Mai

The land of Mai on the continent of Zenith (Heylel). It has been a theocratic satrapy of the empire ruled by women of the Madomura clan since the 10th century, putting an end to over a century of lawlessness and tyranny.

History

The Mai domain was first awarded the protectorate as one of the founding members of the federalist satrap system in the Second Latitude of 242. Its ruling family was the Aimura clan who had royal status conferred retroactively by Geral Abad in 404. They subsequently founded a number of branch families and married into the imperial order several more times. Devoutly Reiwan, the Aimura contributed to the faith throughout the golden age of the empire and its branch families held positions as imperial astrologers and almanac keepers despite occasional opposition from the Arete Draconics. Their fortunes turned during the reign of Shima; one of her final acts were to retract the royal status of the branch families and assassinating the main. Soon afterwards, the Aimura main line died out and the domain fell into the hands of incompetent and corrupt officials appointed by the imperial court.

Finally, in the mid 10th century, Mikohime was martyred. Following this, mobs rose up and deposed corrupt officials and Empyrean heretics. The trade in deleterous drugs was ended.

Military

Madomura Household Guard
Shinto Samurai trained to fight Angels but more frequently employed in the Hexagon.

Izayoi Ninja Clan
A secret force that foiled the second Shogunate and retained to this day, in secret.

Madomura Mithril Retainers
Elite warriors who would be samurai were they able to bond with the spirits. They give up their souls to be bound into giant suits of armour.

Armed Shrine Maidens

Artills Regiment
A new type of commoners based mass army built up over the past five years. Designated for the Artills Arsenal where copies of Rafaelan pattern bolt-action rifles have been produced recently.

Characters

Madomura Marieimu
The present head of the Madomura house and one of the empire's most renowned archmagi. Rumoured to be insane and very rarely shows up.

Madomura Madoemi
The de facto head of house. A rampant, cruel and willful princess. Has a samurai bodyguard and maybe one of the Parasellius maidens too!

Madomura Matoin
Might actually be a proper person!

Uihara Hiromitsu
Returned Ronin General.

Reiwan

Reiwan is one of the major religions of the Zenith Empire and by far the dominant one in the Mai domain. It is an animistic faith holding all aspects of the universe, from the grand orbits of celestial bodies to the minute operations of clockwork, accountable to a nigh immeasurable pantheon of spirits. Practicing Reiwan means to respect, thank and assist these spirits so that they properly conduct their affairs, promoting the proper functioning of the cosmic order. Its clerics, the shrine maidens, act as intermediaries between the divine and profane, observing and promulgating a vast set of spiritual practices ranging from minor daily rituals to arcane ceremonies and public festivals of considerable scope and scale. Included among these are rituals meant to obtain sorcerous effect. Reiwan is a major source of magical training throughout the empire and served the imperial court and its satraps as astrologers and time keepers.

History

Reiwan coalesced from the various shamanistic traditions of the empire's numerous founding cultures after the Four Great Dragons' ascension from Arth and celebrated the role of the great elemental spirits, the Primals, in resisting the attack of the Angels. The earliest shrines were dedicated to the empire's greatest defenders and built to direct geomantic and spiritual power towards defensive purposes. Forming alongside or splitting off from direct dragon worship (theologians differ), Reiwan was always less about personality cults or the individual power of the august and more about defending and fulfilling the needs of the whole. Early shrine maidens saw their worship as contributions to the defense of the empire, pioneering both the Path of Service and the Wellspring Way philosophies.

As immediate threat of invasion subsided, Reiwan expanded its purview from military purposes to civil infrastructure. The empire's rapid expansion across the Zenith continent demanded accelerated recovery of the hinterlands, especially in the regrowth of forests and the taming of land and water for use by disparate races with different needs. Great shrines from the Expansion era, among the oldest and largest still extant, are built on powerful geomantic convergences and direct this energy to influence everything from local water supplies to the fertility of nearby populations. Reiwan proved especially popular in the provinces as a result, receiving respect from the peasantry and generous patronage from satraps and landholders for the prosperity they brought.

Once coverage over the empire's hinterlands by great rural shrines was largely complete, attention turned to the construction of smaller urban and suburban shrines dedicated to spirits of arts or trades. These facilities were more modest in size but became more lavish as the local economy prospered. Reiwan hit a brief golden age in the late third and early fourth century before decidedly falling out of favor with the imperial court during the long reign of Kaveh. In some provinces, most of these newer shrines soon fell out of use, with the religion gaining little mindshare amongst town and city dwellers. Elsewhere, Reiwan flourished, continuing to expand in scope and gradually integrating spirits related to every conceivable situation or aspect of life. In these decisively Reiwan provinces, shrines and shrine maidens are ubiquitous in populated areas.

The fortunes of Reiwan hit a low point during the reign of Shima and many other eighth and ninth century Emperors but turned around in the 10th century with the martyrdom of Mikohime. Following this, mobs rose up and deposed corrupt officials and Empyrean heretics. The trade in deleterous drugs was ended.

Shrines

Aside from festivals, most core ceremonies are conducted at shrines ranging in size from tiny roadside eaves to massive walled complexes of interconnected prayer halls, sub-shrines, pagodas and reliquaries. While all shrines are built with the presumption that even great divinities can portion and inhabit a proxy object or location, some facilities are constructed to encompass entire geomantic formations and thus cover considerable acreage.

Types

Meridian Style

The oldest grand shrines of Reiwan were built to honor the Four Great Dragons, Azurdeena (posthumously), Atma, and the other Primals who directly battled the Angels in defense of the empire. These early sites predate the present day styles of Reiwan religious architecture, resembling palace architecture popular in the former capitol. They were large, ostentatious structures built largely of stone, often with significant underground portions and exacting specifications in architectural workmanship and astrological significance. Following the reign of Azurdeena each Zenith Emperor or Empress has, as a matter of tradition, commissioned or had posthumously commissioned in their name, a shrine dedicated to their spirit. These are known as the Imperial Personage Shrines and were once located east of Meridian. Many satraps followed suit in this tradition in the capitols of their own domains and often retained Meridian style architecture for this purpose. These consist of most of the Meridian style "temple-like" shrines still extant after the destruction of the imperial capitol. Despite the grandeur of some of these shrines, they are not tombs and do not inter remains. The spirit proxies held within are usually personal relics from the ruler's life.

• Four Dragons Grand Shrine, Meridian (destroyed)

The oldest Reiwan shrine in the empire.

• Great Imperial Shrine, Meridian (destroyed)

Shrine of the personal spirit of Azurdeena as well as the imperial institution as a whole.

• Atma Grand Shrine, Meridian (destroyed)

Shrine to Atma, the greatest of all the divinities of Arth and the spirit manifestation of the ultimate.

Expansion Style

This style dates from the Expansion era when many shrines were constructed on geomantic convergences both as a place of religious study and a public work directing spiritual magic to influence everything from harvest to weather. Expansion shrines are among the largest of shrines but can be remarkably remote due to their location requirements. Many subsequently had towns grow up around them and/or have taken on tertiary purposes as government buildings, commandery barracks or simply as a central place to house numerous subordinate shrines. They are traditionally built using relatively basic methods and with whatever materials are locally available, emphasizing geomantic and orientational rather than architectural precision. This is due to historically being built on limited resources in freshly settled areas. For the same reason, large timbers requiring large individual trees are avoided as these were rare after the Cataclysm. Local geography might be incorporated into the structure and most are fortified to some degree against bandit attack. Very few new Expansion style shrines have been built in the past seven hundred years but existing ones throughout the empire are continually maintained and tithed, by local peasants if nobody else will step up.

• Grand Shrine of Damara

The earliest shrine dedicated entirely to fertility.

• Kirisame Grand Shrine, Mai

One of the most important shrines in the empire. A center for magical training.

Modern Style

The Modern style is the archetypical Reiwan shrine. They have evolved over time to become largely wooden constructions with heavy elaboration and decoration, including large timbers as a sign of status. Although some of the most imposing complexes rival the Expansion type shrines in size, most are considerably smaller. Their distribution across the empire is uneven. Some areas may only have a few shrines to very general principles, well-wishes or aspects of great local importance. In other areas, shrines may be ubiquitous and enshrine spirits with very specific purviews.

There is also a Transitional style. These are among the oldest urban shrines established in the period between 270 – 400 or so. They are typically modest in size, less imposing than more modern shrines, display relatively greater regional differences in construction and use less wood.

• Mikohime Shrine, Mai

A place enshrining the personal spirit of Mikohime. It has come to represent the struggle against the Empyreans.

Cathedral Style

Although the Reiwan establishment has been active in resisting the intrusion of Empyreanism for half a millennium, it has been less unwelcoming to the Jibrilite cathedral architectures transmitted to the continent over the centuries. This style of construction has found different levels of traction in different territories. Shrines built in this way remain heavily in the minority, though even notoriously conservative Mai domain has a few of significance. They tend to be mostly stone, with heavy use of ornamentation and statuary – especially of human figures which are generally avoided in most other shrines.

• Tenebrous Arcada, Nori

Reiwan arm of the White Tower.

Shrine Maidens

Shrine maidens are the universally female clerics of Reiwan. Their fundamental purpose is to act as intermediaries with the spirit realm – a formalized order of shamans tracing roots to the disparate spiritualistic practices of Zenith's many races and cultures. Depending on time and place, a shrine maiden may be expected to fill any or all the traditional duties of witch, shaman, wisewoman, healer, oracle, priestess or master of ceremonies.

Although itinerant shrine maidens exist, most are attached to a specific shrine and wear an outfit prescribed by place, rank and occasion. The archetypical miko's habit for normal occasions is predominantly two colours, typically a red skirt over white jacket with prominent sleeves, possibly with a wide sash around the waist and some regional variation. Festival or ritual garb can be significantly more elaborate. In general, bold colours, including black, are favoured, with red and white being the most common. Less contrasting shades like pastels, grays and earth tones are avoided. Most try to deviate one way or another from local norms and some shrines change designs regularly in order to maintain the spirits' interest.

While Reiwan is populist in that members of the public are called to donate, sacrifice or participate in festivals, there is no concept of universal priesthood. A shrine's maidens are its ordained priestesses and the role of shamaness is not easily played by just anyone. The vast majority of important religious positions are passed strictly within families and clans or from teacher to long term student. In addition to ordinary clerics, some shrine maidens have a primarily militant function. These armed shrine maidens were originally retained by large shrines or sects to deter bandits, raiders or other criminals but their mission has since expanded to realm defense and the extermination of heresy.

Rituals

Shrine maidens are strongly associated with the practice of magic. However, only a subset of shrine maidens are practical magicians and among these, many are trained as specialists and have only basic qualification outside their purview. A shrine maiden from a shrine dedicated to forestry, for example, likely specializes in dealing with forest spirits. Others still may specialize in the ebb and flow of water, healing or summoning the dead.

The process begins with dance, song, or some other traditional method of attracting spiritual attention and then some action that aids the spirit in his/her/its duty and/or some appeal for assistance. The emphasis is on objects, emblems, physical and artistic rituals, or representations such as music, dance or fetishes. Although dogmatically a matter of secondary importance, offerings remain indispensible and even sacrifice plays a part in a few situations. Actual human sacrifices have been unheard of in the past few centuries with a ritual representation now being performed instead. A shrine maiden versed in invokation may summon or interact with spirits who may be asked to do any number of things or lend their powers temporarily to mortals. The performance of this archtypical Reiwan magic is just that – a performance. Spirits and divinities are difficult to understand at the best of times but they must nevertheless be attracted and their attention maintained. Grace, elegance, flawless execution, etiquette, cool-headedness, as well as physical beauty (which can occasionally differ from the human definition) are important attributes. Literacy, on the other hand, is not. Although books and scrolls are certainly powerful learning aids, aside from a few specialist branches like astrology that require a command of mathematics, even the most powerful Reiwan sorcery can be performed without the written word.

Kagura

Kagura is the martial art of the shrine maidens deriving from the various sacred dance traditions of Reiwan. As shrines increasingly became attractive targets for outlaws and robber barons, shrine maidens developed their dances into an unarmed combat art. It is most similar to Capoeira or Taekwando with a heavy emphasis on kicks and acrobatics. While there are a few full body grappling techniques, it is largely a hard martial art. Kagura also makes a good focus for spirit magic such as directly attacking enemies in the umbra.

Among the most famous of these was the Mortality's Shadow Divine Skill, a secret technique unique to Madomura Marieimu. On one of her rare emergences from seclusion (and madness, some say) she was convinced to demonstrate the technique briefly before a martial arts convention. ZYZ, a member of the Thousand Coils was present at the time. The only lamia present, it was perhaps due to her race and physical inability to practice Kagura that gave insight to the truth - that what the archmage was demonstrating was not a striking technique as everyone assumed, but a state of mind.