Yulon

Yulon is an immense empire on the eastern side of Oridacia. It is situated mostly in a bountiful and fertile land protected by the mountains of Dragon's rest to the west and two great walls to its north and south. Yulon is the dominant political power in this region of the world and sees itself as such. The country is ruled by the jade Dragon Bozeymah'Yuvon, the brother of Sahrot'Dovah. Just like his brother he had the intention of ruling an empire, however in this case Bozeymah rules passively instead of actively as Sahrot'Dovah did with Calenor.

## History

Yulon has a long and mostly stable history. Civil wars have broken out and there have been times of warring states but none have been able to defy the Dragon emperor.

Over the millennia it has had to deal with many incursions by the Ippol hordes in the north and the Demonic monsters in the south.

## Rulership and court

While Bozeymah'Yuvon is the true ruler of the country and the undeniable existence at the top it is the great regent however that truly does the ruling. The great regent rules over the cabinet of three and the nine ministers. The cabinet of three consists out of the great general, the great chancellor and the great counselor. These are the leaders in regard to military, diplomacy and administration respectively. They are the highest authority excluding the great regent and the Dragon emperor.

Under the cabinet of three but not ruled by them are the nine ministers of the court. These are:

* The minister of ceremonies
* The minister of the household
* The minister of the guards
* The minister coachman
* The minister of justice
* The minister herald
* The minister of the Dragon sect
* The minister of finance
* The minister steward

The ministers answer directly to the great regent and most of them concern only the status of the royal palace. Much of the concerns of the empire as a whole will go to the cabinet of three and their subordinates.

## Martial arts

Martial arts play a large role in the society of Yulon. There are many different martial arts sects spread throughout the country and even the royal palace has a personal martial arts sect, the Dragon sect. Martial arts are manifestation of one's mana into different forms. Unlike magic, with martial arts it is often the position of the body and how the mana exactly flows inside it that empowers the effect of the martial art. However, like magic it is important that martial artists grow their inner mana pool to be able to use the techniques of their sect as many times as needed.

### Martial arts categories

There are 9 ways of martial arts in total with some ways having many different subcategories. These are:

1. The way of the blade
2. The way of the bow
3. The way of the five animals
4. The way of poison
5. The way of the hidden blade
6. The way of the five elements
7. The way of the heavenly Demon
8. The way of blood
9. The way of the enlightened

Martial arts are incredibly versatile and each type focuses on a different aspect of fighting and cultivating one's strength. There exists many different martial arts within these main categories and throughout the ages many experts have invented their own.

### Martial art sects

Martial artists get trained in martial art sects. Martial art sects are both schools and military organisations where one can hone their skill. These sects run on the sponsoring of wealthy families that are either looking for personal guards and soldiers or that are having their children taught in the sect. Sects in more remote places can also be self-sufficient or have it that every attending martial artist cares for their own needs. Then there are sects who sell their services like sects that specialize in information or assassinations. Lastly are the sects who act more like governers or rulers of an area, the people in those areas pay tribute to the sect in order to receive protection from outside forces.

The sects can largely by categorized in three distinct groups, order sects, chaos sects and the Demonic sect. Order sects stand up for the weak and care for discipline and good nature. Chaos sects care only about who's the strongest and all the others have to serve them. The Demonic sect is a special one since it is only one sect but it is the largest of all, they take more of a neutral approach and are almost like a religious cult which favour neither good nor evil.

### Conflict with the state

The Dragon court does not approve of most sects, as they do not recognize other military organisations other than the state. They however don't act against the sects and generally do not persecute anyone for practising martial arts at a sect that's not approved by the court. There have been cases where a sect has become so out of control and devastating that the Dragon armies have had to put it down.