Vertskli Empire

## The Vertskli Empire

The flag of the Vertskli Empire

The Vertskli Empire, sometimes known as the Alliance of Twelve Peaks, is a cultured and wealthy Elderkin nation situated in the mountains south of the Red Steppes. It is one of the oldest Dwarven states in existence, being the surviving eastern portion of an ancient dwarven empire, the western portion having recently perished at the hands of the Svendanese Lesserkin. The Vertskli dwarves would be amongst the first to recognize a human nation, that being Svendar, as a partner rather than a mere lesser, culminating in a strong alliance and trade partnership between the two.

Curiously enough, the Vertskli have few settlements inside their mountains; rather, they built their cities on the mountains, with their underground forays purely focused on mining, with a handful of defensive fortresses throughout.

## Geography

### Environment and Climate

The towering mountains that houses the great settlements of the Vertskli are some of the tallest in the world, though the warm winds that blow from the south prevent them from developing snow caps.

Instead, the Vertskli mountains tend to be warm throughout the year, though they are nowhere as hot as the sweltering deserts and dry steppes that form much of the flat lands north of the mountains. Rather, Vertskli maintains a pleasant climate, so much so that it is a favoured vacation destination for nobles from just about every realm within reach.

## Culture

### Wealth

While the mountains that these dwarves live on are not as rich in iron as the Red Mountains are, they have higher concentrations of precious jewels, gold, and silver. The sheer mineral wealth of the Vertskli is something to be jealous of; reports and tales speak of treasure vaults within every Vertskli hold filled with ‘lakes of gold’ and ‘stacks of jewels as high as a ten men’. Considering the gaudiness of the Vertskli aristocracy, these stories are probably rooted in a sort of truth.

The Vertskli are well-known for not being afraid to flaunt their wealth in front of Elderkin and Lesserkin alike. Even the poorest of Vertskli would have enough gold and gems to at least appear good in social functions. As such, their capital, Kapel-Eregos, has been named as the ‘city of the world’s desire’; if not for the harsh geography that protects the Vertskli heartland in nearly all sides, it would have probably faced numerous invasions aimed at gaining its wealth by this point.

Because of their gaudiness, Vertskli is considered a decadent realm when compared to other dwarven states. However, in recent times, another side of their society has been brought to the limelight by the recent ascendancy of humanity.

### Values

It is well known that the Vertskli do not approve of enslavement, seeing it as something that ‘the stewards of this world must not partake in’. What is less known, however, is that the Vertskli separated from a greater dwarven empire centuries ago in order to distance themselves from the western portion that remained, who treated humans and other Lesserkin as little better than cattle.

In short, the Vertskli believe that the Elderkin are not masters of the world, but its stewards and guardians.

### Demographics

Vertskli is primarily a dwarven nation, who tend towards tanned complexions due to being ‘surface walkers’ that primarily dwell in cities that ring the mountains. Their mercenaries, if counted, constitute a mishmash of just about every race in the world that could be depended on to fight for the sake of coin.

### Politics

The Vertskli Empire is an elected monarchy, with a High King being elected amongst the Thanes of the twelve states that comprise the empire. The current High King is Kyprios Dragatsis Stratetogos, Thane of Kapel-Eregos. He is known primarily as a pragmatic and fair ruler with a son that is destined to be wedded to be a human princess. Some say it is scandalous, but it is easy to see that these two powers of the east would be powerful together..

### Military

It is not uncommon for the Vertskli Empire to hire foreign mercenaries to fight their wars, as they could easily afford to do so with their immense treasury. It is said that Vertskli has a highly varied force of hired soldiers, ranging from regiments of human gunners, disgraced elven mages, beastmen warherds, orcish warbands, and barbaric centaur warriors.

How Vertskli manages to keep all of its mercenaries cohesive is a mystery, though it is said that they do have brilliant military commanders... who are probably mercenaries themselves as well. This isn’t to say that the Vertskli dwarves are weak in matters of war; they are still a formidable force with or without their mercenaries. However, the mercenaries under the Vertskli’s employ often make up for dwarven flaws, namely the lack of mobility.

## History

### Early History

Centuries ago, a sizable dwarven empire stretched across Eastern Cirador. As it expanded beyond its own means, the west and eastern portions were granted a measure of autonomy, which was helped by the fact that the two halves were founded on a pair of earlier dwarven cultures, and simply brought together by a central authority.

This split, which first came about in order to ease governance, would come into a full-on separation when the east declared its independence from an increasingly distant High King that ruled from the west. As the two were in relative parity, the east was allowed to go its own way; the west correctly deduced that fighting the east would allow the hordes of slaves in its borders to destabilize it.

This eastern portion would come to be known as the Vertskli, which meant ‘the silver peaks’ in the tongue of the eastern dwarves. For most, though, it would be known as the Alliance of Three Peaks; over the centuries, three became twelve.

### War of the Dawn

As the years went by, Vertskli primarily acted as a neutral party, instead focusing its efforts into gaining mineral wealth (though they would be in a perpetual cold war with the western empire that they separated from). That was, until the Voskgardia shook the world’s foundations by their technological innovations. V

ertskli cautiously dipped its toes into a more active role in the world stage until an opportunity presented itself in the form of the Svendanese revolt. The western portion of the old empire, whom the Vertskli disliked, were hard pressed by the revolt. In the end, the Vertskli covertly aided the Svendanese, toppling their old rivals in the process.