Grand Nation of Birenkofen

The **Grand Nation of Birenkofen** (大国ビレンコーフェン, *Taikoku Birenkōfen*?) was a country located from the Land of the Six Shields in the ancient continent of Mu, which existed six thousand years ago, along with its rival, the Kingdom of Aretoze.

## Description

The kingdom was a moderately-sized political entity with areas of encompassing villages and territories slightly larger than that of the Kingdom of Aretoze. Like its rival kingdom, its capital city was simply named the Birenkofen Royal Capital (ビレンコーフェン王都, *Birenkōfen-Ōto*?) which was located a few villages and a forest away from its northern boundary.

## History

For an unknown span of time, there was a great rivalry between the two kingdoms ruled by the Birenkofen and Aretoze royal families, competing over dominance over the Land of the Six Shields, the northern lands of the Mu continent. However, there was a tense period of peace and ceasefire between the two nations around the same time during the great upset in Ancient Egypt.

In attempt to weaken Birenkofen, spies from the Birenkofen kingdom kidnapped the young Eric Aretoze, the only son of King Gregor Aretoze and held him hostage within the capital. It was there where Eric first met and made friends with the young princess Lotte Birenkofen. Throughout a year of bonding, the two young heirs fell in love with and vowed to marry each other when they grow up. After an agreement was made between Lotte's father and Gregor, Eric was sent back to his home kingdom unharmed. Remembering her promise with Eric for years, Lotte constantly turned down marriage offers from princes of other nations. Lotte, being the only heir to the throne, was appointed as the leader of the elite Knight Division of the kingdom's army and trained to become the most fearsome warrior in all of Birenkofen.

Romanov I, who was the emperor of Tamazamlya from the Underworld, feared of the prophecy that a "young prince of the Six Shields" would destroy him and aware of the future of the relationship between Eric and Lotte, planned to destroy the Land of the Six Shields from within by manipulating the Aretoze kingdom from the shadows. This was through sending insiders, agents and mages to train fighters and soldiers in the kingdom, including Eric, in the ways of the Underworld and dark magics, and bringing demonic beasts to fight alongside them. Because of the Aretoze army's adaption to dark magics, induction of demons into their ranks and Eric's intelligence in warfare and combat, they were able to conquer many surrounding lands and territories.

Eventually, Aretoze's armies went to war with Birenfoken, which was entirely one-sided to the former. Only within weeks, all of Birenkofen's villages and territories were destroyed, its capital was mercilessly sacked and most of its people were slaughtered, including their King. Few people who survived fled south to forests or villages of other nearby nations for refuge, but those who weren't able escape were imprisoned and were either executed or enslaved. Among these slated for execution was Lotte, who was captured alive, but Eric's pleas and request to spare her life were heeded, under the condition that Lotte must be trained and successfully made into Eric's personal slave maid within one month, which succeeded.

After a successful expedition of Aretoze's armies led by Eric and Lotte to the southern lands of the Mu continent, the two married and months later, had a baby boy named Kunimi. After Gregor abdicated from his throne and Eric and Lotte ascended as King and Queen, they formed a new single nation by unifying the Kingdom of Aretoze and all the lands it conquered in the previous years and christened it as the "Six Shields Empire". Afterwards, Birenkofen was restructured into a metropolitan province, its destroyed towns and former territories were repaired and resettled, and a governor was personally appointed by Lotte herself.

In the Great Ancient War, Tamazamlya's armies wage war against the forces of the Six Shields Empire. After the Great Cataclysm that annihilated the old world, the Empire ceased to exist, and so did the political entity that was Birenkofen.

## Notable People

* Lotte's father, King of Birenkofen (deceased)
* Lotte Birenkofen (captured)
* Eric Aretoze (hostage, formerly)