Kampura

The organization of the government of this kingdom is one familiar to many of you, dear readers. Of course they have a king (who I do believe is directly descended from a pig) at the pinnacle of the hierarchy. He is seen as the executor of the old king Abbas' divine will. The king has, in the mind of the people, a mandate from Abbas to reunite Abbasynia and purge it of the evils that plague it. This divine right allows him to appoint his friends to positions of power in order to "assist with the fulfilment of the Mandate of Abbas." I refer, of course, to the infamous barons of Kampura. The king may grant land to these local lords who -- just as the king is the executor of Abbas' will -- are the executors of the king's will (and therefore are also carrying out Abbas' mandate). Barons are largely responsible for supporting the near constant warfare that rages against the Gorgogs and (occasionally) Brött. Additionally, the barons seem to be responsible for propagating the hedonistic and disgusting manner of the king's court into all of his offices. This is to say that they profit greatly from their barony at the expense of those who live and work the land there, often indulging in great feasts and orgies whilst many of their people starve and have not the means to rear children. The excesses of the king's government do not stop with the barons, but continue on in the ever smaller courts of the minor nobles appointed by the barons. These lesser nobles form the vast majority of the knights who act as commanders in the eternal wars of attempted conquest, and it is these nobles who most often interact directly with the peasantry to levy taxes and armies.   Knights of Kampura are a curious group. They can more reliably be found waging war in the Kampuran borderlands than in the lands granted to them by their lord. As such, the knightly lands in Kampura often have less emphasis on vibrant and expensive manors and more upon the fertile soil or mineral-rich mines upon which said manor may rest. Often, the knight's permanent residence is only a small villa located on relatively worthless land near the borders of his grant, thus maximizing the profitable land accessible to his subjects. Because the knights are most often waging war in the borderlands, they seek to profit off of their land via selling off the crops or minerals that lay within it. The peasants who procure these goods most often live in squalor and poverty, struggling to survive day by day. Over-farming and use of potent magic to enhance crop yield is slowly despoiling most of the arable land within Kampura, leading to an increase in bad harvests. Combined with an especially harsh winter, the poor yields could cause famine in the more destitute regions of Kampura, a problem which many lords only consider within the contexts of profit maximization. Though there are, as there always are in human lands, generous lords -- there are many more greedy nobles who negate any benefit the people may receive from a generous patron. Many of those who seek to escape the perpetual suffering and squalor of the small mining villages and farming collectives are encouraged to join their knightly lords as men-at-arms in the struggle against the Gorgogs to retake their percieved homeland.   In general, the peasants are allowed to live upon the lands of a knightly lord as long as they pay some sort of tax (in manpower, minerals, or crops, usually) and contribute wealth to the lords' coffer. Of course, these "taxes" are often exorbitant and designed to increase enrollment of peasants in the ranks of the military while lining the pockets of local lords. Those who do not join the army can expect little more than a subsistence lifestyle, though this is slowly improving in the south due to druidic influence on better farming methodology (my kin have been present attempting to contain the Chükan for nearly a century now), but life is far from idyllic. The average peasant can expect, if he survives childhood, to live a subsistence life of hard labor until he is too weak to farm or mine. Most families have two children, with many only capable of truly supporting a single child. If the family is lucky, they will have at least one son to take the father's place on the farm or in the mines. Women are seen as desirable only for their reproductive purposes and may not work the mines, though they may till the fields in absence of a suitable male. Women may also join the military, though they may never rise in rank and are often utilized primarily to "relieve" frontline troops of the stress of war (this is an abhorrent fate -- few women are allowed to serve in battle, and most are sent home only once they are with child). Often, the more "useless" child, male or female, is nominated for military service as partial payment of the taxes levied by the local lords, which are far too great for most peasants to pay off, leading to a life of debt and serfdom. Debt is passed from father to son, creating a permanent underclass of peasant workers practically enslaved by their feudal lords.

The kingdom that would be eventually called Kampura emerged quite a bit later than its neighbors. It had neither the relative security of Brött, which swiftly took control of its modern territory, nor did it have the advantage of raw power that Gorgogi enjoyed. Where Brött was able to overtake its neighbors quickly and Gorgogi had only to contend with a few less powerful neighbors, the duchy that eventually birthed Kampura was stuck in the middle of a sea of small, self-proclaimed city-states all vying for control of or influence over the Western Abbasinid Empire. By the time Abbas disappeared in 470 AC, the region was already full of fiercely competitive landlords. His evaporation was simply the spark that ignited the powder keg, as an old expression goes. The lords of the region had long since readied their forces and began to war with each other immediately upon the empire's dissolution. At that time, the Kaan family owned a relatively small plot of land in the Swamp of Bädu, which is, for the most part, utterly useless save for the few exportable herbs that lie in the swamp and is now freely given to lords of Kampura as an insult. Ironically, the poor nature of the land fooled the enemies of the Kaan to disregard the family and ignore them as a military threat.   The Kaan used their relative invisibility to slowly, over many, many years, plant loyal agents within most of the large warring households. The "Kaanite" insiders were spread throughout the western empire and proved to be far more potent a weapon than any made of steel. Assassination, blackmail, bribery, and intimidation were all used by the Kaanites to subjugate their neighbors and steal more and more territory. Subterfuge proved the superior stratagem in the west, and only the Kaan had the cleverness to wield it appropriately. Their total domination of modern Kampuran territory was complete by 766 AC.   Astute students of history will know that the conflicts across Abbasynia immediately following the Empire's dissolution are known collectively as the Succession Wars. Due to the longevity of the conflicts in the western portion of the empire (modern Kampura), there is some debate as to when the Succession Wars truly ended in the west. Some historians argue that the Succession Wars lasted until 766 AC when the Kaan family eliminated the last of their rivals, and some argue that they lasted only until around 483 AC, when the Kaanites called their spies into mass action and assassinated most of their rivals in a single strike. Whatever the scholars decide on this matter, the fact is that Kampura experienced alternating periods of relative peace and intense political intrigue from 470 to 766, leading to the formation of modern Kampuran borders. The wars here were less often fought in the field than in the shadows. An average peasant would not even know that his lord was at war at all -- one day, they simply found themselves under the purview of another lord.   Finally, in 766 AC, the political intrigue came to an end, and the Kaan were left firmly in control. What replaced the shadow wars, however, was not an extended period of peace, but of conventional warfare -- the Wars of Unification. After consolidating their power, the Kaan turned their gaze to the east, hungering for the ancient spiritual capital of Abbasina. In 770 AC, after gathering their forces, the Kaan launched a surprise offensive into what was by then Gorgogi. It was the first and most successful of the wars that would become known as the Wars of Unification. For a few months in 771 AC, the Kaanite forces managed to reach and besiege Abbasina, though they were eventually repulsed. As it is with many wars, the Wars of Unification provided no real gain, save for the vastly wealthy and warmongers within the nobility. It was during the Wars of Unification that Kampurans developed their characteristic hatred for all foreign powers and those that oppose their right to rule Abbasynia. The rage and hatred instilled in the peasantry is used, even today, as a tool by the ruling class to keep them in line, and to keep them from looking inward towards the true criminals.   Today, the king is Nozherhai Kaan, a fat pig of a man who cares more for the contents of his plate than his kingdom. His courtiers are corrupt, pompous idiots. Royal officials are easily bribed and more easily convinced to take advantage of those under their care to enrich themselves. Nozherhai surrounds himself with those who claim to believe in his grandiose visions of a restored Abbasinia, and dispenses of those who seek to lessen his ambitions. Especially unwelcome are those with sympathy for the "lower classes" of society, that seek an end to the harsh treatment and over-taxation of the peasantry. Such ideals are oft labeled as treasonous, and those who hold them are oft disposed of. Any minister who could temper the king's wild ambitions has long been killed or sent into hiding, and his excesses grow with each passing day. I believe that Nozherhai's delusions of grandeur will lead the Kampurans to ruin -- but perhaps that would finally end the squabbling in the region...