Shinjuku
The southern feudal lords all report back to one person, Tsun Wei, the Emperor of the south. Shinjuku itself houses three separate major cities surrounded by farmland and forests. The two cities, Furukawa and Gamani, lay just beyond the nations capital Kuju. The two cities are both governed by Shoguns of their own that answer to the Emperor. The south itself seems to be very indicative of feudal era japan, and has a lordship system similar to it. Tsun Wei works closely with Reole to ensure that the traditions and ways of life in the south are not infringed upon, while still working around the capital's demands of the south. Though tensions are high, the current emperor has a very positive outlook on the relationship between these two areas.
Structure
The top of the chain sits the Emperor of the South, who resides in the keep in Kuju. They decide every aspect of life with a single command. Below them are the other feudal lords, the shoguns, who act as advisors to the Emperor and usually dictate most daily tasks. The many captains of the army, designated as samurai, take their orders from their associated shoguns. Below them are the soldiers and common folk of the cities, who revere the Emperor as a godly figure who rules by Divine Right. They cherish the Emperor as though they were a god, but this also gives rise to superstitious attitudes when times are hard that they have lost Divine Favour and need to be replaced.
Culture
The core belief in the south revolves around honor, death and rebirth, and piety to one's family or country. There are several festivals every year that celebrate the people of the south and their many victories, as well as festivals that remind the south of tragic losses. There is a new years festival in which the Emperor uses the empire's stored surplus food to throw a large party halfway through the winter to help the common folk through the winter. The most important festival to the south is the festival of reincarnation, where the people of the south perform several religious rites in the cities to help purify the land and make way for new souls to reincarnate. It is seen to bring good fortune to those who give birth or conceive children during these times.
Public Agenda
The current emperor's focus has been on the expansion of the magical arts within Kuju. Several monk traditions have moved to the south as the area has become a hotbed for elemental magics. Evocation and abjuration wizards have come to study under some of the most trained and well known masters of that area. The south itself rivals Reole's current magical college, though it most lacks in divination and illusion which the south sees as cowardly or backward. Divination magic has only recently ceased to be an executable offense and therefore still holds a great deal of social stigma. Outwardly the south is focused on improving relations with Reole, even if the citizens themselves are distrusting of the guilds.
Assets
Shinjuku is one of the most diversified when it comes to their exports. They export a plethora of foods only found in the south, due to it's warm climate. They can afford to export countless tropical fruits, as well as rice and alcohol. Despite having a huge wealth of lumber, iron, gold and silver, they do not export these resources in large quantities but instead hoard them to supply their military. They also rent out specialized mercenary groups that are loyal to the Emperor. Anyone seeking to hire these services must know that they will flatly refuse to participate in anything that brings harm to Shinjuku or its Emperor. Their primary export to Reole is currently gemstones from their mines as well as transportation services by land and sea using their royal guard.
Kuju is the capital city of Shinjuku and controls the Southern port in the area. It is heavily defended with thick walls and specialized magical arbalests, with the surrounding land clear-cut for strategic purposes as well as to support their farmland. This houses the majority of their military forces and is the largest inhabited city in the region. It is the hub of commerce and trade as it controls the safe port in the region, but is otherwise suspiciously hostile to nonresidents attempting to wander the city.
Furukawa borders the Feywilds to its east, and exists as the only place where the people of Shinjuku practice animal husbandry. Here horses are raised and trained to support their cavalry troops. Despite this fact, this city is the least infrastructurally defended in the region and permits some tourism. The Shogun of Furukawa, Tomyo, also became the Guild Leader of the Abjuration Guild, which is centered in Reole. This is the reason why they have the most positive outlook on outside visitors, as often he needs to conduct Guild business at home. Its location was selected, and the entire city radiates out from, the only cherry blossom tree that can be found in the south, which is revered as deeply culturally significant. This tree epitomizes their beliefs as it was once-dead and now flourishes in a climate that is clearly unsuited to support it. The inhabitants of this city would sooner let every building and horse burn before any harm came to the central tree, and in fact they are rumoured to have agreements with the Feywilds to ensure that exact thing should any harm befall their city.
Gamani is the hotbed for magical training and mages in general. The primary talents of mages in this region tend to be Abjuration and Evocation magics, however the migration of Way of the Elements monks is starting to change the demographics as time goes on. The city borders the Western desert and therefore is responsible for most of the mining in the area, however resources are ferried back to Kuju for processing and storage. This is the smallest city in the region and persists solely due to its Shogun, Choo Wei, who was the brother of the First Emperor and holds a great deal of respect from the resident magic users and other shoguns.
History
Before the common era founded by the Divine Coalition, the south was split into several feudal lordships that all met together in Kuju to discuss relations. Upon the Divine Coalition attempting to invade, the first Emperor was chosen as a uniting force against the divine coalition. The only thing that was able to keep the south united was their devout belief in the Dragon Gods which was personified in the Emperor's son, Tsun Wei, who was entrusted to him by a dragon. The religious belief in dragons and the elements pulled the south behind Tsun Wei and helped them run the Divine Coalition out of their borders. This ended in a non-aggression agreement with the concession that divination magic would no longer be an executable offense in return for cultural freedom and some autonomy from the city-state's rule.
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