Stirland

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Stirland
Elector Count as of 2520IC	Alberich Haupt-Anderssen
Province capital	Wurtbad
Runefang	Orc Hewer
Specialties	Militias, getting bullied for being poor, mud
Commerce	Woodcraft and fishing
Primary military colours	Green and yellow

"The entire province is insane, I tell you! Why? They like their ale hot! It’s nothing short of blasphemy against good beer!"

– A Dwarf of Karaz-a-Karak

"Stirlanders? We had one aboard as a deckhand on a run to Averheim about a year ago. Strong as an ox, worked in the worst weather and helped us get out of a nasty situation with some river pirates, but he carried sixteen different good luck charms on him at all times and didn't know that commoners were allowed to own boots. No, I'm serious. One of the lads sent him looking for striped paint and he wouldn't stop harassing a chandler for an hour."

– Marienburger barge captain

Stirland is the poorest province of the Empire, a backwater of winding rivers, deep and treacherous marshes, threatening forests, and isolated villages. The province took the brunt of the damage from the Vampire Wars and in modern times holds de facto control over the largely abandoned province of Sylvania. On the south and east, it shares borders with thieving midgets with no concept of personal space or private property and pallid weirdos that have some very macabre hobbies, meaning it is vulnerable to vampire corruption and Halfling thievery as well as occasional WAAAAAGH from either the Black Fire Pass or Worlds Edge Mountains if its natural buffers or more competent neighbors fail to stop them. This is reflected in the culture of the province; outside the major settlements the people of Stirland tend to be superstitious, ignorant, and (somewhat justifiably) paranoid about anything they don't understand, which would be most things, to be honest.

The banner of Stirland reflects the grim attitudes and harsh lives of its people; a skeleton on a black field blowing a hunting horn and carrying a sword right next to a twin-tailed comet. "Victory AND death; somebody has to die and please Sigmar let me kill the other bastard first."

Oddly enough, considering the impoverished state of modern Stirland, the county has produced no less than five emperors. The first Emperor after Sigmar was a Stirlander by the name of Siegrich, ableit with a short (less than two year) reign before his death in a hunting accident. However, it was Siegrich who officially added the election process to Sigmar's Law, setting up the foundations of the Empire's political system for centuries to come.

Ancestry

According to the novel, Stirlanders were descendants of the Asoborn tribe, whose warriors are known for kicking Styrigen's (Sylvanian ancestors) arse to the east and wear almost nothing but warpaint on their body in battle.

They were led by their Queen Freya, whom is said to have killed her husband for his incompetence, has led at least a raid against the Dwarfs (aka "stunted thieves"), and is lusted by many men and women in her tribe. She also lusted after Sigmar's D, which she made a deal with him to have a one night stand with him in exchange for her support in the founding of today's Empire.

So yeah, they are about as insane as their modern counterpart.

Interestingly, it was mentioned Freya had a twin son after, which most likely to be Sigmar's heir. Sigmar does find out, but rejects to be the father and prefer to tend after his Empire project instead (A father that choose to tend an Empire for his people then to be the father of his own child. Sounds familiar?). Besides, his true love was Ravenna anyway, he loves her even in death.

Military

Stirland is not much of a military province, but is unfortunately a strategically important location for any vampire who wants to try their hand at being a Dark Lord and thinks they can beat Vlad's high score. The barrows of the Styrigan tribe stretch across the moors, attracting treasure hunters looking for a payday and vampires and necromancers looking for a place in the history books. Many battles, including the decisive defeat of Mannfred von Carstein at Hel Fen, have been fought on Stirland's muddy soil.

Internally, the majority of Stirland's military activity is the duty of policing the River Stir, keeping it clear as part of the Empire's vital waterborne trade network. The Stir River Patrol operates patrol vessels and garrisons fortified ports, defending commerce from piracy on the water and banditry on land. The uniforms of Stirland's soldiers are usually patchy, serviceable enough with a few flashes of Stirland green and yellow and much-mended armor and weapons, although the occasional wealthy nobleman will make things worse by overcompensating by buying uniforms for their men that even an Averlander would be embarrassed to wear.

In the age of three emperors the count of Stirland had even resorted to creating his very own slave army. Two controversial members were Ulli Leitpold & Marquand Volker who after betraying their unit went on a crime spree in Mordheim before killing eachother.

Culture and Society

Stirlanders are cautious and thoughtful people who take a "long view" of life, more so the farther one travels east and away from the center of the Empire, into the tiny farming settlements in the hills. Rural Stirlander culture is remarkably similar to the culture of the heavily isolated mountain communities of the Appalachians and the Ozarks before the 1950s, with all that that implies, minus the inbreeding, as a result of the pride even the poorest dirt farmers take in keeping detailed and far-reaching family trees. Stirlanders have their own musical and storytelling traditions, their own folklore, and a set of social values that are tailored to their way of life, but in with the banjos and neighborliness lie the metaphorical snake handling churches and the "dumb hillbilly" stereotype. At their best, Stirlanders are more quaint than anything by the standards of everyone else, holding farm animal races and telling ribald tales in their thick accents and strange dialects. At their worst (and most exportable in the tales of annoyed travelers), Stirlanders cling to their customs so tightly that it blinds them to reality- and makes them an object of mockery throughout the rest of the Empire. The custom of the Stirhügels village has the children to throw pig shit at any strangers they see to drive away evil spirits- not because the stranger might be evil, but because this act is meant to protect the stranger. The custom of at least one village near Sylvania has every part of the house covered in garlic as to protect against the vampires, despite a lack of any proof that this has ever worked.

Incidentally, all of this would make an EXCELLENT excuse to prevent any potential revenue officers from discovering or even suspecting something like, to pick a random example that certainly isn't an accusation or anything, a vast number of stills and a high-proof grain alcohol trade that operates outside the imperial tax system. This isn't in the lore anywhere AFAIK, but geographically and thematically it works quite well for the same reasons people used to and still do dabble in moonshining in hinterlands and hill country irl. It might be of interest for writing army fluff or if your party finds a reason to take a boat up the Stir.

Many Stirlanders, especially those who now scratch out a living farming in the hills and dodging Beastmen and various undead nasties, resent their ancestors' decision to sell the land that would become the Moot, some of the most fertile land in the entire Empire, to the halflings. The belief that halflings are all dirty thieves and con artists runs strong in Stirland, although the encroaching corruption of Sylvania and the resulting unnatural weather patterns likely have more to do with how difficult it is to farm in part of the province than the sale of the Mootland. Few probably understand this, as being an illiterate peasant makes it unlikely that one could grasp the finer points of magical meteorology, and those that do would probably be reluctant to admit it, as it's much easier to punt a stuntie than cleanse the corruption of undeath from vast tracts of land. As part of festival activities in many parts of Stirland, straw halfling effigies are packed with candy that has been "stolen," and children beat the straw halfling until he "gives it back." Officials strongly deny that this tradition has its roots in real lynchings.

Provinces of the Empire
Reikland - Averland - Hochland - Middenland - Nordland - Ostland - Ostermark - Stirland - Talabecland - Wissenland
Cities: Altdorf - Averheim - Middenheim - Mordheim - Talabheim - Nuln
Lost Provinces: Solland - Drakwald
Independent Provinces: The Moot - Marienburg - Sylvania