Barun
In medieval Zalykia and Pavatria, a barun (Zalyk: ᡋᠠᠷᡇᠨ, Soravian: Барун; Barun) was an explorer or settler of Zalyk ancestry that was employed by the Duchy of Pavatria to settle and explore Zalykia in the 13th and 14th centuries. Baruns were typically estranged and jobless soldiers who sought employment after the Battle of Usaanbalsan, though others were civilians, cartographers, scientists and scholars often motivated by Badist religious principles of discovery and the pursuit of knowledge. Over a period of around 150 years, baruns explored and mapped tens of thousands of square kilometres of previously unknown territory, and settled hundreds of villages and towns across the region. Until the colonial era, it was one of the largest acts of human settlement in history.
Among the cities founded by baruns are Yashkul, Ulan Erge, Yalmta, Ut Sala, Charkasar and Khosheut. Religious baruns often built Badi shrines in the small villages they settled in the Great Western Plains, some of which still stand today. Some baruns travelled in small groups, often no greater than ten, and were mainly tasked with mapping and scouting. Other, more notable barons led expeditionary forces that numbered in the hundreds. Thousands of baruns undertook hundreds of expeditions that ultimately ended in the Duchy of Pavatria assuming control over most of north-western Euclea. Baruns often later served in an administrative capacity, and some were even promoted to nobility and granted land and estates in the newly-settled territories. Though mostly obsolete by the colonial period, baruns also led numerous expeditions into Chistovodia and Vinalia, and many Zalyk generals participated in the Yellow Tree War. In addition to this, Zalyk populations settled the colonies as part of Grigori Kosh's plans of establishing settler colonies across the eastern Asterias.
Estmerish historian Francis Lawrence described the baruns as the most prolific and proficient explorers of the medieval era, and their methods of navigation and exploration influenced Euclean explorers for centuries. Geatish historiographer Anne-Mette Damgaard cited the baruns as one of the first examples of mass Euclean exploration and colonisation.
Background
Following their migration into Euclea in the 9th century, Zalyks were known for their skills in both combat and exploration, and many generals who had fought under the legendary Tagamic figure Chanyu Ekkin travelled to western Euclea to settle with the Zalyks, and later spearheaded military campaigns against the Great Vesemir and later Pavatria. Hailing from central Coius, Zalyks often made greater strides in both military and civilian technology that their Marolevic counterparts, a trend that did not cease until the mid-12th century. Southern Terekhivka, eastern Ilmenia, Radushia, and eastern Zalykia were among the regions extensively mapped by the Zalyks. The cities of Nurmgö and Ulan Khol were also settled during this period.
In 1152, Kharchu Khan created the Grand Army of the Yellow Dragon, a personal army that swore allegiance solely to himself. These soldiers were specially trained and were regarded as some of medieval Euclea's most elite forces. Over the next hundred years they won hundreds of battles across four separate wars and are said to have been responsible for no less than 20,000 Pavatrian casualties. The army participated in the Battle of Usaanbalsan, led by Ayuga Khan, who would ultimately lose his life in the battle, which led to the scattering of the Grand Army and, later, the complete annexation of Zalykia into the Pavatrian realm.
Now left with no state, no leader and no method of self-sustenance, many of these soldiers formed small pockets of resistance that hassled Pavatrian forces as they began to occupy the vast area. Others advertised their skills to the Pavatrian nobles, and later monarch himself, which would later become the first baruns. Most early baruns were from a military background, whose combat experience, battle-hardened nature and knowledge of the terrain proved extremely useful in the further exploration of the area. Some of the first baruns were also soldiers of the Grand Army, including Bedes Yürki, Khutughtu Mangkhol and Sain Süldüsün.
History
Plains exploration and settlement
Nikolai IV agreed to finance expeditions westwards in 1289, with plans to map, explore and settler the vast plains that made up most of eastern Zalykia. The Pavatrian nobility were persuaded to support the endeavour mainly due to its huge potential as a centre of agriculture, as well as the creation of new titles and lands within the region.
The inaugural expedition left the city of Yanuvka in 1291, led by Khutughtu Mangkhol, who was accompanied by around forty men, most of whom were Pavatrian soldiers. The group travelled westward for around three weeks before finding the Pogost river, a tributary of the Kvasy river. Mangkhol mapped and explored the river for months before eventually locating its source, after which he travelled westwards once more, locating the Yastrebna river, another tributary of the Kvasy river. During the first expedition, which lasted around ten months, not much had been discovered that was of any significance. Some settlers were left behind or detached from the main group to settle small towns on the Pogost and Yastrebna rivers.
The unsuccessful nature of the first expedition dissuaded some nobility from choosing to finance more expeditions, and many voiced their opinion against another voyage. Despite the opposition, Nikolai agreed to finance another expedition, this time led by Sain Süldüsün. Departing from Nimganopol, Süldüsün discovered that the Kvasy river extended south for hundreds of kilometres, and hundreds of settlers were sent to settle down into the river, now located in the geohistorical region of Ilmenia, where the Ilmenian language is spoken.
Onggur Sarpa led the third expedition, beginning in 1294, where he discovered the Sarpa river, one of the six major Soravian rivers. Sarpa was lauded for his discovery, as well as Nikolai and the baruns for their persistence. Thousands of people relocated from central Pavatria to settle in the new towns and villages that had been created after the discovery of the Sarpa river.
The baruns navigated and explored all of the Great Western Plain during their expeditions, a huge portion of land that stretches through Zalykia, Rykovychi and Myrutyn. Baruns were able to travel such long distances without succumbing to starvation or dehydration due to proficiency in hunting and gathering, as well as the construction of yurts that gave them vital shelter and warmth during the colder winter months, where the temperatures in the plains can drop as low as –20°C (–4°F)
Barun exploration was not limited to the land, and many baruns discovered a natural proficiency for sailing that could be used to explore the western coasts of the continent. Moimir the Kneebringer had sent explorers to document the land around the Kingdom of Maltaire, a marauder kingdom that had existed during the 10th century. Naval voyages by baruns began in the early 14th-century. Many voyages left from port cities like Samistopol, Luchintsy, Lipa and Ovdapol, and initially only consisted of small fleets of small ships.
Initially, many baruns died as the harsh conditions out at sea sank their small and brittle ships, but as the possibility of major naval exploration gained traction, larger ships and more funding were designated to the baruns to conduct their voyages.
Ganbataar Ubchikh was the first barun to sail beyond the Zbytyn peninsula in the 1340s, and also discovered the Arpat Islands in 1352.
Aguchu Telenggut discovered where the Sarpa river flowed into the sea in the 1360s, but it was not until Baidar Jalair's land expedition that traversed the entire river in the 1380s that it was recognised as the Sarpa river.
Colonial endeavours
Some baruns crossed the Lumine in hopes of exploration jobs in the Colony of Chistovodia in the latter half of the 16th century. Despite being obsolete for the last century, there was a renewed interest in baruns and their methods of exploration with the advent of Soravian colonisation and the monarchy's colonial aspirations in the new world. Baruns documented rivers and natural landforms and mapped some of the coast of the colony in the 1570s and 1580s, and some even settled the interior and Khmelnytskyi in the 16th and 17th centuries.
In Vinalia, the effects of barun exploration were more widely felt. Baruns were initially hired to provide navigational aid to Soravian explorers, Baruns were employed by Josep Mykola in his 1573 voyage to document and map the Shyroniy river in Southern Vinalia. Baruns were employed to climb the volcanoes of Vinalia, with Megetu Namsrai the first to climb Mt. Vulna, Vinalia's tallest peak. As Soravian expansion into Vinalia encountered stronger Vinakian resistance, exploration into the Juyu Ruwach mountains and further reached a stalemate, and Baruns were used to produce detailed maps of Vinalian coasts. Following the successes of the Yellow Tree War in Chistovodia, Vinalian authorities sought to replicate the same success in Vinalia, Baruns were sought after to aid Soravian explorers in the mapping and exploration of the Vinalian interior. Baruns were key in mapping such regions and were among the first in producing maps regarding the cultural and linguistical diversity of the Vinakian population. Their greatest contribution came when Nazar Zorigt led an expedition into the northwest of the country from Bakhmut on the Red River, it led to the discovery of the Nazar Plateau a large Tablytsya which rises at its highest point to 1,500 m (5,000 ft) above sea level, along a large wide open plain. Such discoveries and positive migration policies allowed Zalyk migration into the plateau.
As well as this, military baruns participated in the Yellow Tree War both in a combat and exploratory role.
Employment and financing
Most early baruns were employed directly by the crown, and financed directly from the nation's coffers. Due to this, crown influence in Zalykia initially was very high, and the crown essentially, in theory, maintained direct control over the lands through the network of baruns that were established across the region.
As the popularity of the baruns grew and their successes became more widespread, other nobles began to invest in their services with the hopes of discovering new land for estates and titles.