The Ashewa empire are the peoples thriving in the cruel wilderness of northern Ubuntuhuru, that is the ruthless Osu desert. Like many other peoples upon this continent they practice a ruinous tradition, Abobakuism.
Where in when a ruler dies, someone has to accompany him to the grave, like one or more of his wives, or son(s), or servant(s) or an appointed attendant for said purpose.
However the Ashewa people take it farther than this, practicing the custom in it's comleteness. When their Emperor dies, his entire host of courtiers must follow him to the grave, all of them altogether must go with him.
That means his harem, the Sovereign, the Chancellor, the council of elders, his ministers, his governors, his generals, his judges and all the rest of his courtiers must be buried with him. Their wives and children are exempt from this tradition.
Now the courtiers also take along with them their subordinate officials.
This is why I call it ruinous custom, this, this... this though is too much, too expansive, too much death and for what?
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The previous Emperor recently died. Abobakuism, all his' courtiers and all their own courtiers followed him to the looong sleepover in Sheol. His children seeing the glaring disarray of order and the naturally resulting power vacuums, quickly formed factions and became kings egged on by sycophants.
Tensions boil over, three kings against ten kings.
Treachery, intrigue, assassinations, corruption, deserters, defectors...
Shambles.
All of them perished.
The empire was not ripped into shreds of kingdoms but the damage was done.
The late emperor's youngest son was speedily enthroned, as a puppet leader by surviving ministers from the civil war; his now handlers.
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"This child cannot rule, he has no political will"
"He spends his days playing around"
"What can a twelve year old know about ruling a kingdom? Much less this grand empire founded on this arid lands"
Doubt, contempt, gall, open treachery... Powerless figurehead.
The cub of a lion is a lion.
Lounging? Yes but also biding when he becomes a whelp.