Phoenix Empire
The Phoenix Empire is the oldest still-surviving human state, tracing its formation back to the Rose Queens who united the two peninsulas beneath their rule and defeated the great mGya rKhar Empire . It rules over much of the Qikuoan Subcontinent, and it has done so for thousands of years. These eons of rule have been interrupted, of course, but like its namesake the Phoenix Empire rises from the ashes every time. This remarkable persistence of imperial tradition is due to many factors, but perhaps the most important is the Rose-Petal Throne, an ancient artifact that transfers the memories and experience of each emperor to have ever sat upon it into the mind of the next, ensuring that the Emperor is wise far beyond his years and can draw upon the wisdom of countless generations with but a thought.
However, as emperor has followed emperor in a never-ending cycle, the number of memories that must be transferred has grown greatly; at this point, the binding takes up to a month, during which the nascent emperor must be fed, cleaned, and cared for by others, as he himself is almost helpless upon the throne while the transfer takes place. Even after the enthronement is complete, many emperors are overwhelmed by the weight of memory. Further complicating matters is the fact that particularly strong-willed emperors often leave more than just their memories within the throne, their personalities surviving within its matrices of magical energy and lurking within the minds of newly-coronated emperors. At best, this means that an emperor is never without advisors, while at worst the cacophony of voices and minds within their heads drives them mad. Occasionally, these personalities can even take control of the emperor's body and voice, leading to utter chaos.
In order to maintain control of the realm, a vast bureaucracy exists, augmented by feudal lords known as Dong. These two traditions, bureaucratic and feudal, have feuded with each other for centuries as the emperor's rule grows more and more sporadic, culminating with the Taikun of the Tsukimoto raising his flag in rebellion in 340 AC, leading to the exile of the palace bureaucrats and the expansion of the Dong system across the entire empire. Warlordism has followed in the wake of this event, with the empire collapsing from infighting and carrion birds scavenging around its corpse.
Type
Geopolitical, Empire
Alternative Names
Qikuo
Predecessor Organization
Demonym
Qikuoan
Leader Title
Government System
Monarchy, Absolute
Power Structure
Feudal state
Subsidiary Organizations
Related Ranks & Titles
Controlled Territories
Neighboring Nations
Related Ethnicities
Comments