Duōmachāha: Difference between revisions

The '''People's Republic of Duōmachāha''', commonly known as '''Duōmachāha''' or '''Duamacia''' in the [[Occidental world|Occident]], is a sovereign state in [[Alshar]]. The country is comprised of the Duōma Plateau, a large plateau stretching from [[Kandara]] in the west to [[Metzetta]] in the east, and a lowland plain in the southwest north of [[Canpei]] and [[Rusana]]. The southern border of Duōmachāha is defined by various rivers for nearly its entire extent barring the Rusani Pass extending into the Pukhtun River Valley and the Snow Dragon Pass north of Tanhai. The northern border is similarly defined by long rivers pouring down from the two mountain ranges of the country, the Gates of Heaven (Tsosogidagungshō / སྒོཙོ།གི།དགུང་ཤཽ།), defining the north border between Duōmachāha and Kandara, and the Snow Dragon Peaks (R'tsesogiclōgonghas / རྩེ་མོ།གི།ཀླུ་གངས།) reaching from the Duōma Plateau to the Metzi coast. The rivers and mountains of the Duōma border make the country resistant to foreign influence, and this has proven so through history as Duōmachāha avoided colonization from Occidental nations and maintained a working relationship with [[Burgundie]]. Duōmachāha shares a tenuous northern border with [[Kloistan]] however where the Duōma Plateau gives way to the vast steppe land of northern Alshar. The majority of the state sits high above sea level, with 68% of the country consisting of the Duōma Plateau alone and 70% of the country's 2,599,416 square kilometers being highland. The country's capital sits on the plateau in Hronizha, while the largest city of Langsei resting on the shore of Lake Nongkun close to the border with Tanhai.

== History ==

=== Era of Legend ''(Antiquity)'' ===

Long before Duōmachāha bore its name, the lands were held together by the first Mang-po Rgyadre-tso Master. According to legend, the plateau was dominated by various warlord territories, but all were kept in check by the Mang-po Rgyadre-tso master. This lost martial art native to the Duōma plateau allowed warriors trained under the Master to wield multiple weapons at once as if they had multiple sets of arms. The legendary Master was able to slow down his time perception to such a degree that he could manipulate the very fabric of the environment around him. At this, the Master wielded the Four elemental weapons of Mang-po Rgyadre-tso: The Chasm Scythe, the Dual Section Thunder Sticks, the Gale Stars, and the Solar Cleaver. With command over the four elements the Mang-po Rgyadre-tso Master raised the Duōma plateau from the ground and permanently bound the land together across the large flat land. Though stretching the land thin forced the warlords to settle their differences, but they only came to peace through their collective fear of the Master. The power that came with the art was condemned, and the Master hid the elemental weapons across the land. These power of these weapons is said to have formed the features of Duōmachāha surrounding the plateau. The Snow Dragon Peaks are among some of the coldest in Alshar, and their dangerous freezing temperatures are said to be spurred by the Gale Stars. The Rusani Pass of the south is known through history to be cursed with constant storms, attributed to being the resting place of the Dual Section Thunder Sticks. Lake Nongkun is said to be the resting place of the Chasm Scythe, where the scythe split the ground open and forced the surrounding rivers to flood into the newly formed valley. The resting place of the Solar Cleaver is unknown, but it is believed to be underneath the Duōma Plateau where it beckoned the high temperatures absorbed by the now shrubland. The trees of the former steppe were lowered by the calling of the sword and removed the great forests that sowed the land's former internal division. Without the unifying power of Mang-po Rgyadre-tso and the Master to pass down his teachings, the new land proved foreign to the newly united people, leading to the period of debilitating famine and survivalist life that would definite the plateau and forge Duōma society.

==== Warlord Period (~2000 BCE) ====

Though shrouded in a thick fog of legend, all texts documenting early Duōma history talk of various skilled warlords leading fragmented territories across the Duōma plateau. Fighting was seemingly bitter and fierce, with different warlords training armies of soldiers in burgeoning combat practices, such as Mang-po Rgyadre-tso. Resource across the plateau was minimal, leading to a scarce supply of adequate weaponry for battle. The power commanded by the warlords brought about tales of heroic combat between these powerful men, while Wangpo was able to create a picture of a more grim reality in the war-torn steppe. He writes of vast empty lands controlled by small groups of soldiers on cavalry while the citizenry was regularly short on necessities.  

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  |quote  = While the Snow Dragon Pass depopulated into destitution the plateau became fiercely contested. None are able to trace back to the Era of Legend, but a monumental event evidently quelled previously cohesive civilization. While the only authority known on the plateau was that of the warlords, I struggle to see what brought about the collapse of Duōma society. Even as centuries have passed, the plateau is still marked by the anarchy of the Warlord Period, and the Hronizha government has only put this on display. Through my travels I am yet to meet any of the upper plateau who feel anything but the light touch of the new leadership, but the hole left by their conquest has brought an end to the famine.

  |align  = left

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Though Wangpo posits the existence of a Duōma civilization there is no evidence outside of the Pandect to suggest such. The Pandect itself, while broadly reliable, seemingly both chronicles Duōmachāha and outlines its components. The Snow Dragon Pass civilization existed outside of the scope of Duōma society until the first century but is still described as part of Duōmachāha. The event in question leading to the collapse of early Duōma civilization is thought to be invasion of the plateau from the Snow Dragon Pass, with a depopulation of the mountains following as Duōma armies were able to repel invasion. It is possible a more cohesive society existed in the Duōma plateau at this stage, with Yangpo referencing a previously united Duōma state prior to the Warlord Period. This state, however, evidently collapsed after the theorized invasion from the Snow Dragon Peaks, though there is limited archeological evidence to support this.  

[[Category:Duamacia]]

[[Category:IXWB]]