Suddery

The Tri-Color flag of the Republic

SR

"*Awake, oh Suddery, from your deadly slumber,*

*into which the tyrants have laid you low!*

*Now or never, your fate renew!*

*Oh, taste no more the wine of sour grapes!"*

*-Sudrian Anthem*

The Republic of Suddery is a largely Human country situated on the Sudrian Isles, which make up the south-eastern mouth of the Spawn Sea. Formed from refugees from the Empire of the Southern Sun, Suddery remains the only nation to exist in different time periods.

## History

After the collapse of the Southern Sun in 70 B.S., waves of immigrants, refugees, and settlers continually fled north. The first wave, the Sudrians, originally settled in Twin Bays, but the sandy soil was not suit to farming, and poor crop yields eventually forced them to relocate.

They finally settled on Manor Island, so-named for the shape of a giant boulder jutting out of it. Later, the name became much more literal with the construction of Sutherland Manor in Mid 3 A.S., which still serves as the capital of the Republic. By the end of 3 A.S., the Sudrians had erected stone walls, towers, and a system of bridges to protect Manor Island from invasion and the elements, totally transforming Manor Bay. While the Republic originally planned to confine agricultural endeavors to the low islands that formed Manor Bay, it soon became clear that the poor soil and rugged terrain would severely limit crop yields, and so a passage was cut and a bridge constructed to link the Manor Islands with the much larger Hackett Island.

The waterways between the Manor Islands and Hackett Island provided an extremely useful way in and out of the territory, but fears of attack led the Republic to establish the Hidden Hills gatehouse, where a tower complex spanning the riverway between the islands allows it to be cutoff from the Southern Ocean.

With the boom in population in 4 A.S. came the need for more jobs, and the Republic began work on Port Tracy, completing it later that year. With the port completed there came a need for ships, and soon civilian freighters were sailing the Spawntown-Port Tracy route, making first contact with the Revolutionary Guard, as well as the Jandarians and their civilization. From them, the newly-formed Admiralty picked up on rumors of a large group of shoals midway between Suddery and the northern coast of the Spawn Sea, and the Sunlit Sea outpost was established on them. The lonely posting soon came to be known as the "Sullen Sea Post" by the soldiers that manned it, and the name stuck in spite of attempts at morale boosting. Towards the end of 4 A.S., reports came in from the lookouts posted to that tower: Huge flying beasts, shining like iron, seemed to appear just outside the edge of their vision for milliseconds at a time. The reports were first dismissed as hallucinations stemming from staring at the horizon too long, but as the reports steadily came in, it soon became clear that Suddery would need some form of protection from whatever might exist out there, and the Admiralty met in secret to begin working. This research was backdropped by a rapid military build-up by the Revolutionary Guard, and soon an unspoken war had broken out between them. Fought mostly at sea, this conflict would consume most of the Republic's energy in the coming years.

In 5 A.S., Port Tracy was expanded to include dry-dock facilities, bringing with it more and more shipwrights. This eventually culminated in the creation of the *Valiant*-class ship that would come to represent the Sudrians throughout the Known World. It was around this time that the Republic happened upon gunpowder, and began adapting their military and navy around it. Also around this time, an eccentric explorer brought back two large, white bears, claiming to have found them on a frozen island far to the west. While they were originally feared to be violent, the mild, coastal climate of the Isles seemed to calm them down, and they took to peacefully swimming in the waters above the Hidden Hills post.

Later that year, surveyors in the eastern portion of the Isles reported huge, foreign towers having been erected on the far side of Twin Bays, and the Republic quickly made contact with their builders, the Kingdom of Holoria. Tensions between the Sudrians and the Holorians remained strained, and so to strengthen their claim in the region the Republic constructed a post along the border. Increased traffic into the Halian section of the bay prompted the Republic to dredge a canal on their side, connecting Twin Bays to the headwaters of the River Rel. Increased river traffic along the Rel prompted the settlement of Hackett's Wharf and other similar communities, which make their livings from passing ships.

Still further into 5 A.S., the Admiralty unveiled their newest creations: Airships. The first class, the *Kingfishers,* were large, sail-driven craft capable of sustained flight, opening the skies to reconnaissance, combat, and exploration. Two such vessels, the *RNS Mallard* and the *RNS Hawk,* were immediately pressed into service by the Navy to reclaim domestic air superiority against the RG. The *Hawk* was lost during the Battle of Leistead Reef, but not before sinking the *RGS Hellfire*. The *RNS* *Mallard* was involved in a rather strange incident, which doesn't fit too well in the history books....., but suffice it to say that she served her country well, until her partial destruction at the Battle over the Sullen Sea, where her battered hull inspired the Navy to implement new safety and redundancy features.

During this time, the Republic, the Kingdom of Holoria, and another foreign faction north of them, the People's Socialist Union, met just north of the Halian border to sign the Southern Charter, ending the years of border tensions and paving the way for future cooperation. This signing, combined with the de-escalating conflict with the Revolutionary Guard, prompted the joint Sudrian-Halian-Lucretian research expedition into the suddenly-ruined PSU bunker.

This period also saw the invention of Semaphore Communication by the Republic, allowing them to communicate across the country in record times, as well as communicating with ships away at sea.

By 6 A.S., the RG and SR had turned their attentions elsewhere, like the re-construction of Marina Point after a fire levelled the worker's shantytown there. Finally, in the middle of peace talks, the RG announced that they had found one of their fighters on the sea floor just north of the Sudrian border, the shock of which helped to speed up peace talks. A monument was constructed nearby, and though marred by a temporal anomaly, there is no mistaking the meaning behind it.

In 7 A.S., the Republic began settling the south-eastern portion of Hackett Island, erecting a church as a ceremonial placeholder. While building the church, they noticed that the peninsula across the bay was inhabited. They soon met the inhabitants, the Rodents, and quickly vowed to protect Rodentia, instantly forming full diplomatic ties, and gifting them rich, dark oak to furnish The Burrow. As a sign of good faith, shipments of carrots regularly arrive outside of Guinea Keep. After the Kingdom of Holoria expressed interest in Suddery's new protectorate, the Sudrians and the Halians signed the Treaty of Twin Bays, establishing the current Twin Bays System, wherein each country vows to allow free travel and communcation, while respecting the right of the other to be sovereign in their affairs. With 7 A.S. drawing to a close, the war over, and peace finally crystalized in the region, Suddery switched gears with the rest of the Known World, and slipped into the First Dark Age.

When the First Dark Age finally and fully came to a close in 12 A.S., a revitalized Suddery sprang into action with the invention of the S-1 Glider as a sort of life-boat for airships. Reports of a strange, underwater vehicle began appearing in newspapers around this time, and despite its best efforts to hide it, the Admiralty was eventually forced to acknowledge the existence of their first new naval craft, the highly-camouflaged *Leviathan*-class submersible.

During this time, Suddery intercepted communications from the RG, confirming the existence of strange obsidian gateways, codenamed "Nether Portals." One of these gateways was accidentally uncovered by miners deep beneath Hackett's Wharf, and despite its isolation, Suddery quickly capitalized on it and turned the Nether into its new frontier. Starting with the construction of Crucible in late 12 A.S., the country expanded downwards into the Cavern, setting up footholds to rival the RG's. This period also saw the founding of the Sudrian Subsurface Company (SSC), which went on to head the country's economic ventures in the realm, like the establishment of Funging Station One for the brewing of Mushroom Wine. Transit through the Nether was made possible by adapting existing ship designs to cope with the extreme heat of the magmatic seas by coating them in a hardened, baked version of so-called "Netherrack."

## Military

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