Kingdom of Tarthus-Tetsu
The far-distant country of the sands, where gold adorns every corner and death dwells beneath the sands
Structure
As one of the most ancient and longest-standing nation on Zheng-Kitar, Tarthus-Tetsu has a relatively simplistic organizational structure compared to other, newer countries in the world - and though in ancient times the rulings of the Undead High Lords had a more complicated structure, the current Pharaoh Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I greatly streamlined the country's political system and organizational structure:
Governmental Ranks
- Pharaoh/High Lord: The divinely appointed ruler of Tarthus-Tetsu, believed to be a direct divine link to the Spirit Kings themselves. They rule absolutely, and entertain no challenges or threats to their power - historically they have expected and demanded worship, though the current Pharaoh has cared less about his worship and more about practical matters of state. None can challenge their authority - they hold total and supreme power, delegated or relegated to nothing and no one. Though in ancient times this title was more commonly called 'High Lord', the word 'Pharaoh' has long since been a word synonymous with the rulers of Tarthus-Tetsu - though its origins are not widely remembered. Unlike in the country's history, this position no longer requires acension into undeath.
- Vizier: These figures operate as the Managers of the Empire, working as right hands of the Pharaoh to carry out day to day operation of the Empire and ensuring that the Pharaoh's demands are carried out and passed into law. They tend to handle most day to day operations in practice, while the Pharaoh attends to more divine or otherwise more important matters - though the current Pharaoh has changed their duties somewhat to something of a council of highly capable peers who also serve the function of advisors and those willing to find fair and reasonable fault with the Pharaoh's tasks or commands - something once punishable by death.
- Ma'et: The Hand-Picked enforcers of the Pharaoh's will - one part Royal Guard, One Part Judge/Jury/Exectioner, and One Part Secretive master of Tarthan Magic. These elite figures answer to none but the Pharaoh and operate through the various Provinces of the Empire handling matters of law, magic, and all manner of other secret business. This rank is also the cabal believed to be largely responsible for the legendary Alchemical and Magical sorcery that operates behind closed doors in Tarthus-Tetsu, each taught directly by the Pharaoh and possibly trained from birth. They are well-regarded as saviors of the people, and their symbol - the legendary Winged Scarab - is a sign recognizable by all as the badge of one to be trusted, who will assist the people in any way from assisting a low-born thrall to protecting a High-Born lord.
- Numarch: Governors of the various regions of the empire - who rule over Villages, Towns, Cities, and entire Districts, Provinces, or Regions in the name of the Pharaoh. Many ranks are contained within this one designation, to differentiate different sized regions of influence and control.
- Neferu: Translated literally as "Beautiful One", this rank signifies the Tarthan Nobility - typically reserved for Relatives of the Pharaoh, Priests, Lawyers, Doctors, and High-Ranking Soldiers or Military Personnel. In a landmark decision, the current Pharaoh completely changed the way of the Nobility - instead of being a position attained by birthright or owed by title or reputation, the nobility has been changed to mean 'Those with great import', though much of the old Nobility - once made up of the Undead and High-Class governmental officials of the old regimes of the Undead High Lords - have been grandfathered into this rank to appease them.
- Djezet: Translated literally as "Enlightened One", this rank is reserved for Scribes, Soldiers, and Artisans of all kinds - and notably, has recently been made a rank attainable by any with sufficient skill rather than just high-born Tarthans. Like the rank of Numarch, contains many ranks within it.
Societal Ranks
Tarthan Society is, like many other aspects of the kingdom, very strange and wholly unlike a majority of the rest of Zheng-Kitar and even the world at large - in Tarthus, there are no societal ranks of structures of any kind as others know them; as the only example of a culture and a society that has attained the status of "post-scarcity", Tarthan Society is divided only almost purely based on job or the field in which one participates. Furthering this strange societal structure is an almost complete equality of the sexes - the Tarthan government makes no determinations about gender in its laws(A point which many Tarthans are very proud of), and men and women are equally free to divorce, hold land, have a say in governmental matters, participate in trade, and much more. The general categories which most Tarthan fall into are listed below, but are not exhaustive and are mostly organizational rather than anything else.- Governmental: Any who work or participate in the Governmental Affairs of the Kingdom fall under this broad category, such as tax collectors, governmental agents, official diplomats, couriers, viziers, and so on.
- Military: Any who participate in the Tarthan Military fall under this category, regardless of their rank or station - from the lowliest Town Guard to the most mighty and powerful of the Ma'et.
- Intellectual: Any who work towards an intellectual pursuit fall under this broad category, even if they themselves are attached to other categories such as Military Scribes. This category includes all from mages to scribes to librarians to archeologists and more.
- Tradesman: Despite being a post-scarcity society, Tarthus has not left behind the need for skilled craft and tradesmen - far from it, in fact, as in the aftermath of their recent economic 'boom' the demand for skilled labor has become higher than ever; with the complete removal of the need for craft and tradesmen to create mundane gear or perform mundane tasks to survive from Tarthan society, all in this rank are free to pursue mastery of their craft without worry of losing their livelihoods or means of surviving. This, consequently, has made Tarthus home to some of the most skilled and innovative craftsmen and tradesmen in all the world who are experts and masters at all things ranging from blacksmithing to economics to foreign trade to construction and more.
- Bakhm: The rank largely reserved for what other societies would dub 'slaves', which has historically been populated with just that - slaves. However, the rank has taken on a new meaning in the new-age Tarthan Economy of unprecedented prosperity as the rank, which had previously encompassed all laborers and unskilled workers and the like, has now been mostly populated with hordes of undead(who can toil without fear of sleep or starvation or dehydration). Now, this category simply and more broadly refers to "unskilled labor" - and while it is mostly populated by undead and other nonsentient creations to allow for Tarthans to be free of such menial tasks, there are a number of Tarthans who occupy this category such as farmers, workers, and the like. However, for those here, it is by choice now rather than by force - the one exception to this rule is criminals, who are on extremely rare occasion temporarily placed in this rank as part of the broader Tarthan "Rehabilitation" Incarceration System; typically in an effort to help allow the criminal to reflect on their actions and become a better person.
Culture
See the page for the Tarthan ethnicity for more information on the culture of the people of Tarthus.
Public Agenda
Publically, the agenda of Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I as the Pharaoh is one that places his people and his country first - his legendary "Homefront Revitalization Plan" that he has been putting at the forefront of his policies in the century or so of his rule has seen him shrink Tarthus-Tetsu's borders to allow its ruined economy and population to regrow and recover from centuries and millennia of abuse and overextension driven by bottomlessly ambitious High Lords, whose desires burned so brightly in their Undead Bosoms that they nearly drove the Country to ruin in the process.
He has tolerated no naysayers, both in Internal Affairs and Foreign Relations - he has developed incredible relations with those willing to entertain his boisterous and commanding presence, and has had little tolerance for those who cannot tolerate his policies such as The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet, with whom Tarthus-Tetsu has developed especially sour relations under his rule thanks to Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I's infuriating agenda of the "Three N's" - "No Concession, No Negotiation, No Capitulation" - which, while effective a policy when dealing with those willing to entertain his demands and eccentric personality, has been the opposite when dealing with the Migrant Fleet and its excessively deal-based and individualistic society.
Assets
It is no exaggeration to say Tarthus-Tetsu is the richest nation in all the world - its seemingly infinite stockpiles of gold and silver and other precious metals has given it unprecedented prosperity and let it become the only known example of a post-scarcity economy in history, where its artisans and seemingly infinite wealth have stockpiled so much that its people enjoy almost all neccesities without scarcity or want.
Demography and Population
Most of Tarthus's population is inhabited by a combination of Humans, Dragonborn, Kobolds, Desert Elves, and Lamia, with minor populations of Othraka and Eldragi present as well.
Notably, Tarthus is the sole nation known to Zheng-Kitarans that actively welcomes all Undead such as Soshigeists, Jiang-Shi, and others so long as they are intelligent, sentient, and willing to submit to the rule of the Pharaoah without struggle. This does them no favors in diplomatic relations with other countries and with those who travel there, but the Tarthans themselves have little qualm with the dead, as for thousands of years they were ruled by ancient Undead Emperors known as "High Lords" who, during their time, unified the Dead and the Living beneath one banner for their causes - and thus erased most all of the stigma mainland Zheng-Kitarans have with Undead.
Territories
Tarthus-Tetsu occupies the northern lands of the larger Island of Khyarmani, holding all of the desert dunes and lands west, east, and north of the Island's northern mountain ranges. This land has belonged to Tarthus since ancient times thousands of years ago, and is its cradle and birthplace - though in ancient times they once held land as far south as the Khyarmani Atoll.
These holdings have long since been abandoned over time, until only the 'cradle' of the empire has remained - mostly due in part to the current Pharaoh Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I's legendarily successful and famous 'Homefront Revitalization Plan' which, over the century of his rule so far, has completely breathed new life into the empire and stablized its existing holdings by greatly reducing and abandoning the empire's fringe lands it could not hold...that it may now, in time, re-expand to its former size as it returns to stability and success it has not enjoyed in a thousand years.
Most importantly, though the lands of Tarthus have much in common with other deserts such as that of the Great Gyatsoshin Desert, it is notably less "wild" - extensive efforts undertaken not only by the current ruler of Tarthus Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I but also by the countless rulers before him have made sure that while wild tribes have not been eradicated from the sands of Tarthus's "homefront", they have come to accept Tarthan influence or, in many cases, have simply merged with Tarthan society. What few tribes remain do so out of stubborn clinging to old traditions as most of their fellows have accepted Tarthan demands or vanished altogether. The simple fact that a Tarthan citizen can freely roam about their home deserts without much fear of deadly beasts killing or enslaving them(Though wild monsters remain a fact of life, as always, just at much more managable strengths and populations, as are Bandits) is a source of immense pride to them, and one of the reasons many Tarthans place such faith in their rulers.
Military
The military of Tarthus is broadly known as "The Golden Legions" in both Tarthus and the rest of the world - so named for the propensity of the Tarthan Military in times past to plate their military's equipment in gold as a show of wealth and power to their enemies. During the times of the Tarthan High Lords, the Golden Legions varied in responsibility from Peacekeeping Forces to Armed and Marauding Pillagers, but in the modern day under the rule of Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I the Golden Legions have combined many of their previous responsibilities and become a singular enormous force the likes of which the world has seldom seen before - serving as one part exploratory legion, one part peacekeeping force, and one part scientific and diplomatic corps, the Tarthan Golden Legions have evolved from simple fighting force into comprehensive, country-spanning organization equipped to handle all manner of missions for the sake of the Tarthan Government.
Perhaps most tellingly, in a move that spoke volumes of Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I's plans and desires for the rest of the world, under his reign the Tarthan Golden Legions had their primary directive changed from "Warfare" to "Peacekeeping", and were re-staffed and re-equipped accordingly to serve in their new directive. Re-divided and re-organized, the Golden Legions of Tarthus are now a formidible force equipped to handle missions both on the homefront and far afield, with the following organizations serving as subsidiaries to the Golden Legions:
- The Ma'et: The Hand-Picked enforcers of the Pharaoh's will - one part Royal Guard, One Part Judge/Jury/Exectioner, and One Part Secretive master of Tarthan Magic. These elite figures answer to none but the Pharaoh and operate through the various Provinces of the Empire handling matters of law, magic, and all manner of other secret business. They are well-regarded as saviors of the people, and their symbol - the legendary Winged Scarab - is a sign recognizable by all as the badge of one to be trusted, who will assist the people in any way no matter the task or duty. They are selected from the ranks of the other branches of the Golden Legions by the Pharaoh themselves, and each undergoes a brutal training regimen to prepare them for their duties.
- The Wings of Nahab: The scouting corps of the Tarthan Golden Legions, trained to handle a variety of missions from scouting and reconnaissance to even more secretive missions such as infiltration and espionage. Typically deployed ahead of the main legions, they are trained for light skirmishes and in guerilla warfare tactics. Like much of the Tarthan Military, they are voluntary and are selected from among the ranks of those determined to be suitable for the task after they near graduation in the Tarthan Military Academies. Additionally, it is somewhat of a notorious "public secret" that somewhere within this organization lies the Tarthan Secret Police(Known to the Public as Chamber 8), staffed mostly by the faithful of Cynebald the Unseen.
- The Goldboots: The main body of the Tarthan Military, where most graduates of the Tarthan Military academy are mustered out into after their years of mandatory training and preperation for their duties in the military. They are trained to handle a wide variety of scenarios and environments outside of just thier home desert landscape, and are the largest of the divisions of the Golden Legions - so named for the gold-plated, Goldbolt infused greaves awarded to each member upon their initiation into the organization. Well-armed, well-equipped, and well-trained, the members of the Goldboots are classically trained and taught to not only be skilled in fighting, but in philosophy and critical thinking and countless others mental pursuits; giving them a unique air of "Philosophical Knights" that others who encounter them find somewhat off-putting, as they are on average much smarter than the average soldier in a country's military. Further divisions exist within them for certain special forces groups or for divisions for water assaults, beach assaults, land battles, and so on.
- The Sons of Menei: The Tarthan military police, town guard, and military reserve - a volunteer force like much of the rest of the Tarthan Military, the Sons of Menei are made up of those in Tarthan Communities who wish to help give back or defend their communities or towns, and are thus more community-driven than many other divisions of the Golden Legions. They are also the only group in the Golden Legions who does not require prospective candidates to graduate from Tarthan Military Academies, thus making the Sons of Menei a popular "starting-off" point for those looking for a career in the Tarthan Military, as the Sons are trained and equipped at the same posts as other divisions of the Golden Legion, but are a good deal less formal and rigid.
- The Illumitors: The Scholarly and Diplomatic Corps of the Tarthan Military, the Illumitors are made up of those who show intellectual promise who are hand-picked from among the ranks of the other divisions of the Golden Legion. The only group in the Golden Legion that is not volunteer, the Illumitors are a unique group that mandatorily "conscripts" those who show aptitudes for empathy, intellectual curiosity, and other desirable traits and trains them in the bowels of the reclusive Illumitor Citadels, where they serve mandatory periods attached to other Golden Legion divisions or on their own unique missions when a Diplomatic Hand, Scientific Hand, or otherwise level, intellectual head is needed on a task - most notoriously, the Illumitors serve the important duty of policing the other divisions of the Golden Legions. Due to their stressful nature of their duties, they are cycled back into their original divisions after a few years and given a break for their mental health and physical wellbeing.
Religion
It has been a historical law to view the Pharaoh as the country's chiefmost divine being, and this practice has not vanished in modern Tarthus - all who dwell there are expected to recognize and honor the divinity of the Pharaoh, though Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I has been slightly more humble in this regard thus far. Otherwise, freedom of religion is only somewhat assured in Tarthus-Tetsu - the worship of Saints and the Spirit Kings is not shunned nor forbidden, but Tarthus-Tetsu's insistence on its ruler being its chiefmost divine has historically butted heads with the churches of the Spirit Kings, who see such a practice as barbaric paganism, and are usually unwilling to lower themselves and accept the Pharaoh's divinity above that of their patron god or goddess and accept the Tarthan belief that their Pharaoh is a divinely appointed emissary of the Spirit Kings.
Foreign Relations
Despite their strange obsession with Death as a culture and their alien acceptance of Undead, Tarthus-Tetsu has fantastic relations with many nations, most closely tied to the Kingdom of Raoulin, with whom Tarthus-Tetsu has an astonishingly close relationship and tight, unbreakable ties to. However, Tarthus-Tetsu also is known to have close ties to the northern island nation of the Jugeum Union, as the two nations engage in trade quite frequently - and are united in their general dislike and rivalry with The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet that prowls the seas between their island nations.
Thanks to its seemingly infinite material wealth, Tarthus has an abnormally easy time making allies due to Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I's willingness to give away massive amounts of lavish wealth and luxury to potential allies and partners, though this discounts his own supernatural charisma and persuasive powers by assuming most of Tarthus's foreign bargaining comes from its wealth.
Agriculture & Industry
Being a land of desert dunes and arid sands, Tarthus has a suprisingly successful Agricultural Trade, as its harsh environs have forced its people to develop and innovate extremely effective ways to predict flood patterns of the rivers and tributaries as well as irrigation methods which have let them have a massively lucrative crop harvest each season. Additionally, they have a booming masonry industry and are one of the most well-regarded lands in the WORLD for engineers, builders, architects, and the like. Its mines are also legendarily rich, producing silver, gold, salt, and more in extremely massive and seemingly infinite quantities.
Thanks to Tarthus's nature as a Post-Scarcity society, most of this agricultural success is due to their extensive use of Undead and other Tireless creations in their fields combined with the mysterious means by which the Tarthan People recieve their daily living supplies; this combination of factors means that the naturally fertile tarthan lands along their rivers and coastlines produce an abundance of food which rather mysteriously mostly goes to exports rather than homefront affairs, in defiance of expectations. In terms of industry, Tarthus has some of the most populous and most skilled tradesman and craftsmen in all the world, beating out even the Ezdhûl in terms of quantity of skilled laborers - this is due in large part to their Post-Scarcity society which has freed such workers of their typical obligations to ply their trade to survive first and foremost, allowing all to pursue a craft for the excellence or passion alone rather than the money or means to survive.
Trade & Transport
Travel across Tarthus is typically done with Camels for average, everyday folk - though Undead Mounts and more monstrous Mounts such as Skeletal Nightmare Horses or Worms are not unheard of for those with disposable income. However, the common denominator for trade and transport is its slow-going nature and dangerous environs, as both bandits and beasts and monsters alike target trade and transport caravans travelling the sands at astonishingly regular intervals should they veer from the tightly secured routes protected by the Tarthan Military.
On the whole, all citizens of Tarthus are given free reign to travel across the lands of Tarthus thanks to the Undead-driven transportation that has become widespread across the country - far moreso than citizens of other countries.
Education
Education has historically been limited to the nobility and the lands' Rulers, though in especially recent times Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I has established 'Public Learning Obelisks" in central areas where any can come to better themselves and be taught basic life skills to improve themselves, in exchange for service to the Pharaoh and country.
This policy has proven one of the cornerstones of Tarthus's Post-Scarcity society - because its citizens are freed of the worry of providing for themselves, they are free to pursue whatever higher educations interest them; and the availability of these educations(be they mundane or magical in nature) has allowed the Tarthan people to pursue whatever passions they desire - a completely foreign concept to many mainland nations.
Infrastructure
Tarthus is well-known to have some of the best infrastructure in all of Zheng-Kitar - through unknown means, Tarthus is first in all the world at the sheer speed at which they can expand and set up new settlements - entire new houses can be built in a matter of hours and, from there, entire towns can be constructed in a matter of days or weeks at a speed which has brought many a foreigner to tarthus to figure out the secret of Tarthus's Post-Scarcity wealth which allows them to create such infrastructure at breakneck speeds at such astoundingly universal qualities.
The heart of this power seems to lie in the mysterious, pyramid-shaped structures found in every Tarthan Settlement known to its populace as "Temples" or "Hubs" - buildings where citizens can go to get any basic living supplies they might need, or to request houses or other infrastructure to be repaired or constructed. With seemingly infinite capacity to create such things, these buildings are naturally high priority targets for those seeking to plunder Tarthus's secrets for themselves; however, they are consequently some of the most well-defended buildings in Tarthus.
Related Reading
Eternal Golden Glory.
Founding Date
2014 ASK
Type
Geopolitical, Country
Alternative Names
Tarthus, The Land of Gold, The Deadlands
Demonym
Leader
Head of State
Head of Government
Government System
Monarchy, Theocratic
Power Structure
Unitary state
Economic System
Post-scarcity economy
Currency
Tarthus-Tetsu is unique in all of Zheng-Kitar in that it has no currency - in a land free of scarcity, currency is meaningless to its residents. When its residents do require currency, they typically get paid or deal in simple gold coins matching continental standards.
Major Exports
Grain, gold, silver, linen, papyrus, finished goods such as glass and stone objects
Major Imports
Fine Goods, Wood, Exotic foodstuffs, Ivory, Copper, Gemstones
Legislative Body
Sole legislative power rests with the Pharaoh - as the divinely appointed ruler of Tarthus, they alone decide and set laws and rules into motion and decree them legal or illegal at their merest whims.
Judicial Body
In legality, sole Judicial power rests with the Pharaoh, though in practice the Pharaoh tends to only oversee the most important and vital of judicial cases. For the rest, the Ma'et - masked agents of the Pharaoh's will hand picked one and all by the Pharaoh themselves, handles all other Judicial cases throughout the empire.
Executive Body
Sole executive power rests with the Pharaoh - as the divinely appointed ruler of Tarthus, they alone dictate the enforcement of the country's laws, though typically with the help of their numerous Viziers and other governmental cabinets or advisors.
Notable Members
Related Ethnicities
Related Myths
A land of Undeath
No place is more familiar with the ways of Undead than Tarthus-Tetsu - as one of the oldest nations and ethnicities in the entire world, Tarthans are worryingly familiar and learned about the ways of the undead and undeath itself, thanks in large part due to their history as having been ruled by Undead God-Kings for thousands of years who are collectively known as the title they all took to signify their rule: "High Lord". The High Lords, while outsiders would assume them a stain on Tarthus's History, were anything but - and in fact, were oftentimes great and noble conquerors and politicians who did much to solidify and protect the people both alive and (un)dead who depended on them. This curious nature that has not been observed anywhere else that has historically allowed Undead generated from the vast, island-spanning resevoirs of necromantic power that run beneath Tarthus-Tetsu's golden sands to retain a startling amount of their consciousness and, historically, have allowed them to have personalities ranging from the typical cruel and sadistic tyrants to proud, pure, and noble souls who lived an unlife of chaste devotion to God and Country, has yet to be fully understood by modern scholars and historians. Hindering their efforts is a lack of willingness on the part of the Tarthan people to allow outsiders into their cultural heritage sites such as the Tombs of the High Lords, a cultural taboo against 'investigating' or 'uncovering' the secrets of their God-Kings, and the otherwise isolated location of the country - all of which combine to make study of why exactly Tarthus-Tetsu has had such strangely varied Undead Kings in the past nigh-impossible. Regardless, Tarthus-Tetsu is a place where Necromancy is miraculously accepted and normalized - and perhaps the only place in the WORLD with a codified Necromantic College and and system for training aspiring magicians in the use of Necromantic power. Adding onto this strange acceptance of death and undeath the fact that a truly gargantuan amount of necromantic power is known to gather acreoss the deserts of Tarthus-Tetsu for reasons unknown and the sands of Tarthus are truly a mysterious place - full of strange blackened metals, black necromantic energy reserves, forgotten tombs, and ancient ruins dating back thousands of years...
Close Allies
Perhaps expectedly, the two countries on Zheng-Kitar run by divine beings have become extremely close to one another as time has gone on - Kyra Aenai and Amenmeses Ra-sen Shakanasa I have gotten along splendidly ever since the first of Tarthus-Tetsu's extraordinarily lavish treasure fleets arrived in Raoulin's ports, offering extremely generous gifts in exchange for comparatively humble and reasonable trade deals and offers of alliance.
Though initially welcomed with suspicion, Tarthus-Tetsu's envoys and their Pharaoh who led them met with the God-Queen of Raoulin and quickly hit it off as none had quite done before with her, who made their first and ONLY alliance in their nation's entire history with the formal ratification of the two nations' alliance into treaty form. Ever since, the two have become incredibly close, and supported each other economically, socially, and militarily - making them a Power Duo that none have dared to attack for fear of provoking the two mightiest nations on the planet. Though unconfirmed, it is also believed that the two rules support each other personally as well - acting as very close friends as otherwise lonely beings isolated by their own immense power and semi-divinity.
Friendly
As the only nation the Union has reached friendly terms with, Tarthus and the Union have become close allies over the recent decades as the efforts of Tarthus and its Pharaoh, and the open mindsets of the Union's Trimvirate of Leaders has let the two nations come to incredibly lucrative agreements exchanging Tarthus's legendarily infinite stockpiles of riches, metals, and more for Jugeum's food, wood, and other resources as well as promises of mutual support in times of war, and against The Gāngtao Migrant Fleet - who both nations hate immensely.
Openly Hostile
Tarthus-Tetsu has a famously awful relationship with the Migrant Fleet, thanks in large part to the Pharaoh of Tarthus's Authoritarian approach to Foreign Relations: "No Concession, No Negotiation, No Capitulation". The two nations have tried to find common ground several times but each time have either failed to come to an agreement or have come to one that has subsequently broken down inside of half a decade - the Migrant Fleet cannot stand Tarthus's Pharaoh and his no compromise, god-king mentality and see him as a threat to the liberty and freedom of their people, while the Pharaoh in turn sees the Migrant Fleet as a ragtag band of anarchists who refuse his (admittedly) extremely lavish offers of gold, silver, and protection under the Tarthan Government in favor of retaining their needless independence.
The two countries' navies have, thusly, clashed frequently and often on the High Seas - and Tarthus-Tetsu has, in a decision that only they could make with their extraordinary riches and legendary Economic Power, which they wielded lethally as they blocked the Migrant Fleet from every single port in their kingdom, under threat of attack and destruction - a decree which did much to infuriate the trade-based Migrant Fleet who relied on the trade from Tarthus-Tetsu, among other eastern nations, to sustain its Eastern Armada - and whose loss would spell hardship and poverty for tens of thousands of sailors and Taoans.
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