Yamiyo

## Information

 Yamiyō is the name for the Eastern most continent and nation of Yoma, one that is mostly covered by the Yomi Spirit Glow Forest. This is one of the more hospitable areas in all of Yoma with some of the largest cities which are not constantly under assault by the Monsters.

 The continent itself was created by the Far East Asian gods and nations, this is reflected mostly through the art, architecture, and culture. This is to be noted that was created and shared by the Shinto, Tao, and Shen gods, though because of the cultural splits, it is divided mostly by the Asian Island nations that were melded into a whole culture due to proximity and similarity in the time periods. This allowed for most of the far eastern gods to stay in consort with one another and share their power and thus made it easier for their lands to be melded into one semi conglomerate on the lands which helped to keep their power in worship. This also meant that they shared the responsibility and powers over their people though it is often

 Many of the East Asian gods actually live among and share their lives with the people of this nation. This is because they were some of the few pantheons who wished to act and live among their people, to be a force in everything from their gardens to helping them gain knowledge. As such the temples for these gods are often in the middle of the city so the gods and goddesses can interact with the people. This also means that the people will often visit the temples for a quick daily prayer as well as whatever rituals the family may have in the homestead. It is also not uncommon that young students will come to study at some of the temples, some families even encouraging their children to learn magic trades and skills from the gods who teach them.

 Of course the gods of all pantheons do not dare to enter into the Spirits Glow Forest, this is because of the taint of black and wild magic from Yomi spilling into the forest. Most of the creatures that live within the Depths are so formidable that they can stand against even the strongest of the war gods. These areas are often left alone, but some of the older gods are known to keep their temples near the edges of the portals to Yomi, though no one knows why they would do such a thing.

## Leadership

Almost the entire nation falls in line with the will of their Emperor, who rules over both this land and Japan on Earth. This is because while portions of the people from Earth nations such as China or Taiwan ended up on Yamiyō, most of them ended up living on Xeropyrs Eastern eastern lands and shore which kept a massive portion of the Far Eastern lands taken. This means that while some of the Shen and Tao deities have power, the majority of people and land fell upon the Japanese people and the Shinto pantheon. This left the natural leadership to shift towards the Emperor, who is a descendant of Amaterasu and placed in power by her.

While each of the individual cities have their own say in ruling and ruling bodies, they ultimately answer to the emperor. This is not the case in the Infinite City and Kabe, which are not associated with the Gods, but instead are man-made cities to avoid the rule of any kingdom or power.

## Locations

### Yomi

The original heart of darkness itself this is one of the remaining parts of Chaos's body after she was broken apart by her children. This place could be considered her Heart and was responsible for the creation of differentiating life and death itself. This made it the predominant step between life and death, as when all living creatures die they pass through Yomi before they die. More over this place became a physical area which was built up from the darkness and spilled free the remaining spiritual energy of Chaos which fed into the Spirit Glow Forest and gave it it's power.

The area itself seems to keep the recorded information left behind by Izanami and it even contains information relating to the Elder Gods left behind by three of the children of the Old Gods, Amenominakanushi, Takamimusubi, and Kamimusubi, who were responsible for bringing about Izanami and Izanagi. This area was also the area which cursed Izanami with the burden of becoming a being of both life and death, making her the being which is commonly seen in Shinto.

### Kakiro

One of the more modern of the cities, it was a part of the Yamiyo expansion plan that began in the 1900's by which inhabitable lands would be transformed into houses and farmland so that the population of the nation could expand and new lands could be used to help the people prosper. While a good few sections were deemed unable to be used, life found away with different industries and styles of living coming together in the open coastal region. Known as a cradle of life, it is one of the few locations with a direct connection to one of the mainland continents making it one of the most important cities.

Readings

### Fune-de

Split off from the mainland is small island to the North, on its banks people make their homes under the shadow of the great Ishihaka mountain. Here fishers and artisans live closer to nature, living off the land with the aide of the Iwahana clan who live as one family, guarding the mountain and the secrets it holds.

Readings

### Kabe

Known as the Free Guild City, Kabe is located near the edge of Yamiyo, close to the sea and protected by the massive mountain sea wall off to the Western half of Yoma. Constructed out of sand dunes, barges, islands, and tamed coral reefs, it is a place where no nation holds sway. Not even the Council dares to touch them as they are protected by their Don. Here people of like mind and interest gather to try and make their dreams reality by forming Guilds and earning passes to do business across the world.

Readings

### Kyoto 60's

The ideal country living for those living on Yamiyo, much like the real Kyoto, this city was made with classic architecture and housing in mind. A small, traditionalist city out on the edge of the Spirit Glow Forest where most people farm and trade with people from other cities for their lively hood. They rest protected by the Blood Cherry Tree and the Kazahana who watch over them from the mountain above.

Readings

## Religions

In Yamiyō there are three major religions, those being Shinto, Tao, and Vadarism. The Shinto and Tao were part of the pantheon that helped to bring Yamiyō into being, as such their pantheon has some of the most power out of the other religions when it came to the people who live on the nation. Vadarism did not come into being until after Yoma was later formed, thanks to the study of other realities, more specifically the reality in which the Old God Lilinth who control dreams resides. It was then Vadarism, the worship and practices of Lilinth started. This quickly spread out to other nations, some of whom already had begun religions not just based around the Pantheons but of the Old Gods who still existed.

As a note the other principle religion of Shen is still seen in Yamiyō but it is not a driving religion as most of the people who practice and follow the ways of Shen live in Xeropyrs in and around Shambala. It makes it a religious minority when it comes to the small nation, yet it has enough power that some of the pantheon can still be seen as influences to the people.

## History

While one of the lands which was born during the creation of Yoma, the nation wouldn't actually become inhabited until 710 during the end of the Asuka period. This was in reaction to the Buddhist religion coming to Japan, which caused a rift between those who still truly gave belief and power to the Shinto pantheon and those who started to find their own heavenly path through the Buddha. The people who still had the blood of the Shinto gods or who acted as their servants and vassals were brought to the city known as Takama-ga-Hara, the city where the Gods of the pantheon resided on Yoma. This massive city was one of the only inhabited areas for much of the nations history as the Spirits Glow Forest, nearby lake, and large mountain gave the people all that they would need considering the size.

There would not be a secondary expansion of people or land until the Sengoku period where the Kami decided to spare people from the wars as well as bring in warriors to help protect the lands, thus the secondary expansion was brought about. Land beyond the mountains was settled as well as land past the lakes. This was the foundation of Kyoto 60's and Kakiro, though there were still minor skirmishes between the two newly formed nations in the forest area, considering many of the people who were brought over were from rivaling clans, though this was soon ended.

After that the final expansion of land came during the Meiji period, the last time the Gods actively brought people into Yoma to fill the nation. This created the expansion to two more cities, one past Kyoto 60's and one to a mountainous island near Takama-ga-Hara. For the most part they did fine, creating the cities of Shinrin Koumyaku and Fune De; they even managed to exist in and around the gates to Yomi much in the way that Kyoto 60's had managed to. There were however issues as Shinrin was in a massive wooded area that was polluted with the energy and Mana from Yomi, causing the already supernatural plants and animals around them to mutate and go wild. The city was destroyed as well as a few outlying towns, with the bridges and paths into the submerged forest being destroyed to keep the blight from spreading.

Some time during the 1960's, Prince Vande came from Brudenheim and settled the island chain past Kyoto 60's thus settling the Guild City of Kabe. This move was not considered aggression from the nation as he had abandoned his title and of course the islands were not inhabited, leaving the prince to slay the monsters and beasts who inhabited the area on his own in order to make the land habitable. It was around the same time pirates came to Kabe, not to help settle the land or create a guild but instead to get in through the new city and enter into Butchers Bay, a new pirate haven located within the Maw, which protected Kabe.

The last great land expansion, known as one of the greatest failures came in the 1990's when Minda Ando settled the flat lands across from Kyoto 60's much in the same way the prince of her nation had long before her. This is what created the Infinite city, it's own independent city state. This lasted until the War of Extermination reached it's end when Prince Halwin created a small war between the Infinite City and Kyoto 60's which ended in the Infinity City being burned to the ground.