Oshen

The city of wonders.

Structure

Oshen is ruled by its Arbiter who retained that title even after breaking away from the Empire. He acts as the absolute authority within its domain and his word is law, recognised even by other nations who recognise the power and symbolic importance of the city-state. He is assisted by his Directors, the foremost experts in their field who each administrate part of their state's affairs. Each Director also appoints a number of Executives who assist the Director and divide responsibilities further. Currently Directors exist for External Affairs, Infrastructure, Internal Affairs, Treasury, Research and Security.
The regular citizenry exists either as part of the divisions, employed as a public servant, or are considered private citizens who are granted a lot of freedoms in exchange for obeying the laws of the public divisions. Private citizens may be free but also have no say in public matters and tend to be excluded from a lot of the power moves and opportunities within the city. The majority of citizens tend to be classified as private.

Public Agenda

To advance understanding of magic and technology to new heights while also preserving the balance of power in the world to prevent the outbreak of a new Grand War.

History

Oshen was a peaceful city state within the Empire that loyally served even through the various rebellions in the wake of the Cataclysm. The Arbiter of the city was well renowned for being a genius and largely uninterested in national events so long as they did not affect his work and would reject many offers from the newer nations to join them. As a result of the importance of the city the Empire never allowed even the smallest force to breach its territory and as a result it remained untouched through even the fiercest fighting.
It was a great shock to all involved when the city official ceded from the Empire and yet refused to sign up to any other nation. No one quite knew what led to this decision, right in the middle of the Grand War, but the Arbiter had clearly been preparing this for some time. When Imperial forces arrived to retake the city they found it protected by an immense shield and despite setting up a siege never once were able to penetrate it. No resistance was ever put up by the Osheni and no attempts were ever made to break out of the siege so eventually the Empire decided to dedicate their forces elsewhere.
While it looked like the Osheni would survive the war with no damage, their relative peace would draw the attention of the Slayer. Revelling in the destruction of the Grand War she refused to allow any place to be left untouched and personally led a siege of the great city. While the great defense of Oshen held out for a time against the full power of the Slayer the shields could not hold out and collapsed, leading to the only recorded incursion of the city. As the Slayer's forces ransacked the city so too did the city turn into a deathtrap for the invaders. Traps and golems harried every move and despite all the damage done the invaders were reduced to a fraction of their numbers. The Slayer personally invaded the palace at the centre of the city and faced down the Arbiter, a mere tier two immortal, in combat. Much to the shock of the world, this battle against a God would be won when the Arbiter turned the full might of his city's systems against her. The Slayer had been defeated.
With the defeat of their God the remaining invaders were very easy to dislodge and they all died or fled. In the wake of their victory, and their sudden increase in standing in the world, the Arbiter was able to bring representatives of each nation to a great conference in Oshen. There the nations were not only able to agree to acknowledge Oshen as a neutral entity but were able to actually forge a peace treaty and end the war entirely. The Oshen Accords would be celebrated around the world as many had never believed they would witness the end of the horrors the war had unleashed.
To this day Oshen stands as a beacon of peace in the world, a neutral ground all the nations can rely on and use to discuss matters without conflict. The Osheni are considered with great regard even by nations that would normally be opposed to such a nation and they themselves use the peace to continue their research unabated.

To never stop is a life well lived.

Founding Date

5784

Type

Geopolitical, City-state

Alternative Names

The Free City

Demonym

Osheni

Government System

Technocracy

Legislative Body

The Board of Directors