County of Srednalf

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County of Srednalf
The Flag of Srednalf; the black dragon resembles the patriotic flame in the hearts of the Srednalfians.
Leader(s)	Count Hubert den Reycke
Founded	---
Government	Magocracy
Motto	"Wounded, but not dead"
Location	Western Obreidhion, in the region Srednalf
Demonym	Srednalfian
Language	Hsimelf
Population	2,7 million citizens

"Wounded, but not dead!"

―Count Hubert den Reycke

The County of Srednalf, commonly called Srednalf, is a small county located in the western reaches of Obreidhion. Despite living in hostile lands the county is able to manage themselves. They Import goods from all over Obreidhion, Andavronia and Yamtherici to process and sell them again, giving them a considerable profit. Due to the fact they server as a buffer state for the Andavronian Empire, and that they are now a protectorate of it, they receive a periodic payment in both supplies and money.

Etymology

The records of the origin of the word Srednalf have been have been copied over the centuries to ensure that its existance remains. The name is derived from the 3 words 'Sre', 'Edna' and 'Alf', which mean 'Courage', 'Strength' and 'Hope'. These 3 words had been attached to each other as the first lord of Srednalf believed these words to summarise his people. While normally the word would be written 'Sreednaalf' the first lord shortened it, the longer version became a title, when a lord declared himself king he would become known as Sreednaalf.

Srednalfian

Human inhabitants

Most of Srednalf its inhabitants consist of Humans who can be found in almost every corner, but since the County was taken under the protection of the Empire there were two classes. The Andavronian citizenry and the Srednalfian citizenry.

Andavronian

The Andavronian citizenry are citizens from the Empire or former Srednalfians who bought their new title, or in some cases gained. These citizens enjoy more safety, as the Count ordered the Guards and city militias to ensure their safety to maintain friendly relationships with the Empire, are seen as the elite in society and get more privileges. While the Srednalfian citizenry and the other races see this as unequal treatment towards the other classes in society they mostly are unaware of the costs that come with this title, higher taxes, expectations (it is expected from the Andavronian citizenry to fight during times of war) and keeping the population happy.

Srednalfian

The Srednalfian citizenry are the Human inhabitants native to Srednalf who do not bear the title of Andavronian, they make up for the majority of the Human population.

Elvish inhabitants

Main article: Wood Elf

The Elves in Srednalf mostly reside in the Forest of Gergub where they are left alone by the remaining races. While it is common for Elves to leave their woods and live inside the cities it is still speculated that the majority lives in the forests.

Dwarven inhabitants

Main article: Dwarf

The Dwarves live, like the Sabakes, near the mountains. But while the Sabakas only live at the foot or on the hills of mountains, the Dwarves also make cities inside the mountains. Most of the Dwarven settlements are on the northern side of the Deilkhos mountain range where they have built many great halls, guard stations and cities.

Sabaka inhabitants

Main article: Mountain Sabaka

The Sabakas living in Srednalf are concentrated near the mountains where they can be hired for all sorts of work. While they pledged their allegiance to the Count their true allegiance lies with the three prominent Sabaka families in Srednalf. These three families had hostilities between each other several decades ago causing the Count to take notion of the past events. He forced the families to sign a treaty where they swore that the hostilities would end, to ensure the treaty would be enforced he sent stewards to the main Sabaka city, these men and women make sure that the treaty is respected.

Cities

• Prewnta: Prewnta is the capital city of the County, it is a large harbor city near one of its two lakes, the Mees. It is lengthened to reach the Varheid Sea, a work that took decades but enables the County to participate in the Khyorganian trade.
• Gerburg: Gerburg is the cultural city of Srednalf, it is home to the county's magical college and the count's home.
• Edroovliv: Edroovliv is an industrial city where forges are heated almost 24/7 causing a thick smog to hang over the city. Much of the county's iron and other ores come from this city, thus making it a rich, but disliked city.
• Dol Grubmil: 

Culture

Age

The people in the county go through a series of law defined stages of aging, the first one being a 'newborn', which lasts for 6 months. For the next 18 months they will be seen as a baby to enter the stage of the child. At the age of 16 they will enter the next stage, adulthood, and after 54 years (at the age of 70) they will enter the stage of 'sagxa' (meaning 'wise').

Architecture

Art

Cuisine

The moderate climate of Srednalf causes the farmers to grow only basic food causing there to be only a small variety of recipes in the county. Merchants occasionaly import exotic spices, sugar, salt and other types of food from foreign countries to sell on the Srednalfian markets. While sugar itself cannot be found in plants in the lower regions of Srednalf's provinces, it can be found on the mountains. Berries known as the Frosty Sweetsnow get harvested once every couple of weeks to make juice of, the juice will be used as dressing on fitting recipes. The Srednalfian people do not have a specific liking for food, as such they will eat almost anything, one such example could be explained with the recipe for 'Gevuldn Khever'. This recipe can be easily made, all you would need is a exoskeleton from a dead Svala Larva, boil it to make it a little bit softer and stuff it with whatever you think fits with it.

Customs

Literature

Srednalfian literature is prized among the southern shores of Khyorgan. The writers from Srednalf are known for the  epics they've written over the years, while some are known to hire their services and write poems about whatever the contractor wishes. One of the most famous epics is the story of a young man who was sent to war by his king, the war was lost but the man returned home to save those he could. He eventually organised the remainder of the army and the able-bodied men to make a stand in a narrow canyon to allow the sick, old, wounded and others to escape death. The man was the last to fall but never left his post. The fleeing peasants managed to escape due to his actions.

Music

Srednalfian music has a large variety, while some composers are specialised in monophonical music most of the composers in Srednalf have chosen for polyphonical music usually using a large band with a variety of instruments.

Religion

Main article: Srednalfian religions

The Srednalfian people have 2 religions, the first being the Endhruin Code or Codex and the second one being the Nuvalith. The Endhruin Code is centered about guidelines that the gods made for the mortal races, wandering from the path they paved may result in death. While the Nuvalith on the other hand is centered about praising their gods and loving your neighbor. Both religions have the same gods.

Government

The Enlightened

The Enlightened are the true political power in Srednalf, with the Count at the top. This council consists of the most wise and powerful mages in Srednalf. They are tasked with diplomatic relationships, the military, the economical situation in Srednalf and science.  

Titles

Titles are ordened from important to less important.

Gezhant

The Gezhants are responsible for the diplomatic relationships with the other civilizations in Khyorgan, they have a large collection of clerics working for them who work as both representatives and secretaries. Some of the clerics ride out towards other countries and act as ambassadors, these men/women also receive clerics.

City Senates

The City Senates represent the people, they are made up of the five most prominent families and three craftsmen of each profession inside the city.

Titles

Titles are ordened from important to less important.

Endhruin Court

The Endhruin Court (the juridical branch of the Endhruin Code) is responsible for bringing Srednalfian criminals, who have broken the Endhruin Code, to justice. 

Titles

Titles are ordened from important to less important.

Codex Bearer

The Codex Bearer is the supreme head of the court, they can start and end a trial for as long as they wish. They derive their name from the fact that they always carry around a Codex wherever they go.

Justicar

The Justicar can best be described as 'persistent, faithful volunteer hunters'. A person that has been tagged a criminal can be expected to be searched for by Justicars, while they mostly venture out on their own there have been records of groups of Justicars hunting together.

Court Enforcer

The Court Enforcers are responsible for keeping the court safe during a trial and guard the prisoners. They act as a militia for the Endhruin Court.

History

The county is well known in Obreidhion and Andavronia for it's famous stand during the Battle of the Resistance in which the county defended itself during the First Andavronian-Srednalf War against a hostile Andavronian force 5 times bigger than their own, and won. However, during the Second Andavronian-Srednalf War the county faced a larger force and was unable to recover from the wounds endured during the first war and was forced to surrender. Remembering the courage and bravery shown during the Battle of the Resistance, the Senate showed mercy, ordered their troops to stand down and offered the county the choice to become a protectorate.

Military

As a county the Srednalfian military's top lacks the money to maintain an army for an indefinite period and mostly has to rely on militias to defend the cities (or in some cases the cities maintain their private army, this is only possible for the richer cities, mostly capitals of provinces) in Srednalf. Despite this they still have several units which they have at the ready and can pay at all times.

Recruitment

Recruitment is usually done by the guilds inside the cities, the persons accepted will be accepted in the guilds which are financed by the cities and thus have a small, but permanent garisson. During times of war when more soldiers are needed, the count will give the order to pay a small sum of gold to those who volunteer to join the Srednalfian army. Clerics will keep track of those who have joined trying to keep desertation to a small percent, while this brings an administrational fiasco with it, the clerics have got enough experience through the course of the years to neutralise the problems.

War Strategy

The strategy conducted by Srednalfian captains often contains sending small scouting parties ahead of the main force, drive the enemy out of strategic positions and bombard them with siege weaponry. When engaging the enemy they will try to keep a defensive line where wounded soldiers can fall back in order to get healed by mages, doctors and surgeons.

Ground forces

Infantry

• Militia: The militias are volunteers from cities that defend the walls, they are usually used as scouts, cannon fodder or simply to fool the enemy into believing the army is much bigger. Despite the lack of proper training, these farmers, craftsmen and hunters can prove quite a challenge as shown during the First Andavronian-Srednalfian War when an army of 7.000 militia troops was able to defeat the much more experienced amry consisting of 21.000 men.
• Spearmen: The spearmen are a common sight in Srednalfian armies, these men are always behind the militia troops, when the enemy attacks these spearmen charge at the enemy in tight packs causing them to penetrate those unlucky enough to continue their frontal attack. While lacking any proper armor, they are given some plating.
• Swordsmen: The swordsmen are one of the basic infantry units in the Srednalfian Armed Forces, they are mostly positioned alongside the spearmen to defend their flanks. When the spearmen have reached the enemy's positions they begin to scatter whilst trying to stay relatively close to each other.
• Pikemen: Pikemen are slow, heavy armored units, they use halberds to stop charging cavalry with deadly effectiveness. While small in numbers and easily taken down by archers or flanking soldiers, these troops can ruin a general's plan if it contains the use of cavalry.
• Knights: The knight is the strongest soldier employed on the battlefield. This rank is granted by the Count or anyone with a title. Knights are mostly from the Andavronian Citizenry.
• Archers: The archer is a fairly common unit in Srednalfian ranks, they harass the enemy with arrows until the  soldiers charge at the enemy. If the enemy would happen to attack the archers they are given some basic training with the sword. Usually the first three, out of the five rows of archers, will stand their ground while the last two rows will fire arrows at close range.
• Crossbowmen: Crossbows had become popular in Srednalf when the Dwarves from Archei made a model that uses a cylinder filled with bolts so it can fire multiple times before being reloaded. The model used in Srednalf is a modified version of that used in the Andavronian Empire, it hold less bolts but is also smaller. The best soldiers in Srednalf who utilise these are the Erdoovlivian Crossbowmen.
• Gerburgian Guards: The Gerburgian Guard are the elite soldiers of the Srednalfian Armed Forces. They wear strong mithril armors covering their entire body giving them excellent protection against small projectiles. While not used to fight wars, these soldiers have been known to be sent out to a key battle during the Second Andavronian-Srednalfian War in which they fought like lions and died like heroes.

Cavalry

The horses native from Srednalf are large sturdy animals, while not as fast as many other horses, those found in the valleys are known for their endurance and bravery, refusing to feel fear.

• Messenger: Messengers use horses of foreign countries, this is due to the much slower horses found in Srednalf. The messenger forms the connection between commanders during times of war. During a battle messengers are solely used as the commanders prefering using signals as they fear the enemy might intercept them.
• Scout: Scouts use foreign horses just like the messenger to find enemy positions and warn their superiors about the danger. They usually work in groups of three to improve the chances of success, if one dies, two more remain.
• Lancer: The Lancer is a heavy armored unit
• Winged Lancer: Winged Lancers are cavalry units from the city Dol Grubmil, unlike the Lancer these units are lightly armored. Their biggest weapon is fear and courage, a veil of mystery surrounds them causing enemy troops to be afraid of what is to come. They use lances, javelins, and longswords. They usually carry a shield on their back. Some records mention that on several occasions there are second riders who use a (cross)bow to kill more enemies.
• Mounted Archer: Mounted archers ride around the battlefield harassing the enemy with arrows, they never get too close to the enemy and act in a tight group, if one is in trouble, another will help him.
• Mounted Crossbowmen: The mounted crossbowmen are troops that attack in group, fire some bolts and retreta to reload to attack again afterwards.
• Dragoon: The Dragoon is a lightly armored unit trained around the parts of Edroovliv where they can easily get guns. They ride around on their horses carrying two rifles and 4 small guns with them, they fire all of them from a close distance before charging at the enemy with a longsword.

Nav​y

• Caravel: A small, highly manoeuvrable, three-masted ship used by the Srednalfian Trading Companies for long voyages of trading and exploration. Lightly armed compared to other ships, but capable of undertaking and surviving long voyages in the open sea, making it possible to discover far off places. It is only rivalled by the Fluty.
• Fluyt: The Fluyt is a cargo ship constructed in the Srednalfian harbors, the secret of this ship lies in its shape which allows it to cross rivers other ships can't. This ship was designed before the construction of the canal which caused the count of that time to come up with the idea of decreasing the canal's depth to ensure only the Fluyt can cross it.
• Galleon: The galleon is a moderately fast and powerful military ship that is capable of training and transporting soldiers directly onto foreign soil. While extremely durable, the Galleon is slower than many ships and can't retreat effectively from combat with them. It also lacks the max range of many other ships, and this can be exploited by an opponent as a means of overcoming the durability and shoreline attack power of the ship.
• Battleship: A powerful vessel in the seas, a Srednalfian battleship has a moderate hull but is usually manned by an experienced crew. Stable in heavy seas, and roomy enough to carry provisions for long voyages, these sturdy ships are well armed, sporting broadside firing cannon arrays, as well as moderate compliments of onboard marines.

Airforce

The County does not have many airships, those they have are usually used for scouting or transport or are owned by the Srednalfian Trading Companies. To solve the lack of any air units the county began to use insects to counter enemy air units.

• Skybuzz: The Skybuzz is a small three occupant vessel that, despite its small size, can reach moderate speed. The tasks of the crew consists of steering, navigation and scouting.
• Longkang: The Longkang is a large beetle capable of spitting acid at enemy troops, they are mostly used to rain death upon concentrations of enemy units but are also employed to clear enemy troops from airships for boarders to commandeer it.

Srednalfian Anthem "O Holy Land"

The Srednalfian anthem is sung simoltaniously by 5 men with low, deep voices. While the leadsingers sing the anthem there are another 20 men who hum along. Instruments used for the anthem are violins, flutes, drums and an instrument that could be described as a xylophone-like piano. 

O derboar Srednalf, (O precious Srednalf,)
O heilg lend der voadren, (O holy land of fathers,)
Ons ziel en ons hart zen Ou geweid, (Our soul and our heart are devoted to you,)
Onvoard ons krecht en 't bload ven ons oadren, (Accept our strenght in the blood of our veins,)
Weest ons doel in arboad en in stroad, (Be our goal in labor and in battle,)
Bloeit, o lond, in eindroacht ni te breiken, (Flourish, o county, ubreakable in union,)
Weest immer ouzelf, en ongeknecht, (Always be yourself, and non-servant,)
'T weurd getroaw da ge onbevriest moagt spreke. (The word faithfully that you can speak fearlessly.)
Vur Groaf, vur Vreihoad en vur Rhecht. (For Count, for Freedom and for Law.)
Vur Groaf, vur Vreihoad en vur Rhecht. (For Count, for Freedom and for Law.)
Vur Groaf, vur Vreihoad en vur Rhecht. (For Count, for Freedom and for Law.)

O voadrelend, o edel lend der Srednalfians, (O Fatherland, o noble land of Srednalfians,)
Zoa mochtig stjeeds duur muud en werkzoamheed, (So powerful through courage and efficacy,)
De werld ziet verwunderd ouw telgn, (The world sees astonished your children,)
Oan 't huufd von khunst, hendel en noaverheid, (At the head of art, trade and prosperity,)
De Vreiheidszun giet licht op uwe wegn, (The Sun of Freedom enlightens you path,)
En onbevroasd stoart gij den thukemst oan, (And fearlessly you stare at the future,)
Gij mint uwe Vhorst, zoan lievde struumt ou tegen, (You love your Lord, his love flows from you,)
Zoan hant gleidt ou op de gloriboan, (His hand guides you on the Way of Glory,)
Gij mint uwe Vhorst, zoan lievde struumt ou tegen, (You love your Lord, his love flows from you,)
Zoan hant gleidt ou op de gloriboan, (His hand guides you on the Way of Glory,)
Zoan hant gleidt ou op de gloriboan, (His hand guides you on the Way of Glory,)
Zoan hant gleidt ou op de gloriboan, (His hand guides you on the Way of Glory,)

International Relationships

Andavronian Empire

While the county of Srednalf is a protectorate and ally of the Empire, there has been a rise of tension lately caused by increased taxes and aggresion against the population. The Count tries his best to keep his people from revolting.

Notable Srednalfians

• Hubert den Reycke: Current Count of Srednalf and Second Archmage of the College of Prewtna.