User:Sasaisen/Kyudai (3.5e Campaign Setting)/Golden Empire

With an estimated population of thirty million and laying claim to nearly half the continent, the Golden Empire is the largest nation in Kyudai to ever exist.

People

At its last great census fifty years ago, the Golden Empire counted just under thirty million subjects. Though individual provinces still tally their own numbers, collating and corroborating those numbers is an enormous undertaking even with magical assistance, and the actual population is likely even higher now. Much of the population is stratified into Houses (something between a political faction and a vastly extended family) of varying social stature, while about two-in-five are affiliated with no House.

The Empire is primarily human in nature as they comprise approximately 80% of the population, with another 15% consisting of human offshoots (half-elves, half-orcs, Juudai, etc). Despite this, the Empire accepts all non-hostile species as subjects, notably including sizable elven enclaves. Officially, there is no preferential or discriminatory treatment towards non-humans beyond what their noble status (or lack thereof) entails; all who live within the Empire's borders are subject to the same laws and customs. In practice, Shin and Mukade are stricter on non-humans within their territories, while Takuma and Kubota are more lax on enforcing cultural standards due to their extensive contact with other civilizations.

Government & Politics

The Golden Empire is ruled by a vast bureaucracy, refined over the centuries into an efficient administrative machine. At its heart is Great House Kazuki, led by the Golden Emperor, Kazuki Ryunosuke, and his extended family. As the bearers of the strongest celestial bloodline, all holdings within the Empire are Kazuki by divine right. In practice, House Kazuki oversees the capital province of Tenjuku, and delegates administration of all other territories to other ancestral Houses that have obtained their favor. This frees their efforts to maintain the Empire as a whole and react to external threats.

Of the other noble Houses, four of these are collectively labelled the High Houses and each given a quadrant of the Empire to oversee. These are House Shin to the East, House Mukade to the South, House Takumato the West, and House Kubota to the North. Even while within another House's holdings, the High Houses are the greatest authority in their respective regions, second only to House Kazuki. In addition to their privileged status, each High House is a power base in some respect and vital to the functioning of the Empire.

Four others are recognized as the Low Houses: Shunsui, Oshiro, Muranaka, and Juudai. While these bear no particular governing responsibilities outside of their holdings, they are considered nobility and afforded the privileges and authority of such. As they are not concentrated within a particular region, the Low Houses serve to smooth functioning between the High Houses and keep lines of communication open across the Empire.

Culture

Subjects of the Empire are properly addressed by three names - that of their House (if they belong to one), that of their family, and then their given name; the exceptions are Kazuki, whose House and family names are one and the same. High significance is placed on the history of one's name, and children are often named after an ancestor to bring good luck, though this also carries expectations to be met. Those bearing a disgraced family or given name will struggle socially, but great renown is theirs if they manage to redeem it.

Belonging to a House, even a lesser one, is a highly desirable privilege, not the least because only members of an officially-recognized House are entitled to hold territory. One becomes a retainer of most Houses through birth, sponsorship (commonly marriage) or great service to the House in question, although some have their own unique criteria. Changing Houses outside of marriage or partnership is virtually unheard, as the act of defecting from a House brings one's honor into question.

As could be expected from a nation in which divine magic is so prominent, the official religion of the Empire is Incarnism. There is little in the way of established orthodoxy or priesthood; instead, it's expected that all subjects pay the appropriate tribute to the Incarnates, both during their daily lives and periodically at the temples that dot the region. This simple reverence permeates throughout the Empire, and many locations and institutions are divinely associated. This extends all the way to the Noble Houses, each dedicated to a particular Incarnate, and Great House Kazuki, who are held as the scions of Kouryuu.