Political Overview
Many hundreds of years
ago, the peoples of the world were divided sharply into East and West, with
very little contact between the two as a result of the distance between them
and the dangerous seas. What contact
there was grew increasingly fractious, driving the two further and further
apart until frequent wars marked the history of both.
At last, the dominant
nations of the East, Chosaek, Taekcha, and Peouji formed a coalition, combining
their forces in a concentrated assault upon the West. As news of the impending battle reached the
nations of the West, many turned to the Dayoi as the strongest among them, and
therefore the best to marshal their forces.
The title of Emperor was offered to the Dayoi sovereign, Netsui Atemu, should his defense
hold strong, and all waited anxiously.
He and the rest of the Netsui clan sent
emissaries throughout the continent to the nations of the Shaozhe, Agaboshi,
Kosuryo, Qintao, and Brahla, receiving responses from each within days. Only the Brahla refused to answer his call to
war, speaking proudly of their freedom.
When the Eastern
forces arrived, they found grim warriors ready to defend their homeland with
their very blood if need be, and found themselves unexpectedly
outnumbered. The women of the western
knights came out, too, fighting alongside their men, sending the enemy troops
into some confusion. The battle was long
and hard, but at last King Atemu emerged victorious. His beaten adversaries withdrew, and he
marched victorious with his troops back to the Dayoi capital city of
Secure in his palace, Atemu called upon his allies to recognize him as
promised. The Shaozhe entered into the
deeper alliance quite willingly, as they had always depended upon the strength
of trade and commerce and had little military prowess. The Qintao followed the example of the
Shaozhe, and the Agaboshi were close behind.
Only Kosuryo was slow to recognize the new emperor, but did so within a
span of years from the war. The
calendar, too, changed at this time as all nations of the Empire adopted a new
unified calendar counting the years from the installation of Emperor Atemu as the Imperial Reckoning, while those before it are
counted as the years Before the Formation.
Different emperors
throughout history have exercised varying degrees of authority over the other
nations, though all members of the Empire are required to serve him with troops
when needed. Only once has this call
gone unheeded, and the Kosuryo have been a protectorate of the Dayoi since that
time. All sovereigns throughout the
empire also traditionally petition the Dayoi emperor for his recognition of
their kingship, and may not be fully recognized as sovereigns by the other
nations until it has been given. Internal
conflict has become rare, as the emperor is a moderating influence, but it is
not unheard of, and clashes between the Empire and the Brahla are still frequent,
as are fluctuating relations with the nations of the East. Trade is lively within the Empire, and among
the nations of the East, but rarely seen between the two continents. Easterners and Brahla journeying into the
Empire are often met with coldness and subtle or overt hostility, which is
reciprocated when they travel abroad themselves.