Konyan Plateau

Official Name: Konyan Plateau

Founded: 1888

Form of Government: Full democracy

Head of State: Humble Leader Margus

Population Level: Very low

Society Structure: Subsistence agriculture

Technological Level: Low

Background: A territory long claimed as part of the Rhozanni Oligarchy. Relatively inhospitable land long home to a resilient population, what minimal society exists has carried on through the centuries regardless of the controlling government.

Founding: The founding of the Konyan Plateau as its own nation is mostly notable for how unremarkable it was. From the beginning of the Rhozanni nation it was considered part of the southern province (now Lamia) and offered some small quantity of food as tax when harvests permitted. This happened infrequently; the land is tillable only in small, uneven patches, such that the Rhozanni government did not generally bother to attempt tax enforcement in the territory. The Konyans paid when they paid, and enforcement would rarely if ever have been more profitable than ignoring even years-long periods of non-payment.

The Melt only served to amplify the issue of maintaining the plateau is part of the nation. Because of its existence as a steeply-cliffed peninsula, ship-based trade was impossible, and air travel was far too costly to be used in support of such a small population.. A valley separating the plateau from the rest of the southern province was the only reasonable method of travel in and out; when the Melt washed out the road and left a waterway too wide to be bridged by ferry, the Konyans were effectively on their own.

The shift to self-government did not come immediately. The Konyans had no reason to break ties with the Rhozanni, and vice versa. Once governments began eyeing territories of now-questionable claim for resources, however, the Rhozanni became concerned with the plateau as a liability; it held no real value, even strategic, and if it were attacked they would be forced to defend it or else be viewed as unwilling to protect their people. Thus, in 1888, the Konyans were given notice of their immediate freedom from all Rhozanni laws and jurisdiction, and found themselves an unexpectedly free land.

Pre-Melt: N/A

Melt: N/A

Great War: Though the Rhozanni helped instigate the Great War's initial conflict, the Konyans were no longer involved, even tangentially. The edge of the plateau where the valley used to be was a potentially serviceable port, and the waterway became the scene of many a naval battle, but neither the Messinans nor Rhozanni were able to dominate the waterway long enough to make use of the land. (Scholars frequently point to the Rhozanni failure to build a Konyan port before the war as symptomatic of the overall government dysfunction that led to the oligarchy's collapse.)

In 1891, with the rise of the five ex-Rhozanni nation-states, war in the waterway mostly ceased. The new country of Lamia asserted its naval dominance quickly; no more than a couple of ships flying non-Lamian flags appeared near Konyan territory, and once those were sent to the ocean floor no more were seen.

Post-War to Present: The Konyans continue to ply their trade, such as it is. They keep to their farms, grow enough to keep their people fed and clothed, and let the rest of the world fight its battles. The occasional agricultural innovation makes its way over from Lamia from time to time, but otherwise Konyan life remains simple, if mostly subsistent.

More recently, however, Queen Parthia of Lamia has sent diplomats to visit Humble Leader Margus. The talks have remained secretive; though tradition demands Margus be forthcoming about the nature of these discussions, he has requested the trust of his people in maintaining silence on the matter, only stating that the Lamians have made requests the Konyans are not in a position to grant. He has sworn on the farms of his people that, as always, any possible changes will be put to a vote. But without details, even the stoic Konyans have begun to whisper questions about what they may eventually be asked to vote on, or if such a vote will be called at all.