Yut

Steeped deep in tradition the people of Yut are deliberate in their actions. The government is a giant bureaucracy, filled with ministers, magistrates, councilors, and other small officials. Process almost strangles progress. Adherence to tradition, though, has some benefits. The monastic schools of learning are acknowledged as the best in the world. The citizens here are vaguely xeno-phobic, and resist incursions of new people and races.

The nation of Yut is so large and terrain so varied that parts of the country do not resemble other parts at all. The western third of the country is a lush place, filled with flowing rivers, rolling plains, and thick tropical jungles. Aseptep, also known as the Twin River City, is situated between two rivers, the Nyas and the Rubis. A great city of commerce, as well as the captial of Yut, Aseptep is a sight to see. The amount of trade that goes on in Aseptep is only rivaled by the southern coastal city of Gila. Situated far enough to the west to nearly be out of the reach of the Pirate Lords to the southeast, Gila benefits from traders from The Oaken Duchies who brave moving their goods overland through Sudash to Gila for shipping out to the rest of Tangia.

Typical Races: Ancients, Humans, Half-Elves, Quan

You should think of...
The nation of Yut is designed to be a mixture of Egyptian and Indian/Hindu inspired names and architecture. The western half is more Egyptian, while the eastern half is more Indian. The western Egyptian has pyramids, obelisks, and generally is what people think of when looking at the height of the Egyptian pharaohs and the Fertile Crescent.

History
Centuries ago, the nation of Yut was two separate nations. The western third of Yut was its own country and was a lush area, full of jungles, cleared farmland, flowing rivers, and a prosperous citizenry. The nation of Mubis was ruled by a royal line of women and took advantage of the bountiful national resources contained within their boundaries. Their relationships with their neighbors were not particularly warm, though. Their good fortune gave them a sense of being favored by the gods, and they looked down at other people who were not as fortunate as they were. Only humans were able to be citizens and an intense xenophobic attitude permeated the populace.



If citizens of other nations were caught within the borders of Mubis, they were captured, and used as slaves. There were even occasional raids into nearby border towns, where entire villages were impressed into slavery. Using this slave labor and the aid of magic, great buildings and monuments were created to honor the line of Empresses of Mubis. Giant pyramids were built on the fertile plains near the great rivers, huge sprawling cities were laid out with beautiful obelisks and monuments spread throughout. Those fortunate to be a citizen of Mubis lived a comfortable life in a picturesque setting.

Nearby nations were left on the outside, looking in at such opulence. The nation that felt the sting of Mubis’ arrogance – as well as the slaving raids – the most was Yut. Much of Yut was made up of mountains and deserts with the only real useful land along the southern coast. The nation was ruled by a large council of twenty one elders made up of Humans, Ancients, and a small number of Half-Elves who had migrated south from Feylaryn. After decades of seeing the slaving raids increase in frequency, they decided to strike back. Raising a large army of Yutian citizens, as well as hiring some orc, razorfiend, and half-orc mercenaries from the deserts in the east, they marched on Mubis.

In their arrogance, the citizenry of Mubis were unprepared for open warfare. It was a surprise to them that anyone would dare to attack them. The Yutian army marched through the eastern portions of Mubis without meeting any resistance. Quickly rousing an army to meet the invaders, Empress Naret moved every available solder to the east to repel the Yutians. The short-sightedness of this action would doom Mubis. Days after the army had left the capital Aseptep, the tens of thousands of slaves throughout the city revolted against their masters. Within a day, the slaves had turned the tables on the citizens of Mubis, taken over the palace of the Empress, and held her captive. Arming themselves with weapons, much of the armed slave mob began to march west, and at each city they arrived at, they freed the slaves there and took control of the town. By the time the army of Mubis reached the invading Yutian army, there was no country left for them to defend. Sensing the inevitable, the commanding general of Mubis finally made a good decision on behalf of his nation, and laid down arms and surrendered.

This entire ‘war’ lasted less than a month and casualties were minimal. The ruling council of Yut knew that they needed to quickly establish their rule over Mubis, and so they moved the seat of their government from Gila to the grand city of Aseptep. Additionally, they expanded the ruling council from twenty one members up to thirty three members.

Unprepared to deal with having such an abundance of resources and proper management, the Ruling Council began to set up numerous Departments and Offices to handle such duties. Magistrates, ministers, adjudicators, chancellors, inspectors, marshals, ombudsmen, and other government officials were assigned to deal with every little detail around management of such a large swath of land. Over time, this evolved into a large bureaucratic web of constant jostling for power and authority. Today, Yut is so gridlocked with intra-government infighting, that nothing much really is ever accomplished. The only real benefit of such ineffectiveness is that Yut has been unable to offend any of the other nations of Tangia, and currently count no one as an enemy.

Government
The Yutian government is a giant bureaucracy. The Ruling Council is made up of thirty three members and any decision regarding national policy requires that twenty two of the members agree. Various departments and offices are responsible for the annual management of different parts of Yutian society. Some of these departments are huge, such as the Department of Magic or Office of Agrarians, and suffer from too many layers of management to accomplish much. Some of the departments are small, such as the Office of Quartz Mining or the Department of Goat Breeders, and have no real power to affect any policies at all. The result is either nothing gets done, or policies and regulations are ignored by the populace.

Aseptep
Aseptep is a huge city set among a series of rivers, immediately between the Nyas and Rubis rivers. The majority of its inhabitants are involved in government work, and it is considered noteworthy for its beautiful central square, lush public gardens, towering obelisks, and series of elaborate fountains.

Gila
This huge city is extremely crowded. It stands near the coast and is mainly constructed of granite. The majority of its income is based on shipping concerns. It is the old capital of Yut, prior to the invasion of Mubis when the capital was moved to Aseptep.

Bura
A small city is size, this city is home to the the great Merdhispura Monastery - also known as the Order of the Quiet Rage.

Yusi
This large, extremely crowded city near the coast is known as a dangerous city. The majority of its inhabitants are involved in the black market – some believe that the Pirate Lord are heavily involved in local trade and use the city as an unofficial trade port. The most prominent feature of the city is its large, imposing bell tower.

Nemti
This is a modest, bustling city built predominantly of brick and defended by a somewhat lackadaisical city guard. It is well known for its massive carved gates. Most of its revenue comes from textiles produced from the cotton produced in the western half of Yut.

Riya
This is a moderate-sized, crowded city built predominantly of sandstone and defended by spiked walls. It is well known for the large Chandi Aqueduct that runs from the mountains to the far northeast. Most of its revenue comes from spices found throughout the desert as well as a set of mines in the nearby sandstone cliffs.

Chandi Aqueduct
The Chandi Aqueduct runs from the mountain range on the eastern edge of Yut all the way to the desert town Riya. Bringing fresh water from the mountains though the plains and into the desert, many villages and settlements can be found along the path of the aqueduct. Without the water from the Chandi Aqueduct, the profitable spice trade of Riya would cease to exist.

Allies & Enemies
Allies: Kinekomu Unikeki

Enemies: Pirate Lords