Roszony

## Republic of Syhtia and The Kürdisch Alliance of Cities

*Part of Nations of Juhnvechteya*

The Syhtians have inhabited the region around the Kürdas Bay for millennia. Possessing a rich and ancient culture, they have lived in the marshes and bogs of the region, subsisting on fish and frogs in the countryside. Along the Ingupe, Kürdas, and Moerk rivers, exist a league of cities and small towns, inhabited by the urban Vechtese, who trade fish and salt with the outside world.

There is little arable land in Syhtia; the majority of land is infertile swampland. For this reason, it was initially labeled as a “flat, marshy wasteland, devoid of any peoples” (Abruch Oerdan), and as such, the Vechtese were reluctant to build trading posts. However, soon afterward, an abundance of valuable fish and fine salts were discovered, and the Vechtese were quick to establish several settlements, such as Roszon and Moerbitz. The local Syhtians were often forced into slavery and serfdom, or were forced further into the wastes.

As the wealth of the cities increased, so did the number of Vechtese migrants, enticed to colonize the area for the promise of wealth and freedom from serfdom further south. As such, the Vechtisch settlement continued to expand, absorbing more of the Syhtian tribes as villages grew up along the rivers.

In the present day, Syhtia is comprised of one or two states. The rural Syhtians who maintained their traditions and culture, isolated in the wastes far from the rivers, and the Alliance of Kürdisch Cities, where the Syhto-Vechtese reside in their towns, trading the valuable resources of the marshes with the rest of Juhnvechteya. They are officially united under the so-called Republic of Syhtia, but there is no love lost between the two peoples.

### *Geography*

No roads lead into Syhtia, and few exist within. Rather, the majority of travel occurs by boat or barge along the rivers and shallow swamps. Those roads which do exist are frequently targeted by Syhtian bandits, and so are regularly patrolled by bands of Vechtese soldiers to ward off attacks on the valuable salt-and-fish caravans which are the lifeblood of the Kürdisch cities. Almost every major settlement is located on one of the three rivers, and is as such connected to the network of settlements by barge. Off the roads and rivers, however, it is nearly impossible for a Vechtisch man to travel, the stinking bogs sucking their feet in and refusing to budge, and horses do not leave the roads. However, the Syhtians traverse the marshes with ease, for they know the land better than any other. The Vechts cannot pursue them, nor can they effectively combat them in the bogs. As such, recently, there has been little further colonization.

### Government

The cities are ruled by councils of their most influential inhabitants, and are arrayed into a league which acts as one entity in foreign matters, as well as for battling the rural Syhtians.

The Syhtians, meanwhile, are not united, rather they are fractured into their various clans and tribes, ruled by two figures, a druidic priest and a matron. On occasion, a group may call a council of all tribes, who send a male and female representative each. These meetings occur at the Odoheseir, a secret, holy location somewhere to the east of the Ingupe river. When required to act altogether, the representatives of the Syhtians travel to the cities.

### Warfare

The two peoples often come into conflict with each other, their conflicting methods of warfare causing difficulty for the Vechtese. While the Vechtese fight in a way more-or-less recognizable to the rest of Juhnvechteya, the Syhtians fight primarily as light infantry, using ambuscades and their knowledge of the swamps to enable rapid deployment around the enemy, more similarly to the Estrevenyii clans of eastern Amastre. However, when the Republic as a whole is threatened, the two peoples usually come together to battle the foe, the Syhtians wearing down the enemy as they attempt to traverse the midge-filled marshes, before the militias of the towns face the enemy in the field.

Due to the nature of the region, warfare is necessarily a small-scale affair. Wagons cannot travel far through the marshes, and so armies are usually smaller due to the lack of supplies.

#### Equipment of War

While disunited and different culturally, the equipment of the soldiers is quite similar to each other, both being partially derived from the Pan-Juhnvechtisch style. Despite this, their culture influences their equipment. For instance, the equipment of both peoples tends to be of local make and poorer quality than the neighboring Hardischers and Hörnbaukers. The armor used by the Vechtese is similar to the older fashions of their eastern neighbors, comprising of bascinets, kettle-hats, long hauberks, and large-plate brigandine, while the Syhtians wear armor of a more traditional style, with some Juhnvechtisch influences, such as the aforementioned brigandine and kettle-helm.

### Religion in Syhtia

The majority of those residing within the Cities are Werran, primarily of the Vechtese Rite, though there is a large majority of Joran Werrans. Meanwhile, the Syhtians mostly continue to follow their pagan beliefs, which they have held since the dawn of their culture. The religion is mysterious, but it is believed they worship a pantheon representing the natural elements of Fire, Earth, and Water. The faith is believed to be a descendant of the Neolithic Terropond peoples which were found across Juhnvechteya.

### Settlements of the Kürdisch Alliance

The settlements of the Vechtese are arrayed into a network of alliances for defense and trade, collectively titled the Alliance of Cities.

Some of the settlements are sovereign, others fall under the rule of more powerful towns. Most villages, despite often being the size of many towns, are not independent, rather they are founded by colonists sent from the cities and towns to exploit specific resources from the region they were built, such as foodstuffs from arable land or lumber from thick forests.

The settlements, their size, and status are listed below:

Cities:

•Roszon, population 1,052

•Ingrane, population 760

•Moerbitz, population 482

Towns:

•Nostal, population 309

•Koermuch, population 218

•Amzrod, population 122

•Purzgartieg, population 119

•Pessel, population 105

•Pszana, population 92

### Settlements of Syhtia

There is no known quantity of Syhtian settlements. The peoples are scattered throughout the region, larger than concentrated in large settlements. Few of their homesteads play host to more than three dozen inhabitants, normally of no more than one or two families. The homesteads are small, and usually built on what small pieces of flat, dry land exist within the swamps where subsistence farming is possible. Most homesteads are hidden from the Vechtese, thus they believe there are far fewer Syhtrians than actually exist. While the Vechts assume there are no more than 2,000 Syhtians within Syhtia, there are an estimated 7,200 Syhtians who reside in the isolated areas of the region