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Celý názov: Veľkovojvodstvo Metsämaa
Typ: Územný štát. Monarchia.
Demonymum: Metsämčan, Metsämčanka, Metsák, Metsík, metsämský/-á/-é
Opis: Northeast of Ursania, to the north of Segalimia, one of the most northernly settled territories of Aporue organised into a state, the Grand Duchy of Metsämaa has a very long history. However, it has long been seen as little more than a semi-civilised periphery of the continent: Always somewhat behind the rest, with most of the Aporuean refinement relegated to its southern and southeastern coastline, and the rest being little more than sparsely populated countryside and pristine wilderness. As stereotypes go, there is a grain of truth to each and every cliché, and Metsämaa is a good example of that. Yes, indeed, most of Metsämaa is still unaffected by the social, scientific and industrial revolutions of recent memory, and for the most part is still a reminder of more ancient times. Times when nature, not emerging and struggling sapients, truly ruled the continent. Heavily forested by a mix of seemingly endless decidous and coniferous trees, broken up by the occassional lake (of which there are thousands, left behind by glaciers), particularly central and northern Metsämaa have some of the most untouched and most unexplored bits of wilderness still left in Aporue. The ethnic situation of the Grand Duchy is somewhat complex and blurry, as the dominant human ethnicities are ancestrally and linguistically interlinked, but settled the land at different periods of its prehistory. The modern day southern peoples live in cities and towns that look straight out of Segalimia, Lengelia or Lower Lokytia, or in countryside towns, villages and granges, farming in an often decidedly Metsämaan style. The northerners are still mostly nomadic tribesmen - migrating and setting up camps and hamlets depending on the season, herding reindeer and other animals, hunting for meat and fur, foraging for herbs and berries, trading with the southerners… And in between, the people of the central regions show a mix of both sensibilities, with village and grange farmers, hunters, trappers, woodcutters and foresters being the occupations of choice (similar to the pioneers settling Ursania's westward-lying wilderness). Humans in general abound among all three socio-cultural groups of the land, but with a few exceptions, Rarachs and Permons are usually not seen much among the northern nomads and herders. Last but not least, Metsämaa is the homeland to beastfolk minorities of various sizes. Martenfolk and Otterfolk are plentiful in the more southern regions (some being native, but many of them are immigrant settlers) and they usually get along well with local humans. But the true native beastfolk group are the Wolverfolk (or “Gulomen”) from the northern central and northern regions of the Grand Duchy. They keep to themselves a lot more and their relations with humans and other beastfolk are more tenuous, but they often trade with them peacefully. The Metsämaan wilderness, with its prevailing forested lowlands and slight uplands, and a few occassional mountain ranges in the north, is a place that captures the imagination of many an Aporuean writer and traveller, and much has been written (often in a romanticised) about its history, legends and old mysteries.
Reállny predobraz: Think of
pre-Russian-ruled Finland, particularly Finland during the times of The
Cudgel War or Finland during The Age of Counts. The name of this
fictional country literally means “Forestland” in Finnish.
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