Daraj is perhaps one of the oldest civilizations that exists in this world: about as old as the Telerians or the Qiankunji. Yet they were utterly, unimaginably different than these other two civilizations. The Daraji divided themselves into castes, which determined occupations and positions from birth; warriors fought with warriors only, while priests prayed, unfettered by earthly concerns, just as kings ruled without interference. At the same time, a thriving merchant culture between the city states was built up; agriculture became more and more prominent, dependent on the regions yearly monsoon. All this continued for some time before a great ill befell this early civilization: another ancient kingdom. The Telerians were the most powerful nation of their time, and a quick strike nearly paralyzed the Daraji, with hundreds of thousands landing on their shores. The steel weapons of the Telerians were not that much of an advantage for them here: the Daraji had their own steel, strangely patterned and far tougher, along with war elephants which drove whole armies of men running. Yet the long ships of the Telerians, sleek and fast, were intractable, racing all over the shores and landing huge forces before any Daraji kings could respond. Dozens of cities were burnt to the ground, and it was said that Daraj became more a land of ruins than of people. The core of these lands were yet recalcitrant, however, and despite Telerian claims to the contrary, were never subdued; the mountains and deep forests still flew the tiger striped banner of old. Therefore, when the fall of the Telerians came, Daraj seized its chance, launching a Reconquest of proportions scarcely seen by the world: immensely successful, they conquered to the borders of Hadato and the Saranir, even building ships in the ways of the Telerians. They landed on Telerius itself, sacking many of the cities that still stood after volcanic eruptions, and boastful inscriptions claim a several century rule over the island. Yet reality was that the rule was far more fleeting: with a ruined heartland, there was very little to maintain momentum, and the Telerians broke the Reconquest, rebuilding their empire slowly. The Daraji were only beginning to rebuild themselves, with dynasties rising and falling, the people regaining confidence, when the New Telerian Empire brought down a rain of holy terror upon Daraj. The old armies broken, they were forced to cede coastal lands again, and in the last few centuries have endured more and more unstable rule than ever. Outright rebellion and barbarian invasion in the north have combined with stable breakaway provinces in the south; Karipune in particular has gone on the warpath, while the Untouchable leader of the Kattavarasa has led his own populist rebellion. Yet even as the actual empire falters, the people remain strong. Lands are being sown again, crops growing, homes building at a pace faster than ever before. Men and women take up residence in formerly ruined halls, and the long decline of Daraj is being turned around even as its political entities are entering their darkest days yet. All that is needed is a true leader who can reunite Daraj, and these people may reach greatness again.
Duhali has survived the veritable holocaust that has haunted the north in the form of the holy armies of Thuhar, mostly, it is rumored, by simply buying off the Thuhai to give themselves more time to prepare. Yet this is a stratagem that can only work for so long. Thuhar surely will lose credibility among its northern subjects if it were to simply deny their chosen status to rule all of men on earth for a few gold pieces; they must attack, for Duhali borders them directly. Chandara has been invaded, and the rulers of Duhali know that they cannot come far behind; aid must be secured: perhaps in the form of the armies of Benghar Di.
Epaliputra, founded on the fork of the great Suri River: the largest of the region and one of the larger ones in the world. This special locality has awarded it a special place of fertility, even in the jungle, and much of the trees have been pushed back in order to make way for miles upon miles of farmland. This obviously contributes to its agricultural productivity, and makes it a tempting target for would-be new powers; enter Benghar Di from the south, and Thuhar from the north. Racing against time and each other, the two armies threaten to tear the nation in two, and Epaliputra must decide its fate: the religious gurus of the north, or the remorseless guns of the south...
The Qiankun voyages to the west did not, as is commonly believed, completely end in failure. Before meeting the Telerians, settlers landed in Hadato and founded small settlements on the eastern coast; these were taken by the Telerians, however, this merely induced the settlers to move further inland, where they intermixed with the locals. The resulting nation was fiercely proud of its origins, and maintained its own animistic beliefs despite numerous neighboring religions. Hadato also developed something of a warrior tradition, with the fine blades from Daraj being merged with the martial traditions of Qiankun; these created fearsome swordsmen; some of the greatest the world has ever seen. Isolated into various mountain valleys, the Hadatonese found that warrior clans were fiercely independent, and almost no one answered to the Emperor. This civil war lasted until very recently, when guns from the West began to pour in, spelling the doom of the warrior class as they united every mountain valley under the rule of the Emperor. However, this is a fragile dominion, for now the warriors have mastered guns as well as swords, and there is every chance that they could rebel at any time against their Emperor, and who knows what the New Telerians might make of that opportunity...
Karipune is not at the head of the pack in terms of technology. It still fights using mostly traditional methods: a combination of muskets, cannon, swords, and elephants, with a thundering cavalry charge still sensible instead of ending in a massacre. Yet these methods are enough to defeat the decaying, decrepit armies of Daraj, which have failed repeatedly in battle against the Kari. They are thus pushing rather quickly forward, and the whole Daraji Empire will fall to pieces. The only problem here is that there are more than one states who would be eager to succeed the massive nation, and a few of them have advantages that the Kari, locked in traditional ways, utterly lack.
Kattavarasa defies every expectation and rule. All societal restrictions are broken, for this state is not just a haven for the unwanted of the caste systemit is ruled by an Untouchable. Named Vishva, his ambitious goal is not just the destruction of Daraj; it is the utter destruction of the caste system, the destruction of oppression. To term his war a crusade would be an understatement: he believes that he is fighting a war against pure evil. Vishva is of course abhorred by those with common sense in Daraj, for the caste system is hardly oppressive (in their eyes): it simply delineates the purpose of everyone in life. Vishva disagrees, and intends to tear down the entire edifice of Daraj with it, in creating a new state. His ragtag army has less than the best weapons: indeed, most still fight with swords or spears. It is not their sophistication that matters, but their rulers utter genius for fighting: even badly outclassed as he is, he defeated the armies of both Daraj and the Saranir with very few losses. Whether his rebellion will succeed gloriously or simply fall to pieces is unknown, but he could spell the beginning of a very different future for the nation, and the world as a whole.
Mondyan is at the delta of the Suri River, and as such has quite a lot of fertile land to call its own. Not so deeply locked in the jungle as the other states, it is much less isolated as well, and has a more worldly outlook, though it has been rather overlooked by other states in the world in favor of its neighbor, Balai. Perhaps, though, it can draw the attention of the Telerians, and use them as an ally against its rival, so that it can become the great seafaring state of this land.
The Najala are secluded, even by the standards of this part of the world. The high mountain peaks that guard their home are steep, and lined with a steamy jungle that pours sludge over the unwary traveler; insects multiply by the billion, and parasites are numerous. Even ignoring these natural barriers, the Najala, who legends say had a terrible tragedy in their past (including exile from the land of Daraj), are eager to reinforce their isolation to a greater degree.
Ranu is one of the smallest states along the Suri River, and it has not that much to distinguish itself. Upriver from Mondyan, the jungle is more thick here, and the farms a little less dense: but the people still crowd its lone, eponymous city to an extreme. While it has very little to base a nation off of, this might be turned into an advantage: other states are overlooking it in favor of larger catches; they could rise rather sneakily while the titans clash.
The Rathuri are a thick slice of land between Hadato and the jungle states of Benghar Di and others to the north. Not particularly modern, they are not isolated, either, for they are forced to almost constantly defend from attacks on either side. The aggressive, powerful Benghar Di constantly threaten their northern borders, while the proud Hadatonese are often warring as well. As such, their cities are highly fortified against any invader.
To call Saral a city state would be flattery. It is little more than a series of docks, fortified on the landward and seaward side by some of the most modern walls in all of Daraj. In fact, this rather unremarkable state would long since have been added to the massive conquests of the New Telerians but for both the protection of Anagra, whose admittedly waning armies threaten to flank any invader of the tiny state, and the wealth it gains from being the sole port for Metti traders in the Telerian Channel. This only makes the New Empire more annoyed, however, and the clash may come sooner than any Saralan would like.
Teshal was never one of the larger states of the region, however, it has always been one of the states of the region. The mountains that make up the landscape here are very rugged, and despite their breathtaking beauty, they held little that could be considered valuable. If tourists could get here, they surely would: but they cant, and neither can large armies. Thus, Teshal has maintained its independence except against the greatest of conquerors, or when it voluntarily submits to becoming part of another nation.
In desperate straits, Thubien was once one of the proud nations of the Suri River. Now it has fallen into pieces against the assault of the technologically advanced Benghar Di, whose cannons demolished the most determined military forces, and even now are pounding the capitals walls into dust. Worse, Thubien doesnt even have the advantage of enemies that may be turned against each other, as is the case in Chandara; doubtless, this nation will fall.
Ujjena recently emerged from obscurity when its prince crowned himself a king, and declared himself sovereign of southern Daraj. The central government made a halfhearted attack on the northern citadel of Ranore, and was turned back by the massive fortress there (sited on top of a rocky crag). This has allowed the Ujjenans to develop free from the trials of war; they leave that sort of dirty business to their neighbors in Karipune, and have used the lull to modernize: they are, in fact, one of the most modern militaries in the world, on land, at least. By sea, they are very weak, but they can perhaps rely on allies to cover their weakness there; their infantry, however, are well disciplined, and have rifles as well.
Vandi is the easternmost of its region, and locked in a deep jungle thicket that few explorers will brave. This has allowed them a great deal of isolation: the King of this nation even styles himself Emperor. Yet the fishermen on the south coast know better, and this Emperors rule is tried already by marauding barbarians to the north.
Southeastern Karai:
Haijon, the hill people, have always been apart from most of the world. Looked down upon by Qiankun, they never truly traded that much, yet their supposedly barbaric armies of spearmen ambushed and defeated the Emperors several times. Spiteful and rather rude, the poets of the Imperial Court retaliated by calling them bad names in their epic works, and constantly characterizing them as the villains. This didnt bother the Haijonese at all, for they never read these works, and it pleased the Qiankunese: it was a win-win situation. As this status quo continued, the Haijonese continued in their old ways, herding the animals and roving the hills, until the Argai came. Brave though they were, the disunited tribesmen were bent by the nomads from the north, and the tax organizations that the Argai left remained in place even after the Empire collapsed under its own weight: thus, the Haijonese managed to retain a unified government despite the tribal underpinnings of their society.
The Huyue are a people who many had believed dead. Driven away from their homelands in what is now Telcari by the Telerian invasion, they vanished into the deepest jungle mountains, and were presumed eaten. Yet they had survived, interbreeding with the tribesmen there; more importantly, they knew what was to the south: a great empire, full of magical secrets. Their wise men had limited trading on the borders enacted; randomized so that it would not seem as though anyone were being supplied, and in this manner managed to gain access to a whole range of goods, which were of course immediately found to be not at all magical. Discovering the processes behind them was not far behind, and soon steel tools were being made in the Huyue villages, while their leaders plotted how best to regain their old lands. Converting their people slowly to a faith of Baiyun, which reassured them that God desired them to retake their land from the Telcari, they waited for centuries, occasionally raiding during the long wars between the Telcari and the Qiankun. Finally, during the last few assaults by the Qiankun, they drove back the Telcari from the jungles, and isolated an enclave; the walls which had proved so useful against the masses of Qiankun fell before the poisoned arrows and clever tactics of the Huyue, who managed to gain much land before agreeing happily to a peace. They have not yet regained their holy land, and some are saying there is no need to, however, there is always the temptation of joining in this newest war between the dragon and serpent...
Jin Bo, or the Golden Junks are supposedly holders of secret knowledge, but wiser, cooler heads know that they are a fairly new organization, founded around the same time as the Second Interregnum of the Yun Empire. The Yun were the epitome of hypocritical reactionism, rejecting Western ideals even as they embraced their firearms. The Jin Bo were not the opposite, for they, too, embraced firearms. They were, however, eager to adopt other Western ideals, for as the merchant class they had always felt overlookedindeed, downtroddenin the wars against the Telcari. They desired the freedoms that most other Qiankun had never even heard of, however, and their exhortations to support free speech, free presses, and free assemblage fell on apathetic ears. Thus, they were forced to remain fairly hidden, all the while recruiting from the merchant and artisan classes; their mere lack of action convinced the Emperors that nothing was wrong, and that more young men could be rounded up to be sent against the fortifications of the Telcari; this only infuriated the middle class more. And thus they grew, importing arms from indifferent Metti, devious Telerians, and desperate Telcari, growing immensely powerful. The Emperors were still uncomprehending of the situation; the vast numbers of junks who now flew the gold dragon on black, rather than red on gold, seemed meaningless, and the hulls painted yellow meant nothing as well. If anything, the Emperors insisted, they were some kind of cult or criminal organization, and nothing that a few cracked heads would not solve. It has turned out to be a most likely fatal error, for on the eve of the Telcari attack, the Jin Bo launched their own, with every merchant port in the east flying the golden dragon. Their armies were filled with the common people, armed with flintlocks and rifles; the first matchlock and pike armies of the Emperor to march against them were utterly massacred by case shot and bullets. The golden hulled junks slaughtered the Imperial Navy immediately, sinking a thousand ships and burning the ports that had not turned to the Gold. Even as the Emperors sent more armies, they grew more powerful, and with the Telcari assault beginning, there seems to be little that can be done. The Jin Bo are more powerful than the emperors thought (not so powerful that they can defeat the entirety of the Emperors armies, of course); their ideas of new freedoms are so alien that if they triumph, there may well never be another Dynasty. It could be the end of Qiankun as we know it; the start of a new era. And while the peasantry could care less about the idea of being able to speak their mind, the idea of a good harvest and peaceful existence where young men would not be sent off to war strikes a deep chord. The Golden Dragon is marching.
Shensen: The Argai War of 1134-1201 gave birth to the people of Shensen. During this time, the Khanate had occupied most of Eleim to the north, and brought their faith of Elai with them. During the long occupation of the western provinces, many inhabitants of western Qiankun converted voluntarily to Elai. After the liberation, they were treated as both collaborators and heretics, and a large minority was killed outright. The survivors, mostly women and children, were shipped off in exile to the coastal province of Shensen, to serve in the Imperial Shipyards. Heavy state-supported discrimination and occasional pogroms from the loyal population ingrained a deep bitterness into the hearts of the Shensen, as they were then known. When the time of the Jin Bo Rebellion came, the Shensen too threw off the Imperial mantle, claiming freedom from so many years of ugly oppression.
The Telcari Empire was the far eastern outpost of the ancient and immensely powerful Telerian Empire, whose wealth and beauty is known the world over. Yet this eastern outpost was won by the blood of millions of Telerian soldiers, spilled at the gates to Qiankun, who desperately fought to retain their homeland. The eagle standards of the Telerians fought the red dragons of the east, and on and off wars raged for years. The terrible wrath of kings laid waste to the entire country, and it took many dead to build the Great Wall of Qiankun, which finally managed to keep out the Telerians for good. Finally, in the latter days of the Telerian Empire, when the great deaths ravaged the homeland, a discontented Telerian general planted his own standard: that of the silver serpent on violet, and declared his land to be a free empire: that of the Telcari. Naturally, this new split attracted the Qiankun, who attacked in droves. Millions of conscripts rushed at the fortifications of the Telcari, but these walls had been built by some of the greatest engineers the world had ever known, and the corpses piled so high that they formed walls themselves. Yet the power of the Qiankun was not to be underestimated, and city after city fell into ruins as the red dragon was flown, over and over. Peace would be signed, only to have another war only a few years later; the Telcari, for all of their engineering marvels, were too few, and had to fall back time after time. Finally, instability in the Qiankun bought them a little breathing room, which they used to reinforce their armies; this came quite in handy when the newest Yun dynasty inaugurated their new doctrines by using them against the Telcari forts. Thrown back to the Eretrii River, it was only with blood that the Telcari regained the East Bank; with rebellions in central and northern Qiankun, it seemed as though the Yun might finally be driven away for good. Supplying with no real secrecy the Jin Bo, the Telcari launched an invasion of their own shortly thereafter, with an amphibious invasion having landed behind the enemy lines. With the Yun distracted by millions of rebels, this may seem like a ripe time, but it is in fact truly precarious: no one knows for how long the tides of Qiankun may be held back. The silver serpent may be flying its last.
The Yun Dynasty are merely the latest holders of the crown of Qiankun, a land whose lineage may well predate the Telerians. United by ancient dynasties, the influence of Qiankun was gigantic: every neighbor has felt their hand at some time or another, and the rather pathetic hill nomads to the north never really posed a challenge. Thus they were able to develop in splendid isolation, convinced that they were the only true civilization in the world, and that all others were barbarians. The long Silken Way led so far from the Qiankun that no one really knew what was on the other side; all that mattered was that they received masses of money for it, to fund the splendor of their own court. Unchallenged at land, they began to expand by sea, sailing into the Beidan Ocean and subduing some of the Spice Isles, while explorers also scoured the west for signs of a nation that must submit to the Divine Throne. Unfortunately for the Qiankun, they found this nation in the form of Telerius, the most powerful land of its time. The Telerian Empire noticed the ships of the Qiankun, and laughed at their demand of homage, responding with a full invasion force of ten thousand ships and, supposedly, ten million men. They poured into the southeast of Qiankun, subjugating city after city; the old dynasties abandoned their fight for the Beidan Ocean to pour all of their considerable resources into driving out this evil, demon-like threat. Literally millions of men were mustered by either side, and the dragon met the eagle on a field that spanned a continent. Whole cities were slaughtered; mountains were built with the rubble of devastated walls. Finally the Qiankun held the Telerians to something of a stalemate, and built the Great Wall, a massive defensive work that plunged the nation into bankruptcy but fully demonstrated their ability to mobilize massive manpower. Rebuilding their nation slowly, their empire began to reach new heights of architecture and culture. When the Telcari broke away from their erstwhile rulers, the Qiankun saw the opportunity, and struck. Yet these Telcari were masters of defensive works as their masters had been before them, and though many cities were ruined, they managed to grimly, tenaciously hold on despite everything. Final solutions evaded the world, and the wars dragged on through millennia, draining the power of both nations nearly to the breaking point. Even when the Telcari were docile, a massive Argai invasion was only barely turned back from the western lands after decades of fighting. After several interregnums, the New Yun Dynasty replaced an older branch, and avoided the sea and its works entirely, focusing on building a powerful land military. Guns were cast by the hundreds of thousands, and an army like the world had never seen marched on the Telcari one last time... only to be thrown back at the Eretrii River. It was the ultimate straw; the peasantry had enough, and simply left their camps. Generals found themselves without armies to command. The long suffering merchant class rose under the rebellion of the fierce and secretive Jin Bo, whose imported Western technologies were wielded with effectiveness by the low peasantry to kill the highest noble; the Emperors armies were routed at every turn. Shensen, a tiny peninsular people, rebelled as well, and vast swathes of northern lands fell away to warlords. The Emperor insisted nothing was wrong; Qiankun had resisted many storms before, and would weather this as well. But his calm was not pacifying; it was disastrous. The Telcari launched their own, long-awaited invasion, landing behind enemy lines even as their own forces arrayed for battle; new armies were no more successful than the old at fighting the Jin Bo. The people of Qiankun may never die, this much is true. However, the power of the Yun Dynasty is fading fast, and would-be usurpers are prolific. A superb leader must be found, one who can turn the overconfidence of the West against them, and appeal to the sense of unity that Qiankun has. It is an age of generals, blood, and glory. It is Qiankuns darkest hour.
Beidan (Northeastern Karai):
Andshi: This tribal nation is a bit of an anomaly in the North Qiankun area. Its people are actually ethnic descendents of the Argai Khanate. After the Khanates massive retreat following their wars with Qiankun, a very large number of horse archers and light cavalry were acquired by Haijon as mercenaries. With this veteran force, Haijons armies went on a rampage across Qiankun, sweeping away the native states in their path. The armies of Nephalim and Etsien, halted this advance during the 3-day Battle of Nephala, where that famous fortress city held its ground against the larger enemy force. Following this defeat, Haijon fell into bankruptcy and internal warfare. The mercenaries, who had brought their families and supplies with them, were without payment. So they simply took it, carving out the fertile plains of northeastern Haijon as their own domain. Since then, the Andshi have remained sedentary, and their nomadic ways have fallen into decay. If an opportunistic neighbor were to strike, they might easily wipe out the last descendents of the horsemasters.
Chalan: Situated along the upper banks of the Guangli river, Chalan should be a peaceful and uneventful place to live. Too bad its a haven of strife, chaos, and constant upheaval. Haijoni, Andic tribes, and fierce orthodox Eleim exiled from Yesara all make their homes here
and each wants the other dead. Its hard to say why people dont classify Chalan as a den of complete anarchy, perhaps only due to the fact that the sides ceasefire to repopulate. At present, the tribes have been forced back into Andshi, but they plan to take the other two sides unaware in a huge counterattack. Of course, Haijon also lurks on the borders of their former province.
Etsien: Protected by the deep, swift flowing waters of the Guangli River, and the profound disinterest of everyone around them, the land of Etsien harbors a deep distrust for their southern Yun neighbors in their hearts. Their Emperors claim descent from the rogue Sien Dynasty, a pretender branch that seized sporadic control over much northeastern Yun territory during their first interregnum. Unfortunately, an Emperor ruled the Sien in name alone, and their subjects distrusted the eunuchs that truly ran things. Eventually, the Sien were routed, and their remnants fled into the north. Today they remain a nation of rice farmers, plotting and scheming to regain what they never truly had.
Haphar, the northernmost of the true Beidan nations, is home to a highly stratified society. A small Eleim aristocracy rules the land, thanks to an elite military that crushes any resistance with steel and musket fire. Most of the islands and rocky peninsulas that make up the nation are covered in vast spice plantations, tended by thousands of native slaves. Yesaran merchants eagerly purchase the saffron and indigo as fast as the crops are harvested. It is a volatile system, but brute force keeps the ruling class established. If someone were to give the Haphari natives proper weapons, though, complete chaos would break out.
Havalot: Across the Heshan Mountains that border Yesara and the sea, thick pine forests carpet the land. Swift rapids roar down from the mountains, carving out steep valleys where the Havalotim live. The waters current powers many of their lumber and grain mills, as well as their forges. This is the easternmost nation following Elai, and its people, though heavily influenced by the cultures of Qiankun around it, are closely connected with Yesara. The kings of the region are tightly bound in alliance with the mercantilists, supplying raw materials in return for their independence. For the Havalotim were originally rogue Yesaran colonists, that attempted to rebel against the Lapis Thrones. Though their revolt was quelled, the victorious Yesarans gave the provinces virtual independence, which reduced the cost of governing them, and allowed them to acquire all the resources they needed in return for said independence. The Havalotim are resentful, but know that the price of defying the payments is too painful to bear.
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