Psyra
A duchy in the south-east part of the Aveyrone Empire. Its major city is Nys, where there is a large university. It was, along with its neighbours Korytsa and Tyros, and other surrounding areas, formerly part of the independent Kingdom of Psyra. It was apparently settled around the same time as Diablotin was founded, by other groups of refugees from the destruction of Am, followers of other tribes and other leaders. Sometime around the year 600, a leader named Orelius rose up and was able to unite the scattered groups into a kingdom.
Missionaries from Aveyrone spread the Way of the Wheel into Psyra beginning in the 900s, and by approximately 1100, most of the inhabitants had converted and adopted its teachings, as well as Houses. The traditional religions they had previously followed were abandoned, or even outlawed.
Psyra was brought into the Empire when the heir to its throne, Princess Thyatera, married the Emperor Gerart Lail in 1826. Following Emperor Gerart's death, the Psyrenes attempted to once again separate from the Empire. During the 1830s, Empress Raya Falgout engaged in a military and economic campaign to bring Psyra back under Aveyronnais control, which was eventually successful, although there is some evidence that various promises and deals that were made at the time were later recanted on by subsequent governments.
It has remained as part of the Empire for the ensuing 450 years, although there have been occasional minor uprisings or insurrections that have been suppressed, such as the incident in 2248 when there was a conspiracy to put Trevan Rademacher, count of Sephiros, the heir to the duchy, on the throne of a newly independent kingdom. This particular plan was quashed, with the major participants arrested or killed. Emperor Marl Kizer put his cousin, Livianne Kizer, in charge of the duchy in order to subdue it once more.
As the railroad network expanded into Psyra, there were increasing issues with bandits along the routes, robbing trains and sabotaging the lines. In 2277, war broke out once more, and in the initial uprising, many people of Aveyronnais descent living in Psyra were attacked and killed, or had to flee their homes. After much bloodshed, this Second Psyrene War ended in early 2280, with the rebels put down again for the time being.
Psyra has a much warmer climate than the rest of the Empire, and as such produces a variety of crops that do not grow well elsewhere in the Empire, such as olives, citrus fruits, chili peppers, tea and coffee, and various spices such as saffron and black pepper. Its inhabitants traditionally have dressed for this weather, wearing loose-fitting robes, head-coverings, and sandals, although some have adopted Aveyronnais dress.
