[hider=Tushiena] [b]Faction Name:[/b] Tushiena [b]Alias:[/b] The County of Tushiena [b]Government Type:[/b] Dictatorship [b]Faction Specie(s):[/b] Tushiena has become something of a melting pot for various races, but the two primary races that make up the bulk of the population are humans and goblins. [b]Territory Details:[/b] The Bay of Teeth is a surprisingly fertile land. Its soil is able to support quite a wide range of different types of edible plant life, the ocean around it filled with plentiful fish life and the rivers... are so clogged up with sludge while traveling through the single giant city of Tushiena that if you're quick enough you could run across its surface without the soils of your shoes melting at certain times of the year. The city itself is huge, covering most of the islands in the bay and connecting the various districts that this makes via grand stone bridges. [b]Faction Religion/Ideology:[/b] Tushiena is not a religious nation; It does have a district dedicated to the building of temples, shrines and churches for those who are, but they are generally far to busy scrabbling with each other over ideology and possible converts to actually try and get involved in the political landscape of the city. There is even a small church dedicated to God-Emperor Justinian, through it is a very minor cult compared to several more native ones. Tushiena itself is a nation of magic and technology; While it's ruler is a powerful lich, Count Vasha has always felt that for a nation to grow powerful it needed to be willing to plumb the depths of the occult and the arcane while also researching and experimenting with the mundane. Tushiena has a proud naval tradition, it's ships some of the greatest in the world and its merchant fleet prepared to sail in the name of profit far and wide. This is as much pragmatism as it is national pride; The only means for any of those who wish to plunder Tushiena directly requires the invader to travel by ocean... and it can't do any harm if said invading fleet is reduced to a burning wreck that is sinking to the bottom of the sea with all hands lost. Slavery is illegal in Tushiena; One cannot own slaves, buy slaves or sell slaves here and the punishment for being caught being apart of this practice is a brutally painful death. [b]Faction Description:[/b] The former bread basket of Nagath and the Dark Lord Daigon's empire, once the Dark Lord had died and his nation fell apart Tushiena became an independent city nation that has largely been untouched by war over the centuries due to the combination of its powerful and feared navy, the fictionalized nature of Nagath post Dark Lord keeping local threats to focused on closer enemies and the Justinian Imperium simply being too far away to really make the effort. Originally the Bay of Teeth was colonized by humans and goblins under the leadership of the newly appointed Count Vasha by Dark Lord Daigon himself sometime during his reign in order to secure a great source of food in order to feed the Dark Lords armies, but after it became an independent nation it became something of a merchant dictatorship under Count Vasha... that people from various races and walks of live wanted to live in. Tushiena's indifference to matters of religious faith and its views on slavery (that it just wasn't worth it in the long run) combined with its impressive range of businesses, industries and the opportunities of its trading fleets to earn a living makes it a highly appealing place to live in Nagath. The key to Tushiena's unmatched naval power is its infamous flamethrowers and grenades; At some point in the past, the Tushiena alchemists discovered a recipe for what they called 'Daigon's Flame', a substance that sticks to what it hits and burns until it is turned to ash... and long afterwards that is also highly resistant to being put out by water. Tushiena's navy deploys this dangerous weapon via ship mounted 'flamethrowers' that spray the substance where the nozzle is pointed and the fire grenades, which explode on impact after being primed. [b]Faction History:[/b] [b]Important Characters:[/b] [b]Count Vasha.[/b] The current and so far only ruler of the city of Tushiena is the tyrant Count Vasha, a powerful lich who according to legend was appointed as the Count of the Bay of Teeth by the Dark Lord Daigon himself several centuries ago; The only one who knows what the truth is for sure is Count Vasha himself and few people are on close enough terms with him to ask. While Count Vasha is the tyrant of Tushiena and is thus free to do whatever he wanted, he is rather lawful in nature and tends to focus his powers (both magical and legal) on the well being and growth of the city rather then his own personal gain. He has also invested a great deal of time, money, effort and magic into creating an information network within his lands (and a spy network outside of it) to ensure that he is not only up to date on current events while they are happening, but also aware of what is going to happen ahead of time so that it can be accounted for and dealt with as appropriate. [b]Relations to other Factions:[/b] Red Empire: While no Tushiena trader is stupid enough to try and open trading relations with the orcs of the Red Empire themselves, there have been plenty of successful trading relationships developed with the Tshriv and occasionally the Zionuk if they have traveled to the coast to sell their wares... and more then once has a Tushiena trader left the lands of the Red Empire with members of both races aboard their ship, sailing for a new life. The Brass Republic: The relationship between Tushiena and the Brass Republic is... professional but distant. While they have several trade agreements the ideology of the Brass Republic makes things... difficult at times. While Brass Republic traders are allowed to travel to Tushiena, it is has been made clear on several occasions that attempts at piracy and slave taking of Tushiena citizens will result in the painful deaths of those caught doing it. The Kellerach Clan Union: Attempts to establish trading agreements with the Kelleach Clan Union have been attempted in the past and will almost certainly be attempted in the future, but the Black Bank pirate goblins and their habits of attacking trading vassals have made such efforts... difficult. The Heavenly Kingdom of a Thousand Hands: Attempts to establish trade relations with the Hou Sun continue. The Regal Flotilla: Mixed reputation. They seem to have it in for the pirate goblin pricks from the Black Bank, but they also occasionally attack a trader heading for the Yaksha Empire. Messages may be sent in the future. Yaksha Empire: A trading partner and one of the more pleasant ones to deal with, but the risk of piracy from the Regal Flotilla and the Black Bank goblins makes trading with them a risky endeavor. [/hider]