Holy Principality of Kryziddia

The background for the Faithful Banners Rebellion and the formation of the Holy Principality of Kryziddia starts with rising influence of Blazennian settlers and knights in the government of Spólństawo. In 1961, this influence would culminate in the decision to replace Wysoki Wyunałt with Blazeology as the primary religion of the state. Understood by most to be more of a diplomatic move, the decision was still strongly opposed by local clergy but lacked the populist anger that would later fuel the rebellion. The decision of the court to continue respecting local deities and not forcing the religion onto their population assuaged any fears the locals might have, and the continual use of the military arm of Wysoki Wyunałt, the Faithful Banners, ensured the state still paid some patronage to Wyunałti organizations. Increasing ties with the Blazennians would allow Spólństawo to gain better trade ties with the south, in theory, and by coordination efforts with the Blazennian Empire, Spólństawo was able to fight in the Dennonian Wars alongside them, carving up large tracts of land and establishing a proper land border with Blazennia, rather than relying on the tenuous riverine connections.

As the war wound down, Spólństawo's government decided that the country would probably be tired of conflict and seek to return to a peaceful life, and so would go along with harsher efforts to convert the population in spite of promises not to. Potentially motivated by the rise of the heretical Blazelukhó sect, this move would instead backfire. Although the Faithful Banners were still in the south of the country fighting Erleting, they immediately began a march for the capital. En route, they were joined by peasant forces, while the main body of the clergy fled to the coast. The Faithful Banners Rebellion, as it has become known as, was chaotic at first, with various bands of guerilla fighters on both sides skirmishing in local conflicts and various attacks on isolated Blazennian homesteads being noted. With the majority of the military concentrated in the south as well as in the capital region, rebels were able the seize most of the coastal provinces plus the majority of Upper Spólństawo. Still, cooperation between the Faithful Banners, the clergy, and various local nobility who sided with the rebellion was difficult, giving the royal army an upper hand.

The rebels would soon attempt to advance on the capital of Spólństawo, Kalishnikov, with Spring of 1978 seeing pitched battles across the land. Gambling on the defense of the capital with reserve forces, most of the remaining royal army in Kalishnikov would march out to meet the Faithful Banners, joining with Blazennian militias and parts of the army which had remained in Dennonia to stage a three-pronged attack on the Banners. The gamble worked, and the Banners were scatted- parts of the column fled into the woods and into the neighboring nation of Pryzelfów, while much of the rest broke through and headed for the lake, where they would make their stand. Curiously, many of the bodies from this engagement could not be found afterwards, with both sides accusing the other of artificially manipulating the numbers of of using dark magic on these fallen soldiers.

The lakeside stand would similarly be shrouded in mystery, as the rebel army somehow found boats and escaped to the coastal provinces in the night after several sorties the day before. This aid baffled the Spólństawan loyalists, but eventually they would accuse the Kingdom of Krókłość, of sponsoring the rebels. Though coordination doesn't go quite that deep, Krókłość has certainly provided support to the rebels, with funds ramping up in recent years.

Despite the escape of the majority of the Faithful Banners to the north, the rebels were still on the back foot, and despite minor gains in the rest of 1978 and early 1979, when winter set in 1979 their offensives would grind to a halt. During 1980, things became even more chaotic as plague ravaged the land. Small outbreaks had begun in the summer of 1978, mostly localized to Upper Spólństawo, but things soon worsened as cases spread across the nation and both the royal and rebel armies suffered heavy losses to desertion and plague, weakening their ability to push into each other's controlled territories. Although local operations to root out rebels occurred, the remaining organized forces within coastal Spólństawo and the hinterlands were not so easy to take down, and rebels continued staging attacks from their hideout in the Pryzelfówy forests.

With both Spólństawo and Kryziddia on the back foot in 1980 and chaos setting in during 1981, the coasts were an easy target for Voðeren raids, marking the first time since the Golden Age of Raiding they had been so open. Breaking their longstanding alliance with Spólństawo, the nation of Røðendjem would soon launch attacks along the coast, culminating in the seizure of the Cypcdek Headlands, a province of Spólństawo which was occupied by Kryziddia and with a primarily Maryzynye population. Although Spólństawo and Kryziddia weathered the raids, they sent the situation further into chaos, with both sides forced to modernize their coastal defenses as opposed to prioritizing winning the war.

The quiet of the mid-80s allowed Spólństawo in particular to leverage their population advantage; by now, almost insurmountable, to launch one last push into Kryziddia. Unfortunately for Spólństawo, this attack would grind to a halt rather close to breaking the remaining Kryziddian lands into two, with desperate attacks forcing the retreat of Spólństawan forces and reinforcement of the corridor, lest Kryziddia encircle their forces. Even still, Spólństawo might have been able to force a victory if not for the rising problem of zombies.

Zombie plagues are relatively rare, typically occurring at the behest of a dark mage, and although none within the realm are currently known with the power to cause such an event, zombies had been slowly popping up as plague death tolls rose. While by the mid-80s most of the plague's last few lingering illnesses had either died or recovered, this hid the reality of zombies arising within the countryside and beginning a different sort of plague. Although only a few sighting had been made in the late 1970s, due to infecting live people things started to spiral out of control. Consequentially, Kryziddia and Spólństawo were both forced to sign a ceasefire, turning their attention to the undead crisis. This ceasefire has thus far lasted slightly over a decade (since 1989), as zombies keep popping up every time just as it appears they have all been dealt with...

In order to boost international legitimacy, Kryziddia's local nobility was elevated by clerical decree in 1991, with a Prince taking the throne. However, the power of the new royals is kept heavily in check by the clergy and their banners, in order to ensure the royalty can never challenge the clergy's authority again.