“How long will Zargothrax last?” has become a question with many meanings as the country’s civil conflict stalls somewhat, with three factions bedding down in the territory they already hold. Active fighting has, for the most part, stopped – but now one faction is attempting to gain international support to change the country’s name. Or, at least, the part of the country they currently control.
King Navid III was – according to official records – until recently, dead. Yet his is not the faction whose leader claims to be a religious prophet. Navid was King of Zargothrax from 1987 until 2020, when he supposedly passed away after being hospitalised with pneumonia. In 2024, however, his granddaughter Princess Mina, 15, discovered Navid alive. His death had been faked by Chief Advisor Jared Hashemi, and the “late” King had been imprisoned by Hashemi. It is as yet unknown why Hashemi chose to imprison Navid, but after his continued aliveness was revealed, Hashemi attempted to seize power for himself. The third faction is led by King Shapur, Navid’s son who has ruled Zargothrax since his father’s “death” in 2020.
The Reformer
Zargothrax has carried its name since the 1740s. The Thraxian peninsula was first unified by the House of Zargo in the 1730s, from which both Shapur and Navid are descended from. Prior to the unification, the peninsula was ruled by several warring feudal lords whose borders were porous and prone to frequent change. These territories were generally known by the names of their rulers (i.e. “Zargo’s Land”); while the region was known as Thraxia – though it was never a unified territory. After the House of Zargo conquered these other feudal units, the region became known as Zargo’s Thraxia, which over time became Zargothrax. It is unknown why the “-ia” was dropped.
King Navid III has now proposed changing the name of the country to New Thraxia. The 79-year-old monarch published an essay online, on his granddaughter’s blog – which has become something of the official location for Navid’s announcements, since the prewar official government websites are controlled by Hashemi – calling for the international community to support the change, and laying out his arguments in favour of the change.
“Zargothrax is a name originating from my ancestors’ conquest of their neighbours, and their attempts at convincing the country it was their god-given right to rule. While I used to believe this myself, this decade has taught me that is not true. In truth, my family was simply better at warfare: more ambitious, more violent, more ruthless. We have convinced ourselves of a divine importance that we never had. My son continues to believe he is some kind of prophet. I do not. I fight now to bring about a new country, which will be ruled by the people. I do not intend to remain King after the war is over.
But we cannot go backwards. We cannot return to the fractured fighting of yesteryear, with the country splintered into pieces ruled by nobility only out to enrich themselves. The House of Zargo must end, but we must equally refrain from falling back to the Thraxia of the seventeenth century. We need a New Thraxia, united not by violence and conquest, but by a common desire to create a better land for our people to live in and thrive.”
The Prophet
King Shapur, by contrast, has been quick to oppose his father’s national renaming initiative. “I am chosen,” he posted to social media. “My family is chosen. My father is afraid because he has returned to life. But he has returned to life to show that we are linked to God. The father of the Bringer of The Twelve has returned to Earth to witness the Change.”
Shapur is the only person who appears to believe that Navid was actually dead and resurrected, with the consensus being that his death was faked, not real. Shapur also has not elaborated on what “the Twelve”, nor “the Change” actually refer to – though he has used both terms repeatedly over the past months, both on social media and in public speeches. When directly questioned on what messages he is receiving from God (or even which God this is), he merely responds with a variant of “if you know, you know”.
By the laws in place at the time the war broke out, Shapur’s faction is the largest by military power and population. In practice, more than half his forces are cats. Shapur’s personal religion – which can only be understood, it appears, by direct communication with God – views cats as fully equal to humans in personhood and capacity. They can own property, are entitled to a fair trial, and can be conscripted. They can also commune with God and become religious figures. Indeed, Shapur’s twelve cats appear to be his primary disciples.
While Shapur seems to explain his father’s reappearance as being linked to the mysterious upcoming divine event, his father appears to play no further role in his religion. Shapur dismisses his father’s faction as being built out of fear and a denial of the divine; though he does not seem to attribute malice to his father the same way as he does to his old advisor.
The Regent
Jared Hashemi claims he is merely keeping the throne warm as Regent – though don’t ask who he’s keeping it warm for. He has invented a Catch-22 whereby Navid cannot be king, as he is legally dead; but Shapur cannot be king as his father is still alive. And Hashemi seems to be in no hurry to resolve this contradiction. Instead, he has waged war against both monarchs, ostensibly using ancient laws inherited from Sarzaminszargho (Zargo’s Land) aimed at quashing the revolts of second sons.
Hashemi so far appears to partially support Navid’s linguistic efforts, though he has not been particularly supportive of Navid’s continued existence. While he, unlike Shapur, has admitted that Navid was never physically dead, he has been caught on microphone referring to Navid’s faction by a term which translates roughly to “the kingdom ruled by a soul which has already passed into the afterlife”. It appears that he means this as a joke – again, unlike Shapur.
The Lord Protector
Sawalif of House Samara is a domestic cat. He is also the Head of State of one of the IDU’s newest independent nations, Samara Island. The island’s independence came about almost by accident, after a dying lord’s protest of patriarchal inheritance laws got out of hand. After leaving the island to his cat due to laws prohibiting leaving it to his daughter, an internet livestream resulted in a declaration of independence which Shapur surprisingly accepted.
In practice, the island is now ruled by Akilah Samara, the daughter, with Sawalif as a figurehead. Its independence means it has been spared any of the ravages of civil war, except for one: the island has suddenly become a very popular destination for refugees from the mainland. The independence day (human) population of around 400,000 has increased by around 25%; which is expected to increase if active fighting resumes.
What next?
The conflict is difficult to predict, especially due to the nature of most of the primary players. Shapur is widely believed to be clinically insane, and his conduct would support that theory. Navid has been off the board for half a decade, and appears to have radically shifted his positions since then – probably in large part due to the role played in his rescue by his granddaughter Mina. And Hashemi’s overall motives remain unclear.
Why did Hashemi keep Navid alive? What was Hashemi’s original plan, if not this? Which god does Shapur worship? What does Shapur believe is about to happen?
And, now: what exactly do we call this country, in which this war is being waged?
