Osrodica

Osrodica (pronounced /ɒzˈrɒdɪkə/) is a nation of Vlastach, in the solar domain of Metcitum, bordering both the Mirror Sea and the Head of Vlastach. It is one of the most powerful nations in the world, as well as being fairly centrally located—indeed, the name of the nation derives from a word for "center" in the language of the Blotesian Empire of which Osrodica was formerly a colony.

Geography

Osrodica lies along the north shore of the Mirror Sea, stretching about 3,680 kilometers east to west at the broadest point. Osrodica's climate is temperate and moist, with plenty of greenery in the southern part; to the north, Osrodica includes the southern border of the Plains of Haghora. The eastern part of Osrodica includes part of the Caloski Swamp, though very few people actually live there, and the state does little to try to develop this area. There is one major city in the swamp, however, Oblosk, which is several layers deep, reaching all the way down to the bedrock below the waters.

There are a few patches of hills and mountains within Osrodica, particularly in the western part. Of these, the most important is the Headmount, the mountain that serves as the nocturnal resting place of Metcitum's sun, Tembecus.

Government

Osrodica's government has a retriplicate system of threes within threes. At the top level, the government is divided into three main branches: the councils, the circles, and the croles. The councils are the most direct voice of the people, their representatives being elected from the populace at large. They comprise the Council of Ten, the Council of Thirty, and the Council of Eighty, each equal in power to the other two. The circles are the voice of the mages of the nation, and are likewise three in number: the White Circle, or Circle of Stars, made up of elemental mages; the Brown Circle, or Circle of Earth, devoted to landworking; and the Black Circle, or Circle of Secrets, which studies more obscure branches of magic, and combinations of different magics. The White and Black Circles, though not the Brown, are further subdivided into various rings based on the specifics of the members' magical specialties. The croles, or kings, are three individuals who jointly rule with equal power; the position of crole is hereditary. While the croles are the people with the most individual political power, and are often seen as Osrodica's main rulers, the croles' power together is equal to that of the councils and the circles; it's just that the croles don't have to share that power among so many people.

The nation of Osrodica is divided into thirty-three states, each with a certain measure of autonomy. Each state has a single ruler; the threefold system does not extend to local governments. Most of the national government business takes place in the capital, Młarecz.

People

Though the light-skinned people of the Blotesian Empire still make up a plurality among Osrodica's human residents, Osrodica today is home to a diverse population, immigrants from all over Vlastach having settled in the nation after the downfall of the empire. Osrodica is likewise diverse with regards to species; again, humans make up a sizeable plurality, but Osrodica also numbers many casami, kalues, and various sorts of tzanta among its citizens, as well as other creatures.

An Osrodican typically chooses his trade at a young age, and goes to a trade college to learn how to pursue it. On completion of their course of study, graduates are awarded trade certificates to prove that they have been formally trained in their chosen pursuit; someone who attempts to practice a trade in Osrodica without a valid certificate will have a difficult time finding work. Those who attend trade colleges do not have to pay tuition in advance, but the college demands a share of their future earnings, and has ways of enforcing that demand—for one thing, the certificate awarded immediately upon graduation is good for only four years, and the college will issue a permanent certificate only if the alumnus has been faithful in his payments to that point.

An Osrodican's trade is made obvious by his costume; each trade has a particular sort of trade dress associated with it, which the person is expected to wear at all times (with a few necessary exceptions). Trade dress does not constitute a specific costume in all its details, but certain designs, ornaments, or features that are expected to be incorporated into whatever the individual is wearing. Although trade dress is not actually legally enforced, there is enormous social pressure to follow it; someone who does not wear trade dress will be assumed to be either a foreigner or of unsound mind, and someone who is known to be wearing the wrong trade dress will be heavily mistrusted.

Osrodica has something of a paradoxical reputation, both as prizing innovation and as clinging fast to tradition. The resolution of the paradox may be that it does prize innovation to an extent, but only as long as it doesn't require any drastic alterations in the people's lifestyle. A new philosophy with little practical application may quickly become quite popular; a new item of décor, or a new game, may be welcomed. But a new way of doing an everyday task, no matter how much more efficient, will be met with considerable resistance. To an Osrodican, the old ways are good enough. Of course, progress is not halted altogether, and new methods and techniques will eventually be accepted and spread if they in some manner represent a real improvement, but they will take considerable time to do so.

Economy

Osrodica's position along the shore of the Mirror Sea gives it great potential for trade, which it takes full advantage of; Osrodican ships ply the sea and engage in mercantile relations with many other nations. Aside from this, however, Osrodica's natural resources are limited. The plains to the north provide decent farmland but little else of economic interest, and if the Caloski Swamp does hold anything valuable, it may not be worth the cost of extraction. Despite the abundant plant life of southern Osrodica, it has relatively little in the way of forests, and must import most of its wood from elsewhere—mostly from the nearby Greenwood, though despite the relative proximity of this vast forest the wood from there is transported mainly by sea, to avoid the treacherous Stormfront. One of Osrodica's important exports is salt, extracted from flats near its northern border.

Osrodica makes up for its relative paucity of natural riches, however, by having a thriving industrial sector; it may need to import a lot of raw materials, but it makes up for that by exporting finished goods, selling fine woodwork and stonework to other nations, including perhaps the nations it imported the wood and stone from in the first place. Osrodica is also one of the most advanced nations on Vlastach when it comes to elemental magic, and when it comes to alchemy, in particular, it is second to none. It therefore makes a lot of its income by exporting various locally produced talismans and alchemical substances to nations without the wherewithal to produce such items themselves.

Osrodica is one of the few nations of Vlastach that mints its own coins rather than simply using the coinstones that are the common currency throughout most of the veigur. To keep things simple, however, it defines each native coinage to be equal in value to the corresponding coinstone. In practice, however, things aren't always that simple. Osrodican coins are taxed less than coinstones, which makes them somewhat more valuable in principle, and leads to many merchants, particularly in smaller settlements, charging higher prices to those who pay in coinstones than those who pay in minted coins. Furthermore, the gloki, in principle the eqivalent of the tesken, may have additional value to collectors due to the wide variety of patterns they are stamped with; a gloki bearing a rare design may be worth many times its nominal value.

Law

Osrodica's system of laws is rigorously codified and scrupulously enforced. Despite their complexity, however, the laws are for the most part fair and seldom arbitrary, and a careful citizen is in little danger of accidentally breaking them. Should a citizen be accused of breaking a law, however, he has the right to a trial, and should he be found guilty he has the further right to appeal to a higher court, though this bears the risk of bringing upon him a harsher punishment should the decision still go against him. The ultimate court of appeal is the High Court, which has nine members, one appointed by each council, circle, and crole.

For lesser crimes, the usual punishment is the levying of a fine. Should the guilty party not have enough liquid assets to cover the fine, his property will be seized to make up the difference, an official called a court assessor judging the value of said property, and verifying that the individual does not have any property hidden elsewhere that he hasn't revealed to the court. For greater crimes, or when the guilty party lacks the means to pay, imprisonment is the typical recourse; a few severe crimes carry a sentence of exile from the country.

Military

Osrodica has a sizeable standing military force, divided, like the national government, into three branches: the army, the navy, and the sappery. The army focuses on combat and maneuvers on land, the navy at sea (primarily the Mirror Sea, though the Osrodican navy does have some appendages elsewhere), and the sappery underground. Osrodica is not (currently) an aggressive or expansionist nation; its military exists mostly to defend it against external threats. In recent years, no other nations have made organized assaults against Osrodica, but it still must defend against the occasional attacks by ziriki, by hostile nomads from the Plains of Haghora, and by other similar threats.

The Osrodican military employs a number of mages specialized in spells useful in combat. These so-called warmages do not compose a separate branch of the military themselves, but are divided among the army, navy, and sappery. Not all the warmages are happy with this arrangement, and there have been a number of demonstrations and other efforts aimed at giving them their own branch on equal footing with the other three, but there seems to be no indication that this will happy any time soon.

History

Beginning as a colony of the Blotesian Empire, Osrodica won its independence at the dissolution of the empire 1700 years ago, circa the year 10280. Around 11040, it entered the Great War along with many other nations of Vlastach; Osrodica allied itself with Kahmari and Caphavia against Khuvurz and the no longer extant empire of Aalne. In 11695, Osrodica entered another war, this one with Hugurny; the so-called Sunless War lasted almost a decade before the two nations made peace.