Gerslev is the stereotypical provincial town, the place that bungling country bumpkins come from in the jokes told in the City of Kislev. The citizens know this and try to break the stereotype by achieving the heights of culture and fashion. Unfortunately, these attempts just make the jokes worse, as they are mocked as know-nothing provincials who try too hard. Ironically, foreign visitors find Gerslev is the most cultured town (it seems wrong to call it a stanitsa) in Kislev; the plays of Detlef Sierck are standard repertory at the three theatres, Bretonnian love poetry is constantly in and out of vogue, and there’s a reasonable chance the boyar won’t serve kvas.[1a]
The ruling boyar, Irina Putortin, is trying to put together a unit of riflemen to supplement the winged lancers that are the city’s pride, especially after the rota was reduced to one quarter of its full strength in the Chaos Incursion. Most Kislevites see this as yet another sign of a provincial town that does not know its place.[1a]
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