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Hundreds of thousands of people live comfortable secure lives sheltered under the careful gaze of the Celestial God Oldun, and his earthly charges among the priest-bureaucracy that run the daily affairs of the Oldunni Theocracy. Largely an agrarian culture, most of the Oldunni people live simple lives in the rice fields and terraced hills of their homeland, but some 10,000 inhabit the beautiful city of Inchan. Most of that number works for the priest-bureaucracy itself, filling out paperwork and ensuring that all important tasks are completed as their God and Protector has decreed. The rest of Inchan's inhabitants largely exist to support that Bureaucracy, performing the essential tasks that allow a city so large to function.
A few hundred square miles nudged securely between the Maruto and Yellow Rivers, the Theocracy of Oldun is one of the largest and certainly among the longest-lasting of the states in the northern Hundred Kingdoms. It is a simple kingdom in many ways, but also a strong one. The interior roads are well maintained, all providing easy access to and from the capital of Inchan, while the bureaucracy maintains an impressive amount of control over the entire kingdom. Lastly, of course, the Theocracy maintains a sizable army of fierce Mamluks that is feared throughout the region for their prowess in battle and fierce devotion to Oldun.
All know the precise date that their people came under the protection of the God Oldun: 537 years ago, on the 22nd day of Resplendent Air, at precisely the stroke of Noon. The Chronicles of the Theocracy record that the sky was clear and blue, and the sun burned brilliantly, when the Lawgiver descended from Yu Shan on a brilliant golden chariot. Flanked by Thunderbirds and Needfires, the Keeper of Oaths set down upon what would one day be the site of Inchan and gave unto his faithful the Divine Book of Oldun. The golden book still rests in the heart of Inchan itself, held by the people as the source of all secrets of governance and the proper organization of states. Armed with these secrets and alight with the fire of faith, the Theocracy of Oldun took shape as their God ascended back into the Heavens to look over his people from on high.
Many throughout the Hundred Kingdoms jest that the people of Oldun have as many bureaucrats as they have farmers. Naturally, this is not true. It is not, however, entirely without merit. Over half the city if Inchan is utterly devoted to the Bureaucracy, and these followers of Oldun's Law spread throughout the countryside with direction and an almost holy zeal. The Divine Book demands that all things be recorded, often in triplicate, and properly measured out by the Bearers of his Law. Thus it is important that a Priest be on hand for every birth, every death, and every time property changes hand or whenever a new business endeavor is put underway. The Scribes of the Theocracy dutifully record every harvest, and paperwork flows constantly into the Inchan's extensive records on everything from the number and disposition of Births among the Theocracies villages to the precise number of ships that enter or leave a particular trading port every day.
The philosophy of the Divine Book and its execution is quite manpower extensive, but not without merit. While things in the Theocracy can move at a somewhat slower pace, this suits the Oldunni well enough, and they find the benefits of their Gods' teaching more than make up for any inconvenience. There are few disputes within the Theocracy that cannot be solved by sending a message to Inchan and waiting for the proper response, and the complicated legal system resolves all more serious issues in both a timely and judicious fashion. Every bit of information that could possibly be desired about the Kingdom rests somewhere within the extensive archives of Inchan, cross-referenced and carefully indexed, such that the Priests can answer almost any question in only a few days of searching through over 500 years of records and files.
Most Oldunni live exceedingly simple -- and very carefully recorded -- lives that involve them never going more than 50 miles from the village where they were born. They tend the very same rice fields that their fathers and grandfathers once worked, a fact that can be easily proven via numerous sources.
Earlier in its history, the Theocracy maintained a large standing army of fanatical warriors. These days, few among the natives have much of a mindset for war -- devoting their time to farming, the Bureaucracy, or the various secular duties necessary for Inchan to serve as capital. The creation of the Mamluk Slave Army began about 200 years ago, the Bureaucracy working with the Guild in the creation of a massive force of devoted slave warriors. Most Mamluks began as children, purchased from slave traders and training them as fierce soldiers utterly loyal to the Bureaucracy and the God Oldun. Gradually, reliance on the Guild faded, until the Mamluk essentially became a caste of warriors born into their role as the Army of the Lawgiver.
Still officially slaves of the Bureaucracy, the Mamluk are a varied and cosmopolitan force, with ethnic branches from all over the East and beyond. Raised from birth to be soldiers, trained with fanatical loyalty to Oldun and to his chosen State, these warriors are among the fiercest forces in the Hundred Kingdoms and approach the professionalism of the Realm's own legions. Largely a cavalry force, with heavy reserves of archers and infantry, the Mamluk are no longer slaves in anything but name.
In fact, it is something of an open secret that the "Slave Soldiers" all-but run the Theocracy as a whole. While the Bureaucracy runs the day to day affairs of the Theocracy, they have long since relaxed their control over their soldiers to such a degree that their warriors are now led from within. The Commander-General of the Mamluk is the single most powerful figure in the Theocracy, and while he is loyal to his God and the Bureaucracy as a whole, his first loyalty is to his fellow slaves.
The Lawgiver is the highest of all Gods among the Oldunni, an Arbiter of Laws and Recorder of Oaths who descended from Yu Shan to offer guidance and direction to his chosen people. The Keeper of Oaths is held as a powerful Celestial God, a high ranking officer in the Commission on Abstract Matters and Celestial Concerns who is a mere step below the Incarnae themselves, a God with great power as well as vast responsibility. It is said that he heard the cries of his people and brought them the Divine Book that they might know how to properly follow the dictates of Heaven and enjoy a life of prosperity.
The God Oldun is above most Terrestrial Concerns, his keen responsibilities keeping him tethered to the Heavenly City of Yu Shan and his position in the Celestial Bureaucracy. The Theocracy of Oldun, then, is a distant echo of its heavenly counterpart -- led by the distant and mostly silent figure of Oldun, in much the same way that the Unconquered Sun serves as the head of the Celestial Bureaucracy. The High Priests of Oldun serve positions in the Bureaucracy, with the Arbiter of Laws and the Recorder of Oaths serving as the Highest of the High Priests, while the Divine Seneschal serves as the Gods' Emissary upon the Earth.
While Oldun is extremely potent, he is even more distant, and rarely intercedes in the affairs of the Theocracy. Nonetheless, the Bureaucracy knows that - if their need is great - they can contact their superior and he will intercede as he can on their behalf. Such intercession has only been attempted once in the history of the Theocracy, and was an effort of legend (the paperwork alone!).
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