Kingdom of Sokuwa (Soe-koo-wuh)

The Kingdom of Sokuwa is the laboratory of the Final Choir of Vetevism, and their anchor at the very Western end of the Golden Coast. In the most ancient days, this was the end of the world before the wilds of the peninsula began. Now, Sokuwa is a commercial power at a crossroads between worlds. Valuable overland trade routes run West, to Maradia, and Sokuwa even has a special privileged relationship with Darzan University that grants it unusual access to the wider world. Sokuwa produces the most wizards of any Nafenan kingdom, as well as the most arcane ink (an essential wizarding component) in the world. This arcane connection has broadened the kingdom's horizons as a state and as a Choral conduit: the kingdom flirts with the idea of factories and advanced bureaucratic states, even as it experiments with what arcane magic can do to a chorical's body. 
Sokuwa's extreme ambition and volatility make it a prime target for The Singing Church of Orisha and Lunar enemies. Paladins, pirates, rebels, and assassins all flock here to undermine and pillage, exploiting the kingdom's bureaucratic shortcomings and overextension into the mountains to the Northwest. And yet, despite all the wars, Sokuwa still thrives economically. Society is in chaos, reeling from raids and espionage and sudden economic changes, and yet Sokuwa's army only sharpens into one of the finest in the Choir's armory. Whether Sokuwa will overcome, or whether the chaos inside it will devour it, is anyone's game - but the results are sure to be explosive regardless.

Structure

The Kingdom of Sokuwa is a theocratic-bureaucratic monarchy, where a hereditary monarch rules with near absolute authority (with only the Final Choir of Vetevism itself holding greater status). In practice, the monarch depends on support from the bureaucracy and the noble houses to make laws or wield their authority. The nobility of Sokuwa are not formally landed and do not have any legal rights to local rulership, but they hold large amounts of land in practice and tend to hold major positions in the royal court and bureaucracy. 
The bureaucracy itself is loosely modeled after that of the Empire of Calazen, at least aesthetically. There are six Ministries that hold power:

• The Ministry of War, which manages the army
• The Ministry of Wealth, which manages tax collection, public works, and trade standardization
• The Ministry of Flesh, which manages personnel and education; increasingly, this is tied into magic as well
• The Ministry of Surveillance, which manages espionage and counter-espionage
• The Ministry of Transformation, which manages religion, rites, festivals, and experiments to further transform the chorical species
• The Ministry of Justice, which manages the courts

This makes for an unusually centralized government. Sokuwa can leverage this centralization for big projects - large workshops, military operations, and the like. It can also be a weakness, as the fringes of the country tend to be more prone to rebellion and the government can be oblivious to local concerns. 
As for monarchical succession, the royal family vote on succession internally. More practically, the youngest competent adult child of the monarch tends to be a shoe-in; the older children are expected to lead expeditions or projects elsewhere, while the younger children are groomed to rule. 

Figures of Power

The current reigning monarch is Sovereign Difalli I of the Venjin Dynasty, an idealistic child-monarch that ascended to the throne several years ago due to intrigue. Difalli has proven to be quite the sharp kid during their reign, surprisingly good at diplomacy, etiquette, and persuasion, and very eager to learn about magic, science, foreign cultures, philosophy, and theology. They are still struggling to get a full grasp on the less personal or theoretical elements of rulership, though - stuff like systems of paperwork, how to make good appointments, the laws and their implementation, trade policy, and military leadership. As of 2018 ME, they have just turned 16, and are in the process of trying to take power from the various regents and ministerial overlords (who have enjoyed six years of self-rule). Some worry that Difalli may not be up to the task of restoring order just yet - the Lord Ministers have become comfortable in their power, and the country is in enough chaos due to rebellions, raids, and intrigue that Difalli cannot focus entirely on curtailing them. But the young monarch is ambitious and determined - they want to be a philosopher-sovereign and an absolute monarch, and they will do anything to make that dream a reality.
The primary regent of Difalli I is Noru Tozeki, former Lord Minister of the Ministry of Surveillance. Lord Tozeki is loyal to the royal family, and is well-loved by the Venjins for their humble attitude and history of obedience. They are also good at maintaining the loyalty of their subordinates and former subordinates, and have kept the Ministry of Surveillance in line during the regency period. Unfortunately they have also picked fights with the other ministries all through the regency, and have failed to keep the other Lord Ministers accountable to crown power. They have also become very comfortable as acting monarch, and have been trying to hold onto power until Sovereign Difalli is "entirely ready". 
The Choirmaster of the West is also based in Sokuwa and has great influence in the royal court. The current Choirmaster is a Sokuwan bard named Rishin Dolati. Rishin is ambitious but reclusive, less directly political than other Choirmasters. Rishin's ambition is laser-focused on magic and technology, and has a much broader scope than just Sokuwa: they have used teleportation magic to help seed outposts of the Choir around the world, to gather information, magical items of interest, and volunteers for magical synthesis. Rishin is a Vetevic zealot, who is absolutely convinced that the magical secrets of other continents could help integrate new species into the ultimate new species.

Culture

Big, Friendly, and Hierarchical

Sokuwa likes big buildings, large food servings, big hats, big sleeves, and large bravado. Local choir priests have even invested effort into breeding taller Sokuwans, and height is considered a very attractive quality for purposes of marriage and childbearing. Sokuwan choricals are often critiqued for being excessively prism for this reason by the leadership of the Final Choir, but Sokuwans are quick to dismiss these critiques as a matter of Eastern elitism - Sokuwans often frame themselves (even their nobility) as underdogs, and can be quick to anger when it comes to snooty Nomic attitudes. There is a light whiff of meritocracy here, as well as a celebration of individualistic accomplishment. Individual accomplishment (and spellcasting ability) is valued, particularly among elites. Do not mistake this for actual social mobility, though: Sokuwan society demonizes disrespectful upstarts just as quickly as it demonizes pretentious Easterners, and hierarchy fits into just about every social ritual here. You always greet and wrap hands with the highest status individual in the room first, and then proceed by order of social status; you are always firm, but never more firm than your social superior. You never eat before those of higher status in a meal, and if you are wearing a larger hat than someone of substantially higher rank you take that hat off. An upstart who refuses to show proper respect is automatically cast with negative stereotypes, Orishan or Nomic: as either pretentious or mindlessly ignorant, as either domineering or grotesquely submissive. This has all become much harsher in recent decades, as economic inequality has soared. Even among the poorer classes, policing of behavior has increased - perceived attempts to connect individual virality and adulthood to wealth have led to overperformance of hierarchy and individual dominance even in rural villages.
Don't let the hierarchy and the rivalries fool you, though - Sokuwan culture treasures hospitality and xenophilia, or at least the idea of it. Individual honor is greatly hurt if you are stingy to guests, especially when it comes to food. Friendliness is always expected in public, and it is considered good manners to greet strangers on the street. The aesthetics and mannerisms of friendship are extended into default public attitudes, which can be quite overwhelming for outsiders (and quite confusing when they don't translate to genuine affection).
Foreignness in particular is downright fetishized, as long as Sokuwan cultural dominance is never questioned. It is fashionable to wear foreign fashions, say foreign phrases, and eat foreign foods. Naming a child "Govi" or "Gobi" (after Ghavi ) or saying "Mial" (the High Sunekan 'hello') as a greeting is fashionable here. This is a point of pride. Any visitor from far away is sure to see many rough impressions and play-acts of their perceived culture, and will be expected to applaud these (not praising this behavior will be seen as disrespectful usually). Subculture even exist in Dyshi and other major cities that embrace romanticized and Sokuwan-ized versions of other empire's or continent's cultures (particularly Calazen, the Suneka, Zerua, Samvara, and Asalay)

Common Customs

Fashion here values the big and the noticeable. Traditional Sokuwan hats are either tall and pointed (associated with business and art) or broad and rounded (associated with work and soldiery both are frequently decorated with feathers or bangles. Traditional Sokuwan dress is known for large sleeves and neck-holes; sleeves are often tied back for work, and worker's clothes are distinguished by the small bits of rope around the arms. Of course, the rise in foreign fashion inspiration over the last century has introduced all kinds of new hats and clothing styles.  Among the elites, the most hippest new fashion is Dragoon Style at the moment: a kind of cavalry-inspired martial look that involves wearing riding boots in public and military-styled shirts and pants. There are those who make a point of wearing as traditional clothing as possible in response - such attire is mandatory in the royal court, and wearing that clothing to elite functions could be a statement or royal connections, monarchical support, or plain old conservatism depending on who is doing it and where. There are also those who have taken Dragoon Style to new levels with a foreign twist - Lion Style is a kind of Sunekan Dragoon fashion that combines wizarding buttoned-up orderliness, martial shoulderpads, cavalry boots, and Sunekan ranching hats. Lion Style clothing is popular among those who sell to or associate with wizards (or would like people to think that they do). Access to these fashions is entirely class restricted to the elites in the countryside, and generally aren't fully accessible to the working poor in the major cities either. 
In terms of common etiquette, there is a basic ideal of personal space outside of the initial greetings (or among close friends). Conversations are to be had for their own sake - bringing up anything potentially sad or serious outside of specifically serious conversations is considered deeply rude and socially inept. Talking only for business if the situation isn't urgent is also a little rude, especially if you are the social inferior - the social superior always decides when a conversation ends (and can do so at their whim) if there is a major status divide at play. 
Sex and romance are intensely regulated in Sokuwa, similar to the Sacred Kingdom of Nomion. More emphasis is placed on emotional performances of love, but there is also a kind of popular victim-blaming that targets those who don't love their spouse - the Choir is always right in their pairings, so you must be doing something wrong if it doesn't work out. This is especially true in the countryside and among the nobility, but there is a weird religious populist counter-current growing in the cities: the idea that the Choir is holding back the faithful in their pairings, and that sentiment is a "spiritual intuition" of good breeding pairs. This 'free love' culture is weirdly patriotic and religious, even as it is populist and mystical (and can overlap the foreign fetishization subcultures). 
As for food, the dominant cuisine is Nomion-style mixed chorical food. But travelers are in luck! Sokuwa also revels in a diversity of tastes, and those who can afford to will make a point of including human, dryad, and prism food in their meals. Sokuwan traditional cuisine is all about rice, fried toast, pickles, soups, pasta, and (in the last few decades) baked potatoes. None of Nomion's revulsion towards alcohol is present here - Sokuwan culture often imagines its culture-heroes as big drinkers.

History

Early History

The lush river valleys of Sokuwa were heavily populated for many centuries before the first formal cities and states were founded by colonists from Vysha in the mid Divine Era. The intense mining, agriculture, and violence of the new colonies set of a chain reaction across the region that disturbed the relationships between tribes, and between humans and prisms more broadly. Slavery became increasingly important to these early city-states, and war was almost ceaseless. After Halcyon intervened among the prisms of Nafena to free their slaves and the messages of Hiku Matsune spread across the continent, things became to de-escalate. By the -100s DE, the species-wars were entirely over and the Vyshan colonial regimes were toppled. Wars were still frequent and slavery was still common, but Sokuwa had settled into a handful of stable local powers that didn't commit any sins beyond what was normal for the Golden Coast region. Sokuwa's coastal regions became known for their lumber exports and large markets for foreign goods, and they became a stable anchor for continental commerce in the early Modern Era.
In 340 ME, the first Vetevic expedition arrived in Sokuwa. Despite being the furthest Vetevic conquest from Nomion, it was one of the first - a Half Prism bard known as Keto Gimai, who was a companion of the great General Suvatama, was half Sokuwan and had connections to the Northern coast. The Gimai clan welcomed the Choir, converted to their religion, and spent the next sixty years unifying Sokuwa. Keto and the early Gimai conquerors are semi-mythic figures, who guided Sokuwa through the chaos of the early Lunar wars. From 400 to 600 ME the Gimai slowly expanded and consolidated their holdings in a very decentralized feudal-ish state that is now retroactively seen as the original Kingdom of Sokuwa. When the Choir re-organized and centralized in the 400s, the Gimai were too far away to be affected by those reforms, and their kingdom was more of a Choral ally than a subordinate.

Civil Wars and Prism Wars (600 - 1000)

In the early 600s, the Gimai clan fell from power and the Thiru clan rose to power. The mythic line of Keto the Ascended ended, and a period of periodically-alternating dynasties began. At first, these dynasties were clans tied to pre-Gimai kingdoms, but these dynasties eventually became more narrowly focused on the bloodlines of specific warlords. Four dynasties passed, as did four wars. These wars included a particularly bloody conflict in 640, where paladins of Theia the Liberator waded in to target the slave trade and waged their own war on a number of local lords and warlords. In 790, the Nedreksi family stabilized the kingdom, cast out the Lunar cults, and centralized power along the coast. This was just in time for the Prism Wars - a devastating series of cross-continental conflicts in the 800s that re-opened many old wounds and seemed to set back the clock on Sokuwa's progress. Sokuwa, as the largest Vetevic kingdom in the West and Hiku's barrier to Southern expansion, faced a massive coalition of Western prisms alone - and survived surprisingly long. The kingdom was overthrown and fell into civil war as armies of Hiku and Jade marched down from the mountains. The prism lords fought over the scraps, while the Choral elites were too busy with their own infighting to send support. Slavery returned, as did vicious species-conflict. Two main prism groups divided Sokuwa between them: The Bruzalati in the South and the coast, and the Hilosholi in the North and across the interior. The two groups were more of federations marked by their Lunar preference - the Bruzulati praised Hiku first, the Hilosholi preferred Jade.
Even after the Prism Wars ended, war continued in Sokuwa when the Singing Church of Orisha arrived in 888, and the Bruzalati began an aggressive missionary campaign. Rebellions sprung up across the coast, and found support among the Hilosholi. The half-prisms of Sokuwa were the most loyal Vetevics, who had been bred in large numbers since the days of Keto - and they had intermarried with the Hilosholi leadership. The relationship between Jade and Hiku had collapsed in heaven, and so the federations were encouraged to fight it out on Earth. Soon, Vetevic reinforcements arrived on the horizon, and the Hilosholi won the day and reunited Sokuwa. Half-prism authority, aligned with the Vetevic choir but not zealously so, became a symbol of renewed peace between the species; residual conflict and violence slowly petered out. But the success of the Choir as peacemakers set the stage for zealotry, especially after the monarchy splintered during a succession crisis in 970. Sokuwa became three smaller monarchies, full of zeal and Jade's visions of authority-by-force. They warred with their neighbors, expanded, and exerted greater control over their peripheral populations. And, above all, they pursued and fought the Orishans wherever they could.

Orchid's Reforms (1000 - 1300)

In 1060, religious peace was declared between the Singing Church and the Final Choir. The heirs of the champions of Jade, who had meticulously traced their lineages back to Keto Gimai himself, found their conquests slow to a halt. Not only were they running out of acceptable targets, they were running out of easy-to-conquer lands. The three kingdoms fought with each other, while a greater internal threat slowly rose: the Sonrezu, a great federation of dye-makers and chemists that rose in power across all three kingdoms. The prisms of the far West always had an eye for powders and reactions, and Sokuwans had a long history of finding ways to sell those mineral concoctions to foreigners. The Hilosholi kingdom's centralizing reforms allowed these dye-makers, chemists, and merchants to organize into larger guild structures - and the three successor states had happily thrown dryads (who were unable to take part in the Half-prism's sacred genetic destiny) to these profitable enterprises as cheap labor. But now, war between the successor kingdoms was getting in the way of profits. And the Sonrezu, a military-political alliance of guilds formed to help fight the Orishans, was a perfect vehicle to end these unprofitable wars and seize power with.
It took a civil war in the Choir itself for everything to come spilling out though. In 1163, the last war between the three kingdoms ended with the Sonrezu winning - and then promptly falling in on itself as it failed to make a stable government. The Sonrezu was taken over by a figure from the periphery: a paladin of Orchid of Blue named Flona Kalski, who wanted to end the exploitation of dryads and direct attention more towards finding and incorporating Half dryads into the kingdom to further the Choral project. Business reform and religious utopianism were brought together, and the kingdom was reforged as the Kingdom of Sokuwa (land of the two rivers) in 1170. Orchid suddenly rose to replace Jade as the supreme Lunar patron of the Sokuwan monarchy, and Orchid brought many commercial and legal reforms over the next century that moved the country away from traditional agriculture and towards trade and manufacturing.

The Battle of North and South (1300 - 1400)

The reforms Orchid brought in the 1200s made Sokuwa wealthy and more internationally connected, but also eroded the authority of the crown. Orchid encouraged this process, and the country even began electing monarchs from among the Choir's favored candidates in the early 1300s. Unfortunately, this decentralized government and electoral system ultimately turned towards regional factionalism - the North wanted more centralized control and less feudalism, the South wanted to push the country towards a federal structure. A military revolt and attempted coup in 1321 set the two regions against each other in a war of succession, which the South ended up winning in 1328. After only one real election, the elected monarchy of Sokuwa was replaced with hereditary succession once again - though the crown increasingly meant nothing.
The North may have lost the war of 1321, but it won the following peace. One family of Northern lords, the Chenku, managed to rally the others and consolidate a state-within-a-state. As the first half-dryads arrived and the leadup to the Chorical project began, religious excitement intensified across Sokuwa - not only was evolution progressing, but Sokuwa had played a direct role in that evolution. Religious excitement turned to class warfare in the South, while the Chenku family again harnessed the growing forces. The official declaration of the Chorical mission (to mass breed as many choricals as possible) in 1380 set excitement to a fever pitch. In 1389, the Chenku family used a religious revolt in the South to seize control over the monarchy and subdue the Southern lords. Southern kings still ruled as puppets, but the Chenku rebuilt the government around themselves. 

The Rise of the Wizard's Choir (1400 - 1700)

The 1400s were a century of failed rebellions, government consolidation, and conquest. In the late 1400s, Sokuwa marched armies South, into the region of Aido, and created a large vassal kingdom there that helped expand Sokuwa's influence across the Southern peninsula. But unprofitable wars and one failed integration of the vassal-state of Aido later, and Sokuwa suddenly shifted from militarism towards internal development. Money was funneled towards large state projects: irrigation, schools, roads, magical academies, and mines. 
A new family, the Tarshi, took the government over from within in the 1550s and accelerated this process. Border wars ended, and investment in chemistry and magic became a particular focus: a belief was forming that chemicals and potions could possibly assist in the next stage of Chorical evolution, as well as the further evolution of bardic magic. Choir money flowed in to experimental facilities and magical academies, and emissaries were sent to study in the distant Empire of Calazen and beyond. Sokuwa became the laboratory of the Choir, and it developed many new technologies from 1550 to 1700: how to mass produce acid, how to produce bleach, how to better make concrete. And, more importantly, Sokuwa created the first wizarding school in Nafena. While Sokuwa's wizards hardly held a match to those of Stildane or Inahng in quality, the kingdom focused on quantity instead - mass translating wizard texts, training as many wizards as possible, and refining the large-scale production of arcane ink. At the same time, Sokuwa bureaucratized and moved away from decentralized feudal rule. 

Three Centuries of Conflict (1700 - 2000)

The 1700s were a period of decline, as the bureaucracy fought itself, a terrible Stildanian blight destroyed the unsustainable agricultural monoculture of the kingdom, and the neighboring rogue state of Taido released a wave of bandits and pirates into Sokuwa's trade routes. But eventually the blight faded, the state reformed without any feudal attachments, and a renewed military drove the pirates out of Sokuwan waters. The next century was spent fighting in the many great wars of the Golden Coast, especially against the Kingdoms of Gemiku and Yuteka to the East (Orishans and secular heretics). These wars ended in 1912, when a treaty between the Choir and the Singing Church created a new status quo in South-Central Nafena. This peace didn't reward Sokuwa much, despite their critical role in defeating the forces of Hiku - and the army of Sokuwa decided to target other Orishans in the Northwestern mountains, to continue their religious war and take their territory. 
From 1912 to 1980, Sokuwa invaded the Atojadan mountain passes and conquered the major prism-holds there. The terrain was impossible to fully occupy, but the kingdom was happy to set up a network of vassals and intermediaries to rule for them. But even after the fall of the prism tribes, the wars haven't really ended. Instead, the Kingdom of Sokuwa was relentlessly pressed into the mountains seeking more power, more minerals, and manufacturing power - and has forcibly created a Vetevic ruling class. More and more choricals have been monopolizing power in the Atojadas, while openly Orishan prisms have been basically enslaved and used to expand Sokuwa's mines and roads into the mountains. 

Modern History

While the war in the Atojadas may seem pointless (why invade such high mountains?), they have actually greatly enriched Sokuwa - the wars have massively expanded the kingdom's access to various mines and deposits. Sokuwa now is the arcane component capital of the world, particularly when it comes to arcane dyes and ink - Sokuwa's increased production has allowed for wizarding universities to increase in size so much over the last century. It is no surprise that the Darzan University partnered with Sokuwa during the 1920s, one of their first official relationships. In some ways, the Darzan University has driven Sokuwa's mountain wars; Sokuwa provides cheap ink, and the University provides arcane boons and foreign goods. Sokuwa has become the laboratory of the Choir once again, a hub of new ideas and magics that might allow for a new species to be created once again. 
Of course, this expanded production has come at a terrible cost: Sokuwa is under siege from within and faces constant attacks from its outer periphery. The Atojadan tribes wage their constant small wars against Sokuwan mines and merchants; assassins and agents of Hiku target Sokuwan leaders; paladins of Theia have organized in the neighboring lands of Taishi and Edeka, and constantly raid the kingdom; cultists of Lily of Red have seized power to the West and have started supporting various raiders, likely leading to a war soon; rapid economic changes have created a lot of internal turmoil; and intrigue plagues the palace. 
The Venjin dynasty has held the throne since 1930, when a incompetent and tyrannical monarch of the old dynasty, Tolushi Torichiki, was slain by their own bodyguards. Four Venjin monarchs have ruled since then: Uziro Venjin (1930 - 1951), Taili Venjin (1951 - 1997), Saidesh Venjin (1997 - 2012), and now the young Difalli Venjin. Uziro was an essentially middle-of-the-road competent monarch that let the military run the show; Tailli centralized power and saved the monarchy from becoming military puppets; and Saidesh was extremely competent but faced constant assassinations, coups, and resurrections that disrupted their reign and nearly unseated the dynasty. Difalli is Saidesh's child, who excels at etiquette and diplomacy but is struggling with the more mechanical elements of the state. Difalli is an idealist who would love to become a philosopher-monarch; they are excitedly learning wizardry and scientific theory, as well as theology and Choral theory. They are beloved by the populace as a symbol of hope and a young prodigy; they have everything in place to really guide Sokuwa to their envisioned future, if they manage to survive to adulthood and retake authority from the military and bureaucracy.

Demography and Population

Around 13 to 14 million humanoids live in Sokuwa. 90% of the population is Chorical, and 10% of the population is Prism.

Territories

Sokuwa is 555 miles long, and 200 miles wide. The climate is mostly temperate forest, with pockets of dry plains and even rocky desert in the far North. The coastal area and the area around the rivers are mostly flatlands, with mountains surrounding them. Most of the population live in the arable flatlands rather than the mountains, though the last century has seen massive state efforts to build in and settle the rocky terrain of the interior. The Northern river is known as the Vibisu, and the Southern river is known as Jinbisu.

Military

Sokuwa's army, organized bureaucratically under the Ministry of War, has far more funding and cultural emphasis than its navy. The army is highly tied to urban centers and town-forts, which serve as recruitment centers, training centers, and supply depots; the countryside either has to organize into independent militias, plead for their landlords to hire mercenaries, or petition the Ministry to build a fort nearby.
The army is generally split into two halves: the ight divisions and the Kalshi (a word for professional elite warriors common in feudal-era Sokuwa). The light divisions are the common infantry and archers, often equipped with spears, swords, and shortbows - and, with increasing numbers, matchlock guns. There is little social mobility among the light divisions, but a small handful of exceptional warriors can be promoted into officer positions or given educational grants to become magicians, war engineers, or formal officers. Artillery, a new component of the Sokuwan army, has rapidly risen to prominence thanks to the prism wars of the last century. 
The Kalshi make up the elite regiments, and make up most of the heavy infantry, cavalry, spellcasters, and elite archers. The Kalshi prefer large weapons: Horseman's picks (warhammer-picks), large curved greatswords (think miaodao or odachi), and large elaborate greatbows are all common here. Legends and folklore tell of truly enormous swords and bows wielded by the ancient monarchs and heroes, but these rarely translate to practice outside a few show performers. There are also many wizards and bards in the army, as Sokuwa eagerly trains as many casters as possible. 
This is a particularly martial moment for Sokuwa: military service is seen as the ultimate demonstration of individual dominance and virality, an assertion of big-ness and personhood that can greatly bolster people's status. There is also a lot of resentment among the light divisions about the strict class hierarchies of the army.

Religion

Religion and the Law

The Kingdom of Sokuwa is a traditional center for the Final Choir of Vetevism, and it is a very religious country to this day. Other religions, particularly the Singing Church of Orisha, all face some kind of legal marginalization. Non-threatening foreign faiths, like Zihari or Nedira, are generally tolerated as long as they don't proselytize, but any religion that openly opposes the choir is banned outright.
This is somewhat new - the last two centuries have seen a sharp increase in laws that target foreign faiths, as well as a cultural turn against foreign religions. More and more faiths have been classified as dangerous to the Choir, and now the Way of Brambleshanks, Pratasam are officially illegal in any capacity. Heathens who are caught practicing a dangerous religion are often sentenced to hard labor; this period of growing religious intolerance is a useful way to acquire cheap labor. While some believe that this persecution should also extend to other cultures (as the line between religion and culture is blurry), that remains a minority opinion politically - religion in Sokuwa is defined by who you serve, who you tithe, and what you say in public, not how you act or what you believe.

Belief and Authority

Sokuwa's version of the Final Choir may serve the ultimate choral project, but it is a little unique in some of what it teaches. There is much more of an emphasis on divine guidance and authority, rather than the aspirational projects of mortals. Across the board, mortal agency is reduced in Sokuwan Vetevism and much more emphasis is placed on destiny and predestination. Suvatera, the supreme god, is elevated here to a kind of cosmic emperor who could ascend everyone right now, but is waiting for their plan to play out for unknown reasons; this is opposed to traditional Vetevism, which posits that the Traitor Gods have enough power to restrain Suvatera's influence and power. Sokuwan religion emphasizes the glory of ascension and accepts it as inevitable - the alternate future where the Traitor Gods win and dissolve reality simply isn't possible, so being on the winning side and fulfilling your duty means certain ascension and eternal glory. 
There is a martial and monarchical character to Sokuwan Vetevism - there are many stories of the mythic monarchs of old who glorified Suvatera and, through their own ascension, uplifted their subjects. There are also many stories of slaying the Orishans, and of Chiminaros' gifts in rescuing the Sokuwans from their oppression. It might be unsurprising that there is a lot of royal cult here - the monarch is said to have Dragon's Blood the Chiminaros mating with their ancestors, which is awakened by them drinking a special concoction during their coronation. It is believed that, no matter how many times dynasties change, the monarchs can always become biologically transformed by imbibing the fluids of Keto Gimai (purified from the ash of a prior monarch), the first monarch who is said to have transformed into a thousand-headed dragon whose body is now part of the land itself. Any pure chorical of the original clans can become awakened bodily this way, but not all monarchs flower into ascension. Great monarchs are said to be able to perform miracles through their ascended body, though every monarch who consumed a prior monarch can pass on their gift (no matter how mediocre they are). There is great hope in the general public that the child-Sovereign Difalli I will flower and ascend, and that the whole kingdom will flourish for it. 
Several Lunar Gods are also praised to an unusual extent in Sokuwan Vetevism: Orchid of Blue and Jade Atharzen most of all, but also Emesh, and Wimbo Aizitu. Lily, Hiku, Theia, and Ishkibal are all actively disliked as agents of corruption.

Foreign Relations

Sokuwa is surrounded by small enemies. To the Northwest Sokuwa is struggling to annex the Atojara mountains, which are teeming with rebels. In the East, the Kingdom of Taishi teems with bandits, pirates, spies, and raiders - many of which have been directed towards Sokuwa by Lunar Gods. In the West, agents of Lily of Red and Orishan warriors are working together to conquer the region of Osikapa, with the stated goal of eventually conquering Sokuwa; Sokuwa, naturally, has involved itself in the conflict. In the Southwest, the Theia-paladin-led Kingdom of Edeka is launching raids through the Southern mountains. 
Sokuwa has many neighboring allies as well. Many small kingdoms in the West and North support Sokuwa militarily, as well as the powerful Kingdom of Aido in the South. However, both the major Vetevic kingdoms of Aido and Nomion (in the far East) are generally wary of Sokuwa - there is a tension in their relationship, as Sokuwa is seen as a power-hungry state with dubious loyalties to choral authority. 

Agriculture & Industry

Sokuwa is mostly-agrarian, but generally geared towards manufacturing. Mining is a big thing here: for food, gold, silver, copper, lead, iron, and all sorts of minerals that could be turned into soap, bleach, or arcane components. Farming is also present in a big way, with lots of rice, what, gourds, and potatoes grown. 
When it comes to production, Sokuwa tends towards mineral processing - they have a very long history of chemistry that they used to make all sorts of dyes and products, and the last century of technological innovation has greatly expanded what Sokuwa can make and how efficiently. Dyes are a major export here, as is soap, bleach, ink, and gunpowder. A particular specialty of Sokuwa that has made it globally relevant is its production of arcane inks and dyes used for containing spells - Sokuwa more than anywhere has the process of mass mixing and bottling this stuff down to a T, and they sell it in massive amounts to The Darzan University. Aside from chemistry, Sokuwa also handles more traditional mineral wealth and mints coins, forges weapons, and makes tools. 
Once, Sokuwa was also known for its lumber, but extreme deforestation (a consistent problem since the 1600s) has ended that economic specialty. 
While Sokuwa is not industrialized by any means, it has favored mass production for a while - and new technological innovations have certainly pushed it in that general direction. In another century, that descriptor may actually be accurate - there is certainly a lot of interest in how Sunekan-style and Zeruan-style factories might work.

Trade & Transport

Sea trade is mostly done through the fleets of the Final Choir, often the Western fleets that have been de-facto taken over by the neighboring Kingdom of Aido. Land trade up the Western river and through the region of Osikapa actually tends to be more profitable, as it connects more easily to the continent of Maradia - but now that war has broken out there in the last few decades, that trade route has become less reliable. 
Most trade coordination is done by the Sonrezu, an ancient over-guild of sorts that now serves the Ministry of Wealth. The Sonrezu is an elite institution with a tangled mess of rules, regulations, and traditions - it is easily forgotten in the government structure and has a lot of archaic aesthetics. Nonetheless, it is the only state-protected bank in the country, it helps set the rules for trade standardizations, and it gets to decide when a powerful ascended guild (called a "Base") has grown too large. So forget it at your peril.
Most artisans work with guilds, and powerful guilds become Bases when they start gaining political power and open up a "platform market" (often partnering with a powerful family or temple). While a few unregulated commercial cliques of elite merchants exist, most partner up with one of the Ministries.

"The Best of All The World!"

Founding Date

1790

Type

Geopolitical, Kingdom

Demonym

Sokukwan

Government System

Monarchy, Theocratic

Power Structure

Unitary state

Currency

Old Nafenan Gold Circles, Silver points, and Copper Squares

Major Exports

Iron, gold, copper, acid, soap, bleach, arcane dyes, mundane dyes

Major Imports

Lumber, textiles, ships, horses

Official State Religion

The Final Choir of Vetevism

Location

Nafena