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An eclectic blend of
traditions meld with modern ideas of freedom and industry in the small,
mountainous nation of Tamaria. In this rugged place, whose terrain is
dominated by three high altitude cordilleras, where water rushes
restlessly from the frozen heights into verdant valleys on its way to
the sea, stewardship of the fragile landscape ranks in equal value with
economic prosperity. The Tamarians maintain that all of their wealth
and success originates in the land bought in conflict, paid in the
currency of their own blood.
Long held in bondage
by a powerful race of
giants, the emancipation of these people began when a mysterious
warrior queen named Tamar led a heavily laden and well armed group of
exiled leaders out of Kameron. These soldiers, engineers, agricultural
specialists, masons and professors from a variety of academic
disciplines traveled northward, through the narrow canyon where the
swift flowing Angry Bear River races from its glacial birthplace, until
they arrived at a sheer rock face along the western shore of Fallen
Moon Lake. At the summit of this nearly mile high precipice stood the
ancient monestary of Elsbireth. From this lofty refuge, too remote
and difficult for any giant to reach, Tamar established a
constitutional monarchy and planned a military campaign to liberate the
people of the High Land.
The foundations
of Elsbireth lay upon
a massive bluestone uplift, and within its walls a series of hot
springs form pools, ponds and some distance downhill, join into a river
known as the Honeywater; a mineral laden stream renown for its healing
properties. After reaching an agreement with the monks in residence, in
which they promised to oversee the new nation’s education system and
spiritual leadership, Tamar’s engineers built a series of hydro
electric power plants, utilizing the river’s current as it plunged over
the precipice to the lake far below. The generated electricity drove
machinery to build weapons. Masons constructed an elaborate fortress
complex, designing multi layered defenses specifically intended to
thwart the might of the mountain giants. The carefully conceived,
self-sufficient systems put in place for the stronghold became a model
of resource conservation and efficiency, later replicated all across
the nation. Initially, however, the need to survive in this isolated
place served to protect the fledgling government from attack.
Having ruled the High
Land for many
centuries, the giants reigned with unparalleled brutality. Cycles of
starvation and violence, mercilessly meted upon enslaved people,
restrained growth among the human inhabitants and effectively prevented
organized resistance within a terrorized population. The giants thrived
in their cities, extracting mineral wealth from the mountains through a
vast network of tunnels built with human sweat and blood. Tribute, in
the form of food and wine, tools, textiles and labor prospered the
civilization of giants while preventing the people who served them from
obtaining any benefit. Although many of the enslaved Tamarians
longed for freedom, the giants were so greatly feared that even the
thought of insurrection terrified the bravest of people. In light of
this fact, Queen Tamar’s plan began with attacks on crucial crossroads
and mountain passes. This served to sever communication between the
giant clans, so that regional chieftains could not garner support from
their neighbors. Once an area lay under Tamarian control, the
engineers, educators and economists began transforming the countryside
and its formerly enslaved people into a nation.
The Tamarian army
gradually increased in
strength and numbers as new recruits signed up to fight for freedom.
Within five years, commanders began risking large scale operations
against the giants’ fortified settlements. Using overwhelming firepower
and a strategy of rapid attack, the giant clans fell valley by valley,
until the Tamarian liberators set their sights on Burning Tree, the
capital city of the giants’ kingdom.
As the War of
Liberation drew into its
sixth year, most of the senior military men expected the siege of
Burning Tree to be a long and grueling ordeal. For several weeks the
Tamarian army tightened its grip on the surrounding area, but a strange
silence seeped from behind the city’s lofty walls. When the first
Tamarian soldiers swept through a shattered gate on the southern end of
town, they discovered that thousands of human inhabitants been slain in
a most gruesome manner--the giants simply ripped the limbs from every
human torso they could find and left the victims to die in the streets.
Survivors told terrifying tales of systematic bloodshed, until the
story of Burning Tree became a rallying point for Tamarian anger.
Mysteriously, the
giants escaped. The city
fell into Tamarian hands without any further struggle, and no one could
adequately explain how at least ten thousand giants vanished into the
mountains, where they organized new settlements in remote plateaux,
high in the cordillera. From their strongholds, the giants remained an
intractable menace; raiding and pillaging to support their meager
existence.
Unlike many
neighboring states, with long
histories and well established cultural norms, the Tamarians
essentially invented themselves in a relatively short period of time.
Their government consists of a Senate, whose representatives are
appointed by county legislators, known as Counsellors. Every five
years, the Counsellors are directly elected in local districts.
District boundaries are defined according to population every twenty
years by an independent, appointed judiciary. Queen Tamar remains the
Executrix of the Tamarian government, a position limited to advising
the Senate, enforcing its edicts, overall command of the military, and
appointing the independent judiciary.
Tamaria does not tax
its citizens.
Government revenues are derived from high import duties, a flat rate
business profits tax, and a levy on resource extraction that serves to
conserve raw materials and encourage resource reuse and recycling.
(Thus, it is considerably cheaper in Tamaria to utilize scrap metals
than to mine raw ore.) Government services, like rail transport and
power generation, are run according to business models and must make a
profit, that subsequently become part of general revenue, or their
managers are subject to prosecution for incompetence, fined and
replaced. These features limit the size of Tamarian government, which
is, by law, required to balance its budget yearly.
Education, the primary
function
of Elsbireth monks, is compulsory and universal for Tamarian
citizens through the primary years. Beyond this, private and military
colleges set tuition fees based upon family income and academic
achievement; enabling poor, but capable students to acquire advanced
education. Funding for schools and Tamaria’s army comes from government
revenue, with the majority of resources allocated to education.
Due to budget
limitations, the Tamarian
army remains a small, professional force under the direct control of
the queen. Military service is mandatory for all male citizens beyond
age 16, but only for a five year term. After this, every able bodied
male remains a member of his local militia and can be called to service
in the event of an emergency. Local militias remain under the control
of active military police, and are most often used for disaster relief
and fire fighting duties between the planting and harvest seasons.
Learn About Kameron
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