Empire of Runra

Empire of Runra

Capital	Xuling
Head of State	Empress Lan Yaoying
Government Type	Absolute Empire
Cultures	>80% Runran, >15% Others
Religions	No census data
Population Density	High
Population	110 - 130 million

All Content pertaining to Runra are Under Rework

Empire of Runra is an large nation located in the north of the Panguea continent. Runra is an exonym for the country / state, whom refers to themselves as Lanla (蘭娜) instead - and it is unknown how this linguistic mixup happened in Silnarian leading to the order of the words being reversed. Its name, Runra (蘭娜) - combines the word of Orchid and a less used word that could stand for being graceful or elegant. It is a national name adopted over a thousand years ago when Runra was united under the guidance of the Hulingdin - a kitsune-worshipping religious organizations who ended the First Warring States period. Runra and their namesake Runran people rules over most of the reach of the Ling river and its numerous tributaries.

History

Early / Mythological History

This is the official early history of Runra, as collected by various scholars. Part of it may or may not be true. It is too far back to know.

Runran civilization originated somewhere in the middle or lower reaches of the Ling river - in the region now known as Jiangzhong (River Middle) or Jianghou (River Mouth) respectively. Panguea was originally a continent that was infused thoroughly with magical energy and animals - and knew no humanoid civilizations. At some point in its history, humanoids - likely Macen, arrived on the continent by unknown mean and started spreading across. These early settlers faced predation from the Youkais - original Youcais / Youkais whose form were still animalistic or even plant-like, who found their body and magical potential delectable. These history - and mistrust of Youkais, are still passed through in the oral and early recorded history of many civilizations onboard.

When the settlers of Ling River reached the fertile ground near Wushan, youkais from the mountain descended upon them. Amongst one of them was a particularly intelligent fox Youkai whose name was recorded as A-luo. Its intelligence and great power allowed it to absorb the knowledge of the humanoid nearby, eventually turning into the first Hulijing - or Huling as they called it nowadays - with Hulijing often seen as a derogatory term that is a sign of treason. Aluo split into two humanoid form - one male and one female, and found the two wisest person of the village - a woman called Lan and a man called La, and married them and had many a children - creating the first Kemonomimis, or as as the Runran calls it, the Ranzu - people / clan of the Orchid. Eventually most of the Macen population were replaced with the superior, more magically-talented (citation needed) Ranzu, whom also copulated with the other anthromorphized youcais of the mountains surrounding the Ling River, creating Bairanzu - the hundred clans of the orchid.

First Warring States Period & Unification

The first well recorded period of Runran history started around 400 BS. At that time, the reaches of the Ling River were split into many different competing warring states, each speaking a language that is related to each other and striving for hegemony over the fertile river valley of Ling River. Around year 330 BS, a powerful kitsune, named Ran were recorded as Lan Fe (蘭非) descended from Wushan, bringing behind a massive army of magic-wielding, spell-slinging kitsunes. She claimed to be a reincarnation of A Luo, here to bring retribution for the people of the land straying from their creators way, and to unify it under the harmonious worship of the common ancestors of all people of Lingjiang. This war of conquest continued for the next 21 years - as she set the various warring states against each other, and eventually overcame all of them with a combination of her able administration, the might of her army, and her allegedly godlike personal might in combat.

Under the rule of Lan Fe, the people of the hundred clans were unified for the first state. She denounced the dynastic tendencies of the rulers of all, and proposed a "return" to the ancestral ways of selecting ruler from the most able of them all. She established the Hulingdin, whom would take in magically talented kitsunes amongst the population and train them in the art of magic and to administer to the masses. Hulingdin - though named after Fox Spirit, is a amorphous religious organizations whose role is akin to the Church of Runra, performing charity, owning massive amount of taxes, are focus of worships and also provided educations - especially in terms of magic and especially to the poor who cannot afford their own study. Hulingdin also provided imperial successors - the most powerful Hulingdin acolytes would gather in the capital on succession, and elect amongst themselves three potential successors who would succeed to the throne in case of the Empress's death, in order of preferences. Should any of the candidate die, a new election is held to fill in the spot. The candidates are supposed to follow multiple criteria - be a female, be a kitsune, and have no direct familial relationship with the current Empress within three generations, and may not share a surname. They are required to have great mastery of magic too - far in excess of even a Level 6 PC. So far, most Empresses has followed this rule - probably because they would be seen as illegitimate otherwise. Of course, potential successors and rejected successors are often causes of trouble, and more often than not the causes of various rebellions and unrest...

Lan Fe also established a sprawling bureaucratic system to rule the Empire and to take power away from the hereditary aristocrats of the land - shifting them instead to a caste of scholar-mage-gentry and mage-priest-gentry in the process. She established the Fa Shi system - a yearly examination on the magical prowess of various candidates, with talented students - regardless of social castes or economic statuses able to enter government work or be sent over to Hulingdin to receive formal advanced training in magic.

The Great Oni War and the Second Warring States Period

Under the rule of several empresses the Runran Empire expanded to control all of the Ling river delta, pushed north and conquered the south. Eventually they started eyeing less fertile land - hearing of great mineral wealth in the west, the Runran people settled west and the empire expanded with them. In Year 500, Runran settlement reached the headwaters of the Ling river - and then crossed over Amuqie (阿母切) Mountains to settle the land to the west. There they encountered the Great Oni Empire whom opposed their encroachment on their territory. Soon, open warfare broke out between the two empires.

For the next two hundred years, the two Empires would engage in a series of devastating intermittent warfare, with Runra building the Nanhai (Southern Sea) Gate in order to facilitate more settlement of the far west and transportation of troops and supplies to the west. Eventually, Runra got the upper hand in the war, by inciting the Youkais under the rule of the Oni to revolt, and Hanuelian to revolt, and finally, seduced the Pale Onis with the promise of their own independent states to also revolt. The Runran - wanting to keep their highlands province safe, enacted an extermination campaign against the ruling caste of Blue and Red Greater Onis to rid the land of their threat. In modern terms, a genocide. The Red and Blue Oni refugee states of Daihei & Ginzan were created by refugees escaping the devastating campaign of the Runran Empire. In the course of this campaign, the Pale Onis were not spared either - the devastation brought by the war and violence between the onis, the youkais, and the resurgent Hanuelian did not help their cause - and their population were also devastated. Kemonomis caught under the crossfire also established the country of Keguntan.

In the end, the Great Oni Empire collapsed and shortly after - so did the First Runran Empire, ruined by years of excessive military expenditure, drained of its best and brightest in a futile far off campaign, and with its former allies in the west disavowing the tyrannic and genocidal way of the Empire.

The second warring states period began, with local magnates and governors establishing their own rule across Ling river.

Second Runran Empire - Present

At some point in the past, the Hulingdin regained control and reunified most of the extant land of Runra - although with much less central authority than before.

Under the rule of the Empress Qionghua, who reigned from 971 - 1021 PS, a series of missteps resulted in the fragmentation of the Empire and further weakening of central authority. Her succession caused open conflicts within the court as various influential generals and bureaucrats competed to gain influence over Empress Qionghua - who due to the untimely, and suspicious death of the other two designated successor, ascended the throne at the mere age of 8. Combined with a drought in the southwest it led to a crisis that would define the next century for the Empire.

The southwestern provinces went into a state of rebellion starting in Year 978, with various bandit clans consolidating under the rules of warlords, defying court. In Year 981, the depredations of the bandits led to local martial art sects forming the Alliance of the Nine Sects (Jiumen Tongmeng), ostensibly to counter banditries. Local officials who were without help from central authority supported their efforts - and by 984, most of the bandits were suppressed and the majority of the Southwestern Provinces were under the de facto rule of the Jiumen Tongmeng, who maintained an internal peace between the various sects.

Taking advantages of the chaos in the Southwestern Provinces, the ambitious Minister of Alchemy - Duan Qingxuan (段青玄) - Born Duan Shaofeng, proposed the usage of reliable, summoned and contract-binded Kuileis to wage war against rebels in the southwest. He saw rapid success and convinced the young Empress Qionghua to grant him increased powers and funding - and nimbly navigated court politics to turn his own Ministry of Alchemy into a state within a state, establishing its own private army and funding sources. In Year 985, he secured an assignment to the remote city of city of Yuyue and governorship of the Gezha Tamu Plateau - so that he can better extract alchemical materials from Huoshishan and further the Empire's war efforts. Officials in the court also hoped that sending him off to a far off province would diminish his power.

Instead of diminishing his power, Duan initiated a program of free trade with states in the west and convinced local, non-Runran elites to support his rule through a combination of bribery and cultural conversion and strengthened Yuyue as his own personal fief. He also maintained good relations with the commander of Xiyuan Commandery - who were always desperate for more military materials and support. Officials in the Runran court grew increasingly suspicious of Duan, and ordered him to return to the capital to personally report to the Empress about progress in the far west in Year 990. Instead, Duan and his supporters secured all of Runra's territory south of the Lashima river and declared himself at the head of a new dynasty - Great Hua - or Dai Hua. The general of Xiyuan Commandery refused to move against him - citing a lack of troops and constant attacks by people to the west of Nuoteng river.

The final crisis would come in year 1001, when a talented local necromancer named Chen Jiangsheng who has failed three Fa Shi exam in a row - allegedly due to the bias of his examiners against Necromancy, had a communion session where his ancestors allegedly told him that the Empress is illegitimate, that anyone who is righteous can become an Emperor, that the idea of kitsune divine rights to rule is false (Chen Jiangsheng is a Macen), and that he should lead a rebellion to restore what is known as Shishi - the original or primitive age, an age where Macen and Kemonomimi lived in harmony, where Youcais did not take over rulerships of the various states of the land, where true meritocracy ruled the land and so on and on....He went on to spread his newfounded religion-philosophy across the southeastern province, until in year 1001 troops came from the capital in an attempt to arrest him. The entourage did not make it back, and Chen Jiangsheng and his supporters soon rose into open rebellion. By Year 1005, the Empire of Runra have in effect lost all control over the Dongnan provinces - with foreign neighbors in the southeastern borders eagerly allying with this upstart rebels and outright supporting him with funding and weapons at first and open intervention with their army. Chen Jiangsheng would declare himself Emperor of Heavenly Righteousness - Tianyidi, and declare his own nation the Kingdom of Heavenly Righteousness - Tianyiguo.

Chen Jiangsheng would later be lured by the promise of an amnesty and governorship to the capital in Year 1016, where he was publicly tortured and executed by a thousand cuts. His young son borne to [Foreign princess of a neighbor], Chen Yingtian, would succeed him to the throne - and despite his young age would personally lead an invasion of the Jianghou region and inflict several crippling defeats on the Imperial army. Local elites, alarmed at the amount of devastations brought about by the rebels, would raise their own garrisons - the Jianghou Three - Governor of Qingzhou - Zhu Yajun (朱雅俊), Jiangbei - Huang Shaoming (黄绍明), Jiangnan - Chen Jiahui (陈家辉) would join forces together to repel the invasion by Tianyiguo and force them south of the Kerong river. The Jianghou three are however, not interested in pursuing them and doing the imperial court's dirty work on their behalf - and used this to strengthen their own authorities and rule the provinces as their own fiefdom. The governor of Qingzhou would also manage to seize most of the Imperial fleet and the lucrative seaborne trade, becoming a mighty ruler with power to rival many of Ramul Ta's states.

Government & Politics

The Empire is a monarchy with few constitutional restraints on the ruler's power. It is led by an Empress at the top, who rules for life. The Empress governs directly, and the post of Grand Secretarian / Director / Prime Minister is strictly prohibited - the Empress must directly appoint each of the top level officials and is expected to deal with them directly - to avoid anyone other than the Empress usurping too much powers.

The government is divided into the following ministries:

• Ministry of Military Affairs - Responsible for hiring and demotion of military officers alongside production of weapons and other defense-related matter.
• Ministry of Palace is responsible for secular rites, state ceremonies in the capital, maintenance of palaces and the personal life of the Empress and their family
• Ministry of Spiritual Affair is a small ministry dedicated solely for religious rites performed on behalf of the Empress and their family, and act as a liasion between the Empress and the powerful Hulingdin.
• Ministry of Revenue is responsible for census and taxation.
• Ministry of Foreign and Tribal Affairs is responsible for dealing with foreign states and the designated tribal (Non-Runran) people within Runran territory and is also responsible for promoting and demoting tribal chiefs as needed.
• Ministry of Justice is responsible for juidical processes and appointment of judges to provinces and rotating justices - it is widely believed that judge become corrupt if they stay in the same place for too long. They are also responsible for suggesting laws and administrating their promulgation.
• Ministry of Works is responsible for public works and government services. It is also seen as one of the ministry most conductive to corruption.
• Ministry of Governance is responsible for administrating the Fa Shi system and appointing officials. It contains two sub ministries of notes:
  • Ministry of Merits administer the national Fa Shi system and is responsible for setting its standards for county, provincial and national levels. It runs the national test directly but let provincial and county government runs their own level of tests - and is responsible for inspecting them and maintaining standards.
  • The Censorate is responsible for inspecting local officials and rooting out corruption. It is also responsible for recommending county level officials for promotion into provincial governors - whenever a governor or general needs to be succeeded, they produce a list of candidates who will be summoned to the Capital to be picked personally by the Empress - they also holds outsized sway on the selection of the candidates, of course...Not very liked by officials in general - whether a censor is corrupt and self-enriching or an upholder of justice depends a lot.

Military

Underneath the Ministry of Military Affairs, the Empire is divided into multiple military districts and parallel armies that nominally only answer to the Empress. There are a total of five Military districts, each headed by a Grand Protector, who also answer to an official of civilian origin - usually with no military experience, responsible for the actual financing of their army and administration. This causes some tensions. The five districts are:

• Far Western Military District.
• Southwestern Military District.
• Southeastern Military District.
• Northeastern Military District.
• Northwestern Military District.

Each district is then divided into dozens of Wei - static garrisons funded by central authority or provincial authority, and Guan - field armies that are supposed to be mobile and responsive to any crisis that occurs on the Empire's border or even within the border - which are startlingly common. While Wei depends on the local garrison and their needs, each Guan is supposed to field anywhere between 30,000 to 80,000 person on paper - and each district is supposed to maintain at least three. In practice, numbers are often inflated and generals pocket the difference.

Other than the border army, several army formations also answers directly to the Empress. They are considered some of the most effective, modern formations and also some of the most well-funded, some of them even led by foreign leaders hired specifically to improve Runra's army, this includes:

• Shunjiying (Corp of Divinely Machine) - A standardized, well-trained Guan consisting of some 20,000 person, trained exclusively in the usage of firearms. Their inexpensiveness, effectiveness, and lack of dependence on local nobility or the Hulingdin had led to its expansion into three different Corps in modern time, two of which are led by foreign mercenaries from Ramul Ta. The three corps are the White Orchid, the Red Orchid and the Blue Orchid.
• Tianmingying (Corp of Heavenly Mandate) - An all-elite formation consisting of unmarried acolytes taken directly from Hulingdin, trained to fight with spell and weapons - they are made in imitation of the legendary army of Lan Fei that originally conquered the place. Originally they are meant to approach the strength of 30,000 - an auspicious number, but it has been reduced to a strength of no more than 12,000 at the best of time.

Governance

The Empire of Runra is administrated from the top-down. Governors are appointed on the provincial level directly by the Empress, and then counties officials are in turn, appointed by the governor themselves, and tasked with acutal task collection, public works and contributing their "fair share" to national projects. These appointed officials and governors serve both administrative and justice role - and usually uses local taxes to hire additional officials to fulfill their roles.

Fa Shi System

The Fa Shi - or the Magic / Law Test system, is a centralized examination system created by the Runran Empire - on the idea that government officials should be selected based on merits and not birth. Like the Imperial Examination system in real life China, It is divided into imperial and provincial, county levels.

Its chief difference are that candidates are split into two tracks, and that the content is in general, more practical. While all candidates are expected to show a basic degree of literacy, candidates are generally tested on knowledge of various magical fields - including the four elements, healing magic, and artifice magic - widely seen as some of the most useful magic.

Based on their affinity - candidates are either supposed to join the Hulingdin as a clergy and administrate to the masses, or join the local bureaucracy.

Hulingdin

The Hulingdin is a powerful, Empire-spanning religious organization dedicated to maintenance of shrines for local deities, the chief deity of the Empire (A-luo), healing, charity, education and serves a similar role to the Catholic Church in our world but is generally speaking, less dominant and nor do they act as the sole legal religion.

Imperial "Family"

All Empress of Runra takes up the family name of "Lan" upon ascension to the throne and pick a first name that does not match with any of their predecessor, and is based on a type of flower. This is a common naming schemes even for Runran commoners - previous Empresses names often become very popular amongst commoners - but the current Empress's name is considered taboo and should a newly ascended Empress adopt a name that is the same as a commoner - the commoner is expected to change it or be considered treasonous.

Religion

Runran generally view religions as transactional - they believe in the abundance of local spirits and deities and provide sacrifices and offerings to them in exchange for favor. Monotheistic religion practice are relatively uncommon - and sometime even persecuted or at least not practiced out in the open. Worship of ancestors and calling upon ancestors for aid is very common.

Culture

Runra is home to a massive Runran majority culture, which has several subcultures. It is also home to significant amount of minority.

Runran Cultures

All Runran cultures share a common written system, a value of respect for their own ancestors, filial piety, and perhaps love of usage of soy sauce and green onion in their cooking. Many of them however, speak mutually unintelligible spoken languages mostly descended from a common language a thousand years ago.

Broadly speaking by linguistic and cultural tendencies, the group can be split into:

• Runran - Speaking Standard Runran - the prestige language of the court, also known as Lingzhongese.
• Western Runran - Most of them also speak a variety of Standard Runran though with some local variations. Many of them have a love for chili pepper and spicy food.
• Jianghou Runran - or Jianghouese, they speak a language commonly referred to as Jianghouese - most of which are mutually intelligible with each other but not with other Runran languages
• Gongnanese - Living in the southeast of Runra, they speak the Gongnanese language and is known for the lightness of their cuisine and focus on fresh ingredients. Of the four Runran subgroups, they have a higher proportion of Macen as many of them assimilated en masse into Runran culture and were originally not Runran.

Tangla Cultures

The Tangla Plateau and the Amuqie mountains are home to a significant amount of other cultures - numbering in the dozens. Here are the most significant minorities:

Tsongba - The Tsongba people chiefly lives in the middle of the Tangla Plateau, in the reach of the Lashima and Dukreng river. They are semi-sedentary and many of them participate in trade between the highlands and lowlands. The Tsongba are chiefly snow leopard Kemonomimi - they holds it to be sacred and does not recognize anyone who is not born to a snow leopard Kemonomimi to a true Tsongba. They numbers over 2 millions - making them one of the largest and most powerful ethnic minority in Runra. Runranized Tsongba also provide many of its governors and local ruler in the west. Renown for ferocious warriors. Often called "Xuebao people" by the Runran, which is literally Snow Leopard people. Not all of them take kindly to this name.

Nyagrim - A group people living western reaches of Amuqie mountains and to its east, in the forested, jungle-like area - their culture is centered around worship of spirits and creatures from the forest themselves. The Nyagrim are divided into Western and Eastern Nyagrim, speaking languages in two family that are somewhat mutually unintelligible but clearly related to eachother. Amongst the Nyagrim, deer and rabbit Kemonomimi are very common.

Zhalba - Lives alongside the Nuoteng river - a relatively hospitable part of the Tangla Plateau the Zhalba speaks a related language to the Tsongba, and is renown for their hospitality - they were likely part of the original inhabitants of the Xiyuan Commandery, but many southern Zhalba has Runranized and have not preserved most of their cultures - some of them are also seafarers. Many of them are actually of Air Macen heritage, and they have low occurance of Kemonomimis amongst them. History recorded that the first Runran general exploited conflicts between the Zhalba and Tsongba people in order to conquer Xiyuan commandery. This divide and conquer policies is no longer used, however, as both groups have come under nominal Runran control.

Southwestern Cultures

The hilly land of Southwest Runra is home to many ethnic groups, not all of whom have or is willing to assimilate into mainstream Runran cultures. Known ethnic groups includes:

• Liahkli - Terrace-farmer known for their rich textile system and adeptness at hill and mountain agriculture and their fortifications. Amongst the Liahkli, Clouded Leopard and Serow Kemonomimi are common phenotypes.
• Shasha - A group located in middle of the Southwestern region, near Cuihi ruling over the hill nearby. Their language is nearing extinction as they are surrounded by Runran. Amongst the Shasha, water buffalo and civet Kemonomimi are common phenotypes.

Northern Cultures

North of Runra lies cultures of other people - over time, Runra's border has expanded, but not all those cultures have assimilated either. However, as the people north of Runra are part of a [TODO: Stage 2 / 3 Rework], northern minorities will not be elaborated on at this stage - as most of them will be related to whomever is placed in the north.

Other Cultures

Runra is home to multiple minority cultures of significance, the most prominent of which includes:

Zamari-Ren: Or Runran Zamari. This group arrived over a thousand or two thousand years ago and brought with them advanced golemancy and might have helped kickstart the alchemical traditions that Runra is renown for - though many claims that Hulingdin or the Youcais taught it first. All alchemical traditions and golemancy traditions in Runra acknowledge the Zamari's contributions - but opinions differs on whether they originated it. Today, the Zamari, called Zhaoren (昭人 - People of Brightness / Illumination), or more directly Zamari-Ren (Lit. Zamari People) numbers over 1 million and is one of the most widespread minority in Runra. Most of them are bilingual in Runran and Zamari and have kept their religious traditions intact. Historically they've been persecuted occasionally but always managed to find a way to re-emerge. The Zamari in Runra mostly lives in Runran cities - they prefer the sun, rice and food, but there are over twelve known Loran Holds that are often manned and defended in time of troubles or persecution. Despite lack of maintenance in times of peace, they are considered nigh impregnable by non-Zamari people. Why? Because every single passages is built too short for a regular-sized person. These strongholds are maintained by voluntary contributions that all Zamari are expected to pay into and often serve as a quasi-industrial center and is also where impoverished Zamari youths make their money.

Significant Internal Factions / Leaders

These are the significant internal factions and leaders within the Empire:

The Jianghou Three

Nicknamed the "Three Little Hegemons of the East" (Using this nickname will not land you on their good side and is to be done only in private, as it can imply treason), the Jianghou Three, Zhu Yajun (朱雅俊), Jiangbei - Huang Shaoming (黄绍明), Jiangnan - Chen Jiahui (陈家辉) are governors that governs over Runra's richest and most economically provinces - the Jianghou provinces of Jiangbei, Jiangnan and Qingzhou. Of the Jianghou three, Zhu Yajun (朱雅俊) - the governor of Qingzhou are by far the most powerful, but he acts humbly and demonstrates subservience to the Empress and equality with his fellow governors. He is known publicly as good friends of the other governors, often inviting the other two over to discuss how to administrate their province better and how to support Yan province and Qingzhou's defenses better, though for some reason a lot of good food and beautiful women tends to show up in those meeting - they are also known to pool their military resources together.

Outside of the border, the position of Governor and Generals are supposed to be separate - but all three of them have effective control of their own powerful provincial army, and Zhu Yajun practically owns the Runran navy. Zhu Yajun in particular is nicknamed 萬砲朱 - Ten Thousand Cannons Zhu, a nickname that comes from the alleged amount of cannons in his army and navy combined - Zhu is alleged to command over five hundred warships of varying quality and over eight thousand cannons. Some says this nickname is not about the prowess of his army and navy, but his personal prowess...

Zhu is known as the most ambitious of the three, and has the outward personality of a generous, big-hearted, rich man eager to shower affection and rewards to his subordinate.

Western Generals

To be elaborated on later.

Northern Generals

Northern Generals will be added when the Northern neighbors of Runra are reworked.

Imperial Court

This section is to be filled in by porting over interesting characters from Cid's Civil war factions update later.

Splinter States

Since the Qionghua crisis - so named for occurrence during the reign of Empress Qionghua - the previous Empress, three de jure independent states have declared independence from the territories of the Runran Empire. All of them are led by Runran leader(s) and share much cultural similarity with the chief differences being in political structures and the belief driving them.

Dai Hua

The state of Dai Hua is the smallest of all of the splinter states in terms of population. It is led by Duan Qingxuan - an ambitious alchemist who declared himself Emperor of Dai Hua. The state is ruled by a parallel structure similar to that of the Empire of Runra, with alchemists however taking on a prominent role. However, the line between a mage, mage-bureaucrat and alchemists is very thin.

Though vast in size and natural resource, it only have perhaps 4 millions people or less living in its territories - most of its territory are semi-arid or outright desert, and to add to the problem, most of the population are non-Runran. Most of the land south of the Gezhu Tamu Plateau was claimed during the reign of Duan, when he launched military expeditions to the south to subjugate rebellious tribes and people and obtained their submissions - he also enacted a policy of encouraging Runran settlements by promising free land and reduced tax burdens, and Runranizing the natives

Dai Hua is however isolated from enemies that can threaten it in any significant way - except the western commanderies of the Empire of Runra. It also benefits from trade and closeness to Xiyuan gate. The barely inhabitable Gezhu Tamu Plateau also contain an abundance of alchemical resources - with which Duan Qingxuan pursue his researches into alchemy and golemancy, and with which Dai Hua maintain a terrifying, elite army of Kuileis.

Dai Hua officially adopts a philosophy-religion of transhumanism as its own state religion - though it also practices and preaches multicultural and religious harmony, no doubt a necessity due to Dai Hua's status as a minority-majority state. While details are vague, the Dai Hua thoughts generally believe that the humanoid body is imperfect, that ascending to a mechanical form is the best. It differentiates from earlier philosophies in rejecting asceticism - instead, they believes that a mechanical form should in fact, imitate the organic form's beauties provides happiness to the soul inhabiting it - in short, it should look good. Duan Qingxuan, an exemplar of his people, spared no expenses transforming himself into a powerful and beautiful body - a 600 pounds steel behemoth body with a lady-killing face and sculpted muscles - on a mechanical body.

Dai Hua have attracted many an alchemist (Golemancy is considered a part of alchemy in Runran thoughts) to its land, and many transhumanists who seeks to escape the flaws of their old body. Dai Hua is the one of the top source of Kuileis mercenaries - many of whom are young alchemists who has just recently transferred themselves to a new body and is eager to earn money or pay back their debt - in fact, Dai Hua has a state-sponsored program of renting out alchemists who transfer themselves as mercenaries to earn money for the state and produce a core of experienced reserves who can be called upon in time of war.

Duan Qingxuan

Duan is the all powerful leader of Dai Hua. In Year 1015, he demonstrated the ultimate transmutation in front of his courts, advisors, and many famous alchemists - he successfully transmuted himself into a Kuilei body - a mighty alchemical deed, but one that has been done a few times in history. The body was custom built for him, with a handsome visage, the ability to consume food, feel pleasure of various kinds, and a chiseled, "muscular" body. He also claimed that he will live for more than a millennium in this new body - but this assertion will take a while to prove.

While the process of transforming oneself into a "mechanical" magical body was kept secret for over two thousand millenniums - with the process independently rediscovered multiple time, Duan - unusually for an alchemist, revealed the secrets of body transmutation to everyone. He argued that this was an undeniable human good, that the ability to transform oneself into an immortal body was something that eventually, all people should aspires to. Not only did he lecture the observers with the basic principles of his transmutation methods, but he also ordered his court scribes to have it transcribed and printed out, distributed for free around Dai Hua - and even handed copies of the book personally to emissaries aboard. Duan's research spread far and wide, and whereas Duan was one of perhaps dozens of transmuted Kuilei (Tetren) in 1015, by current time, there are now over ten thousand of them, most of them inhabiting Dai Hua. Not all of them have a body as luxurious as Duan, of course.

The extent of his mastery would reveal itself in 1018 - when Duan started appearing in multiple places across his Empire in short succession, faster than anyone can reasonably travel. All people familiar with him asserted that they were interacting with the real Duan - though there were no cases of two Duans being seen in different body. Observers believed that Duan have mastered the arts of remote soul transfer - though the exact capability he has is of course, a well-kept secret. Many believe that as long as he has body, he is now effectively immortal. Indeed, the new Duan seems to have taken much more risks and have led his army's force personally multiple times over the last three decades, being "killed" in battle at least four times with no known repercussions.

Dai Hua Philosophy

Dai Hua Philosophy is a guiding philosophy behind the Dai Hua state - it is formulated by Duan Qingxuan himself as a governing philosophy to justify his rule.

Core tenet includes:

• That the pursuit of knowledge is an inherent good, so long as it don't cause suffering.
• Human pleasure and happiness is something to be pursued and it is morally good.
• Humanoid bodies is imperfect, and only by combining organic beauty with precisely designed machines can one achieve perfection.

Tetren

Tetren - or, Iron Man, is the name that Dai Hua and alchemists under its umbrella uses to refer to Kuilei. Kuilei means "Puppet", which some of them finds offensive especially after they have gained freedom from their contract. Besides, if the ultimate goal of Dai Hua's transhumanism is to turn yourself into a puppet - it would suddenly become much less appealing. Duan's personal philosophy meant that those who transmute themselves into a Tetren is encouraged to pick a beautiful form - creating what many calls a new type of Kuilei - Meitetren - or Beautiful Iron Man.

Military

Dai Hua's military consists of around 20,000 - 40,000 people under permanent arms. It relies heavily on elite Tetren recruited from transmuted alchemists and Kuileis who are newly contracted as the elite heavy infantry core, and equip them with oversized, heavy firearms to provide range firepower - while their body make them suitable shock troops too.

Dai Hua also utilize sentient war wagons - wagons embedded with a temporarily activated spirit (Spirits are unlikely to stay long in a body that has no animal nor human like capability) that is equipped with cannons or firearms, and arms to manipulate and reload said firearms - some of them are even armored. However, these wagons are prone to getting stuck outside of road and is therefore mostly used to supplement forces in garrisons or when defending dryland.

There are rumors of even more powerful and ridiculous constructs - including a few examples of mechanical drakes and rumor of a mechanical dragon, but if Duan was capable of fielding such a weapon, he clearly don't see the need to deploy them frequently.

Natives

Most of Dai Hua's territories are inhabited by non-Runran natives people of a to be elaborated on cultural group - that is unrelated to Runra. One in particular stands out however, the Tenglong (腾龙). Most of the inhabitants of this land are Kemonomimi or Macens - but a group of Reptilians seems to be native to the desert in the southwest. They had Chinese dragon like features and scales, and by the time Dai Hua made contact with them, they seems to have been driven into the desert and the undesirable, arid land around it. Duan took advantage of this and offered mass conversion for the people and education in order to enlist their help against other rebellious minorities. The Tenglong accepted the deal - and many of them became semi-Runranized and fluent in the Runran language within a generation, while they served as troops to help keep the other minorities in check.

Alchemists / Science

Dai Hua is home to a large amount of golemancers and alchemists and attracts academics from all over the world due to ready supply of materials in Huoshishan and Yuyue.

Yuyue

Yuyue is the most important city in Dai Hua, and its capital - it is home to the Grand Dai Hua Palace - a small summer palace that is eclipsed by the one in Xuling. It does not mean that Duan is humble and does not spend excess amount of state funds however, it just meant he spent it on something else - like his alchemical and scientific pursuit.

Yuyue is home to a large alchemist community who specializes in mass production of potions and golems and export them overseas. It is also home to two significant institutions dedicated to studying Alchemy and Golemancy. In addition, a focus on transhumanism also means the city's home to a large amount of mages who provides ability to restore or replace limbs to one's liking, or even change one's appearance. The healthcare here provided are high-quality and relatively cheap compared to other place, attracting wealthy medical tourists. It is said that with enough money one can even completely change one's Clade in Yuyue.

Food in Yuyue are known to be decent and spicy.

Huoshishan

Huoshishan - Or the Fire Rock Mountain, is the second most important city in Dai Hua, located next to a massive mountain in middle of an inhospitable desert. The city does not have access to any significant source of freshwater, and water has to be brought in from nearby oasis or occasionally - the mountaintop. This meant population were limited and temporary, despite the mountain's great wealth. Under Duan's command however, successive expeditions were launched to the mountain in an attempt to dig a path into the Caverns, where freshwater and farmland could be found. Duan succeeded in 1039 - finding a much needed source of water and farmland - and spent great wealth and efforts to build infrastructure to bring it up to the surface, and even more to convince people to live underground in spooky, gloomy caverns and farm on his behalf.

Huoshishan is now a boom town with a disproportional amount of alchemists, alongside miners and farmers who support their efforts, and may eclipse Yuyue as the most important city in a decade or two. Efforts are ongoing to map and colonize the caverns underneath Huoshishan, and the caverns seems to be as rich as Huoshishan in terms of mineral wealth and magical crystals.

Jiuhe Tongmeng

Jiuhe Tongmeng - or Alliance of the Nine River, is a loose confederacy formed by martial arts sects in southwestern Runra. The Jiuhe Tongmeng is ruled by a constitution, and a ruling council consisting of the elders of each Martial Art Sects:

Tongmeng Council

The Tongmeng Council is the ruling body of Jiuhe Tongmeng. Each major sect send one representative (Usually the sect's leader, but often represented by someone else) to the Elder Council, and have one vote on any major matters related to the alliance - which usually involve either wars, mobilization for said wars, or change to the constitution or sanctions or punishment against a particular sect for some great infringement. The Elder Council always have an odd number of sects - and being on the council is equal to being a part of the alliance. The council elect one sect amongst themselves every 8 years as the leader of the Alliance, and each sect is not allowed to hold the leadership position consecutively. The alliance leader is considered to have two votes for any matter of import.

Currently, Tongmeng Council is led by the Wuyu Sect

Constitution

The articles of the constitution governing the Tongmeng Council are as follow:

- Article 1 - Common Contribution: All sects must provides one trained warrior, food or water and money enough to support said warrior (Defined as two hundred silver a month) or the equivalence of 500 silver, per fifty Liang in its territory. Liang being the amount of farmland or equivalent wealth needed to contribute to its household. In addition, for each Liang in its territory, the sect must provide a silver a year in order to fund common ministries such as the Mediation Tribunals. The Common Contribution clause also writes down each sect's assessed Liang size and its expected contributions. Article 1 does not include any census methods and each clan's contribution is negotiated once in a while without regards for actual census or economic growth - such centralized rule is unwelcome. The funding funds a common army consisting of warriors from all sects under unified command.

- Article 2 - Sect Self-Rule: All member sects retain autonomy over its own internal governance, traditions and training methods. No sect is allowed to interfere with the internal affairs of another, and they will enact their own law, justice and punishment within the territories. Should any disputes between sects arise - or members of sects violate laws in the territory of another sect and the matter is considered disputed, it will be settled through the Mediation Tribunal.

- Article 3 - Shared Ethics: Despite self-rule, all martial sects are supposed to adhere to some common guidelines - showing respect to their peers, allies and common people, usage of martial power to protect the innocent and for defense, and maintenance of discipline.

- Article 4 - Mutual Aid: In time of disaster or internal strifes all sects are obliged, morally, to help eachother. There's no enforcing clauses on how exactly they are supposed to help eachother in the constitution.

- Article 5 - Transmission of Knowledge: All sects are required, according to the Liang of the sect, to take in acolytes from other sects who are to learn the basic techniques of their sect and transmit it back to other sects, in the interest of common preservation of martial knowledge. There are set rules on this kind of student exchange - usually intended for no more than 2 years and with the intention of not imposing on either sects - with smaller sects training less and larger sects training more. The host sects is expected to provide for those students.

- Article 6 - Emergency Leadership: In time of crisis or war, a Grand Alliance Leader can be appointed who will have the ability to levy double the Liang and imposes various kinds of taxes or additional rules on the other sects, superseding some aspect of Sect Self-Rule until the crisis is over as defined by the Council.

Sects

Since only major sects are represented in the council, many minor sects instead operate in the territories assigned to major sects under their umbrella and try to influence their politics one way or the other. There are a total of eleven Sects represented on the council.

The currently named Sects are:

• Wuyi (武义 - Martial Righteousness) - One of the largest sect and one that is consistently elected to be the leader of the alliance, the Wuyi sect focuses on what they define as traditional, conventional martial arts - with few usage of Exomagic and a focus on weapon techniques and occasional ranged techniques that can be integrated with melee weapons - in fact, their techniques are considered old-fashioned due to their refusal to uses most ranged weapons or even firearms. Still, their swordsmanship and technique with polearms are considered to be quite good. They have rather conventional moral.
• Yinghuan (影幻 - Phantom / Shadow / Phantasm) - A smaller sect compared to Wuyi, founded by an assassin who used to work for the Runran court but became disillusioned with the dirty works they were doing, and decided to spread out the techniques to...the common people instead. A rather "flexible" martial arts school, they masters the art of Phantom cloning and naturally, has many members whom are user of the Phantom combat class mechanically. Their abilities lack much direct, out of combat usages - and they pride themselves as removers of corrupt officials and beasts using their special techniques. The sect fancy themselves Robin Hood in a world of injustice. Such zealotry however, have caused them troubles or need to mount rescues of their members whenever they venture out of territory - or when they step out of hand and decides to assassinate someone in another sect's territory.
• Hongfahui (红法会 - Red Law (Magic) Society) - A large sect which is basically a freethinking, large mage association in Runra. It attracts a large amount of mages who find the bureaucracy of the Imperial government suffocating and the regulated role of the Hulingdin boring. The Hongfahui attracts mages of all kinds - but most prominently pyromancers who find little usages for their magic inside Runra and still find themselves mildly useless even inside Hongfahui. They holds the territory of Gaosha Plateau and uses it exclusively to bind different kinds of desert spirits to their own uses, and are also renown Spiritbinders as a result. In fact, Spiritbinding is the primary art that the sect practices that is of usage to the common people. Hongfahui is considered a bit suspicious and untrustworthy by some other sects - especially Wuyi sect, due to their focus on study and the fact that Hongfahui has close relation with the alchemists of Dai Hua.
• Hezhimen (和制门 - Harmony Control Gate (Sect)) - A small sect with urban following who focuses on non-lethal combat techniques and aspire for a more peaceful future. The sect also emphasizes harmony with animals and harm reduction - seldomly resorting to killing animals unless necessary. Many of them are also spiritbinders - but oriented toward animals, and many of the sects members are vegetarian. Their base is in the ciy of Mozhu, near the forest of Amuqie mountains.
• Wuqimen (无器门 - No Weapon Sect) - A large sect with widespread geographical distribution, especially in rural area. The Wuqimen - as its name implies, emphasizes on training in unarmed combat and fighting with common, improvised objects. It believe in a moral philosophy of "helping the weak", and that by imparting unarmed combat techniques to anyone, of any age, of any gender, of any races and any cultures makes the world safer and more polite, like an overly broad application of the 2nd Amendment but applied to your fists, arms, elbows and teeth etc. Wuqimen might be the sect with the most followers of all of the major sects, but its decentralized rule means that it fails to collect significant contributions all of the time, a fact noted by every other sects and their Liang contribution is much lower than expected. Still, other sects generally do not resent them for this, as its acolytes show up in large number for free with whenever the alliance is in crisis, and tends to wander around solving problems for pennies...Provided you provide them food and shelter.

Tianyiguo

Tianyiguo, or the State of Heavenly Righteousness, is a rebel state founded by Chen Jiangsheng based in the Southeastern Provinces. It has been able to hold on and stay independent thanks to the reluctance of the Jianghou generals to suppress them in full forces - and support from its neighbors to the south who wishes to keep the Empire of Runra in check and forestall any attempts by Runra to expand and invade them.

It is currently ruled by Chen Yingtian, son of Cheng Jiangsheng and a princess of [TODO next stage: Princess of a neighboring kingdom].

Chen Yingtian

Chen Yingtian is the Emperor, or as they call it, Yidi - Righteous Emperor of Tianyiguo. He is around 51 years old, and is a Kemonomimi (Type: To be determined when lore is expanded), although his father is a Macen. The man is known to be a military genius, having led a successful invasion of the Jianghou region at the young age of successfully before being repelled by the far superior manpower and weaponries of the Jianghou three. Ever since then he has stayed at peace with the Jianghou Three in an informal agreements, with occasional, scheduled "fighting" occurring between his forces and the Jianghou Three's forces, or whenever the Central Court proclaims that the Tianyi rebels are weak and inevitably send another army to be destroyed on the Kerong river.

Chen Yingtian is a competent ruler and despite his genius, seems to be more focused on administrating his realms well. Of that he is considered an ordinary, if not conservative ruler - not corrupt, but also not quite reformist. He has spent some significant amount of time refining his state's religious thoughts in hope that it will hold the state together.

He has many heirs.

Religion

At first, the religion of Tianyiguo was vague. It was concluded in a few slogans that were broadly compatible with religious thoughts of the majority, boiled down to some principles:

• That Youcai worship is unnatural, that Youcai is at best equal, and that the Empresses of Runra are Youcais in disguise and not truly Kemonomimis.
• Macen and Kemonomimis all deserve rights underneath a system and kitsune and to a lesser extent Okamimi preferences in the civil services are unfair
• That there was a primitive age before Youcai dominance that all shall return to

Though there were some religious undertones to the uprising, the uprising was chiefly egalitarian in nature and caused by socioeconomic factors and anger at the dominance of the priestly classes and certain preferred castes in Runra. Under the reign of Chen Yingtian, he attempted to formalize the dogmas of this religion, which he named Yuandao - Or the Original Way or Original Religions, adding in the following aspects to his religion, codifying, and requiring people to observes it:

• That ancestral worship, alongside worship of natural spirits, is the one and only correct types of worship, and that youcai are not natural spirits and shall not be worshipped in any form.

Author Note: More stuffs later when I actually feel inspired, sorry. (not). Original religion is rough especially when you don't write a big ass origin story and then forget about the tenets.

Culture

Tianyiguo is noted for its promotions of Gongnanese culture and cultural fusion with its southeastern neighbors. This is one reason why all provincial and regional names are written in Gongnanese style in the map.

Military

Tianyiguo has an army eager to utilize firearms compared to their northern counterparts, often with cover to protect the match from being extinguished by rain - though they also utilize a mixture of crossbows and bows due to the rainier, more humid climate of the south. The one special quirk distinguishing them from their northern counterparts is the willingness to uses some forms of necromancy en masse to support their army - specifically they summon spectral warriors and spirits in order to supplement them and to uses as literally deathless, fearless shock troops to supplement their army. Tianyiguo prohibits summoning or utilizing skeletons or zombies - beings that are seen as disgusting and unnatural and a desecration of the body, but sees no issues with literally summoning your ancestors to assist you on the battlefield.

Locations

Significant Landmarks

These are the significant landmarks in the Empire of Runra

• Ling River (靈河 / 江) : The main river of Runra and the center of its civilization. It and its many tributaries almost define the extent of Runran civilizations. The Ling river is divided into two navigable sections - the river is mostly navigable by ocean going ship up to Haidu, and then the second section is navigable up to the western end of Jingzhou by shallower barges. At the confluence of Rong and Ling river, the river enters its third navigable section - rapid and gorges means goods must be transferred by specifically built canal or land to the third section.
• Wushan: One of the (small) mountain ranges in the center of Runra. Of sacred importance to the ruling Hulingdin.
• Daibaishan (Great White Mountains) - A mountain range that runs southwest to northeast and defines the boundary of the Dongnam region - the northern Langshan is considered part of its extension. This mountain range and the hilly territories in between impede communications and are home to some less Runranized people too
• Langshan: The second most sacred mountain in the center of Runra. It is allegedly where the first wolf Youcais came from and decided to stop eating the Runran’s ancestors and instead rule over them and fight on their behalf. Unlike Wushan which is relegated in its entirety as off limit to exploitations - only three of the center mountains are off limit and the rest are home to regulated forestry and mines. It is also home to several martial art sects located in its east.
• Amuqie Mountains: A shorter mountain range on the southeastern end of the Tangla Gang Plateau. It blocks passage to the plateaus to the west and is also known for its diverse climates
• Meige Niusha (美格纽沙): A taller mountain range located in the northeast of the Tangla Plateau, featuring mountains that reach up to 3000 meters above sea level. Its southwestern end is home to beautiful
• Tangla Gang Plateau (唐拉岗): Often shortened to Tangla Plateau, this plateau is used to refer to both the massive plateau stretching west toward the Youkai Mountains, and to the northern part of the plateau. It has an elevation of roughly 400 - 700 meters ASL, and is home to rugged terrain.
• Gyeza Tamu / Gezha Tamu (格扎塔木): Shortened to Tamu Plateau - this Plateau is geographically part of the Tangla Plateau and a part of its southeastern extension - but this part is distinctively desert-like, and is surrounded by hot and arid land. It is also home to several lone mountains inside that is a source of rare alchemical ingredients.
• Chamu Kamo / Chamu Karmo (察木卡墨): Or the Black Stone Mountains - a mountain range with several volcanoes
• Rilong Awa: A mountain range in part of the Tangla Gang Plateau, named for wind-swept valleys

Regions of Runra

Runra itself is split into multiple regions

• Jiangzhong Region (River Central) - The traditional heartlands of the Runran Empire and the originator of its civilization. It is here where the Macen who settled this part of Runra found the first Youcais from the Wushan, and it is here where their civilization began.
  • Jingzhou (京州) - the Capital province of Runra. Population 3 million - densely populated. Consisting of the territories of
    • Xuling (徐靈) - 600,000 - Xu Ling - named after the two rivers it is at. A strategically located capital surrounded on three sides by rivers and one side by an impenetrable thick city wall. It has a massive docks where the Emperor’s tribute arrives to the capital. Its outskirts is surrounded by farmland. The city is located in the second section of the Ling River.
    • Du (渡 - Ford) - 40,000  - It is just a small ford city located upriver. Useful for indicating if the capital’s threatened.
    • Xianhecheng (仙河城 - City of Immortal River) - 100,000 - Second most important city in Jingzhou. Known for its scenery and flower garden meticulously maintained by the Imperial court as a getaway destination that’s close to the capital but not too close, but when the Imperial court do not want to retreat to a mountain.
  • Wushan (狐山) - Fox Mountains - 300,000. About as close to a ceremonial province as you can get in Runra. The sacred mountains are home to where the first Huling - Fox Spirit (As the fox-eared youkais of Runra call themselves, they dislike the term Huli Jing) came from. The mountains are known to be magical and living there is reserved for retirement of well-off officials and heroes. It has a small but bustling tourism industry catering entirely to the rich. The mountains themselves are mostly off limits in most spots. Many sacred ceremonies take place here.
    • Lingdin (灵殿) (Pop 10,000) - Ceremonial capital located in Wushan
  • Zhuzhou - Vermillion Province (朱州), Sanshui - Three Waters (三水), Cangzhou - North (Obscure) Province (苍州), Shuozhou - North (Obscure) Province (朔州) - 6 million total: These four provinces of slightly less significance are known as the Jiangzhong Four, four provinces created next to the capital to be administered by significant sub branches of the Hulingdin. They’re all generally prosperous and densely populated provinces. Notably many of the regional capitals are named after moral values or auspicious things in Runran culture. Perhaps it is hoped that doing so will impart its value upon its inhabitants or rulers.
    • Lidu (礼都 - Metropolis of Propriety), Rencheng (仁城 - Rencheng), , Yizhou (义州 - Province of Righteousness), Xinyi (信邑 - Town of Trust), Qinghe (清和 - Pure and Harmonious), Huixin (慧心 - Wisdom and Heart), Yongde (庸德 - Common Virtue)
    • Zhiyang (智阳 - Wisdom Sun / Yang) - City of insiginficance in Sanshui. Yet people joke about getting their sons born there. It is probably good to have a son full of wisdom and yang qi.
    • Zhuhong (朱红- Vermillion Red) - Capital of Zhuzhou and surprisingly not named after a virtue. It is a paint and dyeing center and is likely named after the dye.
• Jianghou Region (River Mouth) - The economic heartlands of the Runran Empire. The lower river valley and the delta of the Ling river provides plentiful and rich agricultural land. It is also situated next to the Runra gate, where nearly all international trade go through.
  • Qingzhou (青洲) - Population 8 million - Qingzhou or the Azure Province consists of nearly the entirety of the delta of Ling River, with the exception of one portion. This tiny province is home to the largest population of the Runran Empire, and several of its most significant cities. It also holds massive economic sway over the rest of the Empire.
    • Haipang (海旁 - Sea Side) - 1,000,000. The city is home to the largest commercial fleet in Runra and a significant portion of its standing military fleet. It is also the most urbanized and largest city this side of the continent. It is named after Seaside.
    • Haidu (海都 - Sea capital) - 500,000, the city is known as a secondary capital in time and is home to many an old palaces when the Imperial court relocated to its east while attempting to stay away from the scheming merchants of Haipang (Or so they say) and avoid concentrating power in the already powerful city. It is a political rival of Haipang for influence in the Qingzhou region and often receives imperial flavor to counterbalance the burghers of Haipang.
    • Jing (晶 - Crystal), Fengyu (风渔 - Wind Fish), Chunzhou (春州 - Spring Province), Lanjiang (岚江 - Mist River) are major urban centers of lesser significance within the region.
    • Nanxindu (南锡渡 - South Tin Ford) - 40,000 - A strategic town in olden time before Runran civilization expanded beyond the Kerong (克荣) River. This is where tin from the southeast was supposedly crossing over on land, although the name makes no sense given it will likely be transported by sea. Some believe that it was just translated from the name of the native. It is certainly a river ford.
  • Jiangbei (江北) & Jiangnan (江南) - Population 6 million - two densely populated provinces of lesser significance. Cities of notes:
    • Tonghai (通海 - Connect Sea), Rucheng (如城 - Know City / Fort), Zhongshan (中山 - Central Mountain), Huishi (会市 - Meeting City) + 2 More Unnamed Cities
• Northern Provinces - The northern provinces of Runra consists of mostly flat land and the river plains of Ling River's tributaries. Most of them are inhabited by Runran and a mixture of Runranized people from the north of Runra - whose tendencies is to be elaborated on. Traditionally one of the more militarized provinces of Runra and their frontier, as the people to the north are generally more ambitious and inclined to invade Runra than people from other directions.
• Western Provinces - The Western Provinces consists of flat river valleys of the upper reaches of Ling and its tributaries, and hillier forested land to the west near the Amuqie mountains, some of which has a tropical climate. Some of these provincesare under the control of Jiuhe Tongmeng. - as many people have moved south in light of constant conflicts in the north.
• Southeastern Provinces - The Southeastern Provinces are all under the control of the splinter state of Tianyiguo, but is home to some 15 millions people.
• Tangla Plateau: The Tangla Plateau is the westernmost reach of the Runran Empire. It is mostly inhabited by non-Runran people, but is under military administration of the three generals of the west. Each of them administrates one of the commanderies that the plateau is divided into. One of their rank is nominally the Great General Protector of the West (衛西大將軍), and is the first among equal - but all of them nominally answers to the Empress. The Tangla Plateau is home to perhaps 6 millions people.
  • Anyuan (安远 - Pacified Far) Commandery - Located in the north of the the plateau. Its capital is the city of Changchang (长昌 - Long Prosperity) - located in the fertile and wet lowland to the north of the plateau.
  • Tengyuan (腾原 - Soaring Plains) Commandery, located in the middle of the plateau and consisting of most of the non-coastal land of the plateau. Its capital is the city of Gumu (固目 - Solid Eyes, likely phonetically translated), inhabited by one of the local people.
  • Xiyuan (西远 - Western Far) - consists of the initial land settled by sea after the establishment of Xiyuan gate - Of all of the territory in the far west, this is by far the most Runranized - but Runran still remain a minority here. The capital of the region is the city of Canghai (苍海 - Vast Seas), a port city established from a pre existing settlement - it is also the few major cities in the region, a major commercial center (By the standards of this region), and majority Runran or Runranized natives in its composition. The other significant city is Ningxi (宁西 - Transquil West) - a city located on the Nuoteng river mostly inhabited by non-native, and seen as a vital outpost against intruders from the west.

Census Data

Rough estimation of the total population of Empire of Runra hovers around 110 - 130 millions, distributed as follow in the regions. It is likely inconsistent with the population listed above - for a general vibe of the region's population density, this list is better:

• Jiangzhong - 30 - 35 millions
• Jianghou - 30 - 35 millions
• Northwestern Provinces: 12 - 15 millions
• Northern Provinces: 12 - 15 millions
• Southwestern Provinces: 10 - 15 millions
• Southeastern Provinces: 15 - 20 millions
• Tangla Plateau: 4 - 6 millions
• Dai Hua: 4 millions