Curgulhia

Summary
King Sviatoslav III would do anything for his people - as they would do for him. Truly beloved, despite the difficulties experienced by Curgulhians in recent years, the King’s frustration with the growing threat in the South - and his neighbor’s inability to confront it - has led to drastic decisions being made in the name of security, many of which will not see the light of day for a long time yet.

A deeply traditional Kingdom renowned for its stability, Curgulhia was formed by some matter of necessity - the taiga in which they live proved too difficult a foe in the winters, and too barren a harvest in the summer for civilization to continue without constant codependence. A deeply superstitious people, Curgulhian’s reverence for blood is often considered a shocking barbarity by outsiders - though it is less sensational than their neighbors might fear. To draw blood in honor of another is the most solemn of pacts to Curgulhians, whose priests first chose Sviatoslav’s ancestors as Kings by reading their blood - predestined to rule, by true, sanguinary right. None question the bloodspeakers, and none would dare to. The prophecies they whisper into many an ear are said to come from the Blood God Enhidurh herself - and while again, shocking to an outsider’s ear, the culture and religion are almost entirely harmless. The people, who enjoy a quiet life in the woods, are fiercely loyal, and while wary of prophecy, are soon to trust outsiders.

The common working class constitutes the broad majority of Curgulhians - only the royal line lives in the palaces of Karhutters. A modest army protects its eastern border with Gosk, with whom ancient battles still afford bitter memories. The Silmicians to the south pose only the threat of attempting to buy the entire Kingdom, and Sviatoslav has put a swift, polite end to such inquiries. While open minded to many races of the world, Curgulhians share a strong distaste for Dwarves, old foes with whom they’d sooner suffer a harsh, starving winter than ask for assistance.

Beyond broad, tall taiga woods, the cold, sweeping vistas of Curgulhia offer little comforts beyond the modest homes of its inhabitants. Believing turning a guest away to be a sign of bad blood - and bad blood ought be avoided at all costs - the Curgulhians welcome many a weary traveler through their lands into their homes, as often travelers pass through on their way to Silmicia from Goska.

Inhabitants
The sprawling woods of Curgulhia, when they do open up into a clearing, often have small burgs and villages in which the primary races of Curgulhia live. While the humans prefer to live as far from the taiga as possible, the elves of Curgulhia live near to the deep woods, where they believe their communion with nature is strongest. Halflings, too, enjoy uninterrupted livelihoods - no matter how big or how small, something in the Kingdom always needs doing. Not a rich land by any means, its people are proud regardless, and envy no others. What has been made in Curgulhia has been forged by will alone - nothing here has been bought from a distant land or given freely. Only Sviatoslav’s rule is taken as a constant - all else must be worked for - and blood repays blood.

Religion
The inhabitants of Curgulhia, while afforded religious freedom, tend to worship Enhidurh, the God of Blood. Said to live within the blood of all beings, Enhidurh represents vital essence, strength, virility, and the future. Enhidurh’s status as a folk religion stretches itself to that of a cult as one ventures deeper into the woods, where self-proclaimed prophesiers and Enhidurhian priests practice blood magics and forbidden arts without reproach. While the Kingdom would crack down on such violent practices, it lacks the funds, the forces, and the need to do so. But the woods have cast longer shadows of late, and the shadow of the nearby Mount Enok looms, a smoldering threat in the distance. The Blood God is not one of darkness, but one of vitality - though foreigners are quick to name Curgulhians as practitioners of the dark arts.