The Wall, and the land beyond are protected by the gathered remnants of the old human armies, unified under one cause and are known as the Gray Sentinels. Dedicated warriors and guardsmen who have taken a vow to the Sennyo, and on the very Wall on which they stand to fill the breaches with their dead and fall to the last man before one of the Corrupted should cross the Wall. 

There is no capital and the province is ruled by the only human Governor in the Empire from his headquarters within the Twilight Wall. A large town has arisen along the inside, filled with traders and merchants who come and go from beyond the wall into the farthest corners of the Empire or deep into the Corrupted Lands.  

The rest of the province is rocky and barren. Few settlers live in the empty land, other than a few farmers and miners carving a living from the hard rocky soil. The land is relatively free of the horrors of the Corrupted thanks due to frequent patrols by the Gray Sentinels, though Sura Kappa and other creatures have been known to crawl up from the oceans to attack nearby mining camps and small villages. 
  
At the narrowest point of the province, some six league behind the Wall, a road known as the Overland runs north south between the shores of the Kobitan and Irain Oceans. Kobito crews use the road to shuttle goods from one ocean to another and the road is constantly crowded with brimming wagons, crewmen looking for work and every once and while one of the mighty Kobito Longboats being ferried from one shore and another.  

Two small port towns have grown up at both ends of the Overland. Nopin to the north and Napin to the south, are nearly identical. A small collection of rough, low buildings housing a few inns, extensive docks, dozens of taverns and the highest concentration of Kobito anywhere in the Empire. 
  
What little trading goes on in these towns are strictly regulated by the Sennyo who place heavy tariffs on all goods traded here in order to encourage the crews to ship their goods east to the city of Koyatzu. 

 Tucked into a sprawling valley in the southern hills, just at the edge of the plains lies the provincial capital of Koyatzu, the richest, and largest city in the Empire. 

 The centre of trade, the city is the focal point for every trading route across the Empire, a main stop for Kobito merchants and the last point in the Empire allows for traders from beyond the Twilight Wall. They all congregate in the crowded streets, large open air markets and darkly lit inns.  The restrictions concerning visitors from beyond the Wall are lax compared to other places within the Empire, but the Daimyo's army of  Samurai and Zentai soldiers, bearing the Banner of Coins, still patrol the streets and crowds of alien strangers looking for signs of the Corruption that could threaten their city. 
  
 The Daimyo's castle lies at the head of the valley a few miles beyond the city walls. An impenetrable fortress richly gilded in gold and ivory it is surrounded by a small army of Zentai soldiers and Samurai retainers. The Daimyo has his finger in many of the dealings of the city below and over time the castle has begun to overflow with opulence. Among the dozens of spacious buildings are hundreds of bedchambers, private arenas, parade grounds and stables  A grotto was dug under the main keep and is kept filled with waters transported down from the northern hot springs.   

 The lands rise sharply to the east of Yayoka. Sharp, snow capped mountains rise to blot out the sky, diving into deep canyon valleys filled with white water rivers and hard pine forests. The country is wild and desolate with few roads and fewer villages. The trade routes from the heart of the Empire to Koyatzu swing north or south to bypass the rough peaks. Indeed there are only three reliable routes into the province, any or all of which are snowed in during the harsh eight month winter.  
 
Wildlife of the harshest kind abounds in their knife edged wilderness. Snowcats, mountain wolves and Eclipse-hawks all hunt spring-deer,  goats and rock squirrels among the peaks. At night, creatures from the deeper caves come to the surface to hunt under the cover of darkness.     

The people and Oni of Azuka are a tough and hardy people, dependent on the hard pine forests and rich wildlife for their survival. Unlike most provinces, the Oni live side by side with their human neigbours and their dependence upon each other for survival has lead to a cooperation rarely found between the races.  

Their isolation has also breed in them a xenophobic suspicion of strangers. All newcomers are considered agents of the Corruption and the slightest proof is met with swift and brutal force. A few Tenjinn shrines on the higher peaks offer more hospitable refuge, if the traveler survives the journey. 

The Samurai and Zentai who patrol this land ride under the Banner of the Peaks and are keen hunters and steady mountain fighters. Their strongholds dot the roads and their main fortress  rises out from the side of Wildwind mountain, well out the reach of any siege equipment or large army. The fortress extends deep into the mountain itself, using a complex series of caves to store their food, garrison their troops and stable their mounts.  
   
 

 The mountains of Asuka end suddenly in the east in ragged, towering cliffs above the waters of Icesilver lake. On the other shores are the reedy beaches and forested river mouths of Nara. Dotted with thousands of  rivers and small lakes, this province borders on the shores of the three largest lakes in the Empire and the shore of both Oceans. The people of this land make their living on these waters, pulling a thousand varieties of fish and seaweeds from waters that are the lifeblood of the province. There are few roads, most travel being done along the rivers and canals that cover the land.  

There are few Oni who live in this province, there dislike of water being well known. As a result there are few Samurai who live here under the Banner of the Fishes. Those that do act mostly as landowners, generals of the Zentai and retainers to the Daimyo. The bulk of the army consists of human Zentai who ride the rivers and lakes in their steam powered junks. 

Fushinara, the capital city sits in the near center of the province, by the banks of the Four rivers. The streets are filled with rows upon rows of fish packed into ice imported from Asuka. Drying seaweed hangs from open windows and the entire city reeks with the smell of raw and cooked seafood.