Golta
The Golta are a people of Fire and Technology.
Their appearance is rather like badgers and their dress is stylistically like 18th century colonial America.
Long ago, the Golta were a simple race of farmers and cattle herders, living out their lives on an out crop of land know as the Golta Peninsula.
However, they fell prey to their aggressive and expansionist neighbours, the Tolpish. The Golta were comparatively primitive, without a professional army and their wooden weapons were little defence against the bronze weapons of the Tolpish troops.
The Tolpish enslaved the Golta and used them as a work force to support their war against the Darsai Kingdom.
It was hoped by the Tolpish that this additional labour would tip the balance of war in their favour. Unfortunately for the Tolpish, the opposite would prove to be true.
The Golta were not the stupid, passive race of farmers the Tolpish took them to be and the Golta burned with deep resentment for their plight.
In secret they began plotting their revenge, studying strange new magics and weapons the like of which the Tolpish had never imagined.
The explosive properties of the compound Pyronite were already known to many peoples at this time, but they had yet to be able to put it to any effective use. Pyronite burns more weakly then what we call gun powder, and so even in modern Harkovast, weapons based on it are usually huge cannons, due to the vast quantities of the substance required to propel a projectile.
The Golta would not only use it, but through their magic they refined it to an extent that has not been surpassed, even by the Lel.
With this refined Pyronite (which burned with strange blue smoke, rather then the orange of regular Pyronite) they created an array of small, hand held, but extremely potent weapons, secretly building up a powerful arsenal.
When the uprising came, the Tolpish were caught entirely off guard. Thousands of well armed and organised Golta took to the streets, about half armed with the new weapons and the rest wielding the axes and picks with which they had previously toiled.
The Tolpish have always been a warrior people, but their skill at arms and experience could not stand up to the fanaticism of the Golta.
The largest Tolpish armies were all away fighting the Darsai, and by the time they could be rushed back, the Peninsula was in flames.
The Golta were now possessed with a murderous rage, putting huge numbers of Tolpish to death. Most of those killed were civilians rather then soldiers, as the Golta did not distinguish one Tolpish from another in their thirst for vengeance.
The Tolpish evacuated most of their population to the northern most area of the Penisula. The Golta had long prepared for their uprising, but were not a professional army and so at this point their offensive stalled. Various Golta factions began arguing over the correct course of action, whether to push the assault, sue for peace, whether to focus on destroying the Tolpish in the territory they had already captured.
The Tolpish, meanwhile, had a very well organised leadership. They considered their situation and decided that the Peninsula was lost to them. While they might be able to drive back the Golta, the cost would be vast, and the Darsai would soon launch a counter attack against their weakened enemy.
Over the next few years the Tolpish focused all their energy on holding the Golta at bay and the construction of a great fleet of transport ships.
Over time, they shrank back further and further as more and more of their population slipped away on these ships, travelling north to Jaydia, away form their many enemies.
Their the Tolpish would both learn to live as slaves themselves and also raise a new and far more mighty empireâ¦but that is a story for another time.
The Golta showed no mercy to the Tolpish that remained, slaughtering any that could not reach the refugee ships.
But when the blood letting ended, the Golta had been liberated, and the oppressors defeated.
The Darsai were initially confused as to what the Tolpish were doing when their mighty armies suddenly withdrew.
Was it a trick?
Were they regrouping for a new attack?
Was there some unknown trouble in the Tolpish homeland?
The last great battle of what the Darsai call âThe Penisula Warâ was between the Tolpish rear guard, left to hold ports in the home the uprising cold be crushed and their armies returned to fight the Darsai again, and a vast force of Darsai.
The port was surrounded by an army that outnumbered the Tolpish three to one, and after a brief siege, the Tolpish garrison surrendered.
When the Darsai heard news of the problems the Tolpish were having at home, there was much confusion.
Most Darsai had never even heard of a Golta and those that had found it hard to believe that these strange looking slaves could stand up to the mighty Tolpish.
Eventually an expedition was sent out to the Penisula, to find out the truth of the situation.
The expeditionary force fought a brief skirmish with Golta warriors, using the strange weapons the captured Tolpish had warned of.
The Tolpish government contacted the Darsai, and explained their intention to depart.
The Darsai were over joyed at news off such a sudden and unexpected victory and agreed to let the Tolpish depart unmolested, also freeing the captured Tolpish warriors from the war to go north with their fleet.
To this day, Peninsula day is a great day of celebration in the Darsai Kingdom (though these days many Darsai are ignorant of what it actually celebrates.)
The Golta now set about building a new nation- The Golta Nation.
Never again would they allow themselves to be slaves to a foreign power!
Now they had learned all about Tolpish cruelty, greed and warmongering, and in their eyes, everyone who was not a Golta, was a Tolpish! This attitude has become codified, as Tolpish has become part of the Golta lexicon, meaning foreigner, as well as coward, traitor, enemy and numerous other unpleasant insults.
The leaders of the revolution set about drafting documents that would lay out the new society that was going to rise from the ashes of the conflict.
The document they created is known as The Golta Charter.
In lays out the rights and responsibilities of every Golta citizen. If the Golta were to remain free, it stated, every one of them would have to work and, if need be, fight to safe guard that freedom. Sacrifices and hardships would have to be endured so that the light of Golta civilisation would remain undimmed.
The rousing rhetoric of this document became the corner stone of The Golta nation, shaping every aspect of their culture.
Many foreigners make the mistake of believing the Golta Charter is a religious document. While it does make references to, and appeals to, the gods of the Golta, the document is actually a political statement, rather then a religious one. The confusion arises due to the reverence with which the Golta view their Charter.
The Charter is generally treated as above question- if it is in the Charter, it is true.
Things contrary to its teachings are described as 'Anti-Charter'. This can also be applied to individuals, often implying disloyalty, laziness or cowardice.
These ideas only further confuses foreigners who don't see why 'Yes, but the charter says…' is a valid argument or why being told you are not in keeping with a document of Golta laws is supposed to be an insult.
Golta are most famous in other nations for their legendary mistrust of foreigners (what they call 'the Tolpish' ). The Golta see themselves as surrounded by enemies, all constantly plotting to enslave the Golta once more. Those who are not Golta are considered ugly, stupid and untrustworthy and are usually not permitted to enter the Golta nation.
The Golta's only large scale export to other nations is mercenaries. The Golta care nothing for the politics of foreigner's wars, but any general would be a fool not to pay for the services of Golta and their deadly weapons.
Other then this, the Golta only really fight defensive wars. Though they despise other peoples, they are isolationist, not imperialist and have no desire to attack others, only to defend what they already have.
Though they are intolerant of foreigners, both Golta genders are equal in their society and the Golta are entirely tolerant of homosexuality.
This lack of foreign trade stifles the Golta economy, leading to shortages and hardship for the Golta. Rather then being angry at the hardships though, Golta meet them with a strange, grim satisfaction. Hardship and self sacrifice are lionised in their culture, so a little more hardship (bland stew for meals, more hours of labour) give the Golta a sense of satisfaction that they are doing their part for the cause. All problems are generally blamed on some unseen Tolpish plot to undermine them, and tightening their belts and soldiering on is an important patriotic duty.
Golta have a negative manner and way of speaking that can be confusing to outsiders. Golta generally speak of everything (save the Charter) in negative terms. The food is bad, the weather is cold, things will probably get even worse tomorrow etc. Positive statements donât often go much beyond 'not bad', 'alright' or 'could be worse.'
The Golta are not actually as negative as their speech seems to imply, they just view excessive positive displays as seeming fake, obnoxious, sarcastic, or just silly.
A good dose of cynicism is the Golta way!
The Golta refer to this manner of speech as 'making talk' and would consider anyone who took their complaining too seriously to be a buffoon!
Golta hate laziness, selfishness and decadence, with hard work and an ability to endure things for the greater good being seen as the most noble traits.
Their society is fairly communal, with everyone working for state controlled farms and workshops to keep the Nation going.
The Golta are ruled by a ruling council, whose members are selected by popular vote from the people for a life time term. They can be ousted by the other council members calling a vote of no-confidence against them, which results in a new public election.
The other thing for which the Golta are well known is, of course, their weapons. This includes hand held guns, pistols, bombs and Golta Fire (a sticky, blue burning liquid), and also artillery such as cannons, mortars and rockets.
Their weapons are mostly smooth bore, muzzle loading affairs, so while they offer an obvious advantage over bows and arrows, they do not give the Golta complete battlefield supremacy.
The Golta army is largely a militia force (due to the need for everyone in the Nation to work due to their lack of foreign trade, they cannot afford a standing army of any size) with most of the Golta bringing their own weapons. Virtually every Golta owns a gun, as the Golta see their guns as the source of their liberty and every citizen must be ready to use one in defence of the home land.
Golta tactics are relatively simple, due to the unprofessional nature of their armies and their isolation making them largely ignorant or more complex modern tactics.
The Golta fight in a static defensive way, reflecting the static, defensive way they interact with the world in times of peace.
The bulk of the Golta army gathers behind a shield wall, which provides them with protection from enemy missiles (which the Golta derisively refer to as 'twigs'). Artillery is placed behind the wall for protection. From behind this barrier they bombard the enemy, hoping to demoralise them and whittle them down before the two armies clash.
Many forces have been sent fleeing by the hails of fire from the Golta before they even got close.
If the enemy does reach the Golta line, the Golta will resort to axes, holding their guns by the barrels as clubs, or simple 'plug' bayonets, that fit into the barrel of a gun to turn it into a spear.
The Golta troops generally lack armour (scarcity of raw materials makes armour far too expensive for most Golta) and are only part time soldiers, so if the enemy is not beaten down enough by the Goltaâ's firepower and the shield wall is breached, the Golta army risks being quickly over whelmed and routing.
The Golta lack much cavalry (they don't get on much better with animals then they do with other people), which only serves to make their forces even more static.
The elite warriors of the Golta armies are called Picked Troopers. As their name implies they are picked out from the main body of warriors to serves as full time soldiers, receiving the best armour and weapons the state can provide, as well as proper uniforms.
They are able to enact much more complex tactics then the standard militia troops, so are usually held in reserve, to give the Golta commanders more of an ability to respond to the enemy effectively.
The most feared of all the Golta warriors, and the most celebrated within the Nation, are the Rangers.
These warriors are wilderness survival experts and masters of concealment, operating entirely alone and on their own wits.
Each carries a hand crafted, long barrelled rifled gun, made to the highest standards the Golta can produce. These weapons require careful maintenance and can take several minutes to reload, but give the Rangers accuracy and range that is unparalleled.
The Rangers patrol the boarders of the Golta Nation, on the constant look out for Tolpish trespassing.
Any attacking army will find itself constantly harassed by unseen snipers, firing from a great distance and fleeing, or moving closer to kill officers and commanders.
The Rangers are considered by the Golta to be heroic protectors, out witting stupid, oafish Tolpish with their Golta cunning. They are considered heroes and their numbers of kills (referred to as their 'score' by the Golta) are proudly proclaimed.
(Hope you enjoyed that!
I will add another article discussing the Golta religion shortly.)
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The Golta
Oh I forgot to mention!
How do Golta feel about half-castes?
The Golta Charter grants half-castes all the same rights and responsibilities of any other Golta, so they are fully protected under the law.
However, in practice it is not always that simple.
A half caste who appears to be a Golta but does not act like one will struggle with the spartan life style of the Golta and would have to work hard to avoid being seen as dangerously anti-charter.
A half-caste who does not appear like a Golta will struggle because other Golta would consider them extremely ugly. More so then most races, Golta consider other races to look very ugly indeed so a Golta who looks like something else is always going to have a hard time in this regard.
Also, other Golta who did not know the person might well assume them to be a none-Golta (and thus a Tolpish) and treat them with contempt. Even if they are told the person is a Golta at heart, there will always be a lingering doubt from those they encounter that they might not really be what they claim.
Golta Religion
The Golta religion is tied into their own creation story, which in turns reflects their world view.
Long ago, when the world was young, the many races were each adopted by different gods, to guide them and help them.
However, these gods were invariably lazy, stupid, cowardly, greedy or selfish (or all five!) and taught the nasty creatures they adopted these unpleasent traits.
One God, know as The Black Protector, because of his jet black fur, looked on all the ugly creatures of the world with disgust.
They were all far too hideous, evil and unpleasent for him to want to have any dealings with.
However, he eventually came across a single mortal woman, who was so kind, wise and beautiful that he fell in love with her and went down to the mortal world to be with her.
She had perfect white fur and is known to the Golta as The White Mother.
He used his powers to grant her immortality and divine power, and together they parented 324 children over many years. These children were mortal but also part god, and their divinity was made evident by the black and white markings on their faces, which showed they were the chosen people and most beautiful of all living things.
These children went out and married the least ugly and lazy of the other mortals of the area and their descendants in turn became the Golta race.
The Black Protector and The White Mother ruled over the Golta in an age of peace and prosperity.
Then one day, dark forces began to gather. The demons of the underworld had broken free and were sweeping across the land spreading terror and chaos.
The other gods were too lazy to take action, too selfish to care, or just too stupid to recognise the threat, as the demons spread across the world.
The Black Protector, however, did not hesitate. Saying goodbye to his tearful family, the went out to battle the demons, driving them back into the underworld.
With his great strength he closed the gates to the underworld, but the gates had been terribly damaged and now the demons were constantly working to break them open again.
The Black Protector thus had to remain at the gates, battling demons and forcing the gates closed again, for all eternity.
The White Mother had stayed behind to care for the young Golta Nation, and though it broke her heart to be apart from her husband, she accepted that he had done the right thing and had only pride in his bravery and self sacrifice.
Eventually, she ascended to heaven, in order to allow her children to grow and make their own way in the world (and to guard the Golta afterlife from encroachment from stupid, greedy Tolpish deities!)
The two Gods remain eternally separated, their sacrifices and eternal struggles stand as the Golta ideal- To accept hardship for the greater good, to make sacrifices of ones own happiness to preserve the Golta nation, to work hard, to be ever vigilant.
Golta Priests are often charged with reading from the charter at meal times and during large gatherings and are often called on to interpret it. Though it is not a religious document, the reverence it receives means holy men, rather then politicians, are considered most trusted with its care.
Priests are viewed with great respect by the Golta, and even though they hold no official political authority, a leader who disregards their words too readily risks stirring up a lot of resentment from the common, working Golta!
Golta religion promises heaven for the righteous along side The White Mother…though it should be noted, Golta heaven involves lots of vigilance and hard work too! There is always a lot to be done and laziness is never acceptable, even in the after life!
Those who are lazy, selfish and disloyal to the Golta nation can expect to be cast into the underworld (which is also where Golta tend to assume Tolpish go when they die). These unworthy souls can expect no rescue, as The Black Protector will hurl them to his enemies and never retrieve them for their wicked ways!
So they absolutely hate foreigners with the fiery passion of a thousand suns, but is there any reason why they would allow foreigners to enter their borders and not intend to shoot them? If they did then I can see them being escorted by well armed soldiers, just in case they try anything, but how would they be treated otherwise?
Occasionally foriegners might be allowed in as diplomats (though the Golta hate the idea fo getting entangled in Tolpish politics and treaties, so this is very rare) and they might be allowed in as Merchants, if there was some resource that had become very scarce in the Golta Nation and they were desperate for.
A Tolpish who had married a Golta might be allowed into the nation, but they would most likely not be made very welcome while there.
Other exceptional circumstances are possible, but for the most part outsiders would be warned away and failing that, shot at!
Alright! So I, General of the Armies (of the Soviet Union?) Renard show up with my soldiers and decide that messing with the Nymus or Ivos (anyone a bit a ways from the Golta peninsula) is fun, but I really need some support.
Would I find a band of Mercs roaming the landscape and hire them or would I send a messenger to the nation and hire troops there? If the campaign is going to stretch on for a while would they stay as long as the money's good? And could they be trusted not to start cutting my officer's throats after dark?
Short and sweet, what's the procedure for hiring Mercs, and what would a commander get for his money?
Roving bands of mercenaries will often show up in times of war.
Often, travelling Golta caravans will meet with, or be contacted by, generals who want to hire some troops.
The Golta merchants will then provide the soldiers and specialists that are required (sending word back home if you need proper regiments rather then just a small squad.) These sorts of merchants can actually become very wealthy working as mercenary "middle men". For example, the Golta Merchant Zilfay has made a small fortune offering Golta services far to the north to help in the Eslum's endless civil wars. (Her profits have, however, recently taken a big hit since the Eslum church banned the use of Golta weapons in battles between Elsum.)
You could send a messenger to the Golta nation, but unless you are coming to them through one of their own merchants or you are recognised by them as someone they respect (as far as Golta can respect a Tolpish!), the odds are your request will be treated with great scepticism.
Golta mercenaries are often directly sponsored by the Golta state (sending money back home to help support their stifled economy) so the fact that they are reliable is considered pretty important to the Golta.
If they slit your throats or deserted people would stop hiring them rather quickly, no matter how cool their guns are!
While obviously there are brave and cowardly Golta, they are generally a pretty dependable bunch. They complain a lot amongst themselves, but will come through and do what they say they will.
Being mercenaries though, they will rarely be as enthusiastic as your own soldiers. They are there to get paid, and that's about all. You wont see many acts of selfless heroism from soldiers who don't really care how the war turns out.
Of course, if you wanted to get some Golta troops on the cheap, you could probably find some rogues and outcastes willing to sign up. But you get what you pay for and if they aren't sponsored by the Golta nation there is no guarantee you will get troops who wont just flee with your money before the battle starts!
Hope that answers your inquiry!
Perhaps Harkovast, but what about the Golta women, what could they be compensating for?
I like to look at it this way: they have guns- no one else has guns; they have rather big guns- yet again, no one else has guns; they know how to use guns well; I'm not sure if any other race would even know how to reload it once the damned thing's fired!
It doesn't matter if they have a collective superiority (or perhaps subconscious inferiority) complex, they've got better weapons then everyone else :)
Silliness aside, the Golta attitude is more characterised than paranoia then insecurity I would say.
They believe everyone is out to get them and is plotting their down fall, even though most races barely give the Golta and their weird culture a second thought.
They assume everyone is focused on attacking them, as part of some huge over arching plan that doesn't really exist.
How long would you say it's been since the Golta overthrew their oppressors, and has their weapon technology improved much since? They use flintlocks now, but when they overthrew the Tolpish were they using matchlocks or even guns that needed to be set off like a canon (touching a match or wick to a flash pan or a hole in the rear of the barrel by hand)?
Being a gun nerd I was just thinking how long it would take them to develop percussion cap guns (better than flint locks hands down)!
Technological advancement in Harkovast is pretty slow because culturally they are mostly in an ancient/medieval mind set.
Even the inventive Golta dont have organised universities or professional scientists.
Advances and research is done by enthusiastic indivduals with sufficient means, making it hap hazard at best.
Though the Golta outfits and weapons are 18th century, in many ways the Golta are still comparatively backward (such as being very isolationist, thus keeping out new ideas).
The time scale for the Golta revolution is around 200 years ago, with the rise of The King in the West coming roughly 120-150 years ago.
In the initial uprising, the Golta would have had much cruder weapons, I imagine then to be fuse lit things, but equally the Tolpish and other races of the time were also less advanced (bronze being a main weapon making material, interlocking plate armour being unheard of and magical powers like Darsai Energy weapons being far more rudimentary.)
Back then, Vellastrom was a backwater place that was considered primitive and unimportant. Advanced cultures already thrived in the White Kingdom and Jaydia, but the greatest nations of all were those of the West, who achieved many remarkable feats and built vast and powerful empires.
Sadly, all the western nations are all now long gone and the races that made them up are assumed to be extinct and their cultures forgot.
Even today, Vellastrom is a place of great war and turmoil, considered barbaric by people in many of the more stable parts of the world.
Some of the best developments are made by individuals; the percussion cap (the device that replaced the flint lock) was invented by a Scottish man who was tired of waterfowl flying away when they saw the smoke from his musket's flash pan (and before the thing actually fired).
And if I was one of these advanced nations to the East I think I'd be tempted to send an army to invade the backward nations, you know, just to take all of their resources and stuff with very few consequences :)
I should point out that when I say "advanced" or "civilised" nations, I mean relative to Vellastrom.
These are still nations that settle wars with swords, spears and arrows etc.
But many of them have advanced merchantile, banking, legal and government systems and infrastructure that makes life in Vellastrom look rather simplistic.
Certainly, these nations are far more organised and powerful then most of the ones in Vellastrom, but they are far away far and not so powerful that they could just march in and easily defeat many of the tough warrior peoples of Vellastrom!
Not to mention that people in places like Jaydia, the Eslum Isles and the White Kingdom have their own problems, wars and concerns, Vellastrom is hardly on their radar (much as people in Vellastrom don't give much thought to conflicts in other parts of the world!)
The lone inventor and thinker can make great strides, but the process is inherrantly hap hazard until people can get organised in the collection and application of knowledge, and in harkovast these ideas are still a ways off (for everyone except the Lel of course!)
So, you've established that they like to support their nation by sending money home while they're abroad, and that many work in state factories and on collective farms (don't they know it a short and slippery slope to Komsomols, Lubyankas and Red Armies?).
So here's my question; what's their take on capitalism, 'cause you said that many of their mercenaries and merchants are very wealthy people, but they still send much of their wealth back home.
And what they hell would they do with all of their wealth anyway? They have an isolated and very limited economy, and I'm sure other Golta would have something to say if one of theirs started flaunting their wealth.
Capitalism and profiting is okay, but a Golta should always focus on the good of the Golta Nation before their own benefit.
A merchant of mercenary who started flaunting their wealth and decadence would be considered "anti-charter", having been corrupted by the greedy, gluttonous ways of the Tolpish!
Its no the principle of doing something for profit, its more the concept of selfishness, greed and decadence that they are against.
Many Golta who become rich abroad deliberately avoid trappings of wealth, but some do get caught up with the worldly pledges Tolpish money can buy (much to the disgust of the Golta back home!)
Hmmm, interesting, interesting. Here's my question; do the Golta ever take into consideration that perhaps other races might figure out how construct gunpowder weapons such as the Golta themselves use someday? Or the consequences that might follow from such a developement?
Golta technology is based on using magic to refine pyronite.
Without Golta magic, it is impossible to achieve this effect or keep Golta weapons running properly.
So the idea of another race creating something equivilant never really occurs to anyone, any more then the idea of another race besides the Darsai finding a way to make energy swords.
It does raise interesting issues on how the magic of Harkovast would interract with advancing technology.
Eventually fire arms would render energy weapons obsolete for example.
I tend to think the races magic and abilities would adapt and change to remain relevant rather then becoming useless.
I've not really given much thought o how this would play out, but a "21st Century" version of Harkovast would probably be strange indeed. It would not just be our world but full of furry people, that's for sure.
In a military sense I could see magic augmenting weapons, to the point that certain races would become known for making and using certain weapons.
The Golta I could see becoming masters at building Thermobaric (fuel-air) weapons.
Other races could make chemical weapons that put even the Russian "Novichok" nerve agents to shame, and others could make biological weapons that can't be replicated or cured without their specific magic.
The Darsai, naturally, would develop laser guns.
Short and sweet: imagine all of the most horrifying biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons, now imagine that certain nations can make them even more powerful then they already are. If a war does break out one nation can use multi-megaton nukes, the other can release a weaponized cancer-pneumonic plague-gas gangrene combo via ICBM.
Seriously spooky stuff.
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