Tarn
 Flag | |
| Motto: Arms. Faith. Victory. | |
| Official languages | Díenstadi |
| Recognised regional languages | Stevidian, Plánol |
| Demonym(s) | Tarnish |
| Government | Republic |
• Oligarch Prime | Gregor MaKulin |
| Legislature | Tribunate |
| Establishment | |
• Independence from the Golden Throne | MC 2031– |
| Population | |
• MC 2031 census | 82,600,000 |
| GDP (PPP) | 2026 estimate |
• Total | $6.2 trillion |
• Per capita | $76,000 |
| GDP (nominal) | 2014 estimate |
• Total | $6.4 trillion |
• Per capita | $78,000 |
| Currency | Ríokmark (Ŗ) |
| Date format | dd-mm-yyyy CE |
| Driving side | commercial driving is illegal |
| Calling code | +5455 |
| Internet TLD | .tarn |
The The Republic of Tarn is a city-state republic on the isthmus of Jumanota, located on the continent of Xipil in Greater Dienstad. It has enjoyed a long history of autonomy, existing as a self-governing city for many centuries and even having to control a significant maritime empire focused on the Thacu Islands and the southeastern Theohuanacu coastline. It was occupied in 2018 by forces of The Golden Throne, soon after the end of the War of Golden Succession, in order to secure a naval base near Adaptes Astrates, a long time ally of Stevid. After a 14 year period of existing as a likutat, or free city, within the imperial federation of the Golden Throne, Tarn became an independent city-state in MC 2031.
The city is known as the 'private military contractor capital of the world,' and among imperial Macabéans as the 'City of War,' thanks primarily to Tarn's extensive private military-industrial complex. Tarn is a major regional headquarters for private military contractors and entire industrial network organized around supplier, distributors, manufacturers, insurers, bankers, and thousands of other components in the supply chain. The government of Tarn is a government for the private military-industrial complex, by the private military-industrial complex. The private military contractors control the executive branch of the government through the Council of Twelve, while the legislative branch is open only to contractors, veteran contractors, and employees of the military supply chain. Although it is one of the most militarized cities in Greater Dienstad, Tarn's government controls a standing military and law enforcement force of 34,000 officers. However, the city hosts the armies, fleets, air forces, space forces, and cyber forces of hundreds of different private firms involved in the market for war.
While the private military-industrial complex is core to Tarn's identity, the city's economy is vibrant and made up of various sectors. Among the largest of sectors outside of the military, the vice industries form an important component of the local economy. Tarn is known for its casinos, brothels, hotels, and other businesses dedicated to the hedonistic. The Jumanota Canal also forms a significant part of Tarn's economy, and the Port of Tarn is one of the busiest, most important commercial harbors in Xipil and all of southern Greater Díenstad. As a result of the amount of corporate business and international commerce that passes through the city-state, Tarn also hosts a powerful finance and financial services industry that underwrites most of the city's economic activity.
Tarn has an important and diverse immigrant community. Millions of Plánol immigrated to the city between 2018–31 to find work in the growing economy and, although the amount of Plánol immigration has tapered off as a result of new border control policies, Plánol migrants from Holy Panooly continue to be an important source of new population for the city-state. Immigrants also come from all over Greater Díenstad and the world in the shape of military veterans seeking contractor work with one of the many private militaries headquartered in the city, along with foreign-born specialists hired by the various firms in the city.
More than 65 million people visit Tarn as tourists on a yearly basis. The city's vice industries are the single-largest tourist attraction, including the gladiatorial combat games held on a nightly basis throughout the city.
Government
The Constitution
The Tarnish Constitution enshrines the most vital rules that govern the city'state's politics:
- The right of executive previlige shall be bestowed upon the Incorporated Private Militaries.
- All companies meeting the Criteria of Incorporation are eligible for Incorporation into the Incorporated Private Militaries.
- All entities recognized as Incorporated Private Militaries are required by law to assist in the defense of the city against foreign and subversive aggressors.
- Founding Members of the Criteria of Incorporation are Orange-Stoner, Huron Authority, Geh'Lok, Dorian, and the Tribunes.
- Founding Members have a right to appoint three members to the Council of Twelve, except the Founding Member who holds the position of Oligarch Prime.
- The Oligarch Prime is the deciding vote in a tied-vote.
- The Oligarchy of Twelve command over matters of foreign policy and hold right of veto over the Tribunate.
- All current employed Private Military Contractors of Tarn and registered Veteran Private Military Contractors of Tarn are automatically eligible to vote within the Tribunate.
- All civil and criminal law is a matter of vote by the Tribunate.
- Enforcement of civil and criminal law is the responsibility of the Eskúadra Prime.
- The Cazik of the Eskúadra Prime is selected by vote of the Oligarchy of Twelve.
Constitutional Revisions
In MC 2026, Tarn Defense Solutions was removed from the constitution by vote of the Tribunate. Huron Authority was elevated in their place.
After their involvement in the Valo'Kap Consortium and the Killian War, Jeh'Ti and Finkirk were removed from the constitution as founding members of the Criteria of Incorporation in MC 2031. Geh'Lok was elevated in the place of Jeh'Ti. Finkirk was replaced by three new elected positions, the Tribunes.
The Oligarchy of Twelve
The Oligarchy of Twelve serves as the executive branch of the Republic of Tarn.
It is presided by the Oligarch Prime, currently Gregor MaKulin. The Oligarch Prime's vote determines the outcome of a tied-vote. The position is elected from the shareholders of the Incorporated Private Militaries, a body composed of all the shareholders of all the constituent corporate members. By constitutional law, all shareholders of companies considered Incorporated Private Militaries are eligible to vote in the election for the Oligarch Prime. Only corporate leadership from among the Founding Members is eligible to run and the company from which the Oligarch Prime is chosen is reduced to two appointed seats on the Oligarchy of Twelve. Although the Oligarch Prime has no official term limit, the position can be vacated at will by the Criteria of Incorporation. Such an extreme measure has not been taken to date.
All other Founding Members have the constitutional right to appoint three members of their corporate leadership to the Oligarchy. All twelve members vote on matters of foreign policy and on the use of the executive veto. The Oligarchy's veto cannot be overwritten. Although the Oligarchy's veto could be overruled by the Court of the Will in Tarn, this higher court is now dismantled as a result of the granting of Tarn's independence in MC 2031, as the city is no longer considered a member of the Imperial Federation.
The Oligarchy of Twelve exercises its right of veto frequently, including against civil and voting rights legislation proposed by the Tribunate. It also historically opposes laws that weaken legal punishments to criminal offenses.
The Tribunate
The Tribunate is the people's assembly in the Republic of Tarn. The voting constuency of the Tribunate are all present and past members of the Incorporated Private Militaries. Originally created in MC 2019, the Tribunate serves as the voice of the non-corporate employees of Tarn's many PMCs, both in combat and non-combat roles. Only the Tribunate can propose new civil and criminal laws, and only the constituents of the Tribunate can vote to enact these proposals into the city's legal code.
Although non-private-military corporations, including arms manufactures and distributors, have lobbied to open entry into the Incorporated Private Militaries, the Founding Members have refused these requests on the ground that Tarn is primarily a city for private military corporations.
The tradition of restricting the popular vote to military veterans was first enshrined by the Golden Throne in MC 2019 as a means of enticing its veterans from the War of Golden Succession to settle in and around the city. It transformed into what it is today, a popular vote for mercenaries and mercenary veterans, throughout the 2020s, as the Macabéan military presence shrunk and the number of private military corporations rapidly increased.
As of MC 2031, three constituents of the Tribunate are voted for membership in the Oligarch of Twelve. These are the only three positions in the Oligarchy subject to the popular vote. The position of Tribune is held for 3 years and can only be held of three non-consecutive terms.
Military & Law Enforcement
The Eskúadra Prima is the government of Tarn's only law enforcement and public self defense arm. It is composed of roughly 34,000 officers.
The primary roles of the Eskúadra Prima include border patrol and the enforcement of the Tribunicianary law. It is responsible for the staffing, maintenance, and continued development of the Eskot Line, named after the Eskúadra Prima commander who first proposed the establishment of a multi-layer fortification surrounding the city in all 360 degrees, whether it be over land or on water. Much of the Eskot Line is specialized in controlling movement of Plánol immigrants into the city.
Infrastructure
Air and Sea
The city operates one deep water container port, the Port of Tarn, handling more than 90,000 twenty-foot equivalent units per year. It is the most significant commercial port in Holy Panooly and serves as a distribution center for goods entering, and leaving, Theohuanacu from, and to, eastern Greater Díenstad. Four harbor zones comprise the port: Klofeld Deep Water Port, Crown Point, Canal Harbor, and Rohton Harbor. As of MC 2031, the Port of Tarn is operated by the Tarn Port Authority, which is subcontracted by authority of the Oligarchy of Twelve. Navitek has held the Tarn Port Authority contract since the organization's inception. Navitek also larges portions of the Jumanota Canal and was responsible for most of the port and canal infrastructure's construction. The company holds royalty rights to canal revenue collected by the government of Tarn.
Commercial air traffic over Tarn is tightly regulated because the city's airspace is prioritized for military purposes. Two international airports service 170 million total passengers each year combined, the Hart-Jackson International Airport and Karlsen Field. Both airports are accessible only by high speed rail and local light rail lines, as the city outlaws all private vehicular use.
Rail
Aside from entering the city by ship or aircraft, Tarn is accessible from the outside by maglev high-speed rail. High-speed rail lines currently exist between Tarn and Voros, on the opposite end of the Jumanota Canal. A line connects the airport and port with urban rail hubs that also connect with local rail and metro services, allowing residents and tourists to visit any part of the city on foot — necessary because all forms of private vehicular transport are banned to prioritize the use of highways for military exercises and deployments. The maglev lines can achieve a maximum operational speed of 430 km/h.
Traditional and light rail is available for short-distance suburban travel.
Metro is avaialble for short-distance urban travel.
Public Utilities
Through the Tarn Maintenance Authority (TMA), the city-state provides mail delivery, sewage and water, as well as trash disposal services. Public utilities are delivered through a network of pipes and tunnels that connect all residences and businesses both on the surface of the city and below. By law, all residences and businesses are required to be connected with all public utility services. The construction and maintenance of mail and package delivery tunnels, sewage and water pipes, as well as electrical cables and other essential components is subsidized by the city-state's government through the Tribunate.
The TMA is a government-sponsored enterprise awarded through a 5-year contract to one or more companies. The Tribunate may choose to hold tender contracts at any point in time, if the overall quality of the services provided are deemed to be poor.
Energy
Tarn imported roughly 70 million tons of crude oil and 25 million tons of refined oil per year in MC 2030. The majority of these imports go to the war industries, whether for field training exercises, operations, or other uses. Roughly 65 percent of all crude and refined oil is imported from Theohuanacu, with another 15 percent originating from Indras, and the rest imported primarily from Guffingford and Stevid.
The city-state also operates four nuclear powerplants on the outskirts of Tarn's hinterland, producing more than a combined 23,000 MW. During the city's occupation of Jumanota, between MC 2026–31, six additional powerplants were constructed along the length of the Jumanota Canal. Their ownership was passed to the newly established Tarn Energy Authority (TEA), which is ran on similar lines to the Tarn Port Authority and Tarn Maintenance Authority, and these plants continue to power the city after the isthmus' ownership was returned to Holy Panooly. These additional powerplants provide more than a combined 40,000 MW of energy. Three more offshore powerplants are currently in construction and are planned to begin operations in MC 2035, raising the city's total nuclear energy output to almost 100,000 MW.
The difference between residential-and-commerical energy needs and what is not produced through nuclear means is imported from Adaptes Astrates.
History
Dawn of the 21st Century
Tarn entered the 21st century as a significantly-sized commercial city on the west coast of the Jumanota isthmus, a territory then disputed between Adaptes Astrates and Holy Panooly. Like much of the western Panooly coastline, Tarn was frequently raided by slave-selling pirates operating from the southeastern cities of Theohuanacu. It weathered these largely unprotected, as governmental control over the isthmus remained in dispute.
In late MC 2018, the Golden Throne occupied and annexed Tarn as part of the first phase in a general occupation of Jumanota. Although the occupation of Jumanota was eventually called off after an agreement between the Golden Throne, Adaptes Astrates, and Stevid, Tarn remained annexed as a likutat, or free-city, of the imperial federation.
City of War
Initially, Tarn was quickly turned into a major base of operations for the Golden Throne's invasion of Theohuanacu. A large garrison, as well as a sizeable naval contintent stationed at the city's harbor, contributed to a booming economy driven by the consumption of imperial military personnel. This influx of money attracted immigrants from elsewhere on the isthmus, and from Holy Panooly, to find work in the city. Tarn grew rapidly over the coming years. A large military presence also brought new businesses into the city, including arms manufacturers, distributors, training companies, arms repair and maintenance firms, and countless other contractors involved with the Fuermak. The port was enlarged to allow more commercial shipping to supply the burgeoning metropolis, matching a rapid growth in trade. Tarn became known as the City of War as a result of its association with the imperial military.
After the annexation of Theohuanacu, most of the military presence gradually transferred eastward to the Theohuanacán mainland. To replace the large amount of revenues earned from soldiers in the Golden Throne's service, the city decided to cater to soldiers who were just leaving the Golden Throne's service. Exploiting the minimal federal oversight over the running of the Tarnish economy, the city crafted a network of laws to empower business leaders managing the large private military corporations in Tarn that had developed to offer the imperial government off-the-books military capabilities.
The change in the city's civil code, limiting the military-industrial complex's exposure to legal scrutiny, ushered in a rising wave of investment in the city. New private military corporations were founded, some raised from their bootstraps and others funded by foreign national governments. The city now holds headquarters for thousands of firms associated with the PMC industry. The growing financial power of the industry invited larger financial services providers, including Díenbank, other major clearinghouse unions, and their associated network of lesser banks, which opened the industry up to an even greater scale of capabilities. The city as a whole has become a vital commercial entrepot in central Greater Dienstad.
With the Fuermak's relocation of military forces in Tarn to Theohuanacu, the Council of Twelve was reorganized under the leadership of the most important private military corporations with their home headquarters located in the city. Apart from the body's original mission of aligning the Tribunate's legislative direction with federal law, the Council was further tasked with leashing the PMC complex to prevent conflicts of interests between the imperial federation and companies headquartered in the city.
The granting of signficant autonomy to the PMCs in Tarn were to have significant implications on the future of the metropolis.
PMC Capital of the World
The rapidly growing PMC industry in Tarn made companies more competitive and desperate to sign bigger contracts. In 2026, Tarn Defense Solutions led a project awarded by Navitek to seize the Jumanota Isthmus, long-disputed between Adaptes Astrates and Holy Panooly. The multinational holding company became interested in Jumanota after winning a Macabéan contract to cross the isthmus with a canal capable of accomodating the largest commercial and military vessels in the world. The seizure was primarily intended to secure the length of the canal from the growing instability in Holy Panooly. However, the invasion was contested by Holy Panooly and the war expanded into the country's northern regions. Tarn Defense Solutions famously assassinated the Panooly leader, Dominic Templeton, leading to the arrest and imprisonment of several leading members of the company's leadership team. Jumanota remained occupied by Tarn-based PMCs until MC 2031, when the isthmus was handed to the new territorial government in Holy Panooly in exchange for the city's independence from the imperial federation.
Tarn-based companies would be recurring accused of participating in black-ops under contract by foreign governments. For some, these accusations define their brand. Orange-Stoner has been accused of undertaking anticommunist death squad operations in Crysuko. The corporation's participation in frontline combat against Ordenite forces during the Second Krasnovan War is publicly acknowledged by its leadership. Huron Authority allegedly took a Morridane contract in New Garrack and a Macabéan destasbilization mission in San Castello. Dozens, if not hundreds, of firms are accused of being satellites of foreign national military forces for the conducting of unofficial black op missions.
Large contracts, like the seizure of Jumanota and the infamous contract with the Killian government, leading to the Valo'Kap War, has incentivized firms to temporarily cooperate through the creation of independent consortiums. Consortiums like Valo'kap operated up to two million military personnel in a single military deployment. Other consortiums take on smaller contracts, usually by working instead as a broker between clients and a diverse portfolio of independent firms, each with their own specialty.
Private Military Corporations in Tarn
Combat and combat support firms exist as independent corporations, as well as as consortiums. Consortiums typically arise out of the need to fulfill a complicated, multidisciplinary contract by combining two or more specialist firms through a transcorporate board that can contract the resources of the constituent firms at will, in accordance when the needs of the consortium's clients. The most well-known consortium are the Valo'Kap and Lourens Consortiums, although of the two only the latter remains operational as of MC January 2032.
The private military corporations incorporated into the Incorporated Private Militaries include, but are not limited to:
| Name | Affiliation |
|---|---|
| Canus Security | Independent |
| Dorian | Independent |
| Eastern Military Deployments | Mokastana |
| Finkirk | Independent |
| Geh'Lok International | Independent |
| Huron Authority | Independent |
| Jeh'Ti | Independent |
| Kanamaru Gunbatsu | Nihon |
| Koman Services | Independent |
| Orange-Stoner | Independent |
| Sakanoue Gunbatsu | Nihon |
| Swords of Jonak | The Golden Throne |
| Tarn Defense Solutions | Independent |
| The Serial Peacemakers | Patrick O'Conner |
| Wanderjarian Legion | Wanderjar |
| Wildcat Aviation | Morrdh |
Laws Regarding PMCs in Tarn
Strict laws and regulations protect both the corporations and the contractors from criminal and civil liability for actions committed under contractual obligation. These laws were first put into place by the Golden Throne, seeking to attract the private military industry by minimizing the risks of doing business, and the same core framework remains in place post-independence. Private military corporations are very rarely successfully prosecuted.
Historically, there have been two exceptions to general legal immunity:
- In MC 2026, when federal intelligence forces arrested the corporate board leadership of Tarn Defense Solutions, following the assassination of Panooly dictator Dominic Templeton.
- In MC 2031, when federal security agents arrested the corporate board leadership of Valo'Kap Consortium, following the Valo'Kap War.
In both cases, the arrests were made after political negotiations rearranging the autonomy and, finally, independent of the city-state. As the city now lives outside of the imperial federal law, presumably this twice-utilized channel to prosecute corporate leadership is now permanently closed.
Economic Impact
The private military-industrial complex is the city's single-largest industry, encompassing the private military corporations, point-of-sale arms distributors, wholesale arms suppliers, arms manufacturers, design and engineering firms, industrial goods suppliers, and the hundreds of other specialists that in some way relate to the needs of the private armies. The total number of employed contractors is officially unknown as most employment contracts include strictprivacy right stipulations that prevent public records of their involvement. However, estimates are as high as 20–30 million people involved in the industry as a whole, including shipyards involved in the construction of military vessels for private military contractors.
Growth in the market for suppliers and manufacturers puts Tarn in the center of an international arms trade. Weapons in Fustera, Krasnova, New Empire, and throughout Greater Dienstad, found in guerrilla hands, often originate or were distributed through Tarn. Because Tarnish PMCs source their weapons through their own vendors, Tarn is home to thousands of defense companies that specialize in different needs. Small arms, heavy specialty weapons, armored vehicles, aircraft, warships, including aircraft carriers, missile systems, electronic systems, cybersecurity and warfare systems, and more are all traded through Tarn. Because of its capacity to handle production at scale, thanks to such a concentrated and perpetual demand for private military services in the region, Tarn's arms industry now supplies buyers across the region who seek the diversity in sellers made possible only by the fractured nature of the enormous local demand for weapon and military systems. The war trade is Tarn's greatest competitive advantage.
Economy
Tarn has an advanced capitalist economy based around the private military industrial complex, canal trade, and the financial sector. Its annual GDP growth rate averages 6.3% over the last decade. Although not strictly a tax haven, the Tarnish economy attracts high amounts of foreign investment because of its lax regulatory framework. Business revenues are the city's primary tax base, as such the businesses are the primary benificiaries of Tarn's regulatory code.
Canal Income
The Jumanota Canal is a significant part of Tarn's economic identity. Although the canal is a more recent addition to the city's economy, its impact was immediate and large. Because the canal opens at a southern extension of the Port of Tarn, the capacity moving through the port has doubled since the canal's opening. The amount of shipping trade passing through the canal continues to grow annually as demand for port capacity grows in Fedorograd and Jonaksburg in Krasnova, Tlaloc and Fedorohuacán in Theohuanacu, and Fedoroville in Holy Panooly, largely as a result of the geopolitical stabilization of the area since the Fourth Krasnovan War. The canal also contributes to the tourism, hospitality, gambling, and entertainment industries, cruise ships and private vessels being a favored mode of transportation from the other nearby countries and entities, as well as through the needs of the hundreds of thousands of people employed by the canal and the shipping companies that use it.
The city's government ears toll revenue through a contract it originally shared with Navitek, the company responsible for the canal's construction. Navitek's shares in the contract were purchased by the Golden Throne in MC 2031, when Jumanota was re-incorporated into Holy Panooly. Although the Golden Throne no longer pays an annual toll for unconditional rights of passage, all other public and private entities pay tolls which are now solely collected by the Tarn Canal Authority (TCA). In MC 2030, $3.5 billion was generated through canal tolls.
Other Taxes and Public Revenue
In MC 2030, income taxes on business revenue made up approximately 13% of the city's total tax revenue. Including pass-through entities, taxes on business activity (both corporate and individual) composed 63%. Payroll taxes are 15% of Tarn's revenue and 22% is collected through a vice tax. The vice tax includes all consumption of gambling, entertainment, sex, and hospitality services by native and foreign customers alike.
Banking and Finance
Finance and financial services, including insurance services, accounted for approximately 20% of Tarn's GDP in MC 2030.
The city operates under the same banking laws as the imperial federation of the Golden Throne, a legacy that was retained after the city's independence. Staying with the Golden Throne's financial system remains advantageous as the Golden Throne is the single largest capital market to which Tarn has access to. Furthermore, a significant share of the industry is owned by financial institutions originating or headquartered throughout the Golden Throne's vast federation. Much of the city's financial infrastructure came into place to service the needs of the imperial military presence, later shifting to service the burgeoning private military market, and with it the enormous sums of money and capital moved through the industries of vice.
Today, the financial sector has further diversified thanks to the trade and income generated by the canal, commercial usage of the port, and the rapidly expanding tourism and hospitality industry.
Tarn's financial sector underwrites 85% of the city's transactions, including arms sales, overseas campaigns-on-contract, insurance claims, and the numerous other movements of debt and capital that take place. Tarnish banks also control most of the capital invested in the vice industries, and earned as well. Because the government does not tax capital income, Tarnish banks also manage trillions of dollars in domestic and foreign savings. Because of this status as a major financial power in the area, the city is also known as the Macabea of Xipil.
Two clearinghouse-unions manage the city's clearinghouse networks and banks, Díenbank Xipil and Bank of Tarn.
Vice
Tarn is known for its brothels, popular destinations for active contractors and veterans alike. The prostitution industry as a whole is estimated to be valued at $10 billion a year. Although legal, prostitution is tightly regulated by the Tribunate. All brothels are owned and controled by the Tarn Entertainment Authority, a contract awarded to one or more private companies and which is re-committed to on an annual basis. The Tarn Entertainment Authority's primary buyers are soldiers, contractors, and veterans, although certain brothels also specialize for their corporate or tourist clientele.
Gambling is also legal and regulated, also under the umbrella of the Tarn Entertainment Authority. However, gambling houses and casinos are all privately owned and independently operated, often belonging to several different other industry associations and organizations. The companies who dominate the gambling industry are the same who dominate the city's sports and entertainment industries, along with the hospitality industry. Tarn attracts between 50–60 million tourists who specifically visit to gamble or for the associated events, such as the gladiator fights. Contractors and veterans also spend on the gambling and entertainment industry, although despite the number of customers in the city the demographic remains second to international tourists in terms of revenue share, a testament to the city's draw for vice.
The city continues the tradition, inherited from the Golden Throne, of allowing the legal distribution of narcotics through one of four companies with Tribunate-issued charters granting rights to that purpose.
Tourism
Approximately 65–75 million people flock to Tarn annually as tourists.
80% of all tourism is directly associated with the vice industries. Tarn also attracts visitors from all over the world to its beaches, beachside hotels, and shopping complexes. The city is a major calling port for cruise ships in the region. Holy Panooly is accessible from the Tarnish side of the border virtually freely, and Tarn has become a major staging ground for guided vacation packages in Jumanota and even further south.
Immigration and the Labor Force
Tarn attracts military veterans from all over the world. A significant share of veterans looking for contractor work after national military service originate from the Golden Throne, including from the provinces, the Guffingfordi constituents, and the Pan-Havenic territories. Veterans of the Fuermak are especially sought after because they are most likely combat veterans, and they are given the means to establish themselves allowing willing imperial veterans to easily travel and live in Tarn while searching for work. However, veterans come to Tarn from all over Greater Dienstad and beyond, and many companies have formed with leadership from other countries who can specialize in the recruitment of their countrymen. Those seeking work within the private militaries as a contractor therefore find it easy to enter the city.
It is estimated that 40% of Tarn's labor force is composed of Plánols from Jumanota and northern Holy Panooly. When the city was federated, border policy followed that of the empire: open to all seeking better, freer lives. Tarn was in desperate need of workers, despite the large number of imperial veterans being settled in the city as the Ejermacht was gradually demobilized. Plánol immigrants have been vital to powering the city's industry's need for labor.
Since independence, Tarn's borders with Holy Panooly have become more difficult to travel through. Although people in Tarn have no trouble traveling into Holy Panooly, reentering Tarn is now a matter of having the proper visa or documentation.
Culture
Cuisine
Tarnish cuisine is varied, multicultural, and highly stratisfied. Streetfood is popular, day and night, and can be very diverse, varying by district and neighborhood. While street vendors in Plánol-dominant communities often specialize in traditional and modern takes on their homeland cuisine, Plánol-inspired food is also tasted through chain, family, and upper scale restaurants throughout the city. Theohuanacán cuisine, with its rices, sauced meats, and multi-colored beans, is also popular, as are cuisines imported from all over the world by those who seek work in the private armies. Because of the large number of tourists who frequent Tarn annually, the city's cuisine also caters to international tastes as varied as the people who visit it.
Gladiatorial Games
The most popular sport in Tarn are the gladiatorial games. Although the arena most associated with the games is the Koloso, gladiatorial combat shows are held throughout Tarn and are controlled by many of the same business people in the gambling and entertainment industries. The sport estimated $5.7 billion in revenue in MC 2030 and attracts large crowds, generating associated revenue for local hotels, restaurants, casinos, and other businesses. The gladiatorial games are considered a core part of Tarnish culture and indentity.
Gladiatorial games consist of at least two or more contestants who must wear power armor as part of the base game rules. Single games have held more than one hundred human contestants at one time, and games often involve animals, most of which are domestically bred through genetic modification in labs. Combat is timed and scored, the score used to determine winners in games where not all contestants are knocked out. Games can end before regulation time by one combatant, or team, knocking out all others. Knock outs are defined by damage extensive enough to put the opponent out of combat, either through voluntary withdrawal or through incapacitation. Although knock out by death is possible and is associated with Tarn's gladiatorial games, over the past 15 years the average knock out by death rate among combantants is only 15%.
Although drug use in the sport is legal, it is also highly controversial. Combatants often design their suits to inject painkillers, stimulants, and other drugs while in use, enhancing the gladiator's strength, agility, and intelligence. Peak modern biopharmaceutical science allows combatants to fight for longer and closer to death, allowing the drugs to keep them alive. Despite studies that show negative long-term mental health side effects and increased likelihood of nonprofessional recreational drug use, the sport continues to officially sanction the practice.