Ozymandium

# The Republic of Ozymandium

One of two nations in the harsh continent of Kazzak, Ozymandium champions freedom against the draconian order of Tiěbàng. Former allies against the Gnoss Lords, these two nations became bitter rivals after the fall of their former tyrants.

## Overview

Ozymandium is a constitutional republic with a senate, two consuls, and an unelected religious body that oversees the military from the capital Solarius. Within this country is the desert region known as The Badlands, as well as numerous settlements competing for dwindling Ichor supplies. Locked in an endless struggle with their northern rival Tiěbàng, Ozymandium has recently expanded their military endeavors to the islands of New Roden, creating a large naval force to guard their coast line.

### Aetherium Gates

The following cities in Ozymandium have gates.

* Solarius
* Newport
* Sanctuary

### Technology

Ozymandium has advanced technology based off of Gnoss artifacts and powered by Ichor. Using machines reminiscent of early automobiles, Ozymandium has a high quality of life at the cost of expeditions into the dangerous badlands in order to uncover new Ichor Wellsprings. Firearms, advanced armor, and other developments have been made in efforts to counter Tiěbàng's grasping hands.

### Whillin Knights

The Whillin Knights are the mysterious founders of Ozymandium. A religious order of mystical warriors, the Whillin Knights are in charge of most expeditions into the wastes, and send powerful warriors off on missions for unexplained reasons. Many within Ozymandium believe that the Whillin Knights are the true rulers of the country, as they seem to have a lot of influence in the senate and on former Consuls, such as Tiberius Gracchus and Lucilius Sextus.

## History

Founded in 1802 by the Whillin Knights after the fall of the Gnoss Empire, Ozymandium had a chaotic start to its existence. Originally encompassing only the eastern peninsula of the Gulf of Kazzak, Solarius was established as its original capital with the Whillin Knights acting as an unelected council of rulers. After expanding into the desert to protect Gnoss ruins from the those who'd explore them, Ozymandium then set out on claiming the entire southern region. After integrating local establishments into the country (mostly via bribery), the Whillin Knights drafted up the constitution of Ozymandium in 1813, officially establishing itself as a republic.

   After being established as a republic, Ozymandium began focusing more on developing its newfound settlements. Using salvaged Gnoss artifacts to improve the lives of its citizens (and to keep prying eyes away from ruins), the republic started to thrive and even began a project to establish trade with their northern neighbors, including the various tribes that survived in the desert. These relations soured however when Tiěbàng started to push the remaining Duōzhǒng clans out and into the Badlands. As public outcry rose in the republic, they accepted refugees and started their long feud with Tiěbàng, demanding that the clans have their former land restored to them. As their demands proved fruitless, the republic officially declared war on Tiěbàng, only stopping their advance once the great wall was finished in 1845, at which point the long standing stalemate was begun.

With most of its focus being on their neighbors and the Badlands, the settlements of Ozymandium were allowed to grow on their own, leading to many petty rivalries rising up between different regions. While the government occasionally interfered, it wasn't until 1862, when Mareville sent naval ships against rival trade cities that the government started regulating local provinces. Even after this, tension continued, and Ozymandium's rather lax regulations did not fully prevent these rivalries from occurring.

### The 1946 Revolution

Tensions between various cities stayed relatively low until 1946, when Asinum declared itself an independent kingdom, and marched a private army on its neighboring settlements. After getting off to an early start by conquering the western peninsula to the Gulf of Kazzak, Ozymandium sent naval ships led by Whillin General Lucilius Aemelius, who burned down Asinum with deadly naval artillery. After destroying the capital of the new Asinum kingdom, the rest of the revolution crumbled away, reminding people that even the lax government of Ozymandium had its limits.

*"The primary mistake the Kingdom of Asinum made was not rebelling against Ozymandium, but rather refusing to pay their taxes. The Senate would ignore The Iconoclasm itself, as long as they kept receiving their gold"*- Tacitus, Ozymandium Historian.

### Election of 2000

Following a long period of government stalling and inability of the executive branch to act, the Senate decided to end the dual Consulship in the year 1998, to take effect during the next election of 2000. As neither of the two former Consuls were eligible to run, the Senate ran three candidates, Curtiss Rex, Neville Paxum, and Lexicus Verbo. During the election, the guild of Mavros was hired to protect one of the polling stations, but was unable to prevent an act of terrorism. This tragic event, combined with a failed assassination attempt of Lexicus Verbo, delayed the election by a full week, after which Lexicus had emerged as a clear winner compared to his more extreme rivals.

## Religion

### Whillin the Enlightened

Religion in Ozymandium is primarily related to the Whillin Knights, who worship Whillin the Enlightened, a minor deity whose primary concern is the preservation and protection of knowledge. Those within the Whillin order are often tasked with retrieving long lost items and preventing them from being abused by the wrong people.

### The Gnoss Faith

Prior to the fall of the Gnoss Empire, many followed the will of the Gnoss Lords and their religion, which stipulated that they themselves were minor gods. Some still revere and worship Gnoss artifacts and scrolls as remnants of the old Gnoss lords, and there are those who still believe a Gnoss lord might be alive in hiding somewhere.

### The Obelisk

The continent of Kazzak is also home to The Obelisk, one of the Aspects left behind by Munya to watch over the world. The Obelisk is a particularly enigmatic Aspect, as it seems to show up and disappear in the deserts of Kazzak by some strange will, guiding a small few to water, Ichor, or shelter, and many others to their untimely demise. Despite its apparently malicious nature, many in Ozymandium revere The Obelisk, and hope that by doing so it will lead them to good fortune.

### Other Faiths

With global trade increasing, especially in the cities of Solarius and Newport, new religions have been spreading into Ozymandium at rapidly growing rates. Ozymandium emphasis on freedom has also encouraged many start up faiths, allowing a diversity of non endemic religions to spread throughout its borders. Ozymandium also has helped preserve ancient faiths of the Duōzhǒng clans by sheltering those prosecuted in Tiěbàng and welcoming them into their borders.

## Society

As a constitutional republic, Ozymandium places a lot of emphasis on personal liberty, though voting rights are still heavily restricted to native born landowners, the basic rights of migrants are usually held in high regard. While culture varies from city to city, Ozymandium is generally considered a rough place to live due to its proximity to the terrible deserts of Kazzak. Technological advancements have made the outskirts safe and comfortable to live in, but regions close to the wastes such as Aurus and Refuge struggle to keep deadly monsters from invading their towns.

### Settlements

The various settlements of Ozymandium usually naturally build up along the more hospitable regions, but state funds have strongly encouraged growth closer to the wastelands recently.

#### Solarius

The capital city of Ozymandium, Solarius is the home of the senate, the consul, and the Whillin Knights. The government, which is ran from the Gnomon, operates out of Solarius, using its advanced technology and magics to keep the peace throughout the country. Solarius itself is often neglected however, as most government focus is on Tiěbàng and the Badlands, leaving the midnight districts nearly lawless.

#### Newport

The newest city constructed in Ozymandium, Newport was primarily funded by trade barons seeking to rebuild the previous city, Asinum, which had been ruined by fires during the 1946 revolution. As its built on better quality land than Solarius and Mareville, it has begun to become the primary port city of choice for traders arriving in Ozymandium. Being expanded every day, Newport is a shining example of Ozymandium culture, attracting visitors from all over Meia and rivals from its fellow cities.

#### Sanctuary

This city is situated on the Paxorian Peninsula, and is considered a haven by many for refugees from Tiěbàng and other places in the world. Everyone seems to know that the best place to escape your old life is Sanctuary. With abundant farmland, Sanctuary exports highly valuable food to other places in Ozymandium, but is better known for its strong Duōzhǒng community as well as black market dealings and organized crime.

#### Aurus

A smaller mining community, Aurus' primary purpose is to extract and refine Ichor for general use. In addition to its wellsprings, Aurus also has several gold mines, with the river flowing from its mountain borders being famous for its gold flakes. Despite support from Solarius, Aurus still struggles to survive so close to the badlands, as monsters have a tendency to cross the mountains at night.

#### Praesior

This military base exists on the large island of Seclusus off the coast of the Blood Dunes, part of the state of New Roden. Serving as an area to keep an eye on Tiěbàng naval interests, the main island has numerous smaller island chains that are mostly abandoned but also contain the Ad Mortem Pugna Company, a small band of isolated Dragon Knights that live in large citadels on the smaller islands south of New Roden.

## Geography

Ozymandium is situated in the southern region of Kazzak, encompassing the Paxorian Peninsula, coastal plains, the Gulf of Kazzak, and the Badlands.

### The Badlands

The Badlands encompass the interior regions of Kazzak, and in Ozymandium include the regions named Desolation, the Blood Dunes, and the Valley of Ruin. This desert land is filled with highly dangerous monsters, Ichor, and the ruins of the Gnoss Empire.

#### Ichor Wellsprings

Ichor wellsprings can be found throughout the wastes of Kazzak, though they are especially prevalent in the southern regions of the deserts. Ichor is a highly sought after energy source which powered many Gnoss machines in the old days. Nowadays Ichor is used to power the advanced technology in Ozymandium, most of which are based off of Gnoss artifacts, and is a hotly contested resource with Tiěbàng.

#### The Valley of Ruin

This valley is where the capital of the Gnoss Empire was situated, and as such suffered the most from their exploitation of the land and heavy mining of Ichor. This valley is filled with highly dangerous monsters, many of which were experiments made by the Gnoss Lords, and is one of the most highly explored regions of the badlands.