States:Capital: Köln
Ruling House: House of Ehrlich
Founder: Sieghart von Ehrlich, Lord of the Blauenlicht
Leader: Johann von Ehrlich, Prince of Köln and Lord of the Blauenlicht
Allegiance: Segbrecht ClanKöln, along the Blauenlicht River, Year 66 I.C. (1776 A.D.) Köln, Gate to the Orient...
Founded some two centuries ago during Amythyst's colonial era, the Principality of Köln laid at the crossroads of Astol's maritime trade. Founded along the deep waters of the Blauenlicht river by the Ehrlich nobles, Köln had grown from a sleepy village along the coastline, to a bustling port city stood virtually unchallenged in the region. Its merchant fleets sail to the far flung corners of the world, shipping goods to and from the land. Their merchants and bankers man the street squares linking to the docks, trading their unique wares to travellers throughout the world. Their artisans were the pride of Kölnite culture, erecting vast monuments, sculptures and paintings, all in honour of the Principality's triumphs and glory. Their vineyards and breweries were second to none, producing some of the best wines, spirits and beers throughout Astol, if not the best.
But what separated Köln from the rest of the empire was its neutrality. Having kept out of the Wolfen War for Independence, Köln was able to avoid the chaos and destruction wrought by both sides of the conflict. Fearing the destruction of the peace and prosperity built up after centuries of toil, Köln chose to stand on the sidelines, only acceding to vassalage under the Empire through the threat of force. And yet, even as the chaos of the Warring States era loomed at the city's gates, Köln remains one of the most prosperous cities in the young Empire.
The majestic spires of Köln's many cathedrals stood not just as a testament to the grandeur of the city-state, but were also a source of pride for the ruling Ehrlich princes who control these lands. Founded by Prince Sieghart von Ehrlich, Köln was to be a city without equal. His entrepreneur mind revolutionized the economy of the nation, pulling it away from the outdated feudal tax systems of the era to a free market economy reminiscent of modern day capitalism, a move carried on by his successors. A patron of the arts, the Ehrlich family valued beauty above all, commissioning some of the most beautiful pieces of artwork, architecture and music known to man. To its supporters, the Ehrlichs were brilliant leaders, astute businessmen and gifted artisans. To them, not even the royal Staufen clan could match their skills.
But Köln's tiled squares yield a dark secret. Descendants of a clan of magic automaton makers, the Ehrlichs were able to bolster Köln's small armies with powerful mechanical weapons. Battle golems and automated contraptions dominated the walls of the port city, all seeking to defend their master and creator's realm from any attack. Sieghart himself had taken this to an art form, creating automatons that bear an undistinguishable resemblance to real people. His 'Battle Dolls', automated marionettes bearing the appearance of beautiful young maidens, were an amalgam of art and horror. Beneath their lifelike skin laid a vast array of blades and apparatus in which to mutilate the enemies of Ehrlich with.
But Sieghart, who was the undisputed lord of the Blauenlicht river, wanted something else. He was not content with producing what he called 'lifeless junk'. He wanted to create perfection at its best, a
senitent automaton. He wanted to create life out of the steel and bolts he used to create his family's mechanical weapons. It was a feat even the technologically superior Belkans could not replicate. However, such a construct would require knowledge beyond what is conventional wisdom. It would mean defying the mandate of the heavens itself. As such, Sieghart began delving into magical arts that had for generations been taboo to the people of Astol, magic that had been forbidden by the gods. Using alchemical knowledge gathered throughout the land, he soon forged one of the greatest, and most controversial, devices of all time... the
soul circuit.
Designed to artificially contain a soul of a living being, it was just the device Sieghart needed to produce his 'perfect' puppets. All it lacked were souls... Sending his agents throughout his realm, he soon gathered dozens of innocent orphan girls to his labyrinth below Köln's streets. There, he performed occult rituals that break the boundaries of sadism and horror, tearing the souls of his victims from their bodies and sealing them into his devices. Legend stated that the screams of these young souls could be heard echoing to the streets above to frightened residents, who feared the presence of paranormal entities lurking around them. The rituals went on for weeks on end, as more soul circuits became active. It is said that hundreds of these young girls were sacrificed for Sieghart's delusional fantasies, as he sought to awaken his lifeless dolls.
The result was astounding... The soul circuits effectively gave his dolls the ability to feel emotion, granting 'life' to their lifeless metal bodies. Fanatical and affectionate, the newly awakened dolls love only their master and nothing else. But their sentience came at a price, for they lacked something found in most other real sentient beings - conscience. Mentally unstable, the dolls were still incapable of grief and morality. Butchering anyone that stood in the way of their love for their master, the dolls were to become an eternal curse to the Ehrlich line.
Seighart, the man who desired to become god, came to an ironic end in the hands of his most beloved doll, Brünhild, for his affair with his mistress, the woman who would bear his heir. Subsequently, each and every one of the Ehrlich princes were to suffer the same tragedy. Johann, the current prince of the Ehrlich line, knew this fully well. Warned beforehand by his father, he witnessed his gaudy demise in the hands of religious fanatics who condemned the Ehrlichs for their sacrilege against the Astoli gods. Johann himself understood that the day will come when his own doll Meredith would deliver the 'curse' onto him, one way or another. Death now shadowed the Ehrlich line and their realm as most of the Battle Dolls remained in an deep slumber beneath the Köln catacombs. However, Johann knew that as long as they exist, the Ehrlichs would remained a cursed bloodline for eternity. Without a way to undo his maniacal ancestor's failsafes on his creations, there was little else he could do.
But in spite of the dark fate that awaited him, Johann remained committed to his people and nation, building a better future for his people. For all the sins committed by his forefather, Johann could only forgive in relent. For his imminent demise, he could only accept with indifference. For all the shadows that shroud the city-state, he can only act as its guiding light. As long as Köln needs him, he would remain her prince, always in service to maintain the prosperity and happiness of his people...
Religion
Formally a secular state, the laws of Köln ensures the right to religious freedom to all its subjects. But the sight of the city's Gothic Crystallian spires and facades was telling of its former allegiance. Once a vassal for the Commonwealth of Amythyst, the Principality naturally granted a special status to followers of the Crystallian faith, especially those of the Orthodox Crystallians. The towering cathedrals of Köln was a clear sign of centuries of gradual conversion towards Amythyst's 'true faith'.
But independence has brought upon a new challenge to the former tributary - the Awakening. A religious movement in newly independent Wolfenium, the Awakening was aimed at reviving the native pagan faith of the Titan Pantheon, and uprooting years of forced cultural and religious assimilation by the Amythysian-backed Crystallians. However, its attempts at 'reversal' were bloody and chaotic, and the death toll on both sides were mounting at the thousands. The principality's admission into the Empire, despite its predominantly Crystallian population, had naturally made it a constant target for attacks by Titan zealots all aiming to bring the principality 'back to the fold'. Many of its cathedrals and its clergy were subjected to sectarian violence by fanatics, who had routinely destroyed holy Crystallian relics and razed cathedrals to the ground. Reprisals from Crystallian devotees had also taken a toll on Köln's ancient Titan temples, as self-proclaimed 'crusaders' defaced and destroyed countless Titan monuments in the name of their faith.
Many in Köln feared for their lives, as mobs clashed in the streets over their rivaling faiths. The once pristine harmony kept in Köln before the Awakening was quickly being torn apart by a wave of religious fervour. Alarmed by the escalating violence, the Prince of Köln at the time, Sigmund von Ehrlich (Johann's father), deployed his troops into the city, separating the two warring faiths and affirming the Principality's secular laws once again.
But the threat posed by religious extremism remains a danger to all. While Prince Johann remained in control of the festering sectarian violence, he knew that as long as the Awakening continues to engulf the rest of the country unstopped, Köln would eventually be washed away. But for now, he would stop at nothing to uphold the secular institutions put in place by his forefathers. He understood the implications of combining state and religion. Köln came dangerously close to doing so in its past vassalage to Amythyst. He was not about to have the same happen this time...
Military
Battle of the Blauenlicht Delta, against the Eden navy A state founded on maritime trade, Köln's interest naturally laid in the seas. Having drawn from the expertise of its own shipbuilders, along with emigrants as far as the Vinchi Republic, Köln's naval fleet was among the most advanced of the era. Amassing a fleet of powerful ironclad warships, its steam-powered crafts dominated the Straits of Sapphiria and the principality's coast. Though dwarfed in size by Eden's larger fleets, the Principality's navy was able to match size with speed and firepower, putting technology to its advantage. It was with that power that enabled Köln to rule the seas, protecting their vast trade networks from pirates and privateers alike.
But even the best ironclads would not be able to completely safeguard the nation's sovereignty. Despite Köln's domination of the seas, the reigning princes knew that without a land force to safeguard the state, their realm would easily be swept away by the vast armies of its expansionist neighbours. But with a small population and a military devoted primarily to a naval force, Köln was unable to amass an army large enough to compete - at least, not by conventional means...
Famed for its automaton makers, Köln's engineers had drawn their knowledge extensively from their trading partners in the Vinchi, a nation that has progressed far in the field of technology. Their products range from the mundane wind-up toys which line the arcade shops on the waterfront, to the towering metal beasts that stood guard at its walls. What Köln could not fill in numbers, they made up with pure steel. With an elite legion of battle golems to reinforce their small armies, Köln was more than ready to hold against any adversary.
But for tasks that were deemed too dishonourable or gruesome for the chivalrous, there was another legion of automatons who - or which - were more than ready to accept. Among the clans that had made a name in their work on automatons, none were as distinguished as the Ehrlich princes themselves. Honing their skills to an art form, they had not only created battle golems that outmatch any other created in another hands'. They could also create automaton puppets that were so lifelike, they could be mistaken as real people. That was the trademark of the city's founder, Sieghart von Ehrlich, whose Battle Dolls mirror his desire to create life out of his own hands.
However, their creation also paralleled the madness within him, having created them not just out of the finest silk and iron, but out of the souls of countless innocent young girls, sacrificed to grant life to his ultimate automatons. Ironically, their affections towards their master mirrored his own obsessions, bordering on psychosis and unbound by any sense of morality and conscience other than that towards their masters. Many generations on, his descendants still bore the stigma of an age old tragedy which some called out as a divine curse. Johann himself despised Sieghart and his creations for dooming so many to fall, both then and now. But as a pragmatist, Johann and his predecessors were not above using their unique capabilities to their advantage.
Built with a vast array of bladed contraptions fitted into a complex and flexible frame, the dolls were created for subterfuge and assassination. An duality of beauty and death put into a velvet shell of a deceptively benign maiden, the Battle Dolls' Soul Circuits allow them to seamlessly mimic human emotion and action; and without a conscience or fear that would otherwise falter a biological sentient, the Battle Dolls make perfect actors - and killers.
Though fragile and easily damaged in a protracted fight, the Dolls nonetheless gained a reputation as a terror weapon, taking out opponents who threatened the life of their master in a frighteningly gaudy fashion. Rival nobles, zealous crusaders and unruly mobs alike had cowered in fear of their blades, butchering any who stood in the way of the Ehrlichs' ambitions. The conquest of Rotfelsenburg was the most telling of the consequences of crossing and belittling the Prince of Köln. Faced with a debaucherous demand for twenty of Köln's most beautiful maidens in exchange for the city-state's security, Johann answered in the most ironic and sadistic way possible, sending his Battle Dolls in like a Trojan Horse as 'gifts', before deploying his troops to the city's gates. His fanatical maidens, loyal to no end, went on a frenzy, disposing the offending noble and his family, clearing the guards, and opening the gates of the city for their master's army to march in unopposed. The episode sparked fear in the hearts of enemies and allies alike, earning the Prince the name 'the Devil's Puppeteer'. In retrospect, it would have been a title that was already inherited from Sieghart himself. But one thing was for certain. To watch these beautiful maidens unmask their skins to reveal the blades within was to stare death in the eye. None, not even an Ehrlich prince, may be able to escape without that fear. Though the Dolls were tools reviled by Sieghart's descendants as a curse, it was nevertheless a curse that proved effective in Köln's trying times...