POLNYA
The main setting of the story, Polnya seems to control a fair amount of territory besides the valley that contains The Wood. It has a significant border with its rival Rosya, which also borders on The Wood. (In fact, as the story goes on, it becomes apparent that the Wood is stoking the rivalry between the two nations for its own purposes.) The two countries have a bit more of an Eastern European flair than your typical fairy-tale fantasy countries. As the name suggests, Polnya seems based on Poland – it even has an monarch that seems to be elected (or at least acclaimed) by the ‘Magnati’ nobility, where as Rosya is presumably Russian. Cannons make an appearance, but I don’t recall any references to personal firearms, so a 15th or 16th-century level of technology seems appropriate. A Polnyan army could include:
- A Hero General (Prince Marek) or a Knight General (if led by his more sensible brother Prince Sigmund)
- A Magician (one or more of the court wizards like the Dragon or the Falcon.)
- A Cleric (Either a priest with holy relics, or Agnieszka, whose magic seems to be notably different from that of the court wizards.)
- Artillery (Early cannon, but firing enchanted cannonballs.)
- Knights and/or Riders (Heavy or light Polish-style cavalry, though there’s no mention of anything like the famous winged hussars.)
- Spears (Infantry armed with pikes.)
- Blades (Infantry armed with axes for venturing into the Wood.)
- Hordes (Peasants with torches and agricultural implements.)
- A Magician General (The Wood-queen – a humanoid figure covered in bark and leaves.)
- Behemoths (Large magical creatures like chimeras or hydras.)
- Beasts (Corrupted animals such as wolves or cattle.)
- Warbands (Stick-like Walkers, who snatch the unwary and carry them into the Wood.)
- Knights or Blades (Giant silvery mantises that guard the heart-trees.)
- Hordes (Humans in an early stage of corruption.)
- Lurkers (Grasping tree branches, brambles, pit traps, sudden betrayals by fellow soldiers who have let their guard down – the Wood is full of dangers.)
- Any of the Polnyan elements, being used as pawns of the Wood.