Borograv

Since September, I haven’t had much time for writing, which should change as of now and a lot of texts for already published pictures should start appearing here.

Today’s article is about Borograv, a larp which took place by the end of last summer – so more than three months ago. It was one of the more important larps of the year; or at least for me it was.

Borograv is an isolated princedom in the Ardavian Valley, previously a part of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, now belonging to the Independent State of Croatia. Part of that Yugoslavia whose rightful king Alexander I. was shot more than ten years ago, that Yugoslavia that fell apart during the reign of an Axis appeasing regent. Now it belongs to Croatia, which has the name of Catolic Croatians, but is full of Orthodox Serbians, and which is now ruled by the fascistic Ustaša, defied by Communists as well as the loyal royal Chetniks.

It was never easy to survive in the Ardavian Valley, so only the strongest, toughest and most resilient live here. Those willing to toil more than others to deserve their bread, willing to live in a wild valley, almost forgotten amidst the forest that surrounds it. Amidst a forest that saved the lives of the valley’s inhabitants, as well as took them.

The seat of power in the valley is a hunting lodge built in the same place where the fortress of the House Borograv, which gave the valley its name, had stood. But today the valley is not ruled by Borogravs, but by the Szemesi family, or properly speaking, by Ante Szemesi, after the death of the Count, his father. Ante might be the younger son, but unlike his royalist brother, he is an Ustaše – and that’s what counts and it might even be the reason why the people of the valley don’t have so many problems with the ruling regime.

Some time ago, the valley was struck by a disaster: the whole village was burned to the ground. It never became clear, who was to blame, and though many argue about it, nobody knows – and if they do, they remain silent.

Today, everyone lives in the castle and its outbuildings; a sanctuary that was granted to them by Ante’s mother, Svjetlana.

What awaits the characters in the future is subject of the game itself.

The larp was very interesting to look at, which might be apparent from the pictures from Borograv. The game was certainly very epic and full of dramatic events. I, at least, think that the rain that lasted almost two days certainly helped the atmosphere, though some players were unavoidably cold and couldn’t find any dry things.

The whole project was organized by the Rosenthal association and several outside organizers. I would be an ungrateful bastard if I didn’t thank, apart from the organizers, also the cooks, who took care not only of the food for the players, but also for me, which couldn’t have been easy, what with my gluten-free and lactose-free diet.