A MASSIVE country in the North, it consists of multiple small cities isolated in an icy tundra filled with lethal beasts and predators that can wipe entire cities off of maps during certain feeding months. Because of this, most of civilization lives in bubbles on the sides of mountains and underground, where their science is unparalleled thanks to having to adapt so often to the dangers the tundra offers. Their royal family has a long bloody history with Fayer, a country bordering them to the South that throughout history has forced them to pay extremely high tax to pass their goods through there, causing them to have a series of wars and conquering races to get at the other. Because Marzanna has so much lethal fauna, the society has incorporated some of them into their society, primarily war bears (think enormous 6-legged armored bears you can ride into battle) and other large animals to help with transportation, protection, and multiple other services.
Architecture Concept Sheet
Living on the surface unprotected is like going out into the Antarctic Circle in your skeevies- it’s not going to end well. For that reason, the cities are either a) in bubbles built into the mountain or b) in bubbles built underground. These cities consist of several buildings dug into the mountain or underground with a MASSIVE protective barrier that surrounds the city in a bubble protecting it from outside forces. The reason for the bubbles around the cities, even the underground ones, is because a surprising number of creatures are the size of mountains and can literally swallow a city whole. The buildings themselves are surprisingly intricate yet simple in design, a lot of the smooth curves mimicking plants being utilized into the design. The most intricate and simple designs are often the ones that have the best usability and are surprisingly efficient
Inspiration:
Culture Concept Sheet
The culture is very conservative and very science oriented. Given how isolated most of the population is, they don’t really get to do a whole lot of cultural exchange outside of either killing Fayer troops or negotiating with Vanators, so they tend to be pretty close minded on certain topics, like on the role of women, politics, etc. To make up for this though, they have a ridiculously strong scientific community that is pretty near unparalleled in the world given how important it is to their survival.
Technology Concept Sheet
There are very few things that could survive in the tundra, and yet those animals have managed to survive for a significant amount of time. So, why bother having to test theory after theory when one could simply mimic nature? Much of the technology here is based on fauna and flora, rather than on the forces of nature, and incorporate their designs into their technology. For example, their messenger robots are based of the design of a nimble creature that doesn’t sink in the snow and can run faster than the wind. The only weakness in their technology is that it doesn’t fair well in the heat.