Kayumna

The small dev Kingdom of Kayumna has a unique alliance with the the Ismat Empire that surrounds it. Though independent of the empire, they have stations in several Ismat states and benefit from favorable trade. The empire refrains from enforcing any authority on Kayumna and its districts, although as one can expect when concerning of large governments, there are always some in power who try to push the boundaries of control. In regards to Kayumna, most respect the ill effects of challenging the deity Shupram's Kingdom.

History

When the Ismat empire was just beginning, many devs in the region it was spreading to rejoiced. Although there was some fear and hesitancy to submitting to a central and distant government, joining the empire meant getting deliveries of the legendary Ismat Oil, the substance that augmented dev's abilities with light magic.
Peace from this union was also promised, but Shupram, the patron of Kayumna was wary. He knew this upheaval and centralization of power would draw the attention of power hungry deities and their equally power hungry minions. Shupram and the elders of Kayumna were also against the spreading culture of the Ismat empire. They felt like the empire was becoming a lot more focused on light because of devs natural affinity for light magic. Shupram and the Kayumna elders understood the relevance of light to devs, but they did not want to become so light centric that they would lose other connections they had through their culture, and thus become unbalanced and vulnerable because of it. 
Before the onset of the Ismat empire, much of Kayumna already had a healthy respect for Kaloepari, a martial art philosophy that was created by Shupram and seven masters a century before. To offset the cultural take over of the Ismat Empire, the practice and intellectual growth of Kaloepari expanded and became an embodiment of Kayumna culture. The intent of this move was to preserve Kayumna culture, but history had other plans.
As Shupram predicted, the changing world that included extreme shifts of power due to Ismat Oil led to tyranny throughout the empire. Kaloepari had several core philosophies, but it was its code of guardianship that took and held precedence in this time.  Kayumna citizens who practiced Kaloepari travelled  through the empire's region and became beacons of justice in the face of oppression.  Their prowess grew so much that Sharkolen a villainous deity and source of much of the destruction in these changing times decided to take the fight directly to Kayumna. The attempt failed, and Shupram became Sharkolen's jailer, leading to positive ramifications throughout the Ismat Empire. For this reason, Kayumna was granted select independence from the Empire while also benefiting from being integrated into it. Four self governing Kayumna satellite  strongholds were established in areas throughout the empire that were also given autonomous authority to protect people from any injustices by and against the empire.

Type

Geopolitical, City-state