Gornystar

The **Republic of Gornystar** is a country along the mountains between Gimbarish and Vozolaz/Azgo.

## Flag

The flag of Gornystar is a crimson banner with the Sun of Aten at its upper left. The crimson background symbolises righteousness, and the Sun of Aten represents the republic's devotion to the Atenist religion and the protection of its Creator God.

## History

The republic of Gornystar was founded at around 1223 AT, when several Gimbarsian nobles rallied several besieged towns in northern Vozolaz to fortify themselves against the Thralondians that invaded and pillaged their homeland. They converted most of the denizens to Atenist monotheism, while permitting others to continue their beliefs as they wished -- to the point that it became more Gimbarsian in terms of culture and religion, in spite of its Vozonid majority.

While the rest of Vozolaz fell to Thralond's Zaqovian clients, and Thralondian governors slew Gimbarish's emperors in battle and replaced them with obedient vassals; Gornystar retained many freedoms that were lost during the conquests. It attracted many escaped slaves and dissidents like a magnet in a field of iron dust, and many of them joined its armies as they sought vengeance against the depredations of the Thralondian Empire and Mirukuz's bloodthirsty raiders.

Gornystar aided Aten's Crusaders in the north as they fought against the Legions of the Minotaur, and later against the armies of General Hunumash as he tried to overthrow the Gimbarsian emperor in 1888 AT. Its soldiers marched with their Zaqovian allies during the liberation of Mirukuz, and later housed some of them as the Zaqovians recovered from their defeat to the Trimalleans in 1914 AT.

As Trimallean Azgo waged a wasteful war on Honvo in the south, Gornystari units were called by local rebellions in the north, who overwhelmed the depleted local defenses. Some units even defected to Gornystar, unhappy with their poor treatment and pay under the Trimalleans. By the time the Trimallean regime fell in 1991 AT, Gornystar grew to around half of northern Azgo, even inching closer to Mirukuz! The southwards expansion of Gornystar was the main factor that forced the Azgovian troops to retreat back home from Honvo, but this battered force was soundly defeated by the vengeful Gornystaris.

Decades later, some of those regiments emerged from Gornystar to assist several local rebellions, and together they overthrew the Trimallean regime: when the Federal Republic of Azgo was established thanks to their help, Gornystar was allowed to remain independent. Although the Ontemazei of Gornystar concealed their faces and skin to avoid possible reprisals from the locals, they were glad that they were unharmed, as their allegiance to Gornystar caused the local Azgovians to trust them more. That also led to northern Azgo being more forgiving and tolerant to Ontemazei people, even to the point of apologising and paying reparations to the Ontemazei and descendants of former slaves.

Because many of the expanded regions joined Gornystar to avoid poverty, the rebuilt regions were given referendums to stay in Gornystar, or rejoin Azgo. Those that returned to Azgo helped rebuild their homeland, causing their wealth and development to gradually leak southwards.

## Government

Gornystar is governed by an elected president.

## Military

Gornystar has an average-sized military that is not as large as Azgo's. Its soldiers use skimmer bikes and plasma rifles. This army consisted of Aten's Crusaders, a resistance group against the Thralondian tyrants, who later became a proper military.

The Medjai Guard of Gimbarish has its own branch in Gornystar, renowned for aiding slave revolts and fortifying liberated villages. In Gornystar, sixty percent of its members were ethnic Ontemazei, leading to the strange sight of aid workers who occasionally slipped and exposed their pink hair.

## Culture

Gornystar's culture is influenced by Gimbarsian culture.

## Languages

Gimbarsian and Gornystari are the official languages of this republic, although Azgovian is fully-understood by most inhabitants. Gornystari is a variant of Azgovian, like Mirkuzian at the west.

## Religion

Most Gornystarians practice the Atenist religion, which worships a single god. Yet the Atenist faith of Gornystar has many Vozonid influences, from the ceremonies practiced to the appearance of gryphons as Aten's angels.

Minorities worship the Vozonid gods or practice an atheist lifestyle.

## Trivia

* Gornystar means "the realm of mirrors" in later Vozonid and Azgovian.
	+ A person from Gornystar is a Gornystarian, and anything related to this country or its language are Gornystari.
* Although it was a random region by the time the author created Gornystar around 2017, in 2021, the author expanded the lore about the region as a Gimbarsian protectorate, and later an independent country between the Gimbarsian republic and the Trimallean regime.
	+ As Zaqo kept and murdered Ontemazei as slaves, it made sense that Gornystar would be the location where they would flee to for protection and freedom. As Gimbarsians are more tolerant of Ontemazei, they would inevitably integrate the growing number of Ontemazei joining their ranks.