Kuulik Trade Company
| Capitol | Narik |
|---|---|
| Head of State | Askarbek Akerke |
| Government | Corporate Beaurocracy |
| Location | Northeast Otan |
| Land Area | 13,024 sq. miles |
| Population | 693,220 |
| Racial Mix | |
| Founded | 1 IM |
| Founded by | [[]] |
The Kuulik Trade Company is the smallest nation in Otan, yet boasts the most far-reaching influence of any nation. The diminutive size and small numbers of the Kuulik people preclude their ability to bully other nations on the battlefield. Having settled in the largely infertile and undesirable territory, the people of the Kuulik Trade Company have affected world politics through trade.
Population[edit]
With rare exceptions, the territory of the Kuulik Trade Company is comprised of Kuulik citizens. Non-Kuulik citizens old enough to perform work duties are considered employees of the company. Non-citizens who occupy the territory are almost entirely traders or bargain-hunters looking to acquire goods before they are sent abroad.
Traders can be of any strain as they hail from every country in Otan from Ortalyk to Araldar. Many Kuulik Trade Company citizens live abroad, establishing and maintaining trade routes in every port and settlement where currency can be found. The Kuulik Trade Company offices are often considered a boon to most nations, who rely on their dedication to trading to keep local economies energized.
Because Kuulik Trade Company offices on foreign soil are so easily taxed, the governments benefitting provide the offices with police and military protection, as well as the benefit of the doubt in court cases or other disputes.
Geography[edit]
The peninsula occupied by the Kuulik Trade Company, situated between Ortalyk and Maercland is small. It covers only thirteen thousand square miles, making it the smallest country in Otan.
Kuulik Trade Company Cantons[edit]
The Kuulik Trade Company is made up of 4 cantons.
Sawda Canton[edit]
| Land mass (sq. mi.) | 8,592 |
|---|---|
| Rural population | 382,895 |
| Urban population | 74,642 |
| Total population | 457,537 |
Sawda Canton is a canton of 457,537 souls in the country of Kuulik Trade Company. Sawda Canton is administered from the nation's capital of Narik.
Usinis Islands[edit]
| Land mass (sq. mi.) | 1,360 |
|---|---|
| Rural population | 32,754 |
| Urban population | 10,658 |
| Total population | 43,412 |
Usinis Islands is home to 43,412 Kuulik souls of the Kuulik Trade Company. The Usinis Islands are administered from the canton's capital of Kepil.
Jetkizuu Island[edit]
| Land mass (sq. mi.) | 184 |
|---|---|
| Rural population | 10,139 |
| Urban population | 9,438 |
| Total population | 19,577 |
Jetkizuu Island is an island of 19,577 souls in the Kuulik Trade Company. Jetkizuu Island is administered from the canton's capital of Jetkizuu.
Kelisim Canton[edit]
| Land mass (sq. mi.) | 2,888 |
|---|---|
| Rural population | 158,787 |
| Urban population | 13,907 |
| Total population | 172,694 |
Kelisim Canton is a canton of 172,694 souls in the Kuulik Trade Company. Kelisim Canton is administered from the provincial capital Sart.
Notable Kuulik Landmarks[edit]
Government[edit]
While having borders and the other trappings of a government, the Kuulik Trade Company is best described as a corporate bureaucracy. The structure of the government mimics that of a corporation with three distinctive areas of governmental control. The leader of the country is the Chief Executive Askarbek Akerke, the leader of the Executive Branch of government.
The Board is made up of representatives from the most powerful and influential families in Kuulik territory. The Board is responsible for deciding who will take the role of Chief Executive but otherwise does not interfere with the Executive Branch. The Chief Executive is responsible for selecting a leader of the Kuulik Resources branch. This last of the three branches is responsible to finding the appropriate personnel for all other levels of government from trade offices to the military.
The governmental or "corporate" structure of the Kuulik Trade Company is made up of several departments that are administered by the Executive Branch, but staffed by the Kuulik Resources branch. The largest of these departments include:
- Trade and Acquisitions - responsible for trade across Otan
- Logistics and Supply - responsible for the movement of goods throughout Otan
- Foreign Affairs - responsible for ambassadorial duties
- Corporate Defense - responsible for the Kuulik Military and other sub-departments that protect Kuulik interests
International Politics[edit]
Few souls in Otan are unaware of the Kuulik Trade Company. Their corporate presence can be found in nearly every settlement on the continent, either in the form of sales depots or shipping and supply outlets. While a few pockets of Otan have resisted Kuulik trade, the remainder enjoy the boon such trade brings to local and national economies.
Because the Kuulik have never deployed their military outside of their corporate borders, there are few martial grudges held against the Kuulik Trade Company. There are matters where the company might have sold arms to one nation, which were used against the next, but these grudges rarely manifest in such a way as to restrict beneficial trade. As such, Kuulik trade blossoms nearly everywhere.
Ortalyk[edit]
The southern neighbor of Ortalyk is easily the largest trading partner of the Kuulik Trade Company. Ortalyk remains the richest nation in Otan and also a powerhouse in productivity, from agricultural to manufactured goods.
Araldar[edit]
Anyone who has needed to move goods in Araldar will find a Kuulik Trade Company shipping office at every port. Kuulik porters can be counted loading and unloading goods from nearly every vessel at every dock in every port in the country.
Maercland[edit]
The Grendel trust few non-Grendel strains and perhaps the Kuulik are they only ones they truly trust.
Kiskentay[edit]
There is no love lost between the Swaerdaelfs and the Kuulik. Situated on opposite ends of Otan and having never faced one another in conflict these two people are rarely seen to tolerate one another. The Kuulik Trade Company is expressly forbidden from doing business on Kiskentay soil or in Kiskentay waters.
Garis Triumvirate[edit]
The Garis bar trade from all non-Garis within their borders. They are unlikely to permit non-Garis within their borders for any reason.
National Politics[edit]
Corporate politics within the corporation of the Kuulik Trade Company are not without some intrigue, but the surprises are few and often spaced apart by years. Corporate malfeasance, assassinations, or other shenanigans that one might expect in an arena with extreme political power and influence are surprisingly rare. While the average Kuulik might dream of a higher position in the corporate structure, few feel under-compensated for their efforts.
Those that do feel under compensated are free to start their own companies, and often do. Several very large corporations thrive within the corporate territory of The Company. The Lloyds are a prime example. Gifted with a secret form of actuarial mathematics, The Lloyds are known throughout Otan as a way for governments or powerful individuals to hedge their bets against disaster through insurance.
Other corporations within the realm include The Scriveners. a clerical group who hoard knowledge. They copy and reproduce texts, both historical and magical in great quantities, reselling them directly to consumers or through The Company.
Provincial Politics[edit]
In every province there are one or more settlements of a thousand or more Ortalykshilar. Each of the 28 settlements is administered by a Governor, who is appointed either by their representative Boyar or in some cases, by the Tsar himself.
Civic Politics[edit]
The Governors are tasked with maintaining the cities, providing security for the inhabitants and assisting in recruiting for their reigning Boyar. During times of peace, it is not unusual for a city governorship to be a lifetime appointment unless corruption, egregious mismanagement, or other malfeasance is found in their administration. Minor frailties in a governor's rule will generally be met with 'special assistance' from the Boyar, or even the Tsar, before they are ever replaced.
Military[edit]
The Ortalyk military is made up of 18 regular divisions and one special division dubbed The Tsar's Guard. The latter are hand picked soldiers from the other provincial regiments. Provincial divisions are recruited and organized by that province's Boyar, though it is rare for the Boyar to be part of the division. Each division not led by the Boyar is commanded by soldier of the rank of general.
Military organization can vary from one division to another depending on a number of factors from recruitment and logistics, to terrain and the nature of the enemy. Flying enemies may require special tactics, while tunneling enemies require another. The bulk of most regiments are made up of infantry, followed in numbers by crossbowmen, cavalry, engineers, quartermasters, signallers and special forces. The latter often made up of spellcasters and other adventurer classes.
The Tsar's Guard is in contrast, low on infantry, while rich in crossbow and cavalry. This special division is also host to some very powerful spellcasters and other adventure classes with the Tsar Batil Zhurek having often taking to the battlefield himself.
History[edit]
The capitol of Ortalyk, Kala Astanals, has simply existed for all of known time. It's name in the Ortalykshilar tongue, once assumed to be the common tongue means "capitol city". Under the leadership of the Zhurek dynasty, Ortalyk has been in a state of constant war, most often with Orks and their like but periodically with other more agreeable humanoid racess such as Elves and Dwarves.
Many of these great conflicts found their origins in the wars fomented by the great wizard Nickar and his sworn enemy Zoranthar. It was Batil Zhurek with the help of Shardenzar Sardarbek who eventually brokered a peace between them. This peace ultimately spread through most of the Otan, though pockets of conflict continue to exist.
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