◈ RUKVIA ◈
A cold northern land known for its mountains, gloomy forests, glades and tundra.
There is a long history of witchcraft, druidcraft and ghouls.
Yet the Rukvians continue to survive.
◈ GEOGRAPHY
Rukvia is a great cold northern continent and country. Known for its cold dark expanse of woodlands and fields of snow. To its West, an great wall of snowy mountains shared with Onagor with gloomy thickets at their bases and winding paths within.
To the East; multiple rivers open up to the Wikbord gulf and the Wikbord archipelago, a large collection of closely knit islands.
◈ BLIGHTED LANDS
The blight has forever changed the land.
The dark woodlands croak and groan in pain and anger, more alive than ever. The darkness more palpable and thick like webs.
Sacred and mythical creatures that hid in the shadows of the canopy are much stronger than before.
◈ GOVERNMENT
Rukvia has undergone dramatic changes of governing structure in the last century after a long bloody history between 6 kingdoms on its vast lands.
In most recent years, Rukvia is separated by six state governments with an oligarchy that co-operates with the international organization unifying the north Rukvia, Welkland, Benton and Mirtea called the United Northern Archipelagos ( U.N.A ).
These governments have their origins as noble families and oligarchical structure and continue to use inspired terminology from that era such as family houses. Some of these family houses generations later find themselves collaborating with one another and heavily influencing Rukvian education, industry and medicine.
◈ LIFESTYLE
Many parts of Rukvian culture and traditions have its roots in druidism and witch craft. Many of the druidic practices, mindset and location geographically may be responsible for Rukvia's slower advancement in technology, favouring more basic industrial equipment and steam-tech over alternatively powered tech despite its advantages.
A lot of folk live fairly down to earth and with bare necessities because of this.
Rukvia's veteran population after the first treasure war was also incentivised and given kickstart funds to claim homestead in the countryside and build or contribute to farming exports.
◈ BELIEFS
The beliefs most practiced by Rukvians includes varieties of druidism primarily The Garden, Deer worship and Evenfall.
There is a large circle of druids well known as 'the way of the first' which are known broadly as an organized group of circles and covens that dedicate themselves to protecting ancient knowledge and looking after the forests.
◈ CONFLICTS
Rukvia has a long bloody history of kingdoms felled, neighbouring lands falling in and out of good grace.
Some Rukvians still hold a lot of resentment for other countries due to the destruction of their homes, people, historical castles and art back in the first Treasure War.
A lot of Rukvians transformed this anger into a stern focus for business and work culture.
A lot of Rukvians have opinions inherited from druidic culture or family so the general destruction from war and industrial revolution happening in other places including their homeland leaves a few with mixed feelings or distrust.
In recent years due to the blight, the forest has come to life and even harmed the druids that were protecting it out of anger further causing distress, guilt and confusion about the relationship to nature Rukvians might have.
◈ THE SIX KINGS
There were once six kingdoms before Rukvia was born united. The tales are equally glorious and uncomfortably messy or dark. Eventually leading to a reform between those left. The main symbol of 6 candles or lights on antlers represents the 6 crowns united.
◈ THE CURSE OF THE DEAD
Although not exclusive to the country, it is most known for it.
Rukvia has an issue at large with an illness caused by a mystical infectious fungus.
The curse of living in death.
The fungus causes a mystical revival of the recently deceased.
People refer to these beings as;
"Cursed"
"Ghoul"
"Undead"
"Stitcher" ( refers to those who purposefully become Cursed )
In nature, deep in the woods, the curse would take hold of the recently deceased and be capable of reviving them as mindless shambling people.
Militia and military within Rukvia are all trained to deal with the feral cursed and research into the phenomenon is constantly ongoing.
Surrounding neighbour countries have a history of fighting the Cursed and similar creatures. Especially Onagor, Welkland, Striton and Estin who tend to have strained relationships or conflicts with Rukvia throughout history for multiple reasons including this.
In more recent decades Rukvia has also made great controversy over the refinement of a ritual that can curse people with little side effects ( Stitchers ).
To then turn men who undergo the procedure into the equivalent of a well trained undead army or supersoldiers.
◈ ESTIN, EVENFALL & HUNTERS
Multiple countries have a history of ghoul hunters and artificers who specialize in dealing with witch-craft, undead and other monsters of the night.
One religion, EVENFALL which has a heavy focus on protection and vigilance has dedicated witch-hunters and ghoul hunters.
Their battles and knowledge span from all across Rukvia to Striton. The Knowledge passed down into common knowledge includes; silver stings the mystically cursed and disrupts the mystical regenerative properties of a creature. Moonstones can reveal hidden truths within the supernatural.
In and era passed, EVENFALL's Estin and Welkland hunters would often find themselves dealing with threats not just in their homelands but often taking campaigns to Rukvia against kings and witches working with Evenfall knights in Rukvia as well.
Because of the nature of some of these bloody campaigns it has left a thick tension regarding religion between Rukvia, Estin and Welkland to this very day.
◈ THE TREASURE WARS
There were many wars fought but the treasure war was of immense scale that involved several countries across the world.
The treasure wars are characterized by their scale, chaos and initial rising conflict being about ruins with untapped resources which rapidly became a war for said-resources and contesting of land.
◈ 1877 - 1885 THE FIRST TREASURE WAR
1875, With Striton and Ceska's advancements in technology in the late 1800's, enthused archaeologists were able to make ground-breaking discoveries underground of ruins with untapped resources and ancient technology named precursor-tech.
It didn't take much explaining for others to realize the importance and danger of the discovery and over the next few months bickering and arguments rolled into an all-out resource war across multiple continents where these precursor-tech sites were unearthed. Research into the resources found underground then lead to a deadly arms race that utilized precursor-tech.
Rukvia's involvement in the first treasure war was minimal in the beginning, only extending weaponry and infantry support to Welkland and Estin in good faith.
Eventually with the turn of the arms race, Striton's attempts to retaliate with the use of precursor-tech against Fennos and Ceska wasn't well met and Rukvia officially joined the table.
Towards the end of the war Striton and Ceska both dealt deadly blows to eachother and many of Rukvia's ground and air forces were affected by Striton's disaster explosion caused by precursor-tech.
◈ 1915 - 1920 THE SECOND TREASURE WAR
The world was still recoiling from the treasure war.
Corobi, South-Fennos and Shattered Islands were all frontiers that had barely been conquered. People's efforts crippled by the war but with the turn of the 1900s people were excited to revive the efforts of the frontiers, by now Corobi had it's own city state GOLDLEY and was a place for people to place positivity and hope into.
1915, to very few people's surprise precursor ruins were also discovered in Corobi, and offshore to its south-west. With much awareness of the first treasure war and the volatility of precursor tech, Estin military and Striton tech companies would bump heads with Corobian's people and PMCs over the handling and ownership of discovered sites.
The U.N.A which had formed between the first treasure war and now had made a deal with the Corobian companies to send assistance. Rukvia being part of the U.N.A agreed to send soldiers to Corobi in hopes to prevent an explosive disaster like 1884. These conflicts would once again spread out beyond Corobi with more discoveries during the war becoming a world-spanning conflict again.
The Second Treasure War came to an abrupt halt in 1919 with the build up of tremors and ruins tearing themselves apart. Something unprecedented would break out of a vault in far west Corobi and sweep across the continent. A terrifying supernatural phenomena coined as THE BLIGHT would take hold of the world and although the U.N.A tried its best to recall its people Rukvia would not see most of its soldiers return home.