Bawelna was once a land of agrarian tribes vying for ebbing power. Dappled by mosquito infested lakes and a vicious volcanic chain to its south, it stayed the eyes of many would-be conquerors. The chief example of this being Verenjost “the Vile” a hegemonic empire which had swept the land’s river tribes to the West. With luck, or perhaps lack of, this modernizing force found colonizing further further past the river Ruére and into the bowels of the Wyoski mountains to be a frivolous task. Instead the infamous scourge swept northward into the lands of the desert heathens. Here the western plague was defeated, as much by the land as by the inhabitants, and driven back from the lands of Sorace.

With the survival of the eastern world secured by this unlikely of saviors. The will of god took the mighty Verenjost in sickness. Seeing their freedom as won by no other than divine intervention, the head religious figure of the free tribal holds and a former nobleman of the river confederacy, Duke Gulac, took the holy crown. Afterall it was through his prayers that the great and peaceable folk of Bawelna were saved, though penniless and malaria ridden they may be. Fueled by their position as the only free heirs of the river folk, the clans of Bawelna were forged into a competent--if slightly autocratic-- government for centuries to come.

Though united under a tattered flag, the region’s economy soon exploded with agricultural advances. With sustenance in plenty, the vast majority of lands were turned over to cash cropping. Cotton became king and ruled every facet of Bawelsh life. Cotton barons became so wealthy that their power often supplanted the crown ten times over. The government became a puppet state for these mercantile interests, but remained an important part of cultural life for the proletariat.

At the turn of the industrial era, a new force emerged on the Bawelsh landscape. Textile. The southern mountains, unprofitable for crop yet well nestled in the coast and mouth of the Ruére river, became overrun with factories to refine the produce (cotton in particular) of the north. Timshuk Trading Co. became an international name overnight.

Profits were massive, and with such new money came new eyes hungry for their take. Sorace, the once saviour of the westfold, became its captor. Twenty years ago the northern menace launched an invasion into Bawelna, tearing through her northern reaches with brutal efficiency. The border once level with the Confederacy, was rapidly battered southward. The armies sent to counter the incursion tattered under the command of the young recently crowned Duke. A boy of twelve he was slaughtered in combat during the opening days of the war. Without another heir to inherit the throne, the monarchy had vanished with a blood filled wimper.

However, vitalized by the sacrifice of their boyhood martyr (and inflowing sums of mercantile interests at home and abroad), the Bawelsh defences became feverous. With their retreat across the land and the destruction of its infrastructure and crop in their wake, Bawelsh forces began to stall their superior foe. Sparse victories were won against outstretched Soracean forces by defeat in detail. From the fray a military hero of the Bawelsh people emerged, Szymon Montague. The sizable cotton baron (fit with his own army and means of financing them), was at the helm of most of the pyrrhic victories Bawelna saw. Seizing the opportunity of a Soracean political change and stall in their advance, the historic metropolitan trading hub of Barakburn was amassed with grain and troops to last the winter. With their flank secured by the neutral border with the Confederation of the Ruére, a last stand took place here that changed the fate of the war. With its strategic importance and ability to launch massive strikes from the area, it was a city that could not be ignored. And as such, Sorace poured millions of rounds and men into the makeshift fortress of flesh. Envelopment after counter envelopment. Weeks turned into months. Thousands of casualties turned into tens, hundreds, nearly a million as the western front was consumed by the stagnant cyclone of steel and mud.

To the East Soracean advances progressed, but with most of their resources focused on the city of Barakburn, Colonel Szymon Montague “The Crop Fox” was able to hold much of the Soracean advance at bay. With mounting naval victories (heavily funded by Timshuck Trading Co.), as well as the unleashing of U-boats in the Bay of Sorace, the Eastern front became a meddlesome place to supply across millions of acres of burnt and shelled land. With ever increasing political pressure from home, the Soraceans were consigned to armistice. A heroic victory was won! Its cost: ~half a million men, women and children dead, thousands of square kilometers annexed and occupied, a thousand year monarchy extinguished, billions of dollars in lost revenue, sacked trade routes, and refugees fleeing to Confederation of the Ruére in droves. But momma didn’t raise no bitch.

The Bawelsh civilization survived and has hustled its way back onto the center stage of international commerce. Reeling from the losses of its able bodied workforce, the cotton fields (now dotted with cement machine gun pits, anti aircraft guns, and a smattering of howitzers) have now been supplemented with the able hands of those abroad. Some prisoners of war on lease from warring neighbors, Soraceans captured in the War of Northern Aggression, and still more from uncivilized colonies of the East. It is, of course, best not to ask the origin of such rabble. Rather ungentlemanly. Much better to sip mint juleps and oil the guns should Northern invasion return again.


The lands of Bawelna were once held by a negligible monarchy. Though their rule was modest and altruistic, their power parity in the region was never to the snuff of their neighbors. In fact, their kindred ties to the river kingdoms westward were often the crutch which kept their impoverished fiefdom intact. To their south, the mountain communities of Parowy became the suzerain of the distant Kolbarite for centuries. Their holds on the city-state only being relinquished under the mounting political pressures of the Ruére, and general inconvenience of the land.

However, in this weak government there was allowed to burgeon a second type of rule: those who owned the crop. With vast swaths of private land under the control of excessively rich barons, the scene was set for an economic revolution. That tide came with the advent of cash cropping. Entire provinces became devoted the the output of luxury goods, chief among them cotton. With the industrialization of the newly reclaimed region of Parowy, goods were able to be processed and shipped the world over. The wealth of this second oligarchy soon surpassed even its beloved, if feeble monarchail line.

After the invasion of Sorace and the complete evisceration of the monarchical line, the vacuum of power was readily seized by the cash oligarchy. Some even suspecting foul play in the convenience of this arrangement. Never the less, the arch barons of their respective enterprises became de facto dictators of their respective holds. The chief of these men being Szymon Mongegue, a man who held nearly half the northern cotton crop and has only increased in power since. To his south, in the billowing smoke stacks of Parowy, lies the only man who could rival his coffers; the infamous superintendent of Timshuk Trading Co., Claminy Timshuk.

As it stands, the Grand Duchy of Balwena is a land under mercantile, autocratic rule. With all guns pointed north, she stays afloat by men who have seized her reins to protect her with full strength. Ideal is not a word that can be cast on this land, but survival certainly is; and by the grace of god it will remain.



1) Free to Practice Religion?

Technically, yes. The north certainly retains a much greater variety, but it is unwise to mark oneself as too much of an outsider in this political climate. Citizens/laborers/dreks of the southern city-state of Parowy nearly all follow the teaching of the Goddess, in line with their centuries of foreign influence and the many places of worship wedged between smoldering piles of coal.

2) Freedom of Movement?

No. With the looming threat of subterfuge from the north, all papers are thoroughly checked by military personnel or the foreman incharge of the citizen’s supervising plantation. Men and women of higher standing are--of course-- not bothered by such frivolities.

3) Freedom of Speech?

No. While subtly in the form of song or prose is often allowed with a callowed smirk, it remains heavily monitored. Less gentlemanly versions of descent are often met with a noose.

4) Freedom of Assembly?

Men and women are welcome to assemble in the market, welcome to assemble in the field, welcome to even assemble at a soul-filled pig roast; but if you get caught with a sign in your hand, it will be considered a fancy-worded target.

5) Freedom of Press?

No. With fake news filling the air, and propaganda finding its way from the north, all media is tightly controlled by the government. Literature, music, scientific articles, though often groomed by “authorities,” are generally accepted and encouraged.

6) Right to a fair trial?

When gentry are at fault, they are often awarded a grand trail with audiences and even radio broadcasts. Celebrities to their own right.

Commoners are walked out back and given a birdload to the head.


Though technically conscripts, the Bawlesh army and navy has existed in a nearly feudal system since the War of Northern Aggression some 20+ years prior. Most able bodied citizens are impressed to arms in some capacity. As such, the bulk of the agricultural workforce has become subsidized by mechanization and foreign labor of often tenuous acquisition. Still, due to a disproportionate propaganda and decimation of anti-nationalist journalism, the moral of the forces is at an all time high with frequent suicides of citizens deemed “unfit to serve.”

With the shattering defeat of the Bawelsh cavalry brigades in the opening volleys of the war (the crown monarch falling amongst the butchered hooves), the navy has become the crown jewel of Balwelna. With u-boat festered strike-groups, victories against both Soracean military and civilian targets was a major turning point in the onslaught. Now, the ground forces focus on the meat and potatoes of established defensive positions with the true innovation and financing being siphoned to the marine arm of the Bawelsh Amphibious Strike Group.

Scared, hungry boys.

















Colonel Szymon Montague “The Crop Fox”
- Current Regiant of Bawelna
- Most profitable cotton barron of the northern plain, became a war hero in the invasion of Sorace. Current dictator of the rebuilding state. Highly educated and well traveled.



The Honorable Claminy Timshuk
- Founder of Timshuk Trade Co.
- Industrialist of the South East making his money off of textiles and trade of Bawelsh processed goods. Financer of its navy. Rumored to have consorted with Sorace invasion decades ago for the political and economic gain of his business.