Dzeia

The 3rd Dze Confederation Dzetśaqtǫ
Flag Seal of Tsǫt'aan Xanaaq̇ut
Lands and surroundings of the Dze Confederacy, 1612 AR
Status	Independent state
Capital	Xanaaq̇ut's moving horde
Official languages	Old Dze
Recognised national languages	Dzenic languages
Ethnic groups	Dze (97.9%) Humans (2.1%)
Religion	Tx̣ex̣uq
Demonym(s)	Dzean, Dzeii, Dzeioi
Government	Semi-nomadic tribal confederation
• Tsǫt'aan	Xanaaq̇ut
Establishment
• Founding of the 1st confederation	7274 BR
• Start of the strifes	6429 BR
• Founding of the 2nd confederation	2764 BR
• Founding of the 3rd confederation	1598 AR
• Fall of the human kingdoms	1612 AR
Area
• Land Area	2,735,705 km2 (1,056,262 sq mi)
• Water (%)	11.26%
Population
• 1612 estimate	~7,000,000
• Density	2.56/km2 (6.6/sq mi)

The Dze Confederation (Old Dze: Dzetśaqtǫ ['d͡zet͡sʼaqtɔ]), officially called The Third Dze Confederation, (Old Dze: Ŋ́keq́dzetśaqtǫ ['ŋ̊keqʼd͡zet͡sʼaqtɔ]) and sometimes colloquially known as Dzeia, is a large nation located in north-central Pythia with no countries officially bordering it on land or sea, however being relatively close to Axeut, Arut, Nishikaigan, Unairecos, Frijuhaim and having a de facto frontier with the Golden Domain. It covers an area of 2,735,705 square kilometres (1,056,262 square miles) with a population just over 7 million. Despite being the 6th largest nation on Sparkalia, it is a relatively unknown nation due to it's technological level and the geographical and self-imposed political isolation from most other countries on the planet. Sitting at the western edges of the Wintry bight and the centre of the Wintry ocean, the water currents from the ice caps to its north are some of the roughest in the entire planet, being able to sink even modern ships. Famous for its unique and very diverse wildlife, it is the only place known so far where Haplokariotes and Polykariotes can be found, encompassing the entirety of the zoogeographical zone known as Polykariotia.

The territory of the modern Confederation seems to be one of the oldest continuous inhabited places on the planet, having remained isolated from the events that befell the surrounding lands due to its geography and isolated positioning, not being of high strategic importance to other, more advanced, civilizations until modern technology enabled more safe travel around the Wintry Bight. The lands of the Dze Confederation have archaeological evidence of a cultural presence since at least 110,000 BR, belonging to the Ŋ́ynƚaq culture, a Middle Paleolithic industrial complex, whose makers inhabited the mountainous central regions of the country which seems to have mostly been located in the Eastern Range until about 70,000 BR when they began to expand alongside the hills towards the coast and the west as the culture splintered. They were characterized by their elaborate leaf shaped flint tools; later during the Late Neolithic Dze Collapse the Dze dispersed once more and later coalesced into several chalcolithic cultures, culminating in the Flower Stirrup culture which kickstarted the Dze Bronze Age by 20,000 BR. At around 8,000 BR there is archaeological, and later written, evidence for the arrival of four distinct human groups, the Longplow, Broadaxe, Highstone and Red Arrow cultures; after these arrivals it seems the Dze quickly began to coalesce into more organized societies during The Invasions, an event happening around 8,000-7,500 BR which triggered the formation of the First Confederation due to the seemingly violent incursions into Dze territory by the former three cultures. The subsequent near 10,000 year long conflicts culminated in the rise of the Third Confederation in the late 16th century AR and the fall of human invaders barely more than a decade later.

Around 98% of the population is nomadic or semi-nomadic, with only certain human ethnic groups retaining a settled lifestyle, and around the same amount of people follow one of the various traditions of Tx̣ex̣uq, the predominant religion. Over 97% of the population belong to the Dze species with a very small human remnant minority who are scattered across the country, though for the most part to the west.

Etymology

The name in Common is a translation of the Old Dze name, Dzetśaqtǫ, which translates to "Oath/Alliance of the Dze" the word Tśaq meaning either Alliance or Oath (with the possesive -tǫ) and the word Dze meaning "Stargazer" as well as being the endonym of these people in several of their languages and in the Old Liturgicals, while the standardized name of Dzeia translates as "Land of the Dze" and it is the Solarianized translation of their nation's name and the nation's name in Common is also usually shortened to simply be "The Dze". The origin of the Dzenic Languages is shrouded in mystery but the word has been identified in texts dating from the era of the First Dze Confederation, which implies that it is a title that has been used before at a national level.

History

Main article: History of the Dze Confederation

Paleolithic age

The archaeological record shows that the mountainous lands near the Oriental steppes had been inhabited by an ancestor of the modern Dze, Tenacitherium anthropopsius, from around 2,500,000 years ago until evolving into the modern Dzeii, Tenacitherium terrible, around 500,000 years ago. Both a paleolithic species, it is thought that they mostly stayed around the eastern reaches of the Greater southern range, travelling in small bands of nomadic hunter-gatherers. By around 110,000 years ago the archaeological record shows that the first proper material culture arose among the Dze during the middle paleolithic, the Ŋ́ynƚaq culture, named after a valley in the near eastern reaches of the greater southern range; this culture's name also comes from the name given by scientists to the arrow and spear tips found, which bear a distinct leaf pattern in their shape and cutting technique to them. It was generally thought that early on this culture absorbed much, if not all, of the Dze populations due to their small range of inhabitation during this period due to the lack of findings of other paleolithic industries. This would however be disproven with the discovery of the middle paleolithic Pax̣ŋ́eç culture in the southernmost edges of Polykariotia which put into light the inhabitation of Dze groups much further than what was originally expected, with some artifacts even being found on the other side the P.E.L. itself, and the deepening of genetic studies showcasing that the amount of haplogroups and haplogroup diversity was much broader than previously thought, both in Y-DNA and mntDNA haplogroups of which most arose during this era and latter suffered still un-explained bottlenecks.

The Ŋ́ynƚaq culture spread throughout the mountains along river valleys and cliffs where they carved caves into moon-like patterns, called Tx̣edlał̣, that are still frequented to this day, some of the oldest being carbon dated to around 110,000-90,000 BR. Other distinguishing factors of this culture are an affinity towards temporarily inhabiting mountainsides rather than caves properly and their hunting method, which is depicted in some paleo-art, which puts more emphasis in Persistance Hunting in combination with either driving or calling methods as a coordinated maneuver between archers and spearmen. This would all allow for them to slowly fill the gaps of deserted lands once inhabited by peoples of the same species. The Ŋ́ynƚaq culture managed to mantain a continuity until around 70,000 BR when it began to splinter with the start of the Mesolithic, with a similar transition occuring to the Paẋŋ́eç culture

Mesolithic age

By 70,000 BR there is evidence for a change in the style and production of stone tools as well as the start of ceramic pottery, distinguished by their simple shapes and square painting patterns. It is also around this time when the Dze Population began to spread into the Central plateau and Coastal range, as evidenced by the surging of several related haplogroups theorized to come from this area, however appearing to mostly remain in the eastern reaches of the country as evidence by a higher abundance of archaeological remains in those areas compared to the western areas of polykariotia. In this era the old paleolithic cultures began to splinter towards epipaleolithic or mesolithic industries, with those who remained in their original range retaining the highest degree of conservatism in their styles The most commonly found artifacts during the first milennia of the Mesolithic belong to the ** Ḳyxq́içyw and the Ḳǫpł̣ǫq́ cultures, which are part of an eastern set of Ŋ́ynƚaq offshoots, the former inhabiting much of the Oriental steppes and the Eastern Range.

There is also evidence for advancements that could be called Proto-Agriculture, with signs of land clearing and selective placing of several species of flora or the mass culling of species in certain periods, suggesting an artificial increase in population and a managing of such. These developments support the later cultural and technological advancements that occured during the neolithic and it is evidence for the start of the Dze starting to develop more defined migratory paths and start transitioning towards a more semi-nomadic lifestyle. Lastly, it is in the late mesolithic when pottery begins to be used, though it's use is restricted to figurines, as pottery vessels dating to before the neolithic have not been found and the development of these is deeply entrenched with the cultures that arose after the mesolithic, rather than those in this time period.

During this age it seems the Pax̣ŋ́eç culture splintered as well as evidenced by the rise of the Ŋ́eçnuł̣ń culture. The mesolithic also was defined the start of the transition from fully nomadic to a semi-nomadic lifestyle as evidenced by the recent discovery of massive stone circle-shaped structures throughout the steppe regions and later in the western and southern areas, in appearance like prehistorical walls and laden with pottery and material remains, surrounded by ditches near river valleys which are thought to be temporary summer refuges, later abandoned in preference for warmer places in winter like the various mountain hotsprings that dot the eastern range. The reasoning for the dissapearance of other Dze groups during the end of the mesolithic and the survival of only the Ninlaqian descendants is unknown. One theory suggests early human-dze conflict brought about their end by the late mesolithic in most areas due to pressure as they began to expand beyond the reaches of the P.E.L., where food sources were less nutritious and they were not given enough time to adapt due to heavy competition with early humans, this theory is favoured by many dzeologists given the lack of evidence for intra-dze conflict this far back in time, contrasted with the evidence for human-dze conflict throughout their written history.

Neolithic age

Around 55,000 years ago there is evidence for the rise of different stone cutting and polishing techniques, starting the Neolithic period; it is during this era that the Dze populate all of the lands inside the P.E.L., at least partially, and reach their first population peak, with estimates ranging from 5,000,000 to 15,000,000. It is also during the Neolithic that the first concrete evidence for animal husbandry and agriculture arises in the lands of the Confederation, with the evidence of domesticated herds showing in paleo-art. It also seems that during this era is when the tradition to build stone pens at permanent locations for the safekeeping of herds began as evidenced by an abundance of animal remains near sites or directly in them. During the middle to late neolithic there is archaeological evidence for the first usage of true pottery vessels, these were few, somewhat porous, made of earthenware and the usage of pottery vessels remained a rare occurance until later eras.

The archaeological findings of the Neolithic period end abruptly around 45,000 BR with the Late Neolithic Dze Collapse, an event of unknown causes that led to the abandoning or destruction of the stone circles and the spreading of Dze populations westwards. A possible trigger of this event is the evidence for continuous volcanic eruptions in the eastern range around 45,000 BR that triggered particularly cold years that might have caused the mass death of the game the Dze hunted or simply forced an emigration westards, the ending of these winters coinciding with the flooding of several rivers, causing the destruction of most stone circles as evidenced by the abundance of polished pebbles in a layer of ground sediment dating to this period.

By the end of this period the Dze began to undergo surprisingly fast cultural changes at a rate almost 10 times as fast as what had happened in the early stone age, which formed the basis for the Dze Cultural Hibernation hypothesis, though the Neolithic is thought to not have fully ended until 35,000 BR in some areas. In these ten milennia of archaeological darkness what little has been found, mostly dze remains and occasional pottery shards, show us that the population dispersal allowed for the complete control of Polykariotia by the Dze by the start of the Chalcolithic.

Chalcolithic age

After the Late Neolithic Dze Collapse, the archaeological record shows us that after population levels recovered a few thousand years after the collapse, from which after 35,000 BR appear several chalcolithic cultures roughly at the same time, including the Moonblade, Caveshrine and Lowmound cultures, each of which began to participate in localized forms of trade, slowly expanding until the Steppe roads arose, a collection of several trade routes that led from the westermost points of Dze inhabitation all the way to the eastfjords. One evidence of this is the usage of the Dze Hieroglyphic script by the Woodhut culture in the far west by 30,000 BR, not that far from when the script first began to be used by the Moonblade Culture.

Key developments that occured in this time also include the start of the usage of wheels and carts as depicted in art and evidenced in writings by the Early Moonblade period at 30,000 BR which allowed for the true start of the semi-nomadic lifestyle the Dze prefer nowadays as well as the invention of the stirrup, a localized development that occured in the Moonblade II period. By the end of the chalcolithic the Dze managed to spread back to most of their currently owned lands, now also inhabiting the open prairies that define the landscape of their territories. Around 25,000 BR a second collapse occured though much more tame, evidenced by the partial dissapearance of writing in some areas as communities fled; this one we know was caused by increased volcanic activity that forced the Dze out of many of their traditional homelands for extended periods of time.

Kraterolithic age

By 20,000 BR the remnants of the Moonblade culture seem to have fully recovered from the collapse and evolved into the Flower Stirrup culture, named as such by the shape of the steel footing and the intricate bronze decorational patterns of their stirrups. By 15,000 BR the usage of Bronze alloys had spread to all corners of Dze inhabitation and there is extensive findings of items made with this material, which quickly superseded traditional copper as a tool material; of the alloys used the most common by far was tin bronze, as arsenic bronze was deemed a weaker variant and it was more toxic to the blacksmith. Other alloys were too rare, though we occasionally find items in these rarer combinations.

The most important developments of this age are the various blacksmith gears that have made the caste so famous with outsiders, with elaborate masks, gloves and equipment that allow for the trade to be as safe as possible, which allows, against most expectations, for blacksmiths and forgers to avoid organ or blood poisoning from metal or fumes. These gears have remained mostly unchanged since this time and they mark one of the most important developments of Dze technology.

By this time the Old Liturgicals had evolved into entire families of languages and, starting with the Flower Stirrup people, these began to be written as well, starting a literary revolution and the development of several new scripts to adapt these languages which led to a cultural golden age from about 12,000 to 8,000 BR, from which we have the bulk of liturgical findings of the Dze's early history, both in their old liturgical languages and these new evolving ones.

Arrival of humans

Human arrivals to the Dze lands begin to be documented from 8057 BR in the Çunyw Stelai in the far south, which tell of meetings between Dze chieftains and the chieftains of four migrating tribes of Çunyw, "Short Folk", as they are referred to in the carvings which, have been identified with the Longplow, Broadaxe, Highstone and Red Arrow cultures. The arrivals were both of peaceful and agressive nature and texts unearthed in nearby localities and dated to the same time period reveal that by the end of the 9th millennium BR Human-Dze conflict arose, specifically with the Longplow, Broadaxe and Highstone cultures, which led to the slow creeping of humans into the territories of bronze age Dze cultures in the south and west; the Red Arrow culture however seems to have settled around the north-western shores and the westernmost edges of the eastern range without evidence for conflict during those times. The Red Arrow culture was a collection of different peoples, thought to be the first proper human arrivals north of the P.E.L., who settled as refugees, rather than migrants or conquerors, due to their noted distaste for the human groups that followed them.

Initially it seems that humans had the upper hand due to their larger population numbers, driving the descendants of the Woodhut and Caveshrine cultures from the western lands into the Hammerfall peninsula. These early aggressions began to propel the Dze into more organized forms of tribal governance, around this time also arose the title of T'aan among the Dze as a word for chieftain or ruler. After some generations the Dze tribes coalesced into the First Dze Confederation under Tsǫt'aan Quƚaq of the Alx̣tśan clan in 7274 BR.

The first confederation

Under the leadership of Tsot'aan Quƚaq (7274-7231 BR) the armies of the First Confederation scored several victories against the forming Human Kingdoms during a campaign known as the Thunderstride (7271-7270 BR) which culminated in the Battle of Bones in where a coalition of human kingdoms were soundly crushed by Quƚaq, the site of which was then made into a pile with all of the corpses of the defeated, which began the practice of Corpse mounds in Dze warfare. After the Thunderstride the rest of Quƚaq's reign was spent warding off human expansion into the central meadows and eastern steppe, resorting to more defensive, guerilla style warfare to deter invaders rather than offensive military campaigns. Succeeded by his daughter, Tsǫt'aan Tx̣eńat (7231-7182 BR), the confederation mostly kept to this policy, however during the Jhu'kan Campaigns (7190-7180 BR) they faced off against the forces of the Jhu'kan Empire in the Battle of Alx̣ḳyx in which the Dze managed to defeat the forces of Ka'sun I, dealing a decisive military defeat and securing peace between the Dze and the Jhu'kan for the following centuries.

At the same time, the peoples descended from the Red Arrow Culture were also victim to the Jhu'kan campaigns and in their case, they were subjugated by 7187 BR such as the Bör Kingdom, this led to an exodus of these peoples who, seeking protection, came to the lands of the Confederation. The confederation and the Jhu'kan empire spent the rest of the 8th millenium at peace however at the start of the 7th millennium BR, tensions began to arise as human settling of a region called Latuq, "The Lake" in Old Dze, which culminated in the devastating Latuq War (6902-6893 BR) in where the lands of the confederation, under the rule of Tsǫt'aan Tx̣eł̣eeq, great grandson of Tẋeńat, were invaded and ultimately driven from the central meadows and steppes, resulting in the death of the Tsǫt'aan and the disbanding of the confederation as the Jhu'kan, weakened by the war, also faced a period of strife in their lands, ultimately weakening them in the long term.

The Strifes

Human dominance

For nearly 5 centuries the landscape would be dominated by human polities, most notably the declining Jhu'kan empire and the Kingdom of Gharat, one of the several entities that arose during the aftermath of the Latqom War, as well as the Zálltá Chiefdoms, a collection of small states nominally subservient to the Jhu'kan. During this time the Dze were thought utterly crushed and the lands to the east were neglected by human entities. However, during those 5 years, some T'aan began to slowly unify the clans as the Dze recovered from their defeats. During this time the human kingdoms remained mostly at peace, still recovering from the past wars, however by the end of the 66th century BR the Jhu-Gharati Wars (6507-6472 BR) had started, a massive conflict that burned through the human inhabited lands and weakened both states significantly. By 6450 it was reported by Gharati scribes that roaming bands of Dze horsemen had begun to return to their old ranges and by 6440 BR a tribal confederation known as the Taaxdze had subdued the Gharati and entered the Jhu'kan lands, known as The Scouring of the West (6440-6429 BR), this mysterious confederation managed to destroy the Jhu capital of Loran, laying down it's foundations and destroying the Jhu'kan empire. After this event the power vacuum led to the return of the Dze to the central and western regions of the lands and the period known as The Strifes.

The eternal chaos

After the fall of the Jhu'kan and the emergence of the Taaxdze, the following milennia were ones of warfare and constant shifting of the balance of powers. During these times the Dze seldom attacked or were attacked, being feared and thought of as demonic in nature by the survivors of the scouring. In this vacuum of power one of the first entities to arise was the Kingdom of Buri which, after supplanting the decayed Kingdom of Gharat and subduing the Zálltá Chiefdoms, managed to carve out a decent land for itself in the 64th century BR. During the first centuries of the strifes comprised a small dark age in the human inhabited areas, for the exception of the Kingdom of Buri and the northwestern polities, descendants of the Bör. By the year 6192 BR the Zálltá coalesced into the Mako Tetrarchy and created a more stable balance of power with the Buri, later with the surgence of the Kingdom of Rogar in the early 61st century BR, descended from the Lûxari City States destroyed in the Jhu'kan campaigns.

During the first centuries of this period the balance of powers between Buri, the Tetrarchy and Rogar was mantained as the outer human polities in the south and west, such as the Manath Thalassocracy and the Ojore Kingdom, which rose to prominence during the last years of the 7th milennium BR. The Great winter of 5957 BR, which primarily affected the southern and western regions, brought about the end of the Buri Kingdom after the winter left it open to invasion by the Mako Tetrarchy, its lands occupied mostly by the Ojore and the Mako states. During this time too the Shore War (5921-5916 BR) began between the Kingdom of Rogar and the Tłdze, an amalgamation of coastal tribes that fought for control of the northern shores with the Kingdom of Rogar utterly crushed and it's people driven westwards towards the lands of the Manath, which had also fought in the conflict and was left severely weakened as well, which opened the way for the Iematu Kingdom and the Kingdom of Nimsin, the descendants of the Bör, to overtake them as the main powers in the north-west.

In the south the Kingdom of Yam, using the vaccuum left by the Buri, rose to challenge the Mako Tretrarchy during the Zálltá Civil War (5932-5907 BR), reducing the Tetrarchy's power significantly. At the same time, more waves of human immigration were arriving from the south and eventually, this allowed humans to invade Dze territory again in the Eastern War (5901-5872 BR), in which the Taaxdze and the Łiqdze, another confederation, defeated the human incursions and even managed to reclaim some of their previous southern holdings during the latter years of the conflict; this however did not stop human migrations to the south and west in the coming centuries, which helped to de-stabilize their realms further, by the 57th century BR the situation had turned into chaos, resulting in the collapse of the Manath, Ojore and the weakening of several other states, which caused the Long Silence, a period of more than 200 years of almost no written records, caused by the collapse of most human entities due to the increased migrations in their territories; however, various Dze stelai date to this era, specially in the south-east, where attempted migrations by humans were repelled by the Alẋtśaq and X̣'ǫnyw clans between the years 5872 and 5808 BR.

The next records of large human activity appear in the year 5632 BR with the Mako Tetrarchy, one of the few states to survive the collapse, defeating the neighbouring Ñalçi Kingdom and managing to even beat back the Yamian attempts at conquest, breaking free from their yoke in the Great Makian Revolt (5632-5625 BR). Another event of note came with the ascension of the Kingdom of Mvadi in the north as well as the establishment of the Yegin Empire to the far south, which had extended beyond the Biote Limes into regions unknown to the Dze at the time. During this time the Dze-Human conflicts slowed down even further, with a tense period of peace arising after the Long Silence due to the focus of the human kingdoms to contain their own invasions and the subsequent collapse of human society which also led to small Dze advances in the north in their reconquest of their lands.

The re-emergence of the Mako Tetrarchy brought about a renewed war effort against Dze tribes with the Eastern Incursions during the 56th century BR, which had to be halted afterwards due to several conflicts with the neighbouring states between 5572 and 5487 BR, the resulting century of constant warfare leaving a power vaccuum as the Tetrarchy laid waste to most of it's neighbours, the devastation leading for the eventual and final collapse of the Mako in the following centuries. Descended from the Jhu'kan, the Yegin empire quickly absorbed their once ancient rivals and managed to provide a temporary base of stability in human dominated realms, with the Dze and humans sharing an uneasy truce after the eastern incursions. The Dze themselves would spend centuries preparing until a coalition of confederations, nicknamed the Tsǫdze launched a massive invasion into human territory in the Southern Fires, a series of military invasions that devastated human populations nearing their territory and would only be halted at the Battle of Ćǫhŋxalx̣ where the Dze, achieving victory, would then ride back to their homelands. Being a war of destruction, it was one of the bloodiest conflicts for humans since the Latqom war and it brought about the end of most human entities, including the destructions of Mvadi, Yam and the temporary weakening of the Yegin empire, which however profited from the destruction of several rival powers.

The Yegin empire, under the second and third dynasties, managed to recover from the collapse during the following centuries in what became a surprisingly peaceful period following the Southern Fires, with both Dze not commiting to more wars and the Human polities focused in repairing the damages done by the southern fires. One notable event was the 1st Mvadi-Yegin War between the years 5273 BR and 5259 BR, caused by the repeated Mvadi incursions into tributaries of the Yegin, such as the Ürol Confederation, and would begin the rivalry between the two dominant human powers of the late 6th and early 5th milenniums BR. The total destruction of the coastal nations during the early 6th milennium BR also brought about a second period of migrations to the far west and central regions of human inhabited lands, upon which rose several kingdoms of peoples related to the Manath.

At the latter years of the milennium, the 2nd Mvadi-Yegin War brought about the temporary defeat of the Yegin as the last emperors of the third dynasty with true authority perished and brought about the Era of Red Soil between the years 5082 BR and 4976 BR which concluded with the transfer of power by the last emperor of the third dynasty, Lhat Yuk, to the first emperor of the fourth dynasty, Gesun Namgi, who then embarked on a war of revenge against the Mvadi, scoring several victories before a peace treaty was signed in 4971 BR. Following that defeat, the Mvadi were then subject to attacks by the Ürol and a newborn Ngatad Thalassocracy during the Hammerfall War, which also involved several eastern peoples who, with support of the coastal Dze tribes, conquered vast swaths of land near the Hammerfall Peninsula, for which the war is named upon. Taking advantage of this, emperor Lhasun Namgi launched a final invasion into the lands of its ancient enemy, at last conquering or vassalizing it in its entirety and becoming the sole great human power.

In the aftermath of the fall of Mvadi, the peoples allied to various Dze tribes commited to further conquests and migrations into the Hammerfall peninsula from the north, such as the Marugi conquest of Jhilat, in where the Yegin empire, still recovering from the Mvadi-Yegin wars, was unable to fend off raids or protect those under its vassalage, nor keep its vast tributary system under its yoke as evidenced by the Ürolian War between 4902 and 4896 BR, in where several vassal states of the Yegin in the east broke off after defeating the second Namgi emperor; the subsequent era, which lasted over three hundred years, was one of chaos and small conflicts between smaller polities, until the twenty-fifth Namgi emperor, his state recovered from the Ürolian War, launched an invasion of the once tributaries of the Yegin and later successfully expelled many Dze of their then westerlands further into the east, causing a rare period of inter-dze tribal conflict. This was also around the same time the Kingdom of Görlos from the southlands launched a series of invasions into Dze lands from the Tx̣et'e pass. The turmoils of these wars would lead to a second Yegin golden age, titled the Era of Gilded Thrones.

The base of power of the Yegin remained intact for many centuries, with the Görlos and Ngatad being among the few human nations who dared challenge it occassionally. During this time there was also an increased settling of borderlands with the Dze by what the Yegin called the Trun Gryak, commonly translated as akin to Foederati, which were a collection of tributaries settled by migrating peoples from the south, created so as to provide a territorial buffer between the Yegin and the Dze. The stability of the fourth dynasty would end with the Era of Gilded Thrones being ended by an invasion by several Dze tribes into the territories held by Yegin tributaries, beginning in the year 4105 BR and only ending when the Namgi emperor was killed in battle a few decades later, resulting in a subsequent invasion by the Oradii tribes, leading to the formation of the fifth dynasty in 3982 BR.

In the aftermath of these conflicts the balance of power in the north too would collapse as the Ngatad and the Marugi faced a string of plague that arrived from the south, leading to the occupation of many lands by tribes friendly to the Dze and Dze peoples proper as the latter recovered from the period of inner conflict and the Yegin were too weakened by the plague to stop them as well. By the year 3802 most of the human populations had recovered from the plague and the ninth Orad emperor decided to expand further upon the Trun Gryak system, inviting several peoples that had previously fled to the south and re-settled much of the borderlands near the hammerfall peninsula and stabilized that area, even vassalizing several peoples between the years that had established themselves in the area after the plague. It was during this time that in the southwestern portions of the land arose the Zhasi Kingdom, first of the great entities in that area, which rose to contend with the Yegin empire as well.

It would be during the 4th millenium BR that the Eternal Peace would be signed between the eleventh Orad emperor and several prominent Dze tribal confederations of the time in 3754 BR after repeated incursions and invasions which forced the Orad emperor to either face them or secure control of his own lands. In the immediate aftermath of this treaty the Yegin empire managed to repel several invasions from the south west and the far south, once again stretching beyond the P.E.L. and expanding the Trun Gryak system, standardizing it and creating more official demarkations of borders, specially between it and other human states. In the first half of the millenium a period of relative peace, mantained by the hegemony of the Yegin, which drew a wedge between other human powers, and their peace with the Dze, was achieved, although the Görlös would finally collapse at the onset of this era, leaving only the westlands as primary human territories, whilst the deserts in the south-central regions marked a loose border to maintain the peace.

Geography and climate

At 2,735,705 km2 (1,056,262 sq mi), the Confederation stands as the sixth largest country in Sparkalia, being almost equal in size to Choslow. In terms of latitude it's current southern borders coincide with the southern borders of S'Lanter or the northern borders of Kethes, while it's northernmost point lies roughly in accordance to the central-northern regions of Choslow. The confederation is unique in not sharing a border with any given nation, having hundreds of kilometres between it and the closest nations, the Golden Domain and Unairecos.

The geography of the Confederation is very varied, the most broad categorizations are the arid southlands, the mostly oceanic to mediterranean west, the hilly, forests and steppes making up much of the north and east; around 45% of the country is forested, around 10% is dry or desertic in nature and a similar amount is covered permanently in water in the form of lakes and rivers, with the whole of the confederation lying within the Polykariote-Eukariote Limes and encompassing the whole of it, a region of Sparkalia where strange and seldom seen flora and fauna inhabit almost entirely in isolation from the rest of the world. The highest peak of the country is the Snowcrown, with the average height above sea level in the country laying around 1,000 metres above sea level.

Due to the surpising levels of volcanic and seismic activity in the mountain ranges, it is thought that the lands that the Dze inhabit once were separate from Pythia, drifting southwards as time passed; however there is also the theory that refutes this, suggesting that the lands inside the P.E.L. were always part of the continent and that, in colder periods, the P.E.L. stretched further to the south. The continental plate in where the P.E.L. is located is also home to some of the most ancient Zircon crystals found to date in the Ńṭŋq̇e craton, a region of land in the Central Plateau.

Climate

The lands of the Dze are sometimes referred to as the "Land of ice and fire" (Old Dze: "Ŋq̇et'e'y x̣ƚe", referring to the harsh winters it is subjected to and the volcanoes in its tall mountain ranges. Due to the ocean currents and wind cells, the country is known to drop as low as -50ºC during winters on many areas, with temperatures in the summer averaging to 18ºC to 21ºC. In the winter the whole country is subjected to the Bight Anticyclone, however, due to the rugged mountainous south, the country is home to several microclimates in its valleys, supported as well by minor geothermal activity which has caused for warm water springs to appear in the interior, creating warmer climates in spite of the anticyclone phenomenon. One of these is the mediterranean southlands, known as the Sunlands

The country also has on average 103 cloudless days, more concentrated in the spring and summer and it's a nation with high atmospheric pressure on average. Precipitation is also more notorious in the north and west, with the southern valleys being classified as a cold desert or arid steppe, the most precipitation occuring in the Cloudspear peninsula at an annual average of 630mm and the least happening in the Dlał̣ŋ́eç desert in the south at 97mm of annual precipitation.

Most climates in the coastline are humid continental or oceanic, while the vast array of coastal hill systems create a primary rain shadow effect in all areas except for the westlands where the climate is milder. The mountain ranges create a secondary, larger, rainshadow effect in the central and southern regions which allows for the creation of steppe, sub-arctic and humid continental climates in the interior, with a limited amount of cold, desertic climates in the furthest inland regions due to the massive continentality effects of the Pythian landmass; lastly, the mountains themselves are home to a tundra climate due to their altitude and position. The rain shadow effect has created a myriad of small deserts in the south below the Greater and Lesser Southern Ranges. Due to the abundance of creeks and rivers however, as well as glacial lakes, the country is surprisingly humid in most places, despite the coasts having hills and the rapid ascension of the Dze plateau.

Wildlife

Main article: Wildlife of the Dze Confederation

The microclimates that characterize the lands of the Confederation have allowed for a great range of wildlife diversity in these enviroments to blossom.

As noted by Voiditen explorers, all fauna and flora inside the confederation belongs to either Haplokariota or Polykariota, two domains of life found nowhere else on the planet, with the evolutionary history of these being unclear, however it is theorized that Haplokariota split off from the rest of the life tree early, evolving a secondary domain, Polykariota, as life became more complex and macrofauna more prevalent. The reasoning behind the P.E.L. is unknown, but it is theorized that the lands inside it used to be insular in nature and as it clashed with the main Pythian continent, it created a line of contact that shifted until the geographical barriers divided them enough to give clear cut lines between Polykariote and Eukaryote, this theory is however only the more popular of many regarding this miraculous development.

Demographics

Although the total population of the Confederation is unknown, the most accurate estimates carried out in 1612 by the Tsǫt'aan in the Great Meeting estimated the population at 7 million, with a human population acounting for 2.1% of that number, nearly 150,000 people, making it one of the least populous countries in Sparkalia with an estimated population growth of 1.19% and a potential fertility rate of 3.9 children per Dze woman and 4.2 per human woman, with the national average at 3.9 per woman. It is also estimated that around half of the country is younger than 25, though this data is incomplete due to the limitations of any census that may be carried out.

Dze ethnic groups make up 97.1% of the population in the confederation, with the human minority inhabiting the far western and southern reaches of the land and isolated pockets in the Hammerfall peninsula; in ancient times the percentages were much less disparate due to constant human invasions and migrations, but in recent times most of these invaders have been pushed back or driven out, with only human ethnic groups allied to the Dze remaining. The Confederation is also known for being the most sparsely populated country on Sparkalia, with a density 2.56/km2 (6.6/sq mi).

Languages

There are more than 100 languages spoken in the Dze Confederation, most of these belonging to the Dzenic Languages and some other smaller families spoken by human groups; another thing to note is the 10 Lingua Francas spoken between people of different groups, of which the most widely used is Old Dze which is also the national language for administration. Most Dze are at the very least bilingual, learning their native tongue, one of the Old Liturgicals and sometimes Old Dze or other languages; most shamans and t'aan are quadrilingual and further, as they are responsible with interacting with outside peoples the most, the current Tsǫt'aan, Xanaaq̇ut, has been reported to know fluently eight languages.

In these days Dzenic languages, as well as all mannish languages inside the Confederation, are written in scripts derived from the Moonblade script, an alphabet made tens of millenia ago for Old Dze, or from variations of the Old Jhu script. During the First Great Meeting of 1612 scripts for commonly used and encountered foreign languages were developed as well. Of these, the most commonly known are Solaren, followed by Ministry Standard, Thestrian and Crystallic, although Solaren remains by far the most prevalent of all in regards for foreign communication.

Religion

Religions in the Dze Confederation

Religion	Population	Share
Religious	7,000,000	100%
Tx̣ex̣uq	6,860,000	98%
Zheduktsu	70,000	1%
Mang Na	42,000	0.6%
Other religions	28,000	0.4%
Total	7,000,000	100.0%

Dze follow a set of religious practices collectively known as Tx̣ex̣uq, called Dze Shamanism or Ngunism by outsiders, which seem to stem from a common ancestral religion of which the descendant traditions have only slightly diverged from. Humans on the other hand follow many different religions, including Tẋeẋuq, with the most widely practiced being Zheduktsu, of which around 50% of the human population adhere to, with the Mang Na religion being the second largest minority faith.

Tx̣ex̣uq is famous due to the fact that it is fairly decentralized, however the spiritual leaders, the Shamans, have kept the various traditions of Tẋeẋuq alive and almost entirely unchanged since the days of the Chalcolithic when these began to be written down and the religion is widely practiced by all Dze and a small human minority in the hammerfall peninsula. Most humans however follow two religions: Zheduktsu and Mang Na, both practiced in the regions southwest of the hammerfall peninsula as well as the northern reaches of the western range in a region called the Mannish frontier, while minority religions are upheld by newly incorporated human groups in the westlands of which their traditions are poorly documented in outside sources.

Government and politics

The Dze rule themselves in a Confederation, with the central figure of the Tsǫt'aan, who is elected for life during one of the Great Meetings held annually at the Leaf Lance Valley; these meetings are held by the Tsǫt'aan and the 147 t'aan (chieftains) of each dze and human clan and nation. In these meetings most of the things discussed relate to potential land disputes after geographical changes, the management of conflicts, movement of animal herds and so on. When a Tsǫt'aan dies, the Great Meeting elects amongst the most worthy of candidates, usually from the direct family of the last Tsǫt'aan, which are valued in their worth by their intelligence, strength and craftsmanship, with whoever excells the most at these three categories being elected, be it man or woman. The current Tsǫt'aan, Xanaaq̇ut, ascended to power by unifying the local confederations between 1584 and 1598 AR. The Tsǫt'aan however is not a supreme monarch, with most of the governing being done at the local level by the individual T'aan.

Foreign relations

With the isolationist nature of the Dze and their human allies, very few have traversed into their lands in the past from proper nationstates, the only three so far known have been expeditions by Santi Rasta in 1611, by Nova Solarius in 1608 and later again in 1611-1612 and an accidental crash landing in 1611 of a crew from Tepror, all four of were successful in bringing peaceful relations with the outside world or were peaceful contacts.

During 1612 however the amount of arrivals increased after the return of the second solarian expedition, with expeditions from Zÿlwahl, Voidkree, Khijovia and Meria arriving at Dzeia. Still, to this day the Confederation mantains no official diplomatic relations with any other country.

Military

The Confederation relies upon the Ł̣eeqŋq̇enyw for territorial defence and incursions into enemy territory, comprised of a semi-permanent base of professional soldiers, and the Q̇tenyw, known as the Dze Rangers, for the more permanent guarding and patrolling of the lands. The core of the army is comprised by what can be described as "mounted infantry", with warriors being taught to be proficient in mounted and foot combat.

Since the end of the Last Dze-Human War there has been active military patrolling of areas not yet fully inhabited by Dze tribes, specially along the southern border where the lowlands offer more gateways for invasion, this force is of around 150,000 men spread around a border of 1,600-1,700km

Economy

The economy of the confederation is almost exclusively driven by herding, small-scale mining and manufacturing, with blacksmiths and weavers being the two predominant jobs outside of herding. Mining is done on a very limited scale and usually just to provide the blacksmiths with the materials necessary for their craft. Other than that, the economy of Dzeia is very much underdeveloped and in pre-industrial capabilities, due to both their technological level and their way of life.

The most proliferating crafts among the Dze are weaving, smithing, jewlery and carpentry, these are practiced at a local level in the clan or tribe and each one of these has its own tradition, or several depending on the ethnic group.

Culture

The most notable aspect of Dze culture is their semi-nomadic lifestyle, widespread among the entire race and even some human groups allied to them, which has lended itself to unique cultural practices, however this blend entirely present in human groups, as the Dze themselves are predominantly a culturally conservative species, though their cultural diversity is notorious in aspects like music and cuisine.

Visual arts

Visual art has been historically created for religious purposes or for the decoration of tents to mark out the individuality of a Dze. Paintings in Dze culture are most recognizable in the Ḳawaq style, usually done on parchment or animal skins/felt. of these the most common type and well renowned is the Ḿx̣łquƚ or "traditional style". Although most Dze practice different forms of crafts, it is viewed in a positive light to have knowledge in the making of a Ḿẋłẋy, if only for decorative purposes, to mark one's own distinctive identity.

Architecture

Although the Dze themselves do not build stationary homes, humans within their lands are sometimes sedentary, with unique architecture styles that bear evident influence from Dze tent designs. The most prominent of these is the Gyampi Tsak of the Mong Lak people, designed to inhabit the rainy hills of Hammerfall peninsula that arose in the early 1st milennium BR.

Dze homes themselves are usually called x̣eeḿt, a word that has a broad meaning but is generally understood to be a type of tent, which are mostly circular with a dome-shaped roof or entirely dome-shaped with a few variants being more conical in shape. The x̣eeḿt is the foundation for all Dze-inspired arquitecture, such as the Khet Tsekh.

Music

The Dze, due to their vocal abilities, have integrated bitonic singing into overtone, creating a tritonic chant of infrasound and two audible pitches. Combining what the Dze call "Qiŋuq", silent speech, and audible speech they are able to transmit both a mood in the song and to give it an intended effect in its listeners with the silent speech, being the infrasound component and able to have physical effects in those who hear it. The Dze have several variants of fiddles, made of animal gut and hair, whose use ranges from storytelling to every day music, as well as several varieties of drums and flutes. The most famous instruments are the Cewq, Çǫhiq, Miiq and X̣uhun, used by the Eastern Dzeii peoples, like the Nywan tribes.

The music styles in Dzeia are mostly comprised of ³
₄, ⁴
₄, ⁵
₄ and ⁷
₈ time signatures, with the most prevalent musical styles being the Long Song, Overtone Singing and a style of music similar to a Taximi. These are usually accompanied by dances in an open circle of which the most famous style is the Ḳnḳał̣uq or "rain dance", practiced by the Ŋǫłiníí people.

Cuisine

Dzeii cuisine predominantly consist of meat, dairy and fats with small contributions from wild vegetables and herbs. The most common dish is smoked meats, be it of a land or aquatic animal's meat.

The extreme climatic conditions has influenced the cuisine in the lands, specially for the nomadic peoples where access to vegetables is less standard; for these great majority of peoples the vegetables have, due to their wild nature, extremely sophisticated cooking methods; spices however are a common part of the cuisine of several groups due to the prevalence of the types of plants needed throughout the land as well as the extensive trade networks present in the land. Dzean cuisine is also very noticeable for the prevalence of fruit and herb kibble-type deserts and drinks.

Sports and festivals

The main festivals practiced in the confederation are the Dze Lunar Year, occuring on the 16th of Umbra, and the Solar New Year, occuring on the 21st of Umbra, with the period between these festivals being called the Birth of the Five Great Ones, which are a collection of highly revered ŋuŋ. The most common sports practiced in Dzeia are horseback racing, archery, wrestling and a game similar to polo in where two teams of ten fight for control of a woolen cushion.