Ofir

Capital: Othoro

Ruler: Borea Griffs, Duchess

Government: Hereditary Limited Monarchy

Primary Race: Human

Primary Language: Ixish

Regional Bonus: To Stand Alone - Though united with the other rebel provinces, Ofir is isolated by geography and must maintain constant vigilance against outside threats, giving you a +2 racial bonus to Climb and Perception.

Regional Feat:Bloody but Unbroken

Description

Another nation to have splintered from Xain during the strife of the War for Xaini Independence, it was known as one of the Three Sisters: three smaller countries--along with Amantara and Seliune--that resisted being reconquered for half a century by working together.  But the terrible costs of the Sunset War on her sister nations gave Xain a chance to strike and the nobility did not let it pass unexploited.  Now, hidden away in its high mountains, Ofir struggles to find some way to stand alone against the mightiest nation in Faengleis.

Of all the breakaway territories, Ofir is perhaps the most radically changed by their shift to independence.  Western Xain is the largest and most powerful, with relatively little damage to much of its land as well as years of having the resources of the Atmar's poured into it, while proximity had forced Amantara and Seliune to support one another despite diverging cultures while they still existed.

Little Ofir, however, is isolated and trapped between Xain and the mountains of the Shield of the World.  Everything they need, they must produce locally as Xain refuses to allow any trade with the new nation and a section of the Shield known as the Direfangs--amongst the steepest and most treacherous peaks in the entire range--blocks off any reasonable access to the sea.  It is simply not economical to import anything as the quantity would be paltry and the markup in cost would make even mundane items like wheat cost more than locally-produced luxuries.

Rulership of Ofir is seen more like a punishment rather than a right, for Duchess Griffs--the current leader of the mountain country--must devote a great deal of time and energy to shifting about the paltry food resources that come from sheep herding or the farming of potatoes and rice in the ubiquitous terraces chiseled into the hard bedrock of the mountains.  She has solved the problems of previous landholding Dukes and Duchesses by the simple expedient of being poor, leaving ample free time to lead sorties against bandits (many of whom are equipped and provisioned by Xain) or meet with village leaders in an attempt to stave off the problems of rampant unemployment and poverty, theft, and other crimes that accompany the misery of Ofirin life.

It is a sad joke that, for all their poverty and want, Ofir would otherwise be one of the wealthiest countries in Faengleis, with rich deposits of gold, silver, and gemstones as well as some of the finest marble quarries in the world.  Such is the potential profit languishing in Ofir that theCircle State of Deepwater Cut had once engaged in serious talks with dwarves fromMarak Tün about the feasibility of  running a tunnel beneath the Direfangs straight to Othoro.  Like many dreams, the Sunset War put an end to their plans.

History

The forces of Deric Atmar were most prevalent in central and western Xain during the uprisings of AG 1192, the poorer eastern territories having their garrisons depleted to concentrate on the organized and well-equipped rebels to the west.  Deprived of the constant pressure of military presence, the eastern areas of the country experienced a true peasant's revolution.

The lands that would eventually become Amantara and Seliune were the next to rise up and soon Xain found itself pushed on both sides.  Needing men to throw at both fronts, they made their next mistake: conscripting the rugged, independent miners and woodsmen who worked the mountains of their southern-most territories.  Never bothering with anything so showy as a declaration of independence, the inhabitants of Ofir simply melted away and any officials Xain sent into their territory never returned.

Ofir as an entity was only created by a conclave of village leaders so that there was something that leaders from Western Xain and the Amantara/Seliune region would have some way of communicating and coordinating with them.  That conclave proved valuable not only as away of organizing resistance but of providing aid to other regions as the fortunes of war waxed and waned across territory, and it was decided by acclaim that Ofir would continue following the cessation of open hostilities with Xain with Illotte Penquist appointed as the first Duchess of Ofir.

The task nearly ruined her as she could not devote the time she needed to maintaining her own holdings and within a decade she had stepped down and appointed Duke Pelot Slarn with similar results.  In the seventy years since achieving independence, Ofir has gone through eleven rulers, though the twelfth--Borea Griffs--has kept her holdings from falling into ruin by simply not having any, relying on her people to keep a roof over her head and food in her bowl.

Foreign Relations

With the coming of the Reconquest, there can be no doubt that Xain is planning to take back Ofir, though it seems to be saving the obstinate mountain nation for last, its troops building up on the border with Western Xain instead.  Ofir has offered some troops to aid their beleaguered ally, but they can offer no more than a token, as any forces they send must either brave the mountains or try and sneak through Xain itself to help.

With the last of their potential allies in danger of being wiped away, the Ofirin have been approached by a most unexpected source of help: the Empyrean Alliance.  Because of their isolation, Ofir was one of the few nations unable to participate in the Sunset War and the Empyrean leadership hopes that may do something to allay the near-universal vitriol most nations feel towards them while their dire circumstances could convince Ofir to accept entry into the Alliance.