There is no doubt here. I do not have to wonder why our Precursors chose our world. Look upon our land, lush with life and teeming with magical wonder. The morning sky the shade of ripe lychee, aching to burst open to present its glittering wonder within. Vast, verdant jungles like emeralds beneath tree-dressed peaks. And they cry rivers that glisten as they crawl toward the sea.
All of it a cradle for us. For people. Look at how we learned to bend the threads of creation. The layman calls it sorcery. I consider it an inevitable vocation. The natural order, to order nature.
Khin Rothanna, adjunct professor-sorcerer at the Imperial Academy in Banreah, the Flowering City, responding to a first-year student’s question about why Pre-Aspiration peoples chose this world to inhabit.
And more not having doubt: rest assured that a lot of what you might see here is subject to change. This is a work-in-progress! Things will stretch and bend as I discover things and as I figure things out. So you might have to bear with me.
Thanks for coming along for the ride! If you want, you can reply with any of these Princedoms you want to hear more about in the near future.
But, anyway…
The Realm of Our Radiant Emperor, the Emerald Seat, Empire of Flowers and Sun (also known as The Ancient Harborage, or Kampanghe Boran) is our fictional empire based on the very real Angkorian Empire (ចក្រភពអង្គរ) that reigned from the 9th to 15th centuries. At its height, it was larger than the Byzantine Empire, which existed from around the 4th to the 15th centuries. You can see its bounds below, overlaid on modern borders. I think it’s absolute insanity that, even though they existed at the same time and the Angkor Empire was at one point larger, we are almost wholly unexposed to it in our historical curricula. The capital city Angkor (អង្គរ, literally meaning capital city), likewise, boasted nearly a million people - at the same time, places like London and Paris struggled to break 30,000(ish).
Much like the real Angkorian Empire, the Empire of Flowers and Sun is more akin to a collection of heterogeneous states under the control of a single banner. Ours is divided into princedoms. Princes did exist in Angkorian history; one of the reasons for its dissolution came down to infighting among them.
The Princedom of Flowering Radiance is the most politically central, home to the capital Angkor Banreah, the Flowering City, and Emperor Chanthou Sotheara (whose first name represents prosperity). His youngest children, the two twins Eam and Chhem, rule the princedom jointly. The former son rules everything to the west of the main river, the Chheam Na Kha (or Naga’s* Blood), and the latter daughter rules everything to the east. While normally this may warrant two separate princedoms, doing so would split the capital in half, and would likely undercut the future power of the Sotheara line depending on inheritance claims. Fortunately, the twins, though rivals, are loyal to each other above all else.
(*One popular Khmer origin myth says that a South Asian Brahmin priest named Kaundinya I followed a magical golden arrow, which eventually landed in Cambodia. He fell in love with a Naga princess - a Naga is essentially a divine snake being - marrying her and forming what we know as Cambodia. Which means that I’m a descendent of Naga royalty.)
The Princedom of the Near West, bordering the Princedom of Flowering Radiance, sees substantial exchange with the Near West subcontinent off the map, a nearby land that brings much wealth and cultural diffusion. Also home to the greats of alchemical practice. The eldest Sotheara child, Pich (a name from the word meaning diamond) rules here. Relegated to what she considers more of a fringe princedom, she maintains an arms-length relationship with her siblings and considers any overstep of her borders by them a transgression. Sisterly love?
The Princedom of the True East, Coast of Emerald, or The Emerald* Coast follows the southern half of the eastern coast, opening its ports to distant merchants and hardy seafarers. Much of the inland commerce from the more central provinces are mediated by officers belonging to the ruling Princess Vũ Thanh Hằng (a name derived from Vietnamese). Trade networks hauling exotic goods radiate from these centers of transit. These were also the shores upon which a curious breed of colonizers landed some years ago, hailing from a home they call Grand Antinne (based on France, who colonized Cambodia as part of French Indochina). Princess Hằng rejects the Antinnees’ authority, but does not restrict them from entering her ports. Though, mostly, they have grown more interested in docking directly in the harbors of Banreah whenever possible, skirting the rich marketplaces of the True East. The Emerald Coast is also infamous for its heavy storms that buffet the shoreline.
(*The frequent mention of Emerald as a motif in this is something of an homage to a song called Time To Rise by modern Khmer hip-hop artist VannDa, whose song, blending traditional Khmer songs with rhythmic modern beats, refers to the historical Khmer Empire as “the emerald of Asia.” You can listen to it with English-translated subtitles here: )
The Princedom of the Risen Sun is one of the larger princedoms, second only to the Princedom of Flowering Radiance. Though, since a single prince, Suchitra Bunnag (a name derived from Thai), lords over the former’s area, as opposed to the latter’s dual princeship, the Risen Sun represents the largest holding by a single ruler. One of the first to be annexed by the Empire, this territory has been a veritable rice-basket for the citizens of the realm since its inception. Its borders are more fluid and subject to change, lacking hard lines for where their mostly rural lands should end and where more ambitious provinces’ lands should begin. Thus, it becomes a target for its neighbors who seek more precious, fertile land.
The Princedom of the South Peak offers refuge to local highlands groups, their foothills around the Spire Tauch, or Little Spires, largely shielding them from direct incursion by lowlanders. Prince Arun Chea oversees this insular province, ensuring the fruits of the mountains remain mostly their own. A handful of the larger or more significant temples and monasteries can be found here, the high peaks an apt way to get closer to the heavens. The difficulty in entering the range with any large number of troops keeps Chea’s holding mostly safe from encroachment, but he believes his continued support of the Emperor goes further in protecting his people. Even if they disagree with his stance.
The Princedom of the Broken Sea, ruled by Prince Kaipo Thepsenavong (a name derived from Laotian), is thus named because of its turbulent, choppy waters at the mouth of a natural canal. Though the storms here are weaker than those that assault the southern half of the coast, buffered by the Little Spires, they contribute all the same to the inhospitableness of the waters. The Princedom of the Broken Sea is somewhat disconnected from the rest of the Empire because of its position beyond the peaks and the numerous hurdles to transit in even trying to get there. Because of this, it stands as one of the more self-sufficient provinces, though when internal discord ravages supply lines it becomes a crisis without external support. Crossing the Spires can be deadly for caravans.
The Princedom of the North Peak is ruled by the popular Princess, though she and her subjects fashion her a Queen, Ng Bieng Guang (a name derived from ethnic Chinese). At the northernmost extrema of the Empire, this princedom was the newest to join the fold. For years, emperors preceding the Sotheara line had considerable difficulty impressing the peoples beyond the peaks, who were steadfast and resistant to change despite being otherwise stateless. Truly, they were the furthest from having any notion of “empire.” The Queen of the Mountain, however, was able to win their approval and form a state that eventually joined the empire. Her rise to political power is peculiar to many scholars, considering her upbringing as a farmer’s daughter.
The Contested Princedom of the Upper Reach (based on the real-world Champa) is not technically a part of the realm, but rather an independent holdout against the tide of empire. It belongs to an ethnic group (based on the Khmer Cham) deeply entrenched and connected to their land.
Though the geography is imaginary, it’s based more or less on the Southeast Asian peninsula, from which I draw the cultural inspiration for our story. I can only hope to do it justice!
What Makes a Map?
You can kind of see the resemblance. Still, I think my fictionalized version is distinctive enough while still inherently connected to the land from which I draw my inspiration. Things are pinched, stretched and expanded, in this place and in that. Just like the
The map at the top of this is as incomplete as it is complete. This is not a map of the whole world, though a whole world does indeed exist outside of it. But it tells enough of the story that I consider it more or less done (though, updates will probably come in the future).
One of the pitfalls people who love to worldbuild (yes, feel free to use it as a verb) run across is their tendency to lose themselves in the scope. Sure, worldbuilding for the sake of it is fun. I do it too. But when you’re writing with the intent of using your world for things like a short story or maybe a novel, like I am, it’s good to reign yourself in and consider what you can make work for the story.
Everything in service of a good story!