Guttuli Protectorate

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Guttuli Protectorate
Flag of Guttuli
Flag
Coat of Arms of Guttuli
Coat of Arms
Motto: tzohet ïusamn
pull together
Anthem: Froa at min Sȝod
A Lord for my Nation
Location of Guttuli
Map versions n/a
Capital Gatonia
Largest city Mesior
Official language(s) Præta
Official religion(s) Cedrism
Demonym Guttulinak, Guttulinin
 - Adjective Guttulinese
Government Stratocracy
 - Duke vacant
 - Lord Protector Ærek Murhin
 - Legislature Protectorate Military Council
Establishment 2.XII.1671 AN
Area
Population
Currency
Calendar
Time zone(s) CMT-7
Mains electricity
Driving side
Track gauge
National website
National forum
National animal
National food
National drink
National tree
Abbreviation GP, GU, GUT

The Guttuli Protectorate (Pr. Bimudanoï Guttuli) was a state at the mouth of the River Elwynn, following the Kalirion Fracture. It controlled Musica, Alexandretta, and Lower Lunaris.

The name Guttuli comes from the ancient Gates of the Guttuli at the mouth of the Red Elwynn.

In 1687 AN, the remains of its governing authority was extinguished and the Imperial Republic of Shireroth reasserted control of the territory, reorganizing it into the Duchy of the Guttuli.

Government

The Guttuli Protectorate lacked a systematic constitution that outlined its governing structure. Instead, it was governed by an ad hoc network of overlapping authorities that possess incomplete power. With the Declaration of Spanpur, these interests were consolidated around the Protectorate Military Council.

Declaration of Spanpur

On 2.XII.1671 AN from the Ward of Spanpur, Legate Ærek Murhin went on the radio to issue the following declaration:

The Divine Order has willed that I should be placed in the position that I now occupy. I thank them for accounting me worthy for this task, lowly as I am. My entire life has been dedicated to the defense of this land, and now that the present emergency has come upon us, I must again act in its defense.

As such, I, Ærek Murhin, hereby decree the following:

1. In the name of the Duke, the lands of the Guttuli are now under my protection.
2. A Protectorate Military Council is formed. Its membership shall include:
Legate Vernun Græffnklau
Legate Salm Zoshurst
Legate Ïorn Blost
Legate Friþræk Sutnoþ
Legate Domnik Vannurn
Legate Ïoanne Poltan
Legate Uï Hruthals
Legate Garmin Hursus
Legate Hurst Mennin
Legate Aþræcz Dal
Legate Þurn Selmæk
Legate Sora Ullemni
Legate Iago Damkermar
Legate Roþus Riis
3. All military personnel and assets under the command of each of the aforementioned commanders, as well as my own, shall be reconstituted into a unified force named the Guttuli Corps.
4. For the duration of the present emergency, the Protectorate Military Council is invested with absolutely authority to create law, issue directives to the civil authorities, requisition resources, and deploy armed forces for the purpose of re-establishing order.
5. As the constitutor of this state of protection, I shall bear the title of Lord Protector, and I shall oversee the activities of the Protectorate Military Council. I shall have the power to name and dismiss members of the Protectorate Military Council through my own will.
6. Communications with parties outside of the Protectorate shall be limited and monitored to prevent the coordination of terrorists and pillagers. To compensate for this, regular radio transmissions shall be provided, so that the public may be kept informed of decisions by the Protectorate Military Council and local authorities as well as of current events.
7. All denizens are recommended to comply with the directives of the Protectorate Military Council, to give aid to brave soldiers of the Guttuli Corps, and to deny aid to the servants of despair and disorder.
8. Denizens are instructed to register with their local municipality, so that adequate distribution of resources may be achieved.

May the Gods look favorably upon all of us, so that together, we may renew ourselves in the face of this crisis and restore the glory of old.

Issued on this day by Ærek Murhin, Lord Protector of Guttuli, with the unanimous approval of the Protectorate Military Council.

Protectorate Military Council

The Protectorate Military Council was an executive committee of senior military personnel, who as a body were empowered to create law, issue instructions to both civil authorities and the armed forces, and manage the economy. In addition to this collegial function, each member of the council had a portfolio of governing agencies that they oversee.

The council itself was overseen by the Lord Protector, who had the power to add and remove council members as well as to revise their portfolios at will.

Member Rank Portfolio
Ærek Murhin Salbnan Lord Protector
Friþræk Daltuþ Ahmst Bræþstranin

Office for the Kraln

Office for Public Order

Office for Special Works

Vernun Græffnklau Salbnan

Office for the Laq Frontier

Office for the Gatt Quarter

Office for Child Services

Salm Zoshurst Salbnan

Office for Far-Guttuli

Office for Documentary Consistency

Ïorn Blost Salbnan

Office for Central Works

Office for Labor Management

Office for Roads and Rails

Friþræk Sutnoþ Salbnan

Office for Electrical Generation and Distribution

Domnik Vannurn Salbnan

Office for Winter

Office for Great Guns

Office for Refugee Settlement

Ïoanne Poltan Salbnan

Office for Identifications

Office for Far Industries

Uï Hruthals Salbnan

Office for Buildings

Office for Planning

Garmin Hursus Salbnan

Office for Consumable Standards

Office for Non-Ferrous Metallurgy

Office for Registered Shipping

Hurst Mennin Salbnan

Office for the Fanlununig

Office for Chemical Refining

Aþræcz Dal Salbnan

Office for Small Guns

Office for Political Confiscations

Office for Near Works

Þurn Selmæk Salbnan

Office for Near-Guttuli

Office for Rites

Office for Requisition and Reassignment

Office for Heritage

Sora Ullemni Salbnan

Office for Svalbarh Resources

Office for Criminal Correction

Office for the Fountain

Office for Communications

Office for Agricultural Improvement

Iago Damkermar Salbnan

Office for Outer Defense (Utnaræn)

Roþus Riis Salbnan

Office for Upper-Musica

Office for the Old Quarter

Office for Earth and Stone

Office for the Eldars

Ulhilm Ardlivn Salbnan-bi-Mari

Office for Major Ports

Office for Documentary Production and Acceptance

Vernun Ruß Salbnan-bi-Mari

Office for the Island

Office for Cures

Office for Worker Nurseries

Hui Ułsten Ahmst-bi-Łoïdi Bræþstranin

Office for Hendon Quarter

Office for New Settlements

Manfriþ bi Katbarh Salbnan

Office for Medium Machining

Irek Mogæsz Ahmst-bi-Mari Bræþstranin

Office for High Seas Acquisitions

Administrative Divisions

See: Authorities

Initially concentrated on the western bank of the Lower Elwynn, the Guttuli Protectorate expanded significantly into southern Lunaris while consolidating its control over the County of Alexandretta and the City of Musica.

Local administrative functions were conducted by a patchwork of public-benefit corporations assigned to provide and manage the Secondary Economy within a defined territorial jurisdiction. There are currently such 34 Authorities (Pr. Anvoda). An authority's administrative staff was provided by the Guttuli Corps personnel who were assigned to Home rotation.

Economy

The Economy within the Guttuli Protectorate had been divided into three tiers, each of which operated on a different basis.

Primary Economy

The primary (or planned) economy consisted of those components run primarily through the state agencies of the Guttuli Protectorate. While complete in fulfilling the basic needs for food, housing, medical services, training, and materiel for the military, it also consisted of other aspects of national life that were of interest to the Protectorate Military Council: control of information distribution, population control and engineering, influence over religious practice, and managing resources for the amusement of the soldiery.

The primary economy functioned primarily through contracts and quotas. Failing to meet quotas resulted either in withholding materials from its workforce or the replacement of its management.

The Cities of Gaton, Svalbarh, and Gavertzloï were directly managed by the primary economy. Other municipalities fell under the jurisdiction of the Secondary Economy, which the primary economy interacted with through the requisition of necessary materials and the distribution of reward goods.

Secondary Economy

The secondary (or local) economy was organized at the level of each municipality, the Authority (Pr. Anvod). Each Authority ran its own internal economy through a system of labor vouchers. Workers earned labor vouchers through the completion of municipally-certified work, and expended those labor vouchers at municipally-certified business establishments.

Labor vouchers remained fixed to the person who earned it and could not be themselves traded with others. Similarly, each municipality operated its own labor voucher network, denying their use in another municipality. In order to relocate one's labor vouchers, such as in the case of travel or a change of residence, the two municipalities would have to complete a voucher exchange, which would be a tedious process.

This system was later reformed into a Unified Voucher System, which was intended to convert labor vouchers throughout the Guttuli Protectorate by assigning each Authority a floating coefficient of conversion. First implemented in Upper Musica, Gaton, Heidi, and Meszor, expansion became synonymous with the state's displacement and resettlement program in the Fanlununig. A separate Kristfaln Voucher System was implemented in the western municipalities, which had long been governed as an autonomous zone. Even after reconsolidation in 1678 AN, the Kristfaln Voucher System was maintained as a separate standard all the way until the end of the Guttuli Protectorate.

Tertiary Economy

The tertiary (or informal) economy resulted from what the primary and secondary economy neglect.

Not technically a system in itself, the tertiary economy was the nexus of informal agreements, material and service exchanges, personal connections, government contacts, and other black market deals. In part, it functioned off of the influx of hard currency that was nominally held by the Protectorate Military Council for use when signing trade contracts with foreign powers and independent agents. As such, the tertiary economy had roots both within the Guttuli Protectorate and throughout Benacia and beyond.

Added to this hard currency, which had no usable role within either the primary or secondary economy, was a network of favors and favoritism. Woven throughout the primary economy was a network of exchanges for positions of power, skimming surpluses off state-owned productivity, making side deals with foreign traders, and wielding authority to strong-arm locals and unfree laborers for goods and services. The tertiary economy also intersected with the secondary economy, through non-personal use of labor vouchers (i.e. expending labor vouchers in the secondary economy for goods, then trading those goods into the tertiary economy).

Foreign Trade

Early during the Kalirion Fracture, the Guttuli Protectorate's founders had seized large caches of Shirerithian Erb for use with external trade contracts. As the value of the Shirerithian Erb disintegrated, the government diversified its treasury holdings. Imported goods are absorbed into the primary economy as luxury and bulk goods that could be distributed to the municipal governments for completing their quotas.

Military

See: Military Operations

Guttuli Corps

The Guttuli Corps (Pr. ïa Guttulin-Uihmanz) was the combined-armed military force for the Guttuli Protectorate. Due to the nature of the state, the Guttuli Corps was partially fused with the Protectorate government as well as its society. In particular, military operations were directed by the Protectorate Military Council, which also functioned as the Protectorate's central governing body. The Council's membership were also the Guttuli Corps' supreme command officers, with separate civil and military staff to handle each of their scopes of responsibility. Central government offices were also staffed by active-duty officers and soldiers currently serving on Home Rotation.

Membership within the Guttuli Corps, and with it the associated rank, assignment, billet, training, and service, was made an implicit requirement for participation in all political and most socio-economic activities, and could mean a ticket out of corvee labor.

Organization

To manage the increasingly-sprawling nature of the Guttuli Corps as it grew into a combined government, military service, and socio-political status, it would be repeatedly reorganized, settling into the following operational branches by the Protectorate's end:

GU-Hvaszunig (Guttuli Corps - Headquarters)
Guttuli Corps headquarters and the military staff for the Protectorate Military Council.
GU-Hæntz (Guttuli Corps - Home)
Guttuli Corps administrative formations for recruitment, training, and supply, as well as dispositional troops on Home Rotation. Dispositional troops on home rotation are either on secondment to the state offices, deployed for security or anti-partisan operations (Pr. Vaszvaþnur, "Bandit-hunting"), or placed in reserve status.
  • District I, under the Office for Upper-Musica
  • District II, under the Office for Near-Guttuli
  • District III, under the Office for Far-Guttuli
  • District IV, under the Office for the Fanlununig
GU-Furgsad (Guttuli Corps - Deployment)
Guttuli Corps dispositional troops deployed to the frontier or on military campaign. Supply and personnel are provided by GU-Hæntz, supply provided according to the district associated with their frontier deployment or extra-frontier campaign, personnel according to operational need and availability.
GU-Kristfaln (Guttuli Corps - Crestfallen)
Guttuli Corps paramilitary organization created for the governance and policing of the Barrowfield, Lowbrook, and Lichport regions as well as the integration of said territory into the Protectorate proper.

Operations

The Guttuli Corps had reformed itself significantly from its origins as Corps VII and VIII of the Riverine Army.

Firstly, the integration of non-infantry units into the organic composition of the legion, in part by consolidating depleted legions with armoured vexillations (e.g. XLIV "Bresa"), in part by retraining infantry maniples into armoured units. As such, the old distinction between Spear and Lance units (i.e. infantry and cavalry) ceased to exist within the Guttuli Corps.

Secondly, the systematization of deployed forces into Battlegroups (Pr. Streïkruppas). These had begun under the Imperial Army as ad-hoc combined-arms formations. Within the Guttuli Corps, these battlegroups would have been formed by augmenting a Cohort (Pr. Gauht) with maniples of armour, infantry, reconnaissance, artillery, and other support units as appropriate.

Thirdly, the creation of an intermediate formation, called a Battle Command (Pr. Streïhvasza) to coordinate a cluster of battlegroups, augmented by additional support units. An officer given command over a Battle Command was brevetted Battle Commander (Pr. Streïhvaszhaldan). These were typically organized into so-called "light" battle commands (3 infantry-centric battlegroups plus support units) and "heavy" battle commands (3 armour-centric battlegroups plus support units). While on campaign, typically two battlegroups would be engaged with the third in reserve. On extended campaigns, the reserve role was used to rotate units and equipment with those on home duty.

Each legion in the Guttuli Corps adopted a tutelary deity for the offering of sacrifices and veneration, second to that of the tutelary of the Guttuli Corps as a whole, the Radiant Sun.

Formation Commander Order of Battle Equipment District Operational Assignment Headquarters
Salb Ifni (XLIII) Ærek Murhin
Friþræk Daltuþ (Acting)
  • sv-A (L)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (L)
  • sv-D (H)
BK-1A1 Near-Guttuli Vaþnan Fulmin
Salb Ferenta (VII) Manfriþ bi Katbarh
  • sv-A (L)
  • sv-B (L)
Horjin 35 Near-Guttuli Vaþnan Ank
Salb Hagraa (X) Vernun Græffnklau
  • sv-A (L)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (H)
  • sv-D (L)
  • sv-E (L)
  • sv-F (L)
BK-1A1 Near-Guttuli Avan

Vaþnan

Lowbrook/Fastil
Salb Lukedu (XXXIX) Salm Zoshurst Far-Guttuli Tantil
Salb Envin (XL) Ïorn Blost
  • sv-A (H)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (L)
BK-1A1 Near-Guttuli Vaþnan Marszþir
Salb Sanrad (XLI) Friþræk Sutnoþ
  • sv-A (L)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (L)
Upper-Musica Avan Burnlin/Lichport
Salb Moł (XLII) Domnik Vannurn Upper-Musica Farran
Salb Aleï (XLV) Ïoanne Poltan
  • sv-A (H)
  • sv-B (L)
BK-1A1 Far-Guttuli Eldasaï
Salb Bresa (XLIV) Uï Hruthals
  • sv-A (H)
  • sv-B (H)
  • sv-C (L)
BK-1A1 Upper-Musica Vaþnan Lichport/Alsin
Salb Aïreon (LI) Garmin Hursus
  • sv-A (L)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (L)
Horjin 35 Fanlinunig Biuißoþ Frareïa Prata/Salzæl
Salb Ikol (LIV) Hurst Mennin
  • sv-A (L)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (H)
  • sv-D (L)
Horjin 35 Fanlinunig Biuißoþ Frareïa Prata
Salb Gæln (XLVI) Aþræcz Dal
  • sv-A (L)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (L)
Horjin 35 Far-Guttuli Biuißoþ Frareïa Eldabærht/Kontik
Salb Sefroþ (XLIX) Þurn Selmæk
  • sv-A (L)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (L)
  • sv-C (L)
Near-Guttuli Avan

Vaþnan

Barrowfield
Salb Ulvabaïm (L) Sora Ullemni
  • sv-A (H)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (H)
Horjin 35 Far-Guttuli Aßtadz
Salb Meskan (LII) Iago Damkermar
  • sv-A (L)
  • sv-B (L)
  • sv-C (L)
BK-1A1 Far-Guttuli Salzæl/Gurur
Salb Anszik (LIII) Roþus Riis Upper-Musica Essetrist
Ałeþus Ari Ulhilm Ardlivn Patrol Vessel Near-Guttuli Ank
Ałeþus Ulmaïnakin Vernun Ruß PS Hahhars

PS Kulïulk

Patrol Vessel

Bætrsuir-class Corvette

Harbour Patrol Vessel

Upper-Musica Riß
Ałeþus Morsva Irek Mogæsz PS Bætrsuir Patrol Vessel

Bætrsuir-class Corvette

Fanlinunug Svalbarh
Ałeþus-bi-Łoidi Sakat Hui Ułsten Fanlinunig Meszor

Recruitment

Following the Declaration of Spanpur, each local Authority (Pr. Anvod) was expected to deliver its able-bodied free residents to the Guttuli Corps for service. Initially, this consisted of veterans of the Imperial Forces, but by the end of 1672 AN, the monthly tributes consisted of raw recruits. Veterans in the eastern regions or classified by the Protectorate state as unfree were redirected to heavy labor rather than military service, and have mostly become a nonentity by the end of 1672 AN.

In the late 1670s, when the Guttuli Protectorate began to believe itself on the verge of normalizing relations with the other Benacian powers, initial training and deployment standards became relaxed. As the Protectorate's fortunes took a nosedive, this resulted in the graduation cohorts of 1678 through 1683 performing least effectively, and the most likely, other than pre-Protectorate veterans, to prefer surrender rather than fighting during the late stage of the final war.

Due to the disproportionate number of unfree residents in the eastern regions of the Protectorate, recruits from the western regions were transferred to the east for initial training. They would typically spend their initial deployment participating in Bandit Hunting exercises against the indigenous Lunatic population.

Basic training was divided into three components:

General Instruction (7 weeks)
Function-Specific Instruction (6 weeks)
Instruction in Deployment (3 months)

At the end of initial deployment, a soldier would have been promoted to "Seasoned" (Pr. Usfaroþ). Recruits that demonstrate leadership ability and appropriate initiative were flagged for consideration as an NCO Candidate, and undergo a fourth training component; upon completion, they were promoted immediately to the lowest NCO rank.

Ranks

Service Uniform, Guttuli Corps, c.1673, various ranks

The Guttuli Corps organizes its personnel into three tiers:

Soldiers (Pr. Streïak)
Non-Commissioned Officers (Pr. Niþngadraht, "Sub-Officer")
Commissioned Officers (Pr. Uvngadraht)

All personnel entered the Guttuli Corps as a Recruit (Pr. Nuïak). Those placed on the NCO fast track were promoted to Prime (Pr. Frum), the lowest NCO rank; otherwise, they were promoted to Seasoned (Pr. Usfaroþ). From there on, soldiers could have ascended to Chosen (Pr. Usczosoþ) before being considered for NCO status, in accordance with service record.

At the rank of Watchmaster (Pr. Ahtaldan), an NCO could have sought entry into an Officer Candidate program. Completion of this program resulted in a commission at the rank of Squire (Pr. Silbir). Otherwise, they could have progressed on the NCO track to Ordinate (Pr. Opratzan). An Ordinate could have similarly complete an Officer Candidate program and receive a commission at the rank of Decurion (Pr. Fiþnan).

GC ranksflowchart.png

Streïak Niþngadraht Gadraht
Nuïak Usfaroþ Usczosoþ Frum Ahtaldan Opratzan Silbir Golsapbir Fiþnan Ænst Fiþnan Ahmst Mairstranin Ahmst Tazstraneï Ahmst Bræþstranin Salbnan
Recruit Experienced Chosen Prime Watchmaster Ordinate Squire Draconary Decurion First Decurion Junior Tribune Tribune Senior Tribune Legate
-- GC-Rank OR2.png GC-Rank OR3.png GC-Rank OR5.png GC-Rank OR7.png GC-Rank OR9.png GC-Rank OF1c.png GC-Rank OF1b.png GC-Rank OF1a.png GC-Rank OF2.png GC-Rank OF3.png GC-Rank OF4.png GC-Rank OF5.png GC-Rank OF7.png
-- -- -- -- GC-Rank OR7 sleeve.png GC-Rank OR9 sleeve.png GC-Rank OF1 sleeve.png GC-Rank OF1 sleeve.png GC-Rank OF1 sleeve.png GC-Rank OF1 sleeve.png GC-Rank OF3 sleeve.png GC-Rank OF3 sleeve.png GC-Rank OF3 sleeve.png GC-Rank OF7 sleeve.png

Equipment

The Guttuli Corps inherited its technological base from the pre-fracture Imperial Army, specifically the Riverine Army. To compensate for its relative lack of armoured fighting vehicles, its infantry converted from mechanized to motorized in order to free up its fleet of Horjin 35 APCs for refit. By the end of 1672, these vehicles had been up-armoured and reconfigured with an auto-loading L33 120mm rifled gun, producing a highly mobile wheeled tank destroyer, similar to the Horjin 35 LT configuration.

In order to keep its equipment up to date, the Protectorate Military Council commissioned the creation of several UAK organizations (Pr. Umþahts Adrupa Krupp, "Experimental Design Group"). The most successful thusfar has been UAK-3. Its design proposal, BK-1 (Pr. Brunoï Korïil - Æn, "Armoured Vehicle - One"), integrated a number of technical improvements from the Horjin 56 into a modified Horjin 35 frame. By 1673 AN, the Joint Office for Medium Machining was created through a collaboration of the Offices for Great Guns, the Kraln, and Svalbarh Resources, in order to coordinate the various state- and private-owned manufacturers of Horjin 35 replacement parts. The production model, BK-1A1, rolled off the production line in mid 1673 AN, initially for foreign export.

In 1674 AN, the Joint Office for Medium Machining was reorganized into the Office for Medium Machining, under the authority of Salbnan Manfriþ bi Katbarh, due to the additional heavy industrial resources afforded through the acquisition of the City of Ankh. The first BK-1A1s produced for domestic use began deployment in early 1675 AN.

Utnaræn

The Protectorate Military Council maintained a paramilitary intelligence organization called the Utnaræn (Pr. "Outer Defense"). The Utnaræn recruited ethnic Brookshirans located outside of the Guttuli Protectorate's control, then organized them into semi-autonomous action teams.

The head of the Utnaræn had a standing position on the Protectorate Military Council, and successfully avoided authorities after the fall of the Guttuli Protectorate.

Kapmanns Ałeþus

The Guttuli Protectorate Merchant Fleet was the collective body of merchant vessels registered in the Protectorate and serve its international shipping needs. Due to constant harassment from the Raspur Pact, most Protectorate merchant vessels operated under false flags and alternative registration. By 1680 AN, all crew in the Merchant Fleet were trained members of the Guttuli Corps on secondment in order to carry out Protectorate geopolitical policy on the high seas.

The Guttuli Corps had also, since late 1675 AN, began running heavily-reconfigured and armed vessels along its trade routes with full military crews and orders to lure in Raspur Pact wolfpacks and unleash missile and torpedo barrages upon them.

Following the introduction of the Chryste Blockade Runner program In 1681 AN, the Lord Protector, Ærek Murhin, began to visit returning merchant crews to award them with Supply Guard over the Seas if they encountered and successfully avoided a Raspur Pact blockade ship.

Frontier Defenses

A recurring operational goal of the Guttuli Corps had been the taking and strengthening of superior defensive positions along its western frontier. To that end, following the completion of both Operation Avan and Operation Vaþnan, extensive material and human resources were expended in fortifying along the defensive positions gained.

Lowbrook Line

The Lowbrook Line was established as soon as Guttulinese troops reached the Drak-Modanian border and was able to perform surveys to chart the ideal defensive position. Labor details were mobilized through the direction of GP-Kristfaln, the sister organization of the Guttuli Corps proper established by locals of the Barrowfield-Lichport region to facilitate their incorporation into the Protectorate. Fortifications consisted of a network of pillboxes, artillery batteries, and subterranean support facilities connected by subterranean tunnels.

Construction began on 15.XIII.1672 AN, with additional labor deployed in mid-1673 AN to reach completion in late 1675 AN. Its effectiveness would never be tested in battle.

Upper Line

The Upper Line, so named due to its position against Upper Lunaris (but excising the name for the region itself), was constructed along the Ransenar-Guttuli Border, as agreed upon by treaty finalized in late 1673 AN. Construction of this line predominantly used Aryashti labor and Lunatic labor when necessary, due to the perceived need to keep the remaining Lunatic population in Far Guttuli unaware of the defenses established to contain them. Unlike the other lines, the Upper Line is maintained through patrols, watch stations, and fencing.

Following the incursions of 19/20.VIII.1677 AN, the Upper Line was augmented into a double line of electrified fencing, additional watchtowers, and the laying out of mines between the fences. This converted the first half-kilometer of territory within the border into a death strip, with key locations, mostly at border crossings, upgraded to concrete barriers designed to resist vehicle ramming. Guttulinese deployments to man the border were also increased; by 1680 AN, double the number were deployed as had been in 1677 AN.

Its effectiveness helped to hold off Raspur Pact forces that deployed from Ransenar for several months, but eventually, the entire western portion of the line became overrun.

Pandor Line

Beginning as the geographic goal line of Operation Vaþnan, labor battalions were deployed as soon as front line forces could deploy forward. The western section of the Pandor Line is laid out to take maximum advantage of the rugged terrain of the Crestfallen Hills. The eastern third of the line, however, becomes increasingly smooth and penetrable, and as such has the densest layout. Fortifications again consist of a network of pillboxes, artillery batteries, and support facilities connected by subterranean tunnels, but many of these installations' surface components are designed to resemble civilian structures, such as barns or houses, or as natural geographic formations, like boulders or crags.

Construction began on 21.XIV.1679 AN and was near complete when the final war began. Its fortifications played a major role in the first several months of the war, limiting the volume of Imperial troops that could be funneled into the Protectorate until adequate railway transportation could be built through the rugged terrain.

Culture

Esoteric Cedrism

One of the defining features of the Guttuli Protectorate's culture was a state-sponsored application of Esoteric Cedrism (Pr. Darn Kedrnaß), in particular, the Sun-Moon Seed Concept.

Sun Seed and Moon Seed

According to the visions of Ilona bi Finbloman, a minor noblewoman from southwestern Monty Crisco in the reign of Kaiser Agni I, the people of southeastern Benacia were composed of two races, those born from the Sun and those born from the Moon. In her vision, the Sun and Moon were brothers. The Sun was noble and strong, but withheld his light from the world to give his weaker brother, the Moon, the opportunity to shine his meager light first.

As the Moon rose over the horizon, his dim light met the waters of the River Elwynn, that great goddess, and from that mating were born the Seed of the Moon. The Seed of the Moon emerged from the river along its eastern bank to greet their father.

Finally, the Sun opened itself to the world, and the world received the bright, benevolent light of the noonday Sun. When the golden light of the Sun met the River Elwynn, another race emerged from its waters along both banks, for their father was high above the sky in his glory. They were the Seed of the Sun, and in them was the strength and nobility that they had inherited from their father, the Radiant Sun.

Jealous of the double bounty of the Sun, and the way in which his golden light enriched the land and brought forth vegetation, the Moon conspired with his children to seize back the land which he believed to be his, for his light had shone upon it first. When the Moon turned red with blood, the Seed of the Moon fell upon their half-siblings, the Seed of the Sun, and slaughtered them.

The River Elwynn, in reaction to the slaughter of her children, widened her banks to prevent the Seed of the Moon from crossing her waters and inflicting slaughter upon those Seed of the Sun who remained on her western bank.

Thus always, the Seed of the Sun was able to survive that night, and build the foundations of prosperous nations, first the Khaz Modan, then of Brookshire and the Imperial Republic of Shireroth. And thus always, the Seed of the Moon would conspire to undermine their nobler kin.

Applied Esotericism

In applying the Sun-Moon Seed Concept, the Guttuli Protectorate took steps to investigate and identify the various peoples within their domain. The inhabitants of the County of Lunaris had been divided according to culture and ancestry:

  • Elw: descended from the River Seed, wholly from the bosom of the River Elwynn. Due to their far northern nature, neither the Moon Seed nor the Sun Seed were able to proliferate there. They are inherently good, though inherently naive about the conflict.
  • Lunatic: descended absolutely from the Moon Seed. Their rebellious and presumptuous nature is to be suppressed if they are to serve the Rule of the Sun.
  • Arya: migrants from another continent, they are inherently naive about the conflict and useful for labor where the Moon Seed cannot be trusted.
  • Brookshiran: descended absolutely from the Sun Seed. Their nobility must be allowed to flourish and proliferate across the Guttuli Region.

Children found to be of mixed ancestry or mixed culture are re-acculturated so that they can be properly integrated into the Rule of the Sun.

Rule of the Sun

The Rule of the Sun was the stated goal of the state-sponsored religious body, the Office for Rites. In it, the worship of the Sun and the domination of the Sun Seed must be achieved throughout the Guttuli Region, where the conflict between the Moon Seed and the Sun Seed had begun in the primordial age. Successfully achieving the Rule of the Sun will bring about a Golden Age that shall last into perpetuity.

In order to achieve the Rule of the Sun, the religious worship of the region has been re-ordered and refined into a pure form of Cedrism that places the Sun at the apex of sacrifice and adoration. Elements perceived as adulteration by the Moon Seed have been extricated. Rites have been rewritten and enforced throughout all religious centers in the Guttuli Protectorate, to ensure that the Sun receive first praise before that of the local deity.

In particular, the Settlement of Svalbarh had been constructed to be the religious focal point of the Rule of the Sun, constructed around a trio of temples that provide sacrifices and worship to the Sun in his triple role of Rising Creator, Radiant Sustainer, and Unyielding Destroyer. The layout of the settlement itself had been through the careful planning of the Cornflower Society, an esoteric organization that grew up around the teachings of Ilona bi Finbloman.

Another key component in achieving the Rule of the Sun was through the resettlement of the eastern Guttuli Region with the Sun Seed. This follows other, previous expeditions of the First and Second Age of Shirerithian History, in which Brookshirans and their armies had invaded the region to conquer and settle. To ensure that this effort achieves the Rule of the Sun, those possessing the Moon Seed have been subjected to a series of socio-political disruptions designed to break up its community, including the elimination of its leaders and skilled members, repeated relocation, and diluting the proportion of Moon Seed from its breeding pool.

Throughout much of the southeastern Guttuli Region, the presence of the Moon Seed has been effectively eliminated and replaced with Aryashti thralls and free Sun Seed settlers who are highly motivated to bring about the Rule of the Sun. Throughout the remainder of the eastern Guttuli Region, highly-restricted Moon Seed populations have been preserved in an agricultural setting, so as to have a subject race for the Sun Seed to assert their rightful domination over.

Children of the Sun

Through the combined efforts of the Office for Rites, Office for Communications, Office for Documentary Production and Acceptance, and the Office for the Fountain, the population of the Guttuli Protectorate was subjected to constant indoctrination intended to reshape the culture and ethics of its favored ethnic class.

Ostensibly to allow this population to learn and acknowledge their status as Sun Seed, this propaganda effort was strongest in the education of the youth, erasing all old notions of regional identification and replacing it with that of being Guttulinese, of being Children of the Sun.

For this, the Office for the Fountain has enacted programs throughout the Protectorate to encourage an increase in favored births, vetting prospective marriage partners, and providing full welfare for mothers and their children upon being certified as favored. At settlements built and supervised by the Office for the Fountain, indoctrination is at its most extreme, with the intention of the children that pass through its system becoming the future leadership of the Protectorate.

The Utnaræn has been implicated with exporting literature beyond the Guttuli Protectorate's borders into populations it has deemed most receptive to the ideology (Monty Crisco, Caverden, Drak-Modan). The intended goal of this propaganda was to improve the relationship between the target population and the Guttuli Protectorate, encourage favored immigration into the Guttuli Protectorate, and prepare adjacent regions for future Protectorate territorial growth.

As part of the Children of the Sun cultural movement, a proliferation of new names were invented by parents wishing to ingratiate themselves with the new social order.

Apocalyptic Cedrism

After the ascend of the Children of Salus, a splinter group among Esoteric Cedrists began advocating for an altered version of the Rule of the Sun, in which the Moon Seed was reinterpreted as being irredeemable, and that the Children of the Sun and the Children of the Moon could never establish a proper relationship, in which the Moon Seed was submissive to the Sun Seed. This formulation advocated instead for a complete elimination of the Moon Seed.

Briefly getting the ear of a few on the Protectorate Military Council in the late 1670s, it reemerged as a dominant position among Far Guttuli administrators and the officer class during the final war. In this, the elimination of the Moon Seed was seen as a necessary prerequisite to turn the tide of the war back into their favor.

Blood Balance

Type Positive Traits Negative Traits
A warmth, propriety, patience, responsibility, perfectionism, wisdom, caution. excessive honesty, obsessiveness, stubbornness, jealousy, anger.
B passion, action, creativity, husbandry, flexibility, cheerfulness, optimism. irresponsibility, forgetfulness, selfishness, sloth, impatience, unreliability
AB creativity, calm, rationality, intelligence, adaptability. criticality, indecision, lack of forgiveness.
O confidence, self-determination, ambition, strong will, intuition, agreeableness, competitiveness, athleticism. unpredictability, spitefulness, coldness, aggression, arrogance, envy, ruthlessness.

Another measure of sociological control that found some application within the Guttuli Protectorate was that of Blood Balance. Purported to be a more scientific form of social engineering free from the mysticism of Esoteric Cedrism, the Principle of Blood Balance looked at the proportion of the different blood types in the population and attributes them to the four humors. Too much of one blood type or another resulted in a degenerate population prone to disorder, subservience, etc.

The application of the Principle of Blood Balance had been to remove some of the passive and unruly blood types from the free Guttuli population, to produce a strong but disciplined people, to remove independent-thinking and aggressiveness from the native Lunatic population, and to remove all but passivity from the Aryashti population (so that they can remain and proliferate as an ideal labor force).

Those within the Guttuli Protectorate Council who saw promise in the Principle of Blood Balance have advocated separating out the most passive and obedient elements of the Lunatic population, to be interbred with the Aryashti population in order to engineer a perfect, obedience labor race.

By the end of the Protectorate, the Principle of Blood Balance had gone to the wayside in favor of applying brute force to keep the unfree populations in line, with summary execution becoming increasingly favored as the final war became steadily worse for the Protectorate.

In the post-Protectorate period, the product of these breeding programs became a sensitive demographic topic, especially once the scope of these programs to manipulate and dilute the resident Lunatic gene pool, as well as the use of state-run brothels staffed with unfree labor, and their adjoining nurseries, came to light.

Foreign Relations

The Guttuli Protectorate was unable to secure membership of any international organizations, due to its controversial nature.

Despite this complication, it successfully signed several treaties in its early years. Most significant among these were its treaty with the Kingdom of Ransenar in late 1673 AN (ratified in 1674) to establish a mutually-agreed border, with the Republic of Alduria in mid-1674 AN to export military hardware and advisors for the Aldurian military, and with Francia. This last relationship became increasingly strong until that of Francia's disintegration with the Amokolian and Batavian revolutions.

Guttuli had exceptionally bad relations with the Raspur Pact (despite a treaty with one of its members), resulting in a trade ban. This forced the Guttuli Protectorate to participate more directly in the global black market than one would expect from an internationally-recognized state, as well as providing a stronger escort for trade vessels operating in the Central Sea. Relations with Drak-Modan remained especially tense from 1672 AN onwards, when the Guttuli Protectorate took control of the Lowbrook Region on Drak-Modan's eastern border and fortified it.

Communication with foreign states was conducted by the Office for the Kraln, using the old Alexandretta fortress, the Kraln, as its seat of operations. By 1685 AN, the Guttuli Protectorate had become completely isolated internationally, and regarded itself a bullied nation. No international aid came once the final war began.