Ostrony

**Czardom of Ostrony**The **Czardom of Ostrony,** commonly known as **Ostrony,** is a nation on the northern end of the Celtican Sea. The Czardom of Ostrony is a constitutional monarchy, which uses a semi-presidential system; outside observers have begun categorizing the country as an anocracy in the aftermath of the Coup of 1890. Ostrony is primarily inhabited by Ostrons, who are part of the Bolish ethnic group, however a minority population of Picts live in some of the country's southern regions. Ostrony borders Celtica to the south, Toraidhach & Varsow to the east, and its former territory, Inoltra, to the west. The current Czar of the country is Teodor IV Zaikov, and its current President is Hristo Tsvetanov.The country is inhabited by just over 11 million people. The central government is based in the country's capital and largest city, Pajari.

### **History**

#### Pre-Reman Period

Information about Ostrony before the Reman period is scant, largely due to a lack of record-keeping civilizations in the area. Most evidence would suggest that the area was a mixing bowl of a great number of indigenous tribes, the largest of which being the Lympani. These groups seem to have largely gone extinct with the Bolish migration of the 1100s. Sometime shortly after Celtica fell to the Remans, Reman armies marched north, and subjugated the tribes of Ostrony & Varsow into the province of Inoltra Superior.

#### Inoltra Superior

During the time of the Reorganized Roman Empire, nearly the entirety of modern Varsow was part of the province of Inoltra Superior. A small amount of Reman settlers entered the province during this time, largely due to settlings grants bestowed upon them by the provincial authorities. Inoltra Superior's control over the Rift Valley remained shaky, as their distance from the core of the Reman Empire made effective reinforcement of the area largely untenable, causing the province to rely mostly on native auxiliaries, raised from the indiginous population.

#### Bolish Migration & Founding

Bols first migrated into modern Ostrony around the 1100s, during the collapse of the Second Reman Empire. The majority of them were members of the ancient *Asparukh* tribe; one branch went westward, into modern Ostrony & Inoltra, while the other conquered the east, eventually becoming Varsow. By exploiting the political & military weakness of Inoltra Superior, the Asparukh quickly conquered the province & established the First Czardom of Ostrony.

The invaders were named *Ostrons,* a word derived from Ostro, the name of the southern winds which sweep the lower coast of the country. Remans were the first to apply this term to the Asparukh, and the name stuck with the international community as they began fleeing the province. A group of ethnic Remans, concentrated on the country's western peninsula, remained in the country (albeit subject to Ostron rule), and later developed a distinct Inoltran identity.

The First Czardom had a complicated relationship with its neighbors, engaging in both extensive trade & warfare with Toraidhach, Varsow, & Celtica. The First Czardom was also considerably more decentralized than the modern Ostrony, as smaller duchies known as *knyazdoms* dotted the land. In 1232, Celtica built the Antonin's Wall, which largely put an end to the Ostron incursions into the kingdom. The sudden stop of pilfered wealth from Celtica caused economic downturn in the Czardom, causing the Czar to raise taxes on the knyazdoms; this lead to the successive First & Second Knyaz's War, the first of which toppled the First Czardom & the second of which established the Second Czardom.

#### The Knyaz's Wars & The Second Czardom

As a result of taxes levied on the Knyazdoms, seven prominent Knyazes, as well as numerous smaller members of the nobility, came together in the Council of Haesus, and vowed to coalesce their forces against the ruling Zaripov dynasty. Only a small number of knyazdoms remained loyal to the crown; Zaripovite forces were mostly reliant on the royal retinue. Councillist forces repeatedly outnumbered, and defeated, the royalists, until the reigning monarch, Zheko III Zaripov, was captured and killed in 1235.

In the aftermath of the first war, the Ostrony was briefly restructured as an aristocratic republic, by which the knyaz convened to collectively make the state's decisions. For the sake of formality, the Czardom was restored in 1237, with former council member Naso I Zaikov being coronated as Czar of Ostrony. In reality, the knyaz continued to rule the country from behind the shadows; Naso I grew increasingly displeased with this arrangement. In 1241, Naso I raised a small personal army and successfully destroyed large group of knyaz-loyal forces at the Battle of Desi River, beginning the Second Knyaz's War. Throughout the next 6 years, Naso I repeatedly defeated and conquered the separate Knyazdoms, formally proclaiming their abolishment & the beginning of the Second Czardom of Ostrony in 1247. The former ancestral power & territorial domains of the Knyaz was eliminated, which caused the creation of the provincial system, the modern administrative organization of the kingdom. The Second Czardom, now free of Knyaz influence, was much more centralized & akin to a modern state than the first.

#### Conversion to Theophanitism

Before Theophanitism, Ostrony was religiously divided between various paganistic Bolish religions, as the Ostron Bols split off from Arkadetsiya before the establishment of the Konseptiyan faith. After the formation of Arkadyetsiya in 1560, Czar Naso VIII Zaikov formulated the earliest version of the Ostron Question;

*"We the Ostrons* *are a people locked in a delirium [of identity]; we are tied to the Czars of Arkadetsiya by blood, the Clans of Celtica by steel, and find ourselves flattened by both due to geography... what is necessary for us is to begin defining ourselves by our own existence and not that of our neighbors."*

The Ostron conversion to Theophanitism was largely a political move on the part of Naso VIII, and reflected the needs of the Ostron state at the time; to rectify the religious divisiveness of the population, to resist potential Celtican social domination, and to eliminate the "backward" paganistic beliefs which were believed to be discrediting Ostrony's reputation at an international stage.

#### The Gruszite Wars

Despite offers from both Pankasmic & Orthodox missionary organizations, Naso was hesitant to commit fully to either, for fear of foreign domination. Due to its close geographic location, Pankasmic missionaries would be the first enter the country, and Pankasmic doctrine soon quickly dwarfed Orthodox doctrine in size. Naso remained reluctant to fully submit to the wishes of the Pontiff, which caused a rift in Ostron theologians; although they largely aligned with Pankasmic Theophanitism on most theological interpretations, portions of the clergy had politically supported either the Zaikov dynasty or the Pontiff as the leader of the Ostron church. These political differences manifested in an altering of practice, as well as theology; pro-Zaikov bishops & priests had abandoned the institutions of holy celibacy & tonsure, whereas the pro-Pontiff sect would maintain these traditions.

The rift between the two would grow for years before ultimately cumulating in the Gruszite War, which occurred after a prominent Zaikovite theologian, Szymon Gruszi, was publicly defenestrated by an angry mob of citizens following the Pontiff sect. This sparked outrage in the Zaikovite community, causing several independent armies to coalesce across the land, essentially plunging the country into a civil war. The Pontiff himself would call for a holy intervention into the country, calling upon thousands of Pankasmic Theophanites to take up arms and dedicate their lives to the cause; this foreign force would manage to very quickly capture Pajari, sending the Gruszites scattered into the country side. Despite this, the Gruszites would manage to wage a very successful extended war against the pro-Pontiff faction, repeatedly engaging and defeating numerically superior armies; 2 years later, the Gruszties succesfully recaptured the city of Pajari, and the situation grew dire for the loyalists as the fighting even began stretching into areas of the Tierra Grieta, causing the Pontiff to call for another campaign into the country. The Gruszite success was not meant to last, however, and as they began to be forced back, the Zaikov dynasty itself turned on them in an effort to defend their own throne, ending the insurrection after years of fighting. The Zaikovites & the remaining Gruszites would both agree to submit to the authority of the Pankasmic Church in Valpo, but remained the right to practice their somewhat variant interpretation of Theophanitism.

Theologians regional to Ostrony place an emphasis on the distinction between Bel & God in interpretations of Messianism. This is due to the Ostron Church's origins in anti-Celtican sentiment.

#### **The Intermediary Years**

In 1648, in an effort to expand the geopolitical influence of Ostrony, the crown collaborated with several trading companies to finance an expedition & subsequent colony of Ostrony in Vissentia. The colony was planned to establish Ostron influence in the vitally important region, which was at the heart of increasing Velravin interactions with Kijana. The colony was plagued by numerous problems, including poor provisioning, leadership divided by crown & corporate influences, and harassment by nearby Drak settlers, who were also in the area. The colony would be abandoned in 1656, largely considered a failure by all, which permanently spurned Ostron colonial interests.

#### Bonaventura Years & Inoltran Independence

Inoltrans had always maintained a somewhat distinct cultural identity from the Ostrons ever since their migration to the region. Numerous smaller Inoltran rebellions were crushed by Ostron forces since the inception of the Czardom, however the Inoltran nationalist movement began to truly pick up steam in the mid 1700s as Inoltran artists, sculptors, & playwrights embraced a neo-Reman style. This artistic movement was somewhat cracked down on by Ostron authorities, which bred further resentment from the Inoltran populace.

When Bonaventura conquered the The Rift by the end of 1798, he organized the area into the Confederation of the Rift, a conglomerate of allied states lead by appointees of his. Bonaventura, wanting to see Ostrony knocked down a peg for it putting up the only tangible resistance in the area, would colloborated with the upstart Inoltran nationalist movement to detach the area from the Ostron region, much to the detest of the pacified Ostron Czar.

Ostron troops, raised as levies by Bonaventura, served extensively as grenadiers & uhlans during his continuing conquests.

At the conclusion of the Bonaventura Years, the Treaty of Neris reestablished the Zaikov dynasty as the Czars of Ostrony, however upon their return, they found that the people of Ostrony remained loyal to the constitution which Bonaventura had set up, relegating the Zaikov dynasty to be figureheads within now democratic Ostron society from then on.

#### Coup of 1890

*See Also; Coup of 1890*

The 1890 election would see, for the first time, the Social-Democratic Party gain control of the Presidency, and of a plurality in the parliament. This became a great concern to the Theophanite People's Party, as a part of the social democrat's platform involved cracking down on church privileges in Ostrony. Although the social democrats had gained the plurality of the votes, they still required the majority of the lower house in order for the President to appoint a lasting cabinet; the SDP actually originally approached the TPP, however the chairman of the party, Obreten Spasov, refused to relinquish power, causing the SDP to then flirt with more minor parties in hopes of forming a broad coalition. During this, the Theophanites largely remained in control of the state apparatus, including the Royal Ostron Armed Forces. The TPP used this influence to launch a coup on May 6th, which gained large support from both the military and rural populace, both of whom were wary of what they saw as a urban encroachment on Ostron faith. After some minor fighting, most key members of the SDP were arrested, including the reigning Prime Minister. During this time, the other political parties of Ostrony remained hesitant to take either side, however would largely back the creation of the TPP-lead government in the aftermath of the coup, electing Spasov as President and confirming Dyakon Zhelev as Prime Minister. Despite this, Spasov soon grew paranoid of any political influence in the country outside of his own, leading to the coerced dissolution of all other parties in parliament, effectively turning Ostrony into a one party state.

Spasov would go on to win the heavily manipulated 1894 and 1898 elections, before dying in 1899; he was succeeded by the current President of the Hristo Tsvetanov, himself an officer from the military who directly participated in the coup. Although there was initially some hope that Tsvetanov's rule would take a step closer to democracy, the Tsvetanovite dictatorship had been characterized by a strengthening, and not laxation, of TPP's control over state institutions.

### **Government and Politics**

Ostron politics are organized under a premier-presidential system, which consists of an executive, a legislative, & a judicial branch.

The executive branch is managed by President of the Czardom and the Helm of State. The Helm of State consists of the Prime Minister and the Council of Subordinate Ministers. The Prime Minister is appointed by the President, and is responsible to Parliament. The government, including the Prime Minister, can be revoked by the National Assembly, the lower house of Parliament, through a "censure motion"; this ensures that the Prime Minister is always supported by a majority of the lower house.

Parliament consists of the National Assembly and the Senate. It passes statutes and votes on the budget; it controls the action of the executive through formal questioning on the floor of the houses of Parliament and by establishing commissions of inquiry. The constitutionality of the statutes is checked by the Constitutional Council, members of which are appointed by the President of the Republic, the President of the National Assembly, and the President of the Senate.

The independent judiciary is based upon civil law system which evolved from the Bonaventuran codes. It is divided into the judicial branch (dealing with civil law and criminal law) and the administrative branch (dealing with appeals against executive decisions), each with their own independent supreme court of appeal: the Court of Civil Jurisdiction for the judicial courts and the Administrative Review for the administrative courts. The Ostron government includes various bodies that check abuses of power and independent agencies.

#### Political Parties

##### Legal

* **Teofanit Khora Sabrani** - Theophanite People's Party

##### Illegal

* **Predvaritelno-Konservativno Sabrani** - Progressive-Conservative Party
* **Naĭ-Srednata Sabrani** - Centre Party
* **Promyana-Zemyata Sabrani** - Social-Democratic Party
* **Nasionadaviz Kontseptsiyan Sabrani** - National Konseptiyan Party
* Revolyutsionen Zashtita Parksizŭst Sabrani -

#### Religion

The majority of Ostrons are Theophanites. Messianic worship in Ostrony is organized under the Ostron Pankasmic Church, which is a subsect of the wider Pankasmic Church.