Tsardom of Ossia
Founded during the collapse of the last Majic Mysterum, the Tsardom of Ossia is dedicated to keeping Majister's Point clear of all Majic and Majes. Repeatedly they have fought offensive wars against the nations along their borders to wipe out encroaching Maje Cabals, and to reinforce the fear of reprisal into their wary neighbours. Currently, Ossia is in a state of growth, as the Tsar's forces occupy territory within enemy lands, their trade route south prospers under the new open port of Lubtuk and the recent defeat of the Vampire Lord Zolina Tarasovna.
Structure
Tsar: Supreme ruler of Ossia and her peoples
Verkhovny: Military governors of the Ossian provinces, somewhat equal to a Duke in power and autonomy
Graf: Garrison Commanders, Graf's oversee small regions under the purview of a Verkhovny
Serzant: Unit Commander, Serzant's lead units of a dew dozen men under the command of a Graf
Culture
The lands of Majister’s Point are harsh and unforgiving, as the average temperature rarely gets above freezing and the Majical monsters that plague the wilds are a daily threat. As such, the Ossians are quite blunt and straight to the point, their language has few words with the same meaning, as clear communication can mean life or death. They mainly subsist off of a hardy strain of grain called Derzky, a thick stalked grain capable of growing in the cold hard lands of Ossia. In turn this grain is used to make leaven bread and long strands of curled pasta, which the Ossians utilise in many of their dishes.
Life is Ossia is a constant struggle, which takes a toll on her people. As hardworking as they are, to outsiders it seems like they are permanently depressed, though this is not the case. In Ossia it is considered bad manners to show one’s emotions unless in private company, which seems to really confuse outsiders. Should an outsider get to witness the emotions of an Ossian it is usually a privilege, as that means they consider you a close friend.
Public Agenda
The Tsardom of Ossia promises it's people that it will keep them safe from the horrors of Majic, at all costs.
Demography and Population
Territories
Ossia controls all of Majister's point, as well as some lands to the east. These eastern lands are a recent conquest, as the last Tsar felt that a buffer province entirely dedicated to defence on Ossia's eastern border would help in keeping the nation secure. So the Ossian armies marched forth and annexed the Kotysolec province, and began to shift it to be a dedicated fortress.
Military
Unlike many of the other nations in the Charted Realms, Ossia has a standing army of fifty thousand individuals, whom patrol the dangerous roads between settlements. Augmenting this already formidable force are the Orders of the Brightlords, noble houses entirely consisting of Brightlords, whom provide the skilled officers of the army. These orders add a few thousand additional troops to the Ossian army, though they mainly serve in command positions rather than serving as line troops. Every Ossian army is commanded by a Brightlord, though any force of less than a thousand individuals is not considered an army and therefore can be led by a regular living officer.
In times of war with an external power, the Ossian army begins massive recruitment drives throughout the country, and can easily double it's forces with poorly trained militia within a few weeks. These soldiers, like all Ossian troops, are equipped with a suit of chain-mail and a breastplate to go over the top, and usually utilise wooden shields and axes, though a variety of pole-arms and ranged options are also used. Unlike their neighbours, the Ossian army does not utilise cavalry in an offensive capacity, and instead primarily uses small cavalry units for scouting purposes, as they do not have many horses in Ossia, so wasting them fighting is a very bad idea.
The Ossian army is divided into multiple tiers, and go as such:
Army Group: Consists of at least two armies, can range from two-thousand soldiers to twenty thousand, led by a Verkhovny
Army: At least one thousand individuals, consists of at least ten individual 'Units' of one hundred soldiers, always led by a Brightlord
Unit: At least one hundred soldiers, consists of ten Sections of ten soldiers, led by a living officer called a Graf
Section: Ten Soldiers, led by a Serzant
Religion
Every household in Ossia worships the Guardian, Korodish, an enigmatic entity which provided the Ossians with the knowledge to make Brightlords, in exchange for worship. This deal has kept the Ossians safe for countless generations, and enabled them to effectively fight the multitude of horrors that call Majister's Point home. A small altar is erected in each home, a bowl made from bone with three candles burning within it, each with a pinprick of blood from each member of the household. At the strike of midnight each member of the household must sit in front of the altar in descending order of rank (usually Husband, Wife, then children in descending order) and pray for ten minutes, after which they must immediately go to bed. It is said in the religious texts of the religion that this process enables Korodish to send it's emissaries into the home of the worshipper to defend them against the evils of Majic.
Priests and Paladins of Korodish are all Brightlords, whom wander the country preaching to it's peoples and defending them from the monsters that lurk in the night, though when war comes calling these holy warriors martial to the nearest Verkhovny and aid them in their efforts against the enemy. The holy texts these faithful carry are bound in leather made from their own skin, which they carry in a warded bag on their waists. Clad in white-grey robes, the faithful of Korodish are a joyful sight to the peoples of Ossia, as a sign that Korodish walks among them.
Foreign Relations
Throughout the history of the Tsardom, they have often been at war with their neighbours, the Ravenian Conglomerate and the Principality or Torvia. Both of these states covet the ruin-filled lands of Ossia, as well as it's strategic position, though neither has a skilled enough military force capable of breaking through the Ossian lines. Despite this, the Ossians have recently begun to trade from a singular port on their northern coast, exporting valuable materials in exchange for knowledge and textiles.
Trade & Transport
While the Tsardom does maintain and guard the roads within Ossia, there are still many Majical Beasts that roam the landscape, making travel a dangerous prospect. Settlements are always walled and defended by a garrison of local militia, no matter how small the settlement, and when travelling between such settlements, Ossians always travel in caravans. These groups must always be comprised of at least ten individuals, with a minimum of half of these being combat capable, otherwise military patrols will turn them back to their towns. The roads themselves are cobbled from local stones and built by prisoners on death row, as such a task is always a death sentence. Military Watchposts dot these roads, recording everyone who goes through and what they are bringing with them, as well as keeping an eye out for Majical Beasts and tracking their movements.
Along the northern coast of Ossia exists the open port of Lubtuk, which imports and exports vast quantities of materials to southern traders, though these outsiders are limited in the areas that they can visit within the port, specifically the Docks and the foreign quarter. Those outsiders who visit Lubtuk talk of a drab stone-grey town with sullen people and the wails of monsters in the distance. They talk of a land so desolate many first-time visitors are astonished that anyone can live here, let alone flourish as a nation.
Education
The peoples of Ossia are taught through two separate institutions, the Shkola Osnovnay, and the Torgedzh. The Shkola is a basic school where children from the ages of five are sent during the day to learn how to write, mathematics and the history of Ossia. When children reach ten years old they are sent to the big cities to a Torgedzh to learn a trade, they will spend the next six years of their life learning a trade and, once they graduate, are offered a position to work for one of the many small organisations in the country.
Infrastructure
The Tsardom provides and maintains all of the Shkola across Ossia, as well as constructs, maintains and protects the roads and Watchposts. Military patrols keep the roads mostly clear of Majical Beasts and bandits, though every now and again a few slip through the cracks. Mighty mountain fortresses watch over the valleys of Ossia, built by the Dwarves of Majister's Point back when the nation was first founded, and stand a constant vigil over the people. These imposing structures also serve as the centres of control for Verkhovny, enabling them to shown their power constantly by virtue of being within line of sight of most of their lands.
Divine Origins
When the last of the Majic Mysterum's was collapsing, and Majister's point was thrown into complete chaos as outsiders invaded, aberrations escaped from their holding cells and wrecked untold destruction, a small band of scholars desperately searched for an answer, a way out of this hell. They found it in the form of a strangely enigmatic outsider, calling itself Korodish, whom offered these scholars an ancient secret that would save them from the horrors of Majic, but they must do things in return for this gift. These scholars, and everyone they saved, must worship Korodish at least once a day at night when it's power was strongest, and swear off the use of Majic forever. Seeing no other alternative as attractive as the on Korodish presented them with, the scholars accepted, and were indeed gifted with an ancient knowledge that would save them, the Rituals and Rites of the Brightlords, a long since forgotten order of undead warriors whom fought against the power of Majic.
The scholars all underwent the Rites of the Brightlords, and became incredibly powerful undead warriors capable of leading their people out of this madness. While their expansion and salvation was not swift, the Brightlords would bring a relative peace and stability to Majister's Point, and declare a new order, the Tsardom of Ossia. Now, the peoples and their descendants who were saved by the original Brightlords worship Korodish as the Guardian, as it's gift constantly guards them to this very day.
Tenets of Faith
- Those who hold Korodish as the Guardian and the Great Protector abandon Majic as a power or ideal, and see it for what it really is, chaos incarnate. They seek to remove Majic in all it's forms from this plane of existence, along with it's horrific creations.
- The faithful of Korodish will worship it's great power when the sun is the furthest from the world, and pray for protection and guidance for ten minutes. After this, the faithful must immediately retire for the day, as the servants of Korodish cannot protect them if they remain awake.
- Every home of the faithful must maintain a holy shrine to Korodish, a bowl made from the bones of local beasts with three candles, each with a single drop of blood from each member of the household smeared upon it.
Majic Corrupts Absolutely
Type
Geopolitical, Kingdom
Capital
Training Level
Professional
Veterancy Level
Veteran
Demonym
Ossian
Leader Title
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Theocratic
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Command/Planned economy
Currency
Ossia utilises the standard PGSC currency (Platinum, Gold, Silver, Copper)
Major Exports
Mithral
Blood Steel
Steel Wood
Pasta
Major Imports
Textiles (Mostly silk and cotton)
Knowledge (Mostly historical and novellas)
Exotic Foods
Thick Leather
Legislative Body
Verkhovny Sovet
Judicial Body
Iskasudiya
Official State Religion
Subsidiary Organizations
Deities
Location
Official Languages
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Notable Members
Comments