The War Behind Curtains [LCR2]

Instructions

time for the obligatory lore set-up dump i make for every country!!!! ahem... The Crown Confederation of Frieskonika is a country tearing itself to pieces, carved into pieces by centuries of infighting and personal ambition. Despite its status as one state under one flag, Frieskonika is more similar to nine separate countries that work together only on the global stage or when it benefits them. FRILAND is the de facto ruling kingdom of Frieskonika. The largest and most influential, although not the most powerful. Despite still being a monarchy at heart, Friland is the most liberal state of the Crown Confederation. This willingness to adapt and conform to modernity has allowed for Friland to take great strides in industrialization and quality of living, leaving the capital of Arbodothedes the commercial and industrial capital of the country. However, Friland's powerful position is eyed greedily by their largest rivals, who greatly desire the influence being High King would bring. Friland must remain a bastion of relative stability and technology, lest the country slip backwards into the dark ages. The King of Friland, and by extension the High King of Frieskonika, is Fried II. A young, extremely liberal king with big hopes for ending the country's wretched conflict, Fried II has proved extremely popular with Friland's populace, especially after his conservative-leaning father's tenure. While he can think fast on his feet and has great diplomatic skill, he's weak and naive, bolstering the confidence of those who wish to seize the throne. IBECOS is a small kingdom relegated to the edge of Frieskonika, the last remnant of a once mighty dynasty who ruled most of Frieskonika's eastern lands at the turn of the first millennium. Their power slowly slipped, leaving their last bastion as a small, heavily fortified kingdom. Don't let the size fool you, though. Ibecos is a rich and developed kingdom, leaving them influential, and their King Francoski VII is Fried II's right hand man in the fight for unionhood. Speaking of him, King Francoski VII is the people's king. Using the wealth amassed by his family over the last one thousand years, he meets with the mostly rural populace of his state and makes genuine attempts to fix their issues. While sided with the High King, many speculate he may have ulterior motives. He loves media attention and constantly makes public appearances, although the paranoid might point out an obvious security risk with this. ULSTRANCA is Friland's historical and contemporary arch-rival. While less developed than their sworn enemies, they bolster a huge army, with the highest military spending of any Friskonikan kingdom. Ulstranca is the main driver of the region's perpetual chaos, constantly launching raids and poking other nations to cause conflict. They also find themselves the head of the movement to dissolve Frieskonika and preserve the old order, in direct competition to the High King's views. While Ulstranca's populace aren't too fond of their governance, the kingdom comes with some strict laws, keeping them in line. The King of Ulstranca is King Macols IV, a man who refuses to even compromise. He is selfish and only looks to empower himself, picking up and discarding friends only as they become beneficial to his cause. Even though he's a distant cousin, and therefore related to High King Fried II, the two heavily dislike each other, with Macols seeing weakness in Fried, who likewise sees malice in Macols. Although his ideas seem to clash at times, he does it in pursuit of one goal: to become the absolute ruler of all the Botans, and more. THALITH is a kingdom going through major upheaval. The most hilly, mountainous, and underdeveloped kingdom, the realm is plagued with instability caused by a succession dispute. Three brothers and a cousin squabble over the crown of Thalith, leaving crown authority in the dumps as the fighters exchange hits. The current king - by some miracle, after surviving upwards of ten coup attempts - is King Pyke. Knowing his brothers were out for him upon crowning, he saw his only way out of this fight as falling back on Ulstranca's sheer might for protection, only to actually fall for their ideals. Now he finds himself a pawn of King Macols, with his entire right to rule at the mercy of the "False Monarch". ...well, i would like to do this for all the kingdoms, but i'm out of room. only summaries in the Notes and Credits for Svoades, Poladis, Triagos, Lykal, and Tresca. i guess i can go into further detail when they actually become relevant.