands of peasants, merchants and nobles marched in unity to the capital, freeing themselves from the shackles of oppression and also forming the closest thing the continent would see to a proper democracy. They elected an official, known as a Kushanar, who stayed in power for life. There was also a council, half selected by the Kushanar, half elected by the people. The Kushanar had the power to bring up laws and issues at the council, and the council needed his approval to act on a matter.

Rillia can be counted among Nikar Anashe’s closest allies, for the two helped each-other rise and without the other, it likely that they will both fall.

Tarivian League

The Tarivian League is composed of hundreds of small city states, and is famed as the only nation not to be conquered by the Turgic Empire. With the river Tarivia and the eastern mountain ranges forming a massive natural wall, no army can invade by land. After the burning of the Turgic fleet, all hope for an invasion dissipated and the Empire turned it’s attention to other matters.

Tarivia is famed for its prosperity; with its vast merchant fleet and its rich resources, the League has enjoyed many long centuries of abundance and, some may say, decadence. The League is also known for its armies, being the largest military force amassed since the Turgic invasion of Ionna. This army, however, is mostly composed of badly trained peasants with little, if any, armour. It is also divided by petty rivalries between territories. The wealth and power of the League is but an illusion, hiding the disunity and dangerous predicament Tarivia finds itself in.

The greatest threat to Tarivia comes from the north; Ionna. There is little doubt that Ionna wishes to take the wealthy territory to fund their campaigns against Nikar Anash. With this in mind, the League signed an alliance with its southern neighbour to secure its own future.


Turgic Empire

While the northern savages were still learning how to make fire, the Turgans were already a sprawling and far reaching civilisation. The Empire is the land of deserts, gunpowder and internal strife. For over a thousand years the Turgic Empire controlled most of the known world, its armies composed of highly disciplined professionals equipped with the most advanced weaponry to date. The iron will of the Turgans forged an empire from the northern wastes to the southern seas, which is ruled by an emperor believed to be chosen by god.

Between 800 Bmt-500 Bmt, the Turgans ruled supreme over Rillia, imposing their dominance on newly conquered civilisations. Revolts, rebellions, foreign armies... None could defeat the Empire in it’s glory age. But that age was not to last, and the Empire began declining rapidly.

With the Revolutionary Wars, the Empire lost its Rillian holdings but most importantly, the Sjorl Mountains. Without the valuable minerals produced there the Empire began an economic collapse, causing their retreat from the entire continent.

Royal strife also plagues the Empire. When the late Emperor Niklaih XII died, he left two sons: Prince Aivakolv and Prince Jsutria. Prince Aivakolv, despite being the oldest and therefore heir to the throne, was despised by the common people as a decadent and incapable lord who profited off the people’s labours. Prince Jsutria saw this as an opportunity and attempted a military coup, and with popular support entered power as Emperor Jsutria. He promptly exiled Prince Aivakolv and began his rule. The deposed Prince, hungry for vengeance, departed for Rillia, where he is now petitioning the allies (Nikar Anash, Rillia and the Tarivian League formed a military alliance against any and all Ionnan aggression in 23 Bmt) to aid him return to power. If a war breaks out between Ionna and the Allies, it is likely the Prince’s request will be granted, as to hopefully put Aivakolv on the throne and thus gain the Empire as an ally. Such an act would spell certain defeat for the Ionnan armies.

If Aivakolv, supported by the military and foreign powers, were to gain the throne, the fate of the Empire seems bleak. The Turgans need a strong leader, capable of keeping the Empire unified. What the future holds none can say: The only thing certain is that this will be one of the most bloody wars ever to plague the land.