Raoji

Raoji is a country in the Windrose world. It is the setting of the show Thirteenth God. It is a large empire that borders Mitsudai to the east, Sagaris to the north, Lancea to the northwest, Triquetra to the north, and Falcata to the northeast. It is also notable for being primarily developed by Christian instead of by Jay and Siv.

#### History

Raoji's history begins in what is now southern central Raoji and the northern Kankо̄ region of Mitsudai. In the distant past, as many humans migrated to what would become Raoji, likely from further east in what would become Petrichor and Papillon, this region became a cultural center and local political power that influenced much of the culture of its neighbors in turn.

For unknown regions, various Gods began appearing in these early settlements. Many humans began to worship these gods both as religious figures and as political leaders, and soon, many of the small settlements across early Raoji and Mitsudai became dominated by local gods. These gods often took on the attributes of certain animals in varying amounts. Some, such as the Sheep God, simply took on the ears of the sheep, but others, such as Aporia, the god of ropes and bonds, had the face and fur of a dog. Like Aporia, some gods in this era took on specific domains, but many simply represented the city or town that they ruled, and the animals they took after, and nothing more. The Raoji of this era was diverse, with dozens of smaller nations and villages boasting unique cultures and ties to the outside world.

The period of small, localized centers of godly rule would not last, however. As magical beings empowered by worship, many of the gods sought to expand their reach and their base of worshippers. Around five hundred years ago, these tensions would over time brew into violence, and eventually this desire to expand broke into all out war across the entirety of Raoji and Mitsudai, beginning the brutal Raojian God War. Some gods, such as Kato, the Fox God of love and attraction, sought to conquer the whole of Raoji, but he was beaten back and sealed within the Forbidden Forest. Other gods, such as Kokuten and Aporia, not being fighters, were easily chased out of their territory by more powerful gods. Many of the losing gods fled into Mitsudai, where the fervent followers of gods such as the Sheep God threatened to drag the war into that region as well, but an effort by various Mitsudain gods stopped the Raojian advance. Many gods were killed outright, and some, such as the Iron God, suffered a fate worse than death. In the Iron God's case, he was turned into a sword and thrown into the depths of the sea.

Eventually, as the dust settled, thirteen gods remained standing, and they agreed to come to a truce and form a loose confederation called Raoji. They each assigned themselves a small portfolio of a part of the world, such as the Jellyfish Goddess claiming dominion over art and beauty, and some territory. For a few centuries, the remaining gods simply coalesced power in their domains, allowing their human followers to squabble over which of the remaining thirteen was truly dominant as long as the gods themselves kept their alliance. This would change during the First Squid Revolt. Devotees of the Squid God, as well as the Squid himself, were tired of the petty squabbles and sought a more glorious battlefield. They attempted to invade Lancea, which was met with fierce resistance both from Lancea and other Raojians. Eventually, the Squid God was slain by an unknown human Exorcist, marking the first known time a mortal had slain a god all on their own.

Fearing this newfound world order, the twelve remaining gods of Raoji ceded some ground to the power of humanity. Raoji became a centralized empire ruled in part by a human emperor. The gods themselves were forced to take a much more active role in governance and interaction with humanity, and a more unified Raojian culture was built, shedding the last vestiges of the small, individual nations from so many centuries ago.

Around ten years before the modern day, a mysterious group still loyal to the Squid God known as the Arms of the Squid began acting in Raoji, attempting to revive the Squid God and usher in their god's vision of a new Raoji. This event, known as the Second Squid Revolt, makes up much of the plot of Thirteenth God, and the outcome is unknown. However, given certain allusions to Raoji in other shows, such as Forgotten Indigo, it seems that the empire manages to survive the Squid yet again, but a rapidly industrializing modern world continues to chip away at its dominance.

#### Geography and Ecology

Raoji is a massive country that spreads over nearly the entire southern portion of the continent that it lies upon. As such, it holds within its borders a wide variety of climates and geographical features. Much of the north is temperate woodland, with a large mountain range in the northeast, brought about by an active collision between tectonic plates in that region. At least some portion of the east is a decently sized desert that is claimed as the territory of the Dingo God. The southwestern islands, ruled by the Crab God, are alluded to have a tropical climate. These islands are slowly growing and moving south as a result of plate tectonics, and the Crab God's domain will eventually collide with the nation of Cauldron to the south in a few million years.

A notably strange region in Raoji is the Forbidden Forest, where the god Kato is sealed. This region, magically constructed by multiple gods as a prison, is made up of multiple rings, each with starkly different weather patterns that correspond to each of the four seasons. Many Yokai make their home in this forest, making it quite dangerous.

Politically, Raoji is divided into twelve territories for each of the ruling gods. There are also a handful of cities that act as their own provinces, such as the capital of Armistice Hill and the autonomous city of Feather's Landing near the domain of the Bat God.

#### Political Structure

Modern-day Raoji is a decently centralized isolationist state. It restricts trade of both goods and information with the outside world, and fiercely defends its borders, especially against the Lanceans. The empire is ruled by a human emperor, who maintains a fair amount of political power, as long as their decrees are generally approved by the gods. The gods themselves act somewhat as regional governors, managing their own territories to various extents. Some gods, like the Jellyfish, mainly remain in the Palace of the Gods in the capital, leaving devoted followers to manage their provinces. Others, like the Crab, remain in their provinces and generally keep to themselves.

The list of gods is as follows:

* The Bison God, god of toil, roads, the countryside and travelers
* The Rat God, god of tenacity, necessity, and bureaucrats
* The Sheep God, god of farming, mundanity and the everyman
* The Jellyfish Goddess, god of passion, beauty, perfection and artists
* The Bat Goddess, god of the night, subterfuge, gambling and criminals
* The Dingo God, god of the desert, camaraderie, honor and hunters
* The Hawk God, god of war, dominance and soldiers
* The Crab God, god of the coast, tradition, fisherman and sailors
* The Tortoise God, god of spirituality, forests, peace and woodsmen
* The Hummingbird God, god of the day, freedom, music and entertainers
* The Snail God, god of history, wisdom, knowledge and the scholar
* The Koala God, god of drunkenness, homelessness, partying and outcasts

A "Head God" is chosen annually through a contest of champions. It is unknown what exact powers the head god possesses, but it is likely that they hold sway over approval of the emperor's policy.

While Raoji is mostly isolationist, a single island, on which the city of Feather's Landing sits, allows trade with the outside world. While under Raojian jurisdiction, it is technically not considered a part of Raoji politically, and is left to its own machinations. Some smugglers make a living off of smuggling foreign goods and technology into the Raojian mainland from Feather's Landing.

#### Culture

Raojian culture is heavily Japan-inspired, with cultural clothing, architecture, and names all bearing recognizably Japanese aesthetics and characteristics. However, a large amount of the inner workings of Raoji are wholly unique. Raojian culture and philosophy is based on a fundamental divide between Heaven and Earth, with Heaven being the realm of the gods and their dealings, and Earth being the realm of man. This divide is often represented by the parasol, which many gods in both Raoji and Mitsudai bear. The gods of Raoji, as beings purely made of Ambrosia, the essence of Heaven, are emanations of the purest attributes of the world, and as such all that is good derives from them. It is unknown how the remaining gods living in Mitsudai after fleeing the God War fit into this paradigm.

Raojian religion began as more henotheistic, with each god's followers solely following their regional god. Following the Squid Revolt, the unification of the country led to more polytheistic modes of faith. All twelve recognized gods are respected and prayed to, especially within their respective territories. Gods are often prayed to at local shrines, managed by devoted shrine priests. Shrine priests, as well as other pious worshippers, are often granted Godly Blessings, which can take the form of animal features and/or magical powers associated with their god of choice.

Magic in Raoji is mostly kept to a handful of lesser noble families, who raise their children in their unique magical arts. Sporadically born mages are usually handled on a case-by-case basis. Often, mages who are born with magic that could threaten the dominion of the gods are exiled from the country.

##### The Caste System

The empire of Raoji maintains a strict but elaborate caste system. At the bottom are peasants and farm workers, who live on land operated by magistrates. Religious officials such as monks and shrine priests fall in between peasants and landowners, with the high priest of a temple or shrine often fulfilling the role of a magistrate politically. Above the magistrates are the nobility, the true "owners" of the land granted to them by the gods. Above them still is the emperor, and then finally the Gods themselves.

A unique caste in Raoji's caste system are the Scholarblades. Scholarblades are expertly trained warriors who devote themselves to the service of a God or a nobleman. Many scholarblades help to manage regional affairs, but some are sent abroad to study foreign cultures and technology, and then report these findings back to their masters. These foreign concepts are then studied and "perfected" by the gods, and then released to the public in a controlled manner. While this manner of development helped the ruling classes and the gods to maintain order and stabilize their human subjects, in the modern era, the system struggles to keep up with rapidly industrializing countries such as Windrose or Lancea. This has led to some humorous expressions of foreign tech, such as the empire maintaining only a single train line that runs across the entire country.

##### Regional Differences

While Raoji attempts to maintain a unified culture, many of the less politically minded gods have developed somewhat isolated regional cultures. The two most notable instances of this are the domains of the Dingo and Koala Gods. The Dingo domain is a desert, which automatically makes the infrastructure of the rest of the empire struggle to function within his domain. The domain of the Dingo mostly consists of families of hunters and warriors who dedicate themselves to charges and who fight for local political dominance. The domain of the Koala, on the other hand, borders the nation of Sagaris, and as such retains some elements of Sagarisan culture from the centuries before it became a dedicated part of a united Raoji.

#### Notable Raojians

* Sho
* Buru Okiyama
* Hideo Fumikaze
* Yoshihara no Junya
* Gaki Shinamonroru
* Setsuna
* Kaloe Tsubaki
* Yoshihara no Kazuya
* Noctua
* Kato
* Jyuji Nagoya
* Yoneda
* Saku