Unitary State of Praskova

The Flag of Praskova

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**The Unitary State of Praskova** (or simply **Praskova**) is a nation situated in the foothills of the Coralis mountains.

## History

### Early History (Lore)

##### THE CITY STATE ERA

The beginnings of Praskova dates back to its predecessor, the Herannic peoples. The nation, simply referred to as the "Herannic State", "Herannic Empire" or "Heranna" was a technocratic dictatorship driven by Pathist principle from its birthplace of Heran. These people are said to have originated from the original settlers of the land, breaking away as a break away state after the religion of Pathism was founded. From there, they settled the mountains and would remain as a city state until the ascendancy of Karalik Perenskov, or as he's better known "The Subjugator".

#### THE ERA OF CONQUEST

With Perenskov's rise to power, he began heavy military armament of the previously disarmed population of Heran. With the city's many talented blacksmiths, Perenskov had no issue arming a small band of militiamen to begin conquering neighboring villages. A majority of these villages were inhabited by the Goblins, many of which were in loose confederations with neighboring settlements. Lacking cohesion amongst different confederacies, these neighboring villages were quickly annexed into the new Herannic Empire. The Human minority groups in these areas quickly flocked to Heranna, treating them as liberators. After Perenskov's death, his son would take over, focusing a majority of his reign on assimilating newly conquered areas. Eventually however, Heran's luck would run out when they made contact with The Durucari Empire to their south.

#### THE GOBLIN WARS

Now that Heranna had conquered lands south of them, they directly bordered The Durucari Empire to their south, a large federation of Goblin states all under a single monarchy. A war would soon break out, where Heranna was completely outmatched. They may have had better gear and weaponry, however the Goblins possessed numbers far greater than what Heranna was capable of defending. In the ensuing battles, the Herannic army was pushed back to its fortified capital of Heran, and surrounding mountain villages, erasing the past century of conquest gains. From here however, the Goblin horde could not pierce the mountain's defenses, much less Heran's defenses. There was one attempted siege which left the city badly battered, however the attack was repelled with substantial losses on Durucari's side. Seeing the attack on Heranna as a golden opportunity, the nation of Vercellia to the west would declare war on Durucari and begin an offensive on their western border. This would force Durucari to fight a two front war, which would lead to the death of the Goblin King and the dissolution of the Durucari Empire.

#### THE PRASKOVAN ERA

Following the nearly fatal war, many in Heran were unhappy with the current status quo. Many blamed the near capitulation of the capital on last second bickering between defense strategists on where defenses should go, and what types should be used. This would cause miscommunication that led to the western wall being near completely undefended. This sort of estrangement can be tied back to the Pathist doctrine of constant competitiveness that Heran was known for among its artisans, even to the point of self-destruction. Following the conclusion of the war, this growing discontent would lead to senior city guardsmen Sirus Markov staging a peaceful coup of the despot, replacing himself as leader of Heran. He would go on about instilling some forms of liberalization, which included an electoral cabinet of councilors to decide internal affairs. He would also declare a new state, the Unitary State of Praskova. This new state would grant greater religious diversity to cities outside the capital, and would focus less heavily on Pathist doctrine, focusing more towards communal cooperation.

## Government & Politics

### Government Structure

At the head of government is the Premier, a non-elected position that almost exclusively controls all external affairs, such as diplomacy and foreign policy. The premiership is passed down traditionally to the Head of Council, however can be passed down to any single member of the upper or lower council.

Directly below the premier is the Head of Council, the leader of the upper council and de facto second in command. The Head of Council carries more weight with their vote, and unlike the rest of their upper councilmen can vote in the lower council. This position is directly appointed by the Premier, but usually falls to whoever is the senior most councilmen from either the upper or lower council.

The upper and lower councils serve two different purposes, and both have different means of functioning. The upper council acts more as an advisory cabinet that reports directly to the Premier. While there is no real voting system for the upper council, they can act as a counter balance to any decision making the Premier makes. These positions are not electable, rather are selected by the Premier himself. On the other hand, the lower council is an electable position that is decided by monthly election. The amount of available positions reflect census data from within Praskova. The lower council handles all matters internal, where the Premier only seeks to mediate and does not have a direct say in what policies the lower council elects.

### Law Enforcement

The main semblance of law enforcement resides in Heran, with that being the City Guard. These guardsmen have historically been the only ones to be aware of what is going on outside the wall, as many residents of Heran simply have never left the city.

### Military

The military of Praskova is a combination of the City Guard and Herannic Guard. These two forces act as a home guard and expeditionary force respectively, however during times of war are combined into one fighting force.

## Culture

### Herannic

Herannic culture heavily focuses on individual specialization, and attaining mastery of a singular field of expertise. While this focus on individual specialization has resulted in a greater number of highly skilled workers, it has also resulted in excessive pride and competition among the populace. Such pride and competitiveness can be easily seen in the classic Tale of the Three Gates, wherein three stonemasons boast and compete to prove themselves better than their comrades.

### Praskovan

While Praskovan culture is similar in many ways to the older Herannic culture, there is a much greater emphasis on cooperation and collaboration in pursuit of advancing the entire nation rather than the individual.

### Myths and Legends

#### The Tale of the Three Gates

>
>  *`"When Praskova was young, and Heran was but a small village there were three great stonemasons, who each believed their skill to be greater than the others. One night, the stonemasons visited the local tavern and got absolutely wasted. The first mason, believing himself to be the greatest, raised his mug and boasted to the others, "Friends, be in awe of my skills! For they are greater than yours."`*
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>
>  *`The patrons of the tavern jeered at him, and bade him to prove his boasts. Hearing the taunts, the mason lifted his hammer and built a great gate separating the upper, and lower districts of the village. The gate was wide and arching, with tall roofed towers on either side. The second mason laughed when he saw the gate, "Your skills are mediocre, at best. Behold, a true master."`*
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>
>  *`The second mason lifted his hammer and built a second gate, stouter and more ornate than the first. Behind it, he laid a stairwell, connecting the upper and lower districts of the village. The third mason scoffed at them both, "Your gates are ornate, but easy to conquer. Come, watch a true master at work."`*
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>
>  *`He led them to a cliff beside the river, and built a third, final gate. The gate was massive, taller than the first, and stouter than the second. Beyond the gate, the third mason raised a great golden bridge that spanned the length of the river and connected to the cliff on the other side. The first two stonemasons stood in awe of the third gate, and praised the third mason.`*
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>
>  *`"Your works are mighty, friend!" They cried, "Surely, you are the greatest among us!"`*
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>
>  *`But as the third mason celebrated his victory, the bartender stepped from behind his counter, and revealed himself to be a fourth stonemason.`*
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>
>  *`"Your gates are mighty, and strong." He told the three masons, "But what use are gates when the enemy can simply go around them? Fools, I call you! Look upon my works and despair!" Then, the sun rose, and revealed what the three masons had not seen in their drunkenness. The basrtender had built great walls; Taller than the cliffs and unyielding as the mountains. They connected to the gates the masons had built, encircling the city in a protective embrace.`*
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>
>  *`When the masons saw what the bartender had built, they fell to their knees in awe and raised their voices in praise to the bartender, "Praise, Stone-master! Your works eclipse ours, and your beer is second to none!"`*
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>
>  *`Thus, the walls and gates of Heran were raised, and it's people protected from harm."`*
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> - An excerpt from *Praskovan Myths & Legends, by Lucian Raene*
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