Vědagost

## Eparchía of Vedegessos

The banner of the Rydani tribe, also used as the flag of Vědagost.

The **Eparchía of Vedegessos** (known as Vědagost in the native dialect, meaning Heartland kingdom, as it was located in the centre of the Sýnkrassos and between the two continents) was created on 21/11/22 when negotiations with the neighbouring nation of Lothros were made after they had seized the Etharosian colony of Elabaetikos on the formerly named peninsula of Elabaetikos , which is now named the Vědagosti Peninsula after the nation.

Although the "nation" is technically gone, it actually moved and became what is now known as Svěnost, as the nation title was more attributed to the people, rather than the land they resided on (similar to a migratory tribe).

## Government

As per the Treaty of Vassalization, the "government" of Vedegessos maintain autonomy in their actions, except in diplomacy and planned buildings, both of which require consultation with Lothos before any actions are taken.

Although the nation is an Absolute Monarchy, the monarch does not see himself as being superior over his citizens or peasants, he also plans on including a peasant council located in a specialised building in the future that would inform him and his privy council of any changes the peasants demand.

At the moment, the government of Vědagost is mostly disorganised due to them recently settling down. There is no clear structure, however the current monarch, Radigas of House Rydani, is most obviously at the top, though of course, he must answer to his liege of Lothros.

## Culture

The culture of Vědagost is the same as their Western Sudrlander brethren that still reside in the south, apart from a few differences due to adopting some aspects of Lothrosian culture, slowly forming a separate 'Northern Sudrlander' culture.

As customary with all West Sudrlander children, boys and girls are raised by their mothers until they are 13, with both genders growing long hair. At 13, the daughters continue to be raised by their mothers and are further taught how to be a proper wife, whereas the sons are now educated by their fathers and their hair is cut short as a mark of adolescence.

Boys are also taught how to use weapons from a young age, and are able to choose what weapon they specialise in with axes and swords are quite obviously the most popular choice amongst West Sudrlander boys, as many historic figures had famous weapons. Within some clans, the boys are also taught how to ride horses, though not many clans are able to train the hardy horses of Sudrland.

Although Sudrlanders are mostly seen as barbarians by most other cultures, some of they do in fact dress in nice clothing with fine silk and other expensive materials. Sudrlanders also maintain a good personal hygiene by bathing quite regularly, hygiene is quite an important thing in Sudrlander culture and exposure to Lothrosian bathhouses has piqued their interest.

## History

### Prehistory

As previously mentioned, the peninsula that the Vědagosti reside on was previously mostly unsettled, except for the former Etharosian colony of Elabaetikos (now named Isidoropolis). The peninsula never really had any actual "natives" prior to the Etharosians. Other than the Etharosian colonists, many traders used to sail around the peninsula or travel through it, making it a popular trade location.

### The Rydani Band

The Rydani Band was a fairly large West Sudrlander clan that was part of a confederation of various clans. Although not everyone was related within the clan, they fought in battle together as brothers. There is almost nothing known about the clan prior to them being part of the confederation, this is due to the fact that most West Sudrlanders are illiterate and the language possesses no writing script.

Prior to their migration, the Rydani Band raided other clans and federations across Sudrland and very often raided various southern kingdoms, some clan members claim that their ancestors used to go on raiding parties on large ships and sailed around the southern continent, though there is no proof of the Rydani ever possessing any ships.

### Story of Radigas

The story of Vědagost begins in the deep south, in Sudrland. There lived a confederation of Sudrlander clans living the ideal Sudrlander life; pillaging, raiding, arguing and fighting. One of these clans was the Rydani, a lesser known tribe but still an influential one. Radigas grew up with his siblings being taught by their mother while their father was out on raids or meetings, until the age of 13 where the brothers were split from the sisters and then raised by their father. Unlike his brothers, he did not specialise in sword-fighting too much and instead focused on studying about the faith and history of his people. However, he did become somewhat skilled at using a bow.

Only a few years after his education was finished, his father had unfortunately died during a raid. Radigas, being the eldest son, had inherited the title of the Rydani Band. As a clan leader, he was obliged to attend meetings, which he never lost a debate in. After a while, he began to discuss settling down and creating a city. He was ridiculed for this, since it goes against the traditions of the Sudrlanders and their religion. Because of this, he instead took his men and began the migration of his tribe, or well the ones who agreed on his idea of settling down.

Their journey was long and arduous, but eventually after travelling through the Southern Kingdoms, they found a magnificent city with great, pale walls; Lothros. There, Radigas met with Dominetes Isidoros Harrakrates, the lord of the Polis. They sat down and discussed several different topics, until Radigas mentioned that he wanted to settle down somewhere nearby and proposed the idea of becoming his vassal. Reluctantly, Isidoros agreed and Radigas alongside his men made way to the peninsula, to found Vědagost.

## Diplomatic History

### Vassalization

As mentioned before, the first diplomatic action that the nation took that led to the creation of it was the treaty of vassalization with Lothros. The terms were fair, and Radigas Rydani quickly accepted the deal, after a long while of negotiating.

### The Almost War

When the North and South were arguing and had almost caused a war, Vědagost stood behind their liege of Lothros and supported their actions. Although they were not present at the various meetings between the leaders of the nation, they were kept informed about what was happening and fully supported Lothros and their allies. However, as news began to reach to the court of Vědagost that the people of the nation of Ered Naghau regularly cannibalised other humans and also infants, they were absolutely outraged and pushed to have the war actually start.

Unfortunately, regardless of the negotiations that had happened, the North and South never broke out into war, leading to the men of Vědagost to stay in their homes, disappointed of the outcome.

### Diplomatic Marriage with Fitene

Shortly after the Almost War, the King Neriqe Sincos of Fitene unexpectedly decided to offer the hand of his heir and niece to the Former-Doukas Radigas. This led to the start of the friendship between the two nations.

### Exodus

After some violent government changes within Lothros, Radigas was accused of aiding a former head of state in some scheme, so had contemplated for a long time whether he should appear to the Lothrosian court and explain himself, however, he decided that it would not be worth the effort so he simply ordered his people to pack up all of their camps and leave on a group of ships to find a new home.