Aldìfāng Dynasty

The Stewards of Humanity

"... and they both grew into titans: the man Ren Aldìfāng was perfect in mind and body and eternal spirit, while our glorious Empire became the world itself. All adored The Transcendent Emperor for His clarity of thought and soul, and His family was no different - the Aldìfāng Dynasty all sought to follow their progenitor into Divine Consciousness in their own ways. "

"When an Aldìfāng spoke, the universe itself bent to their words; when an Aldìfāng moved, men fell before them like reeds; when an Aldìfāng thought, the illusions of the world were cast aside. For over six centuries, that was true - even the evil and deluded among them were quick of mind and had the will to move mountains. During the Lotus Times, the Aldìfāngs were believed to be invincible - and they were."

- The Chronicles of Zamzara, Vol. 1

History

The Lotus Genesis

The Aldìfāng Dynasty is synonymous with civilization in the minds of most. It came into existence when the Tennōjin, Ren Aldìfāng, conquered all of mainland Zamzara and formally created the Zamzian Empire and with it, a new calendar system moving forward that would see use up to and including the current year. On that day He married Nǚryu of Hidoi, the daughter of one of the many barbarian kings He defeated in battle, out of admiration for her intellect and ethical character. He ruled Zamzara until his mysterious disappearance in 184 AC, and during that time he was responsible for creating the foundation that would serve his Empire for the next 2000 years.

The oldest son, Nánhái Aldìfāng, assumed his father's role as the Zamzian Emperor at the age of 61. A pious man, he revered his Father as a transcendent god and immortalized his deeds through thousands of commissioned public works during his reign that bore His name and likeness. Nánhái made it his duty to spread the word of the Cult of the Emperor to all parts of the Empire, sometimes forcibly. Like his Father, he was forced to quell several rebellions - ones of a religious nature, as opposed to his Father's. He died of illness in his sleep in 198 AC.

Jiàn Aldìfāng became Emperor at the age of 33 after his father's death and was more civically-minded than him. His reign was characterized by extremely high taxes on goods that were not transported for trade - under Jiàn, it was cheaper for a village to sell their surplus crops to nearby cities rather than hold onto it and face heavy taxation. While deeply unpopular, Jiàn forged ahead in collecting more resources than either Emperor before him had done, which he used almost exclusively to fund massive infrastructure projects while also expanding on the imperial educational system. He drowned during a peasant revolt in Zamhita in 228 AC, as he was attacked during a parade commemorating his 30th anniversary as Emperor.

The Amaranthus Age

Within the week, Yìng Aldìfāng was appointed Emperor of Zamzara. He was 39 years old and his first year as Emperor was marked by an epidemic of flooding around all Zamzara that continued to wreak havoc for nearly 2 decades. Rebellions sprung up across the entire Empire, but were quelled by "Yìng the Merciless" and the full force of the Zamzian army. He was equally merciless towards natural disaster - he constantly had workers building dams and canals to try and control the catastrophic bursts of flooding that would wipe out entire villages and numerous advances in civic structure were made during this period. He died while personally digging a canal when it was flooded in 245 AC.

Ruò Aldìfāng became the 5th Emperor of the Zamzian Empire at the age of 24. The unpopularity of his father and grandfather came to a head just after his accession and resulted in dissent not only from the peasants, but from the nobility as well. Ruò spent over five decades fighting civil wars on and off, constantly fending off pushes by the Heavenly Bureaucracy to minimize his imperial powers, and he lost chunks of the mainland in compromise, resulting in shamefully independent states. He finally failed to reunite Zamzara in 299 AC, when he was unceremoniously stabbed to death while in the royal bathroom.

The Black Orchid Era

Times were dire for the Zamzian Empire, but the 6th Emperor, Jungan Aldìfāng, turned the country around when he rose to power at the age of 41. A military genius who had fought alongside his father in various rebellions, Jungan consolidated his power through force and guile, quashing any dissent he found. He was most known for expanding the Imperial Examination system to make it easier for lower classes to enter the state system while making them more loyal to the office of the Emperor rather than the Heavenly Bureaucracy. He died in 321 AC from consumption.

The Aldìfāng Dynasty had suffered severe losses within the past generation, and as a result, the throne fell onto the 15 year old Banlan Aldìfāng, a distant nephew of Jungan. Raised at court, the naive young Emperor was very open to the new ideas being posited by the Heavenly Bureaucracy, and in a fit of madness or delusion, signed an Imperial Decree declaring that all forms of succession within Zamzian society were to be planned beforehand, to ensure that the most fit individuals were the ones saddled with the burdens of responsibility. Banlan was assassinated in the throne room of the Worldly Palace in broad daylight in 333 AC.

Rising to power amid rumors of collusion and corruption, Yeoja Aldìfāng was coronated at the age of 38 as the first Empress of the Zamzian Empire. Her accession was met with a great deal of political resistance, but her cousin Banlan's word was law, and she soon assuaged her opponents' worries with her good judgement and fair character. She was generally viewed as power-hungry - mainly due to the creation of the Daiva-Raksasa, the Royal Guardians, a secret police force loyal only to the office of the Emperor (or Empress, in this case). She abdicated the throne in 384 AC to pursue the life of a sadhvi in relative seclusion. She died five years later.

The Jasmine Age

Heralding a new time of piety and harmony, Qián Aldìfāng assumed the throne at the age of 30, although he was unwilling at first. A deeply religious man, the Cult of the Emperor expanded like never before under his rule as he sought to reintroduce the neglected tenets of Nánhái to the Zamzian people. Under his reign, more temples than ever were built, and they grew in size and opulence. Qián was also noteworthy for dropping the levels of taxation to the then-lowest levels they had ever been. Like his aunt Yeoja, he abdicated in 414 AC to seek Moksha, and he died two decades later.

Johwa Aldìfāng is widely regarded as one of the greatest Emperors the Zamzian Empire has ever known, possibly second only to the Tennōjin Himself. A diligent and responsible prodigy, Johwa became Emperor when he was 27 and took to it naturally - through social programs and military expansion, he brought about an unprecedented age of peace and prosperity, reclaiming the territories which had previously been lost to civic unrest. It was said that during his reign, a traveler did not need to carry food or weapons, as the road was certain to be safe and the stops were guaranteed to be welcoming and gracious. He died from a heart attack in 489 AC, in the middle of signing Imperial decrees.

Lazy and materialistic, the charming Pyojun Aldìfāng inherited an Empire in the middle of an unprecedented golden age at the age of 29. While science and art progressed at record rates, "Pyojun the Absent" rested at the Worldly Palace, engaging in vice and sin. Not unintelligent, the Emperor would appoint many officials to run the Empire for him. Fortunately, they proved capable, if not exceptional. He ruled without issue until 512 AC, whereupon he suspiciously disappeared during his daughter's birthday festival. It was rumored that he drunkenly fell into the waters of Zamhita, where his spirit still wanders listlessly as the "King of Kami".

Era of the White Chrysanthemum

Even to this day, some scholars claim that Nappeun Aldìfāng ascended to the Imperial Throne through political corruption and a chain of mysterious deaths that can be linked back to him. Unfortunately, Nappeun was a terrible despot and cared none for his people, and his cruel streak was only exacerbated by his age - he became Emperor when he was merely 15 years old and had his regent exiled within the year. To his credit, the Earthly Servants and Heavenly Bureaucracy were never more powerful than under his reign, as he gladly let his own power be taken away bit by bit, simply out of misguided spite and his lackadaisical attitude. His greatest passion, to the detriment of all else, was hunting. It was no surprise when he had an "accident" in the royal fields in 526 AC and most of his body was broken and shattered by a "goat" he was shooting at, killing him.

He was succeeded by his 21 year old brother, Museoun Aldìfāng. "Museoun the Terrible" had a good relationship with Nappeun, as both men had inclinations towards the gruesome, but Museoun proved to be far worse than his brother ever was. A vicious tyrant, he was responsible for the horrific "Vadana Bhinti" - the Wall of Faces. Political opponents, childhood bullies, and scorned concubines all had examples made of them, for they were publicly executed by having their faces cut off, which would then be nailed to a wall outside the Worldly Palace. Although he ruled with an iron fist, Museoun did not have total control, as he was killed in a military coup d'état that was backed by members of his own family and the Jogi Dynasty in 529 AC. Upon his death, it is rumored that his spirit became the first hate-filled Vetala, doomed to wander Zamzara until the rebirth of time.

Shìbīng Aldìfāng was the third cousin of Nappeun and the official leader of the coup at only 24 years of age. A dour man, he immediately began his rule by appointing members of the Jogi Dynasty to auspiciously high stations within the Heavenly Bureaucracy and Earthly Servants. They, in turn, began to collect taxes at unprecedented rates, which they lined their pockets with. Shìbīng quelled the slightest display of dissent with the reformed Daiva-Raksasa and ushered in a secure reign of quiet terror. His political power consolidated, he abdicated in 578 AC and lived out the rest of his days in luxury, dying within the decade.

Jiāhuo Aldìfāng was given power at 30 years of age by his father, Shìbīng. His reign had already been planned for him, and he followed it diligently. Unbeknownst to him or his father, the Jogi Dynasty had silently been expanding their influence farther and farther throughout the highest echelons of the Zamzian Empire, even going so far as to wed one of their members to one of Jiāhuo's daughters. This union proved fatal in 600 AC, when Jiāhuo and all of the Aldìfāng Dynasty members within Zamhita were silently killed in the Worldly Palace in one fell swoop - one story tells that the Jogi Dynasty had trapped the beds of the Aldìfāngs, where the floor beneath the bed would open up and dump the sleeper into a pit of spikes before quickly moving back into place, as if nothing had happened. It was officially claimed that Jiāhuo and his family had followed in the footsteps of The Transcendent Emperor and achieved true enlightenment.

Disbandment

Fall of the Aldìfāngs

The dawn of a new reign began that day, but the scattered remnants of the Aldìfāng Dynasty tried to hold on to whatever power they could along the edges of the Empire, but the barbarian tribes their ancestor had driven from the mainland enacted their vengeance and harried the Aldìfāngs when they weren't being attacked by members of the Daiva-Raksasa. It is not known when the last Aldìfāng died, but the last mention of them within any historical text is in 641 AC, where "Ren Aldìfāng" is mentioned as staying in an inn in western Zamzara. Scholars have concluded that this was a pseudonym.

DISBANDED/DISSOLVED

Dispel the mystery and glean the reality.

Founding Date

1 AC

Type

Political, Family

Government System

Monarchy, Absolute

Power Structure

Feudal state

Economic System

Mixed economy

Official State Religion

Imperial Cultism

Parent Organization

Zamzian Empire

Location

Zamhita

The Aldìfāng Emperors

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Name	Reign	Birth-Death	Lifespan
The Tennōjin, Ren Aldìfāng	1 AC - 184 AC	-31 AC - ?	~215 years
Nánhái Aldìfāng	184 AC - 198 AC	123 AC - 198 AC	75 years
Jiàn Aldìfāng	198 AC - 228 AC	165 AC - 228 AC	63 years
Yìng Aldìfāng	228 AC - 245 AC	188 AC - 245 AC	57 years
Ruò Aldìfāng	245 AC - 299 AC	221 AC - 299 AC	78 years
Jungan Aldìfāng	299 AC - 321 AC	258 AC - 321 AC	63 years
Banlan Aldìfāng	321 AC - 333 AC	305 AC - 333 AC	28 years
Yeoja Aldìfāng	333 AC - 384 AC	295 AC - 389 AC	94 years
Qián Aldìfāng	384 AC - 414 AC	354 AC - 436 AC	82 years
Johwa Aldìfāng	414 AC - 489 AC	387 AC - 489 AC	102 years
Pyojun Aldìfāng	489 AC - 512 AC	460 AC - 512 AC	52 years
Nappeun Aldìfāng	512 AC - 526 AC	497 AC - 526 AC	29 years
Museoun Aldìfāng	526 AC - 529 AC	505 AC - 529 AC	24 years
Shìbīng Aldìfāng	529 AC - 578 AC	505 AC - 584 AC	79 years
Jiāhuo Aldìfāng	578 AC - 600 AC	548 AC - 600 AC	52 years