Nation Building Dying Dynasties - Nations of Hoken-Chi (Lore)

[DemetrioMachete]

THE EARLIEST DAYS OF HOKEN-CHI​

In the beginning, Hoken-Chi had no name. It was populated only by indigenous fishing tribes, who only barely managed to scrape by. They persisted in this state for centuries, before a great warlord appeared, and began to conquer and recruit amongst the tribes, seeking to unite them as one. This warlord was only known to them, as the Emperor.

The Emperor's name was never learned, and none knew even where he had come from. Some persisted in the rumors that he had come from the Spirit World. Nonetheless, this Emperor lead a grand campaign across the then unnamed landmass, asserting his strength over the tribes, training those who complied, and crushing those who resisted. When his conquest expanded from the Titan's Strait to the great ocean beyond, and his rule undisputed, it was here that the land received its name from the Emperor: Hoken-Chi. From then on, they were a united people, and their Emperor was just in his rule. Technology expanded greatly, going from simple stone tools to bronze, and then to iron. The Emperor brought with him magic, as well; teaching it to those who could wield its mystical powers responsibly. The Age of Hoken-Chi had begun.

THE AGE OF HOKEN-CHI​

For what seemed like a century and a half, the Emperor of Hoken-Chi ruled the land unchallenged. While they called themselves an Empire, their expansion hardly went past their primary landmass, as all expeditions across the great ocean to the East proved futile, and across the Titan's Strait, to the west, scouts found that it had already been settled and claimed by another Emperor, of the Empire of Grendel. The Emperor of Hoken-Chi did not want to send his armies against this fellow Emperor, for it was said that he could sense his strength. The people of Hoken-Chi, desperate for more land, eventually happened across a portal, which lead to another realm entirely. One where their connection to magic was stronger than ever, and the land seemed to expand onwards almost infinitely. This world, to the people of Hoken-Chi, soon came to be called the Yokai Realm, named after the supernatural creatures which dwelled there. Creatures such as Kitsune, Fairies, and other strange creatures found mutual relationships with the Hoken-Chi settlers, who revered them as higher beings, and at times, Gods.

However, as the Emperor would soon find out, attempting to expand his empire through the Yokai realm would also be a regretful decision, as not all Yokai were indifferent or benevolent to humans. Oni, Dragons, Kappa, and other terrifying monstrosities soon poured from the portal, laying siege to his Empire. Spurred into action once again, the Emperor readied his armies, having grown bored from peacekeeping, and began a cleansing of the Yokai presence which had infected his Empire...

THE FIRST YOKAI WAR

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The First Yokai War lasted for decades, as the powerful Emperor and his armies scoured the land, seeking to reclaiming it from the chaotic Yokai invaders. Individually, the Yokai who plagued and haunted the land were powerful, and could not hope to be defeated even by entire armies laying into them at once. While the Emperor himself had no issue defeating these creatures, his soldiers were dying horrific deaths, empowering the monsters who defeated them and all the while unable to stop more Yokai from pouring forth into the living world. The Emperor could not fight in every battle at once, but he simply had to win; to protect his people. And so, with his wives, he conceived four children: two sons, and two daughters. While he raised them, he changed his armies tactics, instead of laying siege to conquered lands, they would defend what they had left with their lives. The citizenry, desperate to assist their glorious armies defend their homes, eventually learned how to fight as well. These guerrilla pragmatists became the first shinobi clans; utilizing stealth, cunning, and uncouth trickery to drive back the Yokai while the Samurai assisted them through conventional means. Though they were allies, the Emperor's samurai and the shinobi did not always appreciate one another's company. It is largely believed that the Shinobi stole the deeper secrets of magic from the Samurai in order to better assist their own ninjutsu. The Samurai, meanwhile, figured that these magical secrets would not be forgotten once the Yokai were defeated, and these Shinobi would prove to be oppurtunistic criminals...
Nonetheless, after 20 years of holding the line, the Emperor's Children were grown, trained, and ready to lead the armies of Hoken-Chi by their Father's side. It was here, finally, that the tide began to turn. With the strength of the Emperor and his offspring, their masterful tactics and control over magic eventually drove back the Yokai back to the Spirit Realm, managing to close off the portal located within Kage no Josai. Victory was with the Emperor and his people, but so too was humility in learning that they were not the strongest, no longer the apex of life. Such a title rested with the Yokai, who no doubt would seek to return to the living world.

THE SPLIT OF HOKEN-CHI​

Years after the Yokai War had ended, the Emperor, having lived and fought for centuries, at this point, found himself too old to continue leading Hoken-Chi into prosperity. He looked to his four children proudly, and announced that he would forfeit his power as Emperor, and grant each of them a quarter of the country to rule as they saw fit. While power rested with them, now, the Emperor departed from his responsibilities with assurance: "Should you ever doubt your situation, or your leadership, seek me out in the Northern Mountains, and I shall guide you." From there on, the Emperor was never seen by his people again. It is unknown if anyone has ever successfully made the journey to the Emperor's northern home, as the cold is strangely potent.
For years to come, the four kingdoms of Hoken-Chi would co-exist relatively peacefully. Disputes over territory and regulation were frequent, but never broke out into violent conflict. It would not be until one such incident occured within the borders of Chikara, that this peace would be torn down. In the Chikaran city of Fuyuhoshi, it was brought to the Shogun's attention that a number of residents were forming "cults" dedicated to the worship of the malevolent Yokai that the Shogun had fought many years ago. Enraged, the Shogun of Chikara marched an army upon Fuyuhoshi and razed it to the ground, killing all inhabitants of the city who did not escape. Those who did escape immediately alerted the Shogun's siblings, who in turn lambasted the Shogun for his actions, denouncing them, cutting off trade and readying their armies, worried that he had gone mad. While the Chikaran Shogun did at first attempt to reach out to his family about the situation, they were unwilling to believe what they had to say. This lead to the First Civil War of Hoken-Chi, with the Shogun of Chikara lashing out and attacking the Daimyo of Chowa. As they fought, scouts from the kingdom of Bitoku went and investigated the ruins of Fuyuhoshi themselves, and found that the Chikaran shogun was telling the truth. Bitoku entered the civil war as Chikara's ally, though in unofficial capacity. Instead, they hired their local shinobi clans to run espionage and subterfuge, sharing intrigue with Chikara while also cutting off Chowan supplies. Seeing this as a betrayal, the Daimyo of Akizumi soon after declared war on Bitoku, sending their armies into their lands only to be met with heavy resistance. Even to this day, the four kingdoms remain riled up in civil war, all while outside forces prepare themselves to enter the fray...

A political map of Hoken-Chi and Grendel. ​

 

[DemetrioMachete]

BEFORE THE DAYS OF GRENDEL

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Before the grand western empire was conceived, it existed as five rival kingdoms. These kingdoms of knights, lords, kings and popes fought constantly amongst one another, never ceasing their eternal conflict. These fledgling kingdoms were known once as Brittania, Ghurna, Frizden, Swurld, and Roagalia. And as they fought their eternal war, known as the Quints Crusades, it seemed as though war would bring their kingdoms to ruin... until one day. From the noble halls of Swurld, came a learned scholar of the art of war, known as Yharnal Grendel. With his Swurldish knights, he began a new front of the Quints Crusade, feigning alliance and submission to Britannia, as they united to defeat their rivals once and for all, uniting them, for a time, under the banner of Britannia. When Ghurna, Frizden, and Roagalia were annexed and placed under Britannian borders, their forces found themselves spread too thin, and weakened from constant battle. Grendel's Swurldish knights, however, had taken little in the way of losses, and so, seen at the time as a grim betrayal, Swurld began to conquer Britannia's new, unprepared lands, doing to Britannia, what they had together done to the rest of the western kingdoms. With Britannia defeated, and the king at his mercy, Grendel instead proposed this: a unity between their cultures, meshing together all of their best elements to create an infalliable, unbreakable kingdom that would expand across their continent and beyond. Desperate to hold onto power, the Britannian King agreed. The nobles of the other kingdoms who had not been slain were restored to their former power by Grendel, who had declared himself the Emperor of a new, united alliance. Swurld, Britannia, Roagalia, Frizden and Ghurna were no longer the names of Kingdoms, but of official states in the newly born Empire of Grendel. Yharal, a frail old man by the time true unity had been enacted, passed on the title of Emperor to his son, who would in turn continue to pass down the title of Emperor or Empress to the most worthy heir of the Grendel bloodline.

ENDORSEMENT OF WITCHCRAFT AND DISCOVERING HOKEN-CHI​

Even since before the Empire of Grendel, the men and women of the western world knew of magic, just as the people of Hoken-Chi did. However, their reaction was one of fear and of purging, as witch hunts were regular during the Quints Crusades, with many spellcasters and innocent non-casters being slain by their superstitious neighbors. When the Empire of Grendel was whole, though, the first Emperor Yharnal Grendel quickly put an end to the witch hunts, granting them an opportunity for endorsement if any witch or wizard could step forth and instruct his fellow magical citizens on how to control and responsibly use their magic. It was here, that the Archwizard Velstadt O'Reighley stepped forth, and with the Emperor's funds and blessing, constructed the Grendel Academy for magic, where mages could go to learn how to control and expand their spellcraft, while mundane folks could be imbued with the gift to cast magic. Yharnal saw only additional power to be gained from learning magic, and saw no reason to penalize or condemn those who could use it.
With this massive step in progress made, the armies of Grendel saw almost no resistance as they conquered the rest of their continent, controlling a massive territory that would see the Emperor of Hoken-Chi blush. The 3rd Emperor of Grendel was made aware of Hoken-Chi's existence when foreign scouts washed up on his shores. According to witnesses, they seemed to be apologizing for intruding upon settled land before retreating back to their homeland. A decision now rests with the Emperor of Grendel: to conquer Hoken-Chi or not? While his advisers bicker on the point nonstop, the Emperor has sent his own envoys, ambassadors, settlers and scouts to Hoken-Chi, all to determine if their land is 1: worthy of being absorbed into Grendel, and 2: worth the effort of taking it.

 

[DemetrioMachete]

THE YOKAI REALM

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Known in Hoken-Chi as the Yokai Realm, in Grendel as the Spirit World, but known to all who have ventured there as the Afterlife, this immaterial world is the host to all magic, and is the final destination of any entities who die in the physical world. There are no judgments, paradise, or punishments here. It is simply a second world which exists parallel to the physical realm. All creatures of the Spirit World benefit from resurrective immortality. While they can be slain, they will always reform in the place where they were first conceived on this plane. How long this process takes depends on the strength of the creature, and how violently they died. Stronger creatures and those who suffered horrific ends take longer to reform.
All creatures here are known as Yokai and Spirits, but these are two different creatures entirely. A spirit is simply the soul of a dead creature, sentient or feral, from the physical world. The longer they reside here, though, they do transform into the supernatural Yokai. Yokai are entities who benefit from mystical powers and a greater connection to magic. Many varieties of Yokai exist, from beautiful Kitsune, to mighty Oni, and the strange Kappa. Even creatures immortalized in Grendel manifest here, such as Dragons, Giants, Fairies, and Golems. Each Yokai has a varying opinion on the physical world, in particular, the Emperor of Hoken-Chi. Unknown to all but the Yokai, the Emperor was once a Spirit of the Yokai realm, who retained a great deal of his physical form even after his first death. He found a way out of the afterlife, and built upon his old homeland a vast and mighty empire. The Yokai War was a result of envy on the part of malevolent Yokai, as well as the fear of mortals entering their ethereal, infinite lands.

The Yokai lost the war, however. And while many of them found themselves reforming in their homes, unrest soon took hold. Many Yokai were pining to return to the physical world, all for different reasons. While many simply wanted to resume the war and destroy the Emperor of Hoken-Chi, others wanted to try and make amends for their harsh retaliation. The Yokai fight each other over this just as fervently as they fought the Humans in the Yokai War...