HISTORY OF TARIZON

Tarizon had been divided into thirty-one separate nations prior to unification. These nations had been fighting amongst themselves for thousands of cycles. In the twenty cycles before the adoption of the Supreme Mandate millions of soldiers and civilians had lost their lives and much of the infrastructure of the planet had been destroyed. From out of the rubble a peace movement was born led by a charismatic holy man named Sandee Branh. Sandee had been elected Chief Minister of Lyon, the largest nation of Tarizon. Sandee claimed as a child that God had chosen him to save Tarizon from self destruction.When Sandee was a boy he lived with his parents in Lecton which is part of northern Azallo. They were poor farmers who barely survived in the barren land that is characteristic of that part of the world. Sandee was eleven years old and had no brothers or sisters. He had to hike many kylods every day to go to school and when he returned home in the afternoon there were many chores to be done before he could have dinner and go to bed.

It was a time of near anarchy in Lecton. It was at war with its neighbor Serie. Soldiers from both sides often raided each other’s territory and plundered and pillaged everything in their path. One day the Brahn farm was overrun and Sandee’s parents were murdered. Sandee himself would have been killed except that he was on an errand for his father when the soldiers came. When he returned home, he’d lost everything that was precious to him.Unknown to Sandee the soldiers had left two men behind to be sure they’d taken everything of value. When these men saw Sandee they vowed to kill the last witness to their murderous venture, but God had other plans. Upon seeing the men Sandee fled along the river trying to outrun them, but they were stronger and faster and soon overtook him. This is when the rhutz appeared. He came out of the brush and nearly ripped off one of the soldier’s legs. The other soldier tried to shoot the rhutz but couldn’t get a clear shot. He finally decided to flee while he had the chance, but after the rhutz finished off the first soldier he went for the second. The second soldier never had a chance.

This is when God appeared to Sandee who was lying on the bank of the river in great shock and sorrow over the death of his parents. God told Sandee that he’d been one of many victims of the evil that was choking Tarizon. He told him He wanted him to bring peace and justice to Tarizon and that He would give him the strength and power to do it. Of course, this eleven year old boy was shocked and confused at this and nobody believed him at first when he told them God had spoken to him, but the rhutz stayed with him and became a constant companion. This odd and wondrous sight of a small boy protected by the savage rhutz gave many pause. There were other miracles too and within a few years it was clear that God was indeed with this boy and he quickly became renowned for his intelligence and wisdom.

From the day He first appeared to him, Sandee devoted his life to spreading God’s message of peace and unity. Sandee told his followers that the petty national governments should be scrapped in favor one worldwide authority. Since so many were weary of war and feared the destruction of civilization on the planet if something wasn't done, Sandee's movement gathered momentum until there was enough support to call a World Council.

At the World Council, representatives from all of the thirty-one nations hammered out the Supreme Mandate and then called for a worldwide referendum to ratify it. All of the nations agreed to abide by the decision of the people. If the Supreme Mandate was ratified by a majority of its citizens, each nation agreed to subject itself to the World Council and abide by the Supreme Mandate. The World Council set the referendum date off six cycles to allow plenty of time for debate. On the day of the referendum nearly seventy percent of the population voted and the Supreme Mandate was ratified by sixty-one percent of the popular vote.