There doesn't seem to be a lot of interest, so I'm going to going to give a quick overview of the lore in the hopes that it changes some people's minds.

Decades ago, Calradia used to be united under one Great Empire, until that Empire fell. Now, it is dominated by six Kingdoms that are constantly at each other's throats, frequently getting into conflict. Each nation believes they deserve to rule all of Calradia.

We have:

The Kingdom of the Nords: Based off of the Vikings, they have the best infantry in Calradia, but their archers are mediocre and they do not use cavalry at all. They are ruled by King Ragnar, who usurped the throne from Lethwin Far-Seeker while he was studying abroad. Their nobles are titled as 'Jarls.' The Nords were not originally native to Calradia, and instead migrated there, conquering land from the Vaegirs.

The Kingdom of the Vaegirs: Based off of Russia, they have some of the best archers, but mediocre cavalry. Their infantry are pretty good too, but they have a tendency to go into battle without shields, which usually gets them killed. They are currently ruled by King Yaroglek, whose father Buruglek originally stole the throne from King Yaroglek's cousin, Prince Valdym the Bastard, and executed Valdym's mother for adultery (to our knowledge, there is no proof that Valdym is a bastard or that his mother was guilty.) Their nobles are titled 'Boyars.'

The Kingdom of Swadia: They seem to be based off of England, and were the original seat of the Calradian Empire. Swadian Knights are the best heavy cavalry in the game, but their infantry and crossbowmen are of average skill. They are ruled by King Harlaus, who stole the throne from Lady Isolla of Suno, claiming that because she was a woman she was unfit to rule. Their nobles are titled 'Counts.'

The Kingdom of the Rhodoks: I don't know what these guys are based off of, but they seem to have more lore than any other faction. I've heard comparisons of everything from the Swiss to the Celts. They were originally a tribal people, until they were conquered. They favor spearmen and crossbowmen, their crossbowmen being the best in Calradia and their spearmen being extremely good at defense. When Calradia collapsed, they were able to rebel and gain independence from Swadia, swearing never again to bow to nobility. But then powerful chieftans and generals started holing themselves up fortresses and calling themselves Counts, and once they had Counts they needed a King to keep them in line, so that whole 'no nobles allowed' thing didn't last. But the position of King is not hereditary - when a King dies, the nobles vote on a new one. Their most recent leader is King Graveth, who broke the rules of the voting process by showing up with a weapon, but there was a Swadian raiding party on the way and he was the only one equipped to deal with it, so they made him King on the condition that he would protect them. His competition, Lord Kastor of Veluca, was pissed and went into exile.

The Khergit Khanate: Based off of the Mongol Empire. The Khergits came from the east, capturing land that was originally controlled by the Vaegirs and settling there. They have the best light cavalry, favoring Horse Archers and Lancers, but their infantry is almost non-existent. They are currently ruled by Sanjar Khan. The Khergits have this custom where when the Khan dies, his lands are divided evenly between his sons. But Sanjar broke this custom by claiming all those lands for himself and naming himself Khan while his brother Dustum was out on patrol.

The Sarranid Sultanate: Based off of Arabia and various other Middle-Eastern cultures. I know the least about these guys. The Sarranids occupy a desert. They have weak infantry, but their archers are on par with the Vaegirs and their heavy cavalry (Sarranid Mamlukes) are almost equal to the Swadian Knights. They are currently ruled by Sultan Hakim, who stole his throne from his stepmother, Arwa the Pearled One, due to the fact that she was a woman and not originally a noble.

As you can see, a recurring theme here is that all the current leaders unlawfully seized the throne and forced their competition into exile. During the game, if the protagonist does not wish to seize power from themselves, they can help one or more of these people regain their throne. Or just accept the flaws of the current leaders and serve one of them.

But some of the rulers actually have legitimate reasons for taking power. King Graveth believed the vote was nonsense because the nobles only cared about who had the largest bribe, and not who was the best leader. Sanjar Khan points out that whenever the Khans divided their land in the past, it always led to civil war, so he skipped the war by taking the lands for himself before it could happen. King Yaroglek claims that he had no hand in what his father did to Valdym, and as a result should not be held accountable. King Ragnar argues that the Nords value strength, and would not accept a scholarly leader with very little battle experience. King Harlaus's and Sultan Hakim's excuses essentially amount to sexist/classist BS, though.