Lord Koh
Lord Koh was a former member of the Ganpoumi Fi, councilor of Mah Mur, and the first grand lord of the Songkram Empire.
He would be succeeded by his son, Koh-Ash, in 290 DHT.
Appearance #
Koh was a tall and impressive man, who notably towered over the other members of the Ganpoumi Fi council. In battle, many mistook Koh for some sort of construct once he had donned all of his armour. Even in his old age, Koh retained his mighty build.
As a younger man, Koh had jet-black hair. Over the course of the Eastern Civil War, Koh's hair rapidly began to turn white, becoming fully white by the end of the war's three long years.
After the Eastern Civil War, Koh walked with a limp, with his foot being cut off during a battle. An ornate golden cane became an iconic accessory that accompanied him everywhere.
Biography #
Early Life #
Koh was born in the Eastern Province of Mah Mur, the youngest child of the governing Ganpoumi Fi noble family. He grew up in the city of Gong, and didn't expect to pursue a political career while his older brothers were the indisputable inheritors of councilor and lordship titles.
Koh was expected by his parents to marry the daughter of a different province's noble family, strengthening their relationships in the hopes of establishing better trade deals. And thus, when he was twenty, he toured the Eastern Provinces on a marriage pilgrimage, where he would meet with various Isutan nobles from other provinces to discuss the political implications of a marriage with their family. During this time, sickness struck Koh's home in Gong, and his brothers perished. Koh was quickly called back home to help his parents with mourning, as well as to begin working to fill the holes in leadership his brothers had left.
Lord of Mah Mur #
Eventually, his father became too old and infirm to lead Mah Mur as its lord, and so Koh finally found himself in the Ganpoumi Fi council as the Lord of Mah Mur. As luck would have it, Koh married the daughter of a councillor from Yedom, strengthening the connection between the two provinces--just as his parents originally intended his purpose would be.
Yedom and Mah Mur became extremely tight-knit and powerful allies even within the strong bonds of the Ganpoumi Fi federation.
Schism #
Something that had always rubbed Koh the wrong way was the Holy Pact of the East, which Koh had learned about from his father at a young age. When Koh met the other councilors and lords of the Ganpoumi Fi, he was astounded by the amazing things each province had accomplished in cooperation with each other. He became influential within the court thanks to his great personality--alongside his province's significant impact on Isutan maritime trade. Koh grew to become exceptionally proud of what the Ganpoumi Fi were doing for the Isutan people, and eventually a potent feeling of nationalism swelled up within him. One day while in Hubei, Koh espoused his feelings to the Ganpoumi Fi council on the grandeur of the Eastern Provinces before casting doubt on the Holy Pact of the East. He pointed at the Sword of the Covenant, mounted on the wall of the court and said that it was not a symbol of freedom, but of imprisonment. If the Demon Wars had caused so much death and destruction, the looming oath that the Ganpoumi Fi had taken just a hundred years prior was an assurance of unnecessary loss in the future. As gasps rose from the court at Koh's heresy, Koh stood his ground and claimed that the Isutan people were strong and didn't deserve to be shackled by some alien, extradimensional entities embroiled in their own cosmic war. The Lord of Du Dô was so outraged by Koh's disrespect towards the Angels and his sacrilegious proposition to break the Holy Pact that he stood up and approached Koh aggressively. Tensions and shouting grew, and eventually Koh struck the Lord of Du Dô in the face, causing a brawl between Koh's supporters and the other councilors to erupt. While no one was seriously injured, one of the councilors loyal to Koh drew his sword, which was a severe transgression within the courts of the Ganpoumi Fi. At this, the brawl ended, and Koh plus his followers were banished from the court and stripped of their titles.
![[Songkram Empire#^96bdb4]]
This was by far one of the most serious punishments the collective Ganpoumi Fi could invoke: they had essentially revoked the noble status of Koh's family, ending his bloodline's claim to lordship over Mah Mur. While the rest of the Ganpoumi Fi council believed that Koh would obediently return to his province and find a replacement lord, Koh had other ideas. It was clear to him that the Isutan people would be forever enslaved by these primitive promises made by a more naive and fearful society... unless he intervened to forge a new future for them.
Rebel Leader #
Koh appointed a puppet lord to satisfy the Ganpoumi Fi's verdict, and in the meantime he began to forge a plot to overthrow the Ganpoumi Fi. With his most loyal followers, Koh formed an underground rebellion that called themselves the Songkram rebels. For the next 5 years, Koh would toil fervently to strengthen the Songkram rebellion, going so far as to attempt to form an alliance with Imperator Hyperius of the Cloudlands[^1].
The odds were stacked immensely against Koh and his rebels. He had less than a province's worth of military power at his disposal, and he would be up against the Nakai of 6 united provinces if war broke out. He needed a miracle to turn the tide and create an opening. While meeting with his advisors, Koh found an univited guest in their midst--a man who identified himself as Al'Khasm, the seer. While Koh was more than ready to have his men execute the foreigner who had intruded upon their secret meeting, Al'Khasm revealed that he knew all about the Songkram's plans and had a solution to help them out. Koh's curiosity got the better of him, and he asked what Al'Khasm wanted in return. The mysterious seer claimed that all he wanted in the end was to serve as an advisor to Koh once the new Songkram government had been put in place. Koh agreed, and Al'Khasm departed to fulfill his end of the deal.
Over the next week, hundreds of once-dormant Imps suddenly flooded out of caves and other hidden places across the Sangmyung Valley, with the safety of the Isutan people in jeopardy, the Ganpoumi Fi were forced to mobilize their nakai to respond to the threat--the arrival of reinforcements from the Righteous Order would take too long.
While spread out and distracted by the imp surge, Koh directed his small army into Hubei where he overcame what few soldiers remained there and took the city. From here, Koh continued to wage his war against the Ganpoumi Fi, who were reeling after their seat of power had been conquered. At this point, many Isutans from Hubei and Yedom (due to his wife's ties to Yedom) defected to the Songkram, providing them the much-needed boost in manpower and resources needed to conquer the rest of the Eastern Provinces and excise the Ganpoumi Fi.
During the earliest parts of the conflict, Koh suffered a severe wound to his left leg, leaving him crippled and unable to participate on the front lines.
Grand Lord of the Empire #
A painting of the Grand Lord Koh made a mere month before his passing in 290 DHT.
Once the Eastern Civil War came to an end, the Songkram had successfully conquered the entirety of the Sangmyung Valley, and Koh ascended as he created a new government to rule the Eastern Provinces. For all intents and purposes, Koh had become the Isutan emperor, but instead used the title of "Grand Lord" to obfuscate the new imperial rule that the Eastern people of Legere were now subjected to. Al'Khasm never physically appeared to Koh for his position of advisor.
Despite being a cripple, Koh had an overwhelming, awe-inspiring presence about him that allowed him to fortify his will in the face of those who defied him.
Before his passing from old age, Koh dedicated his thirty years as the Grand Lord to manifesting the righteous legacy of the Songkram. He launched a number of programs designed to suppress the truth behind his actions at the start of the Eastern Civil War, and also to erase the Ganpoumi Fi from Isutan history. Koh would go so far as to write an alternate history document that framed the Ganpoumi Fi as the rebel faction that had rose against the just and upright Songkram government that had protected the Eastern Provinces throughout the Demon Wars and beyond. This alternate history would go on to be taught as the truth until the Songkram were overthrown much later after the Legerian War.
Family & Succession #
During his time as Lord of Mah Mur, Koh sired 3 children with his wife, Lady Chao Chunhua of Yedom. His eldest two children were daughters, and his youngest was his only son Koh-Ash. Both of his daughters were gifted with administrative talents, and began to help him while he taught them the things necessary to run a province as a Ganpoumi Fi lord. Koh-Ash was special, being his son. Like Koh himself who was the youngest son in his family, Koh-Ash would become Koh's legacy once he finished serving as Mah Mur's lord.
Koh-Ash would indeed succeed his father, but not as the Lord of Mah Mur. Once Koh died, Koh-Ash took up the mantle and throne of Grand Lord of the Songkram Empire.