The Abergian Federation

## Overview

Situated in the northern half of the continent the Federation is a land wracked by near constant winters and uncomfortably frequent civil wars amongst its people. Though the combination of these factors has led to the population being some of the hardiest individuals that can be encountered throughout the lands and even talks of at least its halfling population to have developed into a new sub-species. Isolated, xenophobic, dangerous and overall alien to those not from it, the Abergian Federation is not a place one should visit without a very good reason and much less without the proper paperwork in order.

## The Abergian Federation

### Founding:

All official records held by the Federation and shared to outsiders state that the Federation as an official power in the world relatively recently. They state to have been prior citizens of Shapten that had grown disgusted by the actions of their homeland so thus struck out north to claim their own homeland where they could live as they saw fit. While this cannot be confirmed or denied what is certain is that the first few decades in the frozen lands of Abergian tested its people in the most brutal of ways, the majority of its settlers falling to the cold, sickness, or infighting over resources and those that survived steadily becoming the hardy folk the land is known for today. It is said that the first Tzar of the Federation, Sartali Vortev, came to power during this time by founding the now capital city, Stuh, in what many believe to be one of the few 'relatively comfortable' areas in the entire Federation. There the people finally had a foothold, and one on the complete opposite of where their journey had began to start taking over the rest of their new homeland. Maps and knowledge gained by this migration proved invaluable in settling and securing ideal points with which to continue populating the land. For a few decades the land held a sense of peace and purpose that it would likely never see again.

### The Origin War:

Centuries of bloodshed, an entire population made numb to the horrors of war, and turning even the most peaceful looking areas of Abergian into possibly deadly traps was all thanks to one bad bottle of vodka. During the slow push to colonize the more temperate southern regions within Federation lands Tzar Vortev held a meeting with, at the time, two individuals who held the next most power in the Federation after him, the brothers Vali and Toriton Zartak. The meeting was to be on grand plans for the future and the well being of the people, and as such was held in typical Abergian fashion with platters of food and endless drink. Those within the modern day Federation, save for perhaps some of the more outspoken in the western areas, will say that the brothers had poisoned a bottle of Vortev's drink that killed the Tzar and Toriton in a matter of moments after the three halflings shared a toast (outside the Federation rumor had it that this could've just been due to the notoriously poor quality control in some regions of Abergian to this day). The resulting panic saw blame thrown everywhere, Vali declared a traitor by some, innocent by others and savior by others still, and an almost immediate call to bloodshed that none even to this day could've expected a majority halfling country to be capable of.

It had been thanks to the successes and charisma of Sartali Vortev that the Federation held together as well as it did, the man having been a master diplomat even on his worse days, and with his death all the seemingly minute fractures and tension throughout the lands violently made itself known. It seemed that any leader, big or small, roused their citizens to arms to seize power during this time, defeat the supposed traitors who had killed their beloved leader, or just to defend themselves as nothing short of chaos erupted. The people of Abergian had not been particularly well armed at this point, needing only the essentials of travel and exploration to expand their lands, and as such the opening years of the conflict were contained to small scale conflicts of blades and tight block formations. Only the occasional hunters or well off members of society possessed firearms and even then they were typically used sparingly. As such casualties were, all things considered, kept rather low despite the constant shifts of alliances and war fronts.

A break in this constantly shifting warfare was finally made when a deal was made with the neighboring country of Landagamma. For decades they had stayed out of the civil war plaguing Abergian and seemed rather fine to continue doing so. That was until a deal was made with an Abergian noble named Hercus Toltiv. Toltiv had stayed out of the war as much as possible, seeking only to fortify his lands on the eastern border of Abergian and offering confederation to any who wished to unite under the promises of safety and support. As such his lands swelled with relative safety as the rest of those fighting throughout the country largely saw Toltiv as a coward who only wanted to hide and wait for things to settle. So it came as a surprise when Toltiv sent forces out to start reclaiming Abergian armed with newly forged arms with the still hot stamps of Landagamma's forges. The rest of the Federation was not prepared in the slightest to fight off formations of riflemen, backed with artillery and supplied with all terrain transports which quickly led to group after group, alliance after alliance and self proclaimed Tzar after Tzar falling in line or being executed on the spot. Only when Toltiv's forces reached the western border of the country, only when Hercus himself was seated upon the throne in Suth, only then was a broadcast sent out to be heard all across the conquered lands. The war, was over.

### The Time of Preparation:

For the first time in decades the Abergian people enjoyed a return to their more cooperative ways under the rule of Tzar Hercus Toltiv. And for the first time in their history the Federation began modernizing with arms and equipment being purchased from their neighbors in the east. Though rapid mobilization and a few border conflicts with their southern and western neighbors the borders of what is now the Federation were established. Roads were built or rebuilt, towns added to supply lines, and generally life for the people of Abergian improving at a steady rate. But, of course, all good things had to come to an end, and the end of this golden age for the Federation came with the death of Hercus Toltiv and the passing of the throne to his son, and his son after him, and so on and so forth. The rumor became that there was some sort of curse on the bloodline after that, each successive Toltiv to take the throne seemingly more brutal and paranoid than the last, all of which steadily transforming Abergian to the unwelcoming land of winter and land mines that it is today.

## Hierarchies

### Social Hierarchy

At the top of the social hierarchy is of course, the Tzar himself. Demitran Toltiv is the current Tzar of the Abergian Federation It is rare he is seen outside the palace, and rarer still any outside of his circle of trustees are allowed to see him.

Below the Tzar is a more fluid social class, the upper class. Nobility in the Federation is technically defined as land ownership with those owning a larger amount of land or desirable areas such as mines and quarries having higher social standing then those with less. While not usually claiming to be nobility those owning profitable businesses usually hold as much, if not more sway than the nobles themselves.

Making up the middle class of citizens tends to be professionals in their fields of work and those soldiers of the Abergian military. Professionals are seen as a highly desirable resource, making it rare to find one that isn't either directly employed by someone in the upper class or working in the good graces of a group of them. The military is usually respected, if nothing else because they are all armed, but the nationalism set into the education system ensures they're always presented as the noble defenders of the Federation.

The lower class is made up of those citizens who work towards the betterment of the Federation but are not successful enough to be considered in any higher class. This is where the vast majority of citizens fall into, and the greatest variation of occupations.

Below the lower class are the peasants of the land. The term 'peasant' is somewhat of a curse in the country, used to describe someone who is useless or a burden on the people. The combination of a lack of means, shelter, and general poor image to the rest of the land means it is uncommon at best to find peasants in the larger cities of the land for any long period of the time. Most are ran out or simply choose to try to make their living in the wildlands around the Federation. Though it is rumored of cities founded by larger groups of peasants, on no map and spoken of only to friends and allies.

## Laws

### Federation Laws:

The laws in Federation land are not all that unusual. However, punishment for any given crime is left up to the leader of the closest or most affected settlement, leading to a great variation in severity of punishments given. While abusing this sort of power is looked down upon, it is usually hard to argue if a leader was wrong for 'making an example' of a particularly foul troublemaker. The general laws are as follows, however it should be noted that the local authorities are the ultimate judges on what has or has not violated the law:

1. Killing is illegal outside of a recognized duel.
2. Theft is illegal.
3. Brawling is allowed, however the least harmed party is responsible for the medical expenses of the more harmed.
4. All evidence of actions against the Federation is to be turned into the local authorities as soon as possible.
5. Any actions made with the intention or outcome of undermining the Federation are illegal.
6. Violence and general disorderly actions are illegal.

### Your Rights as a Citizen

1. Protection by the armed forces of the Federation.
2. Your voice to be heard in any local decisions so long as you haven't a criminal record.
3. Immediate induction into the armed forces if requested.
4. Right to utilize all public railways free of charge if bearing a notice of official business.
5. Access to the capital.

### Your Rights as a Visitor

1. Direction to the nearest settlement where food and housing can be obtained.
2. You are to be treated with a minimum of civility so long as the laws and regulations of the land are followed.
3. All visitors are allowed to choose banishment in place of punishment for a crimes (outside of crimes that would result in capital punishment)

## Places and People

### **Settlements:**

The Capital, Stuh: The captial of the Federation is by far the most developed city in said federation. Buildings are closely packed and rarely less than two or three stories in height, all built around roads formed like the wheel of a bicycle all coming outward from the grand palace. As fitting for the capital this is also where the majority of the Abergian mobile forces are stationed when not out on patrol, acting as a supplement to the already sizable guard that defend the city. While not impossible to visit, permission to travel to Stuh must be granted from the officials of one of the fortress cities. If such permission is not granted it is made clear to visitors of the Federation that their safety cannot be guaranteed.

Fortress Cities: There is one major road going from the east to the west of the Federation, on it are a number of cities that still stand as some of the oldest in Abergia. Given the vital importance of their placement these cities are among the most heavily fortified and defended cities seen an any of the kingdoms becoming a prime example of what many would say is Abergian paranoia. All those entering the Federation (legally anyway) are given fair warning to stick to the road, or else.

-Roterlach, Durken, Monh, Hastadlin, Dorzach, and Acherwihl .

Border Towns:

-Fluorkengen, Hofberg, Ormertalden