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Pangu: The Centre of Faith

The spiritual centre of the Shogunate, Pangu is a religious nation of over 75 million people, most of them on the Blessed Isle. With its territory covering the north and east of the Isle, including the Imperial Mountain and the Defense Grid, as well as controlling a few minor kingdoms in both the north and the east, Pangu, by all rights, looks like the best nation to rebuild the Shogunate and repair the tattered political map of Creation.

However, Pangu is conservative and cautious, and instead of easily dominating the world, they find themselves having difficulty even controlling their own lands. Their weapons depleted from war, their navies damaged and their faith shaken, Pangu is a nation teetering on the brink of collapse.

Society

Pangu is the most conservative, most religious, and most reactionary of the major nations. Arguments against the status quo are regarded with suspicion, respect for the Dragon-Blooded verges on the level of worship, and the Immaculate Doctrine is directly involved in the governence of the nation - the seperation of Church and State is a myth that Pangu wants no part of. Knowledge is heavily restricted, many forms of thaumaturgy are outlawed (summoning, astrology, weather-work, enchantment), and even the others are frequently restricted to members of the actual Immaculate Order (only human monks may learn the Arts of Warding and Excorcism). Schooling remains at its most basic, and only the upper classes get more than basic literacy and mathmatics.

Pangu is ruled by the Shogun, who is advised by a council composed of ten prominent nobles and ten important religious figures; these advisors can counter the Shogun's desires only if they can get fifteen votes in agreement, and this rarely occurs. However, the priests almost always vote en bloc, meaning that the Shogun cannot afford to disregard their opinions. The Shogun chooses mayors and governers for the cities and rural areas of Pangu, and these governers are accountable only to the Council; they are generally given freedom to act quickly to preserve the social order.

Crime is not widespread in Pangu, but it exists, and it is punished harshly. Slavery is a not-uncommon punishment for nonviolent crimes, with violent crimes punished by hard labour or death. Heresies are also punished with hard labour or death, and a relapse into heresy is always punishable by death. In fact, it is not uncommon for heretics to act with a vicious degree of violence if they believe their secrets are threatened, due to the simple danger of being caught. Because of this, heresies remain few in number throughout Pangu, and those that exist tend to be the most extreme sorts; minor heresies simply aren't worth the risk of discovery and destruction.

Many people in Pangu join the Immaculate Order, and missionaries are sent out to every corner of the world. Pangu also sends more humans and Dragon-Blooded than any other nation to the Wyld Hunt, in order to prove its devotion to the cause of defeating the Anathema.

Technology

Pangu's technology remains classical in nature, and is slowly falling behind that of the other nations. Pangu has no official television stations, and although they have embraced the radio, radio shows must be approved by the government before broadcast; live broadcasts are almost unheard of. Only the Order itself makes any live broadcasts in Pangu. Tuning into most external radio is outlawed; especially radio from the Balmori Republic or New Estasia.

Pangu has almost no Autochthonian technology and absolutely nothing that is not Essence-driven. The populace is deeply suspicious of most new Autochthon-based technology, and animal-driven vehicles remain common; with only Essence-engine vehicles, and those few in number, skyships and horses remain the order of the day.

Foreign Relations

Pangu's relations, overall, are highly variable. On the one hand, the nation is the cradle of the Immaculate Faith. On the other, its rampant conservatism causes nervousness in more progressive nations. Pangu's closest relation is Deheleshen, and Pangu's leadership frequently tries to engineer closer alliances between the two Great Nations. If Pangu and Deheleshen unite, the Shoguns think, the Shogunate can once again begin its rise to power.

Relations with Chirascuro and the Balmori Republic are much more tenuous. In the aftermath of the Ashen Crusade, Balmori and Pangu continued to quarrel over the Blessed Isle and Autochthon. Fifty years ago, during Calibration, Pangu finally invaded, and managed to convince Deheleshen to join in what was to have been the first conquest of the new Shogunate, and the beginning of a glorious return. Instead, the Balmori Republic fought back viciously, and Pangu was humiliated. Neither nation has forgotten this. Chirascuro, for its part, has named its own Shogun and remains a strong rival, which Pangu distrusts for its modern ways. Still, these two nations are at least Shogunate claimants, and despite their dislike of them, Pangu would likely support them against a serious foreign threat.

Such threats are likely to come from the degenerate Western League, the odious New Estasia, and the heretical Dragon Kings of Rathess. Pangu does not have so much as the time of day for any of these powers, and it was Balmori's openness to them that was the primary cause of the Calibration War. Pangu refuses to so much as send ambassadors to any of these three nations, and does not recognize them as anything but enemies. Frequent skirmishes occur in the North between Pangu's tributaries and New Estasia. However, Pangu recognizes that they do not, as of yet, have the power to overwhelm these nations. If such power were found, New Estasia would be the first to fall. Similarly, Pangu distrusts the Deathlords, whose very existance is an affront to the Immaculate Faith. Their new champions of death are even more of an insult, and Pangu considers anyone who trades with the Deathlords (such as Chirascuro) to be suspicious at best and traitorous at worst.

Anathema

Pangu is fanatical about the Anathema. Pangu-trained Wyld Hunters often shock their contemporaries with the lengths to which they are willing to go to destroy the Anathema, and Pangu's officials give full co-operation to any Anathema-destroying operation, regardless of the collateral damage that may result. This can result in serious civilian death tolls whenever Anathema appear, if said Anathema does not have regard for the locals. Even rumours of an Anathema sighting are investigated thoroughly. Solars and Lunars in Pangu either keep their heads way, way, down, or they leave as quickly as possible, usually both.