Q'ten Lo

Q'ten Lo (クテンロウ) is an isolationist country located in the East. This nation has strong Feudal Japanese aesthetics, heavily contrasting with the Medieval European motifs of the other nations.

History
The Q'ten Lo Kingdom possesses weapons shrouded in pale flames called the "Weapons of Judgment," that can nullify the Holy Weapons skills, abilities, special effects, and accessories - however, the Weapons of Judgment does not ignore the Holy Weapons stats. They also possess another weapon called the "Sakura Stones of Destiny," which nullify the powers of Legendary and Vassal Weapons. Their armours are very powerful, as they can easily resist attacks from upgrades Vassal and Holy Heroes, but it only resists the heroes, as Atla very easily smashed through their armor.

Like most countries, Q'ten Lo's history and purpose has been forgotten due to their isolation and interference from the enemies behind the waves. However, the original purpose of Q'ten Lo is to stop the rogue heroes or one who was succumbed to curse series from running amok over the world. The country is said to be protected by the Water Dragon and its barrier that prevents corrupted Heroes or reincarnated individuals from entering the country.

Summary
Raphtalia's father was actually a member of the Heavenly Emperor bloodline and was in line for the throne, but abandoned the succession and eloped with Raphtalia's mother (who was a commoner) and moved to Melromarc's Saeatto territory. Sadeena, who was a Miko priest for the Water Dragon, followed them to keep them safe from Q'ten Lo's shadows. Said shadows watched as the Catastrophe Wave hit Lurorona village, slaughtering the people and Raphtalia's parents, and did nothing when she and the other survivors were captured by the slave bandits/knights. They kept further watch, ready to kill Raphtalia if she got to close to Naofumi for their liking, as her marrying and giving birth to the Shield Hero's child would very easily let her gain control of Q'ten Lo. The shadows never made a move until Raphtalia got her Miko outfit back from Glass' world. Despite being there to hear Naofumi basically say the Miko dress had nothing to do with Q'ten Lo and its customs, the shadows hid in the village at the time took it as a sign Raphtalia declared the throne hers and tried to kill her and thus the others in the village.

Landscape
Q'ten Lo is on the main world continent surrounded by some of the most powerful kingdoms on the Continent: Rock Valley, Melromarc and Siltvelt kingdoms, etc. There is a port city where an ancient burial mound is present. According to Sadeena, one of Raphtalia's ancestors defeated a monster and interred its remains in the mound. The country is powered by a tree, Sakura Luminous. It provides nocturnal lighting for the city, as well as energy sources for various equipment. The tree can grow only in Q'ten Lo.

Government
The Government of the Q'ten Lo is a mixture of an Absolute Patriarchy Monarchy and an oligarchy power structure with powerful nobles bidding to keep in the favor with the Monarchy for Power and influence. It also seems that their government before Raphtalia took control was very corrupt and inept, and many of the people dislike the current regime. Their ineptitude is easy to see, as they tried to kill and declare war against the Shield, Sword, and Bow Heroes, the people who defeated the Spirit Tortoise and the other-worlder who controlled the beast and stole its power. An action that could lead the nations of Melromarc, Siltvelt, Shieldfreeden, the countries that the Spirit Tortoise ravaged, the many other countries that believe in the Heroes and also the powerful nation in the world Faubrey, land of Heroes, into declaring war against them.

Religion
To the people of Q'ten Lo, government and religion are one and the same. Their leader, the Heavenly Emperor is their religious figure while the member of government are all considered priests. The people do not believe in the Holy Heroes, as their legends do not exist in the country. They instead only believe in the bloodline of the Heavenly Emperor. Instead, the people call the Holy Weapons "Spirit Implements."

Heavenly Emperor
The Heavenly Emperor of Q'ten Lo is the leader of the country. The title is passed down through the generations. Before the country became corrupted, the original role of the Heavenly Emperor is the be the "Pacifier of Spirit Implements," or to punish any hero who is trying to take over the world. To aid in their duties, they have access to powers and technology like the Sakura Stones of Destiny which are especially effective against heroes. The current Heavenly Emperor is Raphtalia.

Military
The country possesses a secret force similar to Melromarc's Shadows (ninjas), who are very talented in their hiding abilities. They are very "honor-bound" like old Imperial Japan and commit suicide rather than surrender, screaming "Glory to the Heavenly Emperor" as they explode. Shadows of Melromarc once told Naofumi that they had their origin from the east, possibly this nation.

Sakura Stones of Destiny
These stones can be used by the Heavenly Emperor or "Pacifier" of Q'ten Lo. They can be used to "silence" Legendary Weapons and can prevent Holy Heroes from entering Q'ten Lo. Legendary Weapons created from these stones are especially effective against other heroes.

International Relations
Maintaining an isolationist policy Q'ten Lo interacts with the outside world as little as possible.

Siltvelt
The one exception to Q'ten Lo's isolationism is Siltvelt, as they rely on the flow of supplies from the demi-human nation for their daily necessities. Even then Siltvelt needs a specialized magic lantern just to allow their merchant vessel to enter and exit the nation. Even then their increasingly extreme practices have led to them planning to cut ties to Siltvelt too. When Raphtalia became leader of Q'ten Lo, one of the first things she did was to rebuild relationships with Siltvelt and draft a treaty of friendship.

Lurolona Village
After Naofumi learned about the existence of the nation, he immediately came to despise its government. The realization that the people of Q'ten Lo had spies watching Raphtalia all her life, including watching her parents getting killed and her falling into slavery, and doing nothing to stop any of it caused him to begin dedicating resources to expunging them.

Likewise, Q'ten Lo sees the Shield Hero as nothing short of a threat to their nation. Due to what can only be described as a wild misunderstanding the Shadows of Q'ten Lo interpreted Naofumi making Raphtalia dress in a Miko's robes as her making a bid for the throne of their nation she have started launching repeated terrorist attacks against the village.

Q'ten Lo Castle
The Castle of Q'ten Lo is where the Heavenly Emperors reside. It is about 400 years old and has a labyrinth of hidden passages through and underneath the castle. In one of the secret passages is a stone chamber with an inscription only a Heavenly Emperor can read. This inscription describes several techniques as well as the role of the "Pacifier of Spirit Implements."