The Airman's Gazetteer: The Artian Confederation

Continuing the Airman's Gazetteer series is the Artian Confederation, a victor of the Great Darmonican War that now has little opportunity to enjoy the spoils of war. It has troops tied down on either occupation duties or keeping a wary eye on its eastern frontiers, what more relations with its wartime ally the Commonwealth have been growing increasingly tense. It has a very militant culture and outlook, though that could cause trouble in the near future.

Confederation of Artia

Prior to the Tyland-Artian War in 1741 AF, what became the Confederation was a loose alliance of city states that branded together out of mutual defence during the to-and-fro wars between the Kingdom of Tyland and the Holy Sodkan Empire. The Confederation's birth can be traced to the Siege of Utherheim where the first Artian Archchancellor, Viktor Wilstein, managed to inflict a crushing defeat on the Tylanders from which they never truly recovered. The ultimate Tylander defeat in that war sowed the seeds of the Great Darmonican War half a century later.

These days the Confederation is a very militant country, even more so than the other nations of Darmonica. Troops are everywhere, either in transit or marching through the streets whilst the airships of the Luftmarine ('Air Navy') can be seen floating across the skies. All Artian police officers are armed, though it seems only differences in uniform sets them apart from the army. There is a sense of military efficiency throughout the Confederation, especially in the heartland area which has recovered the quickest from the war. Frontier areas with the Tyland Free State and the Iron Collective still feel as though they're on a war footing.

The Tyland Occupation Zone forms the Confederation's western border with the Tyland Free State, averaging five miles wide in most places. It consists of old trenches, barracks, fortified outposts and checkpoints. Nobody can move through it without the military's permission, though Tylander resistance fighters are extremely active in and around this area. Even throughout the western border states of the Confederation there is a heavy presence of troops, mostly infantry due to the ongoing threat of Tylander resistance fighters.

The Confederation's eastern border also has a heavy military presence, though this is more artillery and armoured units as well as a long fortified wall. Artian troops are deployed in a well maintained defensive line, countering any possible threats from the Iron Collective. The River Thule forms the lower half of the border, though the Thule Line (as the fortifications are called) bulge round to the west where the 'Gloomlands' (area devastated by the Blast at the end of the war) sprawls across the Thule before it empties out into the Crater Sea. Where the Crater Sea meets the larger Mammut Sea there is a narrow straits that forms the border with the Union of Sodkan Republics. Artian troops used to conduct patrols into the Gloomlands, though these have tailed off after many of them failed to return.

Forming the Confederation's southern border is the small nation of Pamdinia, it managed to stay neutral during the war and benefited from a mountainous border. Pamdinia's main interest is maritime, it has a broad coastline along the Mammut Sea and is one of the trading routes with the Sultante of Taramate. It has a small border with the Tyland Free State in the west and many use it as an alternative land route to the Union of Sodkan Republics. The Confederation has been applying pressure to ensure that Pamdinia clamps down on gun runners, something that the Pamdinians have tried to address by deploying additional customs officials.