The Dawnerland Empire

The Eternal Empire of the Dawnerlands, more colloquially known as the Dawnerland Empire, is a nation in the world of *All My Wicked Nephews Crave the Throne*. It's western border is shared with the League of the Palisades.

The Empire is the largest known political entity in the world and could likely expand and conquer all other known nations. However, the Empire has shown no recent interest in expanding, and its citizens are considered fairly calm and extremely spiritual. The Dawnerland people have their own language that few foreigners can speak due to its difficulty to both learn and pronounce. Many families in the Empire have a Sacred House Animal that they feel a kinship with and believe they will reincarnate into after death.

## Geography

Little is known about the specific geography, landscape, and climate of the Dawnerlands. What is known is that the center of the Empire mostly contains mountainous jungles, while the coasts are flatter and less dense with foliage. The climate is fairly tropical and humid, and monsoons are not uncommon.

The capital city of the Empire is located in the eastern half of the nation, and no known foreigner has ever visited it. Most foreigners, including ambassadors, are permitted to stay in a very impressive city in the western half of the Empire whose name roughly translates to "Western Capital."

## Government

The Dawnerland Empire is an imperial theocracy.

### The Emperor/Empress

The Emperor/Empress wields the highest authority and power in the Dawnerland Empire and is believed by the Dawnerland people to be god reincarnated over and over again. As such, the Emperor/Empress does not have a name and is referred to only by their title. When the previous leader dies, the Diet of Clouds finds a baby born with various fortunate and spiritual bearings and names it to be the new Emperor/Empress. The Diet then ensures that the new ruler is given the best of everything, most notably education, until they are old enough to rule. Due to this kind of ruler selection and upbringing, Emperors/Empresses are usually indoctrinated by the Diet to do as they wish/what is best for the Empire. However, once the Emperor/Empress officially takes power, their word is absolute, and the Diet cannot and will not question them.

### The Diet of Clouds

The Diet of Clouds is a collection of men and women who act as the main advisory council to the Emperor/Empress, as well as being the group that selects their successor/reincarnation. The Diet is known to be quite large, somewhere between 300 and 500 people, although the exact number of members is unknown, and the positions are highly coveted and heavily guarded. The Diet selects its own new members following the death or (typically forced) retirement of a previous member. While the specific requirements to be selected are unknown, it has been noted that all Diet members were over the age of thirty, had no children, were extremely pious, and had exceptional physical and mental capabilities when they were selected to join the Diet. Status has no bearing in the selection of Diet members, and the group maintains members from all social classes.

The Diet is self-regulating and is an extremely traditional group; members who attempt to push for more modern ideas without doing so subtly are typically silenced or forced into early retirement. Retired Diet of Clouds members live out their days in a great mansion in the Imperial City best translated as "The House of Rains" where they are waited on hand and foot and occasionally approached by the official Diet for advice.

Typically, one member of the Diet stays in the "Western Capital" to act as a kind of envoy that meets ambassadors from other nations.

## Religion

The Dawnerland Empire, as a political entity, is very religious and spiritual, as are its citizens. They believe their Emperor/Empress to be the repeating reincarnation of god and view themselves as extensions and instruments of his/her will. They also believe in reincarnation, specifically into the Sacred Animals of their individual houses. Prayers are conducted every morning and evening with family members, friends, and traveling companions. These prayers are done while facing towards the throne of the Emperor/Empress and the holy capital city of the Empire.

## Foreign Relations

In general, the Dawnerland Empire is fairly isolationist and has the same foreign policy with all of the other known nations of the world. As the largest known political entity, the Empire is looked upon with caution by United Merion, the League of the Palisades, and Barande, and relations between the Empire and those nations are minimal and uneventful in nature. Due to their shared border, the Empire and the League of the Palisades are relatively closer diplomatically, especially with the spreading of Dawnerland culture into the eastern duchies of the League, but the relationship cannot be called a warm or friendly. Additionally, Dawnerland maps label the entire western part of the continent as "Dark Swamp." While it is likely that they have detailed geographical information of the regions to their west, many believe the name to be either the result of a mistranslation, or a simple lack of care on the part of the Dawnerland Empire.

## Trivia

* The current Empress of the Dawnerland Empire is nineteen years old.
* The Dawnerland Empire is the most populous nation in the known world, accounting for more than 50% of the continent's population.
* The Dawnerland people are known to love theater and put on exceptional productions.
* While soldiers of the Empire can and will use any weapon available to them, they have a fondness for battle axes, and the Empire produces some of the best archers in the known world. However, they are fairly unskilled with horses and tend to not use them in any kind of military fashion. There are rumors that their elite soldiers ride rhinos into battle instead, but this is unconfirmed.
* The Diet of Clouds keeps a free-roaming menagerie of animals on their premises that they have deemed are the reincarnated versions of their departed fellows, though only so long as the lifetime of that animal.They are not above (half-jokingly) asking these animals for advice.