| Sibiu | |
| |
| Derlavian Kingdom Darkness Fantasy | |
| Capital: | Sebutal |
| Government: | Absolute monarchy |
| Status: | Active |
Sibiu was a kingdom comprising five islands off the southern coast of Derlavai. It was an Algarvic kingdom ruled by King Burebistu at the start of the Derlavaian War.
History[]
Sibiu was one of the many Algarvic kingdoms which grew from the ruins of the Kaunian Empire. Some time after the empire's fall, seaborne pirates from Sibiu preyed upon the southern coast of Derlavai, earning themselves a fearsome reputation. In later centuries, Sibiu dominated a large stretch of Algarve's southern coastline and fought several naval wars with Lagoas, primarily over profitable trading routes among the equatorial islands.
By the Thaumaturgical Revolution, however, Sibiu's days as a great power were past, and the island nation had been eclipsed by Lagoas and the Derlavaian mainland kingdoms. Even so, Sibiu was still able to fight as part of the anti-Algarvian coalition during the Six Years' War.
Derlavaian War[]
When the Duchy of Bari was reintegrated into Algarve, Sibiu was one of the four kingdoms that declared war as a result, viewing Bari's occupation as a threat to itself. With a strong navy and the most well-trained leviathans of any kingdom, Sibiu was able to inflict several blows on Algarve at sea and even struck at its southern ports. Despite this, the Algarvians managed to bypass the Sibian navy by utilizing sailing ships to avoid the ley lines being monitored by the Sibians, and the islands fell to a surprise assault.
Sibiu would be occupied by Algarve for three years, and several Sibians collaborated with their Algarvic kinsmen. A regiment of Sibian volunteers was formed and sent to southern Unkerlant, where it was destroyed in the Battle of Sulingen. However, many Sibians continued to oppose Algarve in exile, basing themselves in Lagoas' capital Sebutal, though the need to work with their hereditary enemy rankled.
In the fourth year of the war an allied force of Lagoans and Kuusamans, supported by Sibian exiles, liberated Sibiu from Algarve. For the rest of the war, the kingdom served as a base for islander dragons to raid the cities of southern Algarve.
Society and People[]
Being of Algarvic stock, Sibians were red- or sandy-haired with freckled skin, and usually had green eyes. Unlike Lagoans, who had interbred with Kuusamans, Sibians were of pure Algarvic stock and did not display other elements in their racial makeup.
In contrast to Algarvians, Sibians were generally reserved and not given to emotional displays. Their language was very similar to Algarvian, which led many ignorant foreigners (especially in Lagoas) to simply use Algarvian words and substitute a '-u' ending for an '-o', much to the annoyance of Sibians. As with other Algarvic kingdoms, Sibians wore kilts.
Literary Comment[]
"Sibiu" is the name of a prominent city in Transylvania, Romania. Similarly, the names and language of Sibiu resemble those of Romania.
Within the context of the World War II analog, Sibiu incorporates elements of Denmark, Norway and the Netherlands. Its viewpoint character, Cornelu, resembles exiles from occupied Europe who were based in the United Kingdom, and helped liberate their homelands from there. Similarly, the Sibian regiment raised by Algarve has an analog in the Waffen-SS Wiking Division, formed from Scandinavian and Dutch volunteers.
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