Bulgrastan

The Khanate of Bulgrastan is an ogre, haruchai and orc-inhabited domain in the western dells of the Ural Mountains, occupying the upper basin of the Kama River and stretching across the banners of Ars Begs, Bolgar and Zyria. It is bordered to the west by the Grand Principality of Moskva, on the south by Jagatai Empire, on the east by the Urals and the Dwarven Kingdom of Hoth and on the north by Bjarmaland. Though united under the Orkhun Khan — "great ruler" — the land is ruled through its three great Banners, each commanded by its own powerful warlords and bound by blood, oaths and war.

Occupying the western foothills and river valleys of the Ural Mountains, Bulgrastan stretches from the dense forests of the north to the rolling steppe in the south. Defined by the upper basin of the Kama River and its tributaries, it is a land of extremes, where deep woods give way to open plains, and the seasons dictate the rhythm of life as much as war and trade. The Ural Mountains, though not high by the standards of greater ranges, form a natural barrier running along the Khanate's east edge, their slopes rich in iron, copper and other metals that fuel the forges of its warriors.

Geography

The region is defined most of all by the Kama, which rises in the hills east of Bulgrastan and flows westward through the heart of the khanate before bending southward to join the great Volga. It is the spine of the land, wide and swift in its middle course, sluggish where it pools in the floodplains and treacherous in spring when the melting snows turn it into a swollen torrent. Along its banks are the most fertile lands of the region, where orcish and ogre settlements cluster, carving out clearings from the thick forests that press close to the river's edge. The Kama is a road for traders and raiders alike, with longboats and barges moving between the scattered strongholds, bringing iron and furs downstream while carrying foreign wares back into the interior.

To the north, the land is dense with forest, a country of dark woods and hidden lakes, where the waters of the Vishera and the Kolva, two great tributaries, descend from the Ural heights and feed the Kama's northern banks. These rivers are narrower and wilder, their courses twisting through deep ravines and rocky defiles before emerging onto the plains, carrying the cold breath of the high country with them. The forests here are thick and ancient, untouched in many places, home to beasts and older things that even the warlords of the banners do not claim dominion over.

South of the Kama, the land changes. The forests thin, giving way to rolling grasslands that stretch toward the borderlands of the Jagatai Empire. Here, the Belaya and Ik rivers flow southward from the foothills, their waters warm and slow, winding through broad meadows where herds of wild horses and bison roam. This is the land of the steppe-riders, where the orcish banners of Ars Begs keep their strongholds, and where the khanate's warriors gather in summer to muster for war. The Belaya, unlike the swift and unpredictable rivers of the north, is gentler, prone to wide bends and shallow fords that make it a natural crossing for those who seek to ride westward.

Eastward, the land rises into the Ural foothills, where the rivers grow fast and narrow, their courses littered with rapids and falls as they tumble down from the highlands. The Chusovaya, flowing from the Ural slopes, is the largest of these, its waters cold and pure, lined with rocky cliffs where small orcish and haruchai settlements cling to the heights. Here, in the shadows of the great mountains, the land is richer in metal than in grain, and it is from these hills that the forges of Bulgrastan draw their iron.

Beyond the foothills, the Ural Mountains rise, not towering like the peaks of the distant south, but high enough to be a formidable barrier. Their slopes are rugged, broken by deep valleys and windswept passes, their summits lost in mist for much of the year. Here, in the high places, the ogres of the banners hold their ancient halls, dug into the rock and guarded by their grim chieftains. The passes are few, and those who do not know them well may find themselves lost among the ridges, swallowed by the mountains before they ever reach the dwarvish lands beyond.

Climate

The climate of Bulgrastan is harsh, shaped by the long winters that roll down from the northern tundra and the warm winds that sweep up from the steppe. Snow lingers well into spring, burying the forests and hills beneath a thick, unbroken white, while the rivers freeze over, turning the land into a domain of ice. The Kama and its tributaries, sluggish in the cold months, become pathways for those who know the winter roads, the frozen surface bearing the weight of sleds and caravans where no passage is possible in the warmer seasons. But winter is also the season of hunger, when the deep cold presses into the earth and the wind howls through the valleys, driving beasts and men alike to shelter. It is a time of raiding, of warbands moving under dark skies, taking what they can before the rivers thaw and the land traps them once more.

Summer, when it comes, is short and fierce. The heavy snows melt in great floods, swelling the rivers and breaking their icy prisons with sudden, violent force. The Kama overflows its banks, turning the lowlands into a mire of mud and standing water, drowning the roads and washing away the bridges that the winter left untouched. The forests grow thick and tangled, their shadows deep with mist, while the steppe burns golden under the high sun, the grasses swaying in waves beneath the wind. The air is thick with storms, rolling in from the east, their thunder shaking the ground before the rains fall in heavy sheets. By the time the land dries, the summer is nearly spent, and already the mornings carry the bite of the coming frost. Autumn is little more than a warning, a brief moment of crisp air and clear skies before the cold begins its slow march southward once again.

History

The first orcish warbands of the Kipchak migrations came into the southern lands of Bulgrastan in scattered bands, riding northward from the greater steppe in search of new pastures and plunder. These early riders were few, but in time, their numbers swelled as more clans followed, bringing their herds, their families and their fires. They made their holdings along the rivers, driving the few scattered Finno-Ugric tribes into the forests and settling the open plains that lay between. By the time their first strongholds rose along the Izh and the Belaya, the Kipchak orcs were no longer mere wanderers; they were rulers of a land that had never before seen settled banners. The greatest among them made his seat in Zhek, which grew from a gathering of tents and stockyards into the center of what would become Ars Begs, a land of orcish khans and their horse-warriors, where the steppe met the river and the old ways of the south merged with the thick forests of the north.

Mongol Invasion

When the Haruchai came, it was not as scattered warbands but as the Mongol empire on the move, a tide of iron and fire that swept across the land. The Kipchak orcs fought to hold what they had built, but they were outmatched. Their khans fell, their clans shattered and those who did not submit or flee were swallowed by the rising tide of the great riders from the east. Some found a place within the new order, bending their knees and keeping their holdings under the watchful eye of the Haruchai khans, but they no longer ruled alone. The ogres came as well, not from the steppe, but from the high mountains beyond, drawn by the power of the conquering riders, their own chieftains seeking war and land.

Where the Kipchaks had ruled in the south, the Haruchai and the ogres pressed deeper, taking the forests, the river valleys and the highlands of the east. It was then that the city of Great Bolgar rose, forged by conquest and the meeting of new rulers. This was no wooden orcish outpost, no simple trading town — this was the seat of the new order, where the Haruchai khans and ogre lords set their banners, where war and tribute were decided, and where the might of the land was gathered.

Formation of the Khanate

In time, the khanate took its shape, the banners of Ars Begs, Bolgar, and Zyria rising beneath the greater rule of the Orkhun Khan, though each remained a world unto itself. The Kipchak orcs held to their ways in Ars Begs, their khans still powerful, though they paid their dues to Great Bolgar. In Bolgar, the Haruchai warlords built their halls, their strength unmatched but always contested among themselves. In Zyria, the ogres made their own laws, dwelling in the deep woods and the high places, ruled not by khans but by their own lords, answering only to their own. The khanate was not an empire, nor was it ever whole, but it was feared. Its raiders rode the rivers, its warriors sacked the border towns of the Grand Principality of Moskva, and its warbands harried the lands of the Jagatai to the south, taking what they pleased and daring their foes to take it back. Yet power did not bring peace. Even as the banners stood together against their enemies, they warred among themselves, khan against khan, banner against banner, each seeking to make himself the true ruler of Bulgrastan.

Present day, By 1650, the khanate stands strong, but the world around it shifts. The Jagatai Empire collapses in the south, its banners scattered and its lands ripe for the taking, drawing the interest of warlords eager to claim new territory. To the east, the dwarves of Hoth press against the Ural foothills, their disciplined armies and fortified holds posing the greatest threat to Bulgrastan's dominion. Moskva, though holding its frontier, is preoccupied with wars in Europe and makes no great push eastward, leaving the khanate without a unifying enemy. The Orkhun Khan rules from Great Bolgar, but his grip weakens as ambition stirs among the banners. Some look to conquest, others to defense, but many turn inward, waiting for the moment to seize power for themselves. Whether the banners will stand together or fracture under their own rivalries remains uncertain.

Divisions

Ars Begs

The southernmost of the banners, is the land of the Kipchak orcs, swift riders whose mastery of horse and bow has shaped the wars of Bulgrastan for generations. The great city of Zhek rises on the banks of the Izh, its wooden palisades enclosing a dense warren of trade yards, clan halls and the yurts of visiting warlords. Though more settled than the wilder banners to the north, Ars Begs remains a land of restless motion, its warbands riding not only against border raiders but southward into the dying lands of the Jagatai, where conquest beckons. Its khans, though nominally subjects of the Orkhun Khan, grow bold with the shifting of the world, their ambitions no longer confined to the roads and rivers of their homeland.

Bolgar

The heartland of the khanate, is where the rule of the Haruchai and the ogres is strongest. Its capital, Great Bolgar, is the seat of the High Khan, a city of towering stone citadels and vast encampments where warriors, traders and emissaries gather in uneasy alliance. Here, the might of Bulgrastan is forged — iron from the Ural foothills, furs from the deep forests and weapons crafted for war against foes both known and yet to rise. The banners of Bolgar's warlords stand side by side, but never in full harmony, for no strength lasts unchallenged. While some look to the south, others prepare for war in the east, where the dwarves of Hoth encroach upon the slopes of the Urals, their fortified halls and disciplined armies posing a threat greater than any crumbling empire.

Zyria

To the north, a land of deep woods and winding rivers, where the rule of the High Khan is little more than a distant claim. Its orcish clans move as the seasons dictate, their strongholds hidden in the shadowed forests, while the Zyrian ogres, grim and ancient, keep to their own councils. No city marks its center, for Zyria has no single ruler — only meeting places where warbands gather before vanishing once more into the taiga. Here, the land is older, less touched by the turmoil of the steppe, and in its deepest reaches lie places even the khans do not name. The warriors of Bulgrastan pass through, but none claim dominion over all its expanse, and those who stray too far beyond the known paths are often lost, swallowed by a wilderness that does not return its dead.