Thomas Szalahazy of Korto
Chancellor of the Apostolic Kingdom of Kokivania
Welcome, welcome Anonymus of Tamišopol! Please sit, pour yourself a glass of wine, - dealer’s choice, - and let us speak openly within the confines of my private study while my wife and daughters marvel and choose from amongst your various and no-doubt high quality Kastrovian goods. You see, the Apostolic Kingdom has few friends on this continent, Deithe, Alpa, Siliton and Portucalense. As you can also see, if you take a look at that lovely painting of the continent of the wall, that all of these states are to it’s west and south-west.
To the south, the Sargasians care only for their wine and their sheep. Some say they even prefer the latter to their women! To our east, the cities of the Morovian League squabble and bicker amongst one another, killing and weakening one another at every opportunity, I thank the Holy Mary that the violence haven’t breached the apostolic borders yet. Finally, to our north, the savages of Vogorovia face considerable food shortages, with their corrupt queen siphoning away any wealth the poor peasants still have to satisfy her hunger for lovers and feasts. I heard some rumours say that she bathes in the blood of virgins to keep her skin young. At least I certainly hope those are mere rumours.
I will be honest with you Anonymus, we are fearing the worst, an attack, raiders to kill our peaceful citizens coming from the north, from Vogorovia. We percieve Vogorovia as a threat to our way of life, ney, to our existence! One that should be extinguished, or at least contained, if necessary, by force. Should a conflict break out, we are willing and able to provide an army of over a tümen of men. We would be more than open to an alliance protocol, should - let’s say a state to our north - be ready to discuss it with us.
As to our history, you see the Apostolic Kingdom of Kokivania is made up of four counties, the Grand Duchy of Kokivan, and the Duchies of Chernitov, Korto and Chornanny. The primary, most populous and most wealthy county is the Grand Duchy of Kokivan. It’s the northest one of the four counties, hosting not only the most cities, but also Kokivan, the beating heart of the whole kingdom. It is the oldest of the four counties, Kokivan has already developed cities with wide roads, sewer systems, libraries and theaters when the people of Chernitov still lived in mud huts. The population of Kokivan is also the most religious, placing more importance on praying for the for the success of the hunt rather than honing their skills to the fullest. Militarily, Kokivan emphasizes heavy cavalry and expertly trained professional infantry forces supported by warrior-priests, providing a solid core for the army of the kingdom.
The first duchy to be conquered by Kokivan was the Duchy of Korto some 370 years ago. Known for its scientists, art, vineyards and traders, the people of Korto are lovers, not fighters. Much of the counties income is due to it’s vast grain fields, which are supplied with water thanks to the clever irrigation ditches built around the river Tysa, which flows into Serpent’s Bay from the east. The people of Korto generally doesn’t believe as much in the Goddess Maria as the population of Kokivan, but they have accepted the kingdom as “Regnum Mariae Patronae Kokivaniae”, aka the Kingdom of Mary, the Patroness of Kokivania. From a military viewpoint, Korto offers a wide array of professional mercenaries for the Royal Army, ranging from siege engineers to heavy infantry with pavise shields.
The second duchy to be assimilated by Kokivan was the Duchy of Chornanny, defeated 340 years ago. With no less than 3 large rivers flowing through its territory (these being from north to south, the Danubius, the Dravus and the Savus), the territory of Chornanny is full of vast woods, full to the brim with a large array of animals ranging from elks to rabbits, creating a perfect hunting ground for the locals. This led to the locals of Chornanny worshipping Holy Mary primarily not as Patroness, but as the Maiden of the Woods. While it’s essentially still the same diety, their methods of worship are different, with the Chornanny preferring animal sacrifices, contrary to the clean-cut temple worshipers of Kokivan. The large wooded territory of the duchy made the soldiers of Chornanny excellent trackers, archers and javelinmen, however it also made mounted warfare nearly unwitnessed for the soldiers of the duchy.
The most recent addition to Kokivania is the Duchy of Cernitov, finally secured about 200 years ago. Situated east of the duchies of Korto and Chornanny, Cernitov served as the militarized border with the Morovian League for the kingdom for the past centuries. Once a land of several small scattered tribes of nomadic horsemen, the area was finally conquered by King Árpád of Kokivan, who granted tax-exemption to those families of Cernitov who’s sons serve as mounted guards for the military frontier. This created a longstanding military tradition in Cernitov, where the large number (Cernitov’s population is second only to Kokivan’s) of lightly armored mounted border guards serve as eager protectors of the kingdom, and as a primary reaction force for any threat.
The capture of this last territory solidified the Kingdom of Kokivania within the borders we know today, but this also created a kingdom where Kokivan exercised nearly unprecedented power over the other duchies. This allowed the kings to develop the royal road from the southern border of Chornanny to the northern border of Kokivan, branching out to the major cities, and build up the city of Kokivan to the metropolis it is today. However, this status quo was unacceptable to the remaining duchies, who finally rose in revolt 97 years ago. Thanks to the Kokivan kings marriage alliance to the Cernitov chieftans family, and the larger population of these two duchies, they were able to defeat the rebellion after 3 years. However, the kingdom was exhausted, and the status quo could not be returned to what it was before. So King Deák of Kokivan called a summit for all the leaders of the kingdom, where they revised the state, creating the Apostolic Kingdom of Kokivania with equal political representation for the constituent states, and decreed that each of the four High Offices of the Kingdom should be occupied by one men from each duchy. In our days, these are King Charles Robert of Kokivan as Apostolic King, Jacob the the Bald of Cernitov as Palatine, Thomas Szalahazy of Korto as Chancellor and Gregory Bicskei of Chornanny as Archbishop. The heraldry of the new state also represents each of the four constituent duchies, as we can see the lion of Kokivan holding the dual sabres of Cernitov, and the stork of Korto holding the arrows Chornanny. @Mistral
