Discord name (PM if you wish):
Nation Type: (Kingdom/City State/Tribal) Kingdom
Nation Flag (optional):
Nation Name: Heavenly Kingdom of Luoyang
Are you in the Elraic Empire? (If so state in what way you're a sub-region of the empire - client kingdom, appointed/hereditary governor, military order, etc) No
Nation Culture (Brief description):
Culture
Luoyang considers itself the most cultured nation in the world, taking great pride in all facets of what it considers its culture from the cuisine to the religious festivities that all take part in no matter their rank or class in the social hierarchy. There are several festivals that take place throughout the year, many of them being based around the changing of seasons and the Hua Sect usually taking charge of them due to their nature as the more religious out of the Triarch Princes of Luoyang. Most of the events revolve around maintaining a harmonious balance between the Yin and Yang energies to keep the Heavenly Kingdom on the righteous path and maintain harmony with the local benevolent or neutral spirits that reside within the realm.
Society
Luoyang Society is largely dominated by Sorcery and the many clans of sorcerers that make up the nobility of the Kingdom, it is the belief of both the common folk and the Nobility that the pathway to the upper reaches of Heaven is achieved through magic. Pathways taught and are revered in Luoyang are Astral, Luna and Solar Magics due to their belief that the Gods Xing, Yuèliàng and Tàiyáng the Dragons of the Stars, Moon and Sun respectively descended from Heaven to teach the people of the world these magics and to use them to stave off the evil or forbidden arts of Necromancy and the Stygoi.
Though it is understood by Luoyang Scholars that Magic is typically hereditary, passing down from parent to child, though every few generations bloodlines that previously had no magic in them produce one capable of sorcery, commoners throughout Luoyang purchase medicines and elixirs with the belief that the chances of producing offspring with the ability to channel magic is increased. Despite this, the Priesthood of the Kingdom does teach that mastery of the mundane is still something the Gods appreciate and that it is a righteous path which will allow you to reach the middling rungs of heaven should your lives work please the Gods enough. Though a commoner may never achieve godhood, they can become a hero in themselves, revered in the temples of other greater sorcerers who have achieved deification.
Due to the nature of this, the Kingdom is highly stratified into hereditary social classes that are hard though not impossible for individuals and families to ascend it covers everything from the ranks of the nobility, to non-magical gentry and down to the commoners. The Social Classes of Luoyang are as follows;
Zhuhou: The Nobility, all those with sorcery capable blood who can join the Conclave of Sorcerers and including the three Princes of Wei, Hua and Wen and their families.
Daifu: Gentlemen and Bureaucrats typically hailing from Noble families though lacking magical blood to join the Conclave of Sorcerers.
Shi: Middling servants, merchants, officials and military officers who have attained rank enough to be considered a middle class of sorts within Luoyang. Subject to the brunt of monetary taxation and recruitment into the lower bureaucracy and military via examination.
Shumin: The commoners of Luoyang, labourers, poorer merchants, peasants, foot soldiers and any other profession that is generally unskilled and can be filled by the masses. Under the protection of the Zhuhou Sorcerers and dutiful in their professions so that they may one day ascend to the lower rungs of heaven.
The ranks of Nobility scale up as they become more relevant and powerful with new titles being bestowed upon the Clans of the Nobility by the Triarch Princely Clans as they rise in prominence and show dedication to Luoyang and working towards making the Kingdom greater. The titles of the Nobility are as follow;
Duke (Gōng): The highest rank a Noble of the Conclave can attain and it can only be bestowed with the agreement of all three Triarch Princes, thus it is rarely given due to the difficult nature of requiring the favour or approval of each of the Sects. While it is the highest rank that can be attained most attempt to achieve it via service in the Military though others have become this rank through politics or spiritual influence as such the number of those who hold this rank tends to be balanced as no one Triarch Prince wants the other sects to dominate the Conclave.
Marquis 1st & 2nd (Góu): A rank given to those who typically command swathes of territory on the borders of the Kingdom. It is given with the approval of the Wen Sect due to their influence within the Military, those of this rank while nominally members of the Conclave of Sorcerers are also made Military Governors of key strategic areas and are assigned to rule over them on behalf of the central government.
Count (Bó): The lowest and default rank of the Sorcerer Nobles, those who are just born into Sorcery attain this rank upon their birth, the leaders of Sorcerer Clans who have not acquired further rank are all given this title and they make up the majority of the Conclave.
Religion and Philosophy
The religion of Luoyang revolves around Heaven and the Gods that reside there, that a human mortal can ascend to heaven and become one with the deities, leading to many figures in Luoyang becoming Gods in their own right with temples constructed in their honour. However the main deities that rank above all else are the Three Celestial Dragons and the first ruler of Luoyang now known as the Dragon King. It is the belief that one does not need to die in order to ascend to Heaven, that a mortal who pleases the Gods might ascend and become a God in their own life, much like how the Dragon King did so according to Luoyang myth.
Heaven is divided into multiple realms that are connected together and are inhabited by deities and individuals who come from multiple walks from life. What is known as the highest rung of Heaven is reserved for deities both Celestial and those mortals who ascended to Godhood in death or during their mortal lives. Middle Heaven is reserved for sorcerers and other noteworthy individuals who might continue to serve the Gods as immortals.
At the lowest rung of Heaven is a paradise reserved for normal people who chose to live their lives with virtue and righteousness as a reward. Gods and Middle Heaven Immortals can travel freely between their respective rungs of Heaven to lower heaven as to enjoy paradise but they are not permitted to stay long as they even in death have duties to attend to and must maintain the balance and continued prosperity of the material universe. The Priesthood of Luoyang devote themselves to the maintenance of temples, giving alms to the poor and healing those in need, many Priests are Moon Sorcerers though they can be regular individuals skilled in mundane non-magical healing.
It is the belief of the scholars and priests of Luoyang that all people both Sorcerers and Commoners alike, exude Yin and Yang energy, positive and negative energy that can either attract the influence of demons or harm them. That it is important for all individuals to work to achieve a balance of these energies in order to interact the best way in the world. It is a duality that requires balance, this philosophy views other nations as inherently unbalanced with either too much positive energy, or too much negative but despite this Luoyang attempts to maintain neutrality with all and attempts to avoid interfering with the affairs of far flung nations.
Nation History:
Much of the history of Luoyang is considered more myth than fact by foreigners, though attempting to persuade a citizen of the Heavenly Kingdom of this would be a fruitless exercise. The tale that the priesthood and sorcerers of Luoyang would tell you is that their founder and still to this day official ruling monarch settled the lands of Luoyang after the catastrophic collapse of a former ruling Dynasty, the last Dynasty according to Luoyang historic texts was confounded by corruption and lack of respect for magic, the gods and spirits both good and evil. The rulers detaching themselves from the people as curses began to plague the lands, destroying cities, rebellions springing up and eventually the old Capital began to lose control over all it once held influence over.
Eventually the Capital found itself under siege by rebels and if Luoyang Sorcerers are to be believed cursed spirits and demons aiding rebels who wished to simply replace the dynasty with their own without reform and maintaining the decaying Empire in its current form. It was then the legendary founder and King of Luoyang appeared with his three sworn brothers Wei, Hua and Wen being respective masters of Astral, Luna and Solar Magics with their brother the once and future King of Luoyang being masters of all three, blessed by the Celestial Dragons to save the righteous peoples of the former Dynasty and purge the corruption once and for all.
Purging the corrupted rebels the righteous then set their sights upon the officials and government of the former dynasty, pulling them from their roots and destroying the dynasty once and for all. The King and his brothers then led those who remained uncorrupted by the deals with demons of the rebels and those who were not part of the former regime’s oppression and decadence, leading them to new lands to establish a new Capital, a new Society and a new Kingdom from the ashes of the old. Luoyi was built and flocks of refugees from the Old Kingdom came to settle these new pastures, the many sorcerer clans of the day agreed to proclaim the founder of Luoyang as their King and proclaimed him blessed by Heaven.
As the years progressed the King's sworn brothers established ruling Sects to effectively govern sorcery and the three schools of magic that exist within Luoyang. Each named after each of them and presided over the magic that each knew, Wei being Astral, Hua being Luna and Wen being Solar. Through his own mastery of these arts the King of Luoyang pleased the Gods in Heaven and as such they allowed him to ascend within his lifetime, leaving his brothers and their descendants to rule over the Kingdom he had built for the righteous. That is where the founding history of Luoyang ends and since then the Wei, Hua and Wen families have held the title of Princes, ruling over the Kingdom on behalf of their King who they wait to descend from Heaven once again.
Special Characters (Up to 3, generals/mages/agents may be added or included if purchased with starting funds):
Prince Hua Lian, The Grand Exorcist (Unique Mage, General, Agent)
The current Sect head of the Hua Clan and all the Sorcerers who practise their arts, the Chief Exorcist of the Heavenly Kingdom and the descendant of the original Hua the favoured sworn brother of the Dragon King. Known to be kind though largely reserved in his interactions with even his own vassals, this is due to the belief of most of the Luoyang people that he exudes extreme Yang energy leading to an imbalance in which he must meditate as to rebalance his inner energies. It is fairly typical of Hua Clan members and even more so in the patriarchs of their family, it is the belief within the Clan that Hua Lian is the reincarnation of their ancestor or at least a fragment of him.
Due to this many within the Heavenly Kingdom believe Hua Lian is an incredibly pure figure and one that must be protected from threats within and from without, foreign dignitaries rarely being able to see him even if they are granted audience with the rest of the Triarchy. Due to the religious nature of his position and how he is perceived by the general population he doesn’t tend to involve himself with the politics of the realm, neither speaking out or in favour of laws or the various Noble Sorcerer Clans beneath the Triarchs Sects. However if one was to attain his favour it would be respected by the entirety of the Nobility and the other Triarchs due to the rarity of it being bestowed. In short he is the most respected Sorcerer and Prince in the entire Kingdom, not due to any masterful political plays or through sheer might but due to his spirituality and not muddying himself in the nation's politics.
Prince Wei Jin, The Grand Preceptor (Astral Unique Mage, Agent)
He is the greatest of the Sorcerer Princes of the Triarchy in both the power he commands politically and his status as the head of the Wei Clan and Sect. Most of the more powerful sorcerers in the Kingdom owe their fealty to his Clan and many of the lower gentry owe their positions within the bureaucracy due to the Wei Clan, lending significant administrative power to Wei Jin. Most aspiring Sorcerers, Gentry and Foreign Envoys will seek his favour out of the three Princes of Luoyang due to his and his Clans influence throughout the realm. Considered the most balanced spiritually out of the Triarchs with a harmonious amount of Yin and Yang energy allowing them to act as a realist, seeing the world for what it is and how best to act in favour of Luoyang.
Due to this some consider him to be a politiker and powermonger leading to others both fearing and resenting his position as the leader of the Triarchs, however none can make a move against him to attempt to put another of the Princes on a pedestal due to the other Princes not taking any interest in upsetting the administrative balance of the bureaucracy or the makeup of the Conclave of Sorcerers.
Prince Wen Ying, The Grand Commandant (Unique Mage, General)
Wen Ying is currently a youthful Prince, considered the foremost warrior champion of the Kingdom. Despite being in his prime he must now focus on administrative duties within the Military itself while no longer fighting on the frontline. Considered to be quite irritable and quick to frustrate he is not one often sought after by foreign envoys he has been known to have those who annoy him killed, with his peer Prince Wei Jin considering him a diplomatic incident waiting to happen he works hard to make sure foreigners do not seek him out and if there must be an audience with foreign envoys and the Princes that Hua Lian is present.
While Wen Ying is rather indifferent to the Wei Prince he is on very good terms with Hua Lian with the Hua Prince the only one in the Kingdom known to calm his colleague down should he rise in rage. Some within the Priesthood consider Hua Lian’s positive energy when in the presence of Wen Ying’s negative it balances them both out, allowing both to become quite rational at almost the same level as their colleague Wei Jin. Due to this Wen Ying has become highly spiritual and religious during his middle aged years, often seeking out the Hua Sects' advice and visiting their Clans territory to help control his maelstrom of rage.
Nation Race (Human, Dusii, Dawekii): Human
Primary Magic: Astral Secondary Magic: Luna, Solar
Unique Point of Interest (Unique "wonder" building/location/artefact, natural or otherwise, that will confer a small bonus TBD):
The Celestial Jade District of Luoyi: A huge district that itself is walled off in the Capital of Luoyi containing the administrative offices of the bureaucracy of the Heavenly Kingdom, the Tower of Three Dragons which is the Magic Academy which is sought out for its magical tutoring both domestic and foreign. A large open courtyard lays before the Palace which the three Princes of the Kingdom reside for the various Sorcerer Clans to meet and form the Conclave of Sorcerers. Lastly in terms of amenities a zoo of sort is kept within this district containing many flora and fauna from the Luoyi's old homeland, including Pandas, Tigers, Leopards all have been maintained through use of extensive healing magic to ensure no inbreeding defect occurs and a stable population for each kind of animal was grown. Despite the district itself being walled off it is open to the public at least enter although they may not enter the palace or administrative offices without prior appointment or summoning.
As its centrepiece the Royal Palace of the Celestial Dragon King was built in a strategic location as it sits upon a location that empowers the three magics of Luoyang acting as a leyline of sorts. This itself has its own ability to raise a shield over the entire City of Luoyi in times of siege but also empowers every mage within the Kingdoms borders with more power than the average, although this does not extend outside the borders of the Kingdom. It is an anchor of Celestial Power left behind by the Dragon King as a final gift to his people, it is known to radiate what the scholars of Luoyi call Yang Energy leading to Stgyoi, Undead and their respective casters to have limited power within the borders of Luoyang and is known to cause them discomfort, though despite this incursions of both are still known in the Kingdom.
boink