Empire of Kuriso
Human, with small regional minorities of Surabhi and Sanghar.
Culture and Society: Culturally, Kuriso is relatively insulated from the human cultures of foreign nations. Their language and customs developed and evolved entirely separately from those of the Seihdh or the Andred, and are in many ways more superficially similar to the Surabhi or Sanghar than to the other human realms. Perhaps that most important cultural connection that the people of Kuriso have to other nations is their sense of closeness to the sea. A heavily coastal nation, the Kuriso are renowned fishermen and seafarers, their cuisine dominated by the bounty of the ocean and their merchant vessels common from Caelrumoste to the Kabal. In most other respects though, from their bountifully colourful and loose-fitting garments to their unforgiving sense of social grace and highly pluralistic religious beliefs, the Kuriso are exotic to their human kin.
Kuriso society is prominently characterized by strict social regimentation, far beyond that practiced by most other nations. All ethnic Kuriso, the large majority of the population of the empire, are subject to a merciless code of conduct and a lifestyle and career dictated to them from on high, a collection of customs collectively known as the 'Tejun system'. Punishments in the empire for the breaking of the social norms of Tejun, let alone for breaking actual laws, are notoriously severe. For this reason the society of Kuriso is unusually orderly and quiet, especially in towns and cities where the empire's small minority populations of non-Kuriso are mostly absent. This is because foreigners in the empire, at least those that are non-proscribed, actually enjoy a great deal more freedom than do the ethnic Kuriso. Only the Kuriso themselves are expected to obey the rules of Tejun (and it could even be found offensive for a non-human or a human of a foreign culture were to engage in some of the Tejun rituals), so much of what little there is of new and exciting things happening in Kuriso have foreigners heavily involved in them.
At the top of the Kuriso social pyramid is the Imperial Family, the 'Tenochii', supreme sovereigns of the empire. Believed to be the direct descendants of Tsukisei—the legendary philosopher-god-king who founded Kuriso in millenia past—the Imperial Family rests at the top of Kuriso's politics, religion, and culture. Worship of the Tenochii is the compulsory religion of all ethnic Kuriso, their whims constitute the empire's supreme law, and their outward behavior dictates the rules of etiquette and the cultural customs of all the Kuriso people. The Emperor and his relatives are a class unto their own, and no one, whether the most wealthy merchant or even sovereigns of foreign lands, may call themselves his equal. Incumbent upon the power of the Tenochii is an expectation that they will observe the Tejun system to the letter; if a Tenochii were to behave improperly, it would be questioned by the Kuriso whether they are truly of heavenly blood. The Tenochii all reside within the Tenchikashi, the Imperial palace complex in the holy city of Miyaka. Their visitation to other regions of the Empire is a matter of great consequence, and their residence in Tenchikashi is divinely mandated. If an empress or princess were to give birth to a child outside of the confines of Miyaka, the child would not be considered Tenochii.
Below the Tenochii are the Furodan, the class of aristocrats and administrators. There currently exist eighteen extended families of ethnic Kuriso who are among the Furodan, although foreign royalty is also considered to be equivalent to this caste. While they do have a privileged position in the empire due to their blood, being the only ones who may serve as administrators of the imperial provinces or marry members of the Imperial Family, they do not hold any land or authority which cannot be withdrawn by the whim of the Emperor. Indeed, the composition of the Furodan is dependent upon their good favour with the Tenochii, and there is no family among the Furodan so powerful that it could survive defiance against the Emperor. Similarly, those of the lower castes may beg of the Emperor to be risen to the rank of Furodan, an extraordinary gift earned by powerful families through generations of loyal subservience to the Emperor and strict obedience to the Tejun. The Furodan tend to live in large fortified estates in the country, and are expected to be good patrons of the arts and to possess talents of stewardship, that they might assist dutifully in the governance and diplomacy of the Empire.
The third caste of the Tejun hierarchy is the class of artisans, overseas merchants and lesser landowners: the Musuta. The accomplished men and women of the Kuriso, the Musuta are legally important for being the only caste permitted to engage in trade abroad, although anyone from a master craftsman to a poet to an owner of a large plot of farmland is also technically a Musuta. Membership in the Musuta is organized by province, with each provincial capital containing a list of names of every provincial family permitted to entitle themselves Musuta. It is the rank of Musuta wherein the Kuriso begin to use surnames, most of which relate to either the geographical area from which the family originates or otherwise the trade they ply. Most respected and iconic of all the Musuta are those engaging in naval commerce, either as owners of fishing fleets or merchants conducting trade with foreign kingdoms. Musuta must be treated with reverence by the lower castes, as they are ennobled by the provincial governors, the Furodan, who are themselves personally empowered by the Emperor. Musuta are perhaps the most diverse caste, and anyone from the lower castes (except the very lowest) may theoretically hope to join the ranks of the Musuta one day.
The most common of the classes of the Tejun system is the rank of Chikyuno, where most rural farmers find themselves positioned. Chikyuno could be considered to be the poor of good standing. They are the ethnic Kuriso peasants who till the soil for the Musuta and Furodan and Tenochii, and they comprise the great mass of the empire's overall population. The Chikyuno are expected to be devout worshipers of the Emperor and loyal followers of the Tejun system, and it is considered taboo for a son of a Chikyuno to engage in a trade different than his father's. Although the base caste, the Chikyuno are not technically relegated exclusively to agriculture, with Chikyuno also making up those of the urban poor of the empire's great cities. A family of Chikyuno most obtain wealth and prestige and maintain their honour for several unbroken generations to ever hope of achieving the rank of Musuta, but it is relatively easy for an entire Chikyuno family to be doomed to a lower caste should even one family member behave with impropriety. For this reason, the Chikyuno tend to be quiet, well-behaved, and strongly family centered. They are ordinarily not permitted to leave the Empire, and must even request permission from their local government—the council of the local Musuta—to be granted leave to move to a new province. The exception to this are those Chikyuno who assist Musuta in overseas trade. As long as they do not leave their assigned ship to touch foot to foreign earth, they remain in compliance with the Tejun and still rank among the Chikyuno. The Chikyuno wear simple wooden bands called 'yuna' around their ring fingers on their left hands, signifying their obedience to the Tejun. Any unwashed peasant who did not wear the yuna would be assumed to be in poor standing with the Tejun, and therefore be assumed not to rank among the Chikyuno.
Below the Chikyuno are the caste of vagabonds of Kuriso, the Zuki. Zuki are those peasant families who have broken with Tejun, either by being born outside of wedlock, engaging in proscribed activities, emigrating abroad or marrying with foreigners. Those who shun their family trade are also relegated to status as Zuki, as are those who engage in dishonorable but not proscribed activities, such as prostitution or the handling of the dead. Most Zuki are former members of the Chikyuno who have had their status revoked by their community because of disobedience to the Tejun. They are more common in urban centres than in the countryside, and they also count among their numbers the entirety of the Kuriso diaspora. Zuki are forbidden from entering the formal boundaries of the imperial capital, Miyaka, and must vacate themselves from any other place where a Tenochii is expected to be visiting; it is forbidden for Zuki to lay eyes on Tenochii, for penalty of even further shaming (or death). Zuki are expected to behave subserviently to the Chikyuno, and Zuki men are forbidden from speaking to women of Chikyuno class or higher under any circumstance, even life or death. The Zuki, especially those who are not actively trying to behave piously to regain their status, tend to live among their own kind in the poorer neighbourhooods of major towns and cities. In many densely populated places, though not Miyaka, Zuki even constitute a higher percentage of the population than the more numerous Chikyuno. Zuki are also more common to find in non-Kuriso communities within the Empire, and outnumber Chikyuno in some outlying provinces.
At the bottom of Kuriso society are the unpersons, the scum of Kuriso: the Zuru. Whereas Zuki are capable of regaining their honour through strict obedience to the Tejun, the Zuru are those considered so far gone as to be beyond redemption. Most Zuki, and many Zuru themselves, would prefer to be dead rather than to be called Zuru. The Zuru are forbidden from owning any land or property, even the clothes on their backs, and lack legal personhood or bodily autonomy. They can be assaulted, raped or murdered with impunity, and tend to live short, torturous lives. Becoming Zuru is a penalty considered literally worse than death in Kuriso culture. Those who are made Zuru have their left hand's ring finger removed, so that they can never wear the yuna, and often bear other wounds and disfigurements from the abuse they receive at the hands of the upper castes. When cities are put under siege in Kuriso, any Zuru present are killed and butchered, their flesh permitted to be eaten in spite of Tejun rules against cannibalism due to the fact that Zuru are not people. Similarly, many Zuru essentially act as slaves, this being permitted in spite of the Tejun because Zuru are no longer human beings at the spiritual level. The most heinous of all crimes in Kuriso, such as treason or libel against the Emperor, are all punished by demotion to the rank of Zuru. Most Zuru though are simply the mentally ill and the addicted, those dregs of society who live off waste and excess. Their purpose in the social pyramid is to be shamed and tortured; whereas the Tenochii represent the Kuriso ideal, the Zuru represent this ideal's antithesis.
Foreigners (including native minorities) in Kuriso are generally well-heeded, given some kind of special position within the empire in fair exchange for their loyalty to the Emperor. Generally, the different minorities found within the empire have an entrenched position in some kind of economic, political or military niche, fulfilling a role in which the ethnic Kuriso are deficient. Notable among these are the Logaz people of Ondorlogaz, in the central highlands of the empire. The Logaz are known across the empire as people of the stone and forge. They mine precious materials and forge them into sturdy armour in service of the Emperor, which he accepts in lieu of any other form of taxation or military service from the Logaz. Indeed, it is forbidden for the Logaz smiths and miners to forge, or even hold in their hands, swords or other weaponry: the Logaz shall always be Kuriso's greatest armorers so long as they never forge anything else. An even more special case occurs with the Doisu, the pale, lithe people of Doisugo, in the empire's northeast. Known in ancient times as a hated rival of Kuriso, Doisugo is known for possessing many great magic bloodlines, many of their people naturally attuned to making use of sorcery. In exchange for the continued wealth and power of these noble families after their conquest by Kuriso, as well as for the maintenance of the Doisu's democratic systems of local government, the Doisu as a people are required to surrender all of their kin who possess an innate talent for magic to the Emperor for his service. Many of the greatest battle-mages and crystal-masters of Kuriso are of Doisu blood, surrendered to the Emperor at a young age in exchange for their people's continued well-being and the continued maintenance of their democratic traditions.
History: The mythologized history of Kuriso begins with the Goddess Mumaza and her husband, Tejun. Representing the moon and the sun respectively, the couple gave birth to two children: a daughter, Chiki, representing the earth, and a son, Sai, representing the sea. Chiki and Sai in turn started their own family and produced a great multitude of dozens of children, who spread over the land and banded together to begin the world's nations. The second born son was Tsukisei, who founded Kuriso. Whereas Mumaza and Tejun's two children loved each other dearly, the children of Chiki and Sai were spiteful of one another, always feuding and showing one another no love, for they were many and all had to compete for their parents' attention. The children formed great wonders to earn the favour of their parents, forming great mountain ranges to impress Chiki and channeling new rivers and seas to earn the favour of Sai. These works only served to further divide the children, separating their nations from one another physically and even driving their parents apart between them.
In time, the children went to war, each one fighting for either Chiki or Sai in the great "War of Nations". Much killing was had as the brothers and sisters of Tsukisei fought over the supremacy of either earth or sea, all the while Tsukisei, the second born son, remained neutral, shocked at the slaying of blood from his brothers and sisters. In time, Chiki seemed destined to prevail, her champion the first born son defeating many of Sai's followers, who begged, unanswered, for Tsukisei's intervention on their side. When Chiki eventually prevailed, the Goddess Mumaza, grief-struck at the fall of so may of her kin, attempted to commit suicide, nearly putting out the light of the moon. For thirty days Chiki and her supporters rallied against the last of the followers of the sea god, until Sai, in his magnanimity, surrendered, leaving the seas untended as he left the world to care for his mother Mumaza. Chiki, shamed at her brother-husband's superior morality, left behind her own victorious army to join him in caring for Mumaza. Ashamed of those who joined her in her great mistake, she eschewed her own supporters and instead named Tsukisei her regent in the world as she cared for Mumaza.
The first born son chafed under the leadership of Tsukisei, who empowered territory and riches to all of the sons and daughters of Chiki and Sai equally, both including those who had fought under Sai in the War of Nations and ignoring those born to Chiki first. The first born son sought to commit a treachery against Tsukisei, gathering together his brothers and sisters most loyal to him to defeat Tsukisei at his seat at Miyaka. However, at the last moment, Tejun himself intervened, appalled at the first born son's betrayal of Chiki's heed to serve Tsukisei as regent of the world. Tejun came down from heaven, stepped foot on Miyaka, and unleashed his absolute authority over existence to deprive all of the children of Chiki and Sai—spare Tsukisei—of their divinity, shattering their physical forms into the thousands of humans and other species that came to be the progenitors of the world's nations, and shattering their essences into the crystals of magic that are responsible for the presence of divine power in the world today. The first born son of Chiki and Sai was particularly damned, his name forbidden to ever be spoken again, to eternally shame him for his treachery. Tejun also created a new people, based off his own form, whom he called the 'Kuriso'. These perfect creations of the God of the Sun would assist Tsukisei in his regency of the world as the Goddess of Earth and God of the Sea cared for the Goddess of the Moon.
Imperial Provinces
Economy: The economic mainstay of Kuriso, like most all large kingdoms and empires, is agriculture. The empire is blessed in land and fertile soil abundant, but the bounty of food contained in the great ocean coasts of the empire also feeds and provides work for many of the Kuriso people. Farming and fishing are easily the two most common livelihoods, perhaps followed by the artisans, responsible for crafting the fine works of art—worker's tools and paintings and blades alike—for which Kuriso prides itself.
The most abundant of all the crops grown in Kuriso is rice. Native to the lowlands of southern Shangaim province, rice is extremely congenial to the climate, topography and soil conditions of southern and eastern Kuriso. Along with fish, it is a staple of Kuriso cuisine, providing the tens of millions of inhabitants of the empire their daily nutrition. Similarly, cultivating rice is far and away the single most common economic activity for the people of Kuriso; perhaps more than half of all Kuriso alive in the empire spend their days tending to this single variety of crop. For all the intensity of scale of agriculture in the Empire of Kuriso, however, it is a market starkly isolated from trade and commerce. All rice grown in Kuriso fields and all fish caught in Kuriso waters are consumed locally to feed the masses, and trade of agricultural goods—whether imports or exports—are essentially non-existent.
Instead, the main trading commodity of the empire is works of craft. The master woodworkers of the Musuta create tools and furnishings prized half the world away, which is to say nothing of the beautiful works of jewelry and elaborate tapestries that also occupy the holds of trade ships departing from Kuriso ports.
Army: TBA
Navy: TBA
TraitsTBA
Foreign Relations: TBA
StatsLand Area: 18
(12+6)Land Fertility: 12
(6+6)Development: 12
(19-7) Land Power: 14
Naval Power: 17
Economy: 12
(11+1)Magical Reserves: 9
(10-1)Magical Sophistication: 9
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