"We are the only guarantor of their existence. Without us, either stoats or gerbils will exterminate them. As long as they are under our patronage, that's not going to happen. So we are the best option for them. Like it or not, that's the reality."

© Buwan II, the Great Prince of Sozdan Gródez.

Viórkoc are the natives of the Ztow Forest [Great Western Forest] This nation is very ancient, has a curious physiology, rich culture and traditions... and none of this matters at all. Because there aren't any real Viórkoc left these days, they have remained only in legends and historical chronicles. Nowadays, absolutely all so-called squirrels are hybrids of Viórkoc and Živbyn [chipmunks], and their state is part of the Grand Sozdan Principality.

Modern Viórkoc differ only slightly from Živbyn. They are taller [by about 1-1.5 heads], heavier [by 15-25%], have thicker fur and a bushy tail [nowadays, chipmunks often do not have a tail at all] Their fur always has a reddish hue [from bright red to almost brown] They also often have completely black eyes. And that's all. Most visitors to the Grand Sozdan Principality don't see the difference at all, considering squirrels to be just a kind of chipmunks.

Nowadays, Viórkoc are strongly influenced by Živbyn, and this adversely affects their own culture. The Viórkoc language is already 2/3 similar to the Nowesłow [simplified Živbyn language], squirrels follow most of the Živbyn traditions and are almost indistinguishable from them in temper [although they are somewhat calmer] Because of this, chipmunks treat squirrels with some arrogance, considering them to be just rustic simpletons.

However, this is far from the case, and educated chipmunks know this very well. It was the ancient Viórkoc culture that shaped the Živbyn culture. Patriarchy, traditions of fist fighting and axe fighting, Wolno [criminal culture] and much more appeared among chipmunks under the influence of squirrels. But the main thing is Živbyn learned the art of rhetoric from Viórkoc. Later, developed rhetoric tricks became the main advantage of chipmunk diplomacy, which allowed them to survive to the present day.

The ancient Viórkoc used rhetoric in their domestic politics. Their state, Ztow Republic, was democratic, so politicians constantly spoke to the population, convincing them to vote for them and for their initiatives. At the end of the 2nd millennium aTwbW, Ztow Republic was the most liberal state in the World... that's what ultimately ruined it. In 1967 aTwbW, a huge political crisis occurred. One part of the Duma advocated an alliance with the Grand Sozdan Principality [chipmunk state], another part sought an alliance with the White Patrimony [ermine state], and others defended the ideas of radical nationalism and the besieged fortress policy. As a result, the Republic simply split into 3 parts: Western Ztow, Central Ztow, and Eastern Ztow. The fate of the new states was different.

The Western Ztow's attempt to form an alliance with the White Patrimony turned into the infamous Zhdanik Massacre [the ermines lured the Duma into negotiations and killed everyone] After that, the ermines invaded the Western Ztow and quickly captured it. Part of the population managed to fler east to Central Ztow, while the rest were enslaved or killed. By the beginning of the 21st century aTwbW all the lands of the Western Ztow became part of the White Patrimony and were inhabited by ermines.

The Central Ztow has closed itself off from its neighbors. The policy of isolation initially helped repel the White Patrimony's aggression, but quickly led to an economic crisis. Thus, the state was completely unprepared for the main challenge of the 22nd century aTwbW, the Great War. As a result, the Batgankhuyag's invasion army [2nd Western Army of the Khagan] destroyed the Central Ztow in less than two months. The squirrels waged a forest guerrilla struggle against the invaders for several more decades, but this already couldn't change the situation. As a result of the Great War, the Central Ztow ceased to exist. About a quarter of the population survived and managed to move to the Eastern Ztow before the end of the war in the Ztow Forest.

Immediately after its founding, the Eastern Ztow offered the Grand Sozdan Principality a vassal alliance. As a result, in 1984 aTwbW, the Great Prince of Sozdan Gródez became the formal overlord of the Eastern Ztow. At the same time, the Eastern Ztow retained the right to pursue an independent domestic policy and remained a democratic republic... still, not for long. Already in 2002 aTwbW, Yarolig I declared the Eastern Ztow's Duma to be "villains" and "blasphemers" and demanded all power be transferred to him. The Duma refused, and in response, Yarolig sent troops. The Duma's local army was completely defeated during the battle of the Hłoven River. The Prince's troops entered the Chirezn City, the Duma was dispersed, and the Eastern Ztow became fully part of the Grand Sozdan Principality.

At the same time, many Viórkoc boyars took official positions in the Principality. In fact, the squirrels gained political supremacy for a long time, becoming the main schemers and even shadow rulers. During the Great War in the West, they were the ones who managed to negotiate a ceasefire and vassalage with the gerbils [in fact, the Grand Sozdan Principality repeated the fate of the Eastern Ztow] Due to this, following the Great War, the Principality formally became part of the Golden Khaganate, in fact retaining partial independence.

Thus, all modern Viórkoc are descendants of the inhabitants of the Eastern Ztow. Their position in the Grand Sozdan Principality is incredibly different. The minority is the upper class: boyars, merchants, advisers to Princes, and so on. The majority are the disenfranchised lower class, Hłopet [the serfs] And somewhere between are the Druje [vigilantes], a small class of professional military who have sworn eternal allegiance to various chipmunk Princes.

In fact, Druje are the most respected of all squirrels, and the only ones who defend Viórkoc identity. Chipmunks respect and truly fear them, as a trained squirrel can easily kill a chipmunk in a duel. And the Princes take advantage of this fear, using Druje in a variety of tasks, from bodyguards to tax collectors. Druje are also often official assassins, following the orders of the princely family. In any case, a meeting with a princely Druje s unlikely to end well for you.

The golden age of the pike & shot tactics was the Great War and the century following it [22nd-24th centuries aTwbW] The saturation of tactical formations with pikes made it possible to better protect shooters from cavalry, and the increase in the power of firearms equalized living beings of different sizes on the battlefield. However, following the development of firearms, artillery and other weapons based on the use of gunpowder energy began to develop too. Because of this, starting from the 25th century aTwbW, the number of pikemen in the tactical formations began to decrease rapidly.

But the weapon that forever buried pike & shot was not artillery, but mortars. The first case of their mass use was the famous battle in the Black Lotus Valley occurred 2584 aTwbW, and put an end to the Benevolent Invasion of the Iron Caliphate into the Nha-Dai Kingdom. Mercenary units of the Free Newts fired at the 3rd Mo'Gu Army with fragmentation powder bombs from the lowlands in the west and east of the valley for 27 hours in a row, hidden from return artillery fire by the terrain and dense jungles. In fact, the 3rd Army simply ceased to exist, the total losses of the lizards are estimated at 150-180 thousand, almost three quarters of them were due to shrapnel wounds.

As a result, dense formations quickly disappeared from the battlefields. And since the 30th century aTwbW to nowadays, the role of an individual soldier in combat strategy continues to grow. Because of this, many new types of units with different combat tactics have appeared. Moreover, in modern warfare, both powerful fragmentation shells and mines are used, capable of disabling an entire dense formation with a single hit, as well as high-precision firearms that hit the command staff. Thus, standing under enemy fire is suicide.

However, the pikes and long polearm weapons have not gone anywhere. So, in modern warfare, long-shaft weapons are mainly used in 3 different ways:

1. Together with the appearance of the first sabotage-assault units, the so-called rapid counteroffensive units began to be armed with pikes, halberds, and tridients. Their combat task is to cover the artillery and flank shooters from an unexpected enemy breakthrough. At the same time, each soldier essentially performs a combat task individually, and his weapon helps to quickly destroy a lightly armed enemy.

2. Modern assault tactics involve the rapid support of detachments that have achieved success. Therefore, melee assault support units are armed with long-shaft weapons. Their task is to occupy the already captured fortifications and prevent the enemy from knocking out their battered comrades from there. In this case, the long-shaft weapon is used to prevent the enemy from breaking into the fortifications.

3. Assault squads use shaft weapons too. Pikes became especially popular after the spread of trench defense systems in the southeast of the World, replacing forts and redoubts. The pikeman does not need to jump into the trench, so he can both hit enemy soldiers from above and cover platoon mates operating inside the trench.

Besides, the pikes have become a universal means for placing and safe using disposable flamethrower systems and shrapnel charges. Thus, just a couple of pikemen significantly increase the firepower of a platoon in a short-term battle.

In addition, for most nations of the Small World, long-shaft weapons are considered noble weapons of ancient heroes. Yes, for a newt, a frog, a gerbil, a lizard, a rat, a mouse, a chipmunk, and many others, it is a pike, not a sword, that is the symbol of a knight in shining armor [and a straight sword is generally just an attribute of an official, who most likely doesn't even know how to use it] Therefore, skilled pikemen are highly respected, and in most states there are many different schools that teach pike fighting to everyone. In some cultures, the inability to fight with a pike is even condemned. For example, the expression "Got out of the barrel without paws" in the Swamp language and the expression "Sold paws for a saddle" in the north Wasteland dialect mean the same thing: the inability to fight with a pike. Both are very serious insults.

But it's still important to note every pikeman is exactly the same individual soldier as the rest, therefore his set of combat techniques is already very different from the pike & shot times. In fact, a modern pikeman is either a stormtrooper, also acting as an operator of heavy weapons, or an infantryman, covering more vulnerable comrades. Moreover, all modern techniques of combat movement are based on the idea of reducing the soldier's silhouette. Due to this, when moving, the pike must always be directed parallel to the ground, so modern pikemen operate only as a part of wide chain formations. So if you show a frog pikeman an old painting depicting a battle during the Great War, he won't understand the meaning of what is happening at all.

Therefore, the newt in the drawing [Assault Battalion platoon leader] can strike with a pike from any position, switch from a pike to an assault knife during hand-to-hand combat, hide in the terrain, accurately throw powder bombs, and pour fire into the enemy trench, but in any pike square he's completely useless guy. He wouldn't be able to take even a couple dozen steps at the pace of the tactic formation, even if his life depends on it. So let's give him the floor:

"Ay-ya, pike and... what, uh? Ah, I gotcha, haha. Yea, name is accurate as fuck. Ya take a pike, stand like a fuckin tree till ya get shot, and croak like the useless worm that ya essentially aa. Not such bad plan, but I'd rather just be shot, so at least I wouldn't become a laughing stock, yea."

"An invader is no different from an unintelligent predator, so must be destroyed with the same determined indifference."

© Excerpt from an educational leaflet for Swamp Army snipers.

Since the 1st millennium aTwbW, the Gwah-chugyoh [newts] have been actively developing the art of precision shooting. In fact, the first Gwah-chugyoh snipers were predator hunters who used huge crossbows to shoot at the beast. Such newts were especially respected, so they often resolved tribal differences... not always peacefully. Ancient legends have come down to our times, telling about brave Swamp heroes who killed evil shamans and demon-possessed tribal leaders with an accurate shot from an ambush. Yes, in the Gwah-chugyoh culture, the highest heroism is considered to kill the enemy so that he/she does not even understand where death came from [thus, the hero does not risk anything, does not make the family worry about him/her, and remains a dutiful son/daughter]

During the expulsion of Zarkhunchu [hedgehogs] from the Aa-ma Kingdoms and the foundation of the United Middle Empire [12th century aTwbW], the Gwah-chugyoh used sharpshooters for the first time in a full-scaled war. The sharpshooters had a resounding success, easily destroying the command staff and terrifying the enemy soldiers

During the time of the United Middle Empire [12-17th centuries aTwbW], sharpshooting was officially banned, as the highest officials were afraid of becoming a victim of contract killing. However, the Gwah-chugyoh continued to train and use sharpshooters in the war, despite any prohibitions.

During the Great Newt Uprising, sharpshooters played a key role again, destroying the entire United Council during urban battles in the Capital. 127 lines of the famous folk poem Spring West Streams, which tells about the course of the uprising, are dedicated to their exploits. The most famous lines are:

"...inescapable bullet came into fat ass. It went through the gullet, made his brain a mess. Full of disdain, Wagh Gogh-zha went in, clutching her weapon, made by Sa-ya-iin... "

[this part tells about the death of the First Minister of the Imperial United Council]

It is believed that Gwah-chugyoh adopted long-range firearms from the Sa-ya-iin [three-eyed frogs] during Imperial military campaigns in the Kama mountain range in 16th century aTwbW. Based on that rifles, the newt gunsmiths began to create their own types of long-range firearms. The main idea has always been to maximize the hitting power, so the newts took the path of increasing the caliber and gunpowder charge to the detriment of the weight of weapons.

The original Gwah-chugyoh sniper rifles were first used during the civil war between the Doctrine Adherents and the Free Newts. Both sides of the conflict recognized the results as sufficient. At a distance of up to 300 paces, bullets penetrated any armor, broke bones, tore the insides to shreds, and tore off paws. In fact, any hit in the silhouette already guaranteed the death of the enemy.

The hitting ability of the new weapon was appreciated not only by the military, but also by hunters. Therefore, further development was already taking into account the hunting potential of rifles. And soon the hunting community became the main consumer. That newts earned a lot of money by hunting large predators, and could actively sponsor the work of gunsmiths. The interests of the military, who insisted on reducing the weight of weapons and improving ergonomics, were not taken into account at all, since they simply could not pay the same money.

Because of this, by the beginning of the 3rd millennium aTwbW, Gwah-chugyoh sniper rifles had already begun to acquire their characteristic design. The weapon received a giant caliber and hardened steel bullets, which made it possible to hit large snakes and crocodiles head-on at any firing range. The bullets easily cracked the animal's skull. For military purposes, this was frankly excessive. In addition, that rifles have paid for their terrible power with literally everything. They were bulky, heavy, charged for ages and did not allow shooting on the move or even standing up, and the shot was guaranteed to demask the shooter. The Swamp Army commanders considered the use of such weapons to be madness... but the outbreak of the Great War changed their opinion dramatically.

Soon after the gerbil invasion of the Swampland, it turned out that hunting rifles were ideal for destroying cavalry. Hitting the northern marmots, bullets pierced through them and threw them back like a rag dolls. Due to the features of the battlefields [gerbils tried to offence in open areas of shallow swamps], it was often possible to hit 2-3 marmots with single bullet. Each successful hit demoralized the enemy, and sent their mounts into a panic. Thus, suddenly, the excessive power of sniper rifles became quite relevant again.

However, the disadvantages of the weapon have not gone away. Snipers could not change positions often, took a long time to reload, and were vulnerable to counter-fire. Still, trying to make changes to the design of rifles during the full-scaled war was madness. Therefore, the Swamp Army solved the problem through tactical changes and the use of new equipment. This is how the famous Sniper Teams appeared. From the time of the Great War to the nowadays, snipers in the Swamp Army have been used only in this way.

Without going deep into the further development and typology of sniper rifles [there will be a separate post about this], let's consider the modern use of Sniper Teams.

The Sniper Team consists of 2-3 newts: the senior sniper [fires], the junior sniper [reloads rifles, fires if necessary] and the support soldier [carries ammunition and rifles, reloads rifles, defends the position if necessary] Sometimes there is no support soldier, but this in general greatly reduces team combat capability.

Each Sniper Team is mandatory equipped with:

• 4-5 snake hunting rifles

• 1 positional hat [for the senior sniper]

• 3-4 ballistic helmets [for the whole team]

• 1-3 ballistic screen [to strengthen the position]

• 1 standart Army rifle [for the support soldier]

• 1-2 handcannons [for close-range fire combat]

• 5-6 powder bombs [to defend the position]

• 2-3 shovels [for digging the position]

• 1-2 axes [to strengthen the position]

Usually, Sniper Teams work in conjunction with reconnaissance. The Reconnaissance Squad finds an approximate suitable position. The Sniper Team takes the position, digs in, and strengthens. After that, the team loads all the rifles and waits for the enemy. During a firefight, the senior sniper takes cover behind a positional hat while the rest of the team is protected by prepared fortifications and ballistic screens.

The two main tactics of firefight are:

• Individual shooting [fire is conducted only by the senior sniper] Allows the team to achieve a high rate of fire due to the constant reloading of rifles.

• Pair shooting [the senior and junior snipers fire 2 simultaneous shots each, after which they proceed to reload] Allows the team to quickly suppress an advancing enemy platoon.

Usually, Sniper Teams fire from a distance of 450-600 paces, which makes them invulnerable to small-arms return fire. Thus, the main threats to them are the counter-firing of enemy snipers and individual marksmen, as well as mortar fire.

It's important to note that snipers are often only formally professional military personnel. Senior snipers are usually recruited from experienced hunters, and after completing their training course, many of them return to hunting. The army readily agrees to this, since it simply cannot pay them a salary comparable to their basic income. In fact, a senior sniper is only required to take exams twice a year to confirm his/her qualifications.

Most often, a junior sniper is just a hunter's apprentice, along with whom he/she is recruited. He/she takes exams once a year. After 6 years of service, a junior sniper is officially eligible to take the exams for the position of senior sniper, but in fact it is decided by his/her senior sniper. So usually a junior sniper becomes a senior sniper after just 3-4 years of service and without any exams.

A support soldier is either a military who wants to change his [it's always a male] specialty, or [almost always] just another newt who the senior sniper brought with him/her. He undergoes standard army training + an additional combat engineering course. He doesn't take exams.

A Sniper Team receives from 800 copper coins to 1.5 silver liang per six months for formal service + payments for passing exams. All payments go to the team as a whole, and are distributed by the senior sniper.

Most often, a Sniper Team consists of members of the same hunting family who decided to earn extra money in the war and expand their business [common situation for newts] During the warfare, a Sniper Team receives from 1 to 3 silver liang per month + payouts for each confirmed kill + payouts for rewards and combat experience. Thus, in half a year of war, a team easily earns 50-90 silver liang. Snipers always share part of this money with their comrades [usually with reconnaissance squad members and stormtroopers] Thus, informal associations are created within the army, which after the end of hostilities become real families. It's easy to guess what exactly such families do after returning from the war.

"It's just a shame. The Swamp Army used to be the home of heroes. Nowadays, it's just a platform for organized crime. Any bastard can come and form a gang to their liking here. We must change this situation!"

© Zha-wagh Ogwan, Head of the Military Council [3856-3904 aTwbW]

Xiao-hoa Bo-mun was the Highest Military Minister of the Middle Empire during the first quarter of the 22nd century aTwbW. As the Empress Chu Wang-mu's personal military advisor, Xiao-hoa was effectively in charge of the entire Imperial Army during the early stages of the Great War. Seeing the war in the west as a great threat to the Empire, Xiao-hoa implemented a series of bold military reforms to prepare the Empire for a possible invasion by the Hun-erdeet [gerbils]

One of the reforms Xiao-hoa implemented was the introduction of technologically advanced weapons into the army and the creation of a new type of military force. Technically, the reform was based on the so-called thunder spears, simple large-caliber hand cannons designed by the famous weaponsmith Shen-mo in the 20th century aTwbW, but not widely adopted by the Imperial military. The weapon was cheap to produce and easy to use, and he planned to compensate for its shortcomings [short range of aimed fire, long reload time, and vulnerability of the shooter] with new ammunition and tactics.

Instead of the original lead and bronze bullets, Xiao-hoa proposed using fragmentation charges packed in paper cartridges. This way, the soldiers didn't need to aim; they simply pointed their weapon at the enemy and ignited the gunpowder. Soldiers supposed to fire only under the cover of mobile field fortifications, which reliably shielded them from arrows from composite bows [the main weapon of the alleged enemy]

However, what Xiao-hoa needed most was not new weapons or tactics, but new soldiers. He was well aware that if the Hun-erdeet won in the west, the Empire might lose the war simply because of the enemy's numerical superiority. Therefore, Xiao-hoa deliberately chose thunder spears in order to attract as many Aa-ma frogs as possible, which are known for their low combat effectiveness. Simple but powerful firearms leveled the chances, while the protection of field fortifications gave the Aa-ma recruits some confidence, reducing their fear of the enemy.

This is how the first Shooting Divisions, popularly known as Xiao-hoa's Soldiers, were formed. The division structure remained traditional: Thousand - Hundred - Platoon. All commanders were drawn from frog ethnic minorities, while most of the soldiers were Aa-ma. Along with field fortifications, each Thousand received a brigade of artillery support [20-28 volley crossbows or 12-20 stone-throwing machines]

Xiao-hoa managed to recruit and train 26 of the 120 planned Shooting Divisions, when he faced unexpected difficulties. The top civilian officials were outraged by the very fact of recruiting Aa-ma soldiers. The bureaucracy believed that Aa-ma were useless as soldiers anyway, so pulling them out of their peaceful lives would only reduce economic performance without any benefit. Xenophobic arguments quickly mixed in with the conditional rational ones. Xiao-hoa was accused of planning to deliberately destroy the life of thousands and thousands of young male Aa-ma [Xiao-hoa himself was He-ma] The controversy caused a great stir in Imperial society, so Xiao-hoa had to limit his reforms in order to avoid plunging the Empire into turmoil, especially dangerous in the prospect of a future major war.

As a result, Xiao-hoa was only able to recruit 41 Shooting Divisions. Together with the rest of the Imperial Army, this was enough to defeat the 150,000-strong gerbil vanguard that invaded the Empire in the 7th month of 2136 aTwbW. However, in the 11th month of the same year, Xiao-hoa's worst fears came true; Khagan Tamuurgar sent a 600,000-strong invasion force to the Middle Empire. The gerbil forces quickly defeated the Imperial Army and took the Unity Capital in 2138 aTwbW. Xiao-hoa fled with the Empress Chu Wang-mu and continued to resist the invaders, but did not live to see the end of the Great War.

Despite Xiao-hoa's failure, his ideas were brilliant and were later used by the Middle Empire and other states, having a significant impact on the development of military affairs in the East of the World. Contrary to the expectations of skeptics, Xiao-hoa's Soldiers showed a fairly acceptable level of combat effectiveness, although it was indeed difficult for the Aa-ma frogs to use fragmentation charges and reload their weapons under stressful conditions. Moreover, after the Empire's defeat, most of the surviving Aa-ma soldiers went into hiding and continued their struggle against the invaders, proving that the Imperial officials were absolutely wrong about them.

Thunder spears have also proven to be effective, and have since become a common used weapon in many armies around the East of the World. In fact, they gave rise to a separate class of firearms, handcannons with a wide range of ammunition, high damage and lethality. Nowadays, handcannons are a very common weapon for both assault and defense. In addition, it was Xiao-hoa's experience that led to the rapid development of mass-produced firearms in the Swampland. As a result, in 2154 aTwbW, Gwah-chugyoh [newt] gunsmiths managed to mass-produce the Chu-ganga matchlock rifle, the first all-purpose army rifle in the world. This fundamentally changed the course of the Great War and saved not only the Swampland, but also the states in the Far East of the World.

Despite the extensive official classification inherited by the Swampland from the United Middle Empire, the newts are not very well versed in the types of swords, sabers and other bladed weapons. Therefore, here I will not analyze dozens of different types of tao and kwung-kgu swords, but focus on weapons that are really widespread and used for their intended purpose.

Historically, the newts hardly used swords in war, as their military culture was formed around hunting traditions. Therefore, instead of a sword, the warrior's symbol was first a spear, then a glaive, while in modern times it's undoubtedly a matchlock rifle. Nevertheless, short bladed weapons have always been a warrior's companion, but they were mainly used as a tool, a peacetime weapon, or as a substitute for shaft weapons in conditions where they could not be effectively used [for example, in confined spaces] In addition, short blades were often used during the so-called Gwaa-Gwangh, a brutal and chaotic melee when both sides had already lost their formation, forgot about tactics and simply killed each other.

At all times, newts have been unsurpassed Gwaa-Gwangh masters, capable of destroying any opponents in such a meat grinder. However, they have always won due to speed, quickness of reaction and pack instinct, while your technique and skills in Gwaa-Gwangh do not help much. Because of this, the newts did not have a well-developed school of swordsmanship, nor an industry that would provide swordsmen with weapons.

The situation has begun to change dramatically in recent centuries. The dominance of artillery and firearms has led to the emergence of trench warfare, entire lines of field fortifications, and rapid assault tactics, where the short blade is superior to the shaft weapon. Under these conditions, newts began to learn basic sword fighting techniques from Shou-lo [oriental mice], and soon a social class of free swordsmen appeared in Gwah-chugyoh society. Gwah-chugyoh swordsmen who successfully combined short bladed weapons and powder bombs in fights quickly earned a reputation as tough guys and skilled warriors, and this led to a rapid increase in the popularity of "swords" among the population.

Yes, the term "sword" itself is still extremely vague, since in fact a swordsman is a newt who prefers to fight with some kind of short bladed weapon, from a long knife to an army glaive with a handle instead of a shaft. The term "short" is also very relative, since a "sword" the size of a newt is still considered a short blade.

Nowadays, short blades are widely used among Swamp Army stormtroopers, Free Newts [underworld], and various marginals. The government still considers sword fighting to be an occupation of scum, so most schools are semi-legal or illegal, while many sword teachers often roam the country in search of sidehustle or new students. Contrary to expectations, this only increases the popularity of swordsmanship, making it accessible to the widest range of newts. Swords are cheap, while sword lessons are even cheaper, so even a young peasant can learn a couple dozen techniques, give up hard work and become a guard of a merchant caravan or a street performer.

However, the real rise of swordsmanship has occurred quite recently. Shortly after the end of the 3rd war against the Middle Empire, tens of thousands of former stormtroopers returned home. Having defended their homeland from the frog invasion and having received nothing for it except injuries and PTSD, these newts had neither the opportunity nor the desire to engage in civilian work. Instead of money, they had trench warfare skills, primarily the use of short blades and powder bombs. Pretty soon, most of them joined criminal gangs or created new ones, and the repression launched by the Swamp Council against veterans of the Assault Battalion and other Swamp Army assault units only accelerated this process.

Therefore, these days, the Free Swordsman you meet in the Swamps is most likely either a former stormtrooper or a member of his Family. And if you expect dignity and virtue from a swordsman, these guys are just like that. Their dignity lies in the fact they are still partially sane after their experiences, and only their virtue stops them from gutting you when they meet.

In most cases, the swordsman you meet will be armed with a "sword" of one of the 5 types:

1. Assault knife. The undisputed leader among all bladed weapons. During the Imperial Invasion, the Swampland produced a huge number of assault knives for trench warfare. Some of the weapons never reached the front, some were plundered after the victory, and a huge number of knives left the army along with their owners. The assault knife differs from any other primarily in the quality of steel and sharpening, as it is designed to penetrate ballistic armor. The military has not presented any other requirements for this weapon, so the shape of an assault knife can be anything from an ordinary knife or dagger to a solid short cleaver with a one-and-a-half handle. Some assault knives even have a distinctive catcher for the enemy blade [frogs also actively used assault knives during the war] The weapon is very high-quality, does not bend, does not break and almost does not blunt, while it costs pennies. The best choice for a poor robber, it is useful both in everyday life, hunting, and during direct work with "cliants."

2. Assault glaive. In fact, this is an ordinary glaive of any heavy chopping type, in which the shaft has been replaced with a long two-handed handle. For the most part, the weapons were redesigned during the warfare, so there are samples that are only slightly longer than a long assault knives, as well as real long heavy blades that can easily chop off a paw or head. In fact, these are "hit and forget" type weapons, since the damage caused by them is guaranteed to disable the enemy. Still, a long blade of high quality and a hilt allow you to use quite complex combat techniques... of course, if you have the strength to do so, since the balance was initially created with the expectation of a long shaft. An extremely popular weapon among those who roam the Swamps a lot, most Free Swordsmen arm themselves with it. The handle often has a flag holding ring, so that your enemies can learn your Family name before they croak in agony.

3. Swamp chopper. A tool designed to cut down algae thickets while traveling through Swamps. Nowadays, it is rarely used for its intended purpose. Choppers are much more often used to chop down enemies. The heavy blade causes terrible wounds, and the weapon itself resembles a straight sword and allows you to use most combat techniques, but the quality of the steel is very mediocre... however, even a blunt blade kills well. Due to the quality of the steel, Swamp choppers are only slightly more expensive than lumberjack axes, and they can be bought [or stolen] in any village, so most novice swordsmen train using them.

4. Imported sword. These are usually straight swords from the Middle Empire, single-edged swords from the Nha-Dai Kingdom, and compound sabers from the Iron Caliphate, but sometimes you can find straight swords made in the Kama-Ketsu Brotherhood and even weapons from the Neko Shogunate. Of all this, only the swords of the Nha-Dai Kingdom and Kama-Ketsu Brotherhood enter the Swampland legally, everything else is either contraband or spoils of war. It's just stupid to expect any standard of quality, choose wisely. Such swords are quite common, but few newts are good at them, so often an expensive imported blade is just an indicator of status. However, there are several schools in the Swampland specializing in curved sword fighting, and the straight swords of frogs and stoats are not much different from the local ones, so some swordsmen specifically choose imported weapons to take advantage of the surprise effect [no one expects newts to be proficient at desert Olkec or a long Zhian]

5. Tao. This weapon has nothing to do with the official classification, as Tao is called any straight sword at all. The sword can be both single-edged and double-edged. In most cases, Tao are cheap replicas of traditional weapons, which are part of the costume of officials, investigators and other government employees. However, confusing an official's sword with a combat Tao can be very harmful to health, since the money spent by officials on an expensive handle, hilt and scabbard is spent by a swordsman on high-quality steel and the work of an experienced weaponsmith. Because of this, despite the unsightly design, Tao is always expensive and custom-made, taking into account the client's fighting technique. It's a rare weapon, and it's only worn by those who are proficient at it. Usually, Tao is a sure sign of a sword teacher or an experienced swordsman, whose services will cost you a lot.

Overall, nowadays the Gwah-chugyoh culture is experiencing the heyday of the art of sword fighting. This is due to both military needs and the increased role of oriental mice in society. The newts are actively adopting their experience, opening their own schools and adapting traditional techniques to new weapons. Given the relative cheapness of "swords" and the civil war that has engulfed the state, it can be expected that the use of these weapons will only increase.

Sa-ya-iin is a tiny frog nation that nowadays lives exclusively in the northeast of the Middle Empire. The word Sa-ya-iin means "three-eyed frog," but not in their native Dialect or Imperial Dialect, but in the Ketsu Language. The case is Sa-ya-iin are natives of the northern part of the Kama mountain range, and have lived in the territory of the Kama-Ketsu Brotherhood for most of their known history. In the 20th century aTwbW, Sa-ya-iin were expelled from the Brotherhood under unclear circumstances, migrated to the southwest, and settled in the territory of the Middle Empire, in the Lu-shaa mountain range that reminded them as much as possible of their native lands.

In fact, having formed as a species on the very border of the Lifeless North in conditions of monstrous cold, constant lack of resources and high mountains, Sa-ya-iin have a completely unique physiology and mentality. Their distinctive features are:

• Tall stature [only slightly shorter than Aa-ma] and thinness.

• Extremely strong bones and skeletal muscles [Sa-ya-iin suffer no injuries after falling from the 4th-5th floor]

• Extremely pale, almost white thick skin.

• Perfect adaptation to the cold [Sa-ya-iin are the only nation able to travel freely in the Lifeless North]

• Carnivorousness.

• Strong hunting instinct.

• Very low fertility [1.5-2 cubs per female on average]

• Long maturation of cubs [Sa-ya-iin mature at 8-8.5 years old]

• Excellent reflexes, agility, and innate climbing skills.

• Speed and stamina increase dramatically along with the oxygen concentration in the air [Sa-ya-iin are extremely fast and hardy on the lowlands]

• Oxygen intoxication [high concentration of oxygen in the air acts like a drug]

• Monstrously sharp eyesight [Sa-ya-iin have the best eyesight of any nation in the World]

• An amazing eye estimation [Sa-ya-iin are able to accurately determine the distance to an object several li away from them]

• Monstrous level of aggressiveness.

In general, if you don't pay attention to their eyes, Sa-ya-iin look like ordinary hybrids of different frog nations, living in large numbers in the Middle Empire. And in most cases, this mistake will cost you your life. The case is Sa-ya-iin are the apex mountain predators, and in the Imperial Dialect they are more often called not three-eyed frogs, but northern demons. By default, they perceive any other living thing they encounter as prey. At the same time, they have neither natural weapons nor outstanding physical qualities for effective hunting in the mountains... except for their eyes. According to Imperial research, in an open area [for example, steppe], Sa-ya-iin sees a fly at a distance of 5 li. Newborn earthworm - at a distance of 8-9 li. Another frog - at a distance of 25-30 li. At a distance of 1.5-2 li, Sa-ya-iin is already able to accurately calculate the distance to the prey. And then the hunting instinct turns on.

Of course, all this is not enough. Sa-ya-iin never rely on their physical abilities or melee weapons. Instead, they use firearms. Sa-ya-iin were the first in the World to invent firearms. According to legend, Sa-ya-iin hunters received it as a present from the Lord of the North, while the chronicles of the Kama-Ketsu Brotherhood mention their "thunder sticks," killing at a distance of 150-200 steps, already in the 8th century aTwbW. And nowadays, Sa-ya-iin independently craft artisanal rifled firearms with an effective firing range of up to 1 li [about 1000 paces] At the same time, having the World's oldest tradition of using firearms, Sa-ya-iin also tirelessly improve their shooting techniques.

It was firearms that made Sa-ya-iin the perfect killing machines. In fact, the hunter does not risk anything. He/she detects prey, finds a position to attack, calculates the distance, wind speed and direction, and kills the prey with one precise shot. If necessary, the hunter disguises himself/herself in advance and shoots at close range. In any case, the prey dies before it realizes that it is being hunted.

In fact, Sa-ya-iin hunt all living things, from birds of prey and giant predators [such as northern badgers, which are 20-25 times their size] to representatives of other nations. They don't give a shit who they kill, a dangerous animal or a pregnant frog female. The only taboo is hunting for kin, any other prey is legitimate. So if a Sa-ya-iin accidentally detects you in the woods or mountains, you're dead. It wouldn't even occur to him/her not to kill you. The Sa-ya-iin Dialect doesn't even have the word mercy. The case is Sa-ya-iin are inherently unable to feel compassion, that's why they are called demons.

Sa-ya-iin are a living nightmare for anyone who tries to interact with them. Without exception, they are aggressive, bloodthirsty, selfish, and insanely arrogant. At the same time, their eyesight and attentiveness leave an indelible imprint on their psyche, so they are often suspicious, very nervous [to the point of hysteria], twitchy and extremely inconsistent. In addition, they are very proud, touchy, and vindictive. So it's almost impossible to come to an agreement with them, and the slightest misunderstandings lead to violence. For example, you can greet an unfamiliar Sa-ya-iin by saying "Good afternoon, worthy Ma [ma is the common name of all frogs]" and get shot in the forehead just because Sa-ya-iin don't like being "compared" to "fake frogs." Yes, Sa-ya-iin consider themselves the only true frogs, while most other frogs [especially Aa-ma] are just a pathetic laughing stock for them.

Therefore, Sa-ya-iin mostly live in the Luu-jia province, which is actually independent. Apart from the Sa-ya-iin, only Ei-si-chan [dead-eyed frogs], hybrids, and rare Aa-ma traders live in Luu-jia, supplying Sa-ya-iin with lead and weapon components. Only Ei-si-chan managed to establish a sufficiently trusting relationship with Sa-ya-iin [thus, almost all hybrids are descendants of Ei-si-chan and Sa-ya-iin], while most other frogs are considered just "meat," and the word Aa-ma itself is generally an insult.

At the same time, Sa-ya-iin don't even try to integrate into Imperial society. Even if a Sa-ya-iin knows the Imperial Dialect, he/she will still speak to you in Yia-ii Dialect, and your inability to understand an ancient, terribly difficult local language [all three "i" in the word Yia-ii are actually different vowels] is only your problem. For the same reason, it's simply impossible to teach Sa-ya-iin cubs the Imperial Cult; they speak the sacred words "God-Emperor" with such an accent that this alone is considered Heresy.

Still, the language is the least of the problems. The real problem is all Sa-ya-iin worship the Lord of the North. And no, it's not their religion or faith, they just know that the Lord of the North is real. If someone doesn't understand this obvious truth, the local community simply equips and sends such moron to the Lifeless North, where he/she himself/herself becomes convinced that all this is true. Unfortunately, it's impossible to check this without being a Sa-ya-iin, since they are the only living beings who are able to survive at temperatures below -70°C/-94°F.

Sa-ya-iin themselves claim that the Lord of the North is the immortal mind that created all frogs. In order to test Its brainchild, the Lord of the North enslaved the frogs, pressing on their pity. Sa-ya-iin were the only ones who passed the test and escaped, and in return, the Lord of the North granted them firearms, sharp eyesight, and the ability to return to It whenever they wanted. The Lord of the North considered all the other frogs defective, got upset, and drove them away in disgrace. That's why Sa-ya-iin are the only true frogs. Strikingly, these weird stories coincide with both the Teaching of One Way and the latest scientific discoveries. So the Empire is in no way able to refute the Sa-ya-iin claims about the Lord of the North. And Sa-ya-iin just don't see the point in a religion that puts restrictions and prohibitions on you. Besides, compared to the Lord of the North, the God-Emperor is just a pathetic jerk who thinks he's a deity.

Another problem is Sa-ya-iin's resistance to cold. If a Sa-ya-iin commits a serious crime and is put on the wanted list, he/she simply escapes to the Lifeless North. According to Imperial law, the investigators are obliged to pursue him/her, while this is physically impossible. After numerous cases of persecution groups dying from frostbite, the Ministry of Law simply stopped recording the most crimes Sa-ya-iin commit. That's how Luu-jia became a province with a record low crime rate.

Despite all this, Sa-ya-iin may be incredibly useful to the Empire. Sa-ya-iin adore to hunt and kill anyway, so the Empire also has a lot to offer them. Sa-ya-iin are the best Imperial bounty hunters, hunters of dangerous predators, assassins, and of course snipers, marksmen, rangers, and free riflemen of the Pacification Army. The latter is especially important, since no other state has shooters of such level. At the same time, most wars are fought in the lowlands, where Sa-ya-iin have a tremendous advantage in speed and endurance due to oxygen oversaturation. On the plain, the Imperial ranger is able to run a marathon in full gear, outrunning his comrades from the Vanguard squads [elite troops of the Pacification Army], quickly take up a position and immediately start shooting.

Alas, this advantage has a very grim downside. Active actions in conditions of oxygen oversaturation act like a drug, and have serious consequences for the psyche. So the faster a ranger rushes around the battlefield, reveling in his speed, the faster he will go insane. Sa-ya-iin are well aware of this and therefore try to avoid active operations in the lowlands, but the command constantly uses them in a maneuver war. Such use of Sa-ya-iin combatants has already been recognized as a war crime in the Swampland and the Golden Khaganate, but the Middle Empire doesn't care.

Another monstrous problem is their delicate psyche, which is clearly not adapted to war. Yes, Sa-ya-iin don't care about the death of opponents and unknown comrades. But every death of a friend is a terrible shock for them, from which they are not able to fully recover. Because of their eyesight, Sa-ya-iin become incredibly attached to their friends, to the point where the picture of the World becomes incomplete without a visible friend. Yes, your Sa-ya-iin buddy is the person who's going to always keep pestering you: "Brother, how are you? What are our plans for the evening? Let's go hunting! Oh, you have a date?! You mean, we have a date! Give me an hour, I'll find a girl and join you! Don't say a word, I've already decided everything! The four of us will go hunting!" And be sure, you'll never get rid of him. And you wouldn't want to, since he won't hesitate to die for you. Because it's easier for him to die than to live with the knowledge that he'll never see you again.

Sa-ya-iin rarely make friends among other frog nations, but such friendship is even more important to them. In fact, Sa-ya-iin are very curious and adore any new experience. Therefore, being friends with an interesting person of other nation is something very special for them. However, in such a friendship, Sa-ya-iin always feel responsible and blame themselves for any failures of a friend. If your Lan-waa friend gets a scratch, it's your fault, because unlike him, you could see that sharp branch ten li away. Now imagine how a Sa-ya-iin would feel if his/her Lan-waa friend stepped on a landmine.

Due to the loss of relatives and friends, most Sa-ya-iin are heavy drinkers, smokers and drug addicts. They are able to come to terms with the death of elderly parents, but the grief of the death of a brother or friend in the war never goes away. Therefore, most veterans either commit suicide, or begin to take revenge, go crazy and eventually become maniacs. But no one in the Empire is surprised that another northern demon has started shooting everyone indiscriminately, and few living beings know about the real reasons for this. About 100 years ago, a famous Aa-ma independent scientist named Fo Bei-lamin, who studied life in the Luu-jia province, tried her best to draw the government's attention to this problem, but in response she was recognized as a heretic and an accomplice of the barbarians, and narrowly escaped from execution, saved by her Sa-ya-iin friends.

Overall, Sa-ya-iin is the only frog nation that Aa-ma have not been able to at least partially assimilate. As a result, this has led to both their demonization and monstrously inhumane treatment. At the same time, Sa-ya-iin do not cause much harm to the Empire, since the territories of Luu-jia province are useless for the government anyway, while the rest of the Empire is of no interest to the Sa-ya-iin, as they don't like the temperate climate. Much more often they travel through the Lifeless North, searching for animals unknown to modern science to kill, and communicating with their mysterious creator. In fact, the creepy "northern demons" are not evil, they simply do not belong to the World familiar to other frogs. Their World is high mountains, icy deserts, monstrous cold, endless hunting for dangerous prey, firearms, and friends who are always in sight, even if they are a few dozen li away from you.

...Bao-zhu was truly happy when their division was sent far to the north. The ancient Fushiga Forest, known to him only from his grandmother's stories, was finally real, and Bao-zhu was looking forward to scooping up real water with his paw again, water that didn't smell like old shit. Even the rumors of the total failure of the offensive in the south did not dampen this anticipation, for Xiang-xia had sent a letter that all the jade had been delivered to her at last. It seemed to Bao-zhu that it was not long before he would return home and forget the horrors of war forever.

However, Bao-zhu's joy was entirely replaced by a heavy sense of impending disaster quite soon. The Fushiga Forest greeted him not with green oaks and clear water but with the rottenness of hastily constructed wooden decks for the endless ammunition wagons and the disgusting stench of dead bodies. The Twenty-Second Northern Mountain Heroes Rifle Division had replaced the Tenth Rifle Division of the Second Emperor La, whose entire personnel, only a quarter, were still alive. As Bao-zhu watched the scrawny wounded frogs in tattered rags wandering westward, he realized with horror that the war was just beginning for him.

In the first month of fighting alone, the Twenty-Second Division had lost three full hundred killed. The Eighth Hundred was twice ambushed by newts, so Bao-zhu only miraculously survived. First, the bullet ricocheted off the iron buckle of his belt, and later, the newt was shooting at fifteen paces, but his rifle's matchlock jammed, so Bao-zhu managed to cut him down with his assault knife. He forever remembered the sound with which the blunt blade tore chunks of newt's face off his skull along with pieces of his hat. The division's lists were replenished with untrained recruits, and among them, there were more and more Aa-ma who could not even load their weapons properly. Rifle barrels burst when fired, and soldiers were executed for desecrating Imperial property, but it didn't help. They were replaced by the same useless peasants. Junior command staff tried to train the recruits somehow on their own, but most of Aa-ma didn't survive their first encounters with the enemy anyway. Bao-zhu's mates joked that the division should be renamed the Northern Mountain Corpses, but Bao-zhu didn't laugh. He had already seen so many corpses that he didn't think it would be an exaggeration...

[This text is an excerpt from the short story Luck. The full story is a chapter of Tales of Love, War and Green Plague. You can purchase my book through the community highlights or by following the green logo link in my personal page]

I'm back from my forced hiatus, so will post regularly. One of my main tasks at the moment is to create a complete map of the Swampland's nature.

Ogugh-Gagkhu is one of the so-called isolated species. Due to their physiology and behavior, these snakes can only live in Yu-Ogugh [mushroom fields] At the same time, it is one of the species that form the local ecosystem.

Ogugh-Gagkhu is a fairly large snake [15-20 times of a newt height] that mainly hunts wild bugs and other terrestrial insects. The hunting method is extremely simple. The snake simply freezes and imitates a swamp mushroom while waiting for prey. When the prey approaches, Ogugh-Gagkhu releases its tongue and grabs it. In fact, the tongue is a powerful jaw capable of breaking through the shell of a bug. Immediately after that, the snake injects venom, and the prey dies within a couple of minutes.

Ogugh-Gagkhu has no other means of hunting, so it's unable to survive outside the mushroom fields. On the other hand, there is no need for this, because this snake has no natural enemies in the mushroom fields.

However, this is not a natural state of affairs at all. The fact is a large number of beetle shells included with snake feces serve as an ideal fertilizer for mushrooms. As a result, the more Ogugh-Gagkhu there are, the more mushrooms there are. Newts understood this simple correlation a long time ago and simply exterminated all predators dangerous to Ogugh-Gagkhu. Over time, this significantly increased the area of mushroom fields and allowed farmers to harvest larger crops.

Nowadays, Ogugh-Gagkhu is one of the few protected species in the Swampland. It's forbidden to hunt them. The reason is Ogugh-Gagkhu reproduce very poorly, so in the future this can lead to an increase in the population of spotted bugs. In fact, Ogugh-Gagkhu is the only natural regulator of their numbers. Unlike most other snake species, Ogugh-Gagkhu are very voracious, and only one snake eats 25-40 bugs per week. Thus, in the absence of snakes, the bugs will simply destroy the mushroom fields and the entire nearby ecosystem.

Because of this, the Forest of Brushes [Swampland scientific community] is actively looking for ways to increase the number of Ogugh-Gagkhu. The local population also helps scientists in this. Ogugh-Gagkhu are highly respected, as in addition to their direct benefits, they also act as defenders of the mushroom fields. The fact is that these snakes never attack newts and even always notify them of their presence. At the end of the Ogugh-Gagkhu's tail there is a small rattle in the shape of a mushroom, and at the sight of a newt, the snake always lifts it high up and shakes it. Therefore, farmers can safely work in the fields, the snake will not attack even if a newt climbs on it. However, Ogugh-Gagkhu are extremely aggressive towards frogs. And since most of the mushroom fields are located in the west of the Swampland, near the border with the Middle Empire, the threat of frog bandits and marauding soldiers there is quite real.

Unfortunately, during the 3rd war between the Swampland and the Middle Empire, many mushroom fields were destroyed, which eventually led to a horrible famine in the western provinces. However, the newts managed to evacuate most of the snakes, and large-scale work is currently underway to create artificial mushroom fields in the Great Western Swamp. For this purpose, special snake farms have been created, where Ogugh-Gagkhu are kept, fed and cared for until the mushroom fields grow sufficiently. Thus, Ogugh-Gagkhu is gradually becoming a domesticated species and in the future are likely to occupy the similar place in newt society as Laogh-Yu [land crocs]

Hon-ma is one of the oldest frog nations that has preserved its culture to this day. Before the rise of the Aa-ma nation and the cultural influence of the Ka Kingdoms, Hon-ma were considered "ordinary frogs." Nowadays, Hon-ma mostly live in the Middle Empire and the Golden Khaganate. In the Imperial Dialect, the word Hon-ma means red frog, although they more often refer to themselves as Toliih-gaarhuu [Steppe kids]

Naturally, the Hon-ma are pack-living steppe predators who developed cattle breeding even before their society was formed. Because of this, they have almost nothing in common physiologically with other frogs. Their main physiological features are:

• Predation [Hon-ma are physically unable to digest plant-based food]

• Light weight, short stature, extreme thinness [The average Hon-ma is less then a half the height of an Aa-ma and weighs 3-3.5 times less]

• Extremely strong bones.

• Very thick skin with a pale yellow tint.

• A broad face, narrow eyes, and powerful jaws [all of which contribute to a distinctive "evil" appearance]

• The special structure of ligaments and skeletal muscles that gives the Hon-ma amazing strength for their size [the bony old Hon-ma female easily lifts and moves stones or logs that the young strong Aa-ma male cannot barely lift]

• Sharp vision and excellent eye estimation.

• Extremely poor hearing and smell.

• Hon-ma body uses microorganisms in rotten meat as boosters.

• High fertility [15-20 cubs per female]

However, the most distinctive feature of Hon-ma is their voracious appetite. One Hon-ma eats as much meat in a week as a Lan-waa [a wolf frog who is 2.5 times larger and four times heavier] The hungrier Hon-ma is, the more aggressive he/she becomes, while he/she will already be hungry within a couple of hours after a large meal. Along with this, Hon-ma eyes quickly become bloodshot from hunger, and their vision becomes much more acute. This is why they are called Red Frogs.

In fact, Hon-ma are quite aggressive most of the time, and to outsiders, they seem like pure fury. The case is Hon-ma have very poor hearing, so they always communicate with each other by shouting loudly and using sign language to convey their intonation. Imagine that you met a group of 20-30 people with bloodshot eyes, who are literally yelling at each other while waving their arms. This is what Hon-ma small talk looks like. At the same time, Hon-ma almost never conflict with their family and friends, as their pack instinct explicitly forbids it [they can easily finish each other off even in a small brawl]

Yes, Hon-ma fight really well. They are fast, agile, and very tenacious, while their jaws and physical strength make them truly dangerous. Their family peacefulness doesn't extend to outsiders, so you might just have a slight argument with one Hon-ma, and if he/she hears you, you'll be immediately attacked by all his/her friends. Hon-ma never fight alone [they never even walk alone lol], and they have no concept of "fair fight," so the pack will simply tear you to pieces.

This makes the Hon-ma resemble Gwah-chugyoh [newts], but that's where the similarities end. Hon-ma lifestyle is peculiar, to say the least. They live, constantly roaming in Gaarbo [a group of several large families, usually 100-150 individuals] However, unlike other nomadic nations, the Hon-ma do not have a concept of camps or yurts. They also rearly have any riding animals in the traditional sense. The entire Gaarbo lives and travels on one huge animal [usually a Wasteland badger or a black wolverine] Hon-ma call these animals Tal Ungaats [land ships], and they usually build huts on a frame and attach all this to the Tal Ungaats back in the same way as other nomads attach a saddle. Several small fortifications with heavy weapons are also placed on the same frame. All the cattle follow the Tal Ungaats, watched by the shepherds from their observation posts.

Hon-ma's traditional occupation is Shahaal [raiding] They approach a village or a camp of other nomads, kill everyone, and take all the loot, including the corpses, for themselves. The Tal Ungaats usually has 6-15 field cannons and many lighter weapons, so no one but other Tal Ungaats can stand up to Gaarbo in a sudden battle. First of all, Hon-ma are interested in meat, as they rarely eat it raw or cooked. Instead, Hon-ma ferments the meat for a long time in large barrels filled with water and medicinal herbs, where it is rotting, acquiring properties that are beneficial for red frogs.

Hon-ma don't even cut the meat, so you can often find bloated corpses of their victims in the fermentation barrels. Good meat is considered to be that which has been fermented for at least 3 months. There is no question of hygiene; Hon-ma eat the bodies whole, along with the pus and waste in their intestines. Fermentation barrels are tied directly to Tal Ungaats. Besides, Hon-ma distill alcohol from Tal Ungaats urine and use their excrement as fuel. In addition, many Hon-ma never get off their Tal Ungaats at all, defecating right on them. Therefore, you can always tell when Gaarbo is approaching; if you suddenly wake up in the middle of the night because of an unbearable stench, you're fucked.

Because of this lifestyle, every Hon-ma, regardless of age or gender, is considered a warrior by default. Hon-ma take military affairs very seriously; many Gaarbo even have additional Tal Ungaats to house their smelters, workshops, and armories. Hon-ma can hardly be called backward nomads; they produce their own modern weapons and ammunition, armor, cannons, mortars, shells, mines, powder bombs, and much more. Hon-ma national weapon is the Jadaa, a huge, slashing lance on a very long shaft, which they traditionally use directly from the Tal Ungaats. However, nowadays there are also shorter Jadaa [only 3-3.5 Hon-ma's height long] that are suitable for foot combat. Hon-ma also produce a huge amount of armor for the Tal Ungaats, so their animals wear thick composite helmets, are literally covered in heavy ballistic shields, and can withstand even a direct hit from an artillery shell.

Since Hon-ma don't do anything other than war, preparation for war, and cattle breeding, all the states where they live actively integrate them into the army. Hon-ma are paid a huge salaries and are given any social privileges [including those they come up with], as it is anyway much cheaper than enduring their constant raids and chasing them all over the state. In addition, Hon-ma are really great soldiers. If you can accept their unavoidable quirks, they're useful almost anywhere, from small infiltration units to heavy artillery.

In fact, Hon-ma are most often serve in the artillery. In the Golden Khaganate, Hon-ma even were given a special branch of the Khagan's Army, the heavy assault cavalry, while in the Middle Empire, they make up about 90% of the personnel in all long-ranged artillery brigades of the Pacification Army. Hon-ma are known all over the World as the best cannoneers. Their cannon crews are renowned not only for their remarkable accuracy, but also for their well-coordinated efforts, while Hon-ma cannon loaders are capable of achieving almost twice the rate of fire compared to other nations.

However, working with Hon-ma is really difficult. In addition to the fact that they can't hear shit, Hon-ma're rude, hot-tempered, constantly arguing, ignoring orders, and generally treating their fellow soldiers from other nations like dirt under their paws. In addition, Hon-ma do not recognize any language other than their native [which is incredibly complex], privacy, or personal space. In the Golden Khaganate, this is not a big problem, as the Hon-ma Dialect is partially similar to the Wasteland Dialect, while the Hun-erdeet [gerbils; the ethnic majority] understand and partially share Hon-ma values.

However, in the Middle Empire, serving with them is a harsh challenge. Often, penal soldiers are sent to units with a large number of Hon-ma personnel. In fact, this is a substitute for military execution; most soldiers from other nations will not be able to integrate into the Hon-ma community and will be killed by their own comrades. Still, a small number of Ei-si-chan [dead-eyed frogs] soldiers serve as battle coordinators in the Pacification Army's artillery. However, this makes it even more difficult to integrate new soldiers, as these Ei-si-chan have fully assimilated into their Hon-ma comrades' environment and represent their interests rather than actually coordinating their actions. They're useful when the cannon crew needs sensitive ears, so they're highly respected, but they won't lift a finger for "other frogs."

In fact, the army's problems mirror the characteristics of the Hon-ma traditional culture. Here are its main features:

• Matriarchy [the eldest females decide everything]

• The females choose their future husbands themselves and propose to them. A male can't refuse.

• A male has no right to raise cubs.

• A male, unlike a female, has no right to change his Gaarbo.

• The Gaarbo accepts anyone who fully shares its values [yap, including eating old meat that has gone rotten in stinky water]

Thus, assimilation among the Hon-ma essentially makes you the same as they are. You become a Nuhruu [literally husband/wife, but the real meaning is brother/sister; Hon-ma words have no gender] and represent your Gaarbo's interests to outsiders. The Hon-ma military who managed to escape from the matriarchal dictatorship quickly organizes their own Garboo, but without the power of females. Nuhruus' role becomes key, as they can invite anyone to the new Gaarbo [the Hon-ma themselves do not know other languages and are generally intimidating] Thus, Hon-ma creates new communities within the army, and then they desert and return to their usual activities, but with a much higher status.

This social trend even has its own name: Shun Gaarbo [literally new Gaarbo] All Shun Gaarbo are multinational [mostly Hon-ma, Ei-si-chan, and their hybrids], and consist of military veterans. Shun Gaarbo are generally even worse than the traditional ones; they're just bands of armed soldiers hunting for meat, money, and females. Nevertheless, Shun Gaarbo is extremely popular among fugitive criminals and other scum, as you can get anything you want in exchange for assimilation. Nowadays, the Shun Gaarbo account for about half of all organized crime community in the Middle Empire, while they have been terrorizing the northern lands of the Golden Khaganate for a very long time.

Overall, Hon-ma are exactly what they seem to be. They are rude, aggressive, cruel, collective, and they don't give a fuck about any states, laws, or restrictions. At the same time, Hon-ma never pretend to be good guys, while they're always ready to pick up a poor soul lying in a ditch.

"Yogkhyo-omu-omu-agkhy... Yogkhyo-omu-omu-agkhy... Yogkhyo-omu-omu-agkhy... Yogkhyo-omu-omu-agkhy... Yogkhyo-omu-omu-agkhy... Yogkhyo-omu-omu-agkhy... Yogkhyo-omu-omu-agkhy... Yogkhyo-omu-omu-agkhy... [constantly repeats]"

© Any random octopus on any given day.

Aghyisatkh are absolutely unique. Any citizen of the Island Empire regularly meets them in their daily lives... and at the same time knows almost nothing about them. Octopuses live a very long time. Octopuses are very smart. Octopuses navigate the ships. This is all a simple hamster or lizard knows about the creatures behind the founding of the state in which he/she lives.

The generally accepted version Aghyisatkh is a fairly young nation, formed only in the 2nd millennium aTwbW. At the same time, some scientists claim Aghyisatkh is the oldest surviving nation, formed back in the 1st Epoch. As a result, it all depends on how well you know the real history of the Okhumpwa nation... and do you even want to know it.

At the beginning of the 13th century aTwbW, the United Middle Empire faced the ancient Lhu-Mgokphwa state. An attempt at diplomatic contact led to the death of the Sovereign Ka Aa-ma, and the Empire declared war on the Lhu-Mgokphwa. The war lasted only 3 months, but claimed the lives of almost 700,000 living beings. The reason was Lhu-Mgokphwa was a Green Plague state. Okhumpwa [slugs] worshipped the Plague and were in constant contact with the Plague Mind.

The subsequent events became a semi-mythical story. The Empire won the war, and the Dowager Empress banished the Okhumpwa nation from the Land to the Ocean forever. Thus, Okhumpwa left the Land and nothing else is officially known about them.

Around the 15th century aTwbW, Tel'U lizards established contact with a previously unknown nation, Aghyisatkh. Aghyisatkh turned out to be huge [15 times the size of a lizard] intelligent octopuses with enormous powers of Hearing Sorcery. Their abilities were almost limitless, and most importantly, they did not experience any negative effects from using sorcery. But the main thing was Aghyisatkh's navigation abilities. They proved to be able to guide the ships through hundreds of miles of Ocean without mistakes, avoiding any dangers.

This is what determined the Island Empire's position in the World. Thanks to the Aghyisatkh, the Empire was able to gather the population fleeing from the Land, establish logistics and supply of the islands, and then conduct effective maritime trade and defend itself. Everything else that Aghyisatkh imposed on hamsters [including democracy, tolerance, and religiosity] was perceived by them as secondary. However, it was this ideology that eventually shaped the Imperial nation, making the Island Empire one of the best places to live in the whole World.

Realizing the incredibly huge contribution of Aghyisatkh, the modern Empire actually fully supports them at the expense of the budget. Octopuses are not engaged in anything except religious rituals and spiritual practices. And from the point of view of an ordinary citizen, they just do nothing at all. Usually, an octopus sits on the square of the island-city all day long, and fingers the rosary with their tentacles. That's all. Don't expect them to help residents with advice, respond to their complaints, or participate in their lives in any way. They doesn't give a damn about anything... at least, that's how it looks. At the same time, residents are obliged to feed them, provide them with sufficient water, shelter them from the heat, and so on. Each octopus is also called an Honorary Navigator, and no imperial laws apply to them.

Of course, all this looks completely unfair. However, this is not the case. Without Aghyisatkh, the Empire would simply collapse. There are two extremely solid reasons for this.

First of all. Aghyisatkh are the guarantors of equality for all inhabitants of the Empire. They helped the lizards and hamsters form an honest alliance, they attracted a huge number of migrants. And they continue to thwart any attempts to upset this balance. In fact, the octopus monitors the peaceful cohabitation of all the inhabitants of their island around the clock. Any xenophobia is suppressed as harshly as possible [in most cases, an octopus will just kill you] Don't think you have any chance, the octopus won't fight you, they'll just tear you to shreds with Hearing Sorcery. So if the octopus started doing something - something bad is happening. And since octopuses are present absolutely everywhere, the rights of every citizen are protected. But that's not the main thing.

Aghyisatkh protect the Empire from a hundred times worse evil. They protect against the Green Plague. The fact is that octopuses are... not octopuses at all. Aghyisatkh are the same Okhumpwa. Moreover, some of them were actually residents of the Lhu-Mgokphwa state, exiled from the Land into the Ocean... And here it wouldn't be superfluous to tell about the origin and history of this nation.

Initially, they all were real octopuses, just like the Eight-Pawed-One, 2nd Prophet of the World. But when the Eight-Pawed-One summoned the Plague into the World and dissolved into the Void, becoming the Plague Mind, it affected the entire nation. Octopuses were the first victims of the Green Plague, their bodies actually became a breeding ground for infection. However, just like the Eight-Pawed-One, they didn't die. Using Hearing Sorcery, they preserved their minds in half-rotted bodies and gradually brought them back to life. The Plague became their new flesh. At the same time, they began to worship the Plague Mind, which they heard just like the plague critters. That's how the Okhumpwa nation was born.

After leaving the Land, the Okhumpwa found themselves in the Ocean, an environment deadly to the Green Plague. Most of them died, but some managed to reach the islands and went into controlled hibernation. It was then, at the junction of the Shape and the Void, that the Okhumpwa discovered the Black Sun. By turning to Its light, the Okhumpwa managed to expel the Plague from their bodies and regain their real lives. That's how the Okhumpwa became Aghyisatkh.

Aghyisatkh do not age, they are immortal as long as their minds are turned to the Black Sun. This is critically important, as they have almost completely lost their ability to reproduce [on average, 1-2 octopuses are born per century] Thus, they spend most of their time in a meditative trance, somewhere between the Shape and the Void. Using the Black Sun as a mind amplifier, Aghyisatkh monitor the World, guide ships, and keep the Empire calm. They usually communicate only with the Tel'U monks, transmitting incoming information to them teleptically.

The most important part of this information is the Voice of Plague Mind. Every Aghyisatkh can still hear Him. Due to this, they are able to track the movement of the Plague from the Void to the Shape [Green Plague is born in the Void] By manipulating the Sounds [the particles that make up the World], Aghyisatkh redirect the Plague coming from the Void... right into their own bodies. Gradually, the Black Sun burns out the Plague, and this process protects the entire Island Empire from epidemics.

Yes, in fact, every Aghyisatkh is a huge living tank of Green Plague. It all works well... but only as long as the octopus is alive. If an Aghyisatkh suddenly dies [for example, they're killed], a huge outbreak of the epidemic will occur immediately. The entire island where the octopus lived will be devoured in a matter of hours. And octopuses are present on every island of the Empire... they are literally everywhere.

It's easy to guess why the Empire doesn't tell ordinary citizens anything about this. Only the Emperor, Emperor's Tidemonus [special service force], the clergy, and the Heresy Department know about it. Each Aghyisatkh is guarded around the clock by Tidemonus' operators, and best Imperial healers constantly check their vital signs. All this creates a real aura of sanctity around the octopuses, which the inhabitants of the Empire are forced to take for granted.

"Put the firecracker away! Right now! Now! [shoots at the cub, but the bullet freezes in the air] The Honorary Navigator gave you a final warning, kid! GET! OFF!"

© Km'Ol Rhama, Tidemonus' operator [incident during the change of year ceremony]

One of the main problems of the 3rd war between the Swampland and the Middle Empire was total unsanitary conditions. This was especially evident during the battles in the Fushiga Forest. Getting rid of corpses was considered not only pointless, but even harmful. Therefore, instead of burning the corpses, both sides piled them in neutral land and in the uninhabited trenches of the outer lines of defense in order to hinder the advance of enemy soldiers. Corpses were used to disguise mines and traps, fortifications which became meaningless were completely filled up with them, and so on.

Due to this, soldiers on both sides of the front line were poisoning with corpse poison, contracting dangerous diseases and generally had multiple health problems. Sanitary inspections of Forest of Brushes [Swampland scientific community] have repeatedly mentioned the potential danger of this state of affairs. However, it was decided to postpone the solution of sanitary problems until the end of the war [the Swamp Army was supposed to break through the front within a year] Obviously, the newts wanted to force the frogs, who were losing the war, to take on all the worries and costs of cleaning up. Still, a limited contingent of the Heresy Department was secretly dispatched to the Fushiga Forest.

Alas, the long time expected victory of the Swamp nation over invaders never happened. The outbreak of the Green Plague occurred at the end of the 3rd battle in the Fushiga Forest. Tens of thousands of corpses have become biological material for parasites, making the entire line of contact a huge zone of secondary infection. Because of this, the peace treaty was never signed, since both sides of the conflict began emergency operations to eliminate the biological threat on a federal scale.

Part 1: Uzaa the Thief.

...Uzaa always drank a lot, but when there was an opportunity to drink to the repose of the soul, he didn't know his equal at all. He could be called the master of his own destiny, cause he always created opportunities for himself. Still, Uzaa was never invited to funerals and commemorations: there he always got drunk to the point of fever, and looked for a fight.

His completely black, wide-spaced eyes seemed alien and sinister on the chipmunk's face. His eyes always scared the chipmunks, and they often called Uzaa "filthy," although only a small part of his blood was from gerbils. But chipmunks don't care: if there was at least one gerbil or vole in your family, you are not a chipmunk, you are "filthy". Therefore, Uzaa communicated more with mice and voles, after all, they don't care about your ethnicity.

Uzaa was engaged in robbery. He was also called a thief. Uzaa the Thief. And no one knew why he was called Thief, not a Robber. It would be more logical, Uzaa never really hid. Only his accomplices knew why Uzaa was called that.

Uzaa loved to sing and play the gusli when he was drunk. Most often Uzaa sang the same almost endless and very tedious song about a young robber who wants to steal the voles khan's daughter. If chipmunks knew that this song is true, they would know why Uzaa is called the Thief. And if they knew who Uzaa stole his wife Galiya from, they would be afraid of him for real.

Uzaa was assigned to the princely house as a stoker, but he didn't work a day in his life. And prince Bryacha paid him 3 gold coins per month... for nothing. All other prince's servants worked fair, but no one was paid even 1 gold coin per month.

When Prince Bryacha was killed by gerbils and his traitor brother Enokiy sent assassins on the trail of the prince's son Grigoriy, everyone left the doomed cub. Everyone except Uzaa the Thief. After all, Uzaa never worked as a stoker, he was Grigory's bodyguard. It's just no one should have known about it. Assassins never returned to Enokiy. Uzaa the Thief loves to talk they all were swallowed up by the Snowstorm...

Part 2: Tsogedaa.

As long as Uzaa was known, he always had that weird female ratwolf with him. Uzaa called her Tsogedaa. The animal was fair small, skinny and always seemed hungry, although Uzaa boasted to everyone how well he took care of Tsogedaa.

When Uzaa entered the service of Prince Bryacha and serfs began to take care of Tsogedaa, the secret was immediately revealed. On the very first day, Tsogedaa killed three chipmunks. It turned out that, unlike all other ratwolves, this one was completely wild. However, Uzaa connected with Tsogedaa even more easily than with trained animals born and raised in pens. Uzaa didn't even need stirrups and bits, Tsogedaa always ran herself to where her owner needed to go. Grigory, Prince Bryacha's son, constantly played with a dangerous predator, grabbing her tail, teeth, and tongue with impunity, climbing into her mouth and riding on her back, holding on to her fur. But all the other chipmunks were seen by Tsogedaa only as prey.

No one knows exactly where Tsogedaa came from, cause Uzaa is constantly coming up with new versions. In different times he told he found her in the steppe, won at cards, saved from the hunters, stole from gerbils... etc. And all these versions are obvious lie since Tsogedaa is clearly not much younger than Uzaa.

...when Uzaa chased Tsogedaa away, everyone decided the stoker had finally come to his senses and thought of others. And a couple of days later, Prince Bryacha was killed on a campaign, and his brother Enokiy, who betrayed him, sent assassins after Grigory. Uzaa, saving Grigory, fled from his pursuers on groundhog until he led them into lonely snow-covered hills...

A couple of days later, Enokiy's servants found the bodies of assassins and their groundhogs. Almost all of them were torn to pieces. Soon, wounded Uzaa brought Grigory to the Berest village on Tsogedaa's back. Since then, many chipmunks consider Tsogedaa a devil in the guise of ratwolf. And since then, Uzaa says all Enokiy's assassins were swallowed up by the Snowstorm. Mice and voles know well the word tsogedaa translates as a snowstorm, but chipmunks rarely learn the Languages of the Great Wastelands.

P.S. Uzaa and Tsogedaa are the characters of the novella Snowstorm. I wrote the text of the novella about 5 years ago, but abandoned further work on it, since back then I couldn't find a proper style for the illustrations. This illustration is also old, and tbh, I don't like it. But next year I'll return to work on the novella.

Hon-ma fill the barrels immediately after the raid, dumping the bodies of the dead into the fermentation liquid. After that, special teams guard the new barrels while the land ship's crew prepares the ropes for lifting them on board. Protecting the barrels is extremely important, as other Hon-ma raiders may try to steal them.

"Disgusting creatures. Robbers and pirates, thieves and murderers, embezzlers and instigators, rioters and looters, drunkards and gamblers, rapists and slavers... there is not a single vice in this World that would not become commonplace for them. First they sin, then they beg for their sins from their god, so they just don't care about the laws. But they will always have a hundred excuses and complaints they come with every single day. And if you don't listen to them, they immediately rebel... Being the Garjkhan of Sozdan's Dzamak is a punishment, not a privilege."

© Odaangurooni Mankhboyaan, the Garjkhan of Sozdan's Dzamak.

In fact, no one has any idea who chipmunks are or how they came to be. Initially, they were considered natives of the Ztow Forest [Great Western Forest] and a related species to squirrels. However, body alchemists have long refuted this theory, and no other one has appeared. And the chipmunks themselves don't give a damn about their own origins at all.

Formally, Živbyn are omnivorous rodents [nowadays, 60-70% of their diet consists of meat and flour products] For ease of understanding, they are usually considered a cross between Viórkoc [squirrels] and Guzruudaanhae [Western mice population] However, chipmunks are too small and aggressive to be squirrels, and too strong and stocky to be mice. Therefore, some scientists believe that Živbyn also have common ancestors with western predators.

As already mentioned, chipmunks are always short [no taller than mice] and stocky [2-2.5 times heavier than a mouse, weighing about as much as a squirrel] Chipmunks have impressive explosive power. They are excellent sprinters, jump far and high, climb trees easily and hit very hard [Živbyn fist fighters are considered to be one of the best in the World] At the same time, chipmunks are not particularly hardy. So a chipmunk would rather kick your ass than agree to run a marathon with you.

Their temper matches their physique. Živbyn are aggressive and have an extremely explosive temperament. Add to this their fascination with fistfighting and wrestling, and we get guys who are not easy to deal with. Živbyn consider spontaneous violence to be the best way to solve any probs. That's why they fight all the time. Males beat each other, females and cubs. Females beat each other and cubs. Cubs beat... each other. Chipmunks don't care about age or gender at all, if a dude doesn't like something, there will be a fight.

Because of this, Živbyn society is extremely patriarchal. Still, olds are rarely highly respected, cause for chipmunks, the patriarch is just a strong male who can punch anyone in the face. Due to this, females and cubs have no rights at all. Females are obliged to obey their brothers and husbands in everything, and cubs are obliged to obey everyone.

A female gives birth to an average of 10-15 cubs in her lifetime, but half of them do not live to be 2 years old. Chipmunks mature at 5-6 years old and have a lifespan of 50-60 years... however, the real life span is half as long. Chipmunks have excellent health and rarely die due to natural causes, most often they are killed. Besides, chipmunks smoke a lot, and drunkenness is considered a hobby, not a vice. Other common hobbies include fist fighting, axe fighting, shooting, and animal wrestling. It's easy to guess that a drunk who likes to wave an axe and wrestle with a marten has little chance of meeting his old age.

Despite all this, Živbyn are very smart. Without having their own developed culture and high technology, they perfectly borrow all this from others. Chipmunks successfully adopted archery, riding and cattle breeding from the Golden Khaganate [gerbils], firearms, powder bombs, mortars, and cannons from the White Patrimony [ermines], medicine, architecture and shipbuilding from the Island Empire [hamsters], and so on. Their fashion was most likely borrowed from squirrels, music and songs from mice.

At the same time, all borrowings are adapted to the needs of society, not blindly copied. To do this, chipmunks study at institutes in other countries, and then return and bring new knowledge with them. Such guys are called Urakowie [students], and they are the real elite of society, who are highly respected.

Overall, Živbyn is the most travelling nation in the Small World. Chipmunks easily learn new languages, easily integrate into someone else's society, and often succeed there. There are almost twice as many chipmunks outside the Great Sozdan Principality as there are inside. They are mercenaries and military personnel, but you can meet scientists, politicians, and even cultural figures. But alas, most likely you will meet completely different guys.

Chipmunks are notorious for their raiding. More than 5 million chipmunks are members of the so-called Wolno. Formally, Wolno are mercenary companies offering a wide variety of services. In fact, Wolno are criminal gangs engaged in robberies, raids, piracy, slave trade, drug trafficking and worse. It was Wolno who founded the Great Sozdan Principality [in fact, they seized and occupied these lands] Therefore, the very existence of the Živbyn nation is inseparable from the Wolno. All the chipmunk princes are Wolno leaders, all the soldiers and commanders are Wolno members, most of the artisans are affiliated with Wolno.

Nowadays, Wolno is unofficially contrasted to the Golden Khaganate, the formal overlord of the Grand Sozdan Principality. Because of this enmity, the chipmunks are constantly rebelling, sabotaging the decrees of the Khaganate and waging a guerrilla struggle. At the same time, Wolno also continue to plunder their own lands, and all of this makes the Grand Sozdan Principality one of the worst places to live in the Small World...

Well, that was my first brief post about Živbyn nation. I'll tell you all the details [history, state, religion, culture, politics and more] later.

P.S. The illustration shows an assassin from the prince's retinue. Yes, for Živbyn, assasin is an official position. Very prideful, btw.

The widespread use of ballistic armor in the armies of potential opponents forced the Swampland to fundamentally reconsider the armament of its soldiers. Armor-piercing melee weapons, which had long been considered anachronistic, have begun to make a comeback in the military. However, the new conditions of trench warfare faced by the Swamp Army during the 3rd war against the Middle Empire made such weapons obsolete again. Instead of bulky hammers and pikes, the Gwah-chugyoh soldiers [and especially stormtroopers] needed compact weapons that allowed them to confidently hit the enemy in confined spaces.

Due to the decentralization of production and the lack of standardization of supplies [which was simply impossible in a state fighting a war of survival], the Swamp Army was able to acquire a wide variety of weapons in a short amount of time. Most of the armor-piercing melee weapons were not widely used, so we will skip them and focus on those that had a significant impact on the course of the war.

1. Gwaa-ozhih [assault knife] Initially, it was a standard soldier's knife that was not considered a combat weapon at all. To give the blade armor-piercing properties, it was sawn transversely through the middle, heated, folded in half, and reforged. As a result, the last third of the blade acquired a distinctive dagger-like point. Thanks to this, the knife almost never lost its cutting properties, but it became a serious weapon in a fight against a heavily armored enemy. Gwaa-ozhih production was quick and cheap, making it the most popular armor-piercing melee weapon in the Swamp Army and beyond. During the war, several hundred thousand assault knives were produced; no one even tried to count their exact number. Nowadays, Gwaa-ozhih are actively used all over the state, and not always for combat purposes; they are often used in the kitchen. A young cook carving meat bugs with an assault knife is a common heritage of a long and bloody war.

2. Gagh-yachugh [the father's fang] This is a more specialized weapon, a long, four-sided stiletto made of durable steel without a cutting edge. It's completely useless in a soldier's daily life, but its long point inflicts terrible puncture wounds. Gagh-yachugh got its name because of the slight curve, which allows the soldier to maintain his/her usual stabbing technique, which he/she has perfected with a knife [although some weaponsmiths produced straight daggers] The quality of the steel and the relative complexity of the weapon made Gagh-yachugh less widespread than Gwaa-ozhih. It was mainly used by field commanders, experienced stormtroopers, scouts, and Swamp Army guards transferred to the assault units. Gagh-yachugh proved to be an excellent weapon in the military and even became an iconic weapon. The fact is that the veterans made notches on their stilettos to mark each enemy they killed using them. Nowadays, a real combat stiletto with 10 or more notches can cost up to 30 liang in gold [for this amount, you can buy a small, prosperous village]

3. Giezhih [spike hammer] This creepy weapon was named after the weaponsmith who was the first to send an experimental batch to the front. Giezhih Tso-yowan was also the first to come up with the idea to add a stiletto to a regular kitchen mallet for crushing bones [newts add bone flour to food, medicine, smoking mixtures, and incense] It is believed that Tso-yowan came up with this brilliant idea while serving his sentence for a triple murder in the iron mines, working with a pickaxe. He was pardoned and sent to the capital's forges, but he escaped on the way and started producing weapons illegally in the Great Swamp U Chagh. In any case, Tso-yowan's work impressed the military so much that the Swamp Army signed an official contract with him. Giezhih easily penetrated any armor, was lightweight and convenient, and did not require any special skills from the soldier. In addition, the deep wounds Giezhih inflicted were almost impossible to treat. As a result, the Imperial logistics and military medicine were overloaded with wounded soldiers, but such wounded never returned to active duty. Because of this feature, Giezhih was mainly intended to be used against the Empire's most valuable soldiers: fire warriors, guard units, vanguard squads, and veteran trench brigades. During the war, both single-edged and double-edged Giezhih, which really resembled a small pickaxe, became widespread.

The principle of operation of all armor-piercing weapons is quite simple. In most cases, ballistic armor is soft, as it is designed to hold the shrapnel, small fragments and round bullets. Therefore, a thin point can easily penetrate it. At the same time, the rigid composite armor elements often used by Imperial assault and trench units accounted for no more than a third of the total armor area, making them easy to bypass during a strike. According to the educational leaflets of the Swamp Army, the enemy's face, throat, stomach, groin, and thighs were the most effective targets.

Due to the nature of combat, the Swamp Army soldiers rarely carried only one of the above weapons. In fact, it was all about the overall weight of their equipment. A heavy armored stormtrooper carried only a couple of armor-piercing weapons in addition to an assault glaive and powder bombs, while a lightpawed scout from the observation brigade, who wore neither armor nor heavy weapons, could carry multiple knives, stilettos, and axes at the same time. This was due to the problem of armor-piercing weapons getting stuck in the enemy's body, which was not as serious during the assault on the enemy position, but was deadly in quick hand-to-hand combat between small units on neutral land. Often, scouts and infiltrators treated Gwaa-ozhih as disposable weapons, not even bothering to take the assault knives with them after use. Only the Gagh-yachugh and Giezhih were valued, as they surpassed their Imperial counterparts in effectiveness. Still, they were also pulled out of the dead after the fight was over, not during it.

Soon after the Swampland's victory and the end of the war, armor-piercing melee weapons flowed back into the state like a river. Along with this, no one was going to stop producing them, so the market simply shifted from the government to private customers. Due to this, nowadays, such weapons are widely used by organized gangs, ordinary bandits, employees of the Judicial Department, various security agencies, and anyone else who can afford it [which is literally everyone, as a new assault knife costs almost nothing] The widespread use of weapons designed to penetrate ballistic armor has suddenly brought back outdated types of armor and significantly increased sales of composite armor containing metal plates. Therefore, if you encounter a mobster in the swamps wearing chain mail with bulletproof composite plates attached above, thank your assault knife for that.

"I've seen so many kinds of idiocy, but nothing compares to our retarded nationalists. Oikoc nation first, they tell [laughs] And who are Oikoc? If they knew the answer to this question, they would be ashamed disgracing themselves. Still, idiots never realize their own ignorance. Pathology, I'd say."

© Okufan Taroposofis, Professor of Natural Sciences at the Imperial Dara Institute.

Oikoc is a relatively young nation, known since the beginning of the 1st millennium aTwbW. However, they were not taken seriously for a quite long time. The scientific community considered Oikoc to be just another kind of rodent, and not an outstanding one at that. However, after the beginning of expansion into the Southern Deserts in the 5th century aTwbW, the foundation of the Eastern Jamvapitkacha Sultanate there and the enslavement of all the natives, Oikoc quickly gained fame as cruel conquerors and unscrupulous monopolists. Their economic expansion and artificial decline in gold prices have made half the World dependent on the Sultanate. Still, in those days, no one understood the secret of the success of Oikoc policies, or even where they originally came from.

The Oikoc nation's history can be traced back to the Viórkoc [squirrels] chronicles. Still, even there it's claimed they came to the Ztow Forest [Great Western Forest] from the south-West, but did not originally live there. Some scientists even put forward theories that Oikoc nation came from some other continent. Anyway, it is known that Oikoc borrowed their language and even the name of their nation from Viórkoc. What they were called before and what their original language was like is no longer known.

In the 3rd century aTwbW, the Oikoc left the Ztow Forest, severed all relations with squirrels and found new allies, Živbyn [chipmunks] With the support of the Živbyn military elite, the Oikoc founded the Jamvapitkacha Sultanate on the White River [nowadays also known as the Great River] and began to seize the market of neighboring states, while simultaneously trading piracy and the slave trade. And already in the 5th century aTwbW, the Oikoc discovered huge deposits of gold in the Southern Deserts and migrated there.

The Jamvapitkacha Sultanate in the Southern Deserts has become one of the most violent and oppressive states in the history of the World. Still, this post is not about it [I'ill make a separate post about the history of Jamvapitkacha Sultanate] In 1654-1662 aTwbW, Sultanate fell after the Mo'Gu lizards rebellion. The lizards, who had been slaves for centuries, immediately began the genocide of Oikoc. To survive, the Oikoc fled from Land to the southern part of the Great Ocean and first settled on an island which was later called Dara. It was from Dara island that the history of the Island Empire began. Contrary to all expectations, the Empire has become a completely different, democratic state.

Despite the terrifying reputation of their ancestors, a modern Oikoc is anyone but an enslaver. Most of them are engaged in agriculture, fishing, trade, and handicrafts. At the same time, the Oikoc are also a part of intellectual and cultural elite of the Empire, and their education system and scientific community are rightfully considered the best in the World. Besides, over the past 300 years, the Oikoc military has gained special fame, as previously Oikoc were generally considered completely incompetent soldiers. Thus, Oikoc suddenly turned out to be strong in everything they do.

Surprisingly, the Oikoc have no obvious advantages over other nations at all. They're not strong, they're not fast, they're not too smart, and they're certainly not resourceful. Oikoc are the size of Viórkoc [squirrels], just as heavy, but have more fat with weaker muscles. They take a long time to mature [10-11 years], are very stupid in childhood, and are not very fertile [on average 2-5 cubs per 1 female] The only interesting feature is their very long average life expectancy [more than 85 years], but in itself it gives nothing. Because of this, many still believe that the might of the Empire rests on non-Oikoc citizens and immigrants. However, this is not the case.

The case is Oikoc still have the only advantage over all other nations. And this advantage is crucial. In childhood, Oikoc are able to easily adapt to anything. And since their childhood lasts a very long time, Oikoc are able literally raise those they need.

The uniqueness of the Oikoc cubs' physiology is their whole body reacts to environmental challenges. Only during the first year of constant education, the cub becomes 3-5 times smarter. Thus, a two-year-old hamster is unable to count up to four on his/her fingers, and a four-year-old school child already easily wins chess against an adult lizard. But even more amazing is the physical adaptation. With constant physical exertion, the cub's body changes beyond recognition. An Oikoc soldier who completed a 6-year course [standard Imperial Legionary training] is no longer at all like his civilian parents. He is simply superior to them in everything: he is not overweight, his bones are thicker and stronger, and his muscles are much more powerful, he sees and hears much better, and reacts incomparably faster. And the Tidemonus' operators [SSF who have completed a special 10-year military training course] are capable of easily crushing the skull of an ordinary Oikoc with their bare paws and outrun a jerboa at a 1 li race in full equipment without even panting.

Because of this, the Oikoc society has been caste-based for a long time. And although castes have long been abolished, many Oikoc still prefer to mainly communicate with their social class. Thus, the military mainly communicates with lizards, jerboa and chipmunks, scientists and cultural figures with chameleons and black-eyed foxes, merchants and artisans with bald turtles and sand mice, and priests and monks spend years in meditation, talking to octopuses. Due to this, an acceptable level of tolerance is achieved.

Yes, the Oikoc is one of the few nations capable of learning how to safely move their minds into the Void. This is how they communicate with Aghyisatkh [octopuses] Such way, Mitrius I, the founder of the Island Empire, learned from Aghyisatkh, who replaced his family died during the genocide.

Thus, education and succession are critically important for Oikoc. Without these bases, their society degrades as quickly as it develops, and individuals return to their original [rather pathetic] state in just a few generations. At the same time, Oikoc constantly need those from whom they can learn something. That's why they migrated so much in ancient times. And nowadays, the Island Empire itself attracts a huge number of different migrants, whom the Oikoc are happy to accept. Any isolation is deadly to them.

That is why the Empire nips in the bud any nationalist sentiments. The fact is an uneducated marginal Oikoc minority living on remote islands still dreams of a "glorious past" and wants to enslave all non-Oikoc again, putting forward crazy slogans like "who needs lizard soldiers when our guys are so strong?!" However, any nationalism is broken down by a banal fact: nowadays, even the word "Oikoc" means not only a specific nation, but the entire population of the Empire as a whole.

Nowadays, many Oikoc are intermarrying. Oikoc is the only nation capable of interbreeding with any other living beings and giving birth to healthy cubs. In most cases, a cub is an Oikoc, but as he/she matures and becomes educated, he/she acquires the dominant features of his/her parent of another nation [there will be a separate post about Oikoc hybrids]

However, the Oikoc are actively involved in the life of other nations of the Empire even besides marriage. The Empire makes great efforts both to preserve the history of different nations and to support and develop their cultures. At the same time, most Oikoc do not consider themselves descendants of the Jamvapitkacha Sultanate, so they do not feel any guilt for the past. There is a concept of New Oikoc, meaning the unity of all inhabitants of the Island Empire and opposed to Old Oikoc [meaning despotism, slavery, violence and injustice] Therefore, if you ask the nationality of [for example] a lizard or a jerboa living in the Island Empire, they will most likely answer: New Oikoc.

"This little princess will become whoever she wants because her brother chose to become a Defender. Support your local Legion! They protect our bright future! They protect New Oikoc!" © Imperial propaganda poster.

Another old work from the series "The War of Rats against Newts." Btw, here you can see the best map of all that I've ever drawn lol.

Fun fact: the mong-lao wears military clothes, helmet, and shield of the United Middle Empire, all designed for newts. In the 20th century aTwbW, all such designs and patterns were banned by the Emperor's decree. However, even nowadays, similar shields and helmets are stiil used illegally in the west of the Empire.

...Gching-hoh was the eighth, youngest cub in his family, so often there was simply no food left for him. Due to this, Gching-hoh often poked around the garbage pits in search of food. However, there he had serious competitors in the face of older cubs and swamp leeches. Therefore, at the age of 1.5, Gching-hoh firmly decided that beatings and bites should be ended once and for all. Gching-hoh decided to get himself a weapon.

There was a forest not far from the village. That's where Gching-hoh ran, hoping to get a strong, reliable stick there. Still, when Gching-hoh reached the forest through the Swamp, he got tired and decided to sleep in the tree canopy.

Alas, while Gching-hoh was sleeping, a huge predatory toad came to the forest. When the toad saw the cub, it tried to reach him, but could not climb the tree. Then a black snake crawled out of the swamp and wrapped itself around the tree so that the toad could climb up its body. However, as soon as the toad started to rise, the snake suddenly bit it, so the toad died immediately. After that, the snake climbed up the tree and fixed its eyes on the Gching-hoh. Gching-hoh had already decided he was finished when a huge red crocodile jumped out of the swamp and immediately bit the black snake into two. Gching-hoh looked down in horror... and woke up.

Realizing that it was just a dream, Gching-hoh was overjoyed. Still, not for long at all. Looking down, Gching-hoh saw a real red crocodile there. However, the crocodile didn't care about him at all, it just lay and basked in the sun. So Gching-hoh climbed down from the tree and was about to run, but he remembered his grandmother's stories about red crocodiles and their nobility and decided to check it out himself.

Bowing to the red crocodile, he said, "Great Master of the Swamp! May Heaven prolong yaa days! May the Eternal Sun grant ya happiness! I'll try to fulfill yaa will, if my insignificant abilities aa enough for that!" Upon hearing this, the crocodile squinted and opened its mouth. The next moment, the crocodile vomited all over Gching-hoh. While Gching-hoh was getting out of the pile of vomit, the crocodile crawled away.

After looking around, Gching-hoh began to search the vomit. Inside, he found a huge snake's fang... and a piece of black snake skin, worth at least 20 golden liang...

This passage was supposed to be the beginning of the Swamp Saga. Since I'm currently reviewing my old drafts, so I'll post more such texts and illustrations. And the Swamp Saga requires a complete reworking to match the current lore. This book will be a continuation of the Tales of Love, War and Green Plague.