Kou Empire

The Kou Empire is an empire that features in Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic.

History

The Kou Empire (Japanese: 煌帝国, Hepburn: Kō Teikoku) was a nation that originated in the Far Eastern Central Plains where originally it was a small kingdom until Hakutoku Ren came to unify two neighbouring countries namely the Kai and Gou under a single banner. The three kingdoms of the Tenka (天華) region – Kou, Gai, and Gou – were united by Hakutoku and his sons into the Kou Empire and began their conquest of other countries. During this time, Hakutoku, Hakuyuu, and Hakuren imparted their dearest wish to their younger cousin, Kouen. They wished to unite the world under one banner and vanquish war as a force forever. Unfortunately, due to the influence and movements of Al-Thamen, the three men were killed, leaving the throne vacant.

Upon being formed, it came to receive aid from the mysterious Al-Thamen organization who provided them a magi to serve as an oracle with this being Judar.

Following a period of illness, Koutoku Ren died with the Imperial Family gathering in mourning at his funeral and to hear his last decree that would name his successor. Ultimately, it was decided that his wife Gyoken Ren was to be the new interim leader of the Kou instead of any of his heirs. This provoked outrage amongst military personnel and nearly led to open strife erupting within the empire. However, Hakuryuu Ren pledged allegiance to his mother as the Dowager Empress thus causing everyone else to fall in line.

Arriving at Magnostadt, the Kou's vanguard was led by Prince Kouha where they charged the enemy but then came under attack from an army of Dark Djinn. The magical beings came to devastate the Kou Empire's vanguard lines and even forced Kouha to utilise his Djinn Equip. Though he managed to destroy the Dark Djinn, the magic that was sustaining them saw the creatures reform and sent back against the Kou's lines. The continued battle came to exist Kouha and he was nearly killed until Alibaba Saluuja arrived alongside Aladdin to help them. Together, they worked together against the Dark Djinn but were nearly overwhelmed until the main army arrived under the leadership of Prince Kouen.

With the Medium destroyed, tensions resumed as the Kou were posed to continue with their conquest of Magnostadt which meant that they were ready to fight the Sindrian forces. Hostilities only stopped when King Sinbad revealed that Sindria and the Reim Empire had forged an alliance with one another thus making them too powerful a foe for the Kou to battle. In addition, Sinbad revealed that he intended to help in the reconstruction and rebuilding of Magnostadt. As a result, Kouen Ren decided to call off hostilities and pulled his forces back to the Kou Empire's territory but not before wanting the Magi Aladdin to reveal everything he knew about Alma Torran as per their deal.

Overview

Locations within the empire included:

• Rakushou (洛昌) : the Capital of the Empire.
• Forbidden City (禁城) : palace
• Magic Research Facility (魔導研究施設) : a secret facility began by Koumei Ren to research magic.
• Kanan Plain (華安平原) : plain separating the eastern and western parts of the continent, and the stage of many wars in the past. Located in the Kanan Valley is the only road to Rakushou.
• Tenzan Mountains (天山山脈) : mountain range west of Kanan.
• Yellow Sea Coast (黄海沿岸) : dominant area south of the Empire.
• Youshuu (陽州) : dominant area south of the Empire.
• Yuushuu (悠州) : dominant area north of the Empire.
• Samon Island :

The Imperial family was the members of the Ren family who had ruled over the commoners for centuries.

Political marriages was a practice employed by the royal family where a diplomatic union was made between two members of different royal or ruling families. Daughters of the Emperor were married off rulers of different countries in order to establish diplomatic ties to them. One of Kou's traditions was that wedding partners were not allowed to see each other before the wedding ceremony.

Huang was the paper money circulating within the Kou Empire and was a currency used to force other nations to use in trading with it. Unlike gold, the value of Huang changed constantly; items that only cost 1 Huang could require 2 Huang another day. The lending of Huang also come with 'interest' which was an additional amount of Huang the borrower needed to pay back to the empire. The countries supplied with Huang become dependent on the Kou Empire and accumulate large debts as a result.

Within the empire, slavery was considered legal though humane treatment was expected for those under system with mistreatment prohibited by law. In addition, slaves were expected to be freed following 5 years of service.

Magicians were also employed within their ranks and stationed in various locations to aid in military operations. They used magical clairvoyance as a means of communication between their forces and as a means of delivering messages. This allowed them to quickly deliver quick commands by using the spellcasters Magoi and was considered a close military secret.

Members

• Hakutoku Ren :
• Gyokuen Ren : dark haired wife of Hakutoku Ren and the mother of Hakuei and Hakuryuu Ren. She was actually possessed by the spirit of her distant ancestor Arba where she orchestrated a coup that killed her 'husband' as well as some of her 'children'. 'Gyokuen' then married her husband's brother to maintain her rule and continue the machinations of Al-Thamen. After Koutoku's death, she was appointed as Regent Empress as per her will though this was all part of the organization's plot in subverting the empire to their cause.
• Koutoku Ren : younger brother to Hakutoku Ren who became the new emperor of the Kou after his siblings demise whereupon he took his sister-in-law as his new wife.
• Hakuryuu Ren : dark haired son of Hakutoku Ren and Gyuokuen Ren where he was a Prince of the Kou Empire.
• Kougyoku Ren :
• Seiryuu Ri :
• Kokuhyou Shuu :
• Dorji :
• Seishuu Ri :
• Kokuton Shuu :
• Shou En :
• Kin Gaku :
• Koubun Ka : a dark haired male who arose from poverty with ambition to rise up the ranks in the empire and was assigned as the assistant to Princess Kougyoku Ren where he intended for her to claim the throne and for himself to indirectly rule the Kou.
• Meihou Kan :
• Sai Lin :
• Toya :

Notes

• The Kou Empire was created by Shinobu Ohtaka where it featured in the setting of the Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic universe.

Appearances

• Magi: The Labyrinth of Magic:
• Magi: The Kingdom of Magic:

External Links

• Magi Wiki Entry

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