Glad to see you like her backstory! Personally I've always been a fan of seeing humanity's difference when you got actual fantastic races to compete against. I imagine one of the reasons for the Varangian current decline isn't necessarily out of decedence, but warfare: without a king to unite them and point them towards an enemy, the Varangian have been warring with their rival tribes and may be even considering invading other nations in order to amass more wealth and resources. 

It hasn't been easy if course, but their overall goal certainly conflicts with the interests of the Dale and threatens other nations, only kept in check by the violent nature of their native homelands keeping them from growing too powerful. But with the weaken authority of the royal family enabling chais to seep in, things could take a turn for the worse if the Varangian actually manage to unite their homelands and sought scouting out their next area of conquest.

It would certainly put Francesca in between two worlds. On one hand she's proud of her warrior heritage of the Varangian but as such people are, unsurprisingly, violent and prone to attacking their neighbors. On the other she was born and raised in the Dale and has learned culture and lived there her whole life, but it's on a steep decline and needs strong leadership right now. And that's not even including how she sees the other nations and their potential to save or threaten  her people. 

You got a good thing going here and I'm interested in seeing how it all unravels. In any case, I'll read up on the IC and figure out where to insert myself.