gunfeftest mini-lore

REPUBLIC OF DORIA:

A large coastal republic, bordering the Warm Waters to the east. It is a wealthy (with fishing and metal industries providing most of wealth) and strong nation (albeit it relies on western mercenaries more often than its own armies). Its only neighbours are the Kingdom of Alzace to the north-west and city-state of Cavalien to the south-west. It is also the second and last of the nations where the worship of the Sea King has stronger roots than the Thunderlord.

KINGDOM OF ALZACE:

A long-lasting Kingdom that saw the fall of the Lomaian Empire five hundred years ago. It has two important cities; the seat of the Royal Family, the Capital of Berion, and the Holy City of Perieux, where The Cult of the Thunderlord has its headquarters. The Kingdom's northernly location and its size means it has numerous neighbours, with whom it often warred in the past: The Republic of Doria (southeast), Grand Duchy of Corrada (south), as well as the City-States of Nisea, Turion and Valeria (south, south-west, west-south-west, respectively).

GRAND DUCHY OF CORRADA:

The Grand Duchy was once a part of the Kingdom of Alzace, but the Nine Years' War saw the southern lands secede under the skillful leadership of Duke Alfred and his wife-general, Lady Amalia, known better as 'The Queen of the Battlefield'; it was also the first war in which the firearms and cannons played a pivotal role. Grand Duchy relies as much on the firearms as on its elite cavalry, which itself stems from the long tradition of Knightly Orders that kept Alzace's, and then Corrada's, unruly neighbours at bay.

ROMAION CITY-STATES:

The City-States were once provincial capitals of the Lomaion Empire, before the internal strife and the empowerement of the local Dukes torn apart the once mighty empire. The City-States then went in different ways, but kept the governing systems and the population adheres to the Elementalist Way. Some City-states, between the Fall of Lomaion and current times were absorbed by their neighbours. The ones that currently remain are:
Cavalien: the only City-State on the shores of the Warm Waters, Cavalien has a large percentage of Sea King's worshippers. It is also one of the largest suppliers of military-grade steel in the region.
Nisea: It was the alchemists of City-State of Nisea who first discovered the explosive properties of the black powder. It took them thirty more years before they developed the first cannons, and another twenty to develop hand-held firearms. Everyone thought of these inventions as cumbersome and without future, but it took only a generation and the tactical victories of the founders of Grand Duchy of Corrada to prove everyone that firearms are indeed fearsome weapons with a future.
Turion: the decrepit centre of the Elementalist Way, the religious order of Anima mages that once formed an important part of Lomaion culture. The power of the Elementalists waned as the Thunderlord's cult gained strength, and their theological debates further pushed the '3+1' magic balance into obscurity. Elementalists of Turion are the only ones who call themselves that; all others firmly use 'Anima' as name for their school of magic.
Valeria: a powerful city-state that adopted firearm usage right after the Corrada, and in just span of thirty years managed to gobble up two other city-states and even take over parts of the Alzace's south-western borders.