The Kingdom of the Letts (Lettgallia)

The Kingdom of the Letts
The Kingdom of the Letts, also called 'Lettgallia,' is a country in the north of Hasperia.

Government
The Kingdom of the Letts is a hereditary monarchy ruled by a Cnaeaz, or King. The current Cnaeaz is Valtislaus II, of the Tatravscii line, who have been Kings of the Letts since the founding of the Kingdom.He rules the country mostly indirectly, through the administration of vassal families called the ‘Rodui’ (Clans).

History
The tribe of the Letts first settled modern day Lettgallia around the turn of the 19th century. Lettish histories speak of the legendary chief Jaroslaus who was the first among them to lay eyes upon the great mountains in the south-east of the country, and who settled his people at the feet of those mountains rather than continue on with their other, fellow tribes, who would later incorporate themselves at Nicolovia.

After the death of Jaroslaus, the tribe settled much of the area of modern day Lettgallia, though thinly, and became decentralized, many differing families attempting to claim the whole of the tribe. Between 1890 and 1922, the tribe was unified under the leadership of a certain Boleslav Vladislovich, who took the surname, Tatravscii. The Kingdom was formally declared in 1901 when Boleslav was 27. The remainder of Boleslav’s reign was spent in conquest of those clans who did not submit when he declared himself king, until but 10 years before his death in 1932. For this reason, he is usually assigned the epithet, ‘the Unifier,’ or ‘the Founder’ (Ltsh., ‘Unificaturim’) in Lettish histories.

As a nation, the Letts were baptized on Easter, 1944. The grandson of Boleslav I, Valtislaus I, lead his people into the Omnican Church. His crown confirmed by the Church hierarchy, Valtislaus set about formalizing the government of the realm, and securing the allegiance of the Lettish clans to his line in perpetuity, among his many other works. It was under his reign that the chief port of Vodagorod was founded. Valtislaus also called the first Seim (Diet) of all the Clans, thus inaugurating the modern practice of raising money and armies for the realm in this manner.

Later kings, such as Mihael, would attempt to tamper with or bypass the Seimich system, with varying amounts of success, but overall the government of Lettgallia has been stable in the near century and a half of time since the conversion of the Letts.

Relations
The Letts have a certain affinity with the Holy Archadian Empire, due to their common heritage, but the proximity of Garantopolis makes them cautious in dealing with both imperial claimants. The Letts as a whole belong to the Omnican Church, and are vehement in speaking against the Sotiran ‘heretics.’