Akira Heresy

7/17/2019 Akira Heresy

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Nations of the World of Rokugan

Rokugan, the Emerald Empire, the Land of the Shining Prince, the Land of the Rising Sun.

This here is the Rokugan we all know and love (mostly). I tend more towards Japan than canon, but

that's ust my take. !urrently it is Imperial !alendar ""#$ and %antei &otorii is the young mperor,

much enamored o the aiin (and *+T a host to u -eng). %e is embroiled in a civil war betweenhis action (the Imperial -oyalists), the &hogunate run by oi &atsume, /oto aheris and his

0arbarian %ordes, and the &teel !hrysanthemum and his -egion o 1ncestors. 2sing the aide o

several 'civili3ed' nations, he has progressed his nation in directions that many despise, embracing

gaiin pepper, muskets, and even cannon.

%e has accepted ambassadors rom several o the ollowing gaiin nations, but then so have his

rivals (to a lesser or greater e4tent). /any eel these inluences are too much, while others want to

learn more. &till, his mpire is one o %onor, 0ushido, &amurai, and a reverence or the 5ami.

The Yobanin Tribes of the North, the !inu, the Eagle Lords, the Wind Tribes. "Pseudo#

$orean%

To the *orth o the mpire, ust on the other side o the reat 6all o the *orth lies a small stretch

o cold and ertile lands populated by a robust tribe o humans distantly related to the Rokugani.

These lands are capable o growing some in the way o crops, but are riddled with steep hills, deep

valleys, and craggy heights. %ere dwell a nation o tribesmen who have tamed the mighty reat

agles, massive birds that they oten ride into battle. Indeed, one can not be considered a leader, or

even a true warrior, unless one has ridden a reat agle.

6hile terriic oes, and possessed o a strange brand o summoning magic, they are not numerous

and are oten scorned by the ew ragon and 7hoeni4 who know o their e4istence. &ome trade

does go on, but mostly violent raids between the &hiba who watch the mountain passes and the

tribes that resent the wealth and plenty o Rokugan. -ittle word o these peoples has escaped the

7hoeni4, as the Isawa have decided to steal their magical secrets and claim their lands or

themselves. Recently, a princess o their tribe has entered the courts o Rokugan, seeking a riendly

ear to plead her people's case against the ravages o the lemental !ouncil. The 7hoeni4 sco and

deny her claims, though the -ion seem ready to listen.

(*ote8 1rchitecturally, !ulturally, and !ulinarily the agle -ords are similar to 5orea. There is also

a good deal o Tibet in here.

The $hanate of the &oto "Pseudo#&ongols%

*ot all o the /oto tribe oined the 5i9rin on their ourney to the 6est. some remained behind on

the reat &teppes o the 2ik9hai and continue to ight, :uarrel, and live their nomadic liestyle. -ed

by the strongest warrior, they still swear ealty to the 2nicorn (speciically to -ady &hino and her

children), and have been at times seen in the armies o the 2nicorn as scouts and raiders. Their

current 5han, /oto aheris, has chosen to unite the various tribes and lead them against the mpire

o Rokugan, seeking better pastures and the riches o the civili3ed world. +ddly, some 2nicorn have

oined him, including the amed &hino ;okatsu. The /oto claim that aheris deeated ;okatsu in

single combat and earned the title o !hampion o the 2nicorn, though some whisper that ;okatsu

threw the ight. 0ut that begs the :uestion8 why<

The $hanate of the 'ik#hai "Pseudo#&ongols%





The Triple $ingdom of !)alon+ !)alon, Eire, and !lba "Pseudo#England%

1 powerul kingdom made up o several large Islands, the 5ingdom o 1valon is almost as oreign

as one can get. 6hile it does boast a strong martial class, it also boasts a massive population o

reedmen, individuals akin to ronin who hold no -ord and are proud o it. These reedmen make up

the bulk o the 1valonian population and pursue many trades, both scholarly and martial. That being

said they are ruled by a overlord, styling himsel as a aimyo o sorts, and are proud o their nobleclass, even i they do talk ar more rankly and openly than any Rokugani peasant would. 6ealthy

and prosperous, the 5ingdom o 1valon owes much o its wealth to the mercantile nature o the

reedman !lass, although nobles there are wont to dabble in the pursuit o wealth and lu4ury.

Their warriors are not well thought o by the other 5ingdoms= their nobles preer to ight on oot

and use polearms designed to drag the nobles o other lands o their horses (and presumably to the

ground to be slaughtered by peasants). %owever, their 1rchers are reputed to have nearly godlike

prowess, even in the modern army, which is predominantly made up o men carrying pikes and

guns. The other nations ind this manner o ighting to be most gauche and demeaning= to them a

proper warrior should know how to use pistol, musket, lance, and sword and should only ight

against other warriors (typically mounted).

/any o the peoples possess an uncanny degree o luck, and worship two separate pantheons8 that

o the +ne od and that o the &eelie %ost. It is the &eelie %ost that marks them as dierent rom

many o the aiin, as these trickster beings are reputed to be :uite powerul and have placed a

special blessing on the inhabitants o this Island. /any 1valonians are noted or their skill in magic,

especially that o illusion and trickery magics.

(*ote8 ngland, circa li3abethan times. 1 ood bit o airy magic tossed in or good measure.

Think 1valon rom &eventh &ea, minus the 1rthur /yth)

The ual $ingdoms of (beria and -alicia, The Empire of (spana, The $ingdom of -od

"Pseudo#Spain%

1rguably the strongest empire in the 6orld, the mpire o Ispana is a 5ingdom devoted wholly to

the power o their od, the +ne od. +ddly, they seem to consider the 1valonians to be a orm o a

sect and hate them with a passion. 1ccording to the Ispanans, they travel to other lands and spread

the %oly 6ords= some o which choose to oin them in a holy brotherhood. 1ccording to the other

nations, the Ispanans con:uer oreign nations and convert them by sword and ire. These same

sources state that the Ispanans have covered an amount o land e:ual to twelve Rokugans with their

banner and are seeking even more.

The Ispanian armies are truly impressive8 supported by terrible cannon, their orces move in

unstoppable blocks o pikes, well supported by musketeers who ire at the enemy, then retreat to

saety in the midst o the walls o their own pikemen. !alled Tercios, these ormations move slowly,

but can only be halted by an e:ual block o pike and shot, and the Ispanians are masters o the style=

ew can match their army in the ield. 7erhaps their only weakness is their cavalry orces8 lightly

armed and armored, they are seldom sent into battle against enemy troops in ormation, rather they

are held until the enemy breaks under the nearly invincible tercios and then runs down the routing

troops. 0ecause o this, they tend to be less than eective when sent to ight other cavalry

(especially &alian or -yonessian cavalry), and they generally disdain being used as scouts, seeing

themselves as the elite orces that inally drive o the enemy.The ew horsemen o the Ispanian

style in Rokugan are looked at with pity at best. 6hat the 2nicorn consider them is not it to berepeated by civilised tongues.



The 1mbassadors rom the 5ing o Iberia and his wie, the Aueen o alicia, assure the young

mperor and his court that such is not the case. Indeed, those other lands have willingly oined their

mpire out o reverence or the teachings o the +ne od. /ost Rokugani are wary and see only

gaiin hungry or gold and plunder. +n the other hand, their ambassadors seem shielded rom hostile

magics by a strange orce. These 1mbassadors, called Jesuits, seem to be armored by their od

against the workings o other spirits. while this may prove that their od does e4ist, and has power,

the act that one o their priests boldly called +sano9wo a @demon whore9spawn who merits nothingmore tha9@ beore he was struck by si4 consecutive bolts o lightning seems to indicate that the

protection is not perect.

(*ote8 &pain at its con:uistador height. Ruled by the In:uisition and anatical leaders, this is a

dangerous nation to make an enemy o. +r a riend.)

The $ingdom of L*oness "Pseudo#rance%

1 large and prosperous *ation, -yoness is the eternal rival to 1valon. &eparated by a long stretch o

water, they have historically intermarried but rather than draw them closer it seems both sides have

used amilial connections to drive territorial and inheritance claims deep into each others heart.&worn to uphold the values o the mainstream sect o the +ne od, -yoness is less religiously

indoctrinated than Isapana. +nly a ool would think them not dedicated to their ancient sect, though

as the priests o the +ne od hold many important positions in court and control vast swaths o

wealthy lands. Indeed the 5ing's most potent advisor right now is a high ranking priest, and some

say mastermind o -yoness's politics. !urrently the nation is resting o a series o brutal wars or

succession between the current 5ing and his 0rother, a man rumored to hold sympathies or a

splinter sect o the church.

6hile many in the 5ingdom are loyal servants o the current 5ing, 5ing !harles (the tenth o his

glorious name), smaller daimyo (called counts) still yearn or the ormer reedoms they held. 1t one

point, these !ounts held practical autonomy over their lands= provinces nearly large enough to be

small kingdoms in their own right, but the wars o succession has rendered them all sworn and knelt

to the 5ing. or now, -yoness is a nation ruled by one man with a iron ist, but those in his grasp

remember days when all (even the !hurch) were able to look him in the eyes.

/ilitarily, -yoness is strong, with some o the inest cavalry in the world (though the 2nicorn and

/oto would beg to dier). The army is built around the elite corps o the 5ingBs uard and the

AueenBs uard, two large orces that ill many o the same unctions o both the &eppun and the

merald -egions. These warriors practically deine the aiin warrior8 skilled with the light blade,

musket, pistol, and e:ually capable on horseback and o. &ome have mastered the lance, though

most preer to ight with lashing saber, crashing pistol, and deadly courage. 1 small group owarriors matches the +taku in their skill and mounted bravado, and wear glittering steel armor rom

head to oot , carry lances estooned with maestic banners, and are deadly with their sidearm (be it

mace, a4e, or sword) and are renown or crushing into enemy ormations with world shaking

impacts. This however is a small percentage o the nationBs army, the rest is rather hastily scrambled

levies and poorly e:uipped. Their ob is to stand die, and then run while the elite orces hit the

enemy rom the lanks or rear.

(*ote8 rance during the reign o -ouis CID, with some good !ardinal Richelieu un times tossed

in.)

The /aliphate of the 0ol* Prophet, the /rescent empire, the *nast* of the Rasulids "Pseudo#&uslim !frica1!rabia%



1 strong nation, the !rescent mpire is one diametrically opposed to their neighbors to the 6est

and *orth. &ituated atop the bones o 1ncient mpires, the nation was ounded by the words o a

great prophet who had seen the 6ord o od and chose to lead his entire people into a state o

grace. %aving converted many o his kin, they started upon a series o migrations, wars, and

evangelical pilgrimages that eventually converted much o the world o the ar west. They were

inally stopped by the orces o -yoness under their greatest hero9king, the mighty !hlotahir II, aka

!hlotahir the reat. &ince that time, the !rescent mpire has wa4ed and waned, but always held thecentral lands around a great river valley and the sweeping deserts beyond.

1 romantic people, the !rescents hold a ew truths higher than anything else8 piety, education, and

poetry. /uch o the gaiin culture can be attributed to !rescent &cholars, and some say nearly all o

their best science and art can be labeled as descending rom these great peoples. Indeed, the

strongest nations o the aiin lands once were ruled under a banner o a golden crescent moon8

Ispana, Dalerium, the &enpet, and even the Ivory 5ingdoms once bowed to the 7rophet.

1 word must be said o the religion= built out o the traditions o the +ne od that most all o the

aiin nations ollow, the !hurch o the 7rophet has stripped that religion down to ive core tenants8

7rayer, aith, !harity, 7ilgrimage, and +bedience to od's 6ill. The various lesser gods and spiritso the +ne od's aith are mostly wiped away in avor o reverence to %is 6ill and nothing else. To

Rokugani it seems nothing more than a schism, but then all aiin religions are silly and redundant.

&till, the !rescents and other aiin consider their aiths to be antithetical and opposite and their

history contains centuries o religious conlict and violence.

Thanks to their wide rangeing con:uests, even i they donBt hold all those lands currently, their

armies are the most widely diverse. !ounting skilled horse archers, light cavalry, heavy cavalry,

musket armed orces, blocks o well drilled pikemen, swaths o lighter skirmishing troops,

berserkers to match any rom &kania or the /atsu, it seems they have a troop or every oe or

situation. Thankully, some o these warriors are in short supply= the bulk o their orces are the

lighter cavalry and musket armed troops although a ew generals maintain an elite orce o other

troop types.

(*ote8 The great dynasties o *orth 1rica, 1rabia, and Turkey. iscounts gypt, which will ollow,

and !onstantinople which is my version o the ;odati. &till contains a lot o ormer ;odati lands

and is at war with the &enpet o and on. /ost conlict is reciprocal between the aiin nations and

the crescent.)

Skania, the Wotan2s Sons, $ingdom of the North "Pseudo#S3eden and Scandina)ia%

The northern reaches o the aiin lands are a blasted wilderness o ice, snow, and earless warriors.&till wearing urs, skins, and rusty chain they prowl the waters about their kingdom in great dragon

ships and wage merciless war upon their neighbors in the name o their dread god 6otan. 6ell,

that's how the other nations like to paint these people. 6hile the above picture does hold true or

some o their number, it is hardly air. The maority o the &kanians are industrious armers and

cratsmen, brave sailors, and skilled traders. Their ships are no mean longboats, but galleons to

match any gaiin ship, and oten sail ar beyond the rigid northern waters to carry trade rom their

collection o city9states, kingdoms, and provinces. urther, while their ancestors did indeed worship

mean and rude gods, the same can not be said o most o their people. 6orshiping various sects o

the +ne od, they also include a air population o the 6otan worshipers, an ancient tribe o people

that predated the +ne od's ollowers.

Their lands are also ar rom the sere tundra that is oten described by the other peoples in the

aiin lands, although to be air in winter one could be e4cused or thinking otherwise. Rich soils



help their crops grow in the admittedly short growing season, and craggy mountains provide a

wealth o ores. 1nd one can not orget to mention the vast and deep swaths o orest that provides

much o the aiin nations with the pitch, timber, peat, and urs that are necessary or 'modern' lie.

The people as a whole are riendly, but at the same time distant. They will welcome you into their

homes or a night, but seldom let you into their lives. 1 true parado4, they believe deeply in the

responsibilities o the host and in the importance o hospitality, but are still wary o outsiders. 6hilesome nations see e4ploration as beneicial in and o itsel, the &kanians seldom travel where others

have not= they only are interested in the lands o Rokugan because o the Trade that is possible, i

that trade becomes walled o due to oreign wars, the &kanians will lose interest :uickly in the

-ands o the &hining 7rince.

+ne must mention the more reclusive tribes and bands o &kanians that hold to the old ways, the

ones who truly embrace the title o @7eople o 6otan.@ These are the warriors o old= skilled

e4plorers, ierce pirate9raisers, and implacable warriors. They are the ones most likely to e4plore

Rokugan= possibly as reavers to harry the shores in search o plunder, possibly or the sheer oy o

seeing new things. 6orshiping an ancient god o war, battle, and hidden mysteries, the +ld

&kanians, @6otan's !hildren@ as they like to be called, are a secondary orce in the 5ingdom andhave little impact in the politics or the economic orces o the land. They are however a potent orce

ot called upon to lead the armies and ill the ranks o stout veterans. 6ith a core o these deadly

men and women, the &kanian 1rmy is a eared one. /any aiin nations thank the od they

worship that the +ld &kanians are ew in number.

The &kanian army is small, but at the same time devastating or that si3e. 1ll are what the gaiin call

>proessional,? that is they remain troops their entire lie. rom the day they begin military service,

these warriors never stop practicing the arts o war. &hockingly it seems that most other nations let

their warriors lapse their skills, only practicing military arts right beore campaignsE These

proessional troops are tough, seasoned veterans and well schooled in the arts o war. Their current

ruler places a great deal o value upon them and has seen it to grant all matching uniorms,

matching weapons, and arranges or them all to have warm billets and dependable rations. 6hat

that implies about other armies is rather disconcerting. The two greatest units in service are the

>artillery corps,? a unit o soldiers dedicated to controlling the deadly cannons o their army. It is

said they are skilled enough to land a ired round into a barrel rom nearly FGG yards away, a eat

that the 5aiu assure is impressive. The second orce is the eared >!hosen o 6otan,? a group o

warriors that ollow their old gods and ight with the ury o a samurai warrior. They have been

nearly unanimously accorded the title o >inest -ight !avalry on arth,? an impressive boast i

true. 6hile most &ons o 6otan ight on oot, these earless warrior ride large, vicious steeds and

reputedly never take prisoners (:uite against the custom o the rest o the aiin). Their war cry is

said to ill ear in the heart o all, or rather than calling upon their gods, e4torting men to bravery,or a primal shout, their war cry is a simple command8 >%ack them apartE?

(*otes8 enmark, *orway, &weden, Iceland, inland at the height o the power o the *orthern

&tates, roughly at the time o !harles the "#th with some Dikings tossed in or good measure)

The Yodati Empire, The Eternal Republic of 4alerium, The 4alerian Empire. "Pseudo#

5*6antine%

1 once great nation, the Dalerian mpire is now sadly much decayed and allen into decadence and

waste. 1t it's height it controlled the lands o 1valon, -yoness, Iberia, the !ity &tates o /erene,

almatia, Derona, the -ands o the &enpet, and even as ar as /endinat 1l9salim and the deserts othe reat !rescent empires. That time was long ago now, as waves o barbarians, desert nomads,

and the 3ealous soldiers o the +ne od has shattered this great nation down to sliver o it's ormer



magniicence. &till, even a sliver is still enough to mark it as a reat *ation. %osting a huge army,

as disciplined as any the -ion could ield and as battle tested as the !rab, waves o interlopers still

shatter their armies against the walls and ortresses o this mighty power. 6hile their days o

e4pansion may be over, their days o e4istence are not.

!ulturally, they are the highest standard o the aiin nations, matched by only a ew ewels o the

!rescent mpire. &cience, mathematics, trade, literature, medicine, engineering= all are tradesknown, loved, and mastered here. The mighty buildings erected in their capital put any in Rokugan

to shame, towering high and seemingly built o stone that has lowed, or perhaps grown, into

sweeping arches and sky breaking domes. reat a:ueducts carry resh, clean water into the city, and

a great system o sewers carry away ilth. !ouple that with an almost maniacal devotion towards

personal cleanliness, and you have a it, healthy people that are not too dierent rom the average

Rokugani. 7erhaps the only dierence is that these people hold no love o art or poetry= those are

tools o weak and eeminate courtiers. or scientists like themselves it is math, science, and

engineering. 1 shame, really, or their works could be so much more had they not embraced the

stoic ideals that would embarrass even a -ion 1esthetic.

!urrently, they are ruled by a powerul mperor, Dalerian IC, a supposed direct descendent o theounder o the mpire (though no one actually believes that claim. /ost whisper that he is the son

o a general who displaced the last mperor), and a mighty warrior. %e has thrice crushed a host o

!rescents that sought to topple his nation, and drove them back with a righteous ury. %e has

embraced what seems to be yet another schism rom the !hurch o the +ne od (which leads most

Rokugani to wonder i the aiin really do believe in +ne od= why are there so many dierent

versions o %im, i it's ust one 5ami<) and has ordered most o his people to also worship that

variation. or the most part they do, though a considerable number still ollow their old gods in

deepest secret. Dalerian has a bold plan in the works8 a mighty war to reclaim his mpire's lost

territories, especially those rich and wealthy lands held by the &enpet and the !ity &tates to the

ast= both regions will ill his lagging coers with enough gold, silver and ewels to possibly allow

him to take the rest o his mpire back. +r so he hopes. &till, rumors o the prowess o the

Rokugani &amurai has led him to wonder i a ew thousand Ronin might also help his cause...

*otes8 0y3antine mpire (The 6estern Roman mpire) about the time o it's sudden resurgence

into 1rica, Italy, and the 0alkans. 0ut right beore a certain /uslim army started marching 6est...

The /it*#States of &erane, Lombard*, -aeta, almatia, and 4erona "Pseudo#(tal*%

1 !ollection o more than a do3en !ities loosely tossed together, these @nations@ are more like

s:uabbling minor !lans. ighting over Trade, Religion, Inheritances, Dendettas, or even ust

bragging rights the !ity &tates are hardly a world power. To be air, their /erchants are widelyaccepted as the most successul, and the coinage produced here is less debased than any other

nation so they are inluential, at least in the conomic sphere. 1t one time, these states were uniied

under the reat mpire o Dalerium, they have been traded back and orth by a number o nations

(Iberia, &alia, Dalerium, and the !rescent mpire all have held one or another) but or now they

stand independent. %ow long that remains is yet to be seen as their armies are e4hausted by the

inighting and none will stand with each other against a oreign oe. It looks as i they will be

consumed by which ever nation takes the time to scoop them up.

&till, looks can be deceiving. The people themselves are ractious, prone to ighting and civil

disorder, and belligerent to any who steps on their pride as ree nations. ach o those nations that

once held them has tossed them aside in disgust at the sheer eort needed to hold these rebellious provinces. 1 act which bolsters the individual pride o these !ity &tates.



The !ity &tates donBt have armies per say, it would be more accurate to say they have organi3ed

mobs with the richer cities being able to aord bands o mercenaries or periods o war. 6here they

e4cel is their navies8 heavily armed galleys sweep the shallow seas between their lands and those o

their neighbors, supported by trading vessels that can be armed in times o need. urther, as nearly

all o their sailors are sailors or their entire lives (and or generations o amily members), they

have a lot o highly trained naval warriors i need be. 01sed on current reports, they seem to be the

/antis o the gaiin lands, in nearly all respects.

!ulturally, all share many commonalities8 a love o trade and e4ploration= a seemingly endless

supply o artists, writers, and scientists= and a deep and abiding respect or the !hurch. ollowing

the same branch o the aiin church as the -yonessans and the Ispanans they claim to have the

premier temple o that od in their lands, a claim ew will debate. &upposedly, the head priest o

that temple is the leader o all o the aiin lands (at least the religious aspect), in truth it seems to

be riven with dissension and schisms. *umerous lesser orders abound, especially in the -ands o

the !ity &tates each it seems has their own order o monks and priests. Indeed, the more the

scholars o Rokugan hear o these people and their od the more conusing it gets. Three ods in

+ne< /onks who worship one aspect o the od< It seems this od o theirs is most busy with

leading armies to war, healing the sick, granting mercy, udging the dead, and running all the naturalaspects o their lands. &o much easier to have a less stressed pantheon o some thousand gods than

one busy god, eh<

+n the issue o art and science, it seems that the !ity &tates are on the oreront o the aiin 6orld.

/assive schools have been built with the blessings o the 7riests and scholars have locked to this

land adding greatly to its prestige. &ome even say that no painter, poet, or musician can gain work

without spending a ew years in one o these !ities apprenticed to a local. True or not, the aiin all

seem to agree that the best artists come rom these lands. 1s scholars go it seems a number do

reside here, but as many live elsewhere (though not in so great a concentration).

(*otes8 /ostly an amalgamation o the !ity &tates o Italy8 Denice, /ilan, &icily, Rome, enoa,

etc.)

The -lorious Empire of the 'ncon7uered Serpent, The /hildren of Set, St*gia, The Senpet

Empire "Pseudo#!ncient Eg*pt%

1 powerul mpire in its own right, the &enpet mpire stretches or the length o the mighty

&erpent River (known as reat &et) and houses many millions o people. 1 truly 1ncient mpire

with a history that reaches to the dawn o time (or so they say). 1side rom Rokugan, they may

actually be the oldest nation in the world, and their creation myth is mightily similar to Rokugan's8

they believe that people were the ospring o the blood and tears o the &un and /oon. 1 shockingact as most aiin have other belies on their origin. + course, as barbarians they have it all

wrong8 the &enpet think that their great River, a od named &et, attacked the sun and moon and

dragged them to earth or a time, where he brought them such pain and misery that they shed tears

and blood and begged to be put in the sky again. To their wrong9headed way o thought, &et agreed

to place them in the heavens so long as they agreed to always bow to the mighty &et. This is why

the &un and /oon dip below the hori3on ust o &et's /outh every night. oolish, o course, the

&un and moon bow or no od, demon, kami or mortal.

The land is a desert, hard and sere with a single river cutting through it. This river is a mighty one

and rightly dwars all other rivers (none in Rokugan can match the width or length o this one, or

sure) Running rom deep inside the desert lands, it hooks to the west at the end o its ourney andspills into the great sea that sits between many o the gaiin lands. Twice a year, the river loods and

deposits thick layers o silt and mud upon its banks, and therein lies the wealth and power o the



&enpet8 no other nation, no two other nations, produces as much grains, ruit, and cotton as the

&enpet= i you need to be ed or clothed, you send your galleys here. In addition to their arm land,

the &enpet have a long history o learning and engineering, most o the great gaiin architects have

studied in the capital city o this land. 1nd though they sit astride a leg o the trade routes to the

0urning &ands (and rom there to the markets o the 2nicorn), trade is a minor matter to the &enpet8

truly they care about nothing more than honoring their od &et and his mortal orm, the 7haraoh.

1ll decisions in the land stem rom the mouth o the 7haraoh, he is the highest priest, udge,

general, and -ord o the &enpet. 6hile alive he is a living god and the embodiment o his ancestor

&et and in death mighty monuments are erected in %is name. /any o these monuments are seen in

the massive pyramids that stretch as high as mountains, others in deep catacombs illed with ma3es

and traps. &till others in massive statues and obelisks that ill the land. 1ll guard the massive

treasures that customs demands be buried with the dead od95ing. +ther gaiin whisper that the

&enpet hold black magic and dark rituals in these temples, catacombs, and pyramids by darkest

night. They say that much blood is spilled in the name o the &erpent od, and that slaves and

oreigners alike are sent to eed the unholy urges o their od. They say that &et is a emon, not a

od, and will bring about the nd o the 6orld as he consumes both the &un and the /oon and

brings inal darkness... The &enpet priests do not answer.

The military is ama3ingly odd or the gaiin lands8 lots o soldiers armed with spears and pikes,

reinorced by lightly armored avelin troops, light cavalry on both horse and a creature known as a

>desert horse? they are skilled, but lack a large orce o the musket troops normally considered

essential to gaiin warare. The gaiin whisper that their role is taken over by the priests o set and

the temple guardians who carry >&etBs !hildren? some orm o wand or sta that launches arrows

tipped with poison rom a variety o deadly snakes. It is not known what sends out these darts, but it

is evidently not gaiin pepper. The Ispanian ambassadors claim it to be dark magic, and the other

gaiin seem to agree (shockingly).

*otes8 some 0ron3e 1ge gypt, and a -+T o good old !onan style &tygia. &nake ods, dark cults,

monster shrouded tombs, and sinister sorcerers. 6hat's not to love<

The Salian Empire "Pseudo#-erman*10ol* Roman Empire%

+nce the most powerul empire in the lands o the aiin, they sat in the middle o the nations,

surrounded on all sides by other, lesser nations. Ruled by a warrior9king chosen by their best and

brightest champions, it was a shining champion o the %oly !hurch.The lands were ertile, rich in

timber, urs, and precious amber. The land has several mountain ranges that run in it, all heavily

veined with iron and other metals. !rossed with ive maor rivers, lowing both to the north and to

the south, it was a center or trade and culture.

1nd thenH then, war happened. or a period o almost a hundred years, the land was riven by wars.

/ostly, the wars were based around a religious schism in the !hurch o the +ne od, but still

others were over succession as the -ords o the &alians could not agree on one single ruler to

become mperor. Indeed, in the longest portion o wars that lasted nearly a ull generation, the

maor -ords each ought one another, religious rivals, 1* called in neighboring kingdoms to

support one side or the other. Today, the &alian mpire is a shattered wreck. amine and disease is

widespread, and much land remains uncultivated. The maor -ords all argue and bicker as to who

will lead them, and all still eud over their religious disputes.

Indeed, the only time they can seem to unite is when a neighbor tries to >restore order? and invade.The current >mperor? has the title, but no authority and is widely ignored. %e has vainly tried to

build a coalition to ight against the ;odati mpire that is slowly creeping upon their southern



border, gobbling up cities and lesser territories one by one. *one o the &alian -ords are willing to

listen, as they eel they are more than capable o turning the ;odati orces alone.

1s to the &chisim, it seems that some o the mpire ollows the same action as do the -yonessians

and the Ispanians, while others ollow &kanian belies. Irritatingly to Rokugani, they do *+T

ollow the sect o the 1valonians, making many Theologians to wonder i there is such a thing as a

aiin Religion and not ust a bunch o tribal belies.

/ilitarily, there are no armies let in the &alian mpire8 ater the long wars, the nobles and the

people are e4hausted. They have sent their orces to rest and maintain only the barest garrison

orces to deend against bandits and criminals. %owever, it should be noted that everyone in this

empire has seen battle8 men, women, and children. I they are roused, they can switly create a

massive army= ew o the peasants handed their weapons back when they let or home, and ewer

still have never held a weapon o war. I the &alian -ands had a big enough cause to oin, no doubt

they could raise an army o veterans switer than any would care to see.

(*otes8 The %oly Roman mpire ater the Reormation and !ounter Reormation. I'd put it ust post

the G ;ears' 6ar)

Documents

Akira Heresy