Zhenhun
Zhenhun, along with Bezinca, is known as the Shattered Lands, so named for the damage the provinces suffered during the Sundering. Where the bedrock of Bezinca was splintered into dozens of land islands, riven by great canyons and dominated by living mountains, the lands of Zhenhun were forcibly thrust into the air. Hanging high above pockmarked earth, the Tranquil Land's floating isles have given rise to a spiritual and secluded people. As befits those who first discovered Qintessence, the people of Zhenhun are among the most martially-inclined in the nation, with combat sports upon the sky-high precipices being a universal daily routine. Despite this, the province takes no sides in the cultural-religious war between the Hands and the Order of the 12-Hued Star. Here, martial artistry is an artform like any other and Wesri and Palletia are held in equal esteem.
At the center of Zhenhun rests the highest earthbound peak in the province: the Zhen'san. Built atop the summit is the Imperial Manse, orbited by sky-bound archipelagos, their trajectories dictated by the will of the Herald and their legion of Webweavers within. Upon the smallest, innermost islands are the manors of the Seulyeon, children of the Herald or those who have earned such exalted status in the Herald's eyes, kept close at hand for rewards and control. These Seulyeon are granted land and authority over large swathes of the inner and outer rings (ostensibly) to keep the peace and enforce order upon the floating isles. In reality, however, bickering, politicking, and public, nonlethal duels between the Seulyeon for status, resources, and the Herald's favor is the rule rather than the exception.
Further out are honored public spaces; combat arenas, temples dedicated to Wesrino's patron goddesses, and combat schools where applicants may be taught in any number of martial arts. The most promising students may even be taught to harness Qintessence, a power that allows for truly incredible feats of prowess. Believed to be a gift from Wesri upon all the warriors of the world, this force can be harnessed by those willing to hone their bodies and spirit to do so, and there is no better place in all the world to develop ones' understanding of Qintessence than Zhenhun's prestigious combat academies.
Beyond these gathering places are larger residential and agricultural islands, organized into communities and plantations, overseen by either a Seulyeon directly or a minor noble from the Seulyeon's court. Unlike the more affluent members of the Inner Ring who are usually ferried around by a Webweaver, the Outer Ring is connected by a labyrinthine system of wooden bridges and floating rock paths. It is here that most of those who seek to make a peaceful living live, leading to an above average presence of Palletia's cult. At the outer reaches of the province lie the treacherous Mountains of Haima, a massive mountain range than encircles most of the province. The Windrunners are familiar with these sacred peaks, hunting massive flying beasts that could otherwise threaten the outer ring. In the shadows of these mountains live those who have been spurned by the Herald's grace; criminals and those without the means to live closer to the Imperial Manse are left largely unsupported to eke out a living in these forgotten valleys.
In these dark vales, those who will not be accepted into or refuse to integrate with the people of the floating islands above find something approximating shelter. Rickety shacks and expansive caves provide shelter for the poorest and weakest amongst them, with would-be warlords building gang-like armies with which to gather power and influence. Even they are not safe, however; the Herald keeps a very close eye on these petty rulers, spreading dissent among any factions getting uncomfortably powerful with their network of spies and assassinating any individuals too ambitious or clever for their own good. The only place of relative stability in the Shadows of Haima is the city of Qiaobijin, the largest settlement in Zhenhun below the islands. As the only inhabitable neutral ground in the Haiman valleys, Qiaobijin plays host to every sort of person from nearly every place in the world; for the exiled, the unscrupulous, and the nonhumans that fail to impress the Herald, it may be the only place to make a life for themselves in the whole province.
Culture
People from Zhenhun are often perceived as infallibly polite and courteous, rarely passing judgement or making rude remarks about others. In truth, they are simply playing a game of social dynamics, one not entirely dissimilar to that of provinces. The core difference is simply that all openly insulting and mistreating one's rivals is seen as reflecting poorly on both parties. Hospitality and propriety are sacred and those who can remain aloof and gracious despite the circumstances are held in highest esteem. However, this doesn't mean that they do not jockey for status as anybody else. As all power in the province stems from the Herald's approval of ones conduct, the art of giving subtle backhanded compliments and double-edged gifts has been elevated to a field of study. Meetings in the presence of authority figures, from noble courts to family dinners, are often viciously tense despite their trappings of propriety, each subordinate seeking to undermine one another while improving their own image in the eyes of their superiors.
This fierce competition for status has lent itself towards a rigidly defined social hierarchy based upon principles of implicit respect and authority. This hierarchy mirrors the province's governmental organization, for all power in the province is sourced from the Herald's respect: At the bottom are those who have been resigned to the Shadows of Haima, for they are spurned by the Herald themself and are damned for it. Above these untouchables are menial laborers and the children of such who, themselves, are superseded by local administrators of a given island, usually appointed by a Seulyeon or (more rarely) the Herald themself. Even the children of these magistrates are implicitly deferred to over a common worker. These lower magistrates are expected to report the administrators of their island cluster. Sometimes these greater magistrates will be blessed with oversight of an island holding an important structure such as a major temple or combat school, a sign of even greater favor.
Well above any magistrate are the Seulyeon themselves and their personal retainers. Though their positions are one of great power and respect for themselves and their families, this kind of favor is a fickle thing, prone to being granted for a particularly thoughtful gift before being snatched away for even the slightest of perceived offenses. As such, any Seulyeon who have maintained their positions for any length of time have invariably refined bearings and nigh-unbreakable composures belying a razor sharp wit and firm grasp of the Herald's court politics. Despite their wealth and power (and, often, arrogance) even these governors must prostrate themselves before the Herald's personal servitors and, of course, the Herald.
Absolute respect and obedience is to be given to one of higher rank in return for their benevolence. Children are not to question their parents, just as no mere mortal is to question the will of the divine. It is not the place of those so far below to think that they could possibly know better than those given more favor by the Herald, for the Herald is infallible and, thus, their gifts of authority cannot be given in error. This is not to say, however, that superiors are all-powerful in regards to those they outstrip; benevolence is a key virtue for those in positions of authority. Those that fail to provide hospitality to their lessers or treat them poorly without obvious justification will inevitably be undercut by those that do, for they clearly are more deserving of such power through their magnanimity. Because of this, social interactions with a direct superior are defined by absolute obeisance, though when a Seulyeon or the Herald are present, any and all forms of conversation take on a distinctly competitive edge, the inferior seeking to politely undercut their superior in hopes of earning their position for themselves. To openly speak or act out of turn in the presence of one's superior is to defy the will of the divine Herald, an egregious crime nearly akin to murder. The punishment for either is often the same; banishment to the Shadows.
Perhaps appropriately for such a hierarchical people, Zhenhun is a devout province, moreso than any other. Shrines and temples dot the province, dedicated to any number of "exalted" creatures; Palletia, Wesri, miscellaneous elementals, kami and even more stable Consumed and majestic monsters are all shown reverence (and fear, as appropriate) from Zhenhun's people. Within these holy sites are offerings both material and performative, with well-choreographed dances and mock-combats being given in tribute just as readily as offerings of incense and wealth. Such is the Herald's status and power through the Imperial Manse that most citizens think of them as a minor deity as a matter of course, though the Herald would never openly acknowledge such worship and, as such, any shrines are relegated to private, concealed places.
History
As one of the Shattered Provinces, Zhenhun's current topography is far removed from what it once was. The treacherous Mountains of Haima offered natural protection against the worst of the Elders' raids, allowing the people of Zhenhun to farm in the valleys and hunt the mountains' game in relative safety. This guardian sierra was so named for their god of the frozen peaks, said to have ascended when he became the first of their people to scale the tallest of the chain's mountains. Their greatest warriors would follow in his footsteps to hunt the greatest of animals and seek gifts from the great Huang birds in return for aid in their cycle of reincarnation.
Zhenhun, despite initial hesitancy, eagerly joined their kin's confederation after Wesri received the approval of both Haima and the eldest of the Huang birds, providing abundant and exotic foodstuffs to Wesri's burgeoning realm. Despite their shared respect for Wesri, however, the mountain god Haima and Bezinca's goddess of the wind, Cayot, could agree on little else. Occasional barbs slowly turned to flagrant disrespect, then to outright border disputes. By the time this enmity reached its peak Wesri had long been absent, leaving nothing to mediate their short tempers or stop them from coming to blows.
As these divine beings came to blows in the Mountains of Haima, the surrounding lands were riven by the force of their battle. Zhenhun and Bezinca would feel the worst of their wrath, the fertile and idyllic lowlands of the former sundered, launched, and midair by the great tempests of Cayot. The battle would rage for twenty days and nights, flattening mountains and leaving pockmarked, destroyed earth in Zhenhun, ending only when both deities had exhausted themselves and forced each other into torpor.
As Haima fell to rest deep within the earth, his people were tormented by the violent, chaotic movements of the floating islands. Death and destruction due to collisions between the landmasses were constant threats, further destabilizing the province even after the Sundering. Peace would eventually return, however, after a mage known only as Monji scaled the mountain at the heart of the province to wrest control of the leyline node near the peak. With this impossible task completed, Monji settled the islands into steady orbits around the Squallspire, bringing stability back to the province. He would quickly order the construction of the Imperial Manse around the node to further enhance his control of the islands, becoming the first and only Herald, the Zho'ren, of the province.
As the people in the sky finally had peace once again, those left below encountered devastation. The land Haima had once blessed with lush fertility began to wither. Crops no longer bloomed as they once did and native animals could not grow to the prodigious sizes they once could below the mountain peaks. Strangely, this withering seemed only to affect life on the surface; life atop the floating islands continued to thrive as well as it ever had. As such, Monji declared that those left below were damned souls, forsaken by Haima and unworthy of the blessings of the land above. Since then, the Shadows of Haima were relegated to housing Zhenhun's criminals and outcasts, toiling for meager spoils and warring with one another.
Today, 250 years after the sundering, Zhenhun exists in a state of cautious prosperity. Tensions with their Bezincan neighbors have cooled, harvests are consistently bountiful, and new islands are formed and brought into orbit regularly to accommodate the glut of immigrants desiring to share in the province's wealth. Despite this period of stability and plenty, much of the populace lives a state of unacknowledged fear. Monji's dominance of the Imperial Manse without an established manse, his seeming immortality, and his willingness to banish those who displease him to the Shadows cows even his children into a state of fearful reverence. Even beyond the secretive Zho'ren, those on the outlying island chains are experiencing escalating attacks from seemingly berserk Huang Birds, leaving buildings ruined and people dead and abducted. Despite this, the Zho'ren seems oddly unconcerned, even considering his usually frosty demeanor. All this as rogue warlords in the Shadows continue to gather power and launch raids upon neighboring provinces.
Type
Geopolitical, Province
Parent Organization
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