Kogane
Flag of Kogane
Kogane is an island nation occupying the kogane Archipelago in Laumeri. Historically a maritime trading power with diplomatic missions across the world, Kogane withdrew from traditional international diplomacy after the Nine Knot War.
History
Pre-Enchantment
Kogane shipbuilders and captains founded Delsin Station as a repair and transport hub.
The Nine Knot Line, a government-owned ferry and mail service, ran between Kogane, Delsin, and Ikara, and Stolmont.
Nine Knot War
See: Nine Knot War
In the early 220s, the Wake Society, a maritime-traditionalist party, gained significant open and covert influence throughout Kogane. On 228.2.27, two Wake Society paramilitary operatives, Ranmaru Ito and Naho Okabe, stole a Nine Knot Line ferry from Delsin Station with the intention of docking at the Lantong Plaza in Tesser and reading a manifesto in support of maritime-traditionalism. On approach, a Stolmont Security Office commander mistook the manifesto for a weaponized scroll and fired on the ferry, killing both Wake Society members and leading the ferry to run aground.
Stolmont believed the Lantong Plaza Incident to be a failed attack by the Kogane military, and sent ships to blockade Delsin Station and use the Delsin phosgraph tower to contact Kogane demanding an explanation for the events at Lantong. Hina Teruoka, a phosgraph relay operator in Veshu and Wake Society member, censored the message on orders from Ito to suppress information regarding the planned Lantong demonstration. Facing what they saw as an unprovoked blockade of Delsin Station, Kogane declared war on Stolmont on 228.2.30.
The Kogane government soon realized the full extent of the situation, but was unable to convince Stolmont that the Lantong incident had not been a government-sanctioned attack. The Kogane Coastal Defense Service was unable to break the blockade, and the war devolved into a stalemate by early 230, leaving Delsin Station occupied by the SSO. In 231, Kogane formally surrendered their claims on Delsin to Stolmont.
Wake Society Investigations
After the signing of the Instrument of Delsin, the Wake and Prosperity coalition government launched a series of inquiries into matters of public concern raised in the course of the war. One such inquiry regarded what was seen as a transmission failure of Stolmont’s initial phosgraph regarding the Lantong incident and blockade. The stated goal of the inquiry was to determine the process inadequacy responsible for the error and institute changes as needed. Many Prosperity representatives were also interested in applying the protocols of the Starlight Phosgraph Union to the Kogane network or possibly applying for full membership.
In late 232, Hina Teruoka was called to testify in front of the parliamentary committee charged with investigating the dropped message. Instead of answering the questions asked by the committee, she read a prepared speech honoring Ito and Okabe and admitting to deliberately omitting Stolmont’s request for information regarding the Lantong incident when forwarding the message. As attention turned towards the true extent of clandestine Wake Society activities before and during the war, federal police uncovered evidence of collaboration between high-ranking Kogane military officers loyal to the Wake Society and foreign maritime-traditionalist paramilitary organizations. Many prominent Wake Society politicians were revealed to be aware of or assisting the Society in activities that were deemed contrary to the national aims of Kogane.
Rise of the KHF
The Wake Society investigations were followed by mass protests against the ruling coalition and calls for the resignation of all Wake Society representatives then in parliament. Fearing violent revolt, many Wake Society representatives fled the country and the remaining Wake and Prosperity coalition members scheduled snap elections for 233.4.
During the lead-up to these elections, the Kogane Homeland Focus party, led by Takumi Endo and previously a niche ideological group, garnered significant popular support. The KHF campaigned on a promise to prevent another disaster like the Nine Knot War, arguing that Kogane could not afford to allow independent organizations to grow unchecked power within and in place of the federal government. After KHF-aligned protestors disrupted Prosperity Party rallies, several factions of the Prosperity Party moved to become part of the KHF under threat of continued interference. The KHF won an outright majority in the snap elections.
Takumi Endo, now the chief of the Kogane parliament, immediately began personally orchestrating parliamentary actions to an unprecedented degree. In 233, the Wake Society was declared an illegal parastate, and the few remaining Wake Society representatives were expelled from parliament. Claiming that there were still subversive elements present in other political parties, Endo and the KHF delayed the required elections for their replacements indefinitely.
In 234, the Kogane government banned a number of independent political publications. Endo argued that the Wake Society had gained support among students (including Okabe and Teruoka) by means of its magazines, and similar publications could enable the creation of new parastates. This policy faced some opposition, including within the KHF, but people were largely unwilling to stand up for any particular named publication. Endo additionally targeted the Ministry of Foreign Correspondence, initially by requiring review of all outgoing and incoming messages by CDS soldiers. He soon became convinced that the MFC was too much of a risk in allowing for parastate operations internationally.
Beginning of the Envoy System
Government and Politics
Kogane is a parliamentary republic in which royal houses serve as membership markers that confer no power. Foreign affairs are governed by the Ministry of Exterior Houses, which charters and supervises envoys, and the Ministry of Foreign Correspondence. The MFC was effectively shuttered during the Envoy Period.
Each island has its own civil administration which handles local services. Representative divisions are designated to create equal population and are not coterminous with islands.
Coalitions in parliament are fluid. Common political issues include cooperation with IPRO, envoy autonomy, and arts funding. Maritime traditionalism is effectively a defunct ideology in Kogane following the disastrous Nine Knot War, and the Wake Society is explicitly banned as a political party.
Notable Envoys
Military
The Coastal Defense Service is a small fleet of ships and patrol aircraft tasks with keeping foreign ships away from the archipelago.
Envoy security is hired from local firms. In cases of extreme danger (such as during the Black Air Conflict), CDS Marines may be sent to protect or evacuate envoys.