Kan Zen

Kan Zen enjoys a view of the night sky.

Excerpt from a ESB Group (Keltia) policy paper discussing the impending reign of Empress Kan Zen. How the document came to be in the public domain is not known, but Ergonians are suspected.

The fifth of the rulers of Passio-Corum, and the first non-Pallisican ruler, Kan Zen ascended to the Crown of Passio-Corum 35.25 PSSC, after assassinating Crown Opyeme Amor. She was elected as Chairman of the Union in July 2017.

Early Life

Date	Event	Significance
TBD PSSC (TBD ASC)	Birth of Kan Zen	Kan Zen is born to a Haifan mother who works as a servant to the Priestess of Agripinilla, and a father from the Passasian Societies who enjoys relative success as a merchant selling goods on behalf of the West Keltian Trade Association.
TBD PSSC (TBD ASC)	Education as a Temple Priestess	Displaying a great propensity for theology and philosophy, and a peculiar intensity in her devotion to the teachings of the Stripping Path, Kan Zen is adopted as a personal pupil of the Priestess of Agripinilla.
TBD PSSC (TBD ASC)	Education as a Temple Spy	As the favorite student of the high priestess of the Bassarid faith, Kan Zen begins to receive instruction on the methods of espionage and assassination. Dismayed by this change in the nature of his daughter's education, Zen's father murders her mother, and under the guise of complete secrecy, transports Zen to Carol Stream so as to protect her from the Priestess of Agripinilla.
TBD PSSC (TBD ASC)	Orphaned in Carol Stream	Despite his best efforts to remain hidden from the wrath of the Priestess of Agripinilla, and to keep his daughter safe, Kan Zen's father is assassinated by Bassarid spies in Carol Stream. As a result, Kan Zen is enrolled in an orphanage in Zidado West.
TBD PSSC (TBD ASC)	Adoption in Zidado West	Through circumstances which are not exactly clear, Kan Zen is adopted by the Commander General of the Academy of the New Zimian War League in Zidado West. It is in this role - as the adopted daughter as the Commander General - that Kan Zen becomes acquainted with Opyeme Amor, who is at this time a promising student at the Academy. The two are quick to form an intensely intimate relationship such that within mere months, they are virtually inseparable from one another.
TBD PSSC (905 ASC)	Companion of the Crown	Opyeme Amor is recognized by Queen Esper I as Oracle, and heir to the Crown of Passio-Corum, after he performs an apparent miracle in which he heals a group of Haifan beggars of blindness. Amor accepts the title of Oracle on the condition that a formal position be created within the Council of Courts for his friend and companion, Kan Zen. Kan Zen is appointed to the office of Companion of the Crown. In this role, Kan Zen covertly inculcates herself within the ranks of the Pallisican government, fostering support for her eventual seizure of power. More overtly, however, she publicly supports the policies put forth by Amor following his rise to power, including his decision to establish improved relations with Hamland, and to formally adopt the Pallisican Scientific Standard Calendar.
TBD PSSC (TBD ASC)	Opposition and Betrayal of Amor	Kan Zen begins to defy the expectations which have been established for her in her role as Companion of the Crown, by publicly renouncing the policies put forth by Crown Amor regarding intervention in the Hammish Civil War. Tension between Amor and Zen escalates as the war increases in intensity, and as fighting extends into the Sea of Storms and beyond. Despite their general agreement and support for the establishment of the USSO in the aftermath of the war, the Crown and the Companion of the Crown become increasingly alienated from one another. This sense of alienation and animosity culminates on 23/1/35 PSSC, when in response to the decision by Amor to deploy troops to the Strait of Haifa so as to disrupt trade between Shireroth and Blore Heath, Kan Zen - in an apparent state of divinely inspired maenadism - murders Crown Amor. While attending a dinner party together, Kan Zen, in a state of utter insanity, beats Amor to death in front of guests and servants alike. Zen is arrested for the murder and is placed in prison to await trial. She escapes from prison several days later, in an event which is now regarded as the First Miracle of Kan Zen.
TBD PSSC (TBD ASC)	The Miracle of Kan Zen	Kan Zen appears to vanish from existence as an empire-wide manhunt yields no results in its search for her following her escape from prison. As the search increases its scope during this period, a seemingly supernatural event transpires in which dozens, and eventually hundreds, of Bijeko-Lisea-Nas descend upon the streets of the nation's capital city, Lucien. The appearance of these typically solitary, predatory beasts, prompts an outbreak of sheer terror across the empire, in particular in the Kingdom of New Zimia. This sense of terror results in the outbreak of rebellion in the Region of the East, as Kralian demonstrators demand independence. This period of terror ends ten days later when Kan Zen appears on the road leading towards the Houses of Corum, riding on the back of a mule, and flanked on either side by a pair of Bijeko-Lisea-Nas. Most practitioners of the Pallisican religion immediately recognize her appearance as a sign from the gods, and defer to her as the nation's new Oracle, and heir-apparent to the Crown of Passio-Corum. To this end, she proceeds to the seat of the nation's government completely unmolested by any guards who may otherwise arrest her for the assassination of Opyeme Amor.

Early Rule

Date	Event	Significance
45/01/35 PSSC (TBD ASC)	Ascension to Oracle	Three days following her miraculous re-entry into the city of Lucien, Kan Zen is recognized by the Chief Justice of the Temple Court as the Oracle of the Pallisican Religion. Two days later, Zen authorizes her own ascension to the Crown of Passio-Corum. Upon assuming the Crown, Kan Zen formally adopts the title of Empress of the Sea of Storms - a decision which prompts outrage and ridicule alike from foreign observers across the globe.
45/01/35 PSSC (TBD ASC)	Economic Re-Organization	Among the first orders of business for the newly self-appointed ruler of the Greater Pallisican Trade Association, Empress Zen immediately sets to work replacing Grand Duke National Mall - the nation's primary marketplace since the establishment of the Kingdom of New Zimia - with the more modernized and adaptable Port of Storms. This decision allows the Pallisican government and its constituent members to better consolidate their economic control of regions across Micras' eastern hemisphere. The decision to adopt the Port of Storms as the new national marketplace also prompts a rejuvenation and re-organization of the nation's military, which has been somewhat exhausted by conflict in recent months and years.
51/01/35 PSSC (TBD ASC)	Dissolution of USSO	With a rejuvenation of the New Zimian War League made possible by a general sense of economic restoration, Kan Zen launches as part of a campaign aimed at bringing about an end to the War of Jingdaoese Immolation, a naval blockade against the Jingdaoese capital, as well as territorial holdings in the southern Captive Sea. The blockade contributes to a decline in fighting, and thereby leads to the war's ultimate conclusion in which Jingdao and Shireroth agree to a general white peace. The decision, however, leads to an unprecedented sense of uncertainty regarding the future of the USSO as a military alliance. These concerns are rectified soon after by the announcement by the government of Passio-Corum that it has begun construction of the USSO Common Market, a trade network which is designed to connect the economies of all nations affiliated with the USSO.
69/02/35 PSSC (TBD ASC)	USSO Common Market and the Stripping Path	The USSO Common Market serves as the basis for an unprecedented level of trade between Passio-Corum, Jingdao, and Gerenia. Before long, the shared international market is extended to include the Florian Republic, Nova England, and the Maritime Markets of the Strait of Haifa. On the basis of trade with the Maritime Markets, Kan Zen begins to reform the position of the Pallisican government regarding the Stripping Path. Whereas the religion had until now been rejected by the Houses of Pallisican Chelkra, Zen now mandates that the governing body of the Pallisican Religion can no longer deny membership to practitioners of the Bassarid faith. She also mandates government investment in the Port of Vaeringheim and the Port of Blore Heath, and authorizes investment in the Province of the River Erik which she regards as a viable foothold for the Stripping Path in Eura. In addition to these reforms, she also implements policies aimed at increasing support for the nation's merchants, who increasingly regard the Stripping Path as being superior to the outdated Pallisican Religion. The policies adopted by Kan Zen and her government during this period contribute to the widespread, early expansion of the Stripping Path across Keltia, Eura, Corum, and even parts of Apollonia. Wherever trade extends across the eastern hemisphere during this period, so too does the Stripping Path.