Kelazhur

At the North Western end of the Mainlands is Kelazhur, a domain where fear flows as easily as water due to zealous fanatics, selfish nobles, and most importantly, The Sun god. To most who live in Kelazhur it is a kingdom where every day is spent in fear, forget to pay tribute to the Sun god and you may find the Sun's Hand knocking on your door with malicious intent. But to those who have reached the higher caste, every day is a day spent in incredible luxury with a surplus of every possible delicacy and indulgence one could desire, and without a worry in the world. Such is Kelazhur that the difference between a common peasant and nobles is entire worlds apart, this vast distinction between the two was created by the Sun god, who is the Emperor of Kelazhur, word has it that he has lived for centuries due to being a contractor of an high ranked and extremely powerful spirit. The Emperor is a ruthless tyrant, as even while the presence of Iraeidin devastates the Kelazhurian populous by the day the Emperor simply enforced a law that only those with his blessing may become a contractor or as they are called in Kelazhur, a Sun's Hand. A Sun's Hand are individuals specially chosen by the Emperor to act as his enforcers and peacekeepers throughout the kingdom, although his means are unknown it is said that the Emperor is able to personally bestow a spirit to a Sun's Hand when they are chosen by him.

History

The land which is now Kelazhur has always been a land of the arts, a land with overflowing culture between its series of villages spread out across the land, in these past times what little records exist mention it as a wonderful and beautiful place. However, the sacrifices the people made in this beautiful and peaceful land, was a lack in regards to technology comparable to that of the Fierce Deserts, but unlike the Fierce Deserts, they also lacked any individuals or tools capable of helping them defend themselves over non-mundane threats. Due to this, the appearance of a single Iraeidin (which was extremely rare before the cataclysm) or even a Sarwix, could lead to major devastation within the land. This was, until a massive fire dragon arrived in the land around 180 years ago, this dragon upon arriving declared to the residents that it would protect them from any major threat, as such, the people began to call this being the Guardian Dragon.

Being a dragon, the Guardian Dragon was defeat any possible any that came to the land with ease earning the reverence of the people, but after around a decade, it is suspected that the Guardian Dragon realized that it cannot do everything, and so it created the Deshi order to help keep Kelazhur safe. Due to the presence of the Guardian Dragon, those various villages and people around the land began to come together in larger groups creating towns and eventually these people called the land Kelazhur, allegedly translating to "land of wonder and beauty". The Guardian dragon and the Deshi order protected Kelazhur for 95 years, nearly a century, even protecting Kelazhur in the harshest moments following the "cataclysm" which had Iraeidin all over the Mainlands, Kelazhur was the least harmed of any nation on the continent.

Next is history that most within Kelazhur have forgotten, due to the eradication of most of the history surrounding the event, the death of Guardian Dragon. Around 85 years ago an Individual arrived within Kelazhur, and proclaimed himself the Emperor, when the people denied him, he killed the people. With thousands of dead civilians, and dozens of dead Deshi, the Guardian Dragon eventually arrived, a brutal battle played out which lasted entire days, eventually ending with the defeat of the Guardian Dragon. For years the people had despaired at the death of the Guardian Dragon, and for years the Emperor would kill any who deny his claim as the Emperor. With time, he would also introduce his own personal Inquisitors, to destroy any history of the Guardian Dragon, and to kill any who still believe in them. Like this, Kelazhur would slowly and sadly transform into the country inhabited by zealous peasants who live lives where nothing, even what they know, is in their hands.

Hierarchy

The Sun God

Weather you call him the Sun God, the Emperor, or simply a Tyrant, he is the ultimate and supreme authority within Kelazhur, any who choose to speak out of turn or defy any of his orders, will meet an infernal death of intense suffering. Almost the entirety of the nobility has been established by the Emperor, and even as they have gotten drunk with power over the generations, none would dare go against the Emperor. Even outside of Kelazhur, some speculate that due to the unimaginable power held by the Emperor, that he may just be the strongest individual in the entire world. As such, some scholars outside of Kelazhur often speculate why, for such an immensely powerful individual, they have not conquered the entire world, but ultimately, it falls down to the whims of the Emperor.

Sun's Hands

Within Kelazhur exist special individuals who have been bestowed the power to wield the element of fire from the Emperor himself, the primary job of these individuals is that of inquisitors, they travel Kelazhur and make sure that the faith of Kelazhurians is strong, alongside ridding the nation of any dissenters. The number of Sun's Hands changes depending on the whims of the emperor, but the number rarely exceeds 20, and never goes below 8. The reason for this is that the Sun's Hands are ranked linearly, with the 1st Sun's Hand being the strongest, the 1st and 2nd are the royal guard, whilst the 3rd through 8th serve as Generals for Kelazhur. The Royal guard are in charge of "protecting" the Emperor, but realistically most of what they do is undertake his most secretive demands making them privy to secrets beyond the reach on any other individual, additionally, the royal guard also keep the other Sun's Hands in check. Alternatively, the Generals handle any broader conflicts or minor rebellions of which are somewhat frequent within Kelazhur. The rest of the Sun's Hands primarily undergo the usual inquisitorial tasks.

Nobles

The upper class, living a life of such immense and obscene luxury, that even nobles from Stisedo may be jealous. To become a noble in Kelazhur, there are only two simple requirements, 1, regular "donations" of Dreons to the Emperor, 2, absolute faith and respect for the Emperor. With those two requirements technically anyone could become a noble in Kelazhur, but few have the extreme wealth required for the frequent "donations" to stay within the Emperor's favor. Every noble often has its own small army, sometimes the Emperor will even directly gift soldiers to a noble if they have done well with their "donations", this allows nobles to do effectively whatever they want with the peasantry of Kelazhur, and the laws of Kelazhur often ignore any crimes nobles commit.

Peasants

The bottom class, everyone, every soldier, craftsman, or simple farmer, is nothing but a peasant in the eyes of the Emperor, the Sun's Hands, and the Nobles.

The Deshi Order

An order originally created by the Guardian Dragon, while the dragon is dead, and the order is a shell of it once was, it still persists to this day. While most within Kelazhur simply lived their lives thankful for the dragon, others would take it a step further, they would train their bodies to the point of being able to fight Iraeidin themselves, and once at that point would seek out the great Guardian Dragon, hoping to obtain a speck of its teachings. Unfortunately, the dragon was not as magnanimous as most of these warriors had hoped, it didn't have the time or patience to teach the hundreds who came to his cave with a desire to battle against the Iraeidin. However, every couple decades, one or two warriors would catch the dragon's blazing gaze, and he would pass on some teachings that mortals could wield without destroying their bodies from the immense power, like this, the Deshi order had been created.

Through the dragon's teachings, Deshi would gain a power which is referred to as Jiyuna, it allows them to control the element of fire for a very short period of time to turn the tides in battle against Iraeidin. Additionally, Over the years the Deshi would refine their martial abilities and refer to them as their Hakari. Nonetheless, the dragon gave two stipulations to Jiyuna, it must never be used on any creature other than Iraeidin, and those he taught would only ever be able to pass on the teachings to two other individuals. With time, and after the dragon's death, came the reign of the emperor, these stipulations evolved into a form of code, not so different from that of a religion that every warrior who now came to refer to themselves as a Ryū no Deshi followed. While a majority of the tenants weren't very strict, the Deshi had such iron willed conviction in them, that if a single Deshi were to break a tenant, every Deshi across the Kelazhur would immediately aim to punish them. Alongside the formation of this code which functioned similarly to a religion, certain teachings of the dragon were modernized, such as the Deshi allowing themselves to use their powers on evil Irae Mages. Eventually, through the help of other magics, the Deshi order were able to create a wooden talismans, each inscribed with a name of a Deshi and kept in the HQ. The Deshi would enlist several individuals who would spend their lives watching these talismans, as if a talisman glowed red, it signified a usage of Jiyuna against a prohibited target. As such, time had passed, and with the reign of the emperor most Deshi had hidden themselves from the world helping Kelazhur from the shadows.

Iraeidin Ranks

Within the reign of the Emperor, Kelazhur is in a state of extreme isolation as the Emperor does not allow any contact with outsiders. Due to this, the Deshi never learned of any updated system of ranking Iraeidin, so they use the same method they have for over a century, referring to an Iraeidin as one of the following : Wildfire, Eruption, Tempest.

A Wildfire Iraeidin, whilst being the weakest of the ranks is still a threat to behold which would take several groups of normal soldiers, they are the most common throughout Kelazhur and cause widespread terror to most villages and small towns without a constant form of high level protection.

An Eruption Iraeidin is much rarer to see and much more dangerous, often when these Iraeidin do not go straight to cities and towns they are able to exist for years or even decades without being killed as any who witnesses them has no hope to survive. Only when a truly powerful Deshi arrives and is able to handle the threat can all within the surrounding cities, villages, and towns alike breathe a sigh of relief.

Tempest Iraeidin are existences that cannot be definable in a sense of power, it is said that the name tempest came from the sky itself shaking as the great guardian dragon struggled fighting against one. Currently if a Tempest Iraeidin appears everyone is evacuated as far away as possible while only grandmaster Deshi are deployed to the scene. Even so, a great amount of casualties are expected to defeat such a terrible foe, alas, the only thing that can be done afterwards is to claim those who died as heroes and pray another does not appear for several decades.

Deshi Ranks

Novice - A novice should in theory be able to 1v1 a wildfire assuming they have knowledge on its abilities and are able to approach it prepared.

Master - Can easily take on a wildfire, but would struggle greatly to take on an eruption, although it may be possible assuming multiple factors lending an advantage.

Grandmaster - Can confidently, although not easily, take on an eruption, would take several to even attempt killing a Tempest.

• Deshi can only take in his two disciples once they reach the rank of master.
• o advance past the rank of Novice, a Deshi must go to the HQ to demonstrate their skill.
• Deshi at the rank of grandmaster is forgiven for practically anything outside of killing other Deshi or breaking the law of Jiyuna. This is due to presence being of the utmost necessity in the appearance of a Tempest.

The Deshi HQ

Shinbetsu Located in a secluded area between Xuguan and Gyeryong, it is the sacred home and headquarters of the Ryū no Deshi. The reason that this city was chosen as the location for the HQ is that originally it is said that the first Dragon Champion appeared to fend off Iraeidin in the area. Ever since the establishment of the Shinbetsu, it has been used for the most important rituals and safekeeping's of the Deshi, such as Deshi artifact weaponry. Potentially the most crucial existence within Shinbetsu is the vow of justice talisman, which is the talisman which allows the Deshi order to know if any have broken the code of usage for Jiyuna.

The Dragon Champion

The original dragon champion was the first ever Ryū no Deshi, legendary tales were created from their battles as they were a human exemplar of the Guardian Dragon. All of the Deshi after the Dragon champion regarded him as the strongest amongst all of them, the only being other than the dragon itself that could take on a Tempest Iraeidin by themselves. Eventually, the first Dragon Champion died of old age, but after decades of waiting, another dragon champion came, and after them, another. How a Dragon Champion comes about is unknown, there is only one truly discernable factor, which is the ability to use Jyunai for an unlimited period of time. Once a new Dragon Champion is found they are brought to the HQ for a special celebration and to be armed in armored in the most powerful equipment of the Deshi, namely the sacred Krysallium armor and the glaive of the Dragon Champion. Unfortunately, after the Emperor killed the Guardian Dragon and Dragon Champion, he stole these sacred armaments and hid them away.

The Deshi’s Code

Ironically, unlike the stipulations of Jiyuna the “Deshi’s code” was never created by the Deshi’s themselves, rather it was spurred into existence by the reverence of the people of Kelazhur creating rumors about what they believed the code of Deshi to be. These rumors were immensely popular and spread throughout all of Kelazhur, to the point where the people of Kelazhur believe this to be a fully accurate code of Deshi even to this day. The Deshi then decided it would be good to teach newer disciples this code and explain that while most of the code can be ignored if needed, but, it would decrease their trust with the local populous and their willingness to give supplies and shelter to the Deshi in question.

1. A Deshi does not allow any harm to come to the citizens during a fight, no matter the cost to themselves.

2. A Deshi does not use weapons or tools associated with criminals and evil doers, as a Deshi can make up for any lack in strength with tactics and skill.

3. A Deshi treats those at the local city/town/village with respect and does not try to overuse their status to be granted luxuries for free or normal goods to an extent that would harm the seller.

4. If a Deshi is apprehending a criminal, they bring them in alive as so the city/town/village that was harmed may decide their Fate.

5. A Deshi requests consent from both the child and their parent before accepting them as a disciple.