Fisanduh
The Imperial province of Fisanduh, once the Confederated States of Fisanduh, is a resource-rich region of Moroz de jure entirely controlled by the Empire of Dominia. In reality, Fisanduh is split between the Imperial-controlled Outer region and the contested Inner region, which is home to the Fisanduh Freedom Front, or 3F: the largest and most functional remnant of the Confederated States’ government on Moroz.
While the Confederated States never formally surrendered to the Empire and the Fisanduhian diaspora in the All-Xanu Republic, along with the 3F, claim it will one day be free again, nearly a century of occupation by the Empire has seen the political landscape of the region become increasingly convoluted as Fisanduhian families decide for themselves who they will be loyal to: the promise of a better Fisanduh under Imperial rule, or the promise of democracy’s return from Xanu to Neubach.
History
The history of Fisanduh is one of war, and of the sorrow that comes as a result. For over a century -- since 2355 -- Fisanduh has been involved, in various manners, in conflict with the rest of Moroz: first with the Imperial Alliance, and then with the Empire it would eventually form. Fighting was initially confined solely to Outer Fisanduh and the Gates of Fisanduh themselves until 2384, when the Confederated States of Fisanduh officially fell to the forces of the Imperial Alliance, Plan SCRAM -- an emergency “stay-behind” resistance designed to continue the fight -- was activated, and what remained of the government fled to the All-Xanu Republic. Following its fall the then-Emperor Godwin Keeser I made few efforts to properly integrate the Fisanduhians into the greater Empire, viewing them as decadent, rebellious, and tainted by the Confederated States’ long-lasting and stable democracy. He instead opted to begin a process of “Morozification” in Fisanduh, in which Dominian settlers from the rest of Moroz were brought to “civilize” the new province and an effort was made to stamp out Fisanduhian culture, particularly its local branch of Tribunalism: the Communion of the Three-in-One, more simply known as “Communionist Tribunalism.” The Emperor laid a heavy “war tax” upon his new subjects in the former Confederated States, both to help pay off debts the state held to its great houses following the war and as a punishment for Fisanduh’s decades of resistance.
Many historians, Imperial or otherwise, hold that the Emperor’s policies were in error and directly contributed to the rise of the Fisanduh Freedom Front (3F) during the final years of the 24th century. Formally emerging in 2386 — shortly after the end of the War of Moroz — the 3F were ignored by the Imperial Army while rising tensions between Morozian settlers, missionaries, and Fisanduhians led to many joining resistance groups. The activity of the 3F was, during its first years of operation, comparatively small-scale. Freedom Front fighters carried out sporadic firebombings, acts of vandalism, and other violent attacks which, while small-scale, had an impact upon the Morozian settlers in Fisanduh. These settlers began to associate the Fisanduhian accent with the 3F, and regarded all Fisanduhians with suspicion, with some forming self-defense militias which harassed Fisanduhians under the pretense of hunting for insurgents. In response to pleas by settlers for more security against insurgent attacks the Imperial Fisanduhian Gendarme (IFG), a locally-recruited police force drawn from Morozians and Fisanduhians, was established in early 2394. The IFG and local Imperial Army forces maintained a tenuous grip over the entire province but were stretched thin and often entirely unable to control the countryside outside of armored vehicle patrols. While the Imperial forces were on the backfoot throughout the 2390s the 3F was ascendant, taking more and more control over the countryside and some small towns. In Inner Fisanduh it would eventually form a parallel government to the Empire it used to exploit resources and smuggle arms, further empowering the Front. By 2400 it was able to, in theory, challenge the Imperial forces found in Fisanduh.
The apex of the Front’s power, and the nearest Fisanduh has come to realizing its dream of freedom from the Empire, was during the 17 November 2402 Navy Day Uprising. The result of nearly twenty years of planning by the Front, the Uprising began with the bombing of an Imperial Fleet light cruiser — the Outrider — in its drydock in Jinxiang, diverting forces from Fisanduh to secure Moroz’s industrial heartland. Over the coming days the Front began a series of coordinated assaults on Imperial Army and Gendarmerie forces throughout Fisanduh. Already badly overextended and underprepared for a major assault, Imperial forces began to give ground to the Front in Inner Fisanduh. As the situation deteriorated the Empire was forced back to the Gates of Fisanduh and the Inner Fisanduhian city of Isterberg, near Strelitz’s Rest, after losing its hold on Neubach, the largest city in Inner Fisanduh. In Outer Fisanduh the Army and Gendarmerie had greater success, repelling Front assaults with few casualties and losing no major outposts — but not managing to retain control over great regions of the countryside.
Despite its best efforts the Front was unable to complete its mission of defeating the Empire and removing it from all of Fisanduh, and had not managed to secure all of Inner Fisanduh. By late November, two weeks after the Uprising’s start, the tide began to turn against the Front with the arrival of fresh Imperial Army troops. Primarily Ma’zals from Novi Jadran supported by elite Morozian mountain infantry, these troops were fresh and provided the manpower needed to secure the region. Over the rest of 2402 the Front was pushed back across Outer Fisanduh and made little progress against entrenched Imperial forces at the Gates of Fisanduh and in Isterberg, which had become the site of vicious urban warfare between Imperial and Front forces. By mid-January 2403 Outer Fisanduh had been completely secured and the Gates further reinforced, with the battle of Isterberg ending in a victory for the Imperial Army later in the month. Some have pointed out that while Fisanduh was initially defeated by elite geneboosted “supersoldiers” of House Strelitz created at the Emperor’s behest, it was finally secured by ordinary Ma’zal troops who were, on average, shorter, thinner, and poorer than their Morozian counterparts.
After almost three months, the Uprising had become the Imperial Army’s greatest challenge since the War of Moroz, and ended in a stalemate. The Empire was left to consolidate its hold on Outer Fisanduh, the Gates, and Isterberg while the Front was left badly mauled but in nominal control of most of Inner Fisanduh. However, the Front was now struggling with an internal conflict between a larger faction which wished to consolidate its control of Inner Fisanduh and a significant minority which wished to continue fighting and regain all of Fisanduh’s territory. In mid-2403 these tensions boiled over into open conflict between the Fisanduh Freedom Front and the more radical faction, which referred to itself as the Yellow Star Front (YSF). These two factions have been involved in an on-and-of conflict in Fisanduh since 2403, fighting with both one another and Imperial forces for control and influence over the region. This fighting faded in the late 2430s as the YSF was mostly, though not entirely, defeated by the larger and better-equipped 3F at the cost of significant destruction in Neubach.
The following decades were marked by frequent skirmishes between insurgent groups and Imperial forces in Inner Fisanduh, though violence sometimes spilled over into Outer Fisanduh, combined with an economic downturn across the region as businesses left Fisanduh’s territory for Jinxiang and Domelkos, driven away by insurgent attacks and restrictions placed by the Imperial Army. Many Fisanduhians immigrated from the region or fled Inner Fisanduh for the Outer region, submitting to Imperial rule in exchange for safety from fighting in Inner Fisanduh. The Inner region itself saw a worse downturn than the Outer region as, deprived of any unified government, areas began to fall into disrepair and ruin, often reverting to barter economies as the Fisanduhian Mark collapsed. This new status quo of conflicts that rarely grew beyond minor skirmishing lasted until the mid-2450s, when the region was thrown into conflict again.
In 2440 the Emperor accepted a number of unathi into the Empire against the judgment of many human great houses, seeing these new subjects as a way to finally end the issue of the insurgency in Fisanduh. The Han’san — one half of the unathi great house — were thrown against the insurgent groups in Fisanduh during the 2440s and 2450s, causing immense friction between unathi and regular Army units — often Ma’zals — along with the Gendarmerie. House Strelitz’s protests were ignored by the Emperor, and rumors began to circulate that leadership of the Army would be transferred to the Han’san if they succeeded in pacifying Inner Fisanduh. Unathi operations against the insurgents continued until the Battle of Three Peaks in April 2454, when elite forces of the 3F troops demolished the Han’san’s entire strength in a decisive battle which few of the clan survived. Humiliated and disgraced, the Han’san have never recovered the strength they once held.
The matter of how the insurgents were able to destroy the Han’san has been debated since the day it took place. While the Fisanduhian troops present were some of the best in the insurgency, such as the 32nd Mountain Division, rumors have always circulated about Strelitz officers and Kazkhz nobles providing information and weaponry to the insurgents as part of an effort to eliminate their rivals. Those individuals who are known to circulate these rumors are often discovered to have been shell infiltrators working on behalf of the Empire’s enemies, and most publicly regard them as nonsense – though some do observe how close House Strelitz has long been to the royal family, particularly the crown princess. Regardless of this, the Battle of Three Peaks remains a source of debate and gossip for many Imperials and Fisanduhians alike. Since the battle Fisanduh has further destabilized as the YSF has emerged to fill the vacuum left behind by the now-reduced 3F, and the two insurgent groups have once again become involved in a civil war which has at times spilled over into Outer Fisanduh. With growing violence Imperial forces have once again become involved in scattered fighting and civilians have been put at increased danger, both from the insurgent groups and from Imperial forces who may assume they are insurgents. As the region begins another decade of Imperial control and its civil war shows no sign of ending soon, most Fisanduhians look to the future with trepidation — concerned that, no matter what it holds, it shall not be good.
Environment and Regions
Fisanduh is cold and dry with a short growing season, particularly in Inner Fisanduh. Its geography is dominated by the Fisanduhian Mountain range and its foothills, which surround the majority of the region and only leave it accessible through mountain passes collectively known as the “Gates of Fisanduh.” The Gates of Fisanduh were sites of some of the fiercest fighting during the War of Moroz, becoming heavily-fortified strongpoints of the Confederated States’ Army by the war’s end. These serve as the main point of division for Fisanduh’s two regions: Inner and Outer.
Outer Fisanduh is the larger of these two regions, and is made up of the outward-facing foothills of the Fisanduh Mountain range. Before the War of Moroz this region was the more rural part of Fisanduh and was well-known for its rolling, farm-covered hills dotted with the occasional mountain town and criss-crossed by the railways that would bring the foods of Outer Fisanduh to Inner Fisanduh. When the War came to Outer Fisanduh it was abandoned by the Confederated States, which retreated to the Gates of Fisanduh. The Empire of Dominia’s control in Fisanduh is strongest in this region as its population is primarily Imperial Fisanduhian, who often find themselves under suspicion by the Empire and can be discriminated against in the broader Empire for their origins in the region. The largest city in Outer Fisanduh is Strelitz’s Rest, a city founded from the merger of several smaller Fisanduhian towns which grew in population as the citizens of Inner Fisanduh fled to the outer region. It is the nexus of Imperial military operations and the capital of the province.
Inner Fisanduh is the smaller of the two regions and consists of all land found inside of the Fisanduh Mountain range. Long considered to be the heartland of the Confederated States, this region is known for its mountainous terrain, which has long been dominated by industrial towns and cities -- such as Neubach, the capital of the former Confederated States, and Isterberg, the Empire’s foothold in the region, fed by mines found in the nearby foothills and mountains. Inner Fisanduh was ravaged by guerilla warfare during Dominian attempts to solidify Imperial control over the region and badly damaged during the YSF-3F conflict. Dominian control of this region is limited to Isterberg, the Gates of Fisanduh, and their surrounding areas — all of which are flashpoints for conflict.
Economy
Prior to the War of Moroz the economy of Fisanduh was most well-known for its strong industrial base, which was concentrated in Inner Fisanduh. Outer Fisanduh, which has a lesser concentration of minerals, was dominated by farming settlements which fed much of the Confederated States throughout its existence. The mineral and industrial wealth of Inner Fisanduh historically made it the more wealthy region. Outer Fisanduh lagged behind its counterpart suffered from cases of rural underdevelopment throughout the Confederated States’ history, with many regions not having modern electrical grids at the onset of the War of Moroz and being underdeveloped compared to their counterparts in the Imperial Alliance. The Empire uses the example of Outer Fisanduh’s neglect by the democratic government of the Confederated States as a method of showing the failure of democracy and the benefits of Imperial rule to Dominian schoolchildren.
Following the War of Moroz the economic situation of Fisanduh has been dramatically reversed. Inner Fisanduh is now the poorest region of equatorial Moroz due to decades of civil conflict and Imperial military operations which have left much of its industry and resources in ruins or otherwise crippled. Most products are now handmade in workshops with most factories inoperative since the early 25th century. The Fisanduhian Mark is a long-departed memory and much of the region relies on a barter system. Smuggling is the main way most in the area acquire high-end goods, and exorbitant prices are paid to Gendarmes to ensure their passage. Further complicating the situation are the many different warlords who rule over sections of Inner Fisanduh as bandit kings, extorting the population and assisting insurgent groups by helping them smuggle goods or poach recruits from communities. One of the only places safe from these bandits is the former capital of Neubach: a city now mostly in ruins following fighting between the 3F and YSF.
Outer Fisanduh, while still poorer than the rest of Moroz aside from its counterpart, has a healthier economic environment. Much of the region’s economic activity remains centered around agriculture, with few Imperial engineering firms willing to depart Jinxiang for Fisanduh, but it is home to a notable industrial sector based around non-military goods at the behest of the local government who expressly forbade the introduction of industry that would produce military goods, due to fears workers would smuggle ammunition to insurgents. Houses Zhao and Caladius have become economically dominant over Outer Fisanduh since the War of Moroz and, in many places, hold a monopoly over many industries, including most of the rail transportation within the region. Compounding this issue is the dysfunctional nature of Outer Fisanduh’s government, which is divided between a semi-democratic local government and a military government run by the Imperial Army. Fisanduhians are saddled with a heavier Mo’ri’zal than any other population in the Imperial Core and to meet it many pursue the highest-paying job available to them: service in the collaborationist Imperial Fisanduhian Gendarmerie. Others instead seek employment with Zavodskoi Interstellar, which often places them into disadvantageous and predatory contracts, or through a great house.
Governance
Imperial Fisanduh
Consisting of all of Outer Fisanduh and small amounts of Inner Fisanduh near Isterberg, Imperial Fisanduh controls more land and a larger population than its counterpart. It is divided into two regions: the civilian-controlled Imperial Territory of Fisanduh, de jure controlling all of Outer Fisanduh aside from designated military bases, and the military-controlled Imperial Army Mandate of Fisanduh, controlling the Gates and the Empire’s territory in Inner Fisanduh. The Imperial Territory is one of the only nominally democratic governments on Moroz — a concession by the late Emperor Godwin to appease Fisanduh — and is ruled by a Territorial Prime Minister. For the last decade Elard Tarlev, a native of the region, has held the position and willingly cooperated with the Empire, winning him few friends in Inner Fisanduh. His counterpart in the Army Mandate is Governor-General Theresia Sophie von Schulthais-Aichhalden, a zealous noblewoman known for her zeal and infamous inability to compromise.
These two governments are known to come into conflict over a number of issues, particularly those relevant to the Imperial Army’s ability to operate in Outer Fisanduh and the relationship between the Gendarmerie and the Army. The Gendarmerie, under the civilian government and made up of Fisanduhians, is often forced to defer to the Imperial Army, which is staffed by non-Morozian Ma’zals and their often-noble Morozian officers. More recently, the presence of Morozian companies under the ownership of great houses which seem to subvert or otherwise stamp out native Fisanduhian firms is another source of issues for the civilian government of the territory, particularly with the arrival of Zavodskoi Interstellar to Outer Fisanduh.
While it is de jure democratic, de facto the government of Fisanduh is a deeply flawed state which suffers from poor accountability and can theoretically be dissolved at any point by the Governor-General of the Imperial Territory. Though this action has never come close to being carried out, the specter of it hangs over Tarlev’s administration when these conflicts inevitably arise, and see him forced to almost always defer to the wishes of the Imperial Army and the Governor-General.
There is only one political party in the Imperial Territory: the United Fisanduh Party (UFP), and this party has dominated the Territory since its creation. The UFP controls every elected office in the Territory and, while divided into factions, governs in an authoritarian manner which does not tolerate widespread dissent. Protests are permitted but are generally controlled and closely monitored by the Gendarmerie. There is no electoral oversight for the Imperial Territory’s elections and many, particularly the 3F and the government-in-exile, have accused it of simply being a controlled democracy the Empire uses to pacify Outer Fisanduh. Despite this the population of the Territory is, according to polling, broadly supportive of the Imperial Territory’s government.
Free Fisanduh
A catch-all term used by the 3F to describe the region of Inner Fisanduh not under Imperial control, Free Fisanduh’s government varies greatly from area to area but is generally at its weakest and most chaotic in the more rural areas of Inner Fisanduh while being strongest in and around the half-ruined city of Neubach. Similarly to Outer Fisanduh, this region is divided between the Yellow Star Front and Fisanduh Freedom Front’s zone of control. A state of war exists between the two insurgent groups and forces under their command — often little more than armed groups of civilians with minimal equipment and colored armbands who serve as local enforcers — constantly fight for control of territory.
During the initial phase of the second civil war this fighting was mostly concentrated around Neubach but has since moved into the provincial areas of Inner Fisanduh, where smaller towns have become the hardest-hit victims of the civil war. These towns, which have been ravaged by constant fighting between the YSF and 3F, have received little attention from the government-in-exile or the local insurgent groups, and are now often ruled over by local bandit warlords who claim allegiance to either the YSF or 3F. The allegiances of these “bandit kings” (a gender-neutral term in Vulgar Morozi) can be bought and sold by both insurgent factions, who rely on them for smuggling and recruitment as the majority are loyal only to money and lack the ideological convictions and motivations of the insurgent groups or their Imperial counterparts. Government neglect has made these provincial towns the poorest regions of Inner Fisanduh and, arguably, the most impoverished regions of the entire modern Empire. Buildings which are not destroyed are often decayed and run-down, often barely safe for habitation.
Further compounding the governance issues of Inner Fisanduh is the lack of accountability for both major insurgent groups. While the 3F has the support of the Greentree government and claims to be a legitimate successor to the democratic government of Fisanduh, in practice it is a military dictatorship which does not tolerate dissent and treats those who question it as likely being Imperial collaborators. The YSF, which claiming to be a successor to the Confederated States Armed Forces, openly presents itself as an emergency military government, and claims it will return to civilian rule once the Empire is repelled from all of Fisanduh. It treats those who question it even more brutally, declaring them Dominian collaborators — a fate which is most often met by a quick execution in YSF-controlled territory.
The Imperial Fisanduhian Gendarmerie
Established in 2402, the Imperial Fisanduhian Gendarmerie (IFG) is the Imperial Territory of Fisanduh’s civilian police force. It is made up primarily of Fisanduhians and is despised by the insurgent factions and often looked down upon by the better-equipped Imperial Army, which has its own military police. The IFG is equipped with Imperial Army surplus and is responsible for civil policing, many counterinsurgency operations in Outer Fisanduh, and serves as the primary emergency medical service in the area. Working for the IFG is often the best-paying job available to many in Outer Fisanduh, though the Gendarmerie itself has a mixed reputation amongst residents of the Imperial Territory. While it is the best way for many families to escape poverty and perhaps even send a relative abroad to earn more money, it is the most visibly apparent tool of the Empire’s control of Outer Fisanduh and its first line of defense against insurrection. Gendarmes are expected to investigate all possible signs of insurrection, regardless of the cost to local communities.
The Imperial Army has a strained relationship with the IFG dating back to the Navy Day Uprising in 2402, when many of its Inner Fisanduhian personnel either defected to the 3F or deserted when facing serious combat for the first time. While gendarmes in Outer Fisanduh and Isterberg fought valiantly the desertions and defections soured the relationship between it and the Army. The dual civil and military government which rules over the Imperial Territory of Fisanduh has further flamed tensions between the two. Like the broader civilian government, the IFG is often made to defer to the Army when the two come into conflict. IFG officers, who come from the ranks of the force, are often looked down upon by their Morozian counterparts — who are often nobles from military families — as jumped-up civilians rather than true counterinsurgency officers.
While the Imperial Army simply looks down upon the IFG, the insurgent groups it fights against despise it for its collaboration with the Empire and role as an anti-insurgency force. While it is not as well-equipped as the Army, the IFG is a significant threat to 3F and YSF operations in Outer Fisanduh due to decades of experience and a merit-based promotion system for its officers. Notably, it offers cash rewards for anybody who turns in suspected insurgents or their collaborators — a strategy which has seen consistent success in poverty-stricken Outer Fisanduh. When insurgent forces do carry out operations in Outer Fisanduh they are often against the IFG, its staff, and relatives of members, who must be on guard for targeted attacks ranging from shootings to attempted mail bombings.Though attacks in Outer Fisanduh against the IFG have become more rare since 2440, there are mounting concerns the increasing instability of Inner Fisanduh will drive further attacks as fighting between the YSF and 3F continues.
Insurgent Groups
Descended from stay-behind forces created in 2386 by Plan SCRAM — the Confederated States’ plan for continued resistance against the Empire — the insurgent groups of Fisanduh are primarily active within Inner Fisanduh, though they have a presence in Outer Fisanduh. The strength of these insurgent groups is incredibly dynamic and has changed over the decades since Fisanduh’s collapse in 2386, but most historians, Imperial or otherwise, cite the peak of the insurgency as the early 2400s, when the 3F was able to launch the Navy Day Uprising. Since the failure of the Uprising the insurgent groups have never again reached this height of power, though they remain an issue for the Imperial forces and residents of the region..
While minor resistance cells exist, most claim allegiance to one of two major groups descended from Plan SCRAM: the Fisanduh Freedom Front (3F), which has the backing of the government-in-exile on Xanu, or the Yellow Star Front (YSF), which claims descendance from the military of Fisanduh and lacks the backing of the government-in-exile. The 3F and Yellow Stars are opposed to one another and are currently at war against one another, a conflict which began in 2454 and shows no signs of ending.
The Fisanduh Freedom Front
Founded in 2386 through Plan SCRAM, the 3F has historically been the dominant insurgent group in Fisanduh. At the apex of its power in 2402 the 3F’s “shadow government” controlled the majority of Inner Fisanduh’s territory without the Empire’s knowledge and nearly forced the Empire from the region during the 2402-03 Navy Day Uprising, with only dogged opposition by the Imperial Army in Isterberg and at the Gates of Fisanduh halting its offensive. The Navy Day Uprising and subsequent operations by the Empire destroyed much of the 3F’s effective strength outside of Inner Fisanduh, and unathi-led operations from 2440 to 2454 further damaged its strength, causing the Yellow Star Front to first break off, and then war with the 3F. Now, in the 2460s, the 3F remains stronger than the YSF but only by the slimmest of margins and mostly through the government-in-exile’s support. Its strength is mostly concentrated in and around Neubach, the former capital of Fisanduh prior to 2386, with the Yellow Stars dominating much of the countryside.
Anti-Empire operations by the 3F primarily target the Imperial Territory’s government, including the Gendarmerie, and Imperial Army forces in the region, particularly those in Isterberg. 3F attacks generally involve a degree of subterfuge and are mostly bombings or assassinations carried out by plainclothes insurgents. The 3F lacks a conventional army and instead relies upon militias to fight against the Yellow Star Front. The 3F, through the Greentree government on Xanu, claims that it tries to protect Fisanduh’s civilian population during its campaign against the Empire, while the Empire claims most killed by 3F attacks are Imperial Fisanduhians. In truth the 3F’s attacks do primarily kill other Fisanduhians as most members of Imperial Territory’s government and the Gendarmerie are Fisanduhians themselves, and its preference for bombings kills or wounds many bystanders.
The 3F is comparatively more tolerant than the Yellow Stars and is not actively opposed to Tribunalism, viewing it as a cultural entity shared between Fisanduh and the broader Empire. It accuses few individuals in Inner Fisanduh of collaboration with the Empire and generally tries those accused of it instead of summarily executing them, but does execute those discovered of collaborating. Democratic votes, such as for the mayor of Neubach, are allowed in 3F territory, but are often tightly controlled by the organization. Some regard the more tolerant outlook of the 3F as a mark of its dedication to democracy, while others claim its attitude is to make it more palatable to the Greentree government and its foreign backers in the Coalition.
The Yellow Star Front
Established in 2403 following the Navy Day Uprising’s failure, the Yellow Stars have historically been smaller than the 3F and mostly found in Inner Fisanduh’s countryside. The Yellow Stars claim lineage to the armed forces of Fisanduh, and most of its founding members were military veterans from the War of Moroz, though none are alive today. The 3F and Yellow Stars have fought a civil war against one another for over sixty years, though not continuously. The larger 3F nearly totally destroyed the Yellow Stars in the 2430s, forcing it underground, only for it to re-emerge in the mid-2450s after unathi-led operations reduced the 3F’s strength. Since that point the two insurgent groups, now roughly equal in strength, have fought against one another regularly for the past decade and a half. While the 3F currently holds a slim margin over the YSF due to the Greentree government’s support, the growth of the “Second Homeland” movement in Xanu’s Fisanduhian community — which calls for the government-in-exile to focus on improving the living situation for the Fisanduhian Xanan population instead of supporting the 3F — means the YSF may overtake its counterpart before the century ends.
Anti-Empire operations by the YSF are intended to terrorize the populace of Outer Fisanduh, and often come with extreme collateral damage. While its attacks tend to favor the Imperial Territory’s government and the Imperial Army, the Yellow Stars also carry out attacks against Outer Fisanduh’s civilian population, as they view living in the Imperial Territory as collaboration with the Empire. The typical Yellow Star attack is a bombing and they rarely utilize firearm-based assassinations, instead favoring the impact of explosive-based attacks. The Yellow Stars make no claim of attempting to reduce the casualties of their attacks and instead claim that this level of violence is a justified response to Dominian imperialism in Fisanduh. As with the 3F, the YSF lacks a conventional army and instead relies upon militias to fight the 3F and police its own territory.
The Yellow Stars are more authoritarian and intolerant than the 3F and do not hold elections in territory they control, claiming that any territory they control is under a state of emergency where elections are suspended — a right technically granted to the prewar government of Fisanduh, though never used elsewhere. It is categorically opposed to Tribunalism, viewing it as another aspect of Dominian imperialism, and actively persecutes those who practice the religion in their territory. Those accused of collaborating with the Empire in YSF territory are brought before a YSF military tribunal and executed without the right to a civil trial if found guilty, which almost all are. The Yellow Stars justify their actions by claiming they are for the good of all of Fiisanduh and the Empire removed from the region no matter the cost — even if its members must wade through blood to arrive at a free Fisanduh.
The Goddess’ Resistance
Technically part of the broader 3F, Our Lady the Goddess’ Resistance was established in 2388 by Communionist Tribunalists fleeing persecution by the Holy Tribunal in Outer Fisanduh. These survivors aligned themselves to the 3F and, while not involved in combat, made a name for themselves as humanitarians willing to aid whomever expressed a true need for their assistance, even if they were aligned to the Empire. This, and their Tribunalist faith, has placed them into opposition with the Yellow Star Front and has led to the Resistance abandoning its pacifist roots to form the Our Lady of Moroz’s Holy Order of Vihren Mountain, an all-female militant order made up of orphans and refugees raised to serve as the Resistance’s unflinching and unerring protectors. In the 2460s the Resistance primarily works to alleviate the suffering of those in Neubach, where it is concentrated, and works with 3F-aligned ship captains to provide passage off-world for vulnerable Fisanduhians — a difficult task as many of these captains are motivated by the profits to be made smuggling guns, drugs, and other contraband into Fisanduh rather than by humanitarian considerations.
Based in Vihrenberg, a small city near Neubach on the slope of the titular mountain, the Holy Order of Vihren Mountain both protects the Goddess’ Resistance and aids the 3F in its struggle against the YSF. Members of the Order are raised from birth to respect the Goddess, serve the Tribunal, and protect the Goddess’ Resistance even at the cost of their own life. They have fought in nearly every major engagement of the 3F-YSF civil war and believe fighting the anti-Tribunalist Yellow Stars to be a holy duty. However, their tenants hold that they cannot willingly harm a fellow Tribunalist — even if they are a follower of the Holy Tribunal — and they are rarely found outside of Inner Fisanduh. The tenants also hold that they, unlike average clergy, must commit themselves fully to the Goddess, rejecting the prospect of marriage and wealth as distractions from their duties. Order members who do go abroad, often to Xanu, are often regarded as odd due to their beliefs and typically dated method of speaking Vulgar Morozi rooted in the late-23rd century dialect taught by the Communionist Tribunal remnants in Inner Fisanduh.
Culture
Prior to the War of Moroz Fisanduhian culture was slightly divided between Inner and Outer Fisanduh but remained mostly similar across both areas, with the main difference being a greater number of Communionist Tribunalists in Outer Fisanduh and greater wealth in Inner Fisanduh. The division of Fisanduh between Dominian-controlled and loosely insurgent-controlled areas during the past sixty years has caused its culture to diverge further on either side of the dividing mountain range, creating two unique cultural identities. The differences between Inner and Outer Fisanduhian cultural identities are used by both Imperial and insurgent leaders to stoke tensions and paint the other Fisanduhian cultural group who should be regarded as an outsider who must eventually be brought in line with their group for the good of Fisanduh as a whole. As tensions flare in Inner Fisanduh and more in Outer Fisanduh come of age under Imperial rule these differences seem likely only grow further over time.
Before the War of Moroz the residents of Fisanduh were viewed by the rest of Moroz as an open, cheerful, faithfully Tribunalist, but woefully poor population who were the subject of pity by many in the Imperial Alliance and Holy Kingdom. Outer Fisanduh’s population was more collectivist than its Inner counterparts but was viewed by their neighbors in the rest of Moroz as a rugged, individualistic frontier population which embraced an odd version of Tribunalism. Residents of the area were known to be open and welcoming of others despite their theological differences and Outer Fisanduh’s wealthiest regions had some degree of tourism from broader Moroz prior to the War, though these regions have since mostly been taken over by House Caladius’ enterprises.
Inner Fisanduh, in contrast, was viewed as more isolated and less friendly towards outsiders, particularly as the Tribunal spread and much of the region clung to its pre-Tribunal faiths. Few Morozians visited Inner Fisanduh prior to the War due to this reputation and those in the region rarely traveled beyond Outer Fisanduh, but acquired a reputation as an independent and hardy people who had built an industrial economy from essentially nothing aside from their colony ship, with only the industrial heartland of Jinxiang equalling the capabilities of Neubach before the call of the Confederated States.
Postwar Culture - Outer Fisanduh
Decades of Imperial control and the damage wrought by the War of Moroz have changed the cultural landscape of Outer Fisanduh. Campaigns have been run by the Empire to slowly stamp out the unique religious traditions of Outer Fisanduh’s inhabitants while turning its culture to be more amenable to Imperial rule with some degree of success, while the trauma of the war has developed its own legacy. Outer Fisanduh’s economy has rapidly grown under Imperial rule and is now far larger than Inner Fisanduh’s, but much of the generational wealth is controlled by Morozians, and Fisanduhians often hold lower-paying positions, with few riding beyond middle management. To keep the population content, the region has been the subject of an intense propaganda campaign over the past decades which has tried to paint the Empire as a savior and the insurgent groups as hostile actors who would return Outer Fisanduh to its prior state of poverty.
Even if they do not like the Empire, many in Outer Fisanduh are concerned at the prospect of reprisals by Inner Fisanduh’s resistance groups if it were to leave — particularly as the Yellow Star Front seems to be ascendant. These “collaborators of convenience” as they are known in Inner Fisanduh make up the majority of the region’s population nearly a century after its conquest by the Empire, with few being either truly loyal to the Empire or opposed enough to seek out and join a resistance cell. They hold Imperial citizenships, struggle to pay off their Mo’ri’zal, and are eager to keep their complaints to themselves as the government-coveted cash bounty for turning in potential dissenters has done much to muzzle even minor public complaints. Once viewed as trusting and open to outsiders, decades of the Fisanduhian Insurgency have left Outer Fisanduh’s residents slow to trust their own and rarely discuss serious issues with anyone outside of their immediate families. After all, your friend may not betray you to the Gendarmerie, but what if their parents overhear?
Since the War of Moroz animosity has defined the Outer Fisanduhian opinion of their Inner counterparts. Many feel betrayed by their richer counterparts and view themselves as having been pointlessly sacrificed for the sake of Inner Fisanduh, which eventually fell to the Imperial Alliance. Much of the War of Moroz was fought on Outer Fisanduh’s land and even today insurgent groups based in Inner Fisanduh launch attacks against it, killing and maiming civilians when they do. This anger has been readily exploited by the Empire to turn younger Imperial Fisanduhians against their counterparts in Inner Fisanduh, with anti-Inner Fisanduh rhetoric featured on many government recruitment ads in Outer Fisanduh. Many Inner Fisanduhians perpetuate this hatred by looking down upon Outer Fisanduh’s population as Imperial lackeys who are willing to betray their nation, even if many have simply aligned themselves with the Empire out of convenience or fear.
Religion is a complex issue for Outer Fisanduh’s population. Officially, all are members of the Moroz Holy Tribunal — the Empire’s official, and only, faith. Unofficially many continue to practice Communionalist Tribunalism in secret and many in the Gendarmerie are willing to turn a blind eye to this violation of Imperial law, viewing it as a religious matter they have little interest in enforcing, and only antagonizing an already mistrustful population. Tribunal constables sent to the Imperial Territory often find themselves frustrated at the Gendarmerie’s lack of support for their investigations, and the Tribunal itself has long enforced religious schooling in Fisanduh with the goal of ensuring the next generation will turn from the heretical ways of their ancestors.
Postwar Culture - Inner Fisanduh
Nearly two decades of Imperial rule followed by over sixty years of insurgent warfare against it have greatly altered the independence-minded and isolationist culture of Inner Fisanduh. While it lacks the widespread Imperial propaganda campaigns of Outer Fisanduh, efforts by the 3F and YSF to maintain their power structures while fighting against the Empire have morphed the region’s independent tendencies into a creed many of its residents echo with fervor: Fisanduh has never formally surrendered, and it never will, so long as its people resist.
The reality behind the rhetoric is a sobering one. With the region badly impacted by the War of Moroz and the following insurgency, many in Inner Fisanduh fight or support the resistance groups for more practical reasons: they are the closest equivalent to a regional government, even if many of their regional leaders are little more than bandits with a colored armband and ideological justification. These groups are often the best way many in the region have for being smuggled out of Fisanduh, either by spacecraft or by overland routes the Gendarmerie turn a blind eye to in exchange for Imperial Pounds. The utter destruction of the region’s economy over the course of the insurgency has left almost every inhabitant of the region impoverished and insurgent groups such as the 3F, with its sponsorship by the Greentree government, attract many recruits through the prospect of steady food supplies and aid to their families.
Those in Inner Fisanduh not officially affiliated with the insurgency make up a slim majority of the population and are those most impacted by the ongoing civil war. Lacking the resources of the insurgent groups and forced to obey the whims of local bandit groups affiliated with the insurgents, non-affiliated Inner Fisanduhians find themselves increasingly desperate as the civil war’s current phase enters its second decade and seems to be further escalating. Often the residents of neglected provincial towns and small villages which see most of the fighting and receive little assistance, these Fisanduhians are torn between staying or fleeing to the wide Spur. Those who stay face continued violence and the prospect they may be killed in a crossfire or rounded up as a suspected collaborator — a certain death in Yellow Star Front territory. Those who opt to flee face a harrowing journey out of Fisanduh generally via independent smugglers, or opt to trade their independence for security by fleeing to Isterberg — the Empire’s stronghold in Inner Fisanduh — and leaving their homeland behind. Those who flee abroad often settle on Xanu Prime, where they join a large expatriate community, or in the Republic of Elyra, where they join the ranks of its Non-Citizen Persons — workers with few rights who are often found in Elyra’s most dangerous fields.
Most in Inner Fisanduh have a poor outlook on their counterparts in Outer Fisanduh, viewing them as traitors and collaborators who have betrayed the Confederated States’ ideals in exchange for the Empire’s support and assistance. Insurgent groups readily exploit this animosity to paint the residents of Outer Fisanduh as willing collaborators who seek to dominate all of the region at the behest of their Morozian rulers, and the Gendarmerie is a particular subject of ire in this propaganda due to its role in quashing dissent. Religious differences between the two regions are similarly exploited, particularly by the Yellow Stars, and the Holy Tribunal is frequently shown as an aspect of Morozian imperialism by insurgent propaganda.
Interstellar Views on Fisanduh’s Status
Per Imperial law all of Fisanduh is regarded as part of the Imperial Territory, which is regarded as the official successor to the Confederated States of Fisanduh by the modern Empire. However, the Fisanduhian government-in-exile on Xanu Prime — also known as the Greentree government — holds itself to be the legitimate continuation of the government and claims Fisanduh has been illegally occupied by the Empire.
The Republic of Biesel does not recognize the Confederated States’ government-in-exile, and views the Imperial Territory of Fisanduh as the legitimate authority of the province. Many theorize that this recognition is due to the corporate influence of Zavodskoi Interstellar, via the Stellar Corporate Conglomerate, over the Republic’s government. The small Fisanduhian refugee population in the Republic -- which is primarily concentrated in and around District 11 of Mendell City -- has protested this to no success, and the Empire’s diplomatic corps has praised the Republic for its wise decision-making on the Fisanduhian question. Since the founding of the Conglomerate, the Biesel-Imperial relationship has only deepened, and some politicians in the Republic have even made efforts to paint the insurgent groups of Fisanduh as equivalent to groups such as the Samaritans.
The Alliance of Sovereign Solarian Nations has no official stance on the state of Fisanduh, due to its distance from the Empire of Dominia and its disinterest in the region following the Solarian Collapse of 2462. Prior to the events of the Violet Dawn catastrophe and Sol’s retreat from the Middle and Outer Rings, some Fisanduhian refugees eventually settled in the Alliance, but this number has fallen significantly as a result of the Solarian retreat; most refugees now head to either the Republic of Biesel or Coalition of Colonies. Following the end of the Solarian Civil War (2462-65) rumors have begun to circulate regarding potential Solarian-Imperial ties in the Badlands, though little has been formally revealed.
The Coalition of Colonies officially recognizes the Confederated States’ government-in-exile as the sole legitimate government of Fisanduh, despite the ongoing Imperial embargo over their stance and hosting of the government-in-exile. No member-state of the Coalition is more supportive of this stance than the All-Xanu Republic, which has become the main destination for Fisanduhian refugees. But as years of support have become nearly a century there are those in the Coalition who call for a change in its approach to Fisanduh, viewing Dominia as a lesser threat compared to the resurgent Alliance, and Fisanduh as a lost cause — particularly as the Second Homeland movement, which calls for Xanu’s Fisanduhian community to focus on Xanu rather than Fisanduh, and is growing in popularity.
The Republic of Elyra holds that the Confederated States’ government-in-exile is the legitimate government of Fisanduh, but has been hesitant to allow Fisanduhian refugees citizenship due to the Republic’s strict border controls. Those Fisanduhians that are permitted entry into the Republic generally do so as Non-Citizen Persons. The Empire has used this border policy as propaganda against the Serene Republic, claiming its policy is solely motivated by a desire to find cheap labor for its phoronics industries.
Major Settlements
The largest and wealthiest settlement of the Imperial Territory, Strelitz’s Rest was established by the Empire shortly after the end of the War of Moroz through the merging of several mid-sized Fisanduhian towns with a large, central, Imperial military base. While the military base remains a major employer, Strelitz’s Rest is now also the center of the region’s civilian government and home to a variety of industries — most run by great houses rather than Fisanduhians. Compared to other major cities on Moroz, Strelitz’s Rest is less wealthy, with most residents being solidly working-class and few nobles living within the city’s limits. The city is one of the few places where prewar urban Fisanduhian architecture can be found in large amounts, and it attracts many architectural tourists from the broader Spur as a result.
Located near one of the Gates of Fisanduh and inside Inner Fisanduh, Isterberg is the edge of Imperial control in Fisanduh. Heavily patrolled and policed by the Imperial Army, Isterberg is a city which has been on edge for decades and is home to much of the violence that occurs between the insurgent groups and Imperial forces. Bombings, shootings, and stabbings are frequent occurrences when insurgent groups fight the Army, Gendarmerie, or one another, and the armored patrol cars of the Gendarmerie are common sights on Isterberg’s streets. But despite the danger, Isterberg is a city where many people are happy to be as it represents relative stability compared to the chaos of Inner Fisanduh’s countryside. Imperial forces frequently conduct patrols in the countryside surrounding the city in an effort to reduce the presence of insurgent groups and the Empire’s influence is felt in even the architecture of the city. Army checkpoints – generally dominated by a central pillbox tower – are a frequent sight throughout it, as are barriers set up at major intersections to reduce the impact of vehicular bombings.
While now mostly ruins, the Inner Fisanduhian city of Neubach was once the capital of the Confederated States of Fisanduh. Extensively bombed during the War of Moroz and only partially rebuilt by the time the Empire abandoned it in 2402, Neubach has never regained the glory it had before 2386 and has only been further damaged by the ongoing civil war between insurgent groups in the region. The Fisanduh Freedom Front is at its strongest in the city and maintains a subterranean network of facilities which support much of the region’s economy and protect it from the bombs raining down as a result of the Imperial Flying Corps air raids. Life in Neubach is difficult, but more secure than the countryside so long as one goes along with the 3F and does not oppose them.
A small city which is a center of Communionalist Tribunalism, the mountainside town of Vihrenberg is home to the Holy Order of Vihren Mountain. Vihrenberg’s status is reflective of much of Inner Fisanduh’s provincial cities and towns: its major industries have left or fallen to the decay of time, and much of the city blighted and abandoned, filled with shuttered factories and abandoned buildings which the local government lacks the means and resources to rebuild. What remains populated is the area around the Holy Order’s monastic compound — itself resembling an odd combination of a military facility and a Tribunalists church. Due to the Holy Order’s monogender structure Vihrenberg suffers from a significant gender imbalance, with the majority of its population being female and many being orphans from across Inner Fisanduh the Order’s members have recruited.