Ussura

Ussura is located in the Northeast of Theah and takes up a large amount of the continental landmass.

History
Ussura is a land forgotten by most Theans. Its people live spread out over its vast, frigid territory or in the few towns and cities in its holdings. For their own part, Ussurans like it this way. They live a hard but good life; they have everything they need, if not everything they want. Their government is stable, if a little on the overbearing side, but it is mostly fair to the common folk - especially with their new leader: Ilya Sladivgorod Nikolovich, Gaius of Ussura. To the rest of Theah, Ussurans live in a wasteland, 500 years in the past. Despite that, Ussura is surprisingly bountiful to those who love the land and thank Matushka, "Grandmother Winter." Few go hungry, and the Ussurans are longer lived than their neighbors.

Unlike other nations, their leader is chosen from the people of the land, though he receives council from the noble class. The term Gaius is drawn from the name of the first Imperator of the Old Empire, who first claimed Ussura - Julius Gaius. Ilya is so beloved by the people of Ussura because, unlike his predecessor, he hasn't bowed to the will of the nobles and instead does what he thinks is best. So what if the nobles die anyway? They dared to call him "Ilya the Terrible" - for that, they deserve to die.

Politics/Relations
Ussuran politics used to be set by the noble families through their puppet - the Gaius. Now they are becoming irrelevant. The Gaius has all but absolute control of the country. Their relations with the rest of Theah are sporadic. They have recently come into contact with Cathay, but no one other than a few travelers have passed through the new hole in the wall of flames. They empathize with the struggles of the Vestenmannavnjar and aid them when they can, and they despise the Montaigne. Other than that, they maintain a policy of neutrality with everyone else.

Native Magic
Ussura is a land home to the magic of Pyeryem.

Schools of Fighting
Ussura is home to few fighting styles, but each has great potential in and out of war.

Bogatyr - this style of fighting uses a woodcutters axe to cut people apart like trees. It also teaches you how to hunt via ambush.

Buslayevich - this style of fighting grew out of the need to hunt with a bow and ride a horse.

Dobrynya - this style is for wrestling enemies and prey to the ground.

Organizations
Ussura is home to no major organizations except The Stelets. Ussura doesn't much care what organizations are in its borders so long as they follow the rules.

Ussura recognizes the authority of the Swordsman's Guild, but dosen't much follow their rules about "no non-guild duels."

Religions
Ussura is almost entirely Orthodox, but they don't care if other faiths show up so long as they follow the rules and don't insult the Orthodoxy. If you insult Grandmother Winter, they tend to let it go; Grandmother Winter tends to take care of those fools.

Native Magical Creatures
Every animal in Ussura is magical to some degree. Grandmother Winter is very real and can be very vindictive if you don't respect her.