Land of the Five Kingdoms: A ring of five kingdoms separated from the outside world by the ring of the Nurikabe Mountains and the Southern Sea. According to ancient legend, the Five Kingdoms were established by five brothers, descended from the supreme god of the heavens. The eldest brother, being the strongest, established a kingdom upon a hilly land so he could ward his other brothers by seeing threats from afar, and he founded the kingdom of Amatsu. The masterful second brother, skilled at farming and hunting, settled the swamps, forests and plains to the east, founding the kingdom of Seito. The shy third brother found beauty in healing, and so, finding healing herbs abundant in the north, established Hokuto. The fourth brother was a skilled sailor and sought to trade with those from afar, and established the kingdom of Izumo in the Southern Sea, not far from the shoreline of the other four kingdoms. The youngest brother, who had taken up Mahou, built an academy upon a leyline of vast magic, and so from that founded the kingdom of Ryukyu. The Five Kingdoms are, in theory, equals, with the rulers of the kingdoms meeting in a council every year to discuss affairs. In practice, the kingdom of Amatsu, with its superior military strength, has established a hegemony over the other four, an arrangement amenable to the others until recent times. In foreign affairs, Amatsu leads discussions, with the other four kingdoms following their lead. While the arrangement has remained in place since the ancient founding of the kingdoms, the entrance of the Binding Curse into the bloodline of the imperial family of Amatsu has steadily poisoned the minds of the Emperors and Empresses, culminating in the reign of Empress Genmyo, whose erratic behaviour, especially concerning the Cursed, has begun to raise alarm among the people of the Kingdoms. - Amatsu: The largest of the five kingdoms and the most metropolitan of the Five, with citizens from all over the Kingdoms living in Amatsu, especially in the capital of Soumahara. Amatsu exercises a hegemony over the other Five Kingdoms, comprising the military might of the Five to protect it from the outside world. Amatsu is a hilly, forested kingdom, with many of its cities built upon hills to keep a watchful eye on bandits and other such-like that may invade, though the land flattens out towards the coast and sea, with the coastal city of Kamihama funneling most trade into the mainland kingdoms from Izumo. Amatsu is the most built-up of the kingdoms, with a well-established road network extending through the kingdom connecting the various hilltop cities, and large residential districts sprawling out even beyond the city walls. The Imperial Seat lies in Soumahara, where the Imperial Family of Amatsu has made its home for generations. The current ruler, Empress Genmyo, is both ruler of Amatsu and hegemon of the Five Kingdoms; while her reign began well, her increasingly erratic behaviour regarding the Binding Curse, rumours of her increasing obsession with the Cursed and her increasing reluctance to actually rule has caused a resistance movement to brew to overthrow the Empress, as well as movements from within the nobility and common classes alike to reform from within. - Soumahara: The vast capital of Amatsu, and one of the oldest cities in the entire Five Kingdoms. Soumahara is divided into five districts. The central district is effectively a city onto itself, comprising the Imperial Palace and related residences and employees. The southern district is home to the craftspeople of the city, while the old, northern district is home to the rich of the city. The port district, facing the river Sanada, comprises the merchants who use the river to send goods to the city of Kamihama. The final district, the eastern district, is the pride of the city, containing its restaurants and the famed Kisaragi Shrine, oldest of its kind and dedicated to the goddess Fuyin; as such, the maidens who tend the shrine are also skilled musicians. - Imperial Family: The ruling family of Amatsu who hail from the Yamauchi clan, who are said to have descended from the founder and thus from the Gods of the Sky. The Imperial Family is known, aside from being the paramount rulers of the Five Kingdoms in effect, being the only consistent bloodline through which the Binding Curse manifests; in this case, the "God" of the Curse always reincarnates into a member of the Imperial Family, though they need not necessarily reincarnate into the child who becomes the Emperor or Empress. The current Empress is Empress Genmyo, eldest child of the family and current God of the Cursed. - Imperial Seal: Also dubbed the Fire Emblem, the Imperial Seal depicts the Hourai calendar's animals in a wheel, with the Yanagisawa crest, a roaring flame, in the middle symbolising the Emperor's authority. It is said that the Seal contains great power, equal to that of a Gnosis, and the Emperor or Empress possessing it is granted unrivalled power, especially in combination with a Gnosis. - Amatsu Martial Arts: Amatsu's martial tradition has given rise to a great many martial arts schools specialising in various forms of combat, from unarmed to weapon to even a few specialising in a mixture of Mahou and martial arts. The Tokiwa school in particular, led by the older Tokiwa brother Tokiwa Sarutobi, has expanded beyond the borders of Amatsu to neighbouring Seito. A few Avropan schools have opened their doors in Amatsu to compete with the schools, and from time to time, demonstrations of combat skills can be seen in public as Amatsu and Avropan fighters seek to prove their superiority to the others, for as much pride as they desire to pump up work. - Amatsuan Resistance: The Empress' neglect of her realm has led to a movement arising across multiple strata of society. Their goals are clear; to force the Empress' attention away from her obsession with rumoured Juunishi and return her focus to the realm and, failing that, dethroning the Empress and replacing her with someone else. While several groups operate in conjunction, the most organised group operates out of the Sangonomiya Estate in northern Amatsu, closer to the Hokuto border, rallying under the banner of the Kamisato Clan. Led by the elusive Noriaki Kiritani, they are divided between a group of ministers in the imperial Diet who pursue reform from within, and a secret military component gathering in Sangonomiya should the need arise and the Empress crush their resistance. The most likely replacement for the Empress should the need for a coup arise is the nobleman Goro Gamou, right hand of the Empress and known to be a voice of reason to the Empress popular with nobles and commoners alike; however, he is surrounded by rumours that he is the cursed Dog of the Juunishi, and some of the more superstitious - or knowledgeable of the truth of the Curse - are doubtful about his commitment to change. - Seito: The western kingdom, a large, sprawling kingdom with many swamps and rivers on the border between it and Amatsu, the kingdom has a larger population than Amatsu, who are primarily farmers and hunters. Most of its population outside the capital of Kamogawa lives in small hamlets and villages scattered around the vast countryside. Seito is famed most for the kinshi beasts that are raised within its borders, and much of the cavalry in the Kingdoms are raised within the kingdom's plains. - Eastern Swamps: The border between Seito and Amatsu, with small rivers feeding into the great Sanada river that runs through Seito and Amatsu. The swamps are said to be home to monsters found nowhere else, such as ferocious Onikuma that can be tamed and ridden, and the terrain is used by martial artists seeking to train themselves in harsh environments, for those who cannot head to the mountainous terrain of Hokuto. Some schools of martial arts might be found here, but the swamps are generally only populated by small villages, with the exception of the border city of Yasoinaba marking one of the few solid paths between Seito and Amatsu. - Kinshi Fields: The sprawling plains of Seito are generally home to the majestic, avian Kinshi. Traditionally, the best of the Kinshi herds are given over as a gift to the Emperor upon their coronation. Kinshi are native to the Kingdoms, and those who herd them often have to compete with ubiquitous pegasi and imported landstriders and griffons for space. - Hokuto: The mountainous northern kingdom, comprised primarily of small villages outside the capital of Mitsuhara, Hokuto is famed for its healers and apothecaries. The kingdom is known for being home to a variety of healing herbs that gave rise to the three Great Pharmacies, institutions that provide education to prospective healers and apothecaries across the kingdoms, whose healers can be found across the kingdoms running small apothecaries of their own or working as retainers to others. The mountainous terrain, however, makes it the best place in the Five Kingdoms to establish eyries of wyverns, and the few who ride them are trained in Hokuto. - Mizuno Pharmacy: The oldest of the Great Pharmacies. Their apothecaries wear blue robes and carry the Mizuno seal, depicting a drop of water. The Mizuno Pharmacy hails directly from the tradition of the kingdom's founder, who according to legend helped others using pure water from a spring and herbs. Their school is found on Mount Kaikuma, supposedly centered around the spring their founder used, and specialises in a mix of using Mahou and herbal medicine to treat illnesses. Their most famous student, Kobayakawa Takaaki, split off to pursue the usage of Mahou in healing and founded his own Pharmacy. Mizuno apothecaries are often found in large cities running large pharmacies, though there is a tradition of Mizuno healers wandering around as errant healers to minister to far-off villages. - Kobayakawa Pharmacy: The largest of the Great Pharmacies and the most prestigious. Their apothecaries wear dark green robes and carry the Kobayakawa seal, depicting a butterfly. Founded by a famed student of the Mizuno school, this Pharmacy specialises in the use of healing Mahou, and so employ scholars from Ryukyu to provide a curriculum resembling that of the magical academies in that kingdom. As such, Kobayakawa students have a smattering of knowledge about general magical principles that Mizuno students do not. The current head of the Kobayakawa Pharmacy is the second eldest son, Kobayakawa Hironobu; the eldest, Kobayakawa Kodai, was born a Cursed and currently acts as Empress Genmyo's physician. Kobayakawa apothecaries can be found working as retainers, even as far abroad as Avropa. - Yuuna Pharmacy: The newest of the Great Pharmacies and the smallest. Their apothecaries wear pink robes and carry the Yuuna seal, depicting cherry blossom petals. This Pharmacy specialises in herbal medicines, to the point of being superior to those produced by the Mizuno or Kobayakawa Pharmacies, to the point that the smaller pharmacies in the Kingdoms' cities will often stock Yuuna concoctions even if they belong to rival schools. However, Yuuna apothecaries will be generally viewed as inferior to those of the Mizuno or Kobayakawa schools, despite their equal skill or even superior talents with respect to pharmacology. - Izumo: An island kingdom and the link between the Land of the Five Kingdoms and the lands abroad, known for their skill in mercantile pursuits. Izumo has the largest population of non-Kingdom dwellers, ranging from traders to mercenaries from abroad. Their capital is Satsuma, though the main link with the mainland lies in the smaller town of Itomori. Izumo is noticeably influenced by the presence of Avropans and other foreigners to the Five Kingdoms; the architectural styles, culture and cuisine of Izumo is clearly influenced by Avropan trends, which have slowly begun to spread to the mainland. - Satsuma: The capital city of Izumo, and the main trading post between the Five Kingdoms and the lands beyond. Satsuma has one of the largest non-Kingdom populations, with a native Avropan-descended population calling Satsuma and its surrounding province home. Satsuma is a melting pot of cultures from not just Avropa and the Kingdoms, but elsewhere, with all sorts of individuals to be found in the city and the surrounding province. Individuals from all over the Kingdoms flock to Satsuma to educate themselves on foreign culture; conversely, foreigners flock to Satsuma to immerse themselves in the Kingdoms' culture. As such, many schools, whether of Avropan swordsmanship or Seito carpentry, have been built in Satsuma, to allow better exchanges of knowledge and culture. - Avropan Population: The Avropans in Izumo are divided between a temporary population of traders, travelers and craftspeople who travel to and from Avropa regularly, and a permanent population of scholars, residents and others who have chosen to settle in Izumo. They are often of Gallian descent, owing to Gallia's connections to Avropa, but Albian, Swabian and Leonese settlers are not unknown. Those of descent from these Avropans often have odd surnames from Avropa and forenames from the Kingdoms, but it is not a hard and fast rule. - Ryukyu: A kingdom sandwiched between Seito and Amatsu. An unusual amount of mages have been born in Ryukyu, which has been attributed to the mythical leyline spring upon which the kingdom's founder built his kingdom. It is here where the Kingdoms' magical academies are situated, with the largest in the capital of Mitakihara. Ryukyu is primarily plains, with some shoreline; unlike Izumo and Amatsu, however, it lacks a substantial maritime tradition, and instead focuses upon building up the academies. Many of the academies are practically cities in their own right, with the largest, Kaname Academy, almost dwarfing Mitakihara in size. Avropa: A far-off continent, comprised of many kingdoms of a radically different type of culture from the Five Kingdoms. Contact with Avropa began with a shipwrecked merchant ship landing in Satsuma's harbor; the grateful merchants eventually communicated that they were from the Kingdom of Gallia. When an expedition arrived to find the sailors, a group from Amatsu was dispatched to meet them; since then, trade and travel between Avropa and the Kingdoms has been constant and steady. A population of Avropans has since made permanent home in Izumo, similar to how some have migrated permanently from the Kingdoms to the far-off land; they can generally be distinguished from native Kingdom dwellers with their surnames and forenames being radically different.