Rozeen Confederacy

The Rozeen Confederacy is a collection of city-states and small countries nestled between Velouve, Gwynwall and Al’Dina, to the north of the continent. Once an unclaimed no-man’s land that was a lawless retreat for bandits, pirates and other undesirables, it was united by one great figure and her followers into its own territory, and its descendants greatly value their freedom and autonomy.

## History

### A Counry Formed

The land that later became the Confederacy was originally unclaimed wilds, populated by bandit clans on the in-land, and pirate fleets along the coast, known as the Untamed Lands. Infighting was as frequent as one would expect, with there always being one clan or fleet locked in conflict with another, but raids into the neighbouring territories of Al’Dina and Velouve were frequent, and they were often paid by proxy of those governments to focus their sights elsewhere for a time. Many of these fleets and clans had created their own settlements, giving the territory their own isolated trade system.

In 231 CF, when the Vetinus twins performed a coup in the country of Velouve and took over,  the priorities of those bandits and pirates changed. While the twins were focused on taking over the country, they needed to organize enough to put together a united front if they were to ever turn their treacherous eyes to the Untamed Lands. Many of the strongest and largest clans and fleets came together, in one of first long-lasting truces in the Untamed Lands, and decided that something needed to be done. Of course, not one of them was able to agree on who would be the leaders of this alliance, and it quickly turned to more infighting as each tried to lay their claim to the position of ‘leader’.

The Bloody Nail Fleet, led by a vicious woman known as Red Roza, were the ones to come out on top of the war that encompassed the Untamed Lands. She had a reputation as a bloodthirsty, deadly pirate, who would offer mercy and parley to her targets, but rain hell on them if they didn’t accept. Roza and her fleet turned the seas and rivers red, until eventually, 4 years into the conflict, they accepted the Bloody Nail as the heads of what would be known as the Rozeen Confederacy, with Roza at the head.

Surprisingly, rather than devouring the coffers or turning to raids for supplies, Roza decided that the first order would be to create their own country, and for that, they would need a capital. Thus, she declared that the cliffs to the north that created the entrance of Gaol Gulf would become the location of a new settlement, the capital of the country of Rozeen.

With the tools, manpower and funds of the clans united, Redgate was born in just over a year, separated across the two ends of the inlet, yet joined by a large dam that spanned the bottom of the cliffs, and were connected to the city by an enormous elevator. Roza declared it the capital of their new country, and from there, began to open conversation with their neighbours.

### Outside Contact

Since Velouve and Al’Dina already had some familiarity with the inhabitants of what was now Rozeen, they were the first to hear from Red Roza and her ‘diplomats’. They explained the development, declared their sovereignty, and made it clear that any invaders would now find a united front to contend with, rather than separated clans and fleets.

With Al’Dina having a somewhat similar history, and being no stranger to unsavoury deals, were quite happy to accept this, especially since it meant they no longer needed to hide their transactions.

In comparison, their diplomat’s trip to Velouve went less than well. The diplomat returned alone covered in burns, and told of how the twins had burned the troops to ashes. Infuriated by this, there was an almost unanimous call for action from the heads of each and every settlement in the country. Yet, Roza did not declare any war on Velouve. The twins had at least told them also to leave them alone, and so she decided that they would bide their time, build their power, and hit Velouve when it would hurt them most.

After that, their diplomats travelled further beyond to the other countries, to let them also know of their unification, which otherwise didn’t cause any others. Now with the ability to take part in open trade, they did just that, with their greatest ally once again being Al’Dina. Rozeen’s lack of Battery meant they needed to rely on Al’Dina’s spell gems to power anything mechanical, and they repaid them both with gold, and by not sacking their coastline. In comparison, Velouve was the victim of constant harassment, targeting their ships frequently enough to be a nuisance, but not enough to draw their full ire.

### After Roza

In the 14 years of her life following the creation of Rozeen, Roza had pushed for it to be a legitimate country, reigning in any raids other than against Velouve. However, she was not immortal, and when she died suddenly, the constituent clans and fleets of the country once again turned to squabbling, as she hadn’t declared a successor, assuming she’d live out the rest of her life before needing to do so.

This in fact turned out to be a plot of the twins of Velouve. They’d understood that Roza was the only thing keeping them together, and had poisoned her to make them split apart, so they could move in and take over the land while they were all recoiling. The diabolic country sent in a moderate force, but to their surprise, were pushed back with a disgusting amount of viciousness, their soldiers all being sent back in unspeakable states as a warning. While they were unable to declare a leader, the citizens of Rozeen were at least united in their utter hatred for Velouve.

10 years later, Rozeen had yet to choose a new leader, and had fallen back into their state before the unification. On the anniversary of Roza’s death, however, the leaders of each clan and fleet were called together for a meeting. The organiser of this was Roza’s former First Mate and now captain of the Bloody Nail Fleet, Krulr the Hammer. While some were reluctant to do so, they all attended out of respect for the late admiral.

Here, Krulr put forth a new idea: Not one of unification, but of at least unity. Each clan and fleet would maintain its autonomy, and be free to do as it wished, but would ally together in case of outside influences, and each contribute to a shared council and fund. This way, they could all maintain the freedom they so loved and have a central government they could put faith in, without it all hinging on one person.

While some of the more savage groups had to be brought to heel by the rest, they eventually agreed, and the Rozeen Confederacy was born in the year 259 CF, named in honour of their original, first leader.

## Since Then

In the time since the formation of the Rozeen Confederacy, it became a collection of various city-states and small countries that would occasionally squabble with each other, but come together in times of need. There have been two major events since the creation of the Confederacy.

The first was the discovery of the Battery at the centre of Ironbolt Island. Ironbolt Island had already been discovered in 161 CF, an advanced place full of ancient yet incredibly advanced architecture...and populated by equally dangerous and ancient monsters and constructs. It had long been used as a marooning point for those who were too dangerous even for the bandit clans and pirate fleets, but when Roza unified the Untamed Lands, she ordered the construction of a proper jail. It was completed only a couple years before her death, and it's only visitors after that were adventurers, believing that it must hold some great treasure. A few years after the Confederacy was declared, the jail was reopened and saw use, but the island was not closed off to adventurers.

In 312 CF, one returned with news of something great: A Battery, at the centre of the island. Rozeen had been lacking a Battery, unlike many of its neighbouring nations, and this prompted something of a gold rush to the island. However, the throngs of dangerous monsters culled many of them. Following this, arming prisoners and sending them further into the island became their equivalent of a death sentence, and they started funding capable adventurers to clear the interior, though in the 500 years since then, they’ve made only a mile or so headway.

The other is, of course, the war on Velouve. When Gwynwall declared their aid for Athia and started warring against the diabolic country, the Rozeen Confederacy was quick to lend their aid - and importantly, their impressive fleets and airships that had developed remarkably over the past few centuries. Unfettered access through their lands was no doubt a boon for Gwynwall, allowing them to attack from unexpected directions, and the tactical minds of the Confederacy were eager to assist in coordinating distracting strikes on the country whenever the mobile fortress needed some breathing room.

Otherwise, the Confederacy has kept with the times when it comes to technology, though reliant on Al’Dina. While many of them became more civilised over time, there still exist those states that cling to their roots as bandits and pirates, and wage war on their numerous neighbours, though most of it is directed towards Velouve.

# Government

While each state and country of the Confederacy uses its own form of government, they are united under the central council of the Rozeen Confederacy, which is formed of delegates sent by their constituent members, which are elected through all means. This allows for an effective mix of the strong, suave and smart, yet the often-conflicting desires of each member tends to slow any collective action to a crawl. Every month, these delegates come together to argue over actions and funding, which go towards a state-neutral vault that is used to bolster their collective army.

Otherwise, all forms of governments can be found within the members of the Confederacy. Redgate itself, still the largest city, follows a meritocracy like most of the members, but autocracies, democracies, and oligarchies all exist in the Confederacy.

## Geography

Due to being situated between three different countries and their own varied climates, Rozeen has a mixture of biomes. Towards the east, where it borders with Al’Dina, is rather hilly and dry, quickly turning into mountains where many bandit clans used to prey on travellers to and from the merchant country, and is still home to the Brass Swords and their city of Bareton, a settlement carved into the mountains.

The west holds more life, and slowly turns from hills, to flat grasslands and forest near Gaol Gulf, to savannah as one approaches the border of Velouve. This area holds many more settlements due to sustaining life more easily, and as such, is the area that often sees the most conflict. Many abandoned battlegrounds can be found here, and there’s no shortage of scavengers who make a living off reselling weapons and armour looted from long-forgotten corpses. The cities and towns along the gulf are typically in the best shape, as they can trade over the sea, and have easier access to abundant water. The most populated here is Bellhallow, which contains the largest place of worship to Nomin in Morisia.

The south fares much worse, due to being right on the border of Gwynwall and the Hellfront, with much of its landscape being blasted and salted due to Velouve’s bombings of their late neighbour Althia. The more battle-hungry clans have historically made their homes here, first to harass both Velouve and Althia, and now to assist Gwynwall in their holy war against their mortal enemy.

The north of Rozeen is the most abundant in life and populace due to being on the coast. Its most prominent city, Redgate, occupies the cliffs that make up the entrance to Gaol Gulf, known as the Nail Inlet. When first created, the two halves of Redgate were connected by a dam that could block passage for passing ships and enormous elevators that took one from the dam to the top of the cliffs, but has since also seen the installation of airship docks for more convenient travel. While typically more peaceful than the more southern parts of Rozeen, there are still a few pirate fleets that prowl the sea of Mohen’s Wreck, making it a dangerous place to pass through for merchants.

One prominent location in Rozeen is Ironbolt Island, within Gaol Gulf. The outskirts of it are used as a jail for the most dangerous criminals of Rozeen, with the interior populated by ancient creatures and constructs, and their descendants. The entire island is dominated by a long-abandoned, advanced complex powered by a Battery at the center, though few have ever managed to penetrate so deep into the ancient city.

## Religion

The Confederacy has two primary religions. The first is that of Mohen, the Serpent of the Depths, associated with piracy, banditry, the sea, and scaled monsters. She was, by far, the dominant god of those who inhabited the Untamed Lands, with many praying to her for luck in raids and assaults, or for safe passage across the seas.

In modern times however, worship in Rozeen has been equally split between her, and Nomi, Lady of Luck. The concepts of freedom and individuality speak to the hearts of many in the Confederacy, especially those who would choose not to follow in their ancestors footsteps of crime and banditry.

## Inhabitants

Rozeen’s inhabitants are a varied lot, due to its origins as a haven for bandits, pirates, and other criminals the world over. As such, they typically tend to reflect the countries to their borders, such as the southeast having proportionally more Al’Dinans and Aymarans than those from other countries. The birth of Undines is not an uncommon site near the coast either.