Songbai

Songbai
Shokuro

(Nation)

Titles

Kingdom of Exiled Samurai

Alignment

Lawful neutral

Capital

Mukinami

Ruler

Shokuro Akatori

Government

Shogunate

Languages

Elven, Minkaian, Tien

Religions

Abadar, Daikitsu, General Susumu, Pharasma, Shizuru

Source: Dragon Empires Gazetteer, pg(s). 38 (1E)
Tian Xia World Guide, pg(s). 200–207 (2E)

The Successor State of Songbai (pronounced soong-bye), called Shokuro (pronounced shoh-ku-roh) from 7176 IC to 7217 IC, was once the breadbasket of Imperial Lung Wa but after the empire's demise, it fell to tyranny. Now it is ruled by Shokuro Akatori, an honourable samurai who rescued the former province from oppression.

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History

Qianlei

Under Lung Wa, the land that would become Songbai was until 6799 IC known as Qianlei, the "Thousand Tears" for its many rivers, and was frequently subject to massive floods that coated the region in sediment. These floods made the land extremely fertile but also made permanent settlements virtually impossible to sustain. Many Lung Wa philosophers claimed heaven had forbade the settling of Qianlei, but that did not dissuade Lung Wa emperors from attempting to exploit the land.

The first people to have any success working the land were the nomadic kitsune known to Lung Wa as huli jing, whose projects persisted while Lung Wa's were repeatedly washed away.

The records of Lung Wa's first successes in transforming the region are sparse and often legendary, but historians credit Duke Huang Liang as the luminary behind it. Quasi-legendary accounts state that he sought enlightenment atop the Eastern Mountains of Qianlei after an encounter with a kirin that he interpreted as a celestial mandate to quell the floods. In truth, Lung Wa developed innovations in irrigation that allowed it to transform and cultivate Qianlei into the gold-green land of Songbai. The huli jing were subsequently displaced by the human settlements and their transformation of the land.

Songbai

The fertile and newly workable land of Songbai became the empire's breadbasket, and its people suffered terribly for it, being forced to work day and night to keep the food flowing. After the empire's collapse in 7106 IC, the leaders of its four provinces fought amongst each other for supremacy, until the land's once fertile fields were destroyed.

In its weakened state, the people of Songbai could not properly defend themselves when Lingshenese armies invaded soon thereafter. The victors forced the people back into the fields, inflicting terrible cruelties upon them to keep them in line. Lingshen subjected the peasants of Songbai to forced labor and violently suppressed dissidents, even eradicating entire bloodlines to punish active resistance. Despite this, rebellions persisted.

The tide changed in the rebellion's favor when Shokuro Akatori, a banished Minkan samurai, wandered into Songbai and joined the rebellion in 7176 IC. He negotiated an alliance with the neighboring nations of Amanandar and Jinin. The coalition of local rebels, samurai followers of Akatori, and troops from Amanandar and Jinin managed a costly but decisive victory against Lingshen in the Lingshen War. Akatori established the new government, the Shokuro Shogunate.

Shokuro

The rebuilding of the land, now renamed Shokuro, was marked by Akatori's careful navigation of local traditions and the various cultures in addition to its military expansion. What was once a mostly culturally homogenous Tian-Shu nation now had a Tian-Min ruling class. Akatori reassured the Tian-Shu citizens that the Tian-Min samurai warrior-scholars would not be unfairly privileged. Akatori brokered financial support from the four Tian-Shu provincial lords of Songbai, the Four Notables, who also helped in Tian-Shu cultural matters. However, tensions continued to simmer between the Four Notables and the Shogunate.

Samurai migration to Songbai greatly increased after the Ondori Reformation in Minkai, which followed the deposition of the Jade Regent and ascension of Amatatsu Ameiko to the Jade Throne in 7211 IC. Much of the samurai class was directly defranchised by Amatatsu's reforms, and these wealthy, skilled, conservative, and militaristic migrants easily gained influence in the Shogunate, much to the worry of anti-militarists as well as Tian-Shu in Shokuro.

In 7217 IC, Shokuro restored its name to Songbai. Songbai prospered in its period of peace, but as of 7224 IC there were signs that the peace would soon be tested. Akatori's health is in decline, and his focus on statecraft left him to marry late in life; his only heir is a toddler. Provincial lords are preparing for a possible war by raising taxes to fund armies, peasants are considering a rebellion in response, and there have been reports of kirin sightings.

Geography

Songbai is still most famous for the fertility of its lands. While it is no longer the breadbasket for fallen Lung Wa, it still provides food for much of Tian Xia, particularly neighbouring Lingshen.

Songbai is located near the heart of Tian Xia. Across the Wailing River to its south, it is bordered by its much larger, militarily superior neighbour Lingshen, while to its north across the Silkstring River are the elven nation of Jinin and the newly independent kingdom of Linvarre, formerly the Taldan colony of Amanandar. To its east are the haunted peaks of the Gossamer Mountains that mark its border with Shenmen, while to its west is the shallow Sea of Eels, which serves as the primary trade route over which Songbai's agricultural bounty flows out to the rest of the continent.

Government

As of 4724 AR, Songbai is still ruled by the man who founded it, Shokuro Akatori. Akatori not only liberated the land but has also proven to be a tactical genius with a brilliant eye for defence, which has so far kept the neighbouring military kingdom of Lingshen at bay.

Shokuro Akatori is supported by the Four Notables, a group of four families who formerly ruled the provinces of Songbai. They help Akatori rule from the capital of Mukinami but they still sometimes struggle to put aside their former rivalries.

Songbai is a fledgling nation still struggling with external threats, and much of its military strength is expended protecting its borders. In the rural heartlands, far from the bustling cities, many smaller villages have remained dangerously undefended.

Inhabitants

Songbai's majority ethnic groups are Tian-Shu and Tian-Min humans. Prominent minority groups include the indigenous kitsune known as huli jing, Linvarrans and Jininese elves from the Lingshen War, and mixed-ethnicity humans of Tian-Min and Tian-Shu descent known as Qiaos. Tengu, nagaji, and yaoguai also live in Songbai.

References

For additional as-yet unincorporated sources about this subject, see the Meta page.