Varangia

Varangia

Flag of Varangia
Motto: Varangii Semper Liberi
[1]
Region	Wysteria
Capital	Muscovy
Official Language(s)	Varangian, Wysterian
Leader	Tsarina Anastasia I
Population	29.3 bil
Currency	UCA Argent
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Varangia is the envy of nations, the sparkling jewel of the south, a beacon of hope to which peoples the region over are drawn--Antonin Charamodinov, 18th Century Poet

Lands fit for an Empire

Varangia is an empire comprised of five states in the region of Wysteria and beyond. The states are subdivided into two geographic groups: the Imperial Core and the outliers. Those states which immediately surround the imperial capital of Muscovy, Galicia-Volhynia, Fridwald, and the Steppe, comprise the imperial core. The other four states,Lodmeria, Florenzia, Polonija, and Rusiya are called the outliers.

Lyons, Center of the Empire

The imperial core rests on the continent of Lyons, located in the southern hemisphere of Wysteria. To the north, the Empire is bordered by the Queendom of Turnipstan. Varangia's territory includes the large island of Galicia to the south and Sumi Island to the west.

On the eastern coast of the continent, where the borders of Galicia-Volhynia and Fridwald meet sits the capital of the Empire, Muscovy. Founded in the year 2000, Muscovy emphasizes the emergence of the Imperial system of governmental organization after the ages of the Kingdom, Commonwealth, and Constellation systems of governance. Founded on the site where the Isan prophets set foot upon the continent of Lyons, Muscovy represents a spiritual and administrative rebirth to Varangia. Muscovy is often referred to as the Diamond of the South for its extensive use of glass and steel structures in its architecture and the wealth it has generated as its population explodes.

Several important geological and hydrologic features dominate the territory of Varangia. The Bashkan range runs down the spine of the Principality of Fridwald. To the east, the Litovan range is a formidable group of mountains straddling the Principalities of Galicia-Volhynia and the Steppe. In the Steppe, the Letana River dominates the landscape, bisecting much of the Principality along an east to west access. In Volhynia, the Voltava river runs from the northwest to the southeast, providing the sediment for the delta on which one of the Empire's greatest cities, St. Eudoxia, sits.

Major Outlier Geography

The Principality of Lodmeria is located in the region's northern hemisphere on the continent of Franconia. Several major islands ring Lodmeria proper, which are largely inhabited by the nation's minority populations. The Principality is also covered with large swaths of forest.

Florenzia, another Varangian principality, is located on the far southern continent of Polarverta. The Red Range cuts the oblast of Baltica in two, effectively dividing the nation into an eastern and western half. In the east, narrow coastal plains give way to flat and fertile continental plain. To the west, sparsely populated tundra hold untold mineral wealth and is the home of most of the empire's petroleum extraction operations.

History

Pre-History

Isa, Great Mother

Little is known about the history of the Varangian people before the great migration to the island of Galicia. However, in recent years linguists, archeologists, and historians have begun to piece together a theory of ‘common origin’ which explains how Varangians, Kosmanian, Steppemen, and even Melcelenians may have originated from the same stock of ancestors and evolved into separate peoples.

The continent of Isa, in the far southeast of Wysteria was home to a large empire. This empire inhabited all of the territory between the Peninsular Mountains and the Great Western Divide to the West, all the way south to the coast, and east to the Magro Mountains. Surrounding it along the periphery were minor kingdoms that largely paid tribute to the Great Isan Empire. From the archeological evidence, the Isan Empire grew from a small kingdom centered on the Nasisur River delta and subsequently absorbed surrounding chiefdoms, and eventually kingdoms until it became the dominant national entity on the continent. In the east, they encountered a race of great horsemen, and through a treaty, the horsemen (now the Steppemen) entered into service as the cavalry for the empire.

As the empire became more homogenous and powerful, it began to look outside of Isa for resources and new and exotic goods. The state religion, Orthodoxism, also began a program of conversion of non-orthodox natives of other continents. Thus, Isans began to establish trading colonies in untouched lands or began to mix with the local populations. In the north, they contacted the ancient Melcelenian population during the Thorinic Dynasty. This proved disastrous, as the contact evolved into open welfare between the Isan proto-state established by traders and missionaries and the Empire of Melcelene. The Isan state was eventually defeated and traders eventually avoided Alderon altogether.

The nations that are today known as Galicia-Volhynia and Kosmania were established by settlers from Isa. These Galicians and Kosmanians came from the Isan provinces of Voranz and Kosmos, respectively were adjacent to one another and were centrally located in the densely populated north of Isa. Archeologists and linguists have conclusively linked the two peoples, despite their geographic dispersion, as descendents of a common people. They theorize that at some point before the fall of the Isan Empire, the northern provinces became overpopulated and desperate colonists, hearing of rich lands on the other side of the oceans, set sail to establish new lives in these far away paradises.

With their advanced knowledge of agricultural techniques, the Voranz left first. They sailed west and eventually landed in what is now known as Turnipstan. Finding the land already settled by the predecessors of the modern Turnipstani people, the Voranz drifted south throught Lyon and eventually settled in what is now known as Volhynia. Heavily wooded, Volhynia offered little arable territory. As soon as arable land ran out, a majority of the Voranz sailed for the island they could see off of the Volhynian shoreline. This island came to be known as Galicia.

Early History

Era of the Clans: From Cowherders to Kings

These Voranz that settled along the coasts of the island of Galicia around the year 954 were herders of cattle and musk ox. Galicia was fertile, and many of the nomadic herders became farmers. After several decades of the development of Galicia, the Varangians formed clans along family lines. Rich soils and predicatable weather brought bumper crops and a larger population. As the population increased, so did the conflicts between the clans. Soon, the Varangians began to resort to conflict and eventually wars to settle disputes. The Varangians became divided, war-like people. Clan chieftains rule these early Varangians and often fought amongst themselves for pride, booty, and territory. Relations between the chiefdoms were fluid; alliances were created and destroyed as wars raged for control of the island of Galicia. The fiercely independent clan chieftains sought sole authority over their peers, and if they could not attain this for themselves, united with their fellow chieftains to balance the power of a rising chieftain.

The period between 952 and 1610 A.D., is known as the Era of the Clans. While politically divided, the Varangians shared roughly the same language and the same culture. They were patriarchal and bellicose. They worshiped four gods, Akhtan (god of agriculture), Menathan (goddess of war), Jagodar (god of living men), and Dzhuzen (god of the sun). Their economy was based on sustenance agriculture, of which the majority of farmers raised wheat.

Early Varangians developed a complex writing system that consisted of forty-eight distinct phonetic characters. The sheer complexity of the alphabet and the syntax meant that only religious men and clan nobility learned how to read and write. This early language was known as Vlavonic.

Ancient clan legends told of a day when the Vladimir, or powerful peacemaker, would come and bring peace to the lands. This prophecy was fulfilled in 1573, with the birth of a young chieftain named Riurik Silnyrukji (Riurik, the Strong Hand). Born into the Silnyrukji clan, he became clan leader at the age of twenty-three, with the death of his father, Lars. Riurik was a wise leader, and a talented swordsman. By age thirty, he had acquired the territories of clans adjacent to his own and incorporated them into his clandom, Volynsky. Yet, even with the rapid emergence of Volynsky, clan politics remained fluid. In 1610, the rapid rise of the rival clandom of Orel’ prompted Riurik to take military action. He led an alliance of Varangian chiefdoms on a crusade to unite the Varangian people under one leader. He spent the next five years pacifying the island of Galicia, eventually bringing it under his control. For his success, he was crowned king in 1616. Riurik took Skaya Marinkaya, one of the daughters of his crusading allies, as his bride. In 1625 they bore a son, Vsevold, thus establishing the Silnyrukji dynasty and the beginning of the Era of Unification.

Era of Unification: Dawn of a Dynasty

The death of Riurik in 1642 left the throne of Varangia in the hands of his untested son, Vsevold. Vsevold was as well educated as could be in the nascant kingdom, but inexperienced in the day-to-day affairs of managing a state. His inexperience was compounded by his disdain for the mundane details of ruling, and he often withdrew from the court of the Varangian capital, Volodymyr. Vsevold was an avid militarist; obsessed with uniforms, regalia, and parade marches. However, since peace had reigned in Galicia since the last independent tribe was defeated in 1615, the Kingdom of Varangia had little use for a standing army and had let it atrophy. This changed in 1649, when Varangian colonies on the southern coast of Volhynia called upon the king to send troops to protect their settlements from marauding barbarians. King Vsevold took action, pouring money into the army and building a large naval force. With these enhancements, the new Varangian army and navy battled the insurgent tribes across the southeastern corner of Lyons, eventually forcing them to seek refuge in the Litovan Range. The defeat of the barbarians was the pinnacle of Vsevold’s rule. He married the daughter of a highborn Varangian noble, and in 1652, she bore him two children, a daughter named Anna-Lissel, and the heir to the Silnyrukji throne, Riurik II. At or about 1650, during the rule of King Vsevold, three missionaries came from what is then known as the Isan Empire. These missionaries brought with them the Orthodox ministry. Besides spreading the Orthodox gospel in Varangia they worked to simplify the cumbersome Vlavonic alphabet and writing system. These missionaries, now regarded as Saint Stanislaus, Saint Olber, and Saint Victor, established the predecessor to the United Orthodox Church and the modern Varangian alphabet.

Before his death, Vesvold converted from paganism to the Isan Orthodox church. As a show of brotherly solidarity, the Isan Orthodox Church made Varangia a metropolinate, and installed a metropolitan in Volodymyr Volynsky. On his deathbed, King Vsevold ordered his nobles to convert the populace to Orthodoxism. The nobles attempts at converting the Varangian populace was met with stiff resistance. As protests mounted, the nobles mandated that all children had to be baptized Orthodox. As the decades passed, the slow die off of adherents of the polytheistic religion gave way to new generations of Orthodox believers.

The death of Vsevold in 1681 brought Riurik II to the throne. Although there were no clear threats to the kingdom, Riurik II continued to pour money into the military. He established a royal guard, the Streltsy, which continued to grow until it had half as many men as the regular standing army. Although they were smaller in terms of manpower, the guard was better trained and better paid. They swore allegiance to the King, rather than to the state, and buttressed the King’s near absolute authority over the state.

Meanwhile, the population of the Kingdom, especially on the island of Galicia continued to grow. Major cities in the east and south of Galicia began to emerge as future bases of power for their feudal overlords who could challenge the Silnyrukji dynasty. Additionally, the overcrowded cities began to hemorrhage nobles and people looking for lands. These emigrees sailed across the straight seperating Galicia from Lyons and settled in the southeast corner of that continent. They collectively named these settlements and the other earlier settlements, 'Volhynia'.

To undercut the support of the emergent Galician power centers, Riurik II chose to marry the Crown Princess of one of those cities, Elizabeth Semyonskji, of Przemysl, in 1687. She bore him a son, Stephan, in 1692. Unbeknownst to Elizabeth, Riurik II had an affair with one of her ladies in waiting, Marta Chubai, the Duchess of L’ver Oblast, and she bore him an illegitimate son, Lars. When Elizabeth discovered the infidelity, she banned Marta and Lars from the court, and forbade Lars to bear the Silnyrukji name. However, by sparing their lives, Elizabeth established a minor line that would one day succeed her heir to the throne of Varaniga. Lars took the nom de guerre, Halych. Riurik II died in 1700. At the time of King Riurik II’s death, Stephan was only eight years old. Elizabeth, therefore ruled in his name as regent until 1717, when she handed the throne to her son.

The reign of Stephan is widely regarded as the golden age of the old kingdom. Under his mother's guidance, Stephan was classically trained and developed into a generous patron of the arts and education. He decreed that school should be compulsory for all children until the age of fifteen. Stephan also established the first two universities in Varangia, the Elizabeth Regina University and the Imperial Varangian Military Academy. He built libraries, churches, museums, and conservatories. He was very popular amongst his subjects. Following his father’s footsteps of marrying nobility from rival power centers, Stephan wed Maria Sykanduchka, the Princess of the new city of Terebovyl, in the southeast of Volhynia. Maria gave birth to two sons, Riurik III and Victor in 1724. Riurik III, being the elder son, ascended the throne when Stephan passed away of old age in 1743.

Riurik III shared some of his grandfather’s (and namesake’s) infatuation with military grandeur. But rather than fund the army, Riurik III lavished money on the navy. He reasoned that a powerful navy would protect the heavily populated island of Galicia from invaders. Although Galicia never been invaded, the nobility supported the strengthening of the navy and constructed one with a tax levied on them. Riurik III used the now robust navy to explore Wysteria in search of exotic luxuries and military glory. It was not unusual for Riurik III to leave the day-to-day governance of Varangia to his brother, Victor as he embarked on adventures to distant lands. In 1750, Riurik III wed Crown Princess Natalja Danitza of Vokovysk, and bore a son Voljin.

During one of his fantastic voyages of discovery, Riurik III’s vessel sunk in a storm in the waters northeast of Lyons. Varangia’s rules of ascension were such that the brother of the king could ascend the throne if he were of majority age before an offspring of minority age could ascend the throne. That brother could rule Varangia until he died. If the brother bore no children, the throne would be returned to the family of the minority offspring, in this case the family of Natalja of Vokovysk and her son by Riurik III, Voljin.

With this understanding, Victor was crowned King in 1751. In 1752, he wed the Crown Princess Gretl Andura of Vokovysk, who became pregnant with Victor’s offspring. Victor reigned in spending on the navy and redirected it towards a beautification of Volodymyr. He rebuilt all the royal and governmental buildings in white marble shipped from the Litovan range in Volhynia. Victor also stipulated that all new construction in Volodymyr must also be of white marble. It was during the rule of King Victor that the Orthodox Church reached its zenith. Faced with the collapse of the Isan Empire and the Isan Orthodox Church, the new Varangian Orthodox Church retooled their image as the one true Orthodox church of Wysteria. Galicia and Volhynia were made seperate metropolinates and the Metropolitan of Galicia was the most powerful orthodox leader throughout the region.

King Victor Silnyrukji died prematurely in early 1753 of disease. His wife, Queen Gretl was in the final stages of giving birth as King Victor took in his last breath. Conflicting accounts do not reflect which happened first, the death of Victor, or the birth of his son, Galyn, but the timing of each was to bear on who claimed the throne. The Grand Princess Natalja claimed the throne on behalf of her son by Riurik III, Voljin. She contested that Victor died before his son was born, forfeiting Galyn’s claim to the throne. Queen Gretl asserted that Galyn was born before Victor died, and thus the throne belonged to him. The dispute intensified as Natalja summoned the Terebovyl militia and rallied the Streltsy to support her claim. She sent the Terebovyl militia/Streltsy force to kill Gretl and Galyn. Word of the Queen’s murderous plans stirred the population of Galicia to rise in Galyn’s defense. More importantly the army rose against Grand Princess Natalja, and mobilized to meet the militia of Terebovyl and Streltsy.

Gretl and Galyn sought refuge in the Star Monastery in the foothills beyond the city limits of Volodymyr. Outside of the monastery, the army of Varangia congregated to defend Gretl and Galyn. The militia of Terebovyl made its way up towards the monastery and engaged the army in battle. After an hour tentative attacks and counter-attacks, the army charged through the middle of the militia’s lines and routed them. Upon hearing the news, Crown Princess Natalja and Voljin, along with much of Streltsy, fled from Volodymyr and boarded ships provided by the navy (who declared loyalty to the Crown Princess) and sailed for Terbovyl on the continental portion of Lyons (known as Volhynia).

For several years after the battle of the Star Monastery, Varangia was without a king. Most of the nobles on the island of Galicia pledged their allegiance to him (which is how the island got its name) . The continental portion of Varangia was in the sphere of Voljin (which is how the area came to be known as Volhynia). Although Galyn and Voljin ruled in their respective territories, they did not truly command the complete allegiance of their landed nobility. Only through the maintenance of large standing armies were the young princes able to subjugate the nobles into serving as their cavalries and maintain order in their lands.

Era of Troubles: The Princely Wars

Prince Galyn and Prince Voljin continued to strengthen their respective forces preparing for a final conflict that would determine who would wear the crown of Varangia. War erupted in 1784, when remnants of the Royal Guard, now the Volhynian army, invaded Galicia from the west. Under the command of Jan von Wolinskji, the Volhynian forces pushed east and bisected Galicia. Forces loyal to Prince Galyn rallied and in under the command of Marshall Ivan Nemtchev pushed the Volhyian forces back to the western shore, later in 1784, them to evacuate to Volhynia. The forces then agreed to a two year cease fire.

The First Princely War was a brutal affair, marked by the sheer savagery of both armies. They thrust forward, sometimes without any strategy, hoping that brute strength would win the day. The climax of the war was the Battle of Khermanteyevo, in which Marshall Netchev utilized his noble cavalry to outflank and rout General Wolinskji's mounted units. Marshall Netchev's victory at Khermanteyevo turned the tide against the invading Volhynian forces, and sapped the will of those forces to continue warring. Galicia and Volhynia subsequently signed a cease fire that brought an end to the fighting, if momentarily.

During the two years of the cease-fire, Galicia and Volhynia clandestinely rebuilt their militaries. The disparity in men and materials of the two principalities was marked; while Volhynia was abundant in resources such as wood, stone, and minerals, it had a fifth of the population of Galicia. Conversly, while Galicia had a larger population it was short on resources and its army was poorly equipped. Specifically, the shortage of wood on Galicia, which is comprised mostly of coastal plains, was a particular weakness as it rendered Galicia incapable of building large ocean-going ships that could battle Volhynian invasion fleets or ships of the line.

The violence of the First Princely War also hastened the decline of the Orthodox Church. While war was waged, temporal matters took precedence and as the Varangians filled the ranks of their respective militaries, religious life was eschewed in favor of survival. Moreover, money used to tithe became scarce. The Princes would further blaspheme the church, by later taking all the church bells and smelting them into cannon.

Arts, music, and education also floundered during the Era of Troubles, with the exception of the hard sciences. Massive programs for the advancement of food yields and armaments meant that progress in associated fields would continue uninterrupted.

The Second Princely War

The Second Princely War began when the cease-fire from the first war expired in 1786. Prince Voljin commanded an invasion army personally, choosing to launch his campaign once again from the western coast of Galicia. Prince Galyn rode out to meet him in the Battle of the Reeds. For two weeks both armies marched, attacked, and retreated across the western coastal plains of Galicia, destroying whatever was in its way. The armies savagely killed and plundered what is now Zapadnji Oblast, each trying to outwit the other. The carnage was great, but Prince Galyn’s forces managed to outlast his opponent in this battle of attrition and beat back Prince Voljin’s forces. During the last phases of the Battle of the Reeds, an archer struck Prince Voljin in the upper thigh, and he died from that thigh injury on the voyage back to Volhynia.

The forces of Volhynia, shocked and angered by the death of their claimant to the throne, sought support from the restive Galician population. Many Galician nobles were willing to assasinate Prince Galyn and serve as a high lord under a King Voljin. Voljins son, Maximillian colluded with one of the ambitious nobles and on a late winter’s night in 1788, the Count of Yuragrad snuck into the azure palace and viciously decapitated Galyn and escaped to Terebovyl. The Count of Yuragrad brought the head back to Terebovyl and Maximillian mounted it on a pike in front of the Golotoy Palace in the Volhynian capital.

The ease in which the regicide of Prince Galyn was accomplished and the symbollic humiliation of having their prince’s head mounted on a pike surprised the Galician leadership and deflated their morale. They sued for peace and signed another two-year cease fire in 1790.

In the intervening two years, the remnant states of the ancient Isan Empire once again made contact with the Galicians and Volhynians. Hemicudans contacted the Galicians and gave them the secret of gunpowder and advanced metallurgy.

Hemicuda's rival, the nation of Kileb, learned of Hemicuda’s new client nation. They sailed for Terebovyl and also presented the Volhynians with the secrets of gunpowder, as to extend the Isan proxy war to Varangia. The possibility that these new weapons would rule the battlefield spurred both Galicia and Volhynia to once again build up their armies and manufacture hundreds of thousands of guns, bullets, cannons, and cannon balls. Meanwhile, the number of Orthodox believers began to plummet. The peace and mercy the Church seemed a distant aspiration in times of cruelty. Death, destruction, and disillusionment began to permeate society.

Years of war also prompted refugees to seek their fortunes elsewhere. Even though the age of Varangian discovery had died with King Victor Silnyrukji, desperate emigrees took to the seas for lands that would surely be more peaceful than the warring principalities. Subsequent anthropological surveys show that these emigrees established small, subsistence homesteads in the Alderon Islands and lands further west.

Through the turmoil, the one stable, enduring process was the ascension of the sons of Voljin and Galyn to their respective thrones. Voljin’s son, Maximillian, took the family name Nastayashji (in Wysterian “true”, referring to his family’s claim to be the true heirs to the throne of Varangia). Galyn’s son, Erich, took the family name Varangiavich (in Wysterian, “son of Varangia”). The nobles of Galicia and Volhynia were forced to acknowledge Maximillian and Erich's respective authority and their claims to the throne of Varangia. However, although they were forced to cede to the authority of Prince Maximillian and Prince Erich, nobles from both sides of the strait continued to communicate. They sought some way to bring an end to the wars that tore Varangia apart and impoverished their estates. They secretly established a contact group called the Barons. The Barons sought to overthrow the “Twin Kings” of Varangia and seize power for themselves.

The Third Princely War

Before any revolutionary plot could be undertaken, yet another war was begun after the ceasefire of the second Princely War collapsed in 1793. The third Princely War was a humanitarian disaster. Technological advances associated with the discovery and mass production of gunpowder weapons exponentially increased the slaughter. Prince Maximillian invaded Galicia with aid from the Earl of Vokovysk on the south end of that island. The Earl of Vokovysk joined Maximillian’s army and quickly moved north through what is now Vyzel Oblast. Prince Erich mobilized the Galician forces and met the Vokovysk/Volhynian army at the Vyzellian capital, Ryazin.

The great walled city of Ryazin was a rich trading center on the eastern Galicia coast. Its lord, the Prince of Vyzel, was a powerful and rich leader who fortified his capital in anticipation that war would sweep into his dominion. Loyal to the Varangiavichi, his resolute stand in the face of a disastrous siege by the Volhynians allowed Prince Erich to meet the Volhynians far from the Galician capital.

Outside of Ryazin, the cannon of the combined invading army could not penetrate the thick, reinforced walls. For two months, the Prince of Ryazin courageously held back the Volhynians until the main Galician force met them in the fields outside of the city. Prince Erich relieved the walled city and the invading army was slowly driven back to the sea, and Vokovysk was sacked by Erich’s army. For his loyalty, the Duke of Vyzel was made a major noble, and their family, the Viborgs, continue to enjoy their place at the top of the noble heirarchy in contemporary Varangian society.

Despite their third major defeat at the hands of the Galicians, Volhynia still controlled the seas. On their voyage back to Volhynia, they sailed from Vokovysk up the western coast of Galicia and shelled every major city en route, including L’ver, Vrno, and the Galician capital, Volodymyr. In 1798, when it became clear that the two combatants had reached a stalemate, another cease-fire was signed.

The Fourth Princely War

A fourth Princely War broke out in 1805. The claimants to the throne of Varangia, Maximillian Nastayashii and Erich Varangiavich had spent the entirety of their lives fighting each other. Twenty-one years of war and tentative peace had taken its toll on the people of Varangia. Yet, upon hearing of Prince Erich’s intent to build a defensive navy to protect Galicia from invasion, Prince Maximillian attacked. In March of 1805, a Volhynian fleet led by Admiral Istvan Himml sailed to Pskova in Vostochnji oblast. There, Prince Erich had secretly employed woodworkers and hired foreign shipwrights to construct a large navy. He also imported wood from Hemicuda. Two days after they set sail, Prince Maximillian attacked the shipyards at Pskova. He bombarded the facilities and the city itself. Marines landed in the harbor and burnt the warehouses storing the lumber. They seized control of the harbor and Prince Maximillian landed his infantry at Pskova. They fanned out from the docks into the city and burned it to the ground. Soon, word of the invasion reached Volodymyr and Prince Erich gathered his army and marched to Vostochnji oblast.

The army of Volhynia took the cannon off of their naval vessels, mounted them on wagons, and used them as regular artillary pieces. They marched northwest into the mountains to meet the army of Prince Erich. Although Prince Erich’s army had many more men, the Galicians could not penetrate the makeshift fortress in the mountains that held the army of Prince Maximillian. Worse yet, daily forays by Volhynian units into the Galician army, had demoralized his forces. In July, Prince Maximillian led an all out charge through the center of the Galician Army’s lines and broke through. Led by their cavalry, the army of Volhynia quickly marched northeast, towards the capital of Galicia, Volodymyr.

Their drive to Volodymyr, however, encountered stiff resistance from Prince Erich’s vassals. A noble-led army from Vostochnji oblast marched from the west and joined the service gentry from Volynsky (now Galizano) province, who were marching from the North. Their efforts stalled Prince Maximillian’s drive for the capital. The pursuit from Prince Erich’s army caught the Volhynian forces from the south, and the Volhynians were driven to the eastern shore of Galicia, where they held out until their navy could transport them back to Volhynia. Damages from the Fourth Princely War were massive. The Volhynians had ransacked Vostochnji oblast and had strewn havoc in bordering areas of Volynsky oblast.

Faced with daily reports of massive battle deaths and property loss, neither prince would give up their claim to the throne. They married and bore heirs, to ensure that their claims to the throne of Varangia would not die with them. Prince Erich bore an heir, Galyn II, and a daughter, Gregorina. Prince Maximillian bore just one son, Riurik IV. Both Prince knew that only through the complete destruction of their rivals would they attain the throne of Varangia.

By 1822, both the Varagiavichi and Nastayshji grew tired of warmaking and a cease-fire was struck. The Galicians and Volhynians had by now drained their lands of men and resources in fighting the successive dynastic wars. However, Princes Erich and Maximillian were devoted to finishing their fathers’ work in gaining the crown. Additionally, the lure of ruling over both principalities under a united Kingdom and gaining the reverence and respect of the kings of old spurred the Princes to continue warring against each other. In 1823, war erupted once more and the nobles were once again pressed into serving as cavalries for the armies of Galicia and Volhynia.

It is at the beginning of the fifth war that the noble coalition crystallized into an organization. Leading families emerged that would play a pivotal role in future wars of succession. In particular, the Kassels of Severnji oblast in Volhynia, the Viborgs of Vyzel oblast in Galicia, the Markovs of Ivano-Frankivsk in Galicia, and the Saxe-Wittenbergs of Vostochnji oblast. These families bgan inter-principality dialogue and fomented the disgruntlement of the nobility at having to send away their noble sons for slaughter in the services of the Princes. They met secretly as a body known as the Baronial Court. The nobles sought a way to stop the bloodshed and to usurp power from the two princes. Their meetings were fraught with disagreements and infighting as to how to go about casting off the yoke of princely oppression. The Kassels and Markovs sought a bloody rebellion of nobles and the creation of a confederacy of baronies. The Viborgs and Saxe-Wittenbergs argued for a broad coalition of peasants, merchants, clergy, and nobles to unseat the princes and to elect a new proto-leader who would lead in much the same way as a king. No consensus could be reached as how to best achieve and end to the fighting, so meetings often ended fractitiously, but with a desire to work towards the end of princely rule.

The Fifth Princely War

1824 began with a short sea battle. Prince Erich of Galicia built a secret shipyard in 1813 to build ships for an invasion without being noticed by the superior Volhynian fleets. The Galicians, however, still did not have the materials (plentiful hard woods) or expertise to threaten the naval superiority of the Volhynians. Prince Erich and his new fleet managed to engage the Volhynian navy off of the Drohobych peninsula. This had the effect of diverting the bulk of the Volhynian fleet to the west while a huge Galician invasion fleet landed southern shore of Volhynia, just east of the Sankt Eudoxia Delta and marched east in the direction of the Voltava river. A large invasion army, led by Field Marshell Gennady Meyer began to move towards the Voltava. Once at the river, the crossed it and continued eastward towards the Volhynian capital of Terebovyl, burning the lush wheat fields along the way.

Through a good part of 1824, the Galicians made their way east, along the shore of Maritime oblast, towards Oriental oblast fending off Volhynian skirmishers and breaking through Volhynian obstacles. For the next seven years, the Galicians slowly moved through Maritime oblast, fighting off and on. The Galicians possessed overwhelming numerical superiority and superior cannon, but had virtually no supply chain and were in a foreign land. On the other hands, the Volhynians were familiar with the terrain and had local support, but had a much smaller population from which to conscript soldiers and their cannon and muskets were poorer in quality and less reliable. Thus, for eight years, the Galicians marched through Maritime oblast with impunity, slaughtering the local population, stealing its food, and burning down anything that they could not utilize. Only an outbreak of severe flue in 1832 forced them to the bargaining table.

In comparison to previous princely wars, the fifth Princely War was not as horrific in terms of lives lost, but in terms of duration it turned out to be one of the longest periods of extended physical conflict between .

Technological progress had not stopped while the two sides were at war. Constant contact with other nations in Wysteria had yielded military innovations that increased the capability to kill on both sides. Rapid firing, rifled guns and more powerful cannon were just two of the innovations that crept into the armories of Galicia and Volhynia. At sea, metal, steam powered ships were being tested for battle.

Meanwhile, the nobility chaffed under the rule of the two rival princes. Small uprisings occurred throughout the island of Galicia and the lands of Volhynia against the forced impressments of the vassal noblemen into the cavalries of the combatants. Each meeting of the Baronial Court grew more contentious as the realization of how many lives had been loss over the last five wars fought for the Varangiviches and the Nastayashis became apparent.

The truce signed after the fifth Princely War survived for twenty two years. The populations of Galicia and Volhynia began to recover after so many years of war. Envoys scurried between Volodymyr and Terebovyl seeking a peremenant and lasting peace. During those seven years the warmongering Princes, Erich and Maximillian died. But their heirs, Riurik IV (Nastayashii) and Galyn II (Varangiavich) took over as the feudel princes of Volhynia and Galicia, respectively.

Things began to look up for the two principalities. The notion that Volhynia and Galicia may never be reunited became accepted as reality and the princes began to take steps to create truly independent nations. Neither Prince Riurik IV, nor Galyn II, seemed to want to fight for the throne of a unified kingdom anymore. However, an archeological discovery changed their mindsets and once again sparked conflict between the two lands. In 1855, a huge treasure was found hidden in the catacombs of the Star Monestary. This treasure was unimaginable; the most prized item was a huge, ornate, golden throne. The monks who lived at the Star Monestary took great care to hide this treasure, especially the throne, known as the throne of King Riurik I, which was spirited away from the Azure Palace at the beginning of the Princely War. The monks stated that only the one, true ruler of Varangia may utilize the throne. News of the throne in Galicia traveled to Terebovyl, and Prince Riurik IV reasoned that he was as entitled to the throne and the gold as Galyn II was. Thus in that same year, another war erupted.

The Sixth Princely War

A Volhynian invasion fleet surprised the Galician defense fleet by approaching from the eastern shore of Galicia, rather than the more lightly defended and anti-Varangiavich west. The Volhynians had sailed around Lyons and south of Galicia in order to surprise their enemies. They landed in Orel oblast and quickly sacked its capital, Prezmsyl. They fanned out quickly to the West and to the South. In quick order, the huge Volhynian invasion force had captured Markov, Sochi, Vyzel, and Charles oblasts. They began to head towards Volynksy oblast to seize the throne of Riurik I.

Caught by surprise, the Galician regular army headed towards invading Volhynians and stalled them in successive battles at the villages of Kormeyevo, Khabubilin, and Dyastinov in Vostochnji oblast. This gave the Galicians time to mobilize their forces and reserves. In November, the Volhynians settled in for the winter of 1855-1846 and attempted to pacify the territory they controlled. During the winter, the Galicians recruited men from heavily populated Galizano oblast and raised an army to meet Volhynia. In spring of 1846, at the foothills of Pomjatkin outside the royal city of Kovaloff the Galicians outflanked the Volhynians and managed to defeat them and force a retreat. The Volhynian army were driven west towards Zapadnji oblast’s largest city and capital, Vrno.

At Handburg, sixty miles south of Vrno, the two armies clashed again. Given room to maneuver, it became clear that the veteran Volhynian army’s seasoned battle tactics outmatched the larger Galician army. By concentrating the artillery in the center and flanking the army with cavalry, the Volhynians devastated the main Galician army. Tens of thousands of Galicians died that day. Resistance by the Galicians dissolved as they retreated northeast towards Volodymyr. Several weeks later, Vrno fell to the Volhynians.

The Volhynians decided to concentrate their advantage by pacifying their conquered territories, solidfying their supplies lines, and infusing more soldiers into the conflict. They lay inactive during the winter of 1846-1847. The Galicians, meanwhile, were near the brink of defeat. In January 1847, they held on to only Vostochnji and Volynsky (Galizano) oblasts. Later, that year in March the Volhynians launched an all-out offensive to capture the great city of Volodymyr and to win the throne and crown for the Nastayashji dynasty. The Volhynians broke through the defenses of the Galicians and seiged the city. Prince Riurik IV’s naval forces bombarded Volodymyr and rained death upon its citizenry. For five months the city held out while Galician forces from Vostochnji tried to break the siege of Volodymyr. In November of 1847, Volodymyr fell. Prince Riurik IV then overcame the defenders of the Star Monastery and took the throne of Riurik I. Accompanied by his forces he marched into the Azure Palace of the King of Varangia and set up headquarters there. He commanded the metropolitan of Volodymyr to crown him, in the name of God, the King of Varangia. When the metropolitan refused to do so, Riurik IV executed him. The prince named one of his servants as metropolitan of Volodymyr and had the new metropolitan crown him as King Riurik IV or Varangia in a coronation ceremony in early 1858.

News of the execution of the Metropolitan of Volodymyr, coupled with the crowning of Riurik IV as king enraged the people of Volodymyr and to a greater extent, of Galicia as a whole. Unrest and outright rebellion sprung up in the occupied oblasts throughout Galicia. A great peasant army rallied around Prince Galyn II residing in the last, great unoccupied city, Kovaloff. From there, he lead his grand peasant army to Volodymyr. The huge army was too numberous for King Riurik IV to turn away. Surrendering the city and the throne, he fled across the strait back to Terebovyl and his army, which was rounted a week later. Although he no longer sat in the throne of Riurik I, Riurik IV declined to give up the title of King of Varangia.

Twice more over the next twenty years Volhynian armies invaded Galicia. Between those invasions skirmishes at sea kept the warring states occupied. Finally, in 1878 a breakthrough occurred when Prince Galyn II’s security forces assassinated Riurik IV’s wife and son. The momentary shock that spread throughout Volhynia was time enough for the Galicians to land an invasion army to the east of Terebovyl. They marched and sacked the city. In 1879, Riurik IV surrenedered the title of King of Varangia, and fled to Volhynia’s second city, Sankt Eudoxia na Voltava.

After Galyn II razed Terebovyl, his army marched to Sankt Eudoxia. The residents of Sankt Eudoxia na Voltava raised an army to meet Galyn II. Led by Prince Riurik IV, the army repelled Prince Galyn II, who in turn, fled Volhynia to Volodymyr. The warring parties agreed to yet another peace as neither Galyn II nor Riurik IV could force their foe to capitulate. This peace was to last thirty years.

The immediate effect of the sixth Princely War was the galvinization of the nobility to act in their interests. Horrified by the deaths caused by razing of cities, the indescriminate slaughter of millions of peasants, and the continuing drain of noble blood, the nobles acted. In 1884, the first Grand Baronial Court was held openly and defiantly. Invitations were issued to all nobles throughout Galicia and Volhynia to shun their vassalage to the princes and meet. Led by the Kassel and Markov families, the nobles agreed at the Court to rebel against Prince Galyn II and Prince Riurik IV, should another war break out between the two. They also took their message to the citizenry of both states through the Orthodox Church and asked the merchants to supply funding for the noble armies.

Modern History

Era of Enlightenment: The Noble Uprising and Counter-revolution

Predictably, relations between the princes of Volhynia and Galicia broke down once again in 1896, when routine diplomatic negotiations regarding fishing rights exploded into a fit of yelling and accusations. Prince Riurik IV's entourage accused Prince Galyn's guard of harassment and demanded an apology. The Galicians refused to issue one. Both princes contacted their vassaled nobility and demanded troops and their service as cavalry.

The nobles adhered to their pledge of rebellion and took up arms against them. Although uncoordinated, the massive uprisings shook both states to their respective cores. Without the vassal cavalry and peasant armies, both Prince Riurik IV and Galyn II did not have enough of their own men to put down the revolts. Humiliated, the defeated Princes were forced to outline the new freedoms of the nobility in a Charter of Noble Rights. Chaos soon spread throughout the lands of Varangia as warlord nobles (who called themselves the 'Iron Nobles') led by the Kessels, Markovs, Shuiskjis, Popps, and Verdanskjis carved out baronies from the royal oblasts and ruled them as petty fiefdoms, whose only purpose was to supply their new noble masters with luxury.

Additionally, the defeated princes still had the allegiences of some nobility and established proto-principalities which contined to war with the new baronies for control. From the defeat of the Princes in summer of 1896 to the spring of 1897, anarchy ruled in areas not under the direct control of the warlord nobles or the princes. Food production plummeted and starvation began to wreak havoc throughout Varangia. The peasantry, clergy, and merchants were betrayed by the greed of the Iron Nobles and began to talk of a counter-revolution.

In summer of 1897, a popular revolt took place under the guidance a set of seven nobles who lead an army of peasants and gained support of the clergy and the merchants. These seven noble families were to be known as the Enlightened Nobles and are today, the highest heirarchy of nobility in the empire. They were the Viborgs, Saxe-Wittenbergs, Orlovs, Volochines, Merckers, Federovs, and Donskois. These families led a massive uprising which could not be controlled by the unorganized, disjointed forces of the Iron Nobles and the Princes and each went down to successive defeats and were forced to cede control of their oblasts and principalities.

Having pacified Varangia under their rule, the religious men, the merchants, and the nobility agreed that they should share power in a representative government. The religious men then suggested that to prevent one group from seizing total control, that the representative branch of government should be counterweighed with an executive and a judicial body. Ammendements were made to the Charter of Noble Rights, and the new document was called the Charter of 1897. There was some argument from survivors of the Varangiavich and Nastayashii clans as to who this new executive should be. Each felt that they were owed the crown. Deliberations from the new representative body (which called itself the Valorum) decreed that a successor would be chosen who was not involved in the Princely War. They chose the Halych family, of the minor succession line of King Riurik II. The Valorum also decreed that the new government would not be known as the 'Kingdom of Varangia'. Instead the new state should reflect the constitutional monarchy and the people, and thus was named the Commonwealth of Galicia and Volhynia. As the Kingdom of Varangia had been without a king, and a legitimate heir could not be ascertained, the Charter decreed that the executive of the government of the Commonwealth is to be named 'Lord Retainer' to reflect the fact that the executive is retaining the throne until a true heir to the throne of the Kingdom is named. Varangia would finally unite again.

Era of Isolation and Re-birth: The Great Steps Forward

After over a century of war, the people represented by the new five-bodied Valorum decided to withdraw from Wysteria. A period of healing was needed to overcome the years of destruction and death caused by the Princely War. During this time, the federal system was developed and other institutions of internal stability and control were developed. The next century marked a time for the development of a nation-state and a chance to catch up with the world around it.

Through this period, dynastic succession remained a non-issue. Rules put into place by the Valorum stated that the new executive, called the Lord Retainer, must retire at the age of fifty-five. At that point, his oldest child, male or female, may take his place, given they are of majority age (21 years).

Four Lord Retainers, Nicholas II the Wise (1897-1915), Nicholas III Everbeard (1915-1947), Istvan Iron-Willed (1947-1982), and Danjl the Prolific ruled over the Commonwealth with guidance from the Valorum. These four retainers managed the steady growth and establishment of a socity in the Commonwealth.

Nicholas II, the Wise, was the first Silnyrukji to reign over the United Principalities. Having been a cohort of the seven enlightened families, he quickly garnered their support in subduing remaining elements of the Iron Noble houses: the Kessels, Markovs, Shuiskjis, Popps, and Verdanskjis. He worked closely with the Valorum after his final victory to insert clauses in the Charter of 1897 forbidding a standing military. His powers were closely monitored by the Valorum to ensure that tyranny would not emerge from the vacuum of leadership. Civil liberties were expanded for all groups regardless of race, age, or sexual orientation. Education was made mandatory for every citizen from age five to age twenty-three. Though his reforms were generally positive, one of the more nefarious policies he employed was the massive dissemination of industrial spies to lands that bordered the Commonwealth. Using secrets from Turnipstan, VA Industrial, and De Kruisvaarder, the Commonwealth made a great technological leap forward.

Industry, no longer mandated by the princes to manufacture arms and ammunition, turned their factories into consumer-driven production facilities. GDP began to steadily increase, and soon a middle-class emerged. The burgeouning middle class took to the polls in an unorganized fashion. Those left behind in the industrial miracle on Galicia, particularly the farmers of Volhynia, organized themselves into a party. Thus, in 1900, in the northern city of Litinov, the Institutional Party of Agriculturalists (IPA) was founded. Its goal was to garner subsidies and support for the farmers that did not receive any of the benefits of the consumerist revolution in the economy. The government, faced with official opposition, founded the United Monarchist Party (UMP) a year later, and organized its supporters under the umbrella of the UMP.

In 1915, Nicholas III took over for Nicholas II, mandated by the Charter to retire at age fifty-five. Nicholas III was an academic, with a passion for learning and education. His main contributions to the history of the Commonwealth were the broadening of the Commonwealth’s education system and increased support for the performing arts.

Although he perceived himself as an avowed atheist, Nicholas III had an appreciation for the contributions in art and culture the Orthodox Church had given to the Commonwealth. He made the Orthodox church the official church of the state, but also buttressed the laws that guaranteed religious freedom for all citizens in the Commonwealth. As the state religion, the Orthodox Church became rich with state support and a renewed interest from a new and larger generations of faithful.

The next Retainer to administer the Commonwealth was Istvan, the Iron-Willed, so nicknamed for pushing modernization programs through the Valorum by pure force of will. These programs included the modernization of the armed forces with motorized equipment, the implementation of a vast system of trains and highways, the construction of a series of hydroelectric dams, and the codification of a series of business friendly laws. Istvan is credited with engineering the second great economic leap to a service economy that brought a surge in GDP and propelled the Commonwealth to the first tier of nations.

Daily life under the Retainers improved markedly in the half-century of democratic rule. The people were growing wealthier and scientists began to reap the rewards of the stolen technology and native research and development to bring Galicia-Volhynia in concert with the region in terms of scientific achievement.

The United Monarchist Party dominated politics. Although established earlier, the Institutional Party of Agriculturalists had continued in tribulation as an insignificant minority in the Valorum. Even when the conservative element split from the Monarchists, forming the Varangian Royalist Union (VRU) in 1976, the two parties remained on the sidelines while the center ruled with large majorities. Together the Monarchists and Retainer ruled in lockstep.

Danjl the Prolific took over the Retainership in 1982. His rule was marked with the enhancement of governmental authority and clarification of competencies held exclusively by the Principalities and oblasts, and those shared with the government of the Commonwealth. Retainer Danjl’s greatest achievement was the streamlining of the bureaucracy, consolidating the twenty-five commissions into ten sections. Danjl was also famous for his decision in 2003, to re-enter the region of Wysteria as a full member in the family of nations.

The Second Golden Age: Rediscovery, First Contact, and Empire

When it re-emerged as the Commonwealth of Galicia and Volhynia, the Varangian nation began to make tentative contacts with those nations located in close proximity to the continent of Lyons. Its Lyonnaisian neighbors, VA Industrial, De Kruisvaarder, and Turnipstan were well known to the Commonwealth from its spies. It knew little, however of any nation outside of Lyons.

Its first contact was the Confederacy of the Steppe, a nation that it had interacted with early in its history. After the voyages of discovery had ceased, the existence of those lands was lost. Much of the knowledge of lands contacted in early Varangian history was regained through the Varangian renaissance of the last hundred years. These horsemen spoke a similar language and had similar customs and through the sharing of ancient documents, their shared commercial history was rediscovered. Danjl even took as his wife the daughter of the ruling clan lord.

The documents that archeologists and anthropologists from Galicia-Volhynia and the Steppe shared provided support for a common ancestor theory. In early Varangian history, allusions are made to a great Isan empire. This empire in fact, sent missionaries from whom Varagnians gained a lingua franca, which developed into Varangian and the predecessor of the United Orthodox religion. The Isan Empire, at a point shortly after their zenith began a period of imperial expansion. At first sent missionaries to weaken perspective states by changing their cultural underpinnings, but before the grand expansion of Isan control occurred a great coalition brought the dissolution of Isa. The Steppe, long the servant cavalry of the Isan Empire, but now errant, established a state on the west coast of that continent.

After making first contact with the Steppe, the Commonwealth made contact with the leader of Melcelene, High Priest Anakha van Dorino. High Priest Anakha and Lord Retainer Danjl soon became close friends and allies, and founded a grouping of independent states called the League of non-Alligned States or LONAS.

Politics and Elections

The Varangian Empire is a constitutional monarchy, with three branches of power: the Executive, the Legislative, and the Interpretive. It has a dynastic monarch, the Tsar(ina) who is also considered the empire's executive officer. The Empire also has a legislative body, the Imperial Duma which consists of two houses: the Boyar Soviet and the Baronial Court. Finally, the Interpretive Branch consists of an imperial court system, of which the court of final appeal is the Board of Electors. The Grand Elector, the most senior member of the Board, speaks on its behalf.

The Charter of 1897

Laws in the Empire are based on a document called the Charter of 1897. In 1897, an army lead by the clergy, the merchanting class, and a cohort of seven noble houses forced the warring nobles of the Kingdom of Varangia to cede power to an assembly of representatives. This cessation of power was also accompanied by an agreement by the clergy, the merchants, and the nobles of rights afforded to each member of their profession.

Soon, it became apparent that they could not govern the Kingdom of Varangia without the consent of the people. Thus, the Charter of 1897 was modified in 1899 to include the Chamber of Deputies, a body of representatives for the commoners. The Charter was further ammended ins subsequent years to increase rights for the citizenry, to clarify vagaries in the text, and to institute reforms where they were needed.

Organization

The "Primera Carta" establishes a system of checks and balances by dividing the government of the Confederacy into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. The Confederacy is also organizationally structured into four levels: the confederacy, the principalities/archduchy, the palatinates, and the baronies. When the "Primera Carta" was first drafted, the palitanate was the strongest unit of organization and thus, scholars and Carta experts agree that the power sharing framework established in the Carta strongly favors the palatinate to the degree that the Confederacy is less an organization comprised of two principalities and an archduchy then a confederacy of twenty-four palatinates.

Geographic Organization (largest unit to smallest):

1. The Confederacy

2. Principality or Archduchy

3. Palatinate

4. Barony

Confederate Democracy and the Confederate Duma

The Confederacy elects its leaders democratically. To become enfranchised, one must simply be aged sixteen or older, a citizen of the Confederacy or its possessions, and register in their municipality. They may vote once every two years for all members that will represent their palatinate in the Confederate Duma. Members of the Duma are called Boyars and the leader they elect to represent them is called the Chancellor. The Chancellor selects a group of advisors to head the various High Commissions that administer the day-to-day operations of the central government. These advisors are known as Commissars and together they form the Privy Council.

The Duma has just held an election and the results follow. As the largest party in the Duma, but without a true majority, the Social Democrats formed a coalition government with the Kosmanian People's Party. The resulting joint venture, named the "Justice Coalition", has yet to announce its Comissarial appointments.

The Executive Branch and Tsar Konrad I

The Executive is known as the Tsar. Previous to the establishment of the Duma via the Primera Carta, the individual legislatures of the Principality of New Varangia and the Archduchy of Greater Masuria met in joint session in a body called the Amalgam. Amongst the last duties the Amalgam was tasked with before it dissolved was the identification of an executive who would rule as a dynastic monarch. After much deliberation, the body chose the Archduke of Thoreida, Florenzia in Wysteria, Lord Konrad Ilysha Federov. Tsar Konrad I as he would be called is an avid supporter of the arts, and has an advanced degree in Art History

The Supreme Soviet

Justice in the Confederacy is based first and foremost on laws explicitly spelled out in the Primera Carta. Established precedence then becomes the source for law, and when new law is needed interpretation of the intent of the Primera Carta comes into play.

To interpret law vis-a-vis the Primera Carta, a court of final appeal was established. It is called the Supreme Soviet. The Soviet is comprised of nine sovietniks whose terms run for up to forty-five years. The Soviet is arranged like a ladder with each sovietnik taking a step up every time the top sovietnik must rotate off the ladder. Currently, the ladder looks is as follows (C-Conservative; M-Moderate; L-Liberal):

1. Yegor Chernomirdin, retired CEO of Karetny Energetics (C)

2. Sviatopolk Rasmussen, partner at Rasmussen, Vogel, and Kazmarov, LLC (M)

3. Liliana Wunderwahl, district attorney of the city of Burzen (L)

4. Riurik Haiden, retired governmental official (M)

5. Alexander Krivinos, retired governmental official (M)

6. Maria Molotovna, professor of law at Elizabeth Regina University (L)

7. Annalisa Gehlert, founder and CEO Varangian Refugee Union (L)

8. Marius Sikunduchkis, partner at Haider and Sikunduchkis, LLC (M)

9. Artur Teplo, orthodox church metropolitan of Rossel (C)

Economy

The Varangian Confederacy has an economy based on capitalist principles. Its domestic policies have focused on aggressive growth and the states that comprise the Confederacy boasts some of the largest gross domestic products aggregates, highest gross domestic products per capita figures (Lituva and New Varangia tied for second, Greater Masuria, fifth), and strongest exchange rates per $NS (Lituva and New Varangia tied for second, Greater Masuria, twelfth).

Through diplomacy, the Varangian Confederacy has urged its neighbors and trading partners to decrease barriers to trade and has signed full free trade agreements with the Grand Federation of Liverpool England and the Community of PopularFreedom.

General economic statistics

Note: All economic statistics based on NSEconomy, accessed on AUG 16, 2006

Currency: Krona (currency code: K); 1 K = 100 kr (kronishka)

Exchange rate: 1 K = NS$1.91

Gross Domestic Product: NS$ 379.325 trillion

GDP - per capita: NS$ 38,062 (Greater Masuria), NS$ 43,986 (Lituva and New Varangia)

Exports: NS$ 42.788 trillion

Unemployment Rate: 2.65% average across the Confederacy

Religion

The charter from which laws and rights protect and serve the citizens of Varangia guarantees freedom of religion. However, in practice, most inhabitants of the Confederacy are Eastern (Varangian) Orthodox. The Eastern Church is the legacy of the original settlers from the Varangian Empire in Wysteria. The church is governed through a heirarchical structure, atop which sit the "princes" of the Easter Church, the Patriarchs. Amongst them, the Patriarch of Muscovy is considred first amongst equals.

The following religions are practiced in the Varangian Confederacy:

Society, culture and related issues

Varangian society is quite closed. The language is difficult to learn (much less to master)and those with accents are assumed poorly educated. Since the best jobs go to the best educated people, those who do not read, speak, and write in Varangian well often find themselves on the lowest rung of the economic ladder in the Confederacy.

Traditionally, Varangians are very dour and hardworking. Originally descended from Wysterian-Varangian stock, the Heartland Varangian culture is tremendously affected by the previous groups exposures to harsh winters and living by scratching the land. This way of "clinging" on to existense has permeated the ethos of Varangian culture: it is evident in the prose, music, visual arts, and spoken tongue.

Varangians are also extremely industrious. As latecomers to both regions, Varangians for generations have had to sacrifice so that their nations could take the "great leaps forward" and join the vanguard of economic powers in the Heartland and Wysteria. Due to the sacrifices of these generations of industrious Varangians, hard work is still greatly valued and economic success is viewed as an extremely positive value. Conversely, laziness, individualism, and admitting defeat are frowned upon.

Foreign Policy

The Confederacy has until recently, been a minority stakeholder in Heartland geopolitics. The position of non-interference and non-engagement with fellow nations or the region in general was representative of the awareness within the Confederacy that domestic issues (crime, unemployment) should be dealt with first.

With the emergence of three powerful economies and a renewed urgency by the Tsar for a stronger military, the Confederacy has shrugged off its mantra of inactivity to engage other nations to achieve its interests. Primarily, the Confederacy has sought to flex its economics muscles in order to attain deals that will allow domestic corporations greater market share. The outcome of this arm of its foreign policy is evident in free-trade deals with the Grand Federation of Liverpool England and the Community of PopularFreedom.

The Confederacy also puts great faith in the skill of its diplomats to establish working relationships with nations with whom the Confederacy has never dealt with. It is the belief of the Confederacy's High Commission for Foreign Affairs that active engagement with all nations, regardless if their interests run paralell to its own, preempts any misunderstanding that could possibly lead to conflict. This arm of the Confederacy's foreign policy is evident in its Treaty of Friendship and Territorial Sovereignty with the Kingdom of Herconia.

Finally, the Confederacy's diplomats strive to enrichen existing relationships by creating more robust treaties which cover economic liberalization, strategic coordination, and even cultural exchange. This "upgrading" of existing relationships can be illustrated by ongoing negotiations with the Most Serene Republic of Vassfforcia for a multi-themed agreement.