Emerald Empire (FanT)

Emerald Empire
Emerald Empire; Ku'xun Jukan
Capital	Lukran-Se
Largest city	Sanhang-Se
Official languages	Goyi
Recognised regional languages	Upper Goyi; Lower Goyi; Siwong Goyi
Demonym	Imperial Kobold
Government	Feudal absolute monarchy
Population
Currency	Quan

The Emerald Empire (Goyi: Cui Jukan; Emerald Imperial State) is a large Kobold-populated civilisation located in the west of the Ezevria region. The Emerald Empire sits on the border with the Wastes of Blood, and is bordered to the south-east by Saelanis, to the east by the Oxman Realms, to the north-east by the Silk Cities, and to the north by the Cantillary. With a huge population of 6.6 million Kobolds and due to its strategic and fertile location, the Emerald Empire is one of the most powerful and richest in the realm, and is the largest of the Kobold states. The only independent Kobold states, the Cave Kobold states, are only a small fraction of its size, and the Emerald Empire is widely considered the homeland of the majority of Kobolds in Ezevria.

Etymology

The Emerald Empire is so named due to existing in the Emerald Era of Kobold history. In the Goyi language, the Emerald Empire is known as the Cui Jukan, directly translating to Emerald Imperial State.

History

The Ancient Times

In ancient times, several tribes of Kobolds existed, living on mobile cities built on the backs of the Ao, which were massive tortoise-like creatures which followed migratory paths across the lands and oceans. Constant warring between the Kobold tribes and attacks from outsiders eventually led to the extinction of the Ao, forcing the Kobold civilisation to abandon the Ao Cities and begin living on the land. The final Ao would be felled where Lukran-Se currently stands, its corpse eventually becoming the Imperial Caldera.

Most Kobold tribes built large, mountain-like fortified cities, named Ao'se after the Ao, and began dominating large areas on the central part of the continent, with most dominions centred around a centralised Ao'se. The tribes evolved into feudal family-based clans, which ruled over around 60 domains which stretched from the Canis Mountains in the west to the Razi Mountains in the east.

The constant competition and warfare between the feudal domains, known as the Kobold Feuds, weakened Kobold civilisation as a whole, and the westernmost Kobold domains began falling to vampiric expansion. Despite the increasingly rapid expansion of the vampires in the west, most of the eastern clans continued focussing on their feuds even after some western Ao'se cities fell to the vampires. Refugees constantly streamed eastwards.

Concerned with the spread of the vampires, a group of scholars led by Tie'Rada within the Asa Domain attempted to petition their leaders to begin measures to combat the vampires. When this did not work, Tie'Rada launched a coup and seized control of the Asa Domain. Shortly afterwards, the Asa Domain was attacked by three allied domains, which were shockingly defeated in the 6 Months War. Tie'Rada then led the Asa Domain on the final campaigns of the Kobold Feuds, and in ten years unified the Kobold civilisation for the first time.

The new unified civilisation was named the Dawn Empire (Asa Jukan), with Tie'Rada as the First Emperor.

The Dawn Empire

By the formation of the Dawn Empire in Year 0 of the Kobold Calendar, the vampiric hordes had already advanced to the Salve River. The river had been hastily enchanted by the life force of 4,000 Kobold mages from the Niji Temple, who sacrificed themselves to delay the vampires from crossing the river in order to save the thousands of refugees fleeing eastwards across the Sa'nui Flatlands. Emperor Tie'Rada created an ambitious plan to build a Jade Wall across the entire continent on the eastern edge of the Sa'nui flatlands to halt the expansion of the vampiric horde, though this would require the sacrifice of several Kobold domains on the Sa'nui flatlands.

Brutally putting down the ensuing rebellions and forcibly relocating the Kobolds in the Sa'nui flatlands into Go'yi, Emperor Tie'Rada tightened his grip over the Dawn Empire and began construction on the wall, which was seen as a folly and a ridiculous gamble by many, both inside and outside of the Empire. Through massive sacrifices and hardships, the Jade Wall was built, an engineering marvel that stood from Heizue Bay in the south, past the Sora'zan Mountains, and reaching Silverwater Bay in the north. Emperor Tie'Rada, whose rule had become increasingly tyrannical and unpopular, and who was believed to be extending his life through dark magic, passed away upon the completion of the wall.

With no children of his own, a brief power struggle emerged over the succession of the Imperial throne, which was won by the scholar Sagacious You'bi, a master diplomat and tactician who set about restoring the people's faith in the government by carrying out public works projects. Under Emperor You'bi's rule, the Dawn Empire flourished. However, the Empire would soon be tested when the Salve River was finally broken through, and the vampiric hordes began moving across the Sa'nui flatlands. When they arrived at the Jade Wall, the vampires were met by stiff defences and were beaten back multiple times, proving the effectiveness of the Wall.

Following these wars, the Dawn Empire enjoyed a period of relative peace, stability and economic development, forming relations with many other races that existed to the east of their domain and spreading the Kobold people throughout the land. Under the third Emperor Yu'baozi, the great city of Lukran-Se was expanded greatly as the Imperial capital. By the eighth emperor, the Zun dynasty had secured the throne, and would rule for five more generations.

However, the prosperity was not to last. During the rule of Emperor Zun'hai, the Great Drought afflicted the Dawn Empire's lands. Agriculture faltered and thousands died of starvation and thirst. In this context, Emperor Zun'hai embarked on a war with the Oxman Realms to the east, seeking to gain control of the fresh water in Ezevria's inland lakes. Highly destructive and with thousands of lives lost, nothing was gained in the wars and the Imperial Army retreated back into Go'yi after years of campaigning. Heavily weakened by the war and the ongoing drought and famine, uprisings broke out throughout the Empire.

Seeking to protect himself in his old age, Emperor Zun'hai's built the immense walls around Lukran-Se, sealing it off from the world. As the rains returned to Go'yi, Zun'hai's successor Emperor Zun'li moved to consolidate his control over the deteriorating situation, but it was too late as open rebellion had broken out around the Empire as local clans asserted their independence.

The Warring States

The Empire broke up into four main states, the Zun Dynasty-ruled Dawn Empire occupying the west, the Azu Domain in the central-east, the Sui Domain in the south, and the Beng Domain in the northern Empire, beyond the Daaj Valley. Though the Zun Dynasty still ruled over the largest area of the Empire, the Azu Domain rapidly militarised, and began fighting against the Zun Dynasty for supremacy, led by the warlord Azu'zin, a former general in the Oxman Wars. During the ensuing 100-year long war, the Azu Domain would come to annex the Sui Domain and large parts of the remaining Dawn Empire. Lukran-Se would remain impregnable for decades, despite numerous attempts at seizure.

93 years into the war, an attempt to invade the Beng Domain by the Azu Domain failed. A year later, by utilising a genius strategy and engineering an uprising within Lukran-Se itself, Princess Azu'la was able to seize Lukran-Se for the Azu Domain, allowing Azu'zin's grandson, Azu'zai, to claim the Imperial Throne and ending the war, establishing the Azure Empire.

The Azure Empire

Under the Azu Dynasty, the Azure Empire further fortified the Jade Wall, repairing relations with the Beng Domain by allowing them some limited autonomy. With the 100 years of fighting at an end, peace and prosperity again returned to the Kobold civilisation, which entered another brief golden age. It was under Azu'zai's rule that magic in the Empire began to be regulated, with strict rules on the levels of magic allowed to be accessed by commoners, and required civil service for aspiring mages attending state-run schools. Technology advanced greatly under Azu'zai, who is hailed to this day as a scientific visionary who cared for both mages and non-mages.

However, peace did not last once again, as following Azu'zai's death, his son Emperor Azu'ko proved to be a less competent Emperor. A series of rebellions broke out along the southern coast, with the old Zun Dynasty emerging to challenge the Azu Dynasty's rule and establish a new state on the shores of Lukran Bay. Eventually, the rebellion was foiled due to the efforts of his sister Azu'la, who had been placed as the Lord of the Azu Domain by their father and was bitter with her brother's inheritance of the Imperial throne. Through some manipulations, Azu'ko became implicated in a conspiracy linking their mother with the poisoning of their grandfather Azu'lon, and the Emperor voluntarily exiled himself to become a monk.

Under Azu'la's rule, the Azure Empire once again flourished, though became heavily militarised. The agreements made with the Beng Domain were broken, and Imperial Army forces occupied the state to great displeasure from the Beng clan leadership, though they were wise enough not to oppose Azu'la. Following Azu'la's death, her niece Azu'mi inherited the throne. Going in a different path compared to her predecessors, Azu'mi attempted to build good relations with the other races and factions on Ezevria, though notably maintained the iron grip over the Beng Domain and the rest of the Azure Empire characteristic of the early Azu Dynasty.

The Tyranny of Dong'cho

Following Empress Azu'mi's sudden death, her son Azu'wa inherited the throne. As he was only three years old at the time, the Imperial Grand Secretary Dong'cho seized the initiative and took control of the Empire. Conspiring with the dark magician Kato, Dong'cho placed Emperor Azu'wa was placed under a magical coma and ruled in his name, moving his capital to the Ao'se of Oma-se, located in the centre of the Empire.

A staunch Kobold Supremacist, Dong'cho sought to rid the world of all non-Kobolds. Relying heavily on dark magic and tyrannical control over the population, Dong'cho made Kato his Chief Sorcerer and directed all of the state-run magical schools to begin teaching the dark arts. In response to this, large numbers of scholars fled from the state-run schools, establishing the hidden villages to preserve their arts and protect their power from Dong'cho. Huge purges of the government were carried out, and Sorcerer Kato developed the Kairai, mindless, enslaved puppets created out of political prisoners and random citizens. Fear and terror gripped the Empire under Dong'cho's rule, with his state magicians seemingly able to watch every Kobold at once.

The ground itself seemed to become tainted by the dark magics, and strange creatures began appearing in the wilderness, with it being unclear if these were twisted experiments by Kato and his conclave or dark creatures drawn forth by the circumstances. The Kran (Asian style dragons) began to be over-hunted as much of the dark magics required large amounts of Kranbone in the sheer scale at which they were being performed. Nine years into his rule, a full third of the Beng Domain's population were turned in Kairai as punishment for a failed independence attempt.

With the enchantments on the Jade Wall failing due to the corrupted energies emanating from Oma-se, the vampires began to break through the walls for the first time. With the north in its most vulnerable state, the vampires broke through the Jade Wall in the north completely, surging into Ezevria for the first time in hundreds of years and massacring the Beng Domain's population. Dong'cho decided to seal off the Daaj Valley, dooming the Beng Domain to be destroyed by the vampires.

The condemnation of the Beng was the final straw for many simmering groups throughout the Empire, and a general uprising against Dong'cho's tyranny finally began, launching the Imperial Civil War. The vampiric infestation of the former Beng Domain would only be cleansed later on, when the Crusade would clear them from the area and repair the northern portion of the wall.

The Imperial Civil War

So dire was the situation considered that a myriad of factions across the Empire joined forces to bring down Dong'cho and his dark forces. The mages of the Gakure re-emerged, as did the Niji Temple monks descend from the Sora'zan mountains. Many Imperial Army commanders also defected, while many of the noble clans began contributing their substantial resources and wealth to the effort against Dong'cho. Within three years, Oma-se was liberated and Dong'cho's head was put on display. Under Dong'cho's surviving right hand man, Ren'da, the remnants of Dong'cho's forces spread out across the Empire and began causing chaos, with the ultimate goal of destroying the Jade Wall and enabling the vampiric hordes to spread into Ezevria and wipe out all non-Kobold life. At some point, Kato the Sorcerer betrayed Ren'da and led his cult to the Razi Mountains.

With the victory over Dong'cho and his faction secured, the rebels returned the capital to Lukran-se and began attempting to rebuild the government. However, the rebel factions quickly broke down into two groups, the Coalition of 48, which wanted to abolish the absolute monarchy, and the Haro Alliance, which aimed to restore the Azu Dynasty to power. The Imperial Civil War continued for another five years before the Haro Alliance won, with the restored Emperor Azu'wa distributing administration of the provinces amongst the loyal clans that made up the Haro Alliance, and establishing a new era of the Empire, the Emerald Empire.

The Emerald Empire

Some time ago, the War of the Puppetmaster occurred, when Kato re-emerged with an army of kairai and dark creatures, and attempted to gather enough souls in order to resurrect some eldritch being.

Geography

Located on the northern border are the nigh-impenetrable Sora'zan mountains, through which only the Daaj Valley enables a crossing to the domain of the Cantillery. The Sora'zan mountains taper to the relatively flat lowlands and the Siwong Steppes, which lie on the border with the Silk Cities. Along the border with the Oxman Realms are the Razi Mountains.

In the south-east, near the border with Saelanis, is the large Hai'numa Swamp.

Notable locations

Lukran-Se (Three Dragons City) : The capital (It's located in the middle bay, Lukran Bay. Legend has it three dragons fought a massive battle over there and eventually created the bay from the sheer destructive power generated.)

Sanhang-Se (Golden Harbour City) : The stereotypical Asian port, naturally it's on Kazuma Bay.

Oma-Se (Badger City) : Omashu basically, and the origin of the Dong Dynasty that briefly terrorised the whole place. This mountain city is located in an interior location.

Kuei'teow-Se (Kuei's Landing City) : A thriving port town, where the First Emperor Kuei supposedly first

Jyodo-Se (Way of the Iron -City) : Home to the Min'yamoto Clan and located in the Iron Mountains (Jyozan), Jyodo-Se is a frighteningly industrialised place.

Nan'yanoi: Southern Blade Fortress. A vast military complex and fortress, Nan'yanoi is one of the most famous fortresses in the world and is a very important military headquarters for the defence of the Empire from the Elves. The powerful, semi-magical Ar'ka Cannon is located here, though the knowledge of how it was created has been lost to time.

Goroma'xima: The island within Kazuma Bay, Goroma'xima has a slightly different culture from the rest. Home to powerful martial artists and the crime-ridden port city of Jin'ma, Goromans are well-known for their martial arts skills. The island is ruled by the Ta'haka Clan from their capital Hai'mak (Great Shore)

Hai'numa (Great Swamp) : A large, spiritual swamp located in the south-western part of the Empire, the swamp is the little-known home to Idogakure, a hidden village and the home of the Ido Clan, strange elemental warriors who have embraced nature in a wholly different way.

Onogoro'xima: The spiritual capital of the Empire, Onogoroshima is one of the sites where vast amounts of spirit energy spill into the mortal world. The small island is located in the exact centre of the Kyokujitsu Archipelago, and has only one bay where visitors may legally land lest the spirits be disturbed. Maintained by the Holy Temple of Himiko, the island is a beautiful paradise. Tall mountains stretch to the heavens like giant fingers, the lowlands covered by green fields, forests and rice paddies. Human settlements are mostly clustered around the road leading directly from Saigyouji Bay to Mount Hourai, though remote monasteries and temples are located throughout the hills, forests and mountains.

The location of Onogoro'xima is those tiny islands off of the Cape.

Saigyouji Bay

Northern border is the Emerald Wall with the Forbidden Lands beyond. Western border is largely mountains with tibetan Kobolds living in them. Down south, the border with the Elves is mostly plains and forests. The Carpenter Wall is on the south as the border with the Elves and is continuously patrolled.

Government and politics

Absolute monarchy

Imperial Bureaucracy

Clans

The Emerald Empire is administered by four main clans and one clan alliance.

The Azu Clan remains the most powerful of the clans in terms of finances and size, but is stagnating. The Yaki Clan is the second-most powerful, and is rising to challenge the Azu Clan after defeating the Quan Clan. The Te Clan is the largest in terms of land area, and was at one point more powerful than the Azu, but has since faltered. The Cha Clan has defeated their rivals the Quan Clan and is ready to rise up. Meanwhile the relatively young Yuan Alliance, which consists of the Tet Clan, Mori Clan, and the Southern Coalition, is quickly gaining ground in the Imperial Court.

The Wall is administered by the Imperial Wallguard, which also administers the farms and factories supporting the Jade Wall.

Military

The state military of the Emerald Empire is the Imperial Army, which is overseen and commanded by the Council of Five. Organised into 17 Banners, the Imperial Army is the single most powerful armed force in the entire Empire in order to enforce the Emperor's will over the people and keep the clans in check.

Infodump

Hidden Villages (Gakure) are semi-autonomous city-states that specialise in more powerful elemental mages. They normally hold no permanent political affiliation, and it is important to control the villages to have mages. Mages either have allegiance to their village, or register with the government to become State Mages, with a lot of privileges though they must obey the government and no longer have ties with their villages.

Recently, the Sickle Rebellion occurred. Dissatisfied peasants rose up against elemental mages for some reason, and destroyed a few Hidden Villages before it was put down.

Clans are basically "renting" the land from the Emperor.