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THE OVERTURE.

Sometime in early history, there was a kingdom which is located at the very edge of Goguryo (Korea’s former name) and lies between the borderline of Korea and China. It was believed to be blessed by the Seven Gods of Myungnam, thus the name Myungnam was given to that piece of land. To maintain the close ties that they have for each other, the Gods have decided to divide the kingdom into Seven Provinces. Throughout the history it was believed that these Gods were guiding the prehistoric people, helping them whenever and leading them to have an abundant life. For hundreds of years, the Kingdom of Myungnam lived harmoniously.

It was until humans interfered with the way the Gods led the kingdom that a conflict arose and chaos prevailed in the kingdom. The leader of these mythical beings, the great Shin the Sage, has decided that the only way that the conflict will end is for the Gods to give way. He made the important decision of letting the humans lead the kingdom. He asked the others to choose a family that would take control of their respective Provinces. The other Gods, having found the idea reasonable, agreed and immediately designated a family that they thought was fit to lead their Provinces. These Provinces were soon named after these families.

Mingzhi, the god of intellect, chose the Byun family, which is considered to be the most noble of all the noble families at that time. The Byuns were known to live without the vast riches that the other families have but they have maintained the reputation of being the righteous citizens of Myungnam. The god Mingzhi was also believed to be the ‘Reason of the Gods’ due to his rational decisions, and for being the first one who agreed with the proposition of their leader.

Jian, the god of war and is the god Mingzhi’s closest friend, designated the position to the Park family, believed to be the fiercest when in comes to combat. Known as the god with the shortest temper, it was no surprise as to why this god didn’t hesitate to choose this family to lead his Province. Over the years, the Parks have produced the best warriors in the kingdom.

Shin, the leader of the Seven Gods, known to be the most powerful of all Seven, has a close affinity to the Kim family, hence he asked them to lead the kingdom’s capital, a small Province located at the heart of Myungnam. As a sign of gratitude, the Kim family chose to name the capital, ‘Shin’. It was the only exception among all the Provinces of Myungnam.

Lia’o, the god of harmony, owns the biggest Province which consists of vast fields and beautiful meadows. He designated the position to the Do family, a farming family who specializes in developing ways to culture the land with the help of their god.

Feng, Shin the Sage’s younger brother, the god of harvest and abundance, made a peculiar decision to assign the Oh family for the post. Everyone except Shin was appalled due to the Oh family’s reputation of being blacksmiths. Nevertheless, the god’s decision was unraveled. The Oh Province was the second biggest Province in the kingdom. Expected to be the land of the abundance after their god, it turned out to be the poorest Province in the recent days.

Re’nca’i, the god of the arts, was quick to choose the Hwang family as the leaders of his Province. Widely known as the ‘Performing Family’ in the whole kingdom, this family has traveled everywhere just to hold performances. The Gods specifically favored them because they would hold special events and provide festivities for the kingdom.

Shangre’n, the god of commerce and the good friend of Re’nca’i, assigned the leadership to the notorious Lee family, known for being the ‘Merchant family’. They own the most successful business that even the people from the Capital would sometimes travel to the Province just to purchase their products.

Centuries after the Gods have passed the control to the humans, the kingdom still stood the test of time, conquering some small states and winning some of the legendary battles in history. Satisfied with the result, the gods have decided to cease mingling with the humans on a regular basis, and chose to stay as spirits wandering around their temples, only to be bothered when humans need their help, or to celebrate the festivities with them.

With the help of Shin the Sage, the Kim family has managed to produce the best Kings of Myungnam, the heirs having to start their training to become King at the young age of four.

However, the most remarkable Kings of all, King Suho was said to be the one who brought Myungnam to its Golden Age. He won most of the important battles that shook the kingdom, with the help of his allies in and out of Myungnam. Known as the ‘Swordsman-King’, he specializes in sword combat and has trained under the supervision of the Park family, thus having a very close allegiance to them. He was also the one who proposed the idea of assigning Heads to each and every family, forming the ‘Myungnam Council’, which acts as the governing body of the whole kingdom. The families have all agreed, given the chance that they will have a say on what’s going on with their beloved kingdom.

While King Suho has earned a very good reputation as a King, there were many controversies surrounding his Palace. See, the King was also known to house a good many consorts, and in each concubine he has successfully produced an offspring. Every son born with a concubine is logically an heir, according to the tradition, and for so many years his sons have battled over their father’s favor so that they can be the rightful heir.

Their hopes were crushed however, when King Suho was forced to marry a Chinese princess, as a result of a Peace Treaty he signed with a powerful kingdom in China. There was a brewing conflict between the two kingdoms, and the only way to prevent it, according to the Myungnam Council, was for King Suho to marry the princess.

Princess Jia of the Meng Kingdom was considered the most beautiful in her time. King Suho immediately fell for her beauty, which sparked jealousy from all his concubines. Soon after the marriage, the birth of the next heir was to be expected…

And then, because of a betrayal, the two kingdoms sparked the war that would change history. It was dubbed as the Great War by the elders.

[ A/N: This looooooong prologue is for background information and serves as a historic backdrop to the actual events that will take place in the story. Still worth a read anyway, I had fun making them up XD ]

These are the characters in the actual story:

Emperor Kai

The youngest son of King Suho, Kim Jongin rose to power after the tragic Great War destroyed the kingdom, leaving him the only heir to the throne. The Myungnam Council has decided to change the system of government and elected him as the First Emperor of the Empire of Myungnam. Having no interest in politics (he was only 19 when he was made Emperor), he was aptly called the ‘Lazy Emperor’ due to his lack of responsibility, basically relying on his advisors and the Myungnam Council in governing the Empire. He is hated by his subordinates because of this.

Xi Luhan

A beautiful Chinese boy enslaved by the Byun family, his responsibility was to take care of their eldest child, Baekhyun, until he is ready to be the Head of the Byun Province. Luhan’s family moved from the Meng Kingdom to Myungnam after the Peace Treaty was made, but his parents were killed when the Great War ensued. He became an orphan who roamed the streets, before someone rescued him and brought him to the Byuns. However, he ended up working under the Emperor himself, after his Master sold him.

Byun Baekhyun

The Imperial Secretary and is considered to be the Emperor’s closest friend, having known each other when they were younger. He abandoned his post as the Head of the Byun Province and chose to work under the Emperor himself, much to the disgust of his family. He is considered to be a genius, despite being the youngest official of the Royal (turned to Imperial in Kai's time) Court and the youngest nobility to become a member of the Myungnam Council in history (he was the Head of the Byun Province at the age of 17). He is known for his rudeness sometimes, that even the Emperor himself listens to him.

Park Chanyeol

The Imperial General and the Emperor’s close confidante. Like Byun Baekhyun, he came from a well-known family, the Parks, and he is well-known to be one of the surviving warriors of the Great War between Myungnam and Meng kingdoms. His affiliation with the Emperor was also disliked by his family. The Emperor values his loyalty that he gave him King Suho’s sword. He is known to have a playful nature, in contrast of him being the leader of the Imperial Army.

Lay

Luhan’s bestfriend and the Byun family’s protector/retainer. He is well equipped with the sword. He has a mysterious past, and the only thing known about him was that he grew up in the Oh Province and was a former bandit. He was the one who rescued Luhan from a gang bullying him in the streets.

Other characters shall be introduced as the story progresses.

Disclaimer: Myungnam is a fictional country. Created by my strange brain. XD Also, if a fic with a similar plot exists, I do not, in any way, copied it. This was solely based from Saiunkoku Monogatari and nothing else. (It means, only SaiunMono’s author would have the right to sue me OTL)