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Kazak

History

During the Bloom Age, Azare Kazak was founded by Dwergar pioneers from Kizar Korath to secure the future of their people. While Kizar Korath served as the cultural and political heart, Azare Kazak was originally intended to be simply another mining hub to supply the capital with iron and coal, but over the course of the remainder of the Bloom Age, it became a powerful city in its own right. The two cities operated as a single entity, with Azare Kazak providing the materials and Kizar Korath acting as the forge.

The conflicts of the Blood Age reforged Kazak's identity. Serving as the shield against the Ogre warbands of what would become Gane, the city evolved its own warrior culture while continuing to fuel the capital with raw materials. The persistent threat of war, fought independently of Korath's own struggles in the south, forced them to become independent of their forebearer. However, this perceived lack of support, along with a lack of recognition for their sacrifices, victories, and proficiency in both their trades and on the battlefield, resulted in a corrosive resentment that gnawed at the foundations of their ancient bond.

The schism that had simmered for millennia finally erupted in the early Blight Age. After Kazaki diplomats secured a major trade agreement with the nation of Marcia, the Marcian ambassador delivered a public "gift" not to them, but to the High King in Kizar Korath, honoring him for the treaty his northern subjects had secured. Enraged by this public humiliation, a Kazaki war hero went rogue by intercepting and seizing the Marcian gift. The crime created an international crisis, and when the Kazaki leaders refused to act against their own hero, Kizar Korath sent armies to arrest him, resulting in a bloody battle that broke the Dwergar people into two nations.

For the last seven centuries, Azare Kazak has stood as a sovereign power, locked in an on-again, off-again war with its former kin. The city's identity has been cemented as a corporate state, driven by the ambition of industrial cartels like Colderyn and fueled by the adoption of black powder technology. It revels in its history, seeing right as separate from law, as justice being more than tradition, and as strength being about deeds rather than tales.

Government

Kazak is a nomocracy enforced by a coalition known as the Gemōt (Assembly). In Kazak, the Borg (Pledge) is law. If two parties enter into a contract, that contract is binding and is the sole legal enforcement throughout the land. When a Kazaki citizen comes of age, they are required to sign a contract with the state in order to obtain citizenship, which also binds them to a specific list of moral and legal obligations, such as agreeing to not engage in theft or violence.

The Landrīca (Land-Lords) hold positions in the assembly based on the number and power of the contracts they hold. As a result, they are rigid in their application and enforcement of these Borg, as the moment that a member of the Landrīca reneges on a Pledge and it is not enforced, the system crumbles.

Kazak Assessment

Subject: Kazak [KAZ-ack]

Capital: Azare Kazak [ah-ZAR-ay KAZ-ack]

Status: Internal Sedition; Protracted War

Power Structure: Nomocratic Oligarchy

Assets: Black powder technology; High-yield industrial production; Large, contracted labor force.

Liabilities: Systemic inequality fueling a growing revolutionary movement (Zaharmak); Amoral legal system (the Borg); Ideological instability (Korathi).

Opportunity Analysis: The ruling Landrīca have a vested political and economic interest in escalating the war with Korath to distract from internal dissent. A full-scale conflict creates a high-demand market for military contracts and materials.

Recommendation

Engineer the Inevitable War:

  • Phase 1: Exacerbate tensions between Dwergar nations with targeted assassinations.
  • Phase 2: Inhibit diplomatic resolution and incite radicals on both sides.
  • Outcome: A full-scale war is initiated and both Dwergar nations become dependent clients for the arms and materiel needed to sustain a profitable, long-term conflict.

~The Osprey Intelligence Dossier

Gilbert's Travels

It has been my experience, my dear reader, that a gentleman's word and a handshake are the bedrock of any sound business arrangement. The Dwergar of Kazak, however, are a people singularly obsessed with paperwork. I was sent to their capital, Azare Kazak, on a simple matter of securing a trade contract—a formality, I was assured. The undertaking proved to be a frightful ordeal.

The Landrīca we were to meet with, a grim fellow with a braided beard, did not receive us in a respectable office, but in a chaotic, open chamber of their Gemōt where contracts were being shouted and traded like fish at a market. He presented us with the Borg, a document of such baffling complexity that I could make neither heads nor tails of it. I was prepared to sign it simply to conclude the dreary business, but Boudreaux, looking unusually pale, insisted on reading every line. A most tedious and unnecessary delay ensued, culminating in Boudreaux engaging in a series of heated, whispered negotiations with the Dwergar's clerks. We were ultimately forced to pay a rather exorbitant "amendment fee" to alter a single clause. A clear swindle, but Boudreaux was most insistent. One gets the sense that the Kazaki draw out their negotiations with these pointless complexities simply to drive up the price. A most uncivilized way to conduct business.

~Gilbert Auguste Germain Rivet

Interesting Facts

  • The entire political structure of the Gemōt is a marketplace, with high offices like the Forma, Dēma, and Heretoga being effectively sold to the highest bidder. Landrīca openly trade blocs of their own contract-votes and promise appointments to lesser offices, such as Hordere or Gerefa, in exchange for the political support necessary to secure a position. This systemic corruption is not a secret but an open and accepted feature of the Kazaki political process.

  • In Kazaki law, the only valid evidence in a dispute is the literal text of a contract; all unwritten laws, precedents, or oral agreements have been formally abolished as evidentiary law. The Borg themselves are designed as transferable assets, containing complex clauses that allow them to be traded or sold like currency. The most powerful of these are cascading contracts, where a single document gives a Landrīca ownership of a subordinate's contract and all other contracts that individual holds, consolidating the control of hundreds of workers under a single asset.

  • The private armies of the Landrīca serve a dual purpose as both military and political assets. While they provide security, their primary function is to generate hundreds or thousands of contracts, inflating the political power of their owner within the Gemōt. It is common practice for an elected Heretoga to embed their own private forces within the state military, using the nation's resources to train and equip their personal troops before their term expires.

Current Challenges

  • Class Inequality. The systemic inequality of the Borg has created a permanent underclass of Dwergar who live in a state of effective debt-slavery. This disenfranchisement has allowed the Zaharmak revolutionary movement to gain a foothold within the nation's industrial districts. Additionally, this underclass has begun to abandon their contracts, seeking refuge in the neighboring nation of Korath.

  • The Korathi War. The nation is engaged in a persistent, low-intensity war with Kizar Korath. The conflict is characterized by intermittent border skirmishes and a deep-rooted espionage effort from both sides. Due to their shared language and appearance, Korathi and Kazaki spies move with relative ease through each other's territories, turning the war into a quiet, internal struggle of infiltration, sabotage, and assassination that undermines national security.

  • Sanctum Blight. The runoff from the nation's unregulated mines and factories is causing a slow, unrecognized pollution of the surrounding lands. This industrial blight has begun to seep into the sanctums of the gods the Kazaki ostensibly revere as veterans. While the consequences of stressing or corrupting their gods is ongoing, the actual repercussions have not yet been realized by the Kazaki people.

Kazaki Characters

As you create a Kazaki character or NPC, consider the following:

The Borg, Your Bond. A Kazaki's life begins with the Borg they sign upon coming of age, a contract that binds them to the state and often to a specific Landrīca. What are the terms of your contract? What is your relationship with this document, and how does it define your daily life and your future? What ambitions do you hold that exist outside the terms of your agreement?

The Duty to the Fallen. The Kazaki ostensibly revere their gods as wounded veterans of the Ganic Wars, but the religious divide has grown in recent generations. Do you recognize or remember your gods? Do you make pilgrimages to wounded gods, like Wuduwāsa, to leave offerings? Do you feel connected to the legacy of your ancient warrior culture or to the divine that served beside your ancestors?

The Shadow of the Twin. Your national identity is defined in opposition to the old ways of Korath, yet you are locked in a quiet, internal war with your own kin. What is your view of your Korathi cousins? How has the constant threat of espionage shaped your trust in your fellow Dwergar? How do you reconcile the schism with the reality that Kazak has become?

Religious Practices

Kazaki faith is a matter of historical duty, not active worship. Their reverence for the divine was forged in the Blood Age, a three-millennia-long conflict where their gods fought and fell alongside them as allies. This shared history of sacrifice has left the Dwergar with a profound sense of obligation to the gods they view not as patrons, but as wounded veterans.

There is no formal priesthood. Faith is a personal and intermittent affair, a vestigial remnant of a past that has been largely supplanted by the rise of the corporate state and the absolute law of the Borg. While the state protects the sanctums of their deities, this is an act of national preservation, akin to maintaining a war memorial. The Kazaki mourn the corruption of Wuduwāsa, the guardian of Grimholt, and while the ancient rites once practiced before Sceadugenga and Scinn-læca have all but vanished, a deep-seated respect for these divine elders endures.

Cities and Sites of Interest

The nation of Kazak occupies the temperate, forested hills of the northern Brotin Halm Fells. The landscape includes the expansive Harrowfen and the old-growth Grimholt Wood. The nation's western border is coastal, meeting the Blavatn Haf Sea, while its eastern border is a heavily fortified frontier with Gane. Dwergar civilization is centered on its capital, Azare Kazak, a hub of industry and law.

Azare Kazak

The capital is the political and economic center of the Kazak, housing the legislative halls of the Gemōt and the headquarters of Colderyn. A deep social divide exists between the Landrīca, the ruling class, and the contracted workers who live in a state of effective debt-slavery. Tensions are high in the crowded factory districts, where agitators from the revolutionary group Zaharmak organize strikes and incite dissent against the authority of the Gemōt.

Grimholt Wood

This old-growth forest was a battleground during the Blood Age. It contains the ruins of Dwergar fortifications, within the sanctum of the Tatarigami, Wuduwāsa. Rumors persist among the Kazaki of a lost armory or treasure trove sealed within the ruins, abandoned during the war. Any expedition into the forest must contend with the unpredictable and violent rage of Wuduwāsa, who acts as the ruins' de facto guardian.

Harrowfen

A large fen that is the sanctum of the ancient fen-wyrm, Sceadugenga. The region is undeveloped and considered dangerous due to its bogs and natural predators. Local folklore presents a conflicting view of the fen's sovereign; some tales claim the wyrm grants boons to those who leave it sufficient offerings, while others tell of travelers, such as lovers who went to swear oaths, who have entered the fen and never returned. These stories attract both the desperate and the foolish to risk the fen's hazards.

The Gemōt

During the Blood Age, the Gemōt was formed to enforce the contracts of the Landrīca, who were the owners of the mines in the region. When Kazak seceded from Korath, the Gemōt persisted as the governing body, focused almost entirely on maintaining and enforcing these contracts, with the members of the assembly taking on specific duties necessary for the running of a nation.

Dēma

The Dēma [DAY-mah] (Judge) is elected every 2 years by the Gemōt and oversees the Borgrīca [BORG-ree-cha] (Pledge-Lords), who interpret and rule on all contract disputes. This role is highly sought after, but also highly scrutinized, as the power of a member of the Gemōt is often tied to the number of Borg (Pledges) a Landrīca holds.

Forma

The Forma [FOR-mah] is the elected Landrīca of the Gemōt and the head of state. The position is granted for a fixed term of 6 years, and the election is decided by a weighted vote, where each member's ballot is measured by the number and power of contracts each member controls. The Forma's power is executive, not monarchical, and they are constantly subject to the alliances and ambitions of the council they lead.

Heretoga

The Heretoga [HERE-eh-toh-ga] is the commander of the military, elected every 4 years by the Gemōt. They are answerable to the Gemōt and are responsible for the defense of the realm. However, most often, their role is policing contractual defaults as determined by the Dēma. While there is a state-run military, almost all Landrīca also have contracted private armies if only to increase the number of contracts they control.

Hordere

The Hordere [HORD-er-eh] (Hoarder) is the State Treasurer and is assigned by the Forma. The Hordere manages the council's slush fund and oversees the financial assets of the state that other members of the council can leverage, such as the Heretoga for the military, the Dēma for Borgrīca, or the Gerefa for infrastructure.

Landrīca

The Landrīca [LAND-ree-cha] are the voting members of the Gemōt and being one of the Landrīca is required to hold any titled role. Although the literal meaning of Landrīca is "Land-Lord," no member is or has ever been a member of the archaic aristocracy of Korath, even at their formation. The individual power of any Landrīca is derived from the number of Borg (Pledges) they hold.

Gerefa

The Gerefa [yeh-RAY-fa] (Reeve) is the Steward of Infrastructure and is assigned by the Forma. The Gerefa manages public works and state-owned assets, such as roads, railways, and fortifications. While the state creates some of these public works, the vast majority of land is owned by the Landrīca who build their own roads and tenements for their contracted workers.