Krolar

About

Krolar is a collapsed empire. A collective of approximately two dozen small kingdoms, duchies and other variants of feudal statehood, in a general disarray without clear leadership or established new identities beyond the glory of the former empire.

Dominant Culture

The majority of the Krolaryn sub-nations follow a similar socio-cultural pattern. Having a common history, language and religion helps maintain a connected cultural identity.

Government

Krolar is no longer a cohesive empire under a singular government, instead it has broken into a large number of smaller city-states, kingdoms, and republics.

Composite Sub-Nations

There are twenty four sub-nations which claim former membership under the Krolaryn Empire.

• Fellmarch
• Galweelg
• Principality of Perhan
• Westermark

Military

As each sub-nation has its own military stratagems, and structures there is no overall pattern to such matters.

Controlling Body

The head of state is usually the commander in chief of their nation's military, although in some cases a minister of defense or war holds that position.

Size

Varies with sub-nation, based on operational need and available population.

Organization / Ranks

Larger sub-nations may recruit an army through vassalage, and often include the practice of using yeoman to ensure a certain number of soldiers are available to all levels of the noble hierarchy.

Often mercenary companies are employed as needed to avoid complexities of feudal military obligations. With so many sub-nations vying for rightful claim to the empire's past glory and conflicts often arising between neighbours, mercenary soldiers are in demand. Foreign companies owing no allegiance to an existing crown are sometimes preferred to avoid additional complexities of shifting loyalties when warring with one's distant cousins.

Common rank structure in these companies is as follows:

General

The highest ranking noble officer in any army. Usually not a member of the mercenary companies themselves, but the monarch or other noble from the host nation.

Commander

A number of lesser nobles will be put in charge of units of up to 1,000 soldiers of mixed roles. Again this rank may be external to a mercenary company, although in the largest companies such a rank is typically the founder or leader of the organization itself.

Captain

A veteran common soldier who is in command of up to 100 soldiers, usually of a single type. With small mercenary companies this person may be the founder.

Lieutenant

A veteran commoner soldier in command of a squad of up to 20 soldiers.

Roles / Equipment

The available soldiers can be generally categorized in a manner typical of some more established nations armies.

Heavy Horse

Usually a noble knight, where available, upon a war horse. Used in cavalry charges. Typically armed with a broadsword, lance, and kite shield. Secondary weapons may include a variety of maces, flails, hammers or picks. Wearing a mix of plate and mail armour.

Light Horse

Skirmisher cavalry, often used as auxiliary forces or to provide flanking maneuverability around other units. Armed with Broadsword, lance, and round shield. Secondary weapons may include a variety of maces, flails, hammers, or picks. Light horsemen wear quilt, or leather armour, with some mail or ringmail.

Heavy Foot

Baseline soldier used in defensive lines, and in assaults on defended positions. Armed with polearms, and kite shields. Secondary weapons may include falchions, axes, maces, flails, hammers or picks. Usually wearing mail or ringmail.

Medium Foot

Baseline soldier used in general melee combat and sieges. Armed with spears and round shields. Falchions, axes, maces, flails, hammers or picks may be wielded as secondary weapons. Wear scale, leather, or quilt armour.

Light Foot

Auxillary footsoldiers, lightly armed, often used as skirmishers, or scouts. Lightly armed with spear and round shields. Secondary weapons are typically falchions or axes. Usually wearing leather or quit armour. Some light foot will carry shortbows if used in a skirmish role.

Archers:Ranged attacking archers used prior to direct engagements. Armed with composite bows and a secondary weapon, typically a falchion or axe. Lightly armoured in leather, kurbul, or quilt.

Crossbow Archers

Medium foot soldiers who carry a crossbow, and tower shield. Most often used for sieges, and in defensive formations. Secondarily armed and armoured as medium foot.

Engineers

Skilled in the construction and operation of siege equipment, design of defensive earthworks, or bridges. Some are also specifically trained as sappers, for tunneling beneath structures to weaken defenses. Such specialists are typically armed and armoured as light foot.

Integration with Civil

In the case of nations relying on vassalage to provide an army, the nobility, and many commoners are part-time soldiers in addition to whatever profession they have. Professional soldiers may also find work as town and city watchmen, or as household military for noble houses throughout the region.

Religion

Dominant Religion

The dominant religion throughout the former empire of Krolar is worship of the Twinned Goddess. Regional differences in the church exist, but the core tenets and structure remain consistent across all sub-nations.

Minor Religions

There are very few alternative religions represented within Krolar. Persons from adjacent tribal nations may still follow their old beliefs, either in addition to, or as a hybrid belief system incorporating, the Twinned Goddess.

In some coastal areas, worship of Ytrure the sea goddess of the Ru-Pani has taken root, and even completely replaces belief in the Twinned Goddess in small settlements.

Integration with Civil

For most of Krolar the link between church and state is fairly strong, as the various monarchs turn to the church to give them legitimacy. The succession of monarchs and most criminal legal proceedings are strongly influenced by the doctrine of the church.

Architecture

Most buildings in the former empire follow similar patterns in materials and design. Some variance has arisen during the past few centuries with regional preferences shifting away from a singular national aesthetic.

Materials

Locally quarried stone, clay bricks, timber, and daub and wattle are common. In some areas, particularly around the Krolaryn Wastes, adobe is also a frequent material choice.

Designs

With allowance for regional differences, the general designs follow a preference towards practical and efficient floor plans, with some inventive methods for summer cooling and winter heating.

Houses

Typically a singular large communal room for social activities with a separate bed chamber for the whole family. Wealthier homes may have individual bedrooms for the parents, and for each occupant over the age of 4 sols. In urban environs, multi-family dwellings may be subdivided by floors, or into apartments. Row housing is common in more densely populated town districts, and three or four story dwellings are possible.

Workshops

Workshops are often incorporated into the familial common room in rural areas, but may be a third room in urban dwellings depending on the trade, and wealth of the family.

Warehouses / Barns

Barns tend to be shallow peaked rectangular structures with, with separate single story storage sheds attached with covered walkways, or shared awnings. Urban warehouses rarely exceed 2 stories in height, and include ramps for accessing upper levels.

Fortifications

Fortified structures will typically have a perimeter wall with small turreted towers at key points along their circumference, and a gatehouse strong point. One or more defensible buildings inside this outer wall will serve as a keep, and home for local noble residents.in border or frontier regions such structures may include a variety of workshops and storage within the walls, rather than in a separate village nearby. The wealth of the owner dictates the materials used, typically some combination of timber or stone.

Temples / Churchs

Most churches to Peolu and Ryla are stone and timber constructions which include a primary chapel that is circular in design, with a few attached dormitories, or other purposed buildings arrayed in a petal-like manner. Larger complexes in a few cities have more in common with keeps than with rural temples.

Palaces / Castles

Every sub-nation of the former empire has some sort of fortified structure used as the base of governance. These cover a range from simple keeps, to elaborate walled towns with impressive palaces as a centerpiece. These are usually of a stone and timber construction.

Timekeeping

Timeline

Founding

The original empire was founded by Umahn Krolar, who united several tribal groups and subsequently conquered the entire region.

Collapse

Mostly due to a lack of confidence in the empire after it conceded to an independent Iskander in 139 YG. The ruling family was fractured, and the empire split into smaller warring kingdoms and principalities. Different regions ceded at different times, but once the momentum was built it couldn't be stopped. Local groups found more in common with the immediate neighbours than the people in more distant parts of the empire, and united over these similarities and differences. The whole process took about two centuries. Even though people across the whole region still consider themselves Krolaryn, they are split into roughly two dozen different states at this time.

Key Events

• 98 YG - Subjugation of the Isk Archipelago
• 131-138 YG - Iskandean War for Independence
• 139 YG - End of hostilities with Iskander

Geography

Location

The Empire of Krolar spanned the central north of Annexea from the shores of the Torcastan Sea north to the Krolaryn Wastes, and from the forests of Western Annexea to the Sildar Mountains in the east.

Persons

List of Krolaryn Persons

See Also

Krolaryn (culture)

Krolaryn (people)