Vladimirov, Barony of
by Michael BerryArea:
392 square miles
Population:
AC 1000 - 700
AC 1014 - 625
Villages: (population values are given for AC 1000 and AC 1014)
Dmitrovsk (140/120): is the administrative and commercial center of the Barony located southeast of the Baron’s tower in the forested hills upon the main caravan trail.
Zisdra (150/135): is the largest settlement in the Barony near the southern edge of Vladimirov on the main caravan trail. It is the main producer of agriculture in the Barony.
Slutsk (75/60): is a small settlement sitting in a mountain valley below the Baron’s tower providing what services the Baron and his guards may need.
Chatimsk (49/45) is a logging village in the northwestern mountains.
Lichvin (65/60): is in the northeastern mountains and supports the lead mine in the nearby mountains.
Ethnic groups:
Boldavians 70%, Outerworlders 10%, Flaem 10%, Heldann 5%, Ethengarian 3%, Others 2%.
Languages:
Boldavian, Thyatian
Ruler:
Baroness Szasza Markovitch (Vampire born 970, M12, 3rd Circle Witch, AL - Chaotic)
House:
Igorov
Military:
The Noble Guard of Markovitch was once a quite efficient military unit who assisted the Grand Army of Glantri (GAG) in patrolling the border of eastern Glantri against the Ethengarians. Nowadays though, most of the veteran guards have long since left their employment, as many of the old guards didn't 'measure-up to the Baroness’ exacting standards. The patrols to the border have stopped and now days the guard remains within the Barony and whose primary purpose is to protect the Baroness' tower. Today the Noble Guard consists of 20 F3 (chain, swords, longbows, riding horses, Charisma 16+). These men are all totally loyal to the Baroness and are drawn from the most handsome and toughest men in the Barony and surrounding area.
Food:
Subsistence
Trails:
One poor trail leads south from the village of Markovitch to the Czaikow Road, the main east west trail, just outside the border of the Barony to the south. Several bad quality trails leave from the village into the mountains and one leads to the Baroness' tower on a low mountain overlooking the village and the hills below it.
Economics:
The Barony of Vladimirov is a poor Barony. The mountains around the Barony have produced little but small amounts of lead which brings a bit of income. Prospectors though continue to pry into the mountains looking for deposits of minerals that might prove valuable. Much the same as higher up in the Wendarian Range, so far they have had no luck. Other than the small amounts of lead coming down out of the mountains the primary source of income are the large flocks of game birds that, for unexplained reasons, tend to migrate to the Vladimirov area in the summer. The birds are prized in the kitchens of New Averoigne and throughout Glantri. The week when they traditionally descend upon the Barony is celebrated with an annual festival in which prizes are given out to those who bag the biggest bird and for those who catch the most. The weeklong festival ends with a great outdoor celebration the night before the Barony sends its catch to Rymskigrad for sale and export throughout Glantri. Typically much of what the Barony makes during the year is earned within the course of 10 to 14 days. Not surprisingly, frugality is second nature to Vladimirovians. There is little luxury here, but very often what they do earn in that week or two can see a family through a year. Since prospects economically are so bleak here, many of the best and brightest leave the Barony at the first opportunity, rarely if ever to return, to seek a better life in Rymskigrad or even as far away as Kopstar or the Capital itself.
Vladimirov Monthly Financial Ledger (figures from AC 1000)
Main resources: 1 animal, 1 mineral
5 hexes: mountain; borderland; pop. 280; tax 14 dc
2 hexes: forested hills; borderland; pop. 280; tax 14 dc
Vladimirov: village; pop. 140; tax 14 dc
Total population: 140 rural, 560 borderland
Tax Income: 42 dc
Resource Income: 210 dc
Standard Income: 336 dc
Council Tax: 117 dc
Net Cash: 135 dc
Overhead (35%): 47 dc
Available Cash: 88 dc
With 3024 XP/year, in 10 years the Baron could gains 30240 XP.
Alternate: 504 XP/year.
History:
Barons of Vladimirov
Aleksei Markovitch 859-881
Piotr Markovitch 881-894
Konstantin Markovitch 894-900
Vladislav Markovitch 900-938
Boris Markovitch 938-970
Nikolai Markovitch 970-995
Saszha Markovitch 995-
The Barony of Vladimirov was founded in response the the Light of Rad in 859. The creation of the Principality of Boldavia meant that the existing Barony of Rymskigrad was to be dissolved and annexed to the new Principality under Prince Morphail. By the mechanics established by the Light of Rad, if an existing fief was to be annexed to a Principality, the Prince was allowed to propose the creation of a new fief for the dispossessed noble. The Council of Princes thus would automatically grant that fief, provided the noble fulfilled all the requirements and provided he accepted the Light of Rad decision. The Barony of Rymskigrad was annexed into the new Principality of Boldavia. It’s dispossessed noble was Aleksei Markovitch. Prince Morphail thus created the Barony which came to be known as Vladimirov for Aleksei. The Prince made this Barony an important one for his friend whose lands he took. He chose the new Barony to be one the easternmost of Glantrian dominions and an important one for defense and exploration of eastern Glantri. This had the effect, at the time, of making the Barony an important and prestigious one for Markovitch.
Once the Markovitch family took the reins of their new dominion they came to find, that while Prince Morphail gave him a great honor in making him the first line of defense in case of any threat from the east, the dominion itself was dreadfully located with few resources of any sort within the boundaries of the Barony itself. Thus the Barony served as a little more than a military outpost on the eastern edge of Glantri. While poor in wealth however the Barony was rich in action. Soon after the creation of Vladimirov the Ethengarians launched strong probing attacks to test the medal of the Glantrians and their leaders. The attacks were beaten off but not without cost. Aleksei lost his mother, father, as well as his Grandfather (the previous Baron of Rymskigrad) in staving off the attacks by the marauding Ethengarians. Naturally Aleksei developed a deep hatred of the Ethengarians and not only prosecuted his mandate to defend Glantri but spent his years exacting revenge upon the Ethengarians. Aleksei was an expert Necromancer, specializing in the creation and control of the undead and sent scores of undead horrors into Ethengar. Stories are still told in Ethengar, of how the northern steppes were stained red by the blood spilled by the Yugatis for many years. Aleksei finally reaped what he sowed in 881 when he apparently lost control of a powerful undead who prompted killed the Baron.
The reign of the Markovitch family has continued through the years, rejecting any opportunity to participate in Awards Festival for any higher dominions that were vacant. However the prominence of the once important Barony has declined to next to nothing, after the creation of the Barony of Mariksen in 935 reflected the migration of population and extension of the frontier east. Thus the Barony had no more status than a typical Barony. Unfortunately that also left a Barony with little to no resources and little in the way of population. Thus with little to encourage people to emigrate there, and little to keep those that were, the Barony has become known as one of the least populous, and least profitable in all dominions in all of Glantri.
The recent Great War against Alphatia left Vladimirov generally unscathed. The highlight of Vladimirov's role in the Great War was in 1006 when a tribe of Orcs came down from the Wendarians and descended into Vladimirov village planning to raid the Barony. That same day the Orcs turned back around and went back into the mountains. One of the whores at the Shattered Spear Inn was said to overhear the Orc chieftain laughingly tell his subordinates, in perfect Emporer's Thyatin, as they left that they only thing they might catch in the Barony was a case of the Clap and this place was best left for the damned Glantrians. No place, including Vladimirov, escaped the plague however. Due to lack of clerics in the remote dominion, compounded by the Baronesses refusal to accept any into the dominion the population suffered substantial losses to the plague. In the years since the end of the Great War and the passing of the Plague nothing has changed in the Barony. The increased trade with the Heldannic Territories passes to the south through the Free Territories and has had little benefit to the Barony. The Baroness seems to care little about neither the lives nor the economic state of her Barony so life for those who reside in Vladimirov stands to not change for the better in the foreseeable future.
Notable sites:
The only notable site, and only thing keeping Vladimirov from breaking Kutchevski's dubious record on having received the lowest tourism rating from the Glantrian branch of AAA, 125 years running, is the breathtaking beauty of the Natural Bridge.
The Natural Bridge is a geological formation in which Checkov Creek has carved out a gorge in the mountainous limestone terrain, forming an arch 215 ft (66 m) high with a span of 90 ft (27 m). It consists of horizontal limestone strata, and is the remains of the roof of a cave or tunnel through which the creek once flowed. It is crossed by the Markovitch Memorial Highway which is the main trail between the mountains and the village of Vladimirov. It is a popular tourist destination during the fall when all the leave turn and many of the greatest artists of Glantri have painted it.
Coat of Arms:
Useful links:
GPD – Szasza Markovitch by Markus Olavi Montola
Glantrian Nobility during the years by Harri Mäki
The Economy of Vladimirov by Aleksei Andrievski
Wiki entry on Natural Bridge, Virginia.
Glantrian Heraldry by Chimpman
