Nikara Empire
An empire of opium, shamanic fire, and the Keju test.
The Nikara Empire is the imperial state in which the novel is set. Fang Runin ("Rin") is a war orphan in the Nikara Empire whose foster parents employ her in her opium smuggling. To escape an arranged marriage, she sets her sights on passing the Keju, the empire-wide test to find the most talented candidates for admittance to their Academies. Shocking everyone, she places first in her province, which sends her north to Sinegard, the imperial capital and home of the military academy.
- Capital City
- Sinegard
- Government Type
- Imperial autocracy under an empress and twelve regional warlords
- Military Focus
- Military academy in Sinegard; special shaman unit called the Cike
- Key Rival
- The Federation of Mugen
Lore & Background
The Nikara Empire's military academy is located in Sinegard, the imperial capital. The empire is defended by twelve regional warlords, one of whom is Yin Nezha's father. The empire also employs the Cike, a special military unit of young, mostly-shaman, imperial assassins led by Altan Trengsin. The empire's history includes a previous war in which the Speerly soldiers, who served the empire by wielding shamanic fire powers from their god the Phoenix, were massacred by the Federation of Mugen. The empress Su Daji appears at a festival. During the war, the empress betrays the Cike's mission for her own life and sells out Nikan.
In Their Own Story
Rin, a war orphan from the Nikara Empire, escapes an arranged marriage by passing the Keju and entering Sinegard's military academy. There she befriends Chen Kitay, son of a minister, and rivals Yin Nezha, son of a regional warlord. She looks up to Altan Trengsin, a Speerly student. Under Master Jiang, she learns shamanism, accessing the god Phoenix via meditation and psychoactive drugs. When the Federation of Mugen invades Nikan, Rin defends a gate with Nezha; Master Jiang uses shamanism to summon monsters to bring down the gate on the Mugenese army. After the invasion, Rin learns she is Speerly and joins the Cike. The Cike are sent to Kurdalain, then to Golyn Niis, which they find destroyed and its inhabitants massacred by the Mugenese. Altan decides to unleash former Cike members entombed alive in a mountain prison. They find Jiang imprisoned there. After being captured by a Mugenese ambush and experimented on with opium, Altan sacrifices himself so Rin can escape to Speer. There she channels the Phoenix's unlimited fire and destroys the primary island of the Mugenese homeland. In the epilogue, Rin awakens on a ship crewed by the Cike and Kitay, learns Altan named her Cike commander, and vows to take revenge on the empress for her treachery.
Reader's Guide
The Nikara Empire's capital is Sinegard, home to the military academy. The empire is governed by an empress, Su Daji, and twelve regional warlords. The empire's military includes the Cike, a unit of shaman assassins. The empire's test for talent is the Keju, which Rin passes to enter the academy. The empire's history includes a war with the Federation of Mugen, in which the Speerly people were massacred. The empire's wartime capital is Golyn Niis, which is destroyed by the Mugenese. The empire's empress betrays the war effort, selling out Nikan for her own life.
Did You Know?
- The Nikara Empire's capital is Sinegard, home to the military academy.
- The empire's test for talent is the Keju, which Rin passes to enter the academy.
- The empire employs the Cike, a special military unit of young, mostly-shaman, imperial assassins.
- The empress Su Daji betrays the war effort, selling out Nikan for her own life.
- The empire's wartime capital Golyn Niis is destroyed and its inhabitants massacred by the Federation of Mugen.