Tiěbàng

## The Great Nation of Tiěbàng

Tiěbàng (鐵棒) is a militaristic and industrialized country that occupies the northern half of Kazzak. Tiěbàng's draconian laws make a stark contrast to its libertine neighbor Ozymandium in the south, but the security that Tiěbàng's walls afford to her citizens is undeniable. Magic has been industrialized in Tiěbàng, and the nation's factories churn out steel and guns enhanced by alchemy. It's a fast paced country where speaking too freely can be more dangerous than carrying a sword.

## History

Prior to the defeat of the Gnoss Lords, the region that is now Tiěbàng was peopled by the Duōzhǒng clans. Fighting alongside the Whillin Knights, the Duōzhǒng princes overthrew the tyrannical Gnoss wizard kings and began the Eternal Revolution. Because it was the combined might of Kazzak's people which allowed the Gnoss to be overthrown, there were many who were reluctant to return to living as separate nations, preferring rather the strength that comes from a unified nation. Many of the Duōzhǒng clans agreed to form a single nation, and sent their princes to the region's center to represent them in government, and an order to defend them, the first Ordinators. For twenty years this government represented the very best of what Kazzak's people could attain to. The Unified Peoples of Tiěbàng coexisted peacefully with the Duōzhǒng peoples who remained independent, and also with the burgeoning nation of Ozymandium to the south. The trouble arose as Tiěbàng grew in size and began to surround the Duōzhǒng clans that had yet to join it. It was very unlikely of course that the Duōzhǒng would go to war against peoples they shared such close ties with, but paranoia grew nonetheless in the Unified Government. Officials of every rank were unsettled by the prospect of an enemy nation right in Tiěbàng's heart, so they forced the Duōzhǒng out. Any clan that would not renounce its independent identity to join the Unified Government of Tiěbàng was killed or driven south across the desert, and a wall was constructed to keep the exiles out. Within Tiěbàng's walls, the government introduced The Pursuit of Harmony, a national initiative to erase any differences between people groups in the large and once-diverse nation in the hopes that all potential for division or disagreement will also be driven out.

## Religion

Officially, there is no religion in Tiěbàng. Any sort of faith in powers greater than mage or monster is considered "divisive superstition" and polite company laughs off any mention of gods lest any seriousness be afforded to the notion and both parties become implicated in thought crime. In practice, however, spirituality has always been significant to Tiěbàng's people, who pray to their ancestors and the guardian spirits of sacred places. Worship persists in Tiěbàng in hushed tones and concealed basement churches, but it's a very risky affair. The state regards religions as rebellions waiting to happen, and stamps them out whenever they're discovered.

## Society

Difference is not tolerated in Tiěbàng. The Unified Government believes it can prevent conflict by removing the differences between its citizens, and so everyone within Tiěbàng's walls is forced to labor towards The Pursuit of Harmony. All languages besides Common are illegal, including the native languages of the various Duōzhǒng people groups that Tiěbàng's population descends from. Traditional Duōzhǒng names are also illegal, so many young people in Tiěbàng are named any noun in Common, such as "Frog" or "Chair". Some cities in the nation have managed to keep their traditional name, but only because they have become too populous and busy for the government to rename without causing mass confusion. The people in Tiěbàng are friendly, but cautious. They are quick to welcome strangers into their homes for dinner, but very slow to speak much, for fear of accidentally demonstrating some kind of difference in front of a member of the Unified Government's secret police, the Ordinators.

The Unified Government celebrates the Ordinators as glittering knights on crusade, going forth into the untamed wastes and driving out the beasts and savages who threaten the city's stability. Within the city, they act as the eyes and ears of the government, stamping out any dissent before it can pose a potential threat. They have been known to go on excursions as far as northern Ozymandium, where some have accused them of crimes against innocents in the region.