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Wang Yi the Magnificent Bastard
It was twenty-three years into the dark times of The Wandering Age when Wang Yi first strove to return order. The leader of the High August Clan of the Wang Region, Wang Yi was both powerful warrior and even greater peacemaker. It was the latter skill that served him most; in 1,026, after many long military campaigns and debates, Wang Yi was able to convince the heads of the other two great clans (the Jade Clan and the Lotus Clan) to join him in creating the Wang Kingdom. In the end, Wang Yi just ended up betraying and killing them anyway, which would earn him his famous moniker, The Magnificent Bastard. The great battles and courtly intrigue of this time period are told in the, The Golden Wang, wherin Wang Yi is the titular character.
It was an optimistic time; by 1,027 Wang Yi had already been declared the first High August Jade Lotus Emperor, and the system of sharing the throne between the three families came into place. Construction of the Imperial Palace began in the City of Kimono. All was well in the new Wang Kingdom.
The Wang Kingdom continued to grow in power and stability until 1,038, when The Shadow Lord first arose. Using methods startlingly similar to Wang Yi's, the Shadow Lord united all theives and bandits under his rule, and swore that he would plunge the land back into lawlessness.
Over the next few years The Shadow Lord and his bandits gained much power, threatening to topple all that Wang Yi had achieved with the Wang Kingdom. During this time Wang Yi remained suspiciously ineffective, taking no real action against the aggressors. Soon whispers spread that Wang Yi had been corrupted by power, and that the Shadow Lord had bought the Emperor's tolerance. It was during this time that Wang Yi gained the title "the Magnificent Bastard".
In truth, Wang Yi was heavily involved in fighting a lengthy secret war of wits, will, espionage and magic against the rising power of the Shadow Lord. They battled endlessly; Wang Yi, to perserve his beloved kingdom, and The Shadow Lord to destroy it. Wang Yi hoped that by keeping the battles secret the new kingdom would avoid tearing itself apart in fear; the Shadow Lord, a cunning opponent, used this secrecy to his advantage, spreading rumours of a corrupt Emperor.
In the end, this battle absorbed all Wang Yi's energy and began to take its toll on his mental stability. Making matters worse were the accusations of corruption; Wang Yi responded to these by growing more and more secluded. There were rumours that he suffered from dementia; Imperial Servants claimed that the Emperor was saving his urine in jars and had grown obsessed with germs. Much of the Emperor's wealth was supposedly spent creating, and then disinfecting, monuments to himself.
Wang Yi passed away in 1,059, leaving the throne to a weak Emperor. Many speculated that the new Emperor was chosen by The Shadow Lord himself, as one of the many benefits afforded by his bribes. In fact, Wang Yi was in such a weakened state that his conniving valet was able to coerce the throne from him. And so it was that the Wang Kingdom plunged into an era of darkness equalling that of the start of the Wandering Age, where it would stay until the rise of Emperor Cao Shaitu the Slayer of All Things Slayable. What the hell; at least they got a good eleven years out of it.
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