Pju

**Pju** is a long country located at the southern part of Esami. It is located to the east of Prisapura, Vanga, and Kirticha; north of Chiangrai and Mohachoi; west of Sai La and Iozae; and south of Hmoong Av and Daizhou.

## Flag and symbols

Pju's flag is green with a white dash along its left. In the middle of its green space is a golden peacock.

Its symbol is the green peacock, known locally as the *daung*. White peacocks that went feral, originally gifts to Gauvajut and Vachelonian nobles and dukes, became the national birds of Bivos.

## History

Pju was founded as a league of city-states. After several successive animist dynasties, the peoples of Pju converted to Hinduism and Buddhism, but eventually Buddhism prevailed as it was considered less rigid.

In ancient times, its kings were allies to the Gauvajut Empire in the far east, who sent shipments of spices, exotic fruit, gryphons, and fountains of spinels. One shipment of peacocks ended up in Bivos, becoming the local tribes' national bird. It retained much of its advanced technology that it adopted from the Ecumene.

Like its ally Hmoong Av, Pju resisted various invaders and empires. One particular war by the Vozonid emperor Maudolinnir led to it and the faraway nation of Rukania working together to defeat the Vozonid invasion, leading to the end of the Vozonid campaign in Esami. By that time, Pju was strong enough to rival Iozae, even surpassing Iozae as the latter rebuilt from heavy bombardment during Maudolinnir's war.

At some point in the Green Years, the Pjuvians allowed Ontemazei refugees to move in. Many of them helped the kingdom as translators and diplomats to Vozonid nations.

## Geography

* Mjangne Mjo - the Red City, capital of Pju. It is named for its spinel fountains.
* Ajaw Rattha - a city at the mouth of the Malihnehka River
* Hinthada
* Pjawnen
* Ratkji
* Raktaburi - a large city at the middle of the kingdom. Home to the Kuthodaw Hpura, where eight hundred slabs of Buddhist scriptures were built around the temple. All of the slabs together are considered the "second-largest book on all of Jerde".

## Government

Pju is a constitutional monarchy ruled by the Min-king and managed by the Prime Minister.

## Military

Pju's military is known for its extensive fortifications and camoflage.

## Economy

The main industries in Pju include mining, manufacturing, fishing, hydroelectric power, and medicine.

## Culture

Much of the country is connected by a network of railroads and spaceports.

Pjuvian culture also practices a form of chivalry that was based on Buddhist dharma.

## Demographics

Most of the people in Pju belong to the Pjuvian ethnicity. Related peoples in Pju include the Khanei and Linnong peoples.

In the east, the Hlan people live there.

In the southeast, the Dwarowas people live there. They are related to the kingdom of Mohachoi to the east, and they are exceptionally-skilled architects and sculptors.

Pju is also one of several nations in the world where Ontemazei are tolerated, and later, Terrans who agreed to undergo penance. This was derived from its Buddhist chivalry, which encouraged defending the weak and stopping corruption.

## Religion

### Buddhism

The national religion of Pju is Buddhism, based on the Theravada standards. It is the basis of its own form of chivalry.

### Pjuvian pantheon

The wights of this land are known as *nat*. Thirty-seven *nat* are their kings and queens, and their lord is Thagyamin, also known as Indra. Among the thirty-three *nat* in Thagyamin's heavenly court include:

* Mahagiri, minister of Thagyamin and god of the smiths
* Thandawgan, god of medicine
* Shin Nyo and Shin Byu, twin gods of refinement and emotions. Shin Nyo rules the south and fire, while Shin Byu rules the north and rain and snow.
* Maung Po Tu, the guardian of traders and wealth who rides on a tiger
* Maung Minbyu, god of vengeance and war
* Mandalay Bodaw, god of education

### Dewa (Hindu deities)

* Paramithwa, Lord Shiva, the god of eternity and wisdom
* Sandi, Lady Parvati or Lady Kali, the endless goddess of justice and purification
* Maha Peinne, Lord Ganesha, the god of success and enlightenment
* Thukanda, Lord Murugan, the god of victory
* Byamma, Lord Brahma, the god of creation
* Thuyathadi, Lady Sarasvati, the goddess of wisdom
* Beikthano, Lord Vishnu, the god of preservation and salvation
* Ne Nat, Surya, the god of the sun
* Mi Nat, Agni, the god of fire

### Other nats

* Me Wunna, goddess of the forest
* U Shin Gyi, god of the sea and rivers
* Ponmagyi, goddess of rice and the harvest

Earth wights are known as bhummaso, tree wights are known as rokkaso, and sky wights are known as akathaso.

### Other faiths

Hinduism and the Vozonid faith are also practiced in Pju.

## Foreign relations

### Hmoong Av

This nation is often regarded as a "brotherly nation" due to their long history of cooperation.

### Vozolaz

Since ancient times, the spinels of Pju were venerated by the Gauvajuts as relics because they do not grow when exposed to mushrooms. This led to Pju and Rukania being venerated as holy lands to Vozonid civilisations.

### Rukania

There are four things that led to the unusual alliance between this country and the distant nation of Rukania: a heavy reliance on hydroelectric power, a code of chivalry, the abundant spinel deposits in both nations, and later the Ontemazei.

Ultimately, this unusual alliance began when Maudolinnir invaded Pju, when a Rukanian king personally intervened to help the Pjuvians, to mock the Vozonids for breaking various alliances across the world just to take over Jerde. It is sometimes known as "the spinel alliance" or "the Gods' bodyguards", to subvert the Vozonid depiction of them as "magical fairylands".

## Trivia

* "Pju" should be pronounced as "Pew".
* Pju was inspired by medieval Myanmar. Its name was based on the Pyu city-states of ancient Myanmar.
	+ Pju's role in turning back the invasions by Emperor Maudolinnir was somewhat influenced by the Battle of Bach Dang in Vietnam, and the Javanese victory over another Mongol invasion.
* In Pjuvian, "r" and "j" are always differentiated, somewhat like the Rakhine dialect in Myanmar. Unlike the Rakhine dialect of Burmese, "r" in Pjuvian is pronounced with a trill. However, after consonants like "m" it is pronounced like "y" (j), except in archaic or ceremonial speech.