Union of Sabun

Flag of the Sabunese Protectorate

The **Union of Sabun** (Sabunese: *Nabalê Sabùn*), commonly referred to as **Sabun**, is a semi-autonomous nation located in northern Tōkai. Ever since the conclusion of the Fourth Shingō-Sabun War in November 394 G.E., the country has functioned as a protectorate of the Imperial Republic of Shingō. Much of Sabun's geography is mountainous, making traveling to certain regions difficult. Its capital and largest city is Imahe, from which most national highways and roads originate. Sabun is organized into several regions, each of which has its own local government and unique cultural characteristics.

## Government

### Before Fourth Shingō-Sabun War:

Prior to its transformation into a Shingōan protectorate, Sabun operated as a limited presidential republic, in which the executive branch was separated from the legislature. Regional chiefs and members of the aristocracy were permitted to appoint representatives in the national legislature, the membership of which would then be responsible for electing the President of Sabun.

### After becoming Shingōan protectorate

Ever since its transformation, Sabun has functioned as an oligarchy in which a collective body of regional chiefs exercises the majority of governmental authority. Members of the body are typically members of the aristocracy and must be vetted by the Shingōan government prior to assuming their positions. Additionally, the body is required to be representative of each of the four major ethnic groups in Sabun, and no single group may have more than two representatives in the group at a time.

As described in the terms of peace that concluded the Fourth Shingō-Sabun War, the Shingōan Parliament has the authority to review, edit, or nullify any and all laws or edicts issued by the governing body of Sabun. Even more controversially, the Shingōan Parliament has the authority to request the body to select a new head member to serve as Governor (the highest-ranking position in the Sabunese government) at any time.

### Shingōan Declaration of Imperial Sovereignty

On 12 March 395, the Shingōan Parliament passed a motion declaring Emperor Shirayama, the Emperor of Shingō at the time, the sovereign head of state of Sabun. While the Sabunese governing body unanimously rejected the decree, the terms of the Treaty of Sugan allowed the Shingōan Parliament to nullify the body's rejection and pass the declaration. While this motion was intended as a symbolic move and did not change any fundamental aspects of the Sabunese protectorate's government — as the emperor did not hold any real governmental powers — the move was still met with strong resistance and riots by many members of the Sabunese population.

## Society

Modern Sabunese society is characterized by a strict social hierarchy and a predominantly rural population. The vast majority of the population are peasants, who are legally tied to the land and subject to the authority of wealthy landowners. Industrialization is only beginning to take hold, with a small but growing urban working class.

Intellectual and artistic movements have emerged within the last several decades and have created a vibrant cultural scene. However, these movements are also subject to censorship and repression, first by the independent Sabunese government and later by Shingōan authorities.

Some members of the Sabunese peasantry and urban working class had quietly approved of Sabun's defeat in the Fourth Shingō-Sabun War, hoping that incoming Shingōan reforms would reduce the drastic wealth divides and hierarchies of Sabunese society. Yet, as of now, no significant steps towards addressing these issues have been made.

## Founding

Ancestor groups to the Sabunese people first came to inhabit the region of lower Mektan around 400 B.G.E., but these groups remained fragmented and frequently competed and fought with each other for resources. In 323 B.G.E., a nomadic tribe known as Sedik began settling in lower Mektan and competing with the natives for resources. In 309 B.G.E., Chief Imunka would organize the members of the Sedik tribe into an army and began conquering and subjugating the native groups. Imunka subsequently declared himself king of the region, and the Kingdom of Sedik would reign over the region until its collapse at the hands of nomadic raiders in 220 B.G.E.

The Sedik Kingdom would be succeeded by the Kingdom of Hagnan several generations later around 20 B.G.E. The royal family of Hagnan would continue to rule, with assistance from the regional aristocracy, until around 70 G.E., when the family was overthrown by regional chiefs. Throughout the following generations, the natives and the remaining peoples of Sedik and Hagnan would merge to create the culture and identity of the modern Sabunese. Nearly a century of prosperity followed this creation of cultural identity, during which towns, cities, and groups from across lower Mektan collaborated to produce food and essential supplies.

The Sabunese people would undergo several periods of fragmentation and reintegration by certain regions and groups, but remained relatively intact throughout the next three-to-four hundred years.

In 349 to 356 G.E., the Sabun tribe fought a series of conflicts against the ethnically Shingōan Olkawa tribe, causing relations with the Imperial Republic of Shingō to sour. Several factors would lead to two wars being fought between Sabun and Shingō (The Shingō-Sabun War and the Second Shingō-Sabun War). During the first war, Shingō would annex several regions claimed by the Sabun tribe as its native lands, and during the second war, Sabun successfully repelled invasion attempts by Shingōan troops and forced the Shingōan government to recognize the independence and sovereignty of the Sabun tribe. Roughly two years after the end of the second war, Chief Sedil Akhaila and several other notable figures would proclaim the creation of the Union of Sabun.