West Ouroborasia
NATIONAL INFORMATION:
-Population: 24 million
-Faction: Justinian
-Capital: De Facto: New Sacrosanctia, De Jure: Tiran
-Government Type: Aristocratic and Imperial, technically.
-Government Description:
Technically all that is in the borders of West Ouroborasia is under the direct control of his Imperial Majesty, Istvan Dragcumir and his aristocracy; however, that is not the actual case. Southern cities and major towns are often actually under the direct command of the head of the Western Clerisy, Rozarosu, and are policed by his elite militarized organization: The Red Gauntlets.
Due to the longevity and devastation of the seven year long civil war, a lot of public ideals on government has changed drastically with the help of many aristocrats falling in battle, and thus gave rise to the new De Facto government. While it is said the Emperor consults his Aristocracy for guidance, this aristocratic council and city governing body has been almost completely replaced with Tribunes that were elected directly from the common people, their authority protected by the mob as well as citizen armies known as the Citizen Militia.
The Tribune and Citizen faction originated on the front lines from ransacked and troubled settlements and eventually the ideals of the Free Men spread throughout the Western Empire, inspiring many commoners to take control of both the war and the politics of the nation. While loyal to the Emperor Istvan Dragcumir (mostly due to his own commoner appearance and attitude) they sometimes clash with the remaining aristocracy and have on some occasions voted in a new mayor to a town where there was already a mayor who inherited the title, but the sheer numbers of the Citizen Militia is usually enough to cause the aristocrat to back down. All the good and progress the Citizen Militia has brought to the war and country as well as their overwhelming support from the citizens of the nation has kept them in the good graces of the Emperor, the Clerisy, and the higher up (and more liberal) Aristocrats.
In short, the government is still a top down Imperial government, but it’s politicians are majorly elected from the common classes under the eyes of the Tribunes or Civilian leaders. In addition, some southern regions disregard local politics and are instead under the direct authority of the Clerisy, only challenged by the word of the Emperor.
-Head of State: Istvan Dragcumir, The Soggy Emperor
-Currency:
-Language(s): Ouroborasian
[Short-History Here]
Western Ouroborasia is the Justinian half of the civil war in Ouroborasia and is lead by the crown prince who is vying for control over the Empire, as well as the Clerisy of New Sanctuary. As the threat of magic and red gods grew, so did the common hatred of the dangers this possesses, giving rise to the temptationist view of magic among the local clerisy and the increase in persecutions of witches.
For the first two years the fighting went on strongly, fueled by political as well as religious catalysts, however due to the nature of the civil war, things started to slow down considerable after the fervor hump was passed. Around five years into the now nicknamed “Civil Massacre” the West was struck with another issue, further slowing down the war efforts and further changing the face of power structure in the west: a rain storm began. For the last two years most of the front East and north of the nation has been flooded by frequent and sometimes non stop rain, ruining crops and plantations, and forcing villages to adapt or die. Front line settlements often find themselves devastated by the rains due to the lack of peace available to even attempt to adapt to the weather.
The now nicknamed Drowning War is still fronted by the clerisy, the Imperial Faction (purples), the Citizen Militia, and many independent civilian corps who hold contempt for the witches and even projecti blame of the weather on them. Some notable groups have formed anti witch units and even witch hunting organizations, the most notable being the red gauntlets, a faction lead by the top cleric himself.
It is important to note that while the war started with fervor, it has been widely replaced with a hatred for the war itself and a desire for it to end, but end rightfully and in favor of the people and their newly founded freedoms.
UNIQUE ATTRIBUTE INFORMATION:
Ouroborasian “Powderbane”: Ouroborasia’s environment is infamous for being cold, wet and treacherous. Bogs, swamps, marshlands and dark forests cover both East and West Ouroborasia. Rain is a constant, drenching the land many times a year in all seasons. This naturally miserable environment has been even further worsened by the cataclysmic magical incident (Accused to be a witch superweapon but really a backfiring Clerisy one) which has drenched much of west and central Ouroborasia in floods. Because of this, the civil war is not only a logistical nightmare for those unprepared outsiders, but also a nightmare for anyone using guns and cannons. While guns are still imported and used in Ouroborasia, they are considered far less reliable. Sieges also tend to drag on far longer, with cannons proving to be far less useful when they misfire or fail to fire at all (or simply cannot be moved properly).
Freedom of the People’s Choice. While the religious fervor of the early war has died down, with the rise of the ideas of class freedom and the liberation of citizens from aristocracy, a lot of new fuels have been pumped into the veins of the war.
The common people are for once not fighting a war for lazy aristocrats or far away bishops, but a war for themselves, and their newly gained freedoms, something they are willing to die for. With this wide spread belief of protecting their emerging Citizen government against the encroaching east, the Citizen Militia is often overflowing with new volunteers filled with numerous reasons to join the Citizen’s march against tyranny and to protect liberty.
Due to the cohesiveness of the Tribunal government of the people and their friendly cooperation with the Imperial Government, the Citizen’s Militia is well armed, well fed, never lacking in fresh faces both native and foreign, and filled with a heightened morale expected from a group of people defending their way of life. They will find liberty protected and their voices heard, or they will find themselves dead trying.
Western Magic. Due to the blight of the witches curse and bad run ins with red god magic, magic itself is under heavy speculation in Western Ouroborasia but not outright banned. Red Gauntlets and assisting witch hunting forces roam both the streets and bogs looking for red god magic, and disposing of it as deemed necessary, but also they look for unregistered magic users.
Every magic user in West Ouroborasia must be registered in New Sacrosanctia or suffer penalty, and then to be able to use the magic after being registered, you must have a magic using license, which are not usually handed out liberally to those outside of the clerisy or the clear sight of Justinians gaze.
While this policy rubs against the citizen’s freedoms, it is a better alternative than outright paranoid genocide practiced before the civil war, and it works as an efficient tool in combing red pantheists out of Western Ouroborasia.
Flood Adaptation.Counter Magic. I suppose Ouroborasia has magic-engineers, craftsmen.. perhaps the people that reproduce these anti-magic tech are genuinely called 'War Alchemists'
A mini portal to unleash Justinian counter-magic.
It could work as a stun grenade
It disrupts spells used by enemies.
And in general disrupts magic
But only temporarily.
GEOGRAPHIC INFORMATION:
Effects of the Rains, red areas showcase the worst of the flooding, purple moderate and unmarked areas are light or unaffected (such as around New Sacrosanctia)
Yellow Star: Tiran
Red Star: New Sacrosanctia
Yellow diamond: City
Red diamond: City under the influence of the Red Gauntlets
Note: Center mass of the Nation is extremely swampy and the two diamonds in the center are actually large towns.
RACIAL(species) INFORMATION:
-Majority race: Humans
-Minority race(s):
Shrimps: Civilized denizens once from the underground, these arthropod bipedal creatures blend into human society but not without some racial prejudices held against them.
Harnians: In the lower west corner of West Ouroborasia lies a proud culture held high by a bold race of Minotaurs known as Harnians. The Harnians migrated to this spot during an ancient and undocumented era, and often Harnian scholars refer to their cultural lands as “Second Home” in their native tongue, implying that they broke off from a “First Home” at some point.
Unlike other Minotaurs of Materia the Harnians do not partake in savage cannibalism or the eating of other sentient races and in fact have little in common with their savage brothers. While still very much a warrior’s culture, they are more reminiscent of warrior poets than brutal barbarians. Their government structure implies that it once was a sprawling political system of lower chiefs and high kings; however, it is now a very tiny political globe often left alone by the Ouroborasian government for the sake of cooperation and peace.
With the conversion of Ouroborasia to Justinianism, the Harnians were forced to limit their traditional religious worship in favor of strenuous peace with the zealous conquerors, but eventually many young Harnians consensually converted if not for the sake of unity.
Their traditional religion is deemed extremely insignificant by the now West Ouroborasia government and hardly considered threatening. The reasons for this is that the secret Harnian religion pays reverence to a long dead trio of gods thought to have perished at least three cycles ago.
RELIGIOUS INFORMATION:
-State Religion: Orthodox Justinianism
-Patron Deity: Justinian
-Religion Demographics: Heavily Justinian with traces of Eastern Religions as well as a small demographic of Traditional Harnian
-Major Holy Relics/Artefacts in Possession: The Vreme, Beacon of New Sacrosanctia
-Holy Sites under Control: N/A
-Notable Magical Institutions: New Sacrosanctian Registry
-Religious Interpretations/Culture : Please see “Western Magic.”
MILITARY INFORMATION:
Total Military Size: 250,000
Listed Heroes: Leotrim, Gjergj, Kastrioti
Military Doctrine: The Military is split into three separate entities under the control of the three different political groups: The Purple Army (Imperial), The Red Gauntlets (Clerisy), and the Citizen Militia (Tribunes).
Under the guidance of the clerisy and wary use of spells, the powers of magic have been used sparingly in comparison to other countries and is not often trusted by most in Western Ouroborasia unless from Justinian or a reliable source clearly related to Justinian and thus manifests itself in the military in unique ways. Notable uses of magic in the military are the consensual curses given to all new Imperial and Cleric recruits and most Civilian militia-men and women, the practice of installing protective magical barriers on fortifications, armor and other objects that might be caught in the crossfire of witches and other sources of Reg God magic (These often are manifested as large geometrical shapes and patterns drawn on walls, armor and the like and then blessed with anti-magic properties. Finally the most noticeable use of magic is strictly given to the Red Gauntlet units known as Executioners. These elite units are tattooed head to toe with noticeable white patterns similar to the patterns used on walls and cities to protect them from magic. Executioners are magic resistant, but a lot of the curses cast on them to protect them from magic, sacrifice their own soul, and the ability to do in field sacrifice rituals cut their natural lifespan down incredibly and sometimes even causes mental instability.
In regards to organization and the war, the Citizen Militia and the Purples do the majority of the fighting since the Red Gauntlets are meant for internal struggles regarding red pantheists; however, groups of Red Gauntlets and especially their executioners are often hired to work alongside the Purples in major battles, while the Citizen Militia prefers not to work with them due to common disagreements between the Witch hunters and the People.
Military Units:
The Knights of the Purple See: These are an elite group of 189 knights formed seven years ago to protect young Istvan, and now serve as his personal bodyguards while he fights on the frontlines. It is lead by the Hero named Kastrioti and the group of renown fighters are never seen far from their Emperor. Most practice silence to keep the secrets of state away from listening ears but also so as to never commit to close relationships to anyone not in the inner circle. Most do not have publically known names or families, but it isn’t in their secrecy that their legacy was born.
The Knights of the Purple See are renown fighters, being trained in four styles of fighting: the sword and arm, the spear, the bow, and enemy fighting styles, including rudimentary grasps of the Geyser blade. Under the eye of Agim, the force was quickly focused to learn how the enemy fights, to better understand how to win each battle, this ideology has spread through the purple ranks, starting here.
A knight is adorned in light yet protective armor of steel plates, magical wards that deter witch magic and spikes to ward off both familiar weapons and ambushing monsters, but their real bite comes with their unique set of weapons.
Their side weapon is a highly tapered sword fit for slashing foes and punching holes through plate but their real power comes from their primary weapon, the spear. A Purple See spear is very unique in that while it has a long punching spear head, on either side of the base of the head is two hooks, one facing upwards and one facing down, fit for parry’s, captures and other unique movements. The strength of their spear doesn’t end there because just like their magic warding armor, the spears are also enchanted. The enchantments allow the spears to be used to parry physically offensive spells as well as mundane weapons, thrusting the spear through an explosive ball of magic flame could dissipate it mid air, catch it long enough to slam it down into a different enemy or even send it back.
The Red Gauntlets: While not officially in the army, their sheer intimidating numbers makes them very clearly an army. These troops come in two forms, Executioners and Hunters, the Hunters being the common unit supported by Executioners.
In general the population has a mixed opinion of them as not only do they only answer to Rozarosu himself, but they have been given the authority to execute known Red Pantheists on the spot, and while the process of proving the guilty to be actual red pantheists is streamlined and accurate, most commoners aren’t fond of them bursting into town and killing their neighbor.
Similar to other elite troops, they are usually adorned with anti magic wards on their red stained armor while uniquely the Executioners themselves are an anti magic ward as described in an earlier section. The Gauntlets do not have a standard weapon but swords and menacing spiked maces are the obvious choice for their policing efforts.
Their relationship with the population outside the clerisy is strained as they have been accused of assassinations, murder and other dirty deeds that promoted Rozarosu, and their public attitude of superiority often chafes the citizens where they are investigating. It is assumed that the Soggy Emperor has his own investigative force looking into the matter of the Gauntlets committing crimes (and even off-hand rumors about them being related to the rains) but the efforts are slow due to the war, the necessity of the Gauntlets, and the political power of Rozarosu.
DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
Magaret: The youngest son of a once prominant Aberysian knight in exile, Maggie was drafted by his older brother to help fight for the purples in exchange for the welfare of their mother.
Yarold: Concerned about his mother and their growing poverty, Yarold signed on to the Purples, and even got a bonus sent to his mother for convincing Maggie to join.
Leotrim: The Unknown Soldier, his presence magically buffs the armies he fights for.
Agim: A veteran of the Gushawar wars, and now the tactical advisor of Istvan.
Istvan: The Soggy Emperor of the West
Gjergj: A folk hero among the Citizen’s Miitia, he is know to carry large barrels of bullets on his back and backs of stones on his hips, it is said Justinian speaks through him and strikes down his enemies by guiding the bullets.
Kastrioti: The Silent bodyguard of Istvan and the leader of the Knights of the Purple See
EXTRA INFORMATION:
Full History:
HyukList of Historical Grievances:
HyukRelations:
HyukCultural Notes:
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