The Greater Rebulique of Tesh

They were way beyond their mapped world. Tesh was there, two or three hundred miles south and west on the coastal plain. Cutter thought of it, though he did not know what it was he should picture. How should he think it? Tesh, City of the Crawling Liquid. Its moats and glass cats, and the Catoblepas Plain and merchant trawlers and tramp diplomats and the Crying Prince -Chapter Eleven, The Iron Council

The City of the Crawling Liquid, is just about as alien a place as you’re likely to find on Rohagi. And remember, this is a continent with a floating frog metropolis and a city of zombie aristocrats, so, that’s really saying something.

Tesh is odd. Its government is backwards, its people are peculiar, its customs are bizarre, and its thaumaturgy is alien. Even though cities like New Crobuzon, Sanshad, and Maru’ahm are all very different places with unique laws and customs, if one were to travel to any of those locations, one would still instinctively know the basic lay of the land. Take the same individual, though, and place him in Tesh, and he likely wouldn’t know whether he was coming or going. Things are just that different. This confusing quality is made doubly impenetrable by Tesh’s self-imposed isolation. While the city regularly trades with other nations and isn’t strictly closed to outsiders, it certainly does not do anything to encourage casual visitors or cultural exchange.

Reaching the city by land is extremely difficult, due to harsh terrain, vicious beasts, and a series of legendary moats. The city itself is among the most visually impressive in Rohagi. Visitors report gleaming crystal towers, glass statues, and exquisitely clean streets. One reason for Tesh’s security and isolation are the Catoblepas Plains which encircle the city. This region is filled with herds of catoblepas, which can kill with a single look. An imposing series of moats encircle the city which are as beautiful as they are effective. Likewise, the city is riddled with artful creeks and waterfalls, some of which flow up – giving the city its colorful sobriquet. Along the boulevard leading to the royal palace lies a double row of enormous glass statues – of cats.

Military

“How is Tesh attacking?” Qurabin’s voice came back strong. “You said manifestations? Is it colour-sucked things, presences? Emptinesses in the shape of things in the world—animals, plants, hands, everything? And people gone, sickened by them and dead? They come out of nothing, unglow, is it? And they’re still coming. Yes?” - Chapter Twenty Four, The Iron Council

Tesh’s military is strong enough to give New Crobuzon a serious challenge. Both its naval fleet and its armies of foot soldiers, although smaller in number than New Crobuzon’s, are armed with strange and unique Tesh technologies and tactics that make up for their small numbers. The city’s thaumaturgists, as well, bring a number of devastating and unique techniques to the battlefield, but as with everything involving Tesh, the accuracy of these claims is difficult or impossible to verify.

Religion

Manifold Horizon

They were a temple consecrated to the Manifold Horizon, with cadres of monks dedicated to its various Moments, and each of these Moments became a brigade.

Some fought; some went seeking holy death. The monks of Cadmer, Moment of Calculation, knew they could not win and waited in the briarpits to receive the bullets. The monks of Zaori, Moment of Magic Wine, drank themselves to visionary death before a militiaman could touch them.

But the Moment of Doves sent its birds to destroy themselves in the militia’s wheels and stop their engines; the Moment of Desiccation turned militia blood to ash; Pharru and Tekke Shesim, the Moments of Forgotten Snow and of Memory, came together and made ice storms.-Chapter Twelve, The Iron Council

The citizenry of Tesh appear to be particularly impious. This is not to say that they are atheists – rather, the Tesh “religion” (if such a term can actually be applied to it,) is simply a thing unsuited to common folk, and it is overseen exclusively by dedicated monks in remote monasteries. This odd “Manifold Horizon” is quite unlike any other known belief system.

Type

Geopolitical, City-State, Country, Metropolis

Location

Rohagi

Founding Date

340BC

Leader

Yashida Shuzo - The Crying Prince

Government System

Dynasty/Monarchy

Economic System

Market Socialism

Official Language

Teshi

Population

3,209,000

Religion

The Manifold Horizon

Legislative Body

The exact details of Tesh’s governmental structure are unknown. It is known that Tesh has a king, but by tradition or law, he is a recluse. The individual who seems to actually lead the nation in daily concerns is known as the Crying Prince. Foreign embassies are not in Tesh proper, but in a different location outside of the city, and Tesh’s own scarce ambassadors to foreign lands live as homeless vagrants.

The known officials are as follows:
Yashida Shuzo - The Crying Prince
Matsuzaki Yasushi - Minister of Armed Forces Saito Masami - Tear Master

Foreign Relations

Tesh depends heavily on its trading partners. These are primarily the Brothers, the Witchocracy, The Commonwealth and Maru’ahm, although it sends its fleet of merchants to all of the coastal cities of Rohagi.

Major Imports

Tesh imports mainly mundane goods, such as foodstuffs, and exports primarily high-dollar items like unique artwork and thaumaturgical devices.

Type

Geopolitical, Country

Demonym

Teshi