Soijiro

The Kingdom of Soijiro was a monarchy on the continent of Halinn in the south-west of Abexilas. Following the nation's crisis, its successor state was Hwaryeong. It had a democratically-elected 7 person Imperial Assembly called the Gasōwon overseen by an elected Monarch, and was home to 42 citizens. Soijiro bordered the Akashiro Shogunate to the west and north, Anoshphey to the south, and an unnamed ocean to the north and east.
== History ==
==== Founding Myth ====
Soijiro was founded by the Seuhi tribes, a group infatuated by foxes. The legend goes that before the founding of Honbu and Soijiro there were 6 villages led by chiefs, wanting to form a kingdom of their own (at this time a city state), they met in the Serin Forest just south of Honbu Island to discuss which of them would lead such a state, each chief plead their case until the debate got heated. The debate was interrupted by a baby's giggling, one of the village chiefs, An Ran, investigated the source of the sound and came across a well. Inside, there was a baby boy laid in a golden box playing with 2 foxes (possibly 9 tailed), one bright and golden as the sun and one twilight blue as the night. When the chiefs gathered they discussed and came up with a resolution. Each chief would help raise the child until his 12th birthday, then, all would submit to him as the first Niruhi of Soijiro, his name being Kane Gisu. Although its uknown how Kane Gisu became Niruhi in reality, he was a real life historical figure and there is evidence of his existence. 
=== Southern Expansion ===
After the northern extent of modern Soijiro had been taken by Honbu by both diplomatic means and by arms the Soijirans set their eyes upon the southern forest peoples (a Seuhin related people) and their lands were seized
=== Imori Disturbance ===
1022 BU: The Niruhi dies and the title passes to his young son under the Regency of Lord Chō Haeryon a relative of the Chō Clan of Arihal
1023 BU: Less than a year later a group of Musa (Ninja) enter the Imperial Palace and assassinate the Regent and attempt to kidnap the young Niruhi who wass accidentally killed in the process. Aji Juno Jinah, a royal guard, attempts to save the Niruhi but was instead blamed for his death. The current minister of arms Juno Jinah’s father in order to protect his child orders the total lockdown of the Imperial palace and sends a falcon to his brother in Minsōn. Maha Aji somehow finds out, possibly from intercepting the falcon and allies themselves to the Aji Niwa clan to storm the capital. The Maha and Niwa invade Honbu islands and storm the capital Killing minister Juno and many Juno clan members in court. Although Juno Jinah escapes to Minsōn to his uncle. Aji Maha proclaims himself regent with support from the Niwa, until the other Aji clans and their armies arrive on Honbu island forcing him to settle for an emergency council for now.
724 BU: An heir was chosen from the direct Kane clan, a young cousin of the main branch,  the Sajo Clan heir marries a Kane clan member (from a cousin branch) to solidify their support.
=== Muhō Jidai ===
200 BU: The Muhō Jidai breaks out in Akashiro, and 80 years into the war (120 BU), the Hiragawa Clan invades and occupies Soijiro
5 BU: Akashiro initiates a campaign, led by Kyoujiro Kirumasa, to liberate Soijiro, restoring their full sovereignty
=== Jangmi Incident ===
In 51 AU, Juno Osabu also known regnally as Princess Ingyeo, was crowned Queen of Akashiro's closely-tied neighbouring nation of Soijiro. Queen Ingyeo’s reign started off well, with her introducing new laws allowing common folk to join the government and funding the reconstruction of ruins following the liberation of Soijiro from the Hiragawa Clan via the Seuku Campaign, roughly 50 years prior. However, the Soijiran Court then split into two factions. The Kanoto Hearts Party, led by the Sajo Clan and Akashiren Daijō-kan, Kyoujiro Kirumasa, favoured a closer relationship with Soijiro’s neighbours and Halinn in general. The Pahin Party, led by Juno Mura, Queen Ingyeo’s sister, favoured Soijiran self-reliance and was aggressively anti-Akashiren influence. Queen Ingyeo soon began to favour the Pahin Party due to her familial connections, further causing a rift in the court. In 58 AU, Queen Ingyeo unstable half sister, Meeju, secretly began banditing and murdering across other nations. The following year, the head of the Sajo Clan, Prince Keichi, confronted Queen Ingyeo about the an incident where Meeju had been caught in the act killing a peasant, but without evidence Keichi was accused of treason, further isolating the Kanoto Hearts Party and Sajo Clan in the court further.
In 60 AU, Salamdeul, a town run by the Sajo Clan, was infiltrated by Meeju, leading to the death of Governor and Princess Sajo Asan’s best friend. Greatly angered, Asan locked down Salamdeul, with the court petitioning Queen Ingyeo once more, but again were disregarded and accused of treason. The Sajo Clan then fled to the fortress town of Gowon, meeting with Daijō-kan Kyoujiro Kirumasa, where together, they plotted to overthrow the corrupted Queen Ingyeo and her government. After months of planning, the Sajo Clan gathered their forces and those of other dissatisfied noble families and surrounded the capital of Honbu. In a last resort effort to maintain their power, Juno Mura petitioned the Shōgun Tsukikage Akashiro and his Daijō-kan, including Kyoujiro Kirumasa, to enter the crisis as mediators to prevent a violent conflict and judicate a conclusion.
After just a day, Shōgun Tsukikage and the Daijō-kan decreed that Queen Ingyeo shall step down from her position along with her government, installing Prince Sajo Keichi as the new King of Soijiro. Although a complete civil war was avoided, the Royal Palace was still stormed, leading to the hanging of Meeju by Sajo soldiers and King Keichi being mortally wounded. Despite this, peace in Soijiro was at last restored.
=== Formation of Hwaryeong ===
Once the Royal Palace in Soijiro's capital of Honbu was claimed, King Keichi, against the original plan with the Sajo Clan and Kyoujiro Kirumasa, allied himself with the impeached Queen Ingyeo's sister, Juno Mura. King Keichi decreed that Ingyeo would be exiled to the distant island of Seubu, forming her own new nation, but was later poisoned by her own sister, removing all remnants of her past power. In her last days, Ingyeo reached out to Akashiren Daijō-kan, Daigo Fujishina, concurring that the Kingdom of Seubu would be fully integrated into the Shogunate. Once the old queen was eliminated, King Keichi and Juno Mura created their government council with the previously discussed members, however, removing Daijō-kan Kyoujiro Kirumasa due to Mura's strong anti-Akashiren sentiment.
Due to this, the relations between the two Kanōto culture nations broke down, with defence treaties dissolving. The following year, King Keichi succumbed to his wounds obtained in the rush of the Honbu Royal Palace, leaving his daughter, Sajo Ashin becoming the new queen. Queen Ashin, newly known by her regnal name Jihwa, reformed Soijiro into the Hwaryeong Niruku, with Jihwa becoming the first Niruhi.
== Culture ==
=== Religion ===
Wami Segye is the worship of a pantheon of petty dieties and spirits being ruled by a ruling diety called Ganku, who created Abexilas. It is believed that Kane Gisu received revelation from Ganku, at Mt. Esthern (Nayuwami in Soijiran), who then promulgated the religion to all of Soijiro.
==== Religion on two levels ====
Commoners (and on occasion nobles), practicing Wami Segye make offerings, saying prayers and hiring shamans for divination or to perform rituals. They believe in and pray to many minor gods and spirits, who all have specific requirements for rituals and offerings, which is why people hire shamans, who are skilled in the religious arts (song, dance, etc) and are considered as authorities on religious matters. They are not organized, and anyone can become a shaman by first being a senior shaman's apprentice. The high society believes in the same religion but often stripped of its superfluous elements, having a more philosophical approach. They rely on an organised clergy, consisting of monks and nuns, who can also perform rituals, but on a larger scale generally. The clergy is constituted of holy men and women who live pious lives separately from the rest of society. They are organised into monasteries headed by abbots/abbesses, who in turn are subservient to a high council of the most powerful abbots/abbesses. The church is highly bureaucratic and organised and run several state functions (hospitals, schools, etc) and so have a lot of influence at the royal court. These two parallel systems often interact and intersect, sometimes they oppose each other but generally both sides are content with how things are.
==== Dreams ====
One important element of the religion is the ability of experienced Dreamers to access a parallel dimension during their sleep, in which dreams are located, which is called the Ekkun. Dreamers can navigate and modify this dimension with enough training, being able among other things to visit other people's dreams, giving them the ability to communicate over long distances. Not much is known about the Ekkun is known other that it is in constant evolution, randomly changing, and that unknown entities inhabit it, maybe being the origin of naturally occurring dreams. There is a second layer to the Ekkun, however which is called the Dowun. It is a dangerous place where Dreamers may find themselves lost or stuck, unable to go back to the Ekkun, and thus unable to go back to the physical world (they die). The creatures who live in the Dowun are basically demons, who can harm travellers, in the worst case possessing them and being able to get to the real world. Much of the mythology is rooted in the Ekkun and the Dowun. Shamans are often Dreamers, being able to communicate to others through it (for a fee). Monks are almost all Dreamers; the church dedicates a significant amount of energy into exploring and studying these dimensions.
==== Purity and Pollution ====
A significant part of the religion is based around these concepts, like in Shinto. The core of this belief is the idea that after death, you pass through the Ekkun before being reincarnated. But as you live your lives, your soul accumulates more and more pollution until eventually it is too polluted to be reincarnated and falls into the Dowun. As such Wami Segye emphasizes cleanliness and purification rituals, as many actions are polluting, like killing humans or animals, lying, close family dying, cursing, etc. All this is due to the presence of a higher being, called Ganku, who cleans the world and has to ensure the world remains pure enough to not be destroyed by its own pollution. This spirit is omnipresent and omniscient, but it doesn't really intervene in the world, being mostly confined to the Ekkun and only acting there when it's time for reincarnating or throwing away souls. Another aspect that is collective responsibility. When people close to you pollute, you become polluted by association; this applies to the level of the family unit but also the larger clan, village/city and even kingdom level. The idea is that the whole kingdom is a sort of large family and the role of the king, as the head of this family, is tasked with keeping everyone clean, both by enforcing actions that increase purity, and by conducting large scale purification rituals, led by monks and nuns. Thus something similar to Confucianism appears, with a clearly established hiearchy.
==== Spirits & Gods ====
Ujunin - the Universe
The personification of the Universe. Generated itself millions of years ago.
Ekkun and Dowun - the Dreamworld and the Darkworld
Ganku - the Bringer of Concord
Has the mission of keeping the Universe pure and avoiding excessive pollution. The other spirits are subservient to it, and can sometimes execute its commands. Created the Dowun where it resides (some say the Ekkun is literally its body) and which it controls directly, as opposed to the physical world. Created the Dowun to store pollution. Takes care of souls after death; either allows them to be reincarnated, or, if they are too polluted, sends them to the Darkworld. Pictured as a gigantic humanoid, mist-like being. 
Hon - Spirits
Refers to non-physical personhood. It can be either a physical being’s soul, or a soul without a body, like a spirit or a ghost. Can reside in any of the three worlds
Kwahoro - the Beast of Pollution
The personification of Pollution. Rules over the Dowun, where it was banished by Ujunin. Pictured as a gigantic dark hound with goat’s horns.
Hani and Nayu - The sun and moon spirits
Ancestors of the Imperial family usually depicted as midnight blue (Nayu) and red (Hani) foxes or fox dragons, they’re depicted in the Hwaryeong flag and the national symbol of Hwaryeong, the Taeguk. 
Dankun - Spirit of Earth and Mountains. Usually depicted as a white tiger
=== Language ===
Aside from Akashiren, the language of Seumal is the primary language of the kingdom.
=== Phonology ===
Consonant chart for Seumal
 	Bilabial	Alveolar	Alveolo-Palatal	Palatal	Velar	Uvular	Glottal
Nasal 	m 	n 	 	ɲ 	ŋ 	ɴ 	
Stop 	p b 	t d 	 	 	k g 	 	
Affricate 	 	 	t͡ɕ dʒ 	 	 	 	
Fricative 	ɸ 	s z 	ɕ ʑ 	ç 	 	 	h
Approximant	 	 	 	j 	w 	 	
Trill 	 	r 	 	 	 	 	
Vowel chart for Seumal
 	Front	Back
High 	i y 	ɯ u
High-mid	e ø 	o
Low-mid 	ɛ 	ʌ
Low 	a 	
Category:Former Nations