Arima Song-Ho

Arima Song-Ho (pronounced Song-Ho Arima in other cultures) was an Emperor of Hashin. He is known for his improvements to the city of Sokjin and reforming a lot of the agricultural sector, aiming to help the lives of the commoners.

## Early Life

### Childhood

Arima Song-Ho was born in the city of Sokjin in **546PR**. He was the third child and second son of eventual Emperor Se-Yoon. When his father did become Emperor in **554PR**, Song-Ho’s relationship with him became strained, only seeing his parent around once a week, sometimes stretching out to once a month.

Because of the lost connection with his mother, he became very close with his siblings, and took care of Chi-Ron, the final child and daughter of Se-Yoon and Hyebin, born in **550PR**. When he got a bit older he was able to make more public appearances, showing his inquisitive nature to the life of others. Most of his appearances were beside his sister, and second child, Tae-Ru and their mother.

In **557PR** one of his appearances had to be cut short when a horse became enraged and almost killed the young Prince. Fearing for the life of the children, Tae-Ru and Song-Ho were isolated in the palace, much to their disappointment.

### Teenage Years

In **560PR** he chose to go overseas and attend the Octavian Institute, getting him a good education. This annoyed his father, who wanted him to go to Hashin University, but the international experience was good for him and when he returned in **562PR** he was a very different and more caring person.

At 16 he became very focused on the agricultural sector of the nation, believing that there was always room for improvement. Using the finances of the royal family he surrounded himself with a lot of the farmers at the time and began gathering all the information and advice he could. When he had enough, he looked elsewhere to see what other nations were doing to help.

It is believed this was done with his sister Tae-Ru by his side but it’s not confirmed if she cared about this side of him.

## Reign

### Succession Crisis

In **565PR** Se-Yoon fell very ill and nearly died at different times. Fearing the worst, he began teaching his children everything he knew, helping them prepare for the coming years if he did die. In private, he picked Song-Ho as his heir, and spent more time teaching him than the others.

At the time Jung-Ho, the first child and son, was believed to have poisoned his father so was kept distant.

In **566PR** Se-Yoon would become ill again, this time from food poisoning after eating an undercooked chicken. During the night he would die in his sleep, leaving the nation without an Emperor. In secret the Royal Guards and advisors decided to hide the death, believing that a power vacuum may occur and damage the nation. Instead, they read the will in private and made plans accordingly.

In the will it named Song-Ho as heir. Fearing a civil war with Jung-Ho, the advisory council sent him away, still without the families knowledge, and he was eventually assassinated on his way to Gonarundu. Now that Jung-Ho was out of the way, they named Song-Ho as Emperor, crowning him before the end of the year.

### Early Reign

The title of Emperor was overwhelming for Song-Ho and he spent the first days isolated in his study, unable to comprehend the situation. In his journal he wrote that it was a mix of grief and stress that led him to this decision.

After he calmed down, he made his public announcements and gathered the support of the people. Fearing that the nation might be seen as a weak due to their young and inexperienced ruler, Song-Ho made sure to use the Hashin spy network to keep tabs on every major nation and their political movements.

In **567PR** he offered support to the Uhekian Council, who faced the mages in the Second Uhekian Mage War. As a show of help, he actually hindered a lot of Hosmer’s actions on the mainland, reducing the number of reinforcements he could get. Later in the same year he would visit the Nirvan Republic and their capital, Nirva, stating his interest in the tales of their war and their military heroes such as Vibius and Gaius Calenus.

In **572PR** his major and most notable act as Emperor happened. With enough research and education, he made many major agricultural reforms to the nation, increasing their productivity and the general happiness of the people. In order to make these reforms happen quickly he mobilised the army, using them as a labour force to help the farmers. This garnered him heavy criticism, but the overwhelming support of the commoners drowned out any doubts. These changes were much better than the ones made by Arima Itami back in the 520s, improving production immensely.

Most of the changes included a huge network of channels that could get water from the lakes and rivers nearby, or if needed a better way to use the rain that fell. This made most of the land fertile and was further helped when he introduced a donkey regime, giving donkeys or working animals to many of the desperate farmers.

### International Relations

When Adrian Solomon became divine in **582PR**, Song-Ho announced his acceptance of the Uhekian, improving relations drastically. This act would later help them make a good trade agreement in **584PR**, though it was mainly beneficial to the crown rather than the people. Still, he used most of the money he made to help the poor and host festivals for everyone to attend.

In **583PR** the War of Revenge began between Gonarundu and the Carto Empire against Ilaka. Since Ilaka was previously an ally of Hashin, a lot of attention was garnered to Arima Song-Ho about his choice of whether to enter the war or not. In the end he chose against it, sending officers to go and gain experience from the Gonarunduns and to help improve their relations.

At the same time, he decided to send his army North-West to quell many of the tribes and their hostilities towards Hashin. While he had the opportunity to conquer their lands, he chose to take slaves instead and give them to both the soldiers and the political allies.

The War of Revenge would later end in **586PR**, with both Hashin, the Nirvan Republic and the Aliquam Guild overseeing the treaty.

Problems would arise for Hashin and Song-Ho in **591PR** when a group of Nirvan Senators were found accepting money and bribes from Hashino spies. In order to save face, Song-Ho denied the claims and announced he would make his own investigation in the matter, extraditing one person over to the Nirvan Republic. Still, the matter would severely damage their relations and Song-Ho would be unable to repair them.

### Late Reign

In **600PR** Song-Ho began looking for a successor, realising that none of his children were up to the task. Over time searching and trialling he found two capable candidates, a young man named Jin-Woo and another named Airsue. He quickly took them under his wings and by **602PR** they were making public appearances.

Later, when his journals were discovered, Song-Ho toyed with the idea of giving them both the role of Emperor, making the leadership joint. However, he feared for the power that Jin-Woo was quickly accumulating, and believed that Airsue was the better candidate.

When issues arose with his children, Song-Ho was quick and decisive, exiling his own son Tae-Woo out of the nation after it was revealed he was gathering an army. Using his spy network and guards he was able to silently quell the uprising, and punished many of the supporting nobles.

In **603PR** he silently chose Airsue as his heir, but kept Jin-Woo in his roles just in case something happened, expecting to live for many years still.

## Death

After a night of drinking at one of his many festivals, Song-Ho returned back to Iwakita Palace complaining about a burning sensation in his chest. When the guards suggested he call the doctors or clerics, he declined, instead returning to his bed.

The next morning he was found dead, face down and butt naked on his bed.

### Succession

After the death was determined to be natural, the issue of the will arose. While Song-Ho had silently picked Airsue as his heir, many believed that the joint Emperorship was going to happen. Instead, when his will was read aloud, it was Airsue who was chosen, though Jin-Woo was allowed to keep his roles.

Behind closed doors, the two candidates worked out a deal and Airsue came out as Emperor, being crowned at a large ceremony only a week after the funeral of Song-Ho.

## Personal Life

Song-Ho was very close friends with his two sisters and his brother during his childhood and teenage years. However, as Jung-Ho grew angrier with their father, he was distanced by the rest of the children.

When she became of age, Chi-Ron became a scholar and moved to Ilaka, and then the Nirvan Republic after the War of Revenge. This left only Tae-Ru and Song-Ho, who still were very good friends. Not much has been written about Tae-Ru but in Song-Ho’s journal it wrote that she was partly the mastermind behind his famous reforms and it was her he trusted with overseeing the process. After that there was nothing written about her and she was not seen publicly again.

In **572PR** Song-Ho married Yoteme, a noblewoman and daughter of one of his political allies. The two fell in love quickly and the arranged marriage turned real when they remarried in a private ceremony in **573PR**. They would have only two children, a son named Tae-Woo in **575PR** and a daughter named Yi-Jin in **577PR**. They would try for a third but Yoteme ended up having a miscarriage and became too ill to try again.

While Song-Ho spent every chance he got with his children, Tae-Woo still resented him and became a troublemaker, believing he was the only heir to the throne. His antics ended up embarrassing Song-Ho on multiple occasions and he was forced to only put his son in minor public appearances, in which case he was still monitored. Yi-Jin was different and quickly became influential in the political sphere, knowing how to negotiate and convince others. Song-Ho wrote that if he had the choice, he would’ve chosen Yi-Jin as Empress.

In **602PR** Song-Ho was forced to exile Tae-Woo, and never spoke to his son again, though expressed deep shame and believed he did his son wrong and failed as a father.