Oguz

Oguz
Capital City:	Dzhezkazgan
System of Governance:	Monarchy
Leader(s)	King Torpek Ghozvar the Wyvern-Slayer
Primary Religion:	Thracian pantheon, Cults of Ziphane and Aldrin emphasis
Languages	Od
Majority Races	Human and Ogre
Strong Minorities	Dverg
Real World Influence:	country

Overview

A harsh, mountainous country, Oguz is a place of great wealth and curious diversity that has been a site of much conflict throughout history. The kingdom is composed of hundreds of diverse clans often competing with one another and living in walled towns on the scrubland, fortified mounds in the mountains, or otherwise with security perpetually in mind. Each such community has a clan head, all of whom ultimately answer to their king, currently King Torpek Ghozvar the Wyvern-Slayer, who has ruled from Dzhezkazgan since slaying his venerated mother in ritual combat in 1981. While this is not universally the method of passing the crown of Oguz, it is a peaceful transfer of power that is well regarded rather than being a form of coup.

Oguz is located in the southern highlands of the Dragonspine Mountains, landlocked between Helvetia to the north, Shalkara to the east, Vedia to the south, and Malay to the west. The eastern portion of the country is heavily mountainous, as is the northwest, while the highlands in the center of the country are tough and semi-arid, leading to challenging agriculture. The southern reaches near the border of Vidia transition into the Murhoazsha Desert, a blasted and rocky expanse rich with salt deposits and featuring some ancient curiosities in its unforgiving depths.

Ogres and Humans live in close confederacy in Oguz, according to the hundred-fifty year old Pact of Oguz which dictates that the clans of both Human and Ogre will live in a balance of mutual respect in order to secure their national future. The ruling family has changed on several occasions in the history of the country and has been both Human and Ogre on more than one occasion, though never one of the less prestigious blended clans. In the northwest, a very martial and redoubtable clan of Dverg called the White-Iron reside in their own harmonious fortifications, and by the principles of the Pact of Oguz are likewise treated as simply another political unit.

The Ogres of Oguz are devoted and specialized Ziphane worshipers almost without exception and have many specialized rituals unique to their land. The Human population has more of a tendency towards warlike Aldrin as their representative favorite, but with peculiarities acknowledging their close bond with the Ziphane worshiping Ogre neighbors. As a whole, the Oguzites are a tough-minded and hard-bitten people, deeply devoted to their separate communities, and fiercely committed to keeping their independence from the potent empires that have surrounded or dominated them for all of history. This leads to frequent conflicts with the neighboring powers, including a minor war with Malay in 2003-2005 and a more serious one with Shalkara in 2009-2013.

Culture

Religions

The Ogres of Oguz are devoted and specialized Ziphane worshipers almost without exception and have many specialized rituals unique to their land. The Human population has more of a tendency towards warlike Aldrin as their representative favorite, but with peculiarities acknowledging their close bond with the Ziphane worshiping Ogre neighbors.

Social Structure

The White-Iron clan of Dverg makes its home in the mountains of the north west of Oguz. Their caste of blades is well renowned and, in fact, much of their society is more primarily geared toward war, rather than crafting and trade. This puts them, at various times, both at odds with and allies of the rest of Oguz. They are for the most part content to leave the management of the country to other races, unless decisions are made that adversely affect them.

Warriors from Oguz, particularly Ogres, are well prized in mercenary forces around Eurus for their fierce strength and uncommon (for Ogres) discipline in the field. In particular, Helvetia counts them among many of their companies. The culture has attracted some mongrel tribes from Vidia that disagree with some of the more peaceful aspects of Vidian philosophy.

The Human society of Oguz has become well acclimated to living alongside the Ogres. The societies are moderately well integrated, though the Humans remain more numerous. A tumultuous history has led to a state of cooperation between clans that are mostly if not entirely Human and clans that are mostly if not entirely Ogre. When the kingdom was founded after the Red Walk in the late nineteenth century, a foundational document called the Pact of Oguz was created and signed that declared human and ogre would not make war upon one another, and that human and ogre clans were equally important to the future of the kingdom. While not uniformly delivered upon, the promise of the Pact of Oguz helps avoid excesses of abuse between the races or between the clans in this fractious kingdom.

The vast trade city of Dzhezkazgan is the capital of the kingdom, and is ruled by the powerful Ghozvar clan of Ogres. King Torpek Ghozvar the Wyvern-Slayer is a popular figure and has ruled successfully since the 1980s.

Customs and Holidays

What days matter to the people

Arts and Exceptionalism

Ironworks; lots of frame construction and twisted metal pieces in varying colors

Politics

Government

The kingdom is composed of hundreds of diverse clans often competing with one another and living in walled towns on the scrubland, fortified mounds in the mountains, or otherwise with security perpetually in mind. Each such community has a clan head, all of whom ultimately answer to their king, currently King Torpek Ghozvar the Wyvern-Slayer, who has ruled from Dzhezkazgan since slaying his venerated mother in ritual combat in 1981. While this is not universally the method of passing the crown of Oguz, it is a peaceful transfer of power that is well regarded rather than being a form of coup.

Ogres and Humans live in close confederacy in Oguz, according to the hundred-fifty year old Pact of Oguz which dictates that the clans of both Human and Ogre will live in a balance of mutual respect in order to secure their national future. The ruling family has changed on several occasions in the history of the country and has been both Human and Ogre on more than one occasion, though never one of the less prestigious blended clans. In the northwest, a very martial and redoubtable clan of Dverg called the White-Iron reside in their own harmonious fortifications, and by the principles of the Pact of Oguz are likewise treated as simply another political unit.

Oguz Map

Organization of the Land

Oguz is divided into four provinces, each of which is headed up by a provincial governor. The provinces are fairly independent and themselves subdivided by clan holdings in a variety of configurations. The King appoints a special governor for Atynau, which is the royal province, who has slightly higher stature than the governors of the other three provinces.

Demographics

The population of Oguz is about 50% Human and 30% Ogre, with blending being not entirely uncommon but not a notably desirable condition. Dverg make up a further 10% of the population concentrated in the northwest, with other races making up the balance. Prominent leadership positions tend to be divided about evenly between Human and Ogre factions or clans.

Economy

Exports Alloyed Metals, Special Alchemical materials

Foreign Relations

The peoples of Vidia have a rough relationship with Oguz, though they mostly ignore it and continue trade. Mountain passes make other trade difficult, though not impossible. This renders most nations to consider Oguz a "beast kept at bay". Most are sure they are not a major threat, but countries close by keep a diplomatic eye on the situation, just in case.

History

National History

The harsh mountain landscapes of Oguz speak much of the Ogres that live there. Thought to be named after a mountain or series of peaks in the north, where the Dragon Spines split, the land is a loose collective of tribes and more coherent cities, which has maintained its existence by virtue of murdering most that attempt to take it away from them. In times past, slavery was common, but the original human population of the area and the influx of humans as captives mellowed the approach and lead to more united ideals, which eventually created the modern country of Oguz. Indentured servitude is still normal.

The principle catalyst for the creation of what would later become Oguz, then under the control of Vidia, was an event that came to be known as the "Red Walk". Ogres and human allies, already holding ground in the north of the region, staged an uprising, taking captives, both human and mongrel, forcing them into slavery. The conflict never brewed into an actual war, in the most part because most Vidians had little love or care for the north of the country, preferring their jungle and forested terrain. The ogres, for their part, were content with the territory they had gained.

Vidia, over time, attempted to reclaim the territory, but pressures from other nations, and the remarkable lack of attack from the ogres, eventually lead to an uneasy peace.

Major Modern Events

After the dissolution of Imagicka, Oguz made several incursions into Malay in an effort to push its border further in the westerly direction while that nation was reeling from the losses of recent wars. From 2003-2004, Oguz gradually pushed the border more than forty miles against the haphazard defenses of eastern Malay. In 2005, funds were secured by Seraphin Beauharnais, la Duc de Denube, to acquire multiple companies of Helvetian mercenaries to rebuff the invasion, resulting in the line of conflict being pushed back half the breadth of the disputed land in a matter of months. An accord was reached in autumn 2005 to prevent further bloodshed, granting King Torpek the current extent of the borders as a concession.

In 2009, Oguz defended against a major invasion from the Taobei district of Shalkara in the Northwest. Almost a third of the country was, at one point, heavily occupied by Shalkaran forces. The conflict was started by Taobei under the pretext of retaliation for what Oguz describes as a manufactured incident and is broadly considered to have been an effort to take over a major tin mining area. The Shalkaran invasion, which was not formally backed by Imperial troops but instead a limited effort of the district governor, was rebuffed by Oguz alone, but it took until 2013 to drive the Shalkarans entirely out of their borders.

Geography

Oguz is located in the southern highlands of the Dragonspine Mountains, landlocked between Helvetia to the north, Shalkara to the east, Vedia to the south, and Malay to the west. The eastern portion of the country is heavily mountainous, as is the northwest, while the highlands in the center of the country are tough and semi-arid, leading to challenging agriculture. The southern reaches near the border of Vidia transition into the Murhoazsha Desert, a blasted and rocky expanse rich with salt deposits and featuring some ancient curiosities in its unforgiving depths.

The giant, vaguely circular valley that Oguz is nestled in is quite similar to Yellowstone National Park, in that it is the caldera of a supervolcano. There is a lot of geothermal activity in Oguz, which aids the narrative of it being a place chosen by Zhiphane as a proving ground for her people. Caverns that are filled with toxic gas, hot springs that are too hot to swim in littering the landscape, a river that can flash cook fish as you reel them in.

Notable Features

"Dragon's Gouge": A massive canyon that leads off the Dragon Spine mountains. Floods annually with runoff from the spines in a red-brown tide. Used ceremoniously by Ogres.