Oztroja (ahz-trow-dja)
The Rugged Boreal Thaumatocracy of Coreward Gondara
Oztroja is a large thaumatocracy spanning a wide region of Coreëast Gondara, the Arcstrand and several islands contested with the Agåntyrans in Materia's Gamma Quadrant.
Understanding Oztrojan politics requires knowledge of witches and their power loci, as this is largely how political power is distributed there. Witches always have occult territories or loci whose boundaries are strictly enforced. As the thaumaturge grows in power, so too does their ability to keep larger and larger territories, which can encompass multiple villages and even towns, who are traditionally expected to pay for her hospitality in whatever way the witch sees fit. Indeed, some fiefs pay their witch-queens handsomely for blessings in battle or the midwifery. In the case of Oztroja, the territory-holders are subservient to an overarching power: the archwitch and possible ascendant demigod known only as Little Grandma.
Oztrojans have a reputation as being especially susceptible to being born with wild-aspected traits, making them the frequent target of superstitions among other Gondaran societies. Nonetheless they have a stable trade relationship with several major Middish provinces. Borders with the Corewestward Provinces can be described as tense, but they've been unmoving for an unprecedented amount of time, making the possibility of a deeper unity between Otzroja and the rest of the continent possible.
Oztrojans speak Oztrojan, though many are passingly familiar with Middish Common.Geography
Description
See also: Image Gallery: Fashion & Scenery of Oztroja (External)Oztroja is a vast stretch of boreal plains, forests, subalpine steppes and mountains covering much of Coreward and Coreëast Gondara.
Oztroja is the official steward of Colossus Delta (the eastern tower of the Coreward bridge that crosses the mighty Worldscar), which the Oztrojans call Saltspire. It is one of four surviving towers connecting two surviving bridges, marvels of First Age architecture that could not be replicated today.
Major settlements in Oztroja include (in descending order):
- Karja (capital)
- Lake Rusal Town
- Okha
- Caer Duna
- Iru
- Svir
- Strandsend
The Arcstrand
The Arcstrand is an impressive crescent of hundreds of islands capping Oztroja's Coreward end. Heavily volcanic, they're sometimes known as "V'Shaatian Gifts" due to stories that the Fire Goddess V'Shaat raised magma arcs in response to the the Deluge, to provide more landmass for Materians to survive and rebuild on. Due to this belief, worship of V'Shaat is common in Oztroja.Little Grandma
See also: Full Article: Little Grandma
There are simply too many competing and often contradictory narratives around Little Grandma to create an assured biography. What is generally agreed upon is her rule began as a folk worship/submission by the peoples immediately surrounding her wooded fenland, and this worship has since grown over the decades to encompass the political entity now known as modern Oztroja. It’s unknown whether the archtheurge engineered or even welcomed this, but she seems to accept it.
The political elements of Oztroja do not seem to show any temptation to question her authority, though she rarely intervenes in the realm's politics, which are ruled more or less similarly to many duchies in the Midlands, minus the cultural and religious differences.
Oztroja
Quadrant
Gamma
Region
Gondara, The Broken Empire
Capital
Karja
Rulership
Krav the Thrice-Killed (official)
Little Grandma (unofficial)
Banner art credit: Svetlana Kostina (Left, Right) Dima Dimitriy (Centre)
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