Grand Duchy of Kolangrad

### Motto

"Vid stiykosti, protsvitannya. Vid protsvitannya, nashoyi svobody." From Kolanskiy\*\*, "From Resilience, Prosperity. And from Prosperity, our Liberty."

### Military

The Royal Army of KolangradThe Kolanskiy Royal Navy

**The Grand Duchy of Kolangrad** is a member state of the Hybro-Gorathic Empire. It is situated along the eastern half of the Western Isles, with its major population centers on the island of Valinskaya. The current head of state is Emperor Daelin II, with Athenasio Derideios serving as Grand Chancellor. In 337KOR, Grand Duke Fyodor II Yskorov developed severe lung cancer, and passed the Kolanski throne to the Hybretian Emperor.

## History of Kolangrad

### The Kolen

The Kolanskiy people originally hail from the Frozen Steppe as the Kolen people. The name is believed to come from Early-Kolanskiy meaning "Furred," referring to the hide clothing used by the tribe. The people had lived in the northern Steppe until around 10 BKOR, when the Kolen had been forced to migrate. Marauding nomadic tribes, believed to be the Binlúk or the Mhirrë tribes, had begun raiding Kolen settlements. After several years of migration westward through the unforgiving landscape of the Frozen Steppe, the Kolen discovered the Hybretian ruins of Endiolaudum, where they made camp. The Order had seen smoke rising from the once-thought abandoned settlement, and went to investigate. When they discovered the Kolen, they had directed them to what is now known as Kholek's Point, named after the then Chieftain of the Kolen. It is there where they founded Kolangrad: City of the Kolen.

### Kolangrad and The Order

Over the years, Kolangrad and the Hybretian Order had gained a mutual trust of each other. Kolangrad had naturally grown larger, as the Order had been confined to their island fort, and thus the two states drifted into a *de facto* Lord-vassal relationship. However, Kolangrad had failed to muster up much of a military, relying mostly on peasant levies and Hybretian Volunteers to keep order. Kolangrad would provide food for the Order, and in return the Order would defend Kolangrad and her coasts. This strong friendship would meet its end in 233 KOR, when Daelin I of the Order would switch sides to the Empire of Kordowyn in the Second Invasion of Kolangrad. However, the two states came together again into the Alliance of the Fang in 240. Over time, the island which the majority of Kolangrad comprises drifted into numerous, ethnically similar, Independent Duchies and Counties.

### The Beginning of the Halsza Dynasty of Kolangrad

The Halsza Dynasty began in 112 KOR when Yullensjiy Halsza took power after the death of Duke Musdosev Seljensko. Yullensjiy, originally the Minister of Commerce was declared the heir of Musdosev after it was found that Seljensko was sterile. While not completing much during his reign, Yullensjiy is sometimes regarded as "The Father of Royalty." He declared his son, Gregor Halsza I as heir to the throne of Kolangrad, and lived for ten more years after, dying from a heart attack.

### Halsza Castle

The ruins of a bath house and villa were discovered on one of the summits of the Berekmovai Mountain range in 123 KOR. Upon delivering his findings to Gregor I, the Duke decided to construct a castle on the spot. However, Gregor had underestimated the cost of a castle by an immense amount. He began failing to pay his workers during the construction. When the castle was completed, and Gregor had again failed to pay the vast sums of money promised to the people, on top of the missed salaries, a riot broke out. Gregor I was killed by the mob. However, his son Gregor II soothed the crowd, promising to establish a plan to pay back the families of the workers. Gregor II is known by the nobles of Kolangrad as "Gregor the Preserver" and "Savior of the Monarchy."

### Grand Duke Gregor II and the Annexation of Palovenska (133-152)

Under Duke Gregor II, the Duchy of Kolangrad expanded northward. Gregor II declared war on the Duchy of Paczaska following a trade dispute, starting the Three Week War in 148. After a surprising Kolanskiy victory, Gregor II annexed the territory, forming the Grand Duchy of Kolangrad, and granting the lands to his cousin Palov the Stout, whom renamed the territory after himself.

### Annexation of Ukorzen and Dalovsk and the Svitloczast (153-223)

Following the death of Grand Duke Gregor II in 153, Grand Duke Gregor III set his sights on the Duchy of Horagrad, where Ukorzen now stands, hoping to claim as much glory as his father had in a similar war. Only two months after his coronation, Gregor III declared war on Horagrad in 156, citing a "boundary dispute" as a casus belli. The victory was not easily won, as what followed was a war which lasted seven years, in the process killing Gregor III. Gregor IV would finish the war, only eighteen at the time of his ascension in 161. Gregor IV would rename the city Horagrad to Ukorzen, after the sprawling network of tunnels and mines the former Duchy had used to combat the Kolanskiy.

Gregor IV was considered by history as a cruel monarch, ordering mines to be caved in while filled with political dissidents and rebels from Ukorzen. He would marry the Duchess of Daleovstok on the mainland to gain access to those lands in 163, as well as bearing his son and heir Gregor V. She was found dead three years later from poison, with Gregor IV suspected as the culprit. However, being the Grand Duke, investigations into the alleged crime fizzled out almost as soon as they were raised for fear of retribution. For the remainder of his reign, Gregor IV would clash with his vassals as he attempted to wrest further control from them. His reign would end in 175 after a successful assassination attempt, purportedly prompted by the counts and barons of Kolangrad seeking to put his then twelve-year-old son on the throne.

The following years would be known as the Svitloczast, Kolanskiy for "Light Times", a period of relative peace in the Grand Duchy, as the different lords would regain considerable amounts of autonomy in their own fiefdoms until Gregor V came of age. Upon his claiming of power, Gregor V would begin restructuring various facets of the Kolanskiy government, including a more stable tax policy which granted the Grand Duchy funds to complete various works, and granting various protections to the extant guilds of the growing cities of the nation against the Nobility.

### The Invasions of Kolangrad (223-233)

*See First Invasion of Kolangrad, Second Invasion of Kolangrad*

The Invasions of Kolangrad occurred during the reigns of Gregor V and Gregor VI Halsza, and are part of the Kordynian Wars of Expansion.

Prior to the first war and following the Invasion of Kygon, Grand Duke Gregor V created the Royal Kolanskiy Army. Before, the Kolanskiy Armed Forces were comprised of volunteer levies, offering no strong defense in the event of a foreign invasion, but serving well in quelling local rebellions and riots. Grand Duke Gregor V's reforms in the Royal Armed Forces created the first professional Cavalry and Artillery regiments in Kolangrad's history. Unfortunately, the military still functioned primarily on volunteer service and feudal levies. These forces were put to good use in The First Invasion of Kolangrad, utilizing home-field advantage and various unorthodox Guerilla tactics available only to the mix of professional and levied armies, the war ended with the successful defense of Valinskaya and Dalovsk from Kordynian attacks. However, the invasion would cripple the fledgeling Royal Kolanskiy Army, forcing Kolangrad to utilize a large amount of Hybretian Soldiers for the defense of the nation during the Second Invasion.

The Kordynians would return ten years after the First Invasion, during the reign of Grand Duke Gregor VI. The Kordynian army would have a similarly difficult time as the First invasion, but utilized their far-superior navy to strike a decisive blow in the Battle of Miertiel Bay, forcing the Duchy of Hybretia to switch sides under their new leader Daelin I, with Daelin giving the order for Hybretian soldiers to assist the Kordynians during the Siege of Kolangrad. The event is known in Kolangrad as the Hybretian Treachery, and served as a source of tension between the Hybretian Empire and the Grand Duchy of Kolangrad for the rest of Grand Duke Gregor VI's reign.

### Invention of the Malinska, Neprymnoczast, and the Great War (234-244)

*See Great War*

Soon after the Invasions of Kolangrad ended, Grand Duke Gregor VI would provide research grants into new defensive technologies, realizing that the Kolanskiy were lagging behind the times. This would result in the invention of the Malinska in 236, the first handheld firearm in the New World. Two years following its invention, the Kordynians would develop their own firearm, though it is disputed whether the designs were stolen from the Kolanskiy or it was an independent invention. The weapon would see its first use in the War of 241, offering the technology on lease to members of the Pan-Continental Coalition as Kolangrad refrained from sending any men.

The Reign of Gregor VI and his successors would be regarded as a series of unfortunate events. Called by contemporary historians as "Neprymnoczast," or "Troubled Times." During this period, Kolangrad suffered numerous riots and uprisings across Valinskaya. This, coupled with an overall decrease in press regulation, resulted in a hightened sense of instability throughout the Grand Duchy as various newspapers released stories of serial murderers and various other violent crimes. The Neprymnoczast would culminate in Kolangrad's failure to prepare itself for the Great War with the Gretian Empire following the Great Alarm. Grand Duke Gregor VI had hoped to lull the invading Gretians into a sense of security by allowing them safe passage into Kolangrad with a false surrender, after which he would. This hope was dashed, when Gregor was immediately deposed and thrown into a rioting crowd, where he was trampled and paralyzed from the waste down. He would be rescued by Hybretian spies in Kolangrad and would continue to prepare defenses of the Kordynian heartland at the Kolanskiy holding of Fenris.

The failed plot of Gregor VI to surprise the Gretians would lead to the rise of the proto-communist society known as the Black Rhombus, who began growing under the Gretian rule of Kolangrad. The Black Rhombus, now simply known as Rhomhiets, would gain notoriety after managing to oust the Gretian military governor and forming a Conciliary government from Castle Halsza. However, the Gretians would launch a second attempt to invade Kolangrad, besieging and bombarding the city, in the process killing the short-lived council. During the siege, the Rhomhiets would fall under the leadership of a Palovenskiy man named Dusin Morekaj, who claimed the figurative throne during the Great War with his stalling of a second Gretian Invasion while waiting for Hybretian reinforcements, with clever use of excess gunpowder as makeshift explosives against Gretian warships. However, Morekaj would need to evacuate Valinskaya, fleeing with numerous other refugees to Dalovsk. Gregor VI would return from Fenris, landing in Dalovsk, where he would meet with Morekaj, though he had initial disdain for the Rhomhiet leader. Despite this, Gregor VI was swayed by Morekaj to offer pardons to the Rhomhiets. After some time back in Kolangrad, Gregor VI would attend the peace talks in Dirirabwyn.

Nearing the end of Grand Duke Gregor VI's reign, and facing pressures from growing discontent in the work forces of the Grand Duchy, Gregor VI instituted various reforms in the archaic Guild system of Kolangrad, hoping that they would serve as makeshift labor unions. These measures proved futile, as capitalist ideas from Novac and Lirrach began to spread into the Western states of the New World would corrupt the guild systems into unregulated capitalist structures instead of the unions Gregor had imagined. As a final act of his reign, Gregor VI would create a simple Parliament inspired by the Novacian system. Among the first members of this parliament was Dusin Morekaj of the Rhomhiets, serving the Duchy of Kolanska. Grand Duke Gregor VI would abdicate his throne in 245, spending the rest of his life, another eight months, in a manor in Castle Halsza's Castle Towne. The title of Grand Duke would pass to Vlasily Mrediysav, Gregor VI's uncle.

### Grand Duke Vlasily Mrediysav and the First Palovensk Uprising (245-249)

Vlasily Mrediysav is considered among the most draconian Grand Dukes, similar in vein to Grand Duke Gregor IV. Much of his reign is defined by actions to consolidate and rebuild Grand Ducal feudal power, promoting heavily conservative forces outside the realm, and attempts to modernize the Grand Duchy, at the detriment to the traditions of the nation. Indicative of this was Mrediysav's first act as Grand Duke, which would be to do away with Gregor VI's parliamentary system, feeling the parliament stole too much power away from the seat of Grand Duke. In the spring of 246, Vlasily had failed to bless several of the festivals of the New Year as religious leader of the Grand Duchy, and arrived late to bless the Planting Festival, culminating in an attempt on Vlasily's life via gunshot from the attending citizens and eventual riot. His recovery would stall due to a gangrene infection from the wound, but, with the help of Hybretian physicians, he would return to his seat in July of that year. The attack would lead to the most unpopular action by the Grand Duke, a secret police force, which would arrest numerous journalists and dissidents, sentencing them to work in Kolangrad's Emerald mines in the Berekmovai if not outright killed. These secret police would be recalled later in the year at the request of his daughter, whose lover had been executed.

During this time, Dusin Morekaj would become somewhat of a local leader in Palovensk, after local nobility had failed to act on the many issues of the times, much to the distaste of Vlasily, who saw Dusin's prominence as a threat to his power. However, his status as a Palovenskiy figurehead would not last long, as an attempted overthrow of Vlasily's government took place, with mobs overrunning much of Castle Halsza with makeshift explosives and harming much of the Castle's garrison, though Vlasily and the rest of the Mrediysav family had managed to escape. The mob was eventually dealt with, resulting in hundreds of injured and dead. Grand Duke Vlasily named Dusin alongside his Rhomhiet compatriots as traitors against the Grand Duchy, despite the fact that Dusin had condemned the attack on Castle Halsza. Even so, much of Palovensk, in support of the attempted coup, armed themselves. These events would come to head at the First Palovensk Uprising, beginning with KRV Halsza Man-o-war being blown up by an explosive-laden rowboat, hidden by a lucky distraction with two Novacian vessels and severe miscommunication.

### Grand Duke Fyodor the Humble, and the Novzaklod

Over the course of his reign, Vlasily would clash with other world leaders for his blantantly totalitarian and anti-democratic mindset, even going so far as to send gold from the Grand Ducal coffers to influence the Novacian election of 248 in favor of the Far-Right party, which had become notable for an attempted coup against the Novacian Chancellery earlier that election cycle. This was considered the final straw for a small landowner from Palovensk.

## Kolanskiy Customs

Kolangrad is a land of strange customs. Many of these customs hail from the Kolanskiy origins of the Kolen and their faith in spirits, but some also have been adopted by the Kolanskiy from other, neighboring nations.

### Religion

The Kolanskiy religion is a mixture of the Hybretian Pantheon of major gods and the Kolanskiy spiritual faith, originating from the Kolen. The Kolanskiy pantheon uses various appropriated gods that are believed unable to be reached by the Kolanskiy people. These gods are often present at major moments of history, such as the founding of cities or decisive battles, serving one-sided roles in blessing or cursing the people. The rest of the natural world is controlled by various spirits, often found in places of motion or growth, such as the ocean, fields, or towns. The Grand Duke has historically carried the title of Religious Leader of the Kolanskiy religion, and acts as the primary priest of the Grand Duchy, serving to sanctify the festivals of Kolangrad and the rest of the Grand Duchy.

### Short List of Major Kolanskiy Festivals

It should be noted that the festivals of Valinskaya share as many similarities as differences. This is a list of the most similar, and important, festivals of Valinskaya-Dalovsk.

* Purkjo ul Gorjensz, Festival of Fire - A minor day of celebration, often confined to one's home, where minor sacrifices are placed into the hearth of the home. Often held the second saturday of September.
* Purkjo ul Gradcza, The Founding Festival - A major celebration day with feasts and town-wide partying, the celebration of the Founding of Kolangrad. Held on the Eighteenth of June
* Ijyenszie Purkjo, Wright's Festival - A small celebration within places of work, like a smith or a wright's workshop. Raw materials have powdered salts mixed with special herbs tossed over them. These salts are also used three days before the celebration to cure meats for the meal, giving them an earthy, aromatic flavor.
* Okczyri Purkjo, the Harvest Festival - Arguably the most important festival of the Grand Duchy, the festival starts on the third sunday of October with a sanctification of the harvest, which begins a two-week long period of mass-harvesting. Following the completion of the harvests, the town celebrates the year's harvests with town decorations, dances, and feasts for another two weeks. Citizens place pumpkin seeds on the lentils of their houses to feed house spirits during the long celebrations.
* No'anarjiy Purkjo, the New Year's Festival - Held on the Spring Equinox, coinciding with the Hybretian Festivals of the new year. Oftentimes alcohols are served free on this day.
* Okczyka Purkjo, the Planting Festival - Held exactly four weeks after the New Year's Festival, the week-long holiday is set aside for farmers to plant and till their fields for the year. Root-based meals are often served.
* Konfoszacza Purkjo, the Lighting Festival - A semi-major festival held at irregular times of the year after the ancient Lighthouse in Kolangrad has gone out celebrating sailors. Small sacrifices are placed into the ocean to appease ocean spirits.
* Osvaczenja Mora, the Sanctification of the Sea - A major festival held on the Summer Solstice. Similar to the Lighting Festival, this festival commemorates sailors and fishermen with sacrifices made to the ocean spirits, ending with the Grand Duke recitating an old Kolanskiy poem to Sanctify the Sea.

## Territories of the Grand Duchy

### Duchy of Kolanska

The Capitol Duchy of Kolangrad, the Duchy of Kolanska features many landscapes, and was formerly home to a majority of the Grand Duchy's farmland and a large amount of forested areas. The Duchy of Kolanska also contains the southern tip of the Berekmovai Mountain Range, housing the seat of the Grand Duke, Halsza Castle. Kolanska borders the Duchy of Ukorzen and the Duchy of Palovensk. The Capital of Kolangrad is home to a large amount of

### Duchy of Ukorzen

The Duchy of Ukorzen comprises of many of the mountain ranges of Kolangrad. Ukorzen features the Ukorzen Palace, as well as many gold and iron mines and related villages. The city surrounding the palatial complex of Ukorzen Palace is home to a majority of the Grand Duchy's wealthier citizens and minor nobility, and often serves as a hotbed for seemingly playful class competition.

### Duchy of Dalovsk

County Dalovska is situated on the mainland, separated from the Kolanskiy Island by Kholek's Strait. Due to its bordering of the Frozen Steppe, County Dalovska is sometimes subject to raids to nomadic horsemen.

Prior to being incorporated into the Grand Duchy of Kolangrad, The Duchy of Dalovska used to be the Independent Duchy of Deleovstok. The duchy was annexed into Kolangrad under Grand Duke Gregor IV following a diplomatic marriage between the Duchess of Deleovstok and the Grand Duke.

### Duchy of Palovensk

The Duchy of Palovenska is the northernmost county in Kolangrad, comprising most of the forests of the Grand Duchy. The Duchy of Palovenska was formerly the poorest of Kolangrad's holdings due to poor management under the counts of Palovenska, and a more direct focus on Ukorzen and Kolanska by the Grand Duke. Following the death of Jan II Korwyczkiy, Grigorien Yskorov was named Count of Palovensk, who immediately set to rebuilding and improving the city's infrastructure and industrial capability. The City of Palovensk was temporarily leased to the Empire of Hybretia following the Palovensk Revolution of 260, under whose control it remained until 275.

### Ostindansk

Ostindansk is the southernmost territory of Kolangrad, situated south of Taris. The climate of Ostindansk is generally dry and warm throughout the year, with the occasional shower, leading to most of the territory relegated to the coast, with only a few inland farmsteads. The port city of Ostindanska serves as a naval base for a large portion of the Kolanskiy navy, save for Kolangrad itself, housing an imposing coastal polygonal fortress.

### County of Holdom

The County of Holdom was created after the Dalovsk Uprisings in 257 to punish Duke Ivan Tereszczenko of Dalovsk for attempting to gain independence from the Grand Duchy by promoting the fascist Sons of Daleovstok. Its creation also aimed to promote positive relations with the tribes of the northern Frozen Steppe, with whom Kolangrad shares a common ancestry.

### High Earldom of Cholobagh

\*later x2\*

Western States: Kingdom of Hybretia, **Grand Duchy of Kolangrad**, Cigaltria
Northern Reach: Neo-Kygonese Empire, Drekheim, Inaria
Southern States: Second Kingdom of Varsais
Other: Templari'i Republic, Prince-Bishopric of Saint Laurent
Old World: Gretian-Sidonian Empire, Lirrachan Republic, Empire of Tyris
Defunct: Empire of Kygon, Kingdom of Varsais, Republic of Kygon, Gorathic Kingdom, First Kingdom of Kordowyn, Adonia, Endiolaudum