The Republic of Occitane

If Chester is the Jewel of the Confederacy of Allied Republics, Occitane is the jeweler that gives that gem form. Where as Chester is the leader in Science and Technology, Occitane is the leader of Arts and Philosophy. It began with the invention of the printing press by a commoner, Jacques Germain during the height of Silverthorn Empire in the year 1440. Jacques changed the written word from his small shop in what is now downtown Herault, and since then Occitane has been the center of art and learning for the written word. The greatest journalists and poets of human history hail from Montpellier and Herault. Occitane is also the home to many liberal arts colleges and universities, the greatest of which is the Rose Citadel in Bordeaux. Occitane would likely be the strongest and most powerful Republic if not for its long standing uneasy relations with Blackwater. Occitane, along with the republic of Kuanas are separated from the rest of the Republics by wild land and the Blackwater Sea. The Republic of Blackwater has taken advantage of this by levying heavy taxes and tolls on goods coming from and going to the west. Occitane, in turn, has done its part to smear Blackwater in print, though sometimes unfairly. Since the unification of the Empire into the Republics it has often been these two Republics that find themselves butting heads in Parliament. Though the wine in Occitane is not as delectable as that of Segobriga, Occitane whiskey and brandy is second to none.