Mazkorvia

Barely recovering from a devastating civil war, Mazkorvia is an instable nation in constant change. The previous Empire toppled, a successor took the tyran's place, but the people still not agree with such a monarch. The fall into chaos is prevented by an extremely persuasive police force as well as a massive political presence.

The Mazkorvian people are hard-nosed and hard-working, confined all year in the countless factories that sprouted all over the country despite the civil war. The nation's heavy industry is predominating and the steel from its soil supply many on the continent.

The Mazkorvian army is clearly time-honored, using outdated equipement and old-fashionned units but the conscription and the conviction of the political officers make it stand strong against more modern armies. The basic Mazkorvian infantry man is nothing more than cannon-fodder to the eyes of his generals.

The Mazkorvian navy, however, is well-funded and little by little modernized as Mazkorvia wishes to impose its will on the nearby seas. Artillery from this state of the art navy
even made it to the ground forces.

In general, the Mazkorvian Empire is relatively isolationnist, however keeping its affairs safe from the other nations and defending its interests with force.

Mazkorvia is played by Saven.

## **Geography**

Mazkorvia itself covers a vast northern territory consisting of tundras, taigas, boreal forests and plateaus, along with several lakes. While most of its southern and western borders are defined by mountain ranges, it benefits from a vast littoral.

Mazkorvian territorial grasp also includes several islands, the largest of them being Wyspa Rudy, off the south-eastern coast. Over the years, Mazkorvian settlers also colonized the nothern arctic continent progressing eastward while fighting hostile natives.

After annexing neighboring Kedang, Mazkorvian mainland doubled in size, fueling its lust for power on the global scale.

## **History**

### **Ancient History**

The country which grew to became what we know today as Mazkorvia has always been a second class kingdom of little territorial significance. Over the dynasties and numerous medieval wars, the nation was divided and left livid. In 1575, an assembly of nobles founded the Kingdom of Mazkorvia, which only fell by 1916.

### **Civil War**

Following the industrialization of Mazkorvia in the first stages of the XXth century, factories across the country began to solicit workers with increasing harshness, antagonizing a large part of the population throughout the years. As social claims grew in number and intensity, several splinter groups formed against the king and eventually led to him being killed in March of 1916. The royal government was still in place, but without a king, and the opposition asked for the entire institution to be deposed.

Dissident groups of different political colors began to take action when an acting king was appointed without the constitution to be amended or to pro-social laws to be voted.

After three years of war, the loyalists prevailing, a truce was signed between the factions and an internal peace process began to take action. A constituent Assembly was formed by the royal government, and it was decided that a new, uncorrupted dynasty would take the throne. A new monarch, an emperor, was chosen among the finest nation's families and to be put in power, but power-cons in the form of Lord Commanders were established to control the new Empire's administration.

The nation was still heavily divided because of the questionable legitimacy of this new regime, but the increasingly powerful police force and growing political monitoring bodies managed to keep the population under control.

### **Interest in the Arctic**

The Mazkorvian popular imagination has always been oriented towards the fabled north. The legends of the first kings of what became later Mazkorvia tell the journey of nordic clansmen to a more favorable land than their own, barren and covered in ice.

The northern continent is actually rich in minerals and coal and thus represents a stake for the Empire.

Territorial belonging is proeminent in Imperial culture, ideology and propaganda: Mazkorvians often call themselves "Sons of the North" and tend to consider people living in the same geographical space as kin.

### **Nowe Karwia**

Nowe Karwia is a Mazkorvian colonial port established on the northernmost continent to channel coal and iron ore in one way and manufactured goods in the other. When the situation with natives began to deteriorate, it became the Empire's most valued possession in the North. As a recovering nation, Nowe Karwia also acted as a showcase for Mazkorvia to display its tremendous industrial power.

#### Palace Augustyn

Palace Augustyn is where are gathered all the prerogatives the Governor of Nowe Karwia has access to. It is also home to the Red Guard of the city.

It was the theater of a native-led insurrection in early 1922: numerous heavily armed gunmen stormed the city during the night. While the Red Guard managed to resist long enough for the population to flee to safety, they were eventually all killed. The palace was taken back shortly after by the Mazkorvian Imperial Army's modernized corps, demonstrating yet again the power and will of the Empire.

### **Friction with northern natives**

Mazkorvian colonialism on the northern continent sprouted resistance from the native population since the establishment of Nowe Karwia and the Empire's growing boldness led to confederations to be formed against the "evil southerners".

A recent declassification of Mazkorvian documents shows that the Empire asked the Natives to submit into its influence otherwise it would take what it wants forcibly. This ultimatum was answered to with disdain by the numerous native tribes. Since then, Mazkorvia adopted an agressive colonialism policy.

From 1920 on, skirmishes and massacres took place on the disputed Mazkorvian border, prompting the Empire to strike back each time harder.

Several attacks from freedom warriors were foiled in Nowe Karwia in the last months of 1920 eleminating all possible Mazkorvian support to the natives' cause as well as orientating the public opinion predominantly against their cause.

#### Augaaruk massacre

Augaaruk was a fishermen village situated near a Mazkorvian garrison commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Arnöld S. Orvlak. On the night of January the 21st 1921, Orvlak ordered that all natives from the village be gathered af the top of a nearby cliff and that his men open fire on them. About one thousand civilians, including children, were forced to choose between being shot or to fall to their death by the firing squads.

Orvlak was sentenced to death for his actions on direct order of Lord Commander Marek and suffered the most dishonouring punishment of Mazkorvian Justice, the *słup* ; he was tied to a pole with his face covered and a firing squad proceeded to shoot him in the knees and elbows. He was then left to die and his corpse to be fed to the crows.

Many Mazkorvian nobles and generals believed Orvlak didn't need such a punishment, but the Empire sustained several retribution attacks and didn't need the bad publicity.

#### The "Green treaty"

On July 23rd 1921, the leader of the troublesome native tribes, Amaliq, signed a peace treaty with Mazkorvia, ending two years of fighting. In exchange for the cessation of hostilities, the natives allowed their ancestral lands to be absorbed into Imperial domain. However, as the direct attacks ceased, Mazkorvia continued to undertake secret actions against the subservient natives.

### **Annexion of Kedang**

Kedang, long term ally of Mazkorvia, fell into bankruptcy after several setbacks. On a proposition of Emperor Albert Miłogost, Kedangian President Makishi Yuasa accepted to submit his country into vassalization.The transfer of power was peaceful and a certain synergy began to appear between Mazkorvian and Kedangian born people. Even as a vassal, Kedang kept some political prerogatives and their population was accepted without any discrimination into the Imperial administration.

### **The Red Line**

The "Red Line" was the name given to a massive industrial network built by Mazkorvia in the northernmost territories.

## **Military**

### **Navy**

The Mazkorvian's navy has never been a priority for the Imperial General Staff, which focused on ground forces, notably artillery instead. However, as new technologies entered service, old ships were modernized.

Following the Vertinge Strait Massacre, Mazkorvian naval engineers modified the ships which were already under construction in order to create a new generation of warships.

### **Military chemistry**

#### Combat Gas

Mazkorvia developed its first chemical weapon in June 1919 as an extremely volatile but deadly gas which was used several times against natives to put it to test. It was noted that this gas had the peculiarity to be so volatile a twenty minutes period would be enough to decrease its lethality by half. High temperatures accelerated this process to the point the gas wouldn't be combat efficient. However, it was perfect for Mazkorvia to use on civilian housings in the Arctic climate of the North.

## **Notable Achievements**

Mazkorvia reached the North Pole in April of 1919.