To the west of the southern and heartlant provinces of Shenguang lies the Shogunate of Shabuluk, a tropical domain sunken between the islands and inside a jungle as thick as the Malshan Mountains. The secrets that the jungle have swallowed are many, such as the history of the peoples that have renounced the Divine Empire, what was before they submitted to the heavenly emperor, in those days of legend where dragons fought each other and the ruins at the bottom of the sea were vibrant cities.
The Shabuluk Shogunate is populated predominantly by kobolds and Yuan Ti in the dense jungles, hobgoblins and humans by the coast and tritons in the island chains. the unforgiving terrain, wet heat and diesease acting as effective as any wall to keep them independent. The average shabuluk lives by fishing and trading by ship, or hunting game and slowly chopping away at the jungle, that has allowed for little in the way of field agriculture.
The Shogunate is ruled by the shogun, the current one being Warut the Wise, a hogbolin of the Shabuluk dynasty of measly 60 years. Under him exist the Daimyo and their samurai retinues, with priests , craftsmen, peasant farmers and merchants below in the social hierarchy. Trade is crucial for the currenct existence of the shogunate, as it is a waypoint between the Divine Empire and all the nations down south .Yet merchants , no matter how rich, are in theory inferior to the most simple of farmers, an order that the hobgolin Shabuluk dynasty has maintained in a moral sense without killing the trade. Slavers sell their captured goods in the cities of shabuluk, often taken from the isles down south, or product of tribal wars in shabuluk itself, despite the practice of enslaving a shabuluk being penalized by becoming a slave oneself.
For war, the shabuluk prefer skirmishes in their home terrain. Tamed crocodiles and sharks are employed as well as flails and spells of rain. The shabuluk soldiers are often trained to climb and swim as fast as they run, and either wear little armor, or as much as they can afford together with a heavy shield.
When the Divine Emperor vanished from Shenghuang, his abscence did not take time to be noticed. The shogunates were quick to rebel, and the divine armies slow to react, but what neither could expect was that many divine courtiers would also leave the throne city, and invite themselves to hide in the jungles of shabuluk without warning or request. Amateratsu, Susanoo and Tsukuyomi were the ones to survive the ordeal, at least three others were lost in the travel.
Attempts were made to dislodge the squatters, but a few fierce battles with their retinues let it be clear, to try and oust them would cost rivers of blood, and if their word was to be believed, to leave them be would cost nothing.
The Mikoshi retinues consist of a few thousand loyal dragonborn and tengu that fled in precession with their three masters carried in said mikoshis. Initially servants and administrators, a warrior culture quickly set in as to safeguard the three deities, creating marching armies that never stay too long in any given place as their way of life and survival.
Afraid of the wrath of the heavenly court, the mikoshis are always on the move, with an army of bodyguards, sentinels and spies ensuring that no threat is within the horizon. For this , the retinues have become adept swordfighters, sorcerers, and sorcerer slayers. It is well known that to face a retainer with spells is to face death, for not only will they overcome one`s magical resistances, but the skill with illusions and magics of thunder and wind have thrown back every foe that has attempted to end the life of their sires.