Maldovia

Founded in the 16th century by the mad king, Dobrin Morozoff, who wanted the perfect castle, Maldovia was to be a fortress in the most impenetrable of places, surrounded by cliffs and with only one route to access it. Such construction took decades of work from all the king’s vassals, but he was able to see it before passing away, which wasn't long after. His son took his mantle and the responsibility of it, solving many of the main problems that such an area brought. He made it so that farmers had enough barley as that crop was able to grow in the harsh conditions that surrounded the castle. He also made sure that shepherds had enough sheep for wool and meat. Sadly he died without being able to solve the most pressing issue that the new city had, a water supply.   By the 17th century, after his peaceful death his son ascended to the throne and he tackled that same problem throughout his whole life. Thankfully, by the middle of the century he finally found deep underground a lake that came very close to the city itself. Still the task to create a way to connect such place fell to the next heir, which made by the end of the century finalized an aqueduct and a tunnel large enough for two men to walk side by side, making the city the wondrous and impenetrable fortress his original creator always sought to build.   Sadly, that was not to last as by the 18th century, Vasily of Dancya was already on his way of conquering the northern part of what is now known as Berusia. Maldovia would prove to be one of his longest campaigns as the perfect city had everything to hold against even the most exemplary armies. Still, having access to more resources than Maldovia ever had, Vasily of Dancya could only win in a race for attrition. And so he did. The city was under siege for two decades and a half, until the last king died without leaving an heir to the throne. And so Maldovia surrendered and was peacefully occupied.   By the year 1744 and the death of Vasily of Dancya, one of his sons had claimed the city to himself, thinking it would be his ticket to victory and conquest of Berusia, but lacking his father's tactical prowess he found out that Maldovia was the perfect fortress but a terrible capital. Launching assaults from the city was a logistics nightmare and even while retreating, accessing the fortress was extenuating because of all the hills and slopes the army had to climb.   In the year 1756, an assassin sent by Dimitry of Dancya finally caught up to his brother and the king of Maldovia died in the highest and most protected tower of the city, his death remained a mystery until the last heir of the Dancyan family's secret was discovered, and so a dark age befell Maldovia, as the perfect city began its descent into madness.   Long before 1938, when Dimitry declared himself as the ruler of Berusia, Maldovia was taken by the same vampires that helped him, some even say that the vampire take over started right after the assassination of Dimitry's brother. The impregnable city became an inescapable prison as the vampires started doing more and more horrible acts to the population that was powerless against them. Such unmentionable acts remain so, not only for its horrors, but because refugees from the city were almost non existent and the world was happy to forget what Maldovia had become, at some point nobody even dared say its name, lest bad fortune befall them. Still the worst was yet to come.   By the year 2283 the Elderian conquest of Berusia was well under way, its inquisitors having purified a sizable portion of the region, however when they found out what the perfect city had become its liberation became a priority. Their armies marched towards the fortress, fighting Moroi and Ranmaga vampires that constantly ambushed them and disrupted their supply lines, as they had to traverse Maldovia's forest before reaching the mountains. It took its generals over 5 years to establish control over that land, and when the siege for the city started, it was clear that no army would be able to take it by force. But Elderia's zealotry was the key to their success, impossible odds were but an obstacle for them.   As years went by, Maldovia's army went from being mainly composed of thralls, to undead and monsters, to the same vampires that owned the city. In the end starving them out would become the only way to win the war. No price was high enough to purify the city, so after their supplies ran out the citizens starved to death. This would increase the undead army by a considerable amount, but the vampires needed their citizens to feed themselves. The vampires were the next ones to starve, which made them more and more desperate and that is exactly what the Elderian generals wanted. Slowly but surely Maldovia's army went from defense to offense as the enemy's captured soldiers became their only nourishment, and the inquisitors were ready. Elderia claimed victory after victory thanks to their superior strategies. In the end and when everything seemed to be finally over, to the general's horror, the impenetrable fortress was never to be emptied by such strategies, as the worst scourge the vampires could ever muster had stayed in the city, disregarding the need for nourishment. Vampires from the Lamia family were the last ones left alive, and they had ways to feed from souls. Without the need of blood and with constant souls being captured amidst the battles, the lamia vampires will prove to be the biggest horror Maldovia would ever see. Prisoners of war being kept as cattle, barely alive, just enough to feed as many vampires as they could before passing away and having the rest of their souls consumed. Maldovia truly became the city of the damned.   With all hope lost, the generals made a desperate plan that would ruin the city for centuries to come. The lamia vampires were not feeding the captured soldiers as they lacked food, still they could extend their suffering for almost a month at a time. There was something the city didn't lack. They had to take that away at all cost and there was only one way to do it, they had to poison the city's water source. Without water the captured soldiers could live at most half a week, giving the Inquisitors a much needed advantage. The water that the city used for centuries and what originally gave it its title as a perfect city, was destroyed, stripping away the title of city of the damned with it.   It would take Elderia twice the time it took for Dimitry to make Maldovia yield, but by the end of the crusade the last vampire was slain or had fled. After that the city was abandoned, left there to be forgotten as a relic of a bygone era. It wasn't until the 25th century that the influx of refugees from the Great Calamity allowed Maldovia to be reclaimed once more, and with new citizens, came new rulers... And new vampires. Today Maldovia is under the rule of Berusia. Its ruler is the duke of Maldovia, Iskren Wolinsk, however the city is actually controlled by four vampire cabals, each one having a chokehold on the different lifelines of the city.