“Blood Told True”
Baltanya is a small, secluded nation in the snowy northeast of Crown’s Reach, tucked against the seemingly forgotten hinterlands where the Stagged Mounts and the Godspine meet. Founded and named by renegade Cossacks a hundred years earlier, Baltanya was finally made complete by the arrival and crowning of Queen Anastasia Romanov in 1369 SVC, who expanded Baltanyan holdings through peaceful trade agreements with neighboring territories.
Baltanya is not, however, currently considered a sovereign nation, having only ten years past removed itself from under the Duchy of Zhadra’s rule. Baltanya was, some eighty years ago, known as the Sovereign Queendom of Romanov, but is currently identified as the Grand Duchy of Baltanya due to neighboring Zhadra and Ravenna both refusing to recognize its ruling family’s claim to the Muscovian throne.
Baltanya petitions for reinstatement every year, but has thus far been unable to win a majority vote with the other nations. That could very well change this Icing, however, following Zhadra’s aggressive military campaign in the south.
Locale: Northeastern nation lodged between the Stagged Mounts to the north, the Godspine to the east, and the Storming Sea to the southwest; borders Zhadra (southwest), Ravenna (south), and Gault (west)
Banner: A scarlet gryphon rampant on a snow-white field bordered in black bear (black onyx for brooches)
Role: Former ducal fiefdom leal to Zhadra—but no more. The time has come for the Red Gryphon to soar on her own!
Theme: Turn-of-the-century Gothic melodrama meets Slavic horror. Have a safe journey!
Ruler: Her August Divinity, the Arch-Duchess Ana Romanov I (Anastasia the Undying)
Duchies: Being until very recently a former duchy, Baltanya has no current duchies to call its own
Capital: Vaya Muscovia
Cities & Strongholds: Cervona Rasvat, Kievnov, Oblast, Starfall Strong, Yvginy’s Gird, Yvginy’s Peace
Notable Towns: Belarunov, Fishy Town, Grygoria, Izhora, Ladoganov, Pavlomic, Vicilia, Winter’s Teeth, Yvginy’s Rest
Landmarks: Narvanov River, Bleak Lake, The Wedded Wood, Ice-Pick Lake, Stonetalon Gorge, Sorrow Sound, Yvginy’s Spine, Yvginy’s Skull
Exports: Coal, lumber, poison, werewolves
Internal Factions: The Chyskhrov (Purebloods), the Vaya Rebyata (New Children), Yvginy’s Wrath
Old Tongue: Moskva (likely adapted from a variation of late-18th century Muscovite Russian)
Nobiliary: iz (example: Lord Vorich iz’Kozlov)
Noble Houses: Almer, Avaric, Baltha, Demidov, Dmitrov, Gustov, Khilkoff, Kozlov, Naldhal, Potemkin, Ralgar, Rhuna, Romanov (ruling), Rurik, Slutskaya, Selo, Tassilov, Tolsof, Thaliac, Uveron, Yicht, Zarameios, Zissios
Faiths: Zvystni Bohova (60%); Illumination Reformation (35%); Deith Diadh (3%); Aegyr Udoen (1%); Other (1%)
Called Zharozeneles by Baltanyan locals, the Frozen Forest seems exactly that—a forested hinterland seemingly locked in perpetual winter, with light snows in summer and trees so thick with ice in winter that they appear to be carved from crystal. Only the hardiest of creatures call this place home, though bold hunters from far off lands sometimes attempt to ply the woods for rare game; native winter hares are especially prized for their snow-white fur, and the rare snow stag may also be found, if one has the patience and the ability to avoid freezing to death.
A small but ancient town in the rocky eastern foothills of the Godspine mountains. Some say the folk there are queer, claiming they routinely speak to ghosts, but Grygoria’s Ham & Hock Tavern has a reputation for serving the finest goatsmead stew, so more than a few travelers are willing to risk potential encounters with the undead for a good meal.
Established sometime around 690 SVC, Kievnov is second only to Vaya Muscovia in population, and is infamous for its Varangian (“Axe-Bearing”) Guard. This Kievnovan Varanguard sees itself as a holy order and seeks to keep their city pure, for humans only. Kievnov has only recently become an active proponent of the Illumination Reformation, which is only now beginning to gain true momentum in the north.
This sleepy little northern town is said to be home to some of Baltanya’s most skilled trappers, hunters, and guides. One allegedly needs only have enough coin (and a willingness to share a cup or two of Pavlomic’s infamous sheepcheese mead) in order to hire their expertise.
The Baltanyan capital. If Burgun-Dach’s Port Darden is said to have perfected the art of thievery, some would have most believe Vaya Muscovia has perfected the art of assassination. “Muscovian Wine” is a polite way to say something is poisoned. It is therefore quite surprising that the ruling Romanov family has remained in power for so long. Fortunately (for them), all the other Muscovite families seem intent on murdering each other… and the Romanovs certainly aren’t complaining. Despite its rumored dangers, Vaya Muscovia is said to be one of the most beautiful cities in the north.
Baltanya’s seemingly immortal ruler, the Arch-Duchess is said by some to be over 120 years old (even if she appears to be merely 80), and is an austere, no-nonsense woman of few words. Though the Arch-Duchess retains cordial relations with King Viktor vun Zhadra, she is a self-avowed opportunist, and Zhadra’s recent invasive ways could open the door to Anastasia being crowned queen of her own Queendom once more. Those who know her best know that regaining her “rightful place” is of vital import to her, so relations between she and “Sweet Viktor” could soon take an interesting turn.
Anastasia’s husband, formerly Stepan Rugolos of Ravenna. A simple but handsome elderly man, many years his wife’s junior. Stepi is gentle but charismatic, and known to be a bit of a buffer between the sharp-tongued Arch-Duchess and her (sometimes somewhat dramatic) courtiers.
One of Baltanya’s oldest cities. According to legend, the giant Yvgini (“Yvgrd” in Nordr legends) led the Vendan people to a place of safety and succor, then died in order to provide for them. A great city was built at the base of his great skull, with an impregnable fortress (Yvginy’s Gird) placed two treks away where his groin lay. Yvginy’s Rest is open to magic-use and unwelcoming to the Illumination Reformation.
466 SVC: Following sixteen years of cataclysmic open warfare between the gods and their respective pantheons, the forging of the Cygnus Accord (0 SA) effectively brings an end to the Godswar. Lands are claimed by surviving nations, and Crown’s Reach secedes from Holy Avalon. A concordance of ten kings is ratified by the kingdoms of the Storming Sea. Still in its infancy, Baltanya is known simply as Everwinter, a land said to be cursed by dark fae to be colder than any land, and is not populated by humankind.
597 SVC: The remnants of a war-weary people calling themselves the Wend arrive from the Firstrealm, making landfall on what will one day be the northern kingdoms of Crown’s Reach. On the shores of the Storming Sea, they encounter the pirates of the Jomm, and the two people, though both Baltic in origin, fight many bloody battles. The Wend take heavy losses and eventually flee east and away from the coast, though they are beset by monsters and local denizens along the way, ingraining in them a basic distrust still (some say) prevalent to this day.
They manage to stake a claim of land in a cold, distant corner tucked against the Stagged Mounts and Godspine mountain range, naming it Venda, and call themselves Vendans.
688 SVC: People calling themselves the Rus, accompanied by Muscovite warriors and magic-savvy witches from a land called Kiev are brought through a witch-wrought portal from the Firstrealm. They remain apart from the Vendans for the most part, and work to create the city of Kievnov in lands that will one day be Muscovia (and eventually Baltanya).
807 SVC: A plague strikes the Vendans, killing nearly half of them. The remnants, stubborn though they be, finally accept Kievnov’s offer of friendship and sanctuary.
842 SVC: A mass of Vendans (now accompanied by Kievan wives and children and, some say, a friendly giant) strike out on their own to found the city of Yvginy’s Peace in the lands that will one day be eastern Baltanya.
1007 SVC: Numerous Firstrealm peoples fleeing something called the Oprichniki arrive in the northeastern portion of Crown’s Reach, almost immediately clashing with the local Yvgini and Kievni. Though their numbers are great, they do not know the land, and do not understand the magics inherent to it. Many are subjugated and, eventually, assimilated into those cultures, while others flee south into the lands that will one day be Zhadra and Ravenna. It is from the accords that follow that the name Baltanya first comes into recorded mention.
1368 SVC: Princess Anastasia Romanov, distinguished royalty from the Firstrealm, arrives following a botched assassination attempt in her homeland. She is crowned Queen Anastasia I in Vaya Muscovia early the next year.
1377 SVC: Baltanya’s territories have expanded to encompass Kievan and Yvginy holdings, their respective cities now beholden to Good Queen Ana.
1444 SVC: Following a year of famine, a bloodless coup effectively removes power from Baltanya’s ruling queen and places it in the hands of King Viktor vun Zhadra, whose Zhadran troops wait outside the gates of Vaya Muscovia. Baltanya becomes a Grand Duchy.
The one city that resists is Kievnov, its Varanguard credited with numerous heroic stances in repelling the invaders. Though the axe-wielders take heavy losses, the city does not fall.
1464 SVC: Zhadra invades its neighbor, peaceful and prosperous Lacéne, thus breaking the Northlaw and earning the ire of other neighboring nations. Zhadra is stripped of its Grand Duchies, Baltanya and Ravenna, and is itself made into a Duchy beholden to neighboring Palador. Baltanya and Ravenna each begin the annual task of petitioning the other Crown’s Reach kingdoms in the hopes that their sovereign status might be reinstated.
1468 SVC: Arch-Duchess Ana Romanov I celebrates her 100th year of rule. Baltanyan knights swear sacred oaths to travel the length and breadth of Crown’s Reach in order to champion her divine cause for sovereignty.
1470 SVC: The current year. Witches have predicted glory and infamy hitherto unseen for the long-suffering people of Baltanya! The Gryphon flies indeed!
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