Shirokaneza

Shirokaneza is a large city and territory located on the isles of Zamotz in Onthukhan. Noted for its military prowess, Shirokaneza played a significant role in several conflicts on both Eldham & Rathnir, assisting the Zamotz Union during its rise to power in the process. Currently its domains are a part of the Duchy of Borange, a province of Sylvania.

Etymology
Shirokaneza, or 白金座 in it's native tongue. means "white gold seat". The hieroglyph 白 means white, 金 mean gold, and 座 means seat. It is sometimes also referred to as the "platinum seat", as the first two hieroglyphs form the word "platinum" together. The origin of this name is disputed, but it is said that in ancient times, there was a palace that stood out made of pure quartz and decorated with gold. The palace, alongside most of the city, was said to have been destroyed in a great earthquake. Others historians point out that the origin of the city's name could be attributed to it's wealth, with it's mountains being once ripe with gold and platinum. Nonetheless, in the end, the name "Shirokaneza" symbolizes a once wealthy and prosperous era. However, the town's current inhabitants vow to return it to its former glory. The coffers fill faster than ever before, and the legendary ancient palace is also being rebuilt from the ground. [As the Sagas left behind by the town's former residents predicted, the city will prosper once again in the hands of the new generation, like a Phoenix rising from the ashes.]

Origins
Before the age of great empires, when the world was still very localized without any great empires, the people of Shirokaneza lived in isolation. It's founder, 白月, or Shiro Tsuki in modern Shirokanezan (White Moon/Bright Moon in modern, travelers' speech), claimed descent from the goddess of the moon, a claim which Shirokanezan rulers continue to assert to this day. Eventually, contact was established with a neighboring civilization found at the Silver Cliffs. While the people of the Silver Cliffs lived off the wealth of silver mining from the mountains, Shirokaneza lived off of gold mining. Platinum was also allegedly mined by ancient Shirokanezans, though there is only limited proof that it was ever extracted or even found in the area. Nevertheless, both civilizations quickly befriended each other, frequently trading with one another, with no war ever reportedly breaking out, Over time, the town grew from a mining village into a vast metropolis, with its power peaking under the reign of 白ズン - White Zun. Vast trade networks had been forged with the rest of the island, though no technological prowess had yet crossed the seas. However, on an unknown date, the nearby mountain suddenly and inexplicably erupted into a volcano. Some claim that it was a natural disaster, but most Shirokanezans agree that it was a divine punishment for their vanity. The disaster destroyed the city, and the civilization vanished for centuries. Luckily for the people of Shirokaneza, it was not yet over. As the dust cleared, a tree of life sprung up from the barren wasteland, and resurrected the once ash ridden city. While everything the people had built had been destroyed, every survivor knew their origins, and promised that they would rebuild their beloved city. However, fearing another divine punishment should they live in vanity, the city's wealth was now devoted to the military and infrastructure, rather than each civilian's own living standards. Such a lifestyle quickly evolved into a society built on militarism and honour. “Rojo”, or “old men”, would dominate the bureaucracy.

Reconstruction and Modernization
The tree of life slowly resurrected the barren lands, its folk sporadically woke from their slumber. A fraction of the former elite remained, just one royal. The city's social hierarchy had to be rebuilt from the ground up. A fairer meritocracy was born. Losing their prestigious positions, none of the former aristocrats could risk squabbling over inheritance and status. Reconstruction was the number one priority. Despite progressive reforms, the new regime was unable to inherit its predecessors stability. Though isolation had been fruitful for the local economy, global advancements were virtually unknown to the city's inhabitants. Foreign pirates and corsairs initiated Shirokaneza's first contact with the outside world. The poorly armed civilians were no match to the superior technical prowess of the pirates, who slaughtered all those who opposed them, departing with destruction in their wake. Pirate raids became common as word of this lucrative, poorly defended target spread around Eldham. This hostile environment forced Shirokanezans to adapt and resist the constant pillaging. Fueled by hatred of the foreign bandits, militaristic sentiments became embedded in society. The Shirokanezans' unique fighting prowess was forged out of relentless training to match the pirates' fighting skill. The pirate raids forced the people to change their architectural style. Fueled by lust for revenge, reconstruction of their once proud city accelerated to unprecedented levels. The first defensive work, built by the famous architect Flower_King was created shortly after the first pirate attacks. It consisted of an underground shelter where civilians could hide during a pirate attack. [The complex is still in use to this day, and is one of the city's oldest and most famous builds.] Next, an apartment was constructed to accommodate the city's increasing population, while a great mansion was built by one of the surviving Aristocrats of old, Allurein, to house government officials.

Expansion and Reclamation
With extensive training and defensive works, the city's inhabitants were able to slowly fend off the pillagers. As the number of raids slowly dwindled, the town was able to return to an era of relative peace and stability, allowing architectural projects to resume. Under this newfound tranquility, the town's population also steadily recovered. However, a new enemy emerged for the people, as nature slowly began to encroach on the city. Trees sprouted and grew into forests, taking over old ruins which had not yet been rebuilt. A series of storms also caused the sea levels to rise, swallowing up old coastal regions. The people of Shirokaneza, being squeezed into tighter and tighter living conditions, decided to fight back, and embarked on a great quest of land reclamation. Artificial land was created to push back the sea, and large clear-cutting excavations once again limited the forest's encroachments. After many days of back-breaking work, the town's land mass had nearly doubled. The newly freed up areas allowed for more elaborate structures to be built, such as Roju's Lemon_Shot's manor. An central avenue was also paved to connect the city's inhabitants. Construction also expanded into the mountains. A road was carved out of the mountain side, linking several formerly-disjoint dwellings with the main part of the city. One of Shirokaneza's main cultural icons, the great pagoda of Flower_King, was also built here, high above the clouds. After another millennia of relative isolation, another ship arrived on the horizon, However, unlike the raiders of the past, this ship bore no ill intentions. On it was a man named Tiesdas, who settled in the town and later founded a neighboring village called Dasana, which has since grown into a fully fledged town. For some time, both communities lived in relative harmony for a long time, and would occasionally visit and trade with each other. As the town's civilians spread further across the island, a second settlement was also founded, this time by the people of Shirokaneza, named Mayohiga. Though it never expanded into a full-fledged town, it's geographic location on top of one of the most fertile areas of the island of Zamotz allowed it to act as a breadbasket for the main town. Unfortunately, the land which Mayohiga was built on had a violent history. It's native inhabitants had recently been destroyed by the colonial empire of Viodoxa. The land was now claimed by a migrating tribe, called the Lemurs. The Limurians informed the Viodoxans of Shirokaneza's settlement on the region, an act that kick started a long, albeit bloodless feud between Viodoxia and Shirokaneza. Though the city had dealt with external incursions in the past, it was finally forced to open its doors to external politics and step onto the world stage.

Anti Colonial truggle
Following Viodoxa's discovery of Shirokaneza, a diplomat was dispatched from one of their vassals, the UBSR, to negotiate with the Shirokanezans. The UBSR claimed that the city had been illegally built inside of their sovereign territory, an act they labelled as 'squatting'. In response, Shirokaneza's diplomat, Elkool, shared Shirokaneza's history, claiming that they were not squatters, but rather, the island's native inhabitants. The Viodoxan diplomat dismissed Shirokanezan claims as a sham, citing the disaster from the previous millennia and arguing that it would have surely wiped out any civilization that had resided on the island. Talks soon broke down, as the Viodoxans threatened to invade if the town did not submit to their rule as a autonomous entity. Elkool, the Shirokanezan diplomat, managed to buy some time by dragging on negotiations by repeatedly hinting a supposed willingness to accept the ultimatum without formally acceding to its demands. Though the diplomatic maneuver gave the Shirokanezans enough time to mobilize their defenses, it seemed that war was imminent. However, it was also during this time that an infamous group of bandits arrived to raid Shirokaneza. Led by Welpish, they wished to plunder the city. Shirokaneza's weapons, which had been poised to meet a Viodoxan invasion, were turned towards the Bandits. Though the city managed to repel the raiders, the gang of hoodlums fought with honour, in contrast to previous bandits. As a result, both sides gained a sense of respect for one another, and even formed a brief alliance after the battle. Though it is uncertain whether or not this show of force had any direct impact on Viodoxa's foreign policy, the day after the battle with the bandits, Viodoxa's diplomat retracted their ultimatum, replacing it with a more mild demand: a payment of about 30 000 dollars. The Rojus and the Queen of Shirokaneza on the other hand had different plans as they all knew in what position they were in now with the tables completely turned. However, on the mainland, a great war was brewing, known today as the Coalition war against Bardonia. As a member of the coalition, Viodoxa could no longer afford a war in their Colonial holdings in Eldham. The Roju and the Queen of Shirokaneza also recognized how the tables had turned, and pushed for the town's complete independence while reneging on any payment of reparations. They also demanded that the Viodoxans abandon the island entirely. Facing pressure from both camps, the Viodoxans folded again, agreeing to a full withdrawal from the island of Zamotz. However Viodoxa wished to retain two enclaves on the island, Skingard and Helgin, something the Shirokanezans outright rejected. Meanwhile, in the southeast, the towns of Limuria and Indusia united into a nation, called the Zamotz Union. The union hoped to merge with Shirokaneza as well. They offered equal representation for Shirokaneza by granting them five seats in the Union's Council, to reform their Union from a diarchy to a triumvirate with the Shirokanezan queen White Ren, and to allow the Shirokanezan armed forces to remain independent from that of the Union. With very amicable terms and desperately needing to break its diplomatic isolation, Shirokaneza agreed to the terms offered by the Union. Shirokaneza was soon after formally admitted into the Union as a member state. Now, the Union as a whole backed Shirokaneza's goal of expelling all foreign imperialists from their native lands. Viodoxa later abandoned all of their territorial ambitions on the island of Zamotz and recognized the independence of the Union. On (date?) the last remnants of the colonists had departed, and all former Viodoxan territory was annexed by Shirokaneza, with the exception of Bilbi, which was ceded to the Limurians. Zamotz was now free from foreign ambitions, as the Union consolidated their control over the entire island.

The war of the horse
As one of the conditions of Shirokaneza's accession the Union, the town was able to maintain an independent military, as long as it did not violate any agreement which the Union was binded to. As a result, when one of Shirokaneza's allies called for their support in a dispute over horse theft, it enthusiastically accepted. The dispute soon escalated to all out war, as several nations such as Barbarossa or ETC ( a now defunct trading company that was a part of Bardonia) became involved. However, during the time between the Viodoxan withdrawal and the Horse war, the town had continued to evolve. The town was expanded at a much faster rate, with the realization of several more ambitious projects such as the Shirokaneza Castle by Bob_The_BuiIder and the City Dojo by Allurein. The city treasury was promptly moved into to the more spacious and much more secure castle. The town's thriving economy also allowed it to increase military spending, with its solders being equipped with newer, state-of the-art weapons, as well as many consumables previously unknown to the common footsoldier. After the war began, most nations on the opposing side abstained from participating, granting a huge numerical advantage to Shirokaneza and its (her?) allies. As a result, the few remaining enemy nations were overwhelmed and quickly capitulated. Shirokaneza, with little interest in the war's aftermath, did not participate in peace talks and left negotiations to their allies. However, a major friendly-fire incident with occurred during the war, which would sow an even larger conflict later down the road. Barbossa, a fellow member of the coalition, had their soldiers swap to their bandit tags before the war's end. Shirokanezan scouts were alarmed when they discovered these 'bandits', believing it to be a third party raiding force. As both sides relied on prefixes to distinguish between friend and enemy, the incident quickly escalated as Shirokanezan soldiers attacked their Barbossan counterparts, managing to wound the Barbossan king, Sarlician. Many Barbossan soldiers were also carrying their recently acquired loot, something which quickly became another source of tensions. Barbossa's formal support of piracy did not help to ease tensions, especially when coupled with Shirokaneza's violent and turbulent history with foreign raiders. As a result, relations between Shirokaneza and Barbossa quickly deteriorated, albeit not to the point of war.

Start of the Anti-banditry Organization
With the war over and citizens begining return to their homes, Shirokaneza would continue to only grow in size as time flowed. Nonetheless not everyone was happy. Many people felt banditry was still a global issue and there were many times that the town itself was still attacked by rogue criminals, be it bandits or pirates. Another group of people, the soldiers did not have much to do during peace time as Shirokaneza was a rather militaristic society. The government decided to give people work and security at the same time. Thus, Shirokaneza's infamous anti-banditry force was formed. This force would work with foreign nations and towns to hunt down any vile criminals that may appear. This plan worked to some extent as all the previous issues were solved with waging unethical war, but it quickly gathered enemies such as the Berry bandits and the Barbossans. Peace took a turn for the worse as trouble between a group of bandits from Barbossa and the Shirokanezan anti-bandit group clashed, with the details foggy the truth of what happened is hard to tell but the two nations started raiding each other more and more and this wouldn't stop anytime soon. Another issue from this was a skirmish between Aristios soldiers led by a bandit and Shirokaneza, the anti-bandit unit was ill informed of their allies and ended up in a battle with Aristios that was going down to suppress a town that had an uprising. Winning the battle, they returned back home, but with the government quickly receiving the news of what happened, much had to be salvaged and the soldiers had to give up their loot as it was returned to Aristios with an apology. Luckily the alliance endured and the two only became closer after the skirmish, respecting each other's battle prowess. Despite a handful of setbacks, Shirokaneza's intervention in these helpless towns was still supported by the masses. A couple days after the Skirmish with Aristios, the queen of Shirokaneza, White_ren, was attacked by one of Barbossan pirates, which resulted in two deaths in Barbossan territory. The attack on such a high figure in Shirokaneza prompted a rapid response, one that the Zamotz Union obliged to, as other cities in the nation were also drastically affected by the Barbossan's raids, even if the pirates were unaware of their affiliations at the time. With the war fever in Shirokaneza and all the other towns in the union running high, the council voted to put forward a demand on Barbossa to end all piracy and officially apologize for their transgressions against Zamotz's people. Barbossa, feeling that they were in the right, refused the aforementioned ultimatum, opting to call in their allies, setting the stage for the infamous War of the Black Flag.

War of the Black Flag
The War of the Black Flag was the first of two wars waged against Barbossa that the Zamotz Union was involved in. Led by a small force of roughly 20 Shirokanezans, along with no more than 5 Aristii Mercenaries, the bandit hunters decimated the Pirate lead coalition consisting of Ulfaeng, Simulani, Uraka, Tortuga, Ravenguard, and some berry bandits. This resulted in Barbossa ceasing banditry for about 5 weeks, alongside severe gear losses.

The Goldenvale Incident
The Goldenvale Incident involved the famed bandit hunter, Hanzu, along with the King of Aurum Solis, Jackson Stridder, and a third unnamed Goldenvale citizen. Goldenvale, a city Aurum Solis, had maintained close ties to Barbossa throughout their time as a democracy, and during their return to piracy. As a result, Hanzu suspected they were housing multiple bandits. At the time, the bandit hunter claimed the group had attacked him, despite later evidence seemingly revealed on his own accord disputing that. None the less, Hanzu wiped the small force out, taking the King's crown alongside Stridder's. Later that day, the Roju Blade Olea returned both crowns, as the bandit hunters had no need for them.

The Roju Council's Disappearance, and White_Ren's Death.
On September 21st, 2021, all Roju's in Shirokaneza mysteriously vanished. This left only one, Blade Olea, who was in his study in Hakkinza, remaining. Though no one has ever been able to confirm the events that happened today, Blade Olea had this to say on the situation.

"Though I do not know exactly what happened that day, it is my personal belief that the council gave up their physical manifestation, to enter the Tree of Life's ecosystem, presumably to deal with something unexpected, as the council was not told to assemble on that date. This likely resulted in White_ren giving up her life to save the rest of us, leaving the less experienced Roju to wander around until they could find an exit back into this physical plane."

Roughly twelve hours after their disappearances, Blade Olea returned to Shirokaneza to be appointed as the new leader. One day later, the famed Rojus Elkool and Bananagod returned, with little memory of what happened outside of wandering around the Tree of Life's corridors. Approximately two weeks later, the Roju Zayshi reappeared. His speech was incoherent and slurred, leaving him raving on for 2 more weeks.