Chiefdom of Voroi

Country Name: Chiefdom of Voroi.

Population: 58% Westrasi Human (Voroyan), 19% Westrasi Human (Morloux), 11% Westrasi Human (Suezian), 8% Westrasi Human (Other), 4% Other.

Capital: Ulkasy.

Government: Hereditary Chiefdom.

#### **Culture**

Out of all of the words that could be used to describe the people of Voroi, combative is the most accurate one. Almost everything that a Voroyan says can be taken as a challenge, and almost everything that is said to a Voroyan is taken as a challenge. Famous for their scathing wit, they're quick to lash out with both their tongues as well as their fists. For this reason, they are given a wide berth whenever they're encountered outside of their homeland.

The Voroyans are also renowned for their defiant nature, and their refusal to bow before any foreign power. Though their nation has been conquered innumerable times, the people of Voroi have never been broken. Every attempt at occupation has ended with the invaders being pushed out of the country, licking their wounds and cursing the natives. “Taming the Voroyan” has become a common idiom in the Westrasi subcontinent, synonymous with attempting an impossible task.

#### **Religion**

In the eyes of the Church of the Divine Duality, the Voroyans are considered a barbaric people that desperately need enlightenment. This is used as an excuse by the Westrasi powers to invade Voroi and occupy its lands, under the pretence of civilising it. Though most Voroyans believe in the legends of Gloria-Etalia, they have concluded that the world is beyond saving and that the Two-Faced God will never return.

Despite this, there are some adherents of Gloria-Etalia that can be found in Voroi. The Morloux Chapel has a significant presence in the Northernmost parts of the country, due to frequent occupation by the Morloux Republic. Similarly, the coastline and the Southeastern border have been partially civilised by the Suezians and the Church of the Divine Duality has a small presence there.

#### **Organization**

   The hierarchy of Voroi is quite simple. The Voroyans divide themselves into clans, each of which is led by a ruling family that serves as that clan's warrior aristocracy. The leading figures of these families are known as headsmen, who fight each other in ritual combat for the title of voivode. In times of war, all of the Voroyan clans band together under the leadership of the voivode. In times of peace, the title means nothing. The current voivode of Voroi is Zahariya Vazepa, who has only recently claimed the position.

#### **Origin**

When the Verani Empire fell over a thousand years ago, the great Belaran Empire saw an opportunity to claim the Westrasi Sea for itself. Colonists poured into the region through the mountain passes, where they went about subjugating the Verani remnants. Rather than suffer at the hands of their Belaran oppressors, many of the Verani fled into the neighbouring Wyrdlands. The imperial colony of Alsonne was established in the land that they left behind.

For almost five hundred years, Alsonne remained loyal to the Belararn Empire, only to suddenly fall silent. No taxes came from the province, nor did any messenger sent to the colony return. In search of answers, the King of Belara sent an imperial legion to investigate. They found that Alsonne had been overrun, seized by a barbaric horde that had emerged from the Wyrdlands. The Verani had returned, although their exposure to the Wyrd had changed them. They had become the Voroyans.

The Belaran King demanded the reconquest of Alsonne, at any cost. Though his armies were successful, the Voroyans returned years later and reclaimed their homeland. This cycle repeated itself several times until eventually, the Empire of Belara was engulfed in the bloody civil war that would lead to its division. At long last, the Voroyans had the opportunity to entrench themselves and found the independent country of Voroi. Finally, they were free.

#### **Diplomacy**

Voroi has a lot of enemies. Denounced by the Church of the Divine Duality as an uncivilised nation, they are the subject of constant invasion by the other countries of the Westrasi Sea and beyond. One of the most frequent aggressors is the Principality of Suezi to the South, which sees itself as the rightful heir to the Verani Empire's throne. Another is the Republic of Morloux to the Northwest, which seeks to re-establish the colony of Alsonne under its own dominion.

However, the Voroyans are subject of fascination in the Uorosian lands, and they maintain a warm, reciprocal relationship with the Wardens of the Wyrd Watch. The clans of Voroi also have strong ties to the Wyrd tribes, and it is common for them to offer resources that are rare in the Wyrdlands in exchange for the treasured nostalgie plant. This friendship has led to the accusation that the Voroyans are little more than an upstart Wyrd tribe themselves.

#### **Economy**

There isn't much in the way of wealth in Voroi. There are fisheries along the Eastern coast, mines in the Northern hills and farmland found in both of those areas. However, the vast majority of the country consists of undeveloped woodland. If there is one thing that the Voroyans are famous for producing, it is a liquor known as stawka that's distilled from fermented buckwheat. It is so beloved by sailors of the Westrasi Sea that it's earned the moniker “seaman's bane.”

The people of Voroi are also known for their intimate connection to the Wyrdlands. Though most traders would rather work with the Wardens of the Wyrd Watch, miserly merchants who might turn to the Voroyan rovers instead. Their manners are coarse and their methods are unconventional, but they are able to navigate the Northern forests of the Wyrdlands without getting lost in time. They never venture further South than the River Uoro, however.

#### **Geography**

   For the most part, Voroi can be considered a dense forest. Along the Northern border, colonists from Morloux have deforested the land to make room for their agriculture and mining operations. Along the Eastern coast, the Suezi and other invaders have torn down a great many trees to clear land for their farms and settlements. Beyond that however, Voroi remains wild and wooded, full of ancient trees that cast long shadows. This is where the Voroyans are most at home, where they live and die.

Each clan has its own grounds, a parcel of land within the great woods where they cut back the trees and build their homes as they please. However, they know that the forest serves as one of their greatest weapons against the invaders, so they fight to preserve it. Deforestation outside of these clan grounds is a crime that is severely punished, sometimes even with death if the culprit was responsible for chopping down one of the Kalendara.

For the truth is that the influence of the Wyrdlands bleeds into Voroi. Scattered throughout the South Western reaches of the country, there are Wyrd zones where time ceases to be linear and flows in whatever direction it pleases. The Voroyans identify these locations by carving elaborate runes into the trees that border them and are found within them. These trees are known as the Jezik, and the symbols are a code. A single rune contains the date as the carver reckons it, the time of day as the carver sees it, the identity of the carver, the last Jezik that the carver passed and the next Jezik that the carver is going to.

The Jezik are found throughout South Western Voroi and the Northern forests of the Wyrdlands. Through their runes, the Voroyans are able to crudely navigate their way through the temporal anomaly of the Wyrd and sometimes even exploit it. This is why entire clans can vanish into thin air only to resurface months later, and why the size of a Voroyan army can miraculously double in the space of hours.

#### **Player Character Notes**

The Voroi are another of the Westrasi Sea peoples seen as primitive and a target for expansion by neighboring powers.  Stubborn and quick to anger, Voroi are sometimes tolerated by adventuring parties, particularly those heading to the Wyrd Lands, which the Voroi have a rudimentary knowledge of.