The Zjau-yl Sovereignty

## Background

The Zjaum were a peaceful faction of pastoral nomads, made up of men, dwarves, and giants. To be a Zjaum is to hold peace, patience, and perseverance in high esteem. A Zjaum needed no further honor than to be alive, and no further pleasure than the brisk cold of dawn. The rule of thumb with the Zjaum was simple: "Don't bother me, and I won't bother you." And so life went on.

The land was bountiful enough, for the Zjaum made the finest labryses in Noliterre. The blades were made from a metal that only they knew how to forge, and the wood used to make the shaft was well within their territory. No prey could hope to flee while the hunter's nets were strong and aim was true. So the Zjaum of Lower Mliza lived a good life, and their numbers grew.

The prosperity of the Zjaum made their neighbors jealous. One by one, they banded together and formed alliances against the Zjaum. The Zjaum grew nervous; they only wanted peace and prosperity, and they wished only the best for their neighbors. Zjaum diplomats were sent out to the six neighboring tribes to ask for alliances and non-aggression pacts. They all refused, calling the diplomats "Zjau-yl:" Zjaum the Merciless, Zjaum the Wealthy, Zjaum the Traitorous. They banded together, pooled their resources, and became the "Lido-wa:" the Alliance Superior. The set of minorities had become the majority.

It was only a matter of time before the nations of the Lido-wa waged war on the Zjaum. The coalition convinced their people that, if this war did not happen, all of Mliza, perhaps all of Orctova, would fall under the Zjau-yl, the "Conquest Prophecy," as it was called. The Zjaum pleaded to have the battle be on neutral soil, that the women and children could flee if all went ill. The Lido-wa, glad to have their foes cede the home advantage, agreed. On the plains of Marinica, in Suhomlaka, the Lido-wa armies met those of the Zjaum, intent on driving the Zjaum from Orctova and splitting the Zjaum territory amongst themselves. Fate, as it turned out, wished to play things differently. The general Netzae, commander of the Zjaum forces, rallied his men. "They call us traitors! They call us Zjau-yl! I say, if cowardice behind numbers and abuse of the peaceful is their way, then may I henceforth be known as Zjau-yl!" Through his mighty intellect, and his peace, he routed the Lido-wa armies, enshrining both his people and his legend for all time.

The Conquest Prophecy was self-fulfilled.  The six tribes could not muster a large enough army to fight the "aggressors;" one-fifth of their men had died at Marinica! They surrendered to the mighty Zjau-yl, even without the victor's request. The Zjaum could not govern the vast plains of Lower Mliza in its current structure. Thus, plans were made to establish a capital at the site of the decisive battle. The Zjau-yl would call it "K'shim-poia," the battle cry of the Zjaum. Netzae, of course, became the new king, and his descendants would rule with an iron fist, stayed only by the Council of Zjaum. For a new nation, especially one in Orctova, the Zjau-yl governed fairly, and the peoples of Lower Mliza prospered. No one questioned the authority, because no one needed to do so.

To be a Zjau-yl is to hold wit, will, and wisdom in high esteem. A Zjau-yl cannot have honor in excess, or pleasures too great. The Zjau-yl can enjoy the simple life, sure- for the rest of his days, on the backs of others. The rule of thumb for the Zjau-yl is simple: "Don't mess with me, and I won't mess with you." And so life goes on.

*Reading further, you may want to research the Ugo-yt, in the "Races->Tribes of Mliza" section. In short, they're the Zjaum's biggest rivals.*

## Economy

The Zjaum economy was incredibly free, since there was no overarching government body powerful enough to regulate the flow of currency. Often, Zjaum merchants would trade small bits of molybdenum that they couldn't use for their craft; currency value was determined thus by weight. The Zjau-yl continued this tradition, moulding spare bits of molybdenum into coins the size of the palm of the king's hand, that all races may use the coin, no matter how large. These unusually large coins typically counted for two day's work, so the value of the "kyim," as it came to be called, never fluctuated, simply rising with the economy. To pay for items, shopkeepers often had to chisel out pieces of the customer's kyim, in order to forge their own. The Zjau-yl nationalized all known mines in order to prevent counterfeit, and thus they were given complete reign over the economy. Not that they did much with it; the thought of devious manipulation of the currency never came across the mind of this infant government.

Zjaum and Ugo-yt merchants alike pushed for the loosening of trade, each thinking that fewer regulations would allow their businesses to outperform their rival's. With no counter-incentive, the Zjau-yl accepted, under the condition that businesses of all kinds must pay a tax of gemstones in order to be recognized by the government. The deal was made; guilds made their payment in the most common gems of the realm: dark blue gahnospinels and yellow tourmalines. The Zjau-yl used these gems as well as their own stores of kyim to pay for the construction of winding roads all across Lower Mliza. In some places, the king requested that particularly large gemstones be hollowed out, filled with waxen candles, and fixed into the passageways to provide for easier night travel. The Bright Roads of Zjau-yl soon gained a reputation all across Orctova, and the Candle-men soon gained an honorable reputation amongst the employs of the King.

## Government

### *The Loa-toi*

The starkest difference between the Zjau-yl Sovereignty and her neighbors is that the king, having not subscribed to Harmonism, invited all nobles who have been exiled from their homelands to live as citizens in the new government. There was a small immigration tax, but thousands of nobles, having no other alternative, brought whatever riches they could bring with them and accepted the king's offer. The plus side was that the new riches made the Zjau-yl sovereignty more wealthy that it could ever have imagined, but the relatively massive immigration posed a problem. The ultimate solution was to declare them an eighth tribe, dubbed the Loa-toi. The Loa-toi could live wherever and however they wished, but they could not be represented in government. At first, there were a few ethnic tensions, but ultimately the treasures brought to the economy and the shared oppression by the Zjaum made the Loa-toi welcome guests.

### *The Main Government*

The government of the Zjau-yl was divided into four parts (which will be addressed in decreasing order of power). First was the king, the commander of the military and the rule of law. In times of war, he is tasked with personally leading the main force of his army, so the qualities (and eventual titles) of the king depended often on how, not how well, he governed his army (i.e, "The Bold," "The Wise," "The Cautious"). Heirs to the throne are required by Netzae's Command (the advice the first king Netzae gave to future heirs, that was taken far too seriously) to live at least five years banished from the palace and all properties of the government, that they may better understand the people. Heirs sometimes chose to enroll in the military, while some would wander the countryside as traveling help.

The second branch is the Council of Zjaum, the last remnants of an abandoned era. Before the Sovereignty, the houses of Zjaum would send their patriarchs to determine where the tribe would go, who owned what, and a variety of other small topics. While their responsibilities have evolved far past basic ownership, they still have a say in the affairs of the realm. What the king forgets to manage, the Council of Zjaum manages. By Netzae's Command, a unanimous decision by the Council of Zjaum can overrule the king's decision.

The third branch is the didaskalarchy. These people are given permission to make, manage, and enforce any laws they choose. However, their first priority and only mandate is that they train, for at least half the sunlit hours, a select few qualified children to comprise the next generation's didaskalarchy. The result of this mandate is a class with the most power in the Sovereignty but that is too arbitrarily busy to make a large difference; only in cases when the didaskalarchy is in complete agreement is there generally a motion to make or boycott laws. Candidates for the didaskalarchy are qualified solely on intelligence, and can be chosen from anywhere in the Sovereignty. Thus, the didaskalarchy is also the most representative of the population, and many non-Zjaum families push hard to ensure that their children have a chance at the high life.

The fourth branch is the electorate. They have no power; they were just made to appeal to the hilariously small Harmonist population. They're often the subject of immense ridicule. Once, King Netzae once said, "There is no voice of the people in the

### *The Ugo-yt Alternative*

Outside of the official government, there is the Ugo-yt Alternative, an underground government to itself. The Alternative was founded shortly after the formation of the Sovereignty and thus turned several Zjau-yl heads. Netzae, however, believed that this rival government was the only power that could keep the current government's power in check. Thus, by Netzae's Command, a citizen could declare themselves citizens of the Ugo-yt Alternative without any repercussions. However, Alternative citizens could not use Zjau-yl-controlled holdings, such as roads or kyim. As a result, the Alternate uses clay bricks as currency.

The Alternative structure is slightly more democratic; an assembly of 170 men and women were elected by Alternative citizens. However, the slightest majority can pass a law, so laws upon laws were passed, only winning my slim margins, opposed by many, all too controlling. Thus, the Ugo-yt Alternative never gained more than a niche popularity, and the vast majority of citizens in Lower Mliza elected to stay under the protective wings of the sovereignty, "oppressive" as it may be.