Hosaku

Hosaku (補作 lit. adding something to or altering a finished work of art) is a isolationistic nation with a diverse people and stable governing body. The earliest settlers of Hosaku were a band of magic users banished from there former places of residence due to discrimination and fear against magic. Led by twelve mysterious and powerful beings, they came to cross through the ocean and landed on the island that they determined to be near the exact center of the earth in relation to the 4 continents. Held together by the entities with power over the ancient zodiac, the people began to refer to them as the twelve, whom took on a role as the governing body of the island; at the people's urging. Due to the small nature of the island, war has been mainly avoided because everyone was subjected to relatively the same qualitity of living, terrain, and oppurtunities. Because the original settlers were mainly magic users, the nation is known for magic, as well as a technologically well off in the aftermath of the industrial revolution and the beginning of the modern age.

History
Hosaku's history began with the various users of magic from across the four continents being persecuted and hunted because of their powers after a long lasting and destructive war of magic. Found and brought together by 12 mysterious beings, they slowly grew in number from a 50 to 300. Still, none of them were safe, but with the help of the powerful twelve, they managed to find crossing to a mysterious island that lay at was determined as the center; nearly equally far from the 4 continents. The 300 were not alone on this island however, as they soon discovered. Another kingdom was located on this island; it held no name but it controlled all who lived on the island through tyranny. The upper class of civilization on this island supported the ruler, while the middle and lower classes felt oppressed by the king.

The island's original inhabitants were still far from populous due to war; after gaining the trust of the middle and lower classes only about 500 people were led by the twelve. The Twelve, the title they were eventually given by their followers, attempted diplomacy at first at the slight protest of their followers; named after an ancient Zodiac tradition. They knew however, that this would fail; they simply made it seem like all else had failed to help rally the holdouts of the two classes. This gained them another 100 to help fight against the army of the king. The Twelve then heard of the Sirens that populated the waters surrounding the island. The first of the twelve, the Rat, saw potential in this, and so followed by the Snake and the Dragon of the Twelve the Rat sought and achieved an audience with the Sirens. The Dragon crafted a spell that would allow for communications, and so the manipulative Rat gained his followers an ally in the Sirens. Still, the Sirens were unable to fight on land and so the Rat proposed the rest of his plan; force the King's army onto the shores and eventually into the shallow waters where they could then be dragged down by the Sirens.

This plan worked brilliantly, but at great cost. Eleven of the Twelve were lost; sacrificing their lives to protect their followers and bring the Rat's plan into motion. Only the Rat himself managed to survive; in fact one of the twelve's deaths was caused while protecting him. At the end the enemy was defeated however, and the lone Rat with his followers burned down the capital. At the end, the King and the upper class proposed they simply leave with their possessions they still had; leaving the island to them. This was agreed upon and within days the king and what was left of his supporters had set sail and left. The 400 that were left helped the Rat to rebuild the capital and rename it; at the end they elected the Rat the new King of the nation they named Hosaku.

Geography
The island Hosaku is located on is for the most part a hilly area. Its climate is typically middling; not too hot and not too cold. The hills help protect cities from bombardment from afar, as well as making it difficult to reach them without the proper means. Coves and beaches are found on the perimeter of the island, and this land is typically somewhat colonized. Surrounding the island underwater are populations of sirens; whose relations with the people of Hosaku have varied over the course of history. The rest of the island is either grasslands or forests which have been left somewhat undisturbed by the Hosakuens.

Magic
The theory of magic in Hosaku follows the basic principles explained by the originaly Twelve; Magic stems from the power of the soul; focused into use by the mind. Magic in essense is reality bending and so the most skilled of magic users could easily level mountains, and reshape the world as they needed it to be. Of course, there was also the power needed to fuel such feats, which as stated flows throughout the body from the soul. Anyone with what the Twelve referred to as 'the Talent' could learn with time how to use their energy to perform such feats. The Twelve are magically gifted humans whom are strongly affiliated with the 12 signs of an ancient Zodiac that represents 12 personalities and are denoted by specific animals: the Rat, Ox, Tiger, Rabbit, Dragon, Snake, Horse, Ram, Monkey, Rooster, Dog, and Pig. The Twelve are naturally gifted with the power of magic, as well as an affiliation with a fixed element which they are much more capable of controlling than any other magic user.

Military
Hosaku, though isolated, does have a well trained army for wartime if the need arises. The King, being the Rat is well known for being an integral part of the esponsiage and assassination corps that performs the major task of keeping the natino informed of all occurances within the continents. Each corps's symbol typically is that of one of the Zodiac signs of the twelve, or a group of them; dependant on their combat preferences.

Trivia

 * The Twelve of Hosaku are based off the Chinese Zodiac.