Oteka Republic

Oteka is an extremely centralized state, with great power in the hands of the Tlakra, the Republican Assembly, and the appointed bureaucratic Administrative Council.

• The Tlakra is the chief executive, with total power over the army and enforcement of the Assembly's laws
• The Republican Assembly is a council of twenty five representatives, with each Assemblyperson representing roughly half a million Otekans. Each Assemblyperson is tied to a particular district, which is adjusted every ten years. The Assembly handles formal lawmaking and judicial appointments.
• The Administrative Council manages most of the country's bureaucratic day-to-day for the Assembly, with members chosen by the Assembly and confirmed by the Tlakra (the Assembly can overcome a Tlakra veto for an appointment with a 3/4th majority).
• The Aziletzen, or state priest, is elected by a special election among Oteka's priests and serves as the head of state religious business and religious appointments. The Aziletzen serves for life.

The Tlakra of Oteka serves for a particularly long term of 16 years; Assembly representatives serve 4-year terms. Members of the Administrative Council serve until dismissed by the Assembly or Tlakra.   Towns and cities can vote for their own mayors, and there are four weak provincial governments that are elected locally. These positions are toothless in the face of the national bureaucracy and government, though they can exercise considerable power in managing affairs delegated to them by the central government. This gives the illusion of strong local government, but keeps all local and regional government leaders on a tight leash. The most important part of this is control over taxation - which is exclusively the domain of the central government. While the regional governments play an important role in tax collection and assessment, the central government keeps tight control over who handles the money, where, and how.   Currently, there are two main political factions known as the Northern Party and the Southern Party. The Northern Party is a coalition of urban elites and merchants in power in the capital city of Totaken, while the Southern party is a rival coalition based in the Southern provinces of Nontechen and Penekel that claims to represent rural voters and less-favored cities.   The current Tlakra is Hozek Kuwenyo of the Northern Party: a quiet and focused politician from an elite merchant clique with connections to the Republic of Zitepec and Republic of Karsitan. Hozek is quite worldly, being a former adventurer of sorts with experience furthering Sunekan interests abroad. They are also very much a child of Totaken who sees that city as the beginning and end of relevant politics. Hozek does not dislike the rural provinces and hopes to strengthen their infrastructure, but sees cities and urban industries and commerce as the basis for serious wealth generation. They generally view the other cities and towns of Oteka as lacking economically and culturally, and hope to encourage the other cities to become more like Totaken for their own benefit. This has alienated even the more moderate Southern Party members, pushing them towards Hozek's primary rival. Adding insult to injury is Hozek's open comingling with foreign elites and acceptance of foreign backing, which has fueled accusations and slander that Hozek is simply a puppet for foreign powers (notably, but not limited to, Zitepec). Since Hozek took power in 2017 ME, they have proven quite capable in matters of trade and military technology (negotiating key deals to supply Sunekans to the South and West), but they made a number of early mistakes in who they placed in charge of Oteka's public school system - leading to underfunded and mismanaged schools, especially in the countryside.   While Hozek's Northern Party controls all three branches of government on paper, their Tlakraship has been hamstrung by a scandal that threatens civil war. Hozek was elected in an emergency election in 2017 after the prior Tlakra, the moderate Itzulo Tsimtutzin, died of a mysterious illness and possibly a curse. Itzulo's ailment and death were extremely mysterious and troubling, and the Southern Party framed Hozek as possibly complicit. When Hozek won the following election, the election was extremely close and troubled by reports of possible voter suppression among the poor (and rural poor in particular). Even worse, the old government of Itzulo has retained control of parts of the Administrative Council and maintains some sway over part of the Assembly. Hozek was only able to even take control of the Tlakra's office a year after their election, in 2018 - when they rejected a second election and took the throne through intrigue, threat of force, and political pressure. This has forced Hozek to fight tooth and nail for basically any power in their own government and has turned routine lawmaking into a war of attrition. The Southern provincial governments, while toothless, have had a year of contested elections and political confusion to build an independent powerbase with the landed cliques - and there is worry among some that they might be preparing for a regional uprising centered around the would-be Tlakra: Hozek's Southern Party rival, Tepenek Yixento.   Tepenek Yixento, self proclaimed Tlakra of Oteka who narrowly lost in 2017, comes from an old agricultural clique in Nontechen with tendrils in Southern industry and trade. Yixento is a hunter, a land manager, and a keeper of exotic beasts - who was played up their fondness for big game hunting as an agrarian down-to-earth spirit. Ironically, they actually rose to prominence in Nontechen for their hand in industrial projects and large-scale irrigation management, and are known as a bit of a hard-nosed traditionalist. Yixento is a wily character, who excels at dirty politics and controlling public narrative.   While the ongoing political crisis hasn't turned violent and all parties seem to be willing to cooperate to keep the country running without violence, this is a government set up in a fundamentally inefficient and broken way. It doesn't need to continue like this, but left on its current path things seem dire.

Oteka has a general reputation for intellectualism, erudition, and individuality (by Sunekan standards). Given that Oteka grants significant social mobility to those who succeed in school, academic virtues tend to be more represented among Oteka's elite and role models. Students are taught to be careful, patience, carefully controlled and logical, and outspoken once they have come to a conclusion - quiet when uncertain but assertive once convinced. This model of behavior resonates with Oteka's urban culture, which rewards many of the same social behaviors. Ironically, this produces quite a few verbose blowhards as well as reserved thinkers, as confident communication and persuasion are rewarded as well as patient learning. Sometimes, people who are observant and reserved in one setting are overconfident and boastful in another - these two groups aren't really mutually exclusive in Oteka. While Otekans generally learn from a young age that it pays to be seen as smart, it is worth noting tha Otekans aren't actually a culture of logical geniuses nor are they on-average smarter than other Sunekans.   Like all Sunekans, Otekans have work and community assignments and are encouraged to understand themselves as parts of a whole. More than other republics, though, Oteka has a fixation on merit-based transfers and continuing education. This means that Otekans are far more likely to transfer between communities and even between trades over the course of a lifetime than other Sunekans, often multiple times. Particiularly skilled youths from the countryside are pulled into the cities, for example, while urbanites who continually fail can slide down and out into rural plantations. This "individualism" is still tempered by an intense network of community support and emphasis on cooperation for most Otekans (though this becomes less true the further up the social ladder one goes).    Urban Otekan culture also likes to dabble in the "sophisticated": it is considered fashionable and good for a person to have complex and abstract political, philosophical, theological, and artistic opinions. This tends to bubble around the robust coffee culture present in Otekan cities, as Otekans go to coffee houses to learn the news, play various social games, and swap interesting opinions. Coffee houses often include free pamphlets and books, and may even have small art galleries or performance venues to encourage visitors to come and mix discussion and entertainment. Some of these opinions can make priests uncomfortable: Otekan cafes can host ideas that would be outright heretical if argued in a more serious and organized way. Generally, the Otekan state keeps these spaces open as long as the speech is understood by all as a form of play. Otekan media is often considered excessively avante-garde by other republics, who mock Otekan cafe culture with a twinge of envy.   Many of these cultural quirks radiate out from the capital city of Totaken - but towns and cities in the Southern region of Nontechen are different. In Nontechen urban culture has many similar elements, but there is a greater emphasis on communalism, patience, self-sacrifice, and open expressions of faith. In Nontechen, joint musical displays - often "spontaneous" in some sense - that emphasis coordination between previously anonymous parties are considered a demonstration of piety, harmony, and shared cultural knowledge. These are considered quite silly in Totaken, serving as ammunition in the ongoing political culture war. Otekans are known for their use of ribbons in clothing and fashion, even casually: they often bind their tunics using colorful ribbons and wear ribbons in their hair as hair sashes. Otekans often incorporate colorful patterns into their blouses and tunics, usually in repeating geometric shapes. Elite Otekans traditionally wore wrapped or netted hats, which push hair upwards in a structure that is often decorated with fabric and/or flowers, often with ornamentation at the front where the wrap meets the forehead. Some hair wraps/hats effectively formed a large tubular tail or braid draping backwards rather than upwards. Spangled turbans are also traditionally common, most famously the scaled turban (which looks like a flowing fish in the wind). These tube/cone wraps and hats are considered antiquated but still valid headwear; Zitepecan cowboy hats or sombreros are currently more fashionable. In the Southern region of Nontechen, the hyper-traditional Embodiment style has been revived: essentially, outfits styled to invoke specific animals.    In terms of food, the capital city of Totaken is very into cosmopolitan hybrid cuisine and coffee. Oteka-style coffee has even emerged as a distinct global coffee style: a spiced coffee with unrefined sugar cane and cinammon (sometimes also including anise or orange, as well as cloves for the more refined), known locally as Totakipo Coffee. Aside from coffee, Totakenos love to mix Sunekan sub-cuisines and bits of foreign taste - especially now that the Selkies have moved into the city with their own globalized cuisine. Selkie chefs making semi-Sunekanized food are currently all the rage in the capital, and poorer selkies from abroad have suddenly found themselves in high demand not as merchants but as cooks.   Traditional Otekan food is certainly alive and well on its own. As a general note on Sunekan food- classic Sunekan food includes tortilla wraps, flatbread wraps, empanada-dumplings, rice balls with fillings, fajitas, and fried wraps, with beans, rice, cheese, and other fillings (often aiming to both human and dryad culinary audiences). Sunekan food prides itself on its ability to have something for everyone, with as little visual difference as possible. It may seem odd to foreign prisms to have their minerals wrapped in a thin flatbread and put in a sauce, but to Sunekans it is a constant visual reinforcement of shared community and connection through food.   Traditional Otekan food plays within those boundaries, but with its own ingredients and condiments. Pumpkin seed dip - similar to guacamole in consistency, and more of a brown-orange color - is common here, as is Black Stuffing (a mix of turkey, pork, and chili peppers soaked in sauces to form a kind of wet barbacoa-like texture). Stuffed Cheese rinds are a quirky local dish (another food-in-a-food, as Sunekan dishes tend to be), and refried tortilla wraps are common. Toasted seeds, nuts, and cocoa beans are all common here. The Southern riverlands tend to have a lot more grilled and griddled foods, while the Northern isthmus tends to mostly use griddles for roasting nuts and beans. Southern towns and villages are known for their large communal pit barbecues, which are a staple of regional culture. Sour atole, a yellow maize-based drink, is common and is served in large amounts during harvests; currently, sweet potato atole (a starchy sweet potato drink) is more popular generally.

Long before Oteka, there was Aknikepru. Aknikepru was the first city of the South Sunekan continent, apart from the cities of the Sunekan heartlands to the North. Aknikepru seems to have slowly emerged in the early Divine Era, but only materialized as a grand city of legend in the -300s DE. During its hayday, Aknikepru was said to be a city of riches and wonders, with streets paved with gold and spirits bound to the service of its leaders. Those legends are fiction but suggest a very real reputation for abundance in the ancient world, which has left Aknikepru as a symbol of ancient wealth as well as over-indulgence and decadence. The ancient city, which once stood at the same narrow point of the isthmus that Oteka's modern capital now stands, relied on a very simple trick to grow so very rich: it served as a middleman between the two large coral reefs on either side of the isthmus. These reefs, Sowosram and Obwaram, remain major undersea political and economic centers.   For all its great wealth, Aknikepru was not an expansionist empire or domineering political force; its laws were famously lax and open and its leaders were more concerned with taxing trade and movement than imposing any religion, culture, or political order. While many legends frame Aknikepru's downfall as a result of moral decline, the city actually began its decline due to a series of hurricanes, floods, and resulting plagues in the early Modern Era. The city's leadership struggled to rally against these disasters and instead splintered; groups of elites formed their own adjacent suburb-towns as Aknikepru's population declined, and the city turned into a politically decentralized urban sprawl. Other elites from Aknikepru fled further afield, to form their own trade networks while their relatives remained in the sprawl. These merchant dynasties energized the economies of the surrounding regions, leading to the rise of new kingdoms - particularly the Linmatotava, or Shrine-Princedoms, to the South of Aknikepru. The Linmatotava were city-states based around major shrines to each of the great kinds of Ruxa, or land spirit. These spirit-cults proliferated across the trade networks and had become a major religious and political force in Aknikepru itself by 250 ME.   Parallel to the Ruxa-cults, powerful dynasties were beginning to fight for total control of the riverlands South of Aknikepru - a conflict that spread to the urban sprawl itself in the 300s. The suburbs of Aknikepru fell into terrible civil war, and the old royal family led the pre-Ruxa-cult priests and pacificists off into the West to find a new home in exile. These exiles landed on the island of Taratlada and built their own kingdom there, conquering the local peoples. Meanwhile, Aknikepru was unifying under a new military regime: a dual-government led by a military high commander and a religious First Speaker. The southern riverlands, home to the Ruxa cults, entered cycles of periodic war between the twelve great clans who divided the lands between them. Around 390 ME, Aknikepru marched South to conquer the Linmatotava - leading to the twelve clans uniting under Queen Kiochan ("lion woman") to repel them. The Linmatotava-Aknikepru balance shifted over the 400s in phases of war and peace, but neither side ever held total power over the other. In 492 ME, at the height of Aknikepru's power, the kingdom was taken over by the assassin Amati. Amati was not particularly interested in governing, but did want a grand empire (and the wealth and power that goes with one) - so he installed an expansionist military regime in Aknikepru to better grow him one. Much of Amati's time was spent venturing North, to try and maintain control in his other loosely-held states, but Aknikepru was Amati's favorite refuge and vacation spot: a fallback spot to hide in between crises. To better allow for Amati's luxuries to be transported South, new roads and settled territories were established connecting Oteka to the Sunekan heartlands. Sunekan language, culture, and religion from the heartlands mixed with the traditions of Aknikepru (and, by extension, the Ruxa cult). The new wealth from the North also helped fuel relentless expansion South - first over the Linmatotava, then into the jungles and savannah further South. Only the exile-kings of Taratlada were able to resist.   In 530, after some forty years of expansion and catering to the whims of the tyrant Amati, a ghostly army led by the Ghost-King Yezok attacked the city, destroyed the old palatial center, and killed Amati. The ghosts slaughtered Amati's court and brought the kingdom to heel under the new Ghost-King. Yezok recruited a grand army from Oteka and marched North, back to his homelands to reconquer the haphazard empire Amati had built. Yezok left behind a ghostly lieutenant, Zizilen, to rule while Yezok was away from a new palace-town called Totaken. Zizilen was an ancient ghost, skilled and powerful but deeply unstable. After Yezok was away for a decade, Zizilen abandoned the Regent's Palace for Aknikepru, took Amati's throne, and even possessed a Dryad body he claimed was Amati's. Zizilen began to assemble a host of Lunar Cults who competed for his favor and would fight for control of the government whenever Zizilen vanished to go find more ghosts to subjugate. Zizilen built his own ghostly army and began experimenting with trying to bend the Ruxa and Gluttonmaws to his will; while smaller than Yezok's Zizilen's forces included a large number of ghostly cephapeople that he used to wage a shadow war against the reefs surrounding the kingdom. After installing his ghosts in the great reefs, Zizilen was finally able to lead Oteka to conquer the exile-island of Taratlada; his own empire was rising. When Yezok returned some two decades later the regent refused to accept him back. Yezok was not pleased with Zizilen's disloyalty. A brief war followed, won by Yezok - who inherited Zizilen's manic empire-building. The old city of Akrikepru was broken apart and used to build Yezok's new city of Totaken (which remains Oteka's capital to this day) and the realm was renamed 'Oteka' after the Octopi that made the isthmus so rich.   From 560 to 605 ME, Yezok reigned. The Ghost Emperor adopted many parts of Otekan culture he found admirable into the Imperial Code: government-funded public schools, an emphasis on rationally modeling the observable universe, the veneration of the Ruxa as guardian spirits. At the same time, Yezok viciously attacked many local cultural elements he considered 'decadent' (and which he associated with Amati): materialism, individualism, intense commercial competition, a focus on inheritance, and kinship networks as a basis for society. Yezok also viciously persecuted the Lunar Cults, breaking their independence and placing them below the Ruxa in his new cosmology. Rebellions were numerous, but the ghosts crushed them mercilessly and innovated new ways to break down the essential blocks of Otekan family and community culture. Yezok, over the decades, succumbed to the same obsessiveness and detachment from reality that Zizilen had. In 605 ME, after decades of rule, the Ghost Emperor was exorcised and his Empire began to crumble into pieces. Oteka would remain one of them, now independent of the rest. No Elector was more bitter about the exorcism of Yezok than Oteka; not even the Yezok-loving aristocrats of Atupan or Yezok's formal successors in Tuzek. Even when those other elites argued in favor of continuing Yezok's policies, few of them disagreed that at least many of the ghosts that Yezok had given power to needed to be either exorcised or gently retired. These other electors may have tried to restrain the Exorcist's Guild at times to spare specific ghosts, but they generally accepted the exorcists as a part of the Sunekan priesthood. Oteka's governor raged at the Exorcists instead and worked to relentlessly persecute them; it was made illegal to even speak or write the name of a ghost to make cooperating with them more difficult and Exorcists were hunted down for execution. The exorcists managed to take out many of Oteka's prominent ghosts, but ghosts remained in government in Oteka until 828 ME (the same year that the exorcist persecution ended). While the numbers of ghosts were wittled down over the centuries, Oteka's ghost assassins (the Nameless) remained a fearsome force into the 810s. Oteka's desperate desire to ritually resurrect Yezok's ghost and their war with the exorcists made them the odd elector out - they were always considered dangerous and unstable by the other four electors (Tuzek, Gwalan, Atupan, and Tuweska).   While the other Electors mostly focused on their own lands, Oteka continued Yezok's endless expansion South. They also continued promoting the Ruxa cult and went so far as to capture as many Ruxa as possible to bring them North to the Sacred Assembly in Tuzek. But, over the 700s, the expansionism, ghostly tantrums, and diplomatic isolation all took a growing toll on the Spiritual Regency of Oteka. When the Great Regent finally agreed to retire their ghosts, end the expansion, and warm relations with the North, a conservative palace coup threw the kingdom into chaos. From 829 to 891 ME, various factions paraded through the government of Oteka while the conquered lands to the South grew more autonomous and unruly. In 891 ME Talatzin the Fair finally seized total control, created a vast bureaucracy to restabilize the empire, and declared themselves the Living Regent of Yezok.   The 'Second Regency' of Talatzin was an imperfect solution itself, that virtually lost all power over the Southmost realms and struggled with a slew of internal contradictions. This Second Regency briefly crescendoed in the 940s ME, before the kingdom went bankrupt in 960 and faced a theocratic-republican rebellion in 966. Civil war split Oteka, more vicious than the flickering chaos of the 800s. A group of Southern "barbarians", a mix of semi-Sunekan tribes angry with Oteka's centralizing efforts and a non-Sunekan coalition, united under a man named Chasubibax the Stormspeaker to invade their great enemy to the North. Chasubibax, a paladin who swore that he would take control of the Suneka and return all the captive Ruxa, seized the capital city of Totaken before he eventually realized the vastness of his potential foes. Instead of attacking all the Suneka, Chasubibax crowned himself King of Oteka in 997 and swore he would bring harmony through co-existence. This began the 'Reign of Barbarians': a period of dynastic rule under Chasubibax's family, when Oteka left the Sunekan fold to go its own way as a kingdom for all who fight for the spirits. The Reign of Barbarians lasted from 997 to 1034. While remembered in Sunekan histories as a time of immorality, turmoil, chaos, and slaughter, it was really not that different from the Second Regency period that preceded it. The children of Chasubibax did increasingly sponsor a hereditary landed noble class, though, which took only a few decades to outstrip the previous cliques in exploitativeness. While the old regime was certainly exploitative and imperfect, many Sunekans openly yearned for its return by 1034. At the same time, this period saw the flourishing of non-Sunekan cultures and once-limited cultural expression, with a boom in poetic and artistic creativity. Bad for some and good for others, the Reign of Barbarians did not make it forty years before the Sunekans reacted. In 1034 a Vesper priest from the North named Gwanalo Yuxo took control of protests-turned-riots in the capital to sweep into the imperial palace and capture the barbarian king Yarbanya the Youth; a riot that soon became a revolution. This became known as the Armed Revival, and it involved several years of sustained conflict against the landed nobility the Barbarian dynasty had installed. The Armed Revivalists prevailed and created the First Otekan Republic, also known as the Reign of Order.   The Reign of Order was a time of inward-looking reconstruction and reformation in Oteka. The Republic re-entered the Sacred Assembly as an elector, but otherwise avoided foreign entanglements. The old Southern empire was left to self-govern, and while the Republic supported these new Sunekan republics at times against their pagan neighbors, there was no serious attempt to annex other Sunekans. Gwanalo, first Tlakra of Oteka, preached that only internal harmony could create stability - and to that end, prioritized bureaucracy-building and local Sunekanization. The far-journeyed Vesper, who was an acolyte of Orchid of Blue, also brought his own teachings and beliefs into the mix. Some thirty years prior (just a small time after Chasuibax), the Lunar Gods fell into madness for unknown reasons. The Gods had been slipping for a long time, but in the 1000s they seemed to rapidly be acting in out-of-character ways - each God embracing a different extreme. It would take several centuries for the Gods to pull themselves out of this downward spiral (which later became known as the Millennial Mania), but even by 1034 it was in motion. Orchid of Blue's particular excess was simply skeptecism and the rejection of the past - hardly the most irrational or extreme tendency, but certainly one reflected and embraced by the Reign of Order. Gwanalo didn't just burn the art of the Barbarian period; he set about destroying historical art, artifacts, and historical documents to try and wipe the slate clean. Yezok had preserved the great Aknikepran archives and the regimes here had kept one of the most thorough accounts of ancient history of anywhere in the world, particularly accounts untarnished by Lunar or divine meddling - but those were all destroyed. Orchid also advised Gwanalo and their priests to wage war on 'False Beliefs' from the Lunar Gods: particularly any mention of The Architects and any Lunar Cult material. Priestly skeptecism of explicit Lunar Cults was already well-established by the sins of ancient Zizilen and the recent Chasubibax, but Gwanalo created a standardized legal code for determining what a Lunar Cult was and for punishing such groups or texts. Oteka's efforts to purge The Architects from Sunekan belief as "disorder" linked to individual-worship linked up with other Orchidians across the continent; by 1300, there was an active hostility to Architect-worship in the Suneka as a kind of 'religious monarchism.' That hostility has long since faded, of course, though some in modern Oteka keep Gwanalo's beliefs alive with pride. To most Otekans, Gwanalo's purges were unimportant compared to the land redistribution from the aristocrats, which was managed by a fairly communalistic bureaucratic system in ways that benefitted local communities. While historians cried out as their profession was banned, many were re-educated as other academics and reabsorbed into Gwanalo's generally robust intelligensia, leaving behind only a few mutterings of half-hearted outrage.   From 1034 to 1092, the Reign of Order built, redistributed, purged, and reformed. And then, from 1092 to 1104, a series of wars came to Oteka: the Great Lunacy. For Orchid was not the only Lunar Spirit preaching revival. In the far South, in disordered lands, a Solar who was born with innate knowledge of the secret language of The Chimera - one of many random people blessed with this knowledge over the centuries - had been identified. This Solar, named Leucocholy (their name, in solar fashion, being a specific feeling of trivial preoccupation), had been born in Samvara but traveled far to avoid scrutiny; they were simply fascinated with taxidermy and animal biology. They had come to South Suneka to live among the Ruxa and learn of their rarer types. Leucocholy crossed paths with a youth named Wovuulcha, who had strange visions and episodes and was known for her unusually good relationship with the Ruxa. The friendship between Leucocholy and Wovuulcha was noticed by Jade Atharzen, Lunar Goddess of Order, whose own growing obsession was with the idea that The Architects had been reborn into mortal bodies to fight an apocalyptic war of good and evil. Jade had been quietly following Leucocholy for decades (suspecting they were The Chimera), and Wovuulcha matched Jade's expectations for Halcyon. Jade began feverishly searching for other potential Architects in the area and identified Mibuyopim (a comedian, warlock, and storyteller with a fondness for masks) and Tembestar (an elusive, brooding, and magically skilled cat blessed by the Cat Heavens and who carried multiple lives even after their clan was slaughtered) as convincing candidates. Jade lured the four together, quietly seeded a quest for them to unite the local polities, and then began selling them as the Architects to the rest of the Pantheon. While many immortals were not convinced, Jade was able to mobilize substantial resources for their cause - and within a few years, their small ragtag group of nature-lovers were the figureheads of a grand movement to unite the lands South of the Suneka and to conquer the Suneka.   This movement was unorganized, confused, and poorly managed, and struggled with the fact that several of the supposed-Gods actively rejected their role and kept trying to run away. Still, the armies of heaven marched against Oteka, eager to bring Gods to the Godless. The Otekans rallied their fellow Sunekans to their cause and stood firm - and the Southerners fell upon them like wave after wave in an ocean storm. The Southern armies were suicidally overconfident, underprepared, and lacked coordination. After the first few defeats, Southern warriors preferred not to attack Oteka and the war became largely a game between a handful of powerful magically-empowered foreigners and the Sunekan armies. Even in such a state, these forces posed a serious threat to Oteka; it is likely that the kingdom would have fallen if it weren't for the intervention of immortals seeking to contain these forces (notably Haru). Sometimes, these powerful warriors slipped past the armies and wreacked havoc in the North, but without the logistics for real armies they could not do more than pillage and terrorize. In 1104, Wovuulcha snuck into the city of Totaken and gave a speech to inspire a grand universal revolution; her group clashed with other crowds, she was arrested by a city mob, and she was quickly executed. With her death, the other "Gods" slipped away, the Immortals called their most valuable warriors back, and the Southern kings turned their back on Jade's cause to try and consolidate their conquered lands. The Gods and Immortals wrote it off as a failed experiment and pivoted to prospects elsewhere. The Sunekan defenders, unaware of how close they had been to total annihilation by some of their stronger foes, celebrated at having defeated the entire Lunar Pantheon and turned Wovuulcha's pickled head into a state relic.   Why spend so much time on the Lunacy, its prior context, and its fallout? The Lunacy was a pivotal moment in Otekan identity building and Sunekan theological construction, as the Lunar Gods and Architects were associated with weakness, delusion, and disorder (though not to the extent of demonizing them outright - and with the notable exceptions of Haru and Orchid). It created a series of prominent South-of-Suneka states with their own vibrant religious traditions, who would continue to fight with South Sunekans for centuries (and who continue to skirmish with Sunekans in the far South to this day). The debacle also served as "proof" to some immortals that the Architects were never going to return; it is also worth noting that these were not the only people "discovered" as the Architects (Leucocholy spent much of their life getting sucked into some immortal scheme or another, and was part of no fewer than three "revealed" God-squads). But, most notably, the high drama of the Otekan Lunacy created a mythology around Oteka that many participants carried with them after they returned to their homelands post-Lunacy. In particular, elites in the Empire of Runeva brought home legends of Oteka as a corrupted divine stronghold; the burning of the archives was taken as proof that Totakem was hiding some grand secret (akin to Asalay) - likely some kind of heavenly weapon. These legends would only grow over time, as the stories of Oteka absorbed the other legends started by various Jade-sponsored misadventures. This legend would later attract immortals to Oteka at a disporportionate rate, and would even merge with conspiracy theories among the more divinely-invested. Oteka is burdened with these beliefs to this day.   After the Great Lunacy ended, the elites of Oteka embraced a radical and imperialist brand of Sunekan religion - beginning what was branded the Reign of Zeal. This period, which lasted from 1104 to 1141, saw a number of disastrous military expeditions, radical political reforms, and purges of 'cultural deviancy'. The failures of the Reign of Zeal led to a coup and stabilizing reforms in 1141 - more emphasis was placed on elections and electoral stability and power was placed in the hands of the Aquatic Kata Cult. Under this new direction, Oteka slowly became more stable, but also more technocratic and elitist. In many ways, the republic returned to its roots as a commercial republic, with a focus on coin, knowledge, and the seas. The 1200s were a century of stability, economic success, and growing inequality. Increasingly, Oteka was buffered from any avenues for expansion - the republics of Deteyan and Ruwatl to the Southwest and Southeast handled most of the imperialism. But, over time, Oteka's politics became factionalized and divided; wealth hoarding only increased as a result. When the neighboring Republic of Zitepec to the North had a 'Model Revolution' and wave of idealistic reforms in 1330 ME, the politics of revolution struck a chord with many in Oteka.   In 1341, skirmishing between merchant-dynasties led to a scandalous court case; when the court's ruling failed to translate to meaningful reform, it became clear that the bureaucracy had become corrupt and that democracy had ceased to function. The New Idealism movement, formed a decade prior and inspired by events in Zitepec, which called for greater democratic representation, land reform, and total legal equality for all Sunekan people. The New Idealism movement caught on like wildfire in the capital and infected the bureaucracy, leading to armed conflict with landowning cliques and merchant houses. As part of this movement, communities in the capital city of Totaken even opened their own Spiritual Assembly of All Suneka for republics in the South; one still existed back in the North, but this one was weak and largely existed to coordinate loca priest groups.   While the civil contests of ideas and factions broke out from 1341 to 1371, Oteka was afflicted by a familiar scourge: the retinues of meddlesome Immortals. First was Judgment-of-God, a Solar blessed by Suwota who was interested in the Head of Wovuulcha, the Great Lunacy of the 1100s, and the growing legends around Totaken. Judgment found the city curious and made a home there - and soon they weren't the only divine agent. Paladins of many stripes arrived, interested in what Judgment may have found - and also interested in potentially using this new Sunekan Assembly and Idealism movement to bring the Suneka under the influence of their patrons. Agents of the newly-freed Mavara poured in, desperate for answers and for potential weapons for their master to better defend herself. These agents provoked an ancient and increasingly-delusional Elder Leviathan named Elder Night to invade the Eastern reefs of Oteka and to try and flood the region with agents and warlocks. Other Leviathans, alarmed and intrigued, followed suit. Multiple Lunar Gods and Immortals, interested in covering for their own schemes, fabricated evidence of powerful weapons, treasures, and secrets in Totaken. The situation compounded itself. Most of these powerful figures were not interested in total political control and avoided outright violence, but they did build spy networks. In 1371, someone took things too far and was caught teaching the local priests Alchemy in exchange for political support - with eventual plans to seize the whole government. Judgment and the Runeva acted quickly to acquire both Alchemy and government control. Leviathans flooded into the seas, spies and agents fought, and the city caught aflame in what had been termed the Plague of Plots. The Plague of Plots ended when Haru personally intervened on the side of a group of Idealists and seized total control of the city and government. The government rallied with Haru and those agents who were willing to surrender, and the coalition turned to attack Elder Night - almost killing the Leviathan (and validating its paranoia). Haru left behind a steward, named Reluctance, who organized a Divine Embassy in Totaken for various agents and representatives to be limited to.   Reluctance was instructed to insulate Oteka from foreign divine interference, but Reluctance had their own biases and assumptions that they carried with them. The blessed steward was an Ayshan with a strong belief in what we might call scientific rationality and individualist skepticism. While Reluctance didn't intentionally propogate these ideas, they eventually infused a group of Haru-aligned New Idealists anyways. These became known as the Illuminated Idealists, and would only grow in influence and intellectual sophistication over time. The Idealist government that emerged after 1371 was soon divided between the Conservatives, the Harmonious Idealists, and the Illuminated Idealists. The Harmonious Idealists held the government at first, but their efforts at land reform soon had difficulties in the execution. Failures of reform spawned resentment, and the Illuminated Idealists gained sudden ground and won the 1415 election. The Illuminated Tlakra of 1415 made great promises, but their efforts at reform looked eerily similar to heresy. When the Tlakra died in 1433, the conservatives won the next election and began a vigorous lashback. The new Tlakra immediately set to work to suppress the other factions and hold onto power at any cost, and Oteka was essentially a conservative one-party dictatorship from 1433 to 1488. The conservatives sought to connect themselves to other Sunekan republics, to normalize their rule and slowly 'purge the heresy' of these movements. In 1455, for example, Oteka entered a military partnership with the Republic of Atupan and launched a joint occupation of Republic of Zitepec to suppress Sunekan military populism. In 1488, the Idealists demanded an election and launched their own "Armed Revival" against the government. A carousel of regimes followed. Idealists fell to Military Populists. Orthodox centrists then took power by force. Then, the Southern heathen kingdoms launched an invasion, the Orthodox centrists empowered a foreign mercenary with military control to suppress the invasion, and said mercenary coup'ed the government after returning victorious. In 1495, the carousel ended when Atupan arrested the mercenary and invaded Oteka as a "stabilizing intervention".   Oteka fought for its sovereignty, but failed. From 1500 to 1721, Oteka was a province under the Republic of Atupan. The realm was quickly divided between Atuperan elites, who ruled like feudal lords and basically acted as a foreign ruling class over the lands and wealth of Oteka. Otekan rebellions repeatedly challenged this new order and lost. The new elites de-incentivized urban living and used forced population transfer (under the guise of cultural Sunekanization) to break apart political resistance; people were moved to the countryside and labored under new masters. Oteka was a nation subjugated for a century - the 1500s were a century of exploitation and resistance to it. But when the Great Sunekan Revolutions spread across the continent from 1600 to 1620, local community resistance intensified. An army of rebels gathered at Totaken, led by the Kata Cult and priests, and demanded reform. Atupan faced threats within and without at the time, and ultimately gave them their reforms - Oteka became a "subsidiary republic" with its own government underneath Atupan. The fighting continued for much of the 1600s, but on a local level, in bursts between local communities and local ownership-cliques. By 1721, Oteka had settled into a stable status quo: not "fixed" of inequality, but with social mobility somewhat restored, urbanization back on the rise, and political participation increasing.   In 1721, Atupan collapsed into a brutal civil war. Oteka fought to secede. Ultimately, it won. And, from 1750 to 1870, the country flourished. Trade soared even as the reefs struggled in political decline. When both reefs entered civil wars in the late 1700s, Oteka mobilized to aid their underwater allies. When the reefs restabilized in the 1800s, Oteka began investing in both Underwater Sunekanization and major water-oriented infrastructure projects: most notably the Great Totaken Canal. This canal required immense effort and attracted labor and investment from across the continent - without growing productivity from the Gatrev March and financial backing from institutions in the Republic of Matayan, it would likely have failed. But, despite everything, the isthmus was rebuilt into a series of huge mechanically-controlled canals that used water locks to allow for ships and aquatic convoys to move through. The canal took almost 30 years to build, but absolutely electrified Oteka's economy. At the same time, aquatic-terrestrial communication hubs were built to allow for easier trade, communication, and interfacing between the surface and reef worlds. Oteka's government began to entangle itself with the reef governments - forming a grand union known as Sonoko, the Suneka of the sea. Money, power, and investment began to flow into Totaken and Totaken alone. Universities rivalling even those of the Republic of Akatlan emerged. The old rural structures of exploitation, with old roots that were bolstered by Atupan, intensified during and after the canal project. But the promise of prosperity, technology, and reform kept the countryside in line; eventually, everyone who reap the prosperity that had been sown.   Timid efforts at reforming that troubled urban-rural relationship were dashed entirely by the Great Esamite Invasion of the Suneka by the Empire of Calazen in 1870. It was a massive, brutal, continental war that raged for thirty long years from 1870 to 1900. All of the Suneka came together to fight the monarchist invaders. In Oteka, power further centralized into the hands of the few, and the provincial governments were reformed and re-mapped to better allow for military resource extraction - at the cost of local social mobility. Oteka's navy was critical for the control of the coasts and for supplying Sunekan forces, while Otekan engineers perfected the alliance's artillery and firearms to more reliably punch through their heavily-armored enemies. When Oteka emerged from the war in 1900, the country was semi-industrialized, politically prominent, and essentially a military dictatorship. And while power was ceremonially put down when peace was signed, the government remained deeply hostile to any dissent for decades. Efforts to stop the next century of unrest were brushed aside; the golden age of Oteka was over.   From 1890 to 1910, returning Otekan veterans from the Esamite Wars organized in the countryside and couched their demands for better conditions in the language of veterancy. The government ignored these demands and veteran-led local petitions turned into militias instead. Rural landowning cliques who felt dissatisfied under the current regime eagerly embraced a rural-verus-urban framing to the conflict and supported the militias as vehicles for their own government power. Over the 1910s, a prominent merchant named Sanapen Atachanun began organizing a broad coalition of anti-government groups in the Southern riverlands in the hopes of winning more autonomy (and wealth for the Southern elites). In 1920, this standoff escalated into arrests, riots, and clashes between the two groups and civil war seemed like a distinct possibility. Then, the Republic of Zitepec launched a coup in Totaken and took all factions off guard. Zitepec granted some autonomy to the Southerners but also increased the application of force - deploying a full army of mixed Zitepecan-Otekan soldiers to the Southern riverlands. By 1950, the revolt had lost much of its leadership and willpower and the army withdrew. Southern anti-government sentiment remains strong but is relatively docile as a result of the occupation.   The Zitepecan regime was not a formal annexation by Zitepec, but it was a new military dictatorship even less accountable than the old one. Where the old Oteka was fairly patient with dissent and mostly committed crimes of apathy and neglect, the new regime treated every critique like a declaration of rebellion. Oteka's cities, always a hotbed of intellectual debate and discourse, reacted with outrage and drew international attention to this excessive force and turned the new regime into a continental laughingstock. The late 1940s through 1960 saw the new regime ease its restrictions due to public pressure and internal bureaucratic resistance. But the assassination of a notable minister in 1962 led to a quick return to punitive violence and civil unrest. This second round of repressions were poorly executed and provoked criticisms even from regime insiders - forcing the puppet-Tlakra to require direct financial and military interventions from Zitepec. The arrival of a Zitepecan army in 1969 was countered by a rival expedition from the Republic of Atupan invited by a rival politician; after a near-war and standoff, the two armies both returned to their home countries. Zitepec was less and less willing to throw lives and money away to control their puppet, and over the next decade their grip on Oteka wavered. In 1983, the Zitepeca-aligned Tlakra died and an opposition Tlakra was elected, ending the puppet government once and for all. The withdrawal of Zitepec from Otekan politics has neither meant a return to stability nor an end to foreign influence. Regional tensions continue to dominate Otekan politics, and foreign powers continue to meddle (now more subtly). Totaken continues to carry excessive influence that the Southern riverlands elites resent - indeed, Totaken has actually become wealthier and more important since 1920. In the late 1970s, the Darzan University brokered an agreement of cooperation with the Monks of Kata and opened a jointly-operated monastic school in Totaken that has become increasingly important for magical training and connected to global teleportation-circle networks. In the 2010s, the Selkie Khilaia arrived in full force and brokered a formal trade coordination agreement with the Republic that based selkie operations there in Totaken. Each new prosperous deal has enhanced the capital city's power while also introducing new foreign elites - including ones with foreign cultures and dangerous new ideas. Totaken has become a global city, and the Southern riverlands have reacted by positioning themselves as the true and pious Sunekans left behind. This positioning has been very successful in the culture war, allowing rural and Southern-urban dissenters to claim religious orthodoxy and patriotism while they demand their share of the wealth and power.   Politics since 1983 has largely revolved around this culture war. The last century and a half of politics also planted the seeds of an increasingly powerful executive branch, and the Tlakra of Oteka has steadily grown in strength. One Prism in particular played a large role in that growth: Tlakra Texo Setepotatzin. Tlakra Texo was the original opposition Tlakra elected in 1983, who rallied the factions of Oteka to oust Zitepec from power. Texo was very well-liked, hailing from a relatively humble background in the Craft Communes (though that humility was often exaggerated by allies and enemies alike) and having mastered both magic and politics through grit and determination; they were particularly good at manuevering matters of trade, budgeting, and administration. Tlakra Texo was, however, deeply invested in expanding their own personal and political power and worked to connect themselves with powerful figures from distant lands. While Texo was a bipartisan sweetheart during the 1980s, they became increasingly controversial for their free-trade policies and easing of social laws (intended to attract foreigners to Totaken). By their-reelection in 1999, Texo was pushing their executive powers to overrule the national assembly. After Texo won that second election, politics became quite tense. In 2004, Texo died in office and an emergency election was held for the new Tlakra.   The 2004 election was deeply divisive and enflamed regional rivalries. Itzulo Tsimtutzin, a member of the agrarian Tsimtutzin clique that supplied food to Totaken, won that election by framing themselves as Texo's successor - campaigning as a staunch urbanite in the North and a much more moderate farmers-first candidate in the South. Itzulo was revealed to have received electoral support and money from actors in Atupan and Zitepec, and allowed armies from both those countries to open "guest bases" in Oteka, provoking accusations of foreign espionage and election fraud. Itzulo's reign was fairly middle-of-the road, and they prided themselves as "above" the regional squabbles of the country. Rural elites increasingly came to back them; after repeated embezzlement scandals, it seemed like Itzulo might be considering a "party switch" of sorts for their next election in 2020. Whatever they were planning, it was cut suddenly short in 2015 ME when they were afflicted with a mysterious ailment. Despite access to magical healing, Itzulo did not recover but steadily grew worse for two years. Disturbingly, this affliction seemed to be accompanied by some kind of magical effect but the precise origin or nature of this magic was not identified before Itzulo finally succumbed to it in 2017. Whether it was a curse, a benign magical effect obscuring some kind of alternative method of attack, or something else entirely, the Tlakra died slowly and surely. And while Itzulo died, two candidates had plenty of time to marshal resources to replace them: an urbanite candidate named Hozek Kuwenyo and a Southern rural candidate named Tepenek Yixento. Unlike Itzulo's more moderate (if disingenuous) approach, both candidates fully leaned into their respective sides of the culture war.   The 2017 emergency election ended with a very slim victory for Hozek, which was immediately contested by Tepenek. Southern politicians backed Tepenek and declared that they were the legal victor. The government of Itzulo, which remained in power for a full year after the election and death of the actual Tlakra, has refused to fully cede power to Hozek (or Tepenek) until the situation is resolved and possibly until a second election. The Keepers of Olkum have rallied a segment of the priesthood to keep the peace while they investigate the death of the Tlakra and potential electoral issues. The Keepers walk a very difficult line, though: they are sworn to avoid direct political involvement. And while the situation is on pause and the government is functional, the republics of Zitepec and Atupan can smell blood and are interested in potentially expanding their wealth and influence.   And while things wait, anti-foreign organizations have started to become more active; conspiracy theories blaming the deaths of Tlakras Itzulo and Texo on non-Sunekans such as foreign mages, adventurers, merchants, and even Selkies have proliferated, and some people have lashed out at the most vulnerable foreigners.

13 million humanoids live in Oteka. 5 million live in the Northern isthmus, 7 million live in the Southern regions, and 1 million live in the islands and other parts of the country.   The population is roughly 35% Dryads, 30% Humans, 20% Hybrids, 10% Prisms, 5% Other.

Oteka is composed of two main parts: the Northern isthmus (and surrounding islands) and Southern forests. These regions include:  

1. Nukupri is a tropical forested isthmus, that is heavily populated and developed. At its thinnest point, the isthmus is less than 30 miles across - but is 60 miles across on average. Nukupri isa hub of commerce, with plenty of agriculture as well. The city of Totaken and other urban centers dominate politics and economics in this region
2. Taratlada is the largest island in Oteka, 43 by 25 miles across. A wealthy commercial island with very close connections to aquatic realms and large cash crop estates.
3. Penekel is a tropical forested region, known as the hinterlands of the isthmus. This region is highly agricultural and thoroughly controlled by Totaken's elites. Penekel is known for its marshes and heavy wet-season rainfall.
4. Nontechen is heavily populated, fairly wealthy, and more mild in climate. The ancient temple-cities along the river are known for their beauty and devotion to patron spirits; the surrounding lands are rich with maize. Nontechen is the center of political opposition to the urban elites in Totaken, despite the local cities similarly having a large economic advantage over their countryside as well. 

Oteka's military is under the dual command of the Tlakra and the Minister of Defense (a position on the Administrative Council, often occupied by a general or admiral). Oteka's military is fairly centralized and bureaucratic and very much seeks to elevate officers based on a combination of merit and education (though, with no major wars, education tends to take priority). Oteka's military bureaucracy loosely mirrors those of the Republic of Tuzek and Republic of Zitepec in structure, but with less emphasis on cavalry in the hierarchy and more emphasis on military exams.    Oteka's military leadership tend to conceptualize fighting as a kind of skilled craft or science and tend to gravitate towards measurable specialized skills to test for advancement. Artillery, military engineer, sharpshooter, and cavalry divisions tend to be associated with prestige and advancement, while massed ranged and melee infantry tend to be considered 'less skilled' and often have difficulty distinguishing themselves outside of active conflicts. This, combined with a general fear of local infantry taking on regional-political alliances during peacetime, has led to Oteka's infantry becoming disproportionately mercenaries from the Republic of Tuzek in recent years. The fact that military policing actions are undertaken by foreign soldiers has ironically intensified partisan accusations of foreign interference.   Recently, the arrival of the Darzan University in Totaken and growing access to magical education has created new pathways of advancement in Oteka's military.    The Otekan military doctrine is a simple one: overwhelming ranged superiority and firepower. The thing that the Otekan military is famous for is their gunsmithing and engineering. Oteka's government has tinkered with firearms for centuries, producing small numbers of high-quality cannons and handguns long before they became more common across the Suneka. In the last century and a half, gunpowder has advanced from novelty specialist weapon to a core part of the Sunekan arsenal - and Oteka has consistently remained at the forefront of this work. The greatest of these tinkerers are the Monks of the School of Meskenem in Totaken, who have long communed with the brightest minds of the Octoperson reefs and who once received the mathematical wisdom of the now-absent god Agamine the Lost. The School of Meskenem includes a number of leading gunsmiths and attracts a host of other gunsmiths to Oteka's capital, but it is hardly limited to just good handguns and cannons: the School of Meskenem also has schools devoted to pneumatics, astronomy, chemistry, and mechanisms. Meskenem's mechanical wonders barely hold a candle to those of distant Keveket - but their particular interest in chemical and pneumatic components give them a subtle edge and far greater eventual potential.    The most spectacular of these marvels are aquatic or naval projects that can most directly leverage Meskenem's underwater experiments and aquatic partnerships. Not only are Otekan ships finely crafted to maximize their speed and durability (making Oteka a natural pick for many other republics to hire for shipwrighting), but Oteka produces a number of well-made diving suits and has a number of small submersible vehicles - hardly full submarines, but useful for scouting and espionage. While such expensive vehicles are more risk than reward for many republics, Oteka has used these submersible scouting vessels to great effect in the rare instances of contact with Keveket fleets in Ukaram.    Just as the engineers of the land have invested in going into the sea, the reverse is also true. Oteka has the most infrastructural support for aquatic personnel in their cities - and their army. It is not unheard of for an Octoperson sapper wearing a water-suit to join Otekan divisions, earning prestige and influence for their communities back underwater.   Returning back to Oteka's more famous specialty, Oteka's artillery is of particular note among Sunekan republics. Otekan gun batteries provoked fear a century ago when they blasted apart elite warriors from the Empire of Calazen - and they continue to be arguably the best in the world. Mortars, incendiary and explosive rounds, shrapnel-blasting cannons, and howitzers are all to be found here. Otekan engineers understand that a mix of field guns, howitzers, and mortars can easily overwhelm enemy defenses by mixing shots from the front and above. Add in some flashy specialty ammunition and time your shots right and you can provoke a panic. Of course, this kind of strategy is very dependent on well-trained personnel and access to high-quality equipment, but Oteka has those aplenty.

Oteka is a thoroughly Sunekan country; while there are districts in the capital city of Totaken that allow permanent residency for non-Sunekans, outside of these residency is tied to Sunekan religion. Otekans are more likely to have exposure to the ideas around foreign religions than other heartlands Sunekans (except perhaps those in the Republic of Akatlan), and the school system here emphasizes the intellectual character of the Suneka in a way that many other Sunekans would consider odd. Otekans, more than other Sunekans, have a tendency to conceptualize and communicate about their religion and culture as "beliefs" - still to a lesser extent than more belief-oriented religions, but more than other Sunekans.    Oteka is not known for their witch-hunts, but they do more work finding and persecuting deviants and heathens than other Sunekan Heartland republics.   Oteka is known for their robust Cult of Kata, the Octopus-spirit of education, patience, wisdom, and observation. Kata is frequently revered here even outside of the monastic Order. Chiun, the raven spirit association with invention and opportunity, is also a common symbol here, as are Rubet (clay, creation, fertility, and beginnings) and Tonikora (stars, navigation, discovery, consistency).    Interestingly, there are many old and powerful cults here to Agamine the Lost - who was once a hidden patron of the Otekan elites. Agamine no longer speaks with these cults, but they respect his silence as a model for how all other Lunar Gods are meant to act.   Similar to the Republic of Zitepec, Oteka has an intense suspicion of foreign cults tied to the Lunar Pantheon and is generally quick to suppress any Lunar Cult or other wrong-belief that is supported by a "spirit" or "demon". Unlike in Zitepec, though, this suspicion is paired with a guarded tolerance. While a "demonic" cult will face brutal suppression if found operating in secret, the government has a licensing system for anyone patronized by a magical entity. All Warlocks or Paladins must present themselves or otherwise notify the Bureau of Safety upon entering the country (at the earliest opportunity - typically when first arriving in a town or city), where they will be given a license number and slip. Failure to present this information when asked is a crime. While it isn't like there are police everywhere enforcing this law or magically scanning the borders for casters, being caught can come with harsh penalties ranging from very hefty fines to outright execution. The latter usually requires some kind of evangelism, anti-state action, or agitation, while fines are slapped on those who simply want to avoid the inconvenience or surveillance.   Paladin Lodges from Zitepec operate here to support 'verified' Sunekan paladins - providing licenses and legal support. In general, being religiously Sunekan is a big help in navigating this system - foreign spellcasters (with or without a patron) are far more likely to be interrogated about their loyalty. Foreign warlocks in particular are likely to face greater scrutiny. However, a Sunekan-appearing magic user found to be hiding a patron relationship that is un-Sunekan will face greater punishments if discovered than even a foreign warlocks. The laws and courts are anxious about cult infiltrators for malicious magical forces, so while foreigners may be kind of scary they are considered safe in their identifiability and apart-ness.

Oteka is in a miserable place in terms of foreign relations: it no longer has a consistent foreign policy so much as it is an object to be acted upon by the spies and diplomats of more secure and unified nations. No republic wants a major war in Oteka, as it is simply too profitable for everyone to risk large-scale violence. Unfortunately, everyone wants influence over the Otekan government - and no one particularly trusts Oteka's government with its own stability. This means that foreign powers are constantly bribing, swaying, and infiltrating their way into Oteka's politics. When a rebellion breaks out, foreign powers rush to land troops to "stabilize" the country with minimal care for local Otekan opinions. Hell, if there are bandits or pirates or swindlers or natural disasters that get too close to crucial Otekan infrastructure, you can basically expect a sharpshooter from the Republic of Zitepec or a mercenary on the payroll of some faction in the Republic of Atupan to jump out and intervene. This can be useful at times for Otekans, but can just as easily worsen problems.   Oteka primary "allies" are the Republic of Zitepec and the Republic of Atupan, who are allied to one another but compete for control here in Oteka. To try and counterbalance these testy neighbors, Otekan politicians have also forged alliances with the republics of Deteyan, Ruwatl, and Yalaca in the South Suneka - all former client states of Oteka who are hungry for a slice of that pie. Yalaca, the great masters of the path to Ukaram, seem to be gaining influence more rapidly than the Northern powers seem to recognize.  

There is a sharp divide between Oteka's urban and rural economies. The cities are hubs of trade and manufacturing, and produce textiles as well as consumer goods - things like refined sugar, packaged coffee, tobacco, and chocolate, and dyes. It is generally understood that the countryside grows and the urban centers act as mills and processors. Oteka's cities are relatively proto-industrialized, with large workshops and assembly lines combining new technologies with Sunekan Standardized Parts.   Oteka's countryside is unusually geared towards cash crops: coffe, cocoa, indigo, cardamom, and sugar in particular. Rural farmers also grow maize, wet rice, cassava, a wide variety of gourds (particularly pumpkins, watermelon, and squash), mangos, guavas, papayas, pineapples, and bananas. Oteka also has a large shipbuilding industry, which overlaps substantially with and bleeds into that of the Southern provinces of the Republic of Atupan.   Oteka's capital city of Totaken also has a number of unique industries tied to its reputation and institutions. The presence of the top military engineering school in the Suneka there attracts a number of masons, gunsmiths, and chemists; the Divine Gardens there are home to what was once the only center of Alchemy on the continent and only source of healing potions.

Thanks to the republic's control of all maritime trade between the Western and Eastern seas and its near-monopoly on large-scale trade with the aquatic Suneka, Oteka is a continental trade hub and the source of significant wealth.   Like in much of the Suneka, monetary exchange and free market commerce is reserved for non-essential goods and services, and usually divided between two markets: the 'little economy' of small peddlers and farmers between each other, and the 'big economy' of wealthy elites. The intensity of trade here has supercharged that 'big economy' and even has led to some smaller peddlers being able to participate in it. Oteka's cities, particularly Totaken, have a particularly large and powerful peddler class that has led to the rise of a robust urban middle class with significant luxury buying power.   Given this situation, there are both large state-sponsored shipping fleets (many of which are jointly operated with the Republic of Atupan, who supplies cloth, lumber, and rations) and many smaller fleets. Many ships from foreign republics mingle here and form close associations across geopolitical lines - the Republic of Kiwa, the Republic of Yalaca, and the Republic of Zitepec both have a major trade presence here, for example.   In many ways, Oteka is the great coordinator of commerce and has formed a growing relationship with the Apatlia Bank and Exchange Group based in the Republic of Akatlan to better finance excessively large ventures. The government sponsors large Voyager Halls, office and meeting structures for different merchant and government cliques to effectively send merchant-ambassadors for quick meetings, to encourage this kind of collaboration. While the Republic of Yalaca might be the great launching point for Sunekans into Ukaram, many of those expeditions begin as schemes and negotiations here in Oteka.   Oteka also receives a number of grants and international support for its role in the continental Ixdopol: traditionally, Oteka has supplied reassigned laborers Northward while it has also funneled settlers and re-assigned deviants Southward. Increasingly, though, countries like Yalaca and Karsitan are playing a large role with their own long-range fleets.

Oteka has an excellent school system, particularly in its towns and cities. To Otekan elites, the wealth of a kingdom is measured in its learning, its libraries, and its students. Wealth inequality in Oteka is most starkly represented in its schools: wealthy public schools in Totaken are not only clean and large, but are well-decorated and furnished. Poor rural schools in Penekel are more ranch than school, mixing in "vocational" courses to reinforce an expectation of manual agricultural labor. Educational quality in Oteka is a major component of status, as where one went to school and what recommendations one earned is considered an important mark of merit.   Primary schooling through one's childhood and teenage years is mandatory, and these schools are often the center of the local community. Secondary schools along the coast offer advanced education, though these can be difficult to access for some people in the countryside. The best and brighest are funnelled to the massive academic complex at Totaken, where they might find prestigious work in any major Sunekan city.   School management is a vital element of politics here - and one that has been hard-hit by the recent political turmoil. The failures of the new Tlakra Hozek in terms of education-managers have been exacerbated by the general failures of government, and have deeply impacted the funding and operational of marginal schools. Even during good times, school budgets and who gets what kind of educational access is a key source of tension between political parties and often serves as a symbolic battleground between regional factions.   The Monks of Meskenem, under the Order of Kata, operate the Meskenem School: one of the most prestigious Sunekan academies for natural science, physics, mathematics, astronomy, and engineering. Since the 1970s, the Meskenem monks have also opened a partner-school for mages with the Darzan University that has been rapidly expanding.

The greatest piece of infrastructure managed by the Otekan Republic is the grand Totaken Canal, which connects the Northern and Southern seas together through a series of elaborate waterlocks. This massive project allows for substantial traffic between the two seas and allows for ship traffic to skip having to navigate around the equatorial peninsula to the Southwest. A number of smaller aquatic connections exist for personal travel by small groups of aquatic people.    Adding to this commercial nexus is the Spiritlock, also in Totaken, which is a large complex for magical teleportation currently under expansion. The Spiritlock, built by a combination of the