How Triman became Triman
The first settlers
The are no records of when the first settlers came to the river of Triman. However the Legend of Trim tells the tale of how a man came to the river and founded a settlement there. The settlers lived of farming and fishing where the river met the sea. The land was rich, and people were content with what they had. Some say that the Trimanians came from the southern islands and some that they came from the west, in todays Frakia. It is also said that they were not the first people, for they were not the ones to build the Sviatogor monastery. The church is in debate on the matter.
year 0
The first church of Svarog was built 756 years ago on an island in the river. It was set up by the locals with the aid of clergy from the old forrest in the north, where there even at that time existed a small community worshiping Svarog at the monastery of Sviatogor.
year 253
The population increased, and the farmland to the west of the river was settled. However, rumours of the richness of the farmers spread, and warbands from Frakia started to attack the farms, demanding tribute and feudal fealty to different Frakian chieftains, depending on the warbands origin. The people had little chance to oppose the Frakians, for the Frakians were trained warriors with weapon of the finest bronze, while the Trimanians were farmers with farm tools and hunting gear like bows and spears.
Some of the people fled north, while others accepted subjugation to the Frakian chieftains. One man that fled to the north was Mikula. He built a village for his family and many others far north near the river. Then he went to the Sviatogor monastery to seek a blessing to oppose the Frakian invaders. When Mikula returned, he was changed. It is said that he could change into animals and perform feats of magic. He also brought the first armour to the people of Triman. The armour made him invincible in battle, and he made similar suits to his friends. They then traveled south and west, and confronted the Frakians. There are many legends about the battles between Mikula and Frakians. In the end, Mikula won and the Frakians retreated. The people wanted to proclaim Mikula a chieftain, in the manner of the Frakians. However, Mikula refused, saying that all were equal in the eyes of Svarog and he would not take any title. In stead, he would travel back to his family and build a church. If anyone needed his help, they had but to send for him.
year 396
Upon returning to his family, Mikula built the church of Dubrovo, which was the second church built in Trimanian lands. The church still stands to this day, and it is rumoured to contain a carving of Svarog made by Mikula himself, as well as a carving depicting Mikula when he got old. It is said that in stead of dying, Mikula summoned his family, proclaimed it was time for him to leave them and then he turned into a Firebird and flew to the monastery in the mountains.
The founding of Gradoslavl
The people that had been subjugated to Frakian rule felt Mikulas promise was not enough and started to elect chieftains among themselves, picking up Frakian weapons or forging weapons themselves. They took control of the land from the south western mountains and to both sides of the river, collecting a toll from travellers passing through. Each leader founded a town that he called his or her high seat, where they also built a church to the honour of Svarog. At this time, trade increased around the Trimanian river, and ships sailed to it’s shores from Vesans both to trade, and to go to pilgrimage to Sviatogor, the monastery in the mountains.
year 420
The confederation of chieftains called their area of influence for Gradoslavl and believed it should be a separate country, like Frakia. The chieftains could however not decide on a leader to rule them, each wanting themselves to hold the position. Finally, with the intervention of the church, they agreed upon holding an election. Each chieftain had a vote, and predictably each chieftain got one vote. Upon seeing this, the church elder presiding over the election stated that this showed the weakness of the coalition, and that the chieftains, rather than seeking power, should seek to better the life of the people under their control. He or she who succeeded the most would by all be seen as the worthiest of the position of Kniaz. The chieftains found this a far to tedious process. In stead, they agreed upon inviting a Vesantian admiral, Ammirateus, to be their leader. He took the city of Woldar as his seat and sat his men as nobles in stead of the local chiefs, making him unpopular. He also demanded tribute of the descendants of Mikula and his friends, who had built a town, Dubrovo, around the church Mikula built. They refused, and Ammirateus wanted to go to war against them. The local chieftains would however not parttake, remembering Mikulas help to their villages. To gain local support, Ammirateus tried to marry Dragoslava, the daughter of one of the chiefs. She refused and fled from him, seeking refuge in Dubrovo. Ammirateus attacked Dubrovo when he heard she had fled there. His army was driven back by the locals led by Misha, a woman that Drevnedubian legends claim shape-shifted into a huge brown bear. Misha became leader of the town and the surrounding area, and her descendants founded the dynasty of the Drevnedubian Kniazi. Hoping to gain allies for his war against Dubrovo, Ammirateus joined in the ongoing civil war in Vesans. In his absense, Dragoslava raised an army and marched to Woldar, the capitol of Gradoslavl. She took the city and was made kniaginia of Gradoslavl. The side Ammirateus joined in the Vesanian civil war lost, and they retreated to Gradoslavl. However, Dragoslava would not let them enter her land. They remained at sea and started plundering the coast og Frakia and Gradoslavl, and attacking the southern islands Rhin, Dol and Ton near the Trimanian coast. After a while, they also started to attack Vesanian ships and coastal villages. Since Ammirateus was seen as the ruler of Gradoslavl by the Vesanians, the Vesanian fleet attacked Gradoslavl in hopes of ending the piracy of Ammirateus. Messengers were sent from Gradoslavl telling Vesans that Ammirateus was exiled, however Vesans refused to stop the attack and they laid siege to Woldar. Dragoslava, heavily pregnant with child, refused to leave the city, even though the chances of victory were few. Most of the citizens fled, however many armed themselves and swore to defend Dragoslava to the end. They were blessed by the sages of Svarog and swore the bogatyr oath. With heavy losses, the bogatyr of Dragoslava were able to hold the city. To reward them, they were given the honour of being the house guard of the Gradoslavian kniazi for all generations to come. To defend themselves from pirates, the southern islands entered an alliance with Gradoslavl against Ammirateus. While Gradoslavl had few ships, and ships more suited for rivers, the sages of Svarog cast spells on them so that they could sail the seas and attack the fleet of Ammirateus. The smaller ships of Gradoslavl and the southern islands were faster and more manoeuvrable, and were able to drive back the attacking fleet. The inhabitants of the southern islands saw this as a miracle and wanted to learn the teachings of Svarog. A few Gradoslavian sages remained on the islands to build churches and teach the locals.
There were several clashes betweeen the Gradoslavians and Ammirateus before he was finally slain by Dragoslavas son Jaroslav. The confederation grew strong under the rule of Dragoslava and the people wanted to keep her line in charge of Gradoslavl, proclaiming Jaroslav Kniaz of Gradoslavl.
The Dragoslavians
Gradoslavl thrived under the rule of Dragoslavas descendants, who historians call the Dragoslavians, or the Dragoslavian royal line. The country grev mighty and formed peaceful relations to it’s neighbours in the north and south, the Drevnedubian freemen, and the fishermen of Rhin, Dol and Thon. They also managed to form a non-agression pact with Vesans, having to give the Vesanians rights of tax free trade in the city of Jarslav, which was founded around the first church on the river by Jaroslavs son Izislav and named in honor of his father.
There were several wars between Gradoslavl and Frakia, where Frakia had the upper hand in the beginning. However, with an alliance with Drevnedub, the Dragoslavians were able to drive the invaders back. The Drevnedubians were however reluctant to follow the Gradoslavians into Frakian territory to end the invasions. This led the Dragoslavian Kniaz Slavolub to seek other allies. He married a Vesanian princess and secured Vesanian support against Frakia. In return, the Vesanians were given permission to search for iron in the marches to the east, and take the land as their own.
year 516
While this arrangement led to victory over the Frakians, kniaz Slavolub had brought what became the Black Magi to Triman. In the next 50 years the Vesanians built strongholds in the marches and sought to drive a wedge between Gradoslavl and Drevnedub. The Drevnedubians accused the Black Magi of Kardomir of practicing dark magic, upon which the Black Magi declared war on Drevnedub. Gradoslavl declared itself neutral in this war, something that was seen as a betrayal by Drevnedub. The Drevnedubians sought aid from the monastery of Sviatagor, and were given items of power to combat the dark magic used by the Black Magi. With the war going on between the Black Magi and Drevnedub, trade ceased between Gradoslavl and Drevnedub. Gradoslavl had to find new trade partners, and they sought an alliance with the Frakians, using the Frakian branch of Svarogs church for negotiation between the rulers. This weakened the influence of the Sviatagor monastery in Gradoslavl, especially amongst the nobles. During the reign of Slavolubs daughter kniaginia Vasilisa peace and trade agreements were reached with Frakia. Under her rule, Gradoslavl remained neutral and even seceded territory to the Black Magi to avoid a war with them. While Kniaginia Vasilisa heserlf was against it, she was overruled by the Council of Nobles. This policy was opposed by the church, and the Elder of Sviatogor, matriarch Olga tried to influence the nobles to join with Drevnedub in the war against the Black Magi. However, with the Black Magi seeming to have the upper hand, the nobles preferred neutrality. Kniaginia Vasilisa was succeeded by kniaz Ladamír who was very enthusiastic about everything Frakian. He had traveled to Frakia to be knighted by the Frakian king while his mother ruled Gradoslavl and lived there for several years. Ladamír married a Frakian princess and returned with Frakian knights to Gradoslavl when his mother died. He changed the bogatyr guard of the kniaz to resemble the Frakian knights and started organizing tournaments, like those in Frakia, himself participating in the tournaments on several occasions. The Frakian knights were given land and titles in Gradoslavl and became part of the household guard of the kniaz together with, but at the same time separate from the bogatyr knights. Ladamírs son, kniaz Mstislav continued the trend of following Frakia, and created laws making the peasants bondsmen to the nobles. Matriarch Olga protested this, saying it was not in accordance with the teachings of Svarog to have bondsmen, but kniaz Mstislav would not abolish his oppressive laws, in stead he demanded that the church should ow fealty to the kniaz, and that the kniaz should appoint a patriarch after Frakian tradition.
The first war with the church
year 566
The Black Magi sought to increase their influence and sent insurgents into Gradoslavl to turn the people against the church of Svarog, leading them into a civil war between state and church, as the church would not agree to kniaz Mstislavs demands to rule the church. The kniazi of Gradoslavl had long felt that they had to little power compared to the neighbouring countries, and felt controlled by the church. Now the kniaz demanded the church to stop interfering with the lawmaking process and the judgements passed by the kniaz and landholding nobles. Furthermore, the kniaz demanded to appoint the leaders of the church, and that the church holdings should be under Gradoslavian rule. The church disagreed, and made the commoners side with the church in this matter. The commoners had always seen the church as their protector against the nobles, and would not want to loose that aspect of the church. Those that were seen as unjustly persecuted by the kniaz were given sanctuary in the churches of Svarog. To bring an end to church sanctuary kniaz Mstislav sent soldiers to arrest people even in the churches, and several churches were plundered by the soldiers corrupted by insurgents sent by the Black Magi. The bogatir of the kniaz rose against this, bringing their men at arms to protect the churches, joining ranks with the sages of Svarog. In return, the Kniaz proclaimed the disbandment of the bogatir, keeping only the descendants of the Frakian knights, and making new knights sworn only to the king, in Frakian tradition, recruited from the nobles. The land and property of the bogatir was confiscated and given to the newly created knights. The bogatir of Gradoslavl then pledged fealty to the church and laid the foundation of what later became the beggar knights of Triman. Eventually, two armies stood against each other: the knights and soldiers of the Kniaz and the bogatir of the church, the last joined by militias formed by the commoners. Both sides was reluctant to attack the other, as the armies were of equal size and who would win was uncertain. At the same time, the Black Magi attacked the border of Gradoslavl. Pressed with war on two sides, the Kniaz tried to negotiate peace with the Black Magi and gain their support against the church. The eldest son of the Kniaz, prince Dobroslav exposed this to the people and opposed his father with the help of the common people, forcing him to drop negotiations with the Black Magi and in stead let the prince negotiate with the church.
year 590
The Kniaz of Drevnedub had supported the church against Gradoslavl, however with prince Dobroslav ceasing all hostilities against the church and signing a peace treaty with Matriarch Olga the Fair, the Kniaz of Drevnedub saw it fit to marry his daughter to Dobroslav. With the Kniaz of Gradoslavl dying soon after of illness, Dobroslav became kniaz. He allied Gradoslavl with Drevnedub and Jeremanian horsemen and led the coalition army against Kardomir, driving them away from the border of the kingdom. He wanted to reinstate the bogatir, however they said they were now in the service of the church and refused to take back their land and property. However they accepted the attempt of the kniaz to make peace with them and said that they bore no ill will against the new kniaz or the kingdom, and would fight to protect it against invaders the same way as before.
War with the Black Magi
year 593
To defeat the Black Magi Kardomir had to be invaded and the castle of the Black Magi was besieged. The rest of Kardomir surrendered to Kniaz Dobroslav and became a part of Gradoslavl. Kniaz Dobroslav took the title Great Kniaz to signify that he ruled over both lands. He wrote laws for the new kingdom, many of which are still in place to this day. While Kardomir was held under control the Black Magi tried several times to break through the siege. Each time they were driven back by the bogatir of Drevnedub and the church. In one such battle the Kniaz of Drevnedub was slain. The bogatir tried to avenge him and stormed the castle gate. Inside they found demons of the Black Serpent summoned by the Black Magi. Their ranks faltered, however a bogatir stepped forth with a copper sword. She revealed herself to be Cvetana, the daughter of the slain kniaz and through marriage the kniaginia of Gradoslavl. By her side were 4 copper guards and it was revealed to everyone present that Cvetana had been accepted into the copper guard. Under the leadership of Cvetana Kardomir castle was sacked and destroyed and the Black Magi slain. The land of Drevnedub came through Cvetanas marriage with the Kniaz of Gradoslavl under the rule of the Great Kniaz and Kniaginia og Gradoslavl. To signify that the ruler of these lands should be elected by the people, Great Kniaz Dobroslav changed his title to Tzar. The unified country of Gradoslavl, Kardomir and Drevnedub was named Triman after the biggest river flowing through the country. After the death of Tzar Dobroslav Cvetana returned to Drevnedub, staying either in Dubrovo or in the fortress-cathedal of Sviatogor. Her oldest son, Jarivlad, was made Kniaz of Kardomir. However, he died before he could become tzar of Triman. Her daughter Miroslava was elected Tzaritsa of Triman and after Cvetanas death, the youngest son, Vladoslav was elected Kniaz of Drevnedub. Cvetana is thus seen by many as the mother of Triman, her sons and daughters ruling the 3 old provinces, she herself joining the copper guard. Tzar Dobroslav is seen as the father of Triman, bringing peace between church and Gradoslavl and uniting together with Cvetana the 3 original lands into Triman
The reign of Tzars
The 3 good tzars
year 610
During the rule of Miroslava the country had overcome the effects of the civil war and started to prosper. The rule of tzaritsa Miroslava, her son tzar Jaroslav the 2nd and then his brother tsar Izislav the 2nd is seen as the golden age of Triman. Trade both inside the land and with neighbours flourished. The church helped to find more effective ways to grow crops and food was plenty in the realm. Art was created and science moved forward. Most important at this time was the astronomy tower of Jarslav, where a device was set up to look closer at the stars.
year 642
During the reign of tzar Jaroslav the 2nd Frakia again tried to gain territory on the border, however Triman was strong and had no problems with defeating Frakia. The forces of Triman crossed the border into Frakia and took some of the villages on the border to create a buffer against Frakian aggression. These territories were put under the rule of Ledoslavl, then only a boyar fief, not a full province. A second buffer territory was made towards southeast, where Tulgarian raiders and Jeremanian freemen lived. Both buffer territories were not seen as separate provinces, but were counted as the domains of the tsar, with a boyar set to administrate them. Tzar Jaroslav became sick shortly after, and died. Some say he was poisoned as revenge by the Frakians, however no proof was ever found, and the king of Frakia denied any involvement.
year 650
At the time, the area of todays Jereman was being attacked by Tulgarian riders. Seing Triman growing strong, the local leaders asked to join Triman, which tsar Jaroslav initially declined, not wanting to fight a war on two fronts. However, after he died, tzar Izislav, on the advice of his wife, the kniaginia of Kardomir, accepted the proposal and made the ataman Zoritsa the leader. She later married Izislavs youngest son Staromir. The Trimanians drove the Tulgarians away from Jereman and there was for a time peace in Triman. Izislav is remembered as a good and kind tzar who listened carefully to the advice of others, particularly his wife.
The founding of the Kardomirian dynasty
year 658
Tzar Izislav was succeeded by his daughter Miloluba who was heir to the province of Kardomir as well. The province of Gradoslavl was given to her younger brother Peromir, who was the oldest male heir of Izislav. In this way, the crown passed to Kardomir. Miloluba was elected with a smal majority, and many wanted to see Peromir on the throne. While this led to some unrest, particularly at court, Peromir did not contest the rule of Miloluba. He fought valiantly at the border against Tulgarian riders supporting his brother kniaz Staromir. The two kniazi founded the city Vostokograd at the border to Tulgar and invited the Tulgarians to come to trade in the city. This led some Tulgarians to come in peace and side with Triman, making it harder for other Tulgarians to justify raids against Triman. While things went rather well in the east, conflict increased in Triman. There were more and more disagreement between the sages in various parts of the country on the position of the church. Tzaritsa Miloluba supported a church reform while the province of Drevnedub opposed it strongly. While the dispute raged on, the old Elder of the church died, and a new Elder close to tzaritsa Miloluba was proclaimed. Drevnedub would not accept the candidacy of such an inexperienced Elder and isolated itself from interaction with both the Elder and the court. The reforms of the church removed much of the political influence of the church. In stead, its efforts were focused on teaching, something the tzaritsa valued greatly.
The time of unrest
year 666
Tsaritsa Milolubas reign ended abruptly with an attack by the Frakian king Leobald the 3rd. In stead of attacking the border of Gradoslavl he hired Vesanian mercenaries to sail his army with merchant ships to the capitol, Jarslav. There he sacked the city and besieged the royal castle. He captured many commoners and threatened to execute them if Miloluba would not surrender and marry him. Miloluba, wanting to save her people surrendered the castle. When she met with Leobald the 3rd face to face, she tried to kill him with a poisoned dagger. She succeeded, but was herself killed by the kings guards. Jarslav was liberated by her brothers who, having heard of the attack, hurried from Jereman. A long war was waged, and eventually won against Frakia, sacking the kingdom. However neither of Milolubas brothers were elected tzar. The people felt they paid too little interest for the central part of the land, mostly staying in Jereman. In stead, Milolubas young son Borislav was elected tzar. Having survived the siege and sacking of Jarslav, he was always worried of a new attack, and focused on fortifying the realm and increasing the number of knights. Tsar Borislav raised the taxes and became quite unpopular with the Council of Commoners. The nobles in the Council of Nobles were however quite content, as he followed their advice and was an easy tzar for them.
year 709
Tzar Borislav was to be succeeded by his son Mstivlad. The Council of Commoners demanded that he lower the taxes to gain their vote, something he initially did. However, after the first year on the throne, he disbanded the Council of Commoners. This led to much unrest amongst the people, and many commoners refused to pay taxes. Tzar Mstivlad sent his soldiers to force them to pay, however the soldiers were stopped by beggar knights and the church intervened to make tzar Mstivlad reconsider. It is unclear what the conflict would have ended with, had the Tulgarians not attacked again. Tzar Mstivlad tried to raise an army, but with no coin and no support from the people he failed. His knights were not enough to stop the Tulgarian riders and his army was shattered after the first battle against the Tulgarian horde. The church then urged the people to come to the aid of Jereman and it's kniaz Nikovar, the grandson of Zoritsa and Staromir, who valiantly held stand against the Tulgarian invasion. Many commoners voluntered to aid Jereman, and a militia led by kniaz Bereslav of Drevnedub was formed. The peoples army, as it became called, was victorious and drove back the attackers. Tzar Mstivlad retreated to his castle in Jarslav and refused to show himself in public. After the death of tzar Mstivlad, kniaz Bereslav of Drevnedub as well as kniaz Nikovar of Jereman were proposed as candidates to become tzar. Kniaz Bereslav refused, saying he would not want to hold any position but that of kniaz of his current realm. Kniaz Nikovar then was voted for against Mstivlads son Gorodub. When Nikovar was proclaimed tzar, Gorodub traveled to Frakia, where he pledged loyalty to king Rudolph the 2nd. Rudolph the 2nd tried to invade Triman and sought to use Gorodubs supporters to weaken the new tzar. Tzar Nikovar sent out to all the provinces a call to arms, and kniaz Bereslav of Drevnedub, kniaz Taras of Gradoslav, the tsars oldest child, kniaginia Olga of Jereman and kniaginia Navara of Kardomir met with their men at arms to fight. This was the last time the grand army of Triman was assembled. They met the army of Rudolph and fought them for several days. In the end, the Trimanian army prevailed and Gorodub was killed in battle. A peace settlement was reached where Rudolph the 2nd married his daughter to Vsevolod, the son of tzar Nikovar, and forever relinquished his claim to the territories currently held by Triman, giving them as a wedding gift to the royal couple. Having proved himself in battle, boyar Vitigost of Ledoslavl was able to convince knight Oksana, the second daughter of tzar Nikovar, to marry him.
The Time of Strife
Tsar Vsevolod the Terrible
year 723
After peace was reached with Frakia, tsar Nikovar started the difficult prosess of rebuilding the land. His eldest son Vsevolod was trained to succeed the throne, while his other children held posts of importance in the realm. His daughters were leaders of their own provinces, while his youngest son Bezslav was married to the kniaginia of Kardomir, becoming the boyar representing Kardomir at the tsars court.
For a time it seemed that tsar Nikovar would be able to restore Triman to it’s former glory: the boyar of Ledoslavl had found silver which through taxes benefited the treasury of the tsar, Kardomir supported the rebuilding of the tsars household guards and knights with steel, there was peace at the borders and the tsar was respected and supported by the kniazi of Drevnedub and Gradoslavl.
year 733
It was thought that this would continue after the sudden death of tsar Nikovar , however the newly crowned tsar Vsevolod felt that he needed to consolidate his power. This resulted in a bitter feud between not only him and the church, but also between him and several kniazi, particularly his own sister, kniaginia Olga, who was a pious believer. Tsar Vsevolod made new laws and when he was opposed by the Council of Commoners, which had been reinstated by his father, he disbanded the council. He increased taxation and took away many peoples privileges. He also made it illegal for commoners to carry weapons. Feeling he was loosing the grip on the power that his father had been given, tsar Vsevolod called in the Frakian order of Angel Knights to help him root out traitors and heretics. His father in law, the Frakian king happily obliged. This was opposed by Kniaz Bereslav of Drevnedub, who stepped down from his position in protest. Tsar Vsevolod believed he, not his older sister, should have inherited the province of Jereman. They also became bitter enemies over the tsars law reforms, that the kniaginia believed to be against Svarogs will.
year 739
When Tulgarians attacked Jereman, the tsar was reluctant to help and mobilised the army so slow that the Tulgarians reached and besieged Vostokograd before the army of the tsar reached Jereman. The walls of the city was breached, and the citizens hid in the central keep defended by kniaginia Olga and her knights. The raiders burned the city to try to smoke out the keep. This lit up the sky at night, and the foreguard of the tsars army, led by knight Vratslav, saw it. They hurried to the city and were able to attack the Tulgarians from the rear as they stormed the keep. The Tulgarians lost, however kniaginia Olga, who led her knights in a counterattack was killed, together with most of the Jeremanian knights. Vratslav secured the keep and was able to drive out the Tulgarian riders from Jereman before the tsars army reached Vostkograd. When the news of kniaginia Olgas death reached Jarslav, tsar Vsevolod proclaimed himself kniaz of Jereman and made the province part of the domain of the tsar. Many opposed this, particularly Vratslav, who demanded of the tsar to proclaim a new Kniaz. Vratslav was thrown in the tsars dungeon to starve to death, while the tsar sent out the Angel Knights to hunt down any opposition. Vratslav did not starve to death, as the tsar had intended, for the daughter of the tsar brought food to him, and he was able to escape the tsars prison with her help. Finding that he had escaped, the tsar became even more convinced of there being traitors everywhere, and blamed particularly the beggar knights, who opposed the Angel Knights as foreign troops. The beggar knights, being beggars, had however nothing of value, so the tsar was running an expensive war with no way to recoup his losses. So the tsar had to look for another, richer target, both to pay for his troops, compensate the taxes that were not collected when the peasants fled their villages in stead of paying, and to pay to his father in law, the Frakian king, for use of the Frakian troops. Maybe it was wishful thinking, or maybe he believed rumours, however tsar Vsevolod believed the church to have wast reserves of gold. He declared war on the church for not subjugating themselves to the rule of the tsar.
year 742 - War with the church
When tsar Vsevolod declared war on the church and started plundering churches, the people had enough, and rose against him. The newly proclaimed kniaz of Gradoslavl, Vratslav, took it upon himself to lead the people against tsar Vsevolod. Ledoslavl and Kardomir supported the tsar, while Drevnedub initially was neutral in the conflict. However, Drevnedub provided sanctuary to anyone fleeing the tsars wrath. The rebels, taking the name of the peoples army of old, were victorious, with many commoners deserting the tsar to join them. They were able to besiege the capitol, Jarslav and demanded the tsar to abdicate from the throne.
year 744
With the tsar of Triman occupied with the commoners, the Frakian king persuaded Ledoslavl to invade Drevnedub. He led his army through Ledoslavl and besieged Vailano. The Drevnedubian milita attempted to break the siege, however dark magic was used by the Frakians and the city fell. The kniaz of Drevnedub was killed in the battle, as well as most of Drevnedubs army. The Frakian army then continued towards Dubrovo. While unconfirmed, it is said that an angel of death appeared outside Dubrovo to fight the Frakian invaders. Other say that the old kniaz Bereslav appeared to fight the Frakians. What seems to be true is that there was a divine intervention of some sort, for the defenders of Dubrovo were to few to hold the city against the Frakian army, however the Frakians were unable to take the old keep and the Frakian army was decimated by magic. While the Frakians were attacking Drevnedub, Ledoslavl and Kardomir sent their knights against the peoples army to lift the siege, however when they neared the encampment around Jarslav, they were waylaid by the militia of Drevnedub who demanded they not interfere, and in stead demand negotiations between the tsar and the people. Outnumbered, the knights agreed. However the tsar would not negotiate. The peoples army then stormed the city and the tsars castle, forcing him to relinquish the throne. Not wanting to set a legal precedent and not having any particular desire to rule Triman, kniaz Vratslav refused to be proclaimed tsar. In stead the Council of Nobles negotiated with representatives of the peoples army, and the daughter of the tsar, princess Vasilisa was made tsaritsa. Her reign was however short, as she disappeared only months after her crowning. The deposed tsar Vsevolod was found killed the night of her disappearance, beheaded by a large blade.
War for the throne
year 745
After the death of tzar Vsevolod, the council of Nobles were unable to reach a decision on who should become the next ruler. Tzar Vsevolod had no heir, and the kniaginia of Kardomir therefore demanded the position for herself, since her husband was the brother of the tsar and the chancellor of the tsar. Ledoslavl refused to accept a woman on the throne and refused to vote in her favour. Many had hoped that kniaz Vratslav would be crowned tsar, however he gave his title of kniaz to his younger brother Rastislav, and took the oath of a beggar knight before traveling north, to the Sviatogor monastery, where he was given place amongst the copper guard, the youngest to join the copper guard, and the only one being given a place after asking, in stead of being offered the position by the guard itself. The new kniaz of Gradoslavl had no issue with a woman on the throne. However he had always felt he was in the shadow of his brother Vratslav. Now he saw an opportunity to rise above him and become tsar himself, since his province was the most powerful. The kniaz of Ledoslavl disagreed, claiming to be the most powerful and also to be closer in the line of succession to the tsar. Drevnedub did not vote as usual, and there was no representative from Jereman, so no agreement was reached. However, Kardomir still held the royal domain through Bezslav, the tsars chancellor, who Kardomir tried to present as a new candidate for the throne. Gradoslavl would not accept this, and attempted to drive out the Kardomirian forces in alliance with Ledoslavl. Kardomir had to retreat, but the kniazi of Ledoslavl and Gradoslavl could not agree on who should hold the royal domain while waiting for a new tzar to be chosen, and started to fight each other. In the end, Gradoslavl drove out Ledoslavl. The next spring Kardomir marched into Jeremanian territory and occupied it’s northern part. The kniaz of Ledoslavl in the meantime attempted to increase his territory by invading Drevnedubian lands. While at first successful, the population fled, and there were little gain in plundering empty villages.
year 747
The Kniaz of Drevnedub then commenced a couterattack and drove Ledoslavl back to their territory. The kniaz of Ledoslavl called then upon his relative, the king of Frakia, to help to invade Drevnedub. While the king came to Ledoslavls aid, he was more interested in a campaign against Gradoslavl, and with his help Gradoslavl was attacked from two sides, both from the north and from the west. The kniaz of Gradoslavl had to pull his troops back to defend his province, and Ledoslavl were able to invade the territories of the tzar. Gradoslavl asked Drevnedub and Kardomir for help against Ledoslavl and Frakia. This led the kniaz of Drevnedub to lead his bogatyr to Gradoslavl to defend it’s western border. Kardomir were slower to respond. The kniaginia demanded help in occupying Jereman as payment for her help. The kniaz of Gradoslavl refused, being able to drive out the Frakians with Drevnedubian help. After his western border was secure, he led a counteroffensive against Ledoslavian troops in the royal domain. Securing victory here, he marched further east, hoping to hold the Jeremanian territory as well and thus be able to proclaim himself tzar, hoping on support from Drevnedub. Drevnedub would however not support Gradoslavl taking Jereman, in stead demanding that a Jeremanian kniaz being proclaimed.
year 749
Kardomir and Gradoslavl continued to fight each other on Jeremanian territory as well as the royal domain. In the meantime, Ledoslavl with the aid of the Frakian king commenced a new attack on Drevnedub. Drevnedub called upon Gradoslavl to help, but the kniaz of Gradoslavl found himself tied up in protecting his western border and fighting in Jereman, and had no troops to send. Much of Drevnedubs territory was burned, and the invaders laid siege to Dubrovo. The Kniaz of Drevnedub called all of Drevnedub to arms. However, he would not fight the whole united army of Ledoslavian and Frakian knights. In stead, his troops harassed the encampments at night, attacked the supply trains so that they in turn laid siege to the besieging army. With winter setting in, the king of Frakian wanted to withdraw, while the kniaz of Ledoslavl refused. When the Frakian army attempted to fall back, they were routed and forced back to the city walls. The Frakian king led his knights onto the river and tried to cross over ice. Here he was attacked by the Drevnedubian milita and defeated, many heavily armed knights falling through the ice and drowning. The king had no choice but to sign a humiliating peace treaty to be able to withdraw. With the Frakians gone, the militia of Drevnedub attacked the Ledoslavians, who were trapped between them and the besieged people of Dubrovo. The kniaz of Ledoslavl was killed in the battle, and his army crushed.
Present time
year 750 In spring, Gradoslavl and Kardomir entered into an agreement over the domain of the Tsar. The two provinces now became allies again. With Kardomir also maintaining an alliance with Ledoslavl, Triman was close to reaching peace and an election of a new tsar. This alliance unfortunately fell shortly after with Ledoslavl refusing to accept kniaz Rastislav as a candidate to become the new tsar and would thus not enter a peace agreement with Gradoslavl.
At midsummer day, a motley crew of refugees, drifters, heroes and scoundrels gathered in Romata. They were given food and shelter by the local church and the steward of the Tsar of that village. Many had come due to the rumours of an evil beast attacking travelers on the road to Romata. The beast turned out to be a Volkolak, a servent of the Black Serpent with the ability to change between human form and that of a wolf.
Amongs the travellers were a monster hunter, who helped several cultists of the Black Serpent to find the skull of the former Vesantian captain, Gradoslavian kniaz and pirate lord Ammirateus the Accursed
The sage Sasha performed a ritual of cleansing and protection over the settlement, which kept the Volkolak from entering the buildings, even if this was unbeknownst to the sage at this time. The ritual the moved to the top of a hill, where everyone burned a wreath of flowers and had a swig of Kvas in the hopes of a good harvest and a ward against evil in the coming times.
After the ritual, a broken copper dagger as well as some angel statues were found by a traveling healer named Jasna.
The next moring, a Kardomirian robber knight witnessed the tsars steward Vasilij Trifonovich being killed by a Volkodlak. A small group of braves and the hunter Yefim searched for the attacker, and found a sacrificial pit to the Black Serpent, where the Volkolak has wrought his dark magic.
The group then returned to Romata and Yefim told there the legend of the Volkolak, warning everyone to be extremely fearful of it, as ordinary weapons cannot harm it. A traveling merchant named Vera remembered a story of another beast of the Black Serpent being defeated by a copper weapon, and the local smith Privj therefore was tasked with reforging the copper dagger in the hope that it would be useful to slay the Volkolak.
Later the same day, two Kardomirian soldiers came to Romata, claiming it to be under Kardomirian rule and attempting to arrest Vitomir of Vostokograd, the Jeremanian ataman. However, finding no support for this amongst the local men at arms, and finding themselves outnumbered, they declared the Ledoslavian noblewoman Zenevieva of house Rurik as the new sitter for the Tsar and left it to her to deal with Vitomir.
On the road from Romata they were attacked and killed, presumably by the Volkolak
Searching for more clues about the Volkolak, the beggar knight Lioum found the skull of Ammirateus the Accursed in the hiding place of the cultists by divine intervention. He brought the skull back to the village, where it is decided by the traveling healer, the local sage, the atamans advisor Kasimir and the beggar knight to conduct a ritual to summon the spirit of the skull to find out who’s scull it was, and if it was dangerous.
During the ritual the ghost of Ammirateus the Accursed appeared and tried both to shake the faith of the participants and to attack them, but could not touch them due to proper application of protective magic and the faith in Svarog.
After the ritual it was decided to destroy the skull.
Before evening fell, a leprous beggar came to Romata to begs for alms. He was barred from entering any house and the people tossed food on the ground for him. The beggar told the village how he was cursed for the sin of robbing graves. The sage Sasha and the healer Jasna tried to lift the curse and were able to cure the beggar of his leprosy, for which they were rewarded.
In the evening the body of the tsars steward was burned, with sage Sasha conducting the service. Afterward the skull of Ammirateus the Accursed was burned as well, preventing his spirit from taking human form.
On the way back from the burial site, the Volkolak was spotted again, and all who could cary a weapon stood guard against attack from the Volkolak in the middle of the village. The Volkolak attacked and wounded many, but was finally slain by the beggar knight Lioum with the reforged copper dagger.
After the attack, the exposed cultists were to be judged and questioned. However, the traveling merchant Smeya, who had been exposed as a cultist, became possessed by the ghost of Ammirateus the Accursed and after a short rant the ghost made Smeya break his own neck, killing him.
The second cultist was remorseful and was condemned to serve the church to atone for his sins.
The next day Frakian Angel knights entered Romata. They demanded the Trimanian people to subjugate themselves to their rule, and when they refused, the knights attacked. In the battle it was revealed that the Angel knights themselves possessed demonic magic. However, through faith in Svarog, they were still slain by the defenders of Romata.
The Frakian king had not sent troops to Triman, still licking his wounds after the disastrous Drevnedubian campaign. It was thus a great shock for everyone when the Rittern Der Engeln, the Frakian Angel Knights sailed up the river Trim and entered the province of the tsar, sacking and burning several villages before being finally defeated in Romata.
After the Frakian Angel Knights were defeated in Romata, the Jeremanians stayed a short time while Vitomirs wounds were healed by the sage and the healers on site.
Zenevieva tried to fortify the village as best as possible while everyone awaited a new attack. However, no more Frakians came. Instead, a group of Gradoslavian knights arrived. They were somewhat upset to learn that Zenevieva was appointed as steward by the Kardomirians, but did not try to install a different steward.
They made no attempt to arrest ataman Vitomir, who shortly after departed to Jereman, leaving Vladislav since the later now was serving Zenevieva.
Vera and Lioum travelled after this to the monastery of Sviatagor, where Lioum asked to be made a copper knight and was denied on the basis that it was not his time yet. They were at least interested in his tales of the volkolak and the spirit of Ammirateus.
Even though Sasha appealed to the angels for help during the ritual with the dagger, she didn’t lose any of the abilities given her by Svarog and continued holdning sermons in the church in Romata, now aided by Vojislav and Alek in addition to Boriis and Ratibor. Rumours of this soon spread, and many commoners that wanted to hear more of angels started to come to Romata.
There were no further sightings of the ghost of Ammirateus, as you foiled his plans of resurrection and subsequent conquest of Triman.
The monster hunter Dasha departed Romata happily unknowing of her part in what happened. She was outed as one of the 3 grave robbers that found the skull of Ammirateus by the cultist Alek when he was tried, and she was subsequently sought after by Gradoslavian and Kardomirian soldiers.
The ghost of Ammirateus seems to have disappeared for good, his plans for resurrection and the capture of Triman being ruined by the brave people of Romata.
The monster hunter Dasha went from Romata happily unaware of her part in what happened. However the cultist Alek mentioned her as one of the three looters who found the skull of Ammirateus when they tried him, therefore she is now wanted by Gradoslavian and Kardomirian soldiers.
The alliance between Kardomir and Ledoslavl lastet through autumn, when the kniaz of Ledoslavl proposed marriage to the kniaginia of Kardomir and was denied.
Ledoslavian knights eager to avenge the honour of their kniaz crossed the river Trim to attack Kardomir and by a mistake attacked a Jeremanian pilgrimage to the Sviatogor monastery. The Jeremanians were aided by Pereslavian scouts and managed to flee, however they lost a magical artifact during the encounter.
Kardomir, claiming rulership over the territory where this happened then declared war on Ledoslavl. Troops from both sides engaged in some skirmishes, mostly against Gradoslavian villages that were claimed to be either Ledoslavian or Kardomirian. However there was no larger battles, probably due to the snowfall which came early that year.
The Gradoslavian kniaz, whos troops captured plunderers from Ledoslavl and Kardomir demanded reparations, and threatened to dissolve the alliance between Kardomir and Gradoslavl, but was met with claims that the troops were deserters.
year 751
All sides in the conflict also accused each other for having called upon the creatures of the Black Serpent, reporting of atrocities being committed against both commoners and soldiers. Many beggar knights and monster hunters have at the same time been reported dead, many having been found slain by night and emptied of blood. The Kardomirian commoners have also more than usual complained of the size of mosquitoes in the swamps.
Because of all the attacks, Gradoslavl tried to negotiate for help from Drevnedub, who reluctantly agreed to send a small force to the territories of the tsar for peacekeeping on the condition that the local populace, including Jeremanians, should also be part of the peacekeeping force. Gradoslavl had themselves no troops to spare for this, but promised to provide supplies and weapons to this force.
Gradoslavl however failed to provide supplies and weapons and Drevnedub therefore decreed to tax the local population to support the troops. Gradoslavl accused Drevnedub and the Jeremanian ataman leading the effort for robbing the locals, and managed to get substantial support on this from the church, who saw Drevnedub and Jereman as borderline pagans.
At the same time, several villages started to chase out representatives of any kniaz, claiming double and triple taxation from them.
Many villages stopped trading food, which led to starvation. Many villages had also a decline in farming, with farmers either fleeing or being too busy serving in millitas to sow and harvest crops.
The village Romata was struck particularly hard by this as there were almost no farmers left, and had to buy crops from other villages to handle the influx of pilgrims and armed men that came after the story with the werewolf and the Frakian Angel Knights spread through the realm.
With a general food shortage in Triman, and little possibility to import from Frakia or Tulgar, the Trimanian church started gathering volunteers to sail over the sea to Vesans to buy crops there. The church hired and equipped 4 ships from Gradoslavl for this purpose and sent them of in early spring.
The ships were however attacked by an enemy fleet flying no flags of origin and barely, with the use of magic from the sages leading the expedition, managed to sail back to Woldar.