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This page is about the country known as Khura'in. For the similarly-named village near Los Angeles, see Kurain Village. For other uses, see Kurain (disambiguation).

Dhurke Sahdmadhi
The Kingdom of Khura'in, a country of spirit mediums and faith on the western edge of the Far East. Its people's lives are nourished through the wisdom of Khura'inism and protected by its founder, the Holy Mother. At least, that's how it used to be.

The Kingdom of Khura'in is an Asian nation on the western edge of the Far East, located in the Eastern Himalayas between China, India, Nepal, and Bhutan.[1] It is situated in a mountainous region, and eye-level clouds can be seen from particularly high locations like Tehm'pul Temple.[2] It is a deeply religious land dating back to the 7th century, whose people worship and revere the founder, the Holy Mother. The kingdom is governed by an Enatic-Cognatic succession monarchy consisting of the Holy Mother's descendants, who have the power of Spirit Communion. The country's religion, Khura'inism, tells of people's souls, represented by "mitamah", going to the "Twilight Realm" after the body has passed away. Among the country's myths is the story of Lady Kee'ra, a warrior who protected Khura'in during a time of conflict. The show The Plumed Punisher: Warrior of Neo Twilight Realm is based on this legend.

Despite being a tiny country, Khura'in has never been invaded or annexed, and has retained its culture and independence throughout its long history. This is because the rulers of Khura'in have always been spirit mediums. Channeling the spirits of long-dead people proved to be an invaluable ability to neighboring rulers, giving the country significant leverage in international relations that it would not otherwise have. Because of this, by law, only spirit mediums can rule Khura'in. This requirement is taken very seriously and can impact the perceived legitimacy of both a ruler and the laws that they pass, despite otherwise being essentially an absolute monarch who can pass laws at will.

Court system[]

Main article: High Court of Khura'in

During the course of Khura'in's history, its murder trials implemented a process known as the Divination Séance, in which a "Pool of Souls" is used to reveal what the victim saw and felt in the moments before their death. In addition to this, the Khura'inese court implemented the Defense Culpability Act, a law stating that an attorney would be given the same punishment as their defendant should they be found guilty. With these two changes to the court system, every defendant was found guilty and sentenced to death, and their lawyers were condemned with them. The court effectively did away with arguments between a prosecutor and a defense attorney and, due to the perceived indisputable decisiveness of the trials, became known as the "Court of Resignation".

Defense attorneys in the country were rounded up and executed in a widespread purge, though some remnants have formed a resistance group called the Defiant Dragons. There seems to be a religious element to the purge, as Nahyuta Sahdmadhi, a prosecutor from the country, speaks as though the defense attorney profession is a sinful and unenlightened walk of life that insults the victims of crime, deferring to the founder to "pass judgment" on rogue defense attorneys who are stood before him. The culture of Khura'in likewise shuns defense attorneys, casting hateful scorn upon those who would stand behind the bench in their present society. Although some defendants beg for representation and their cries go unheeded by the court, others, such as Ahlbi Ur'gaid, make opposite pleas, asking their court representatives to cease their defense as a result of this distrust and ridicule.

Khura'in's legal system is overseen by the office of the Minister of Justice, a position that was held by Ga'ran Sigatar Khura'in until her ascent to queen (after Queen Amara's supposed assassination) and then Inga Karkhuul Khura'in until his murder. After the resolution of the subsequent trial for Inga's murder and Queen Ga'ran's dethroning and arrest, Khura'in's legal system has undergone some drastic changes, including the nullification of the Defense Culpability Act. Apollo Justice's setting up of the Justice Law Offices aims to reintroduce defense attorneys to the Khura'inese courts, with future queen Rayfa Padma Khura'in and her regent Nahyuta Sahdmadhi contributing to make this, as well as other changes, a reality, as wished by the late Defiant Dragons leader Dhurke Sahdmadhi.

Khura'in also has the Chief Prosecutor position, which, as of May 2028, is held by Gaspen Payne.

Other details[]

  • Khura'in's currency is the Khura'inese dahma.
  • Favored delicacies include peaches and the magatah'man, a sweet bun that looks like a magatama.
    • A magatah'man costs 15 dahma, which is about as much in yen as one would expect a sweet bun to be in Japan.[2]
  • Khura'in does not have any zoos.
  • A popular Khura'inese game is "Kachu'demahl" where players have to annihilate all pieces on their opponent's side.

Development[]

  • According to Janet Hsu, Khura'in is located near Nepal and is based on countries in the general vicinity of the Himalayas,[1] such as Bhutan and Tibet. Japanese trailers of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Spirit of Justice originally described the country as being located in the far west of Asia.
  • The characters for the Khura'inese language are stylized hiragana turned upside-down.
    • An example of this is a curse spoken by Nahyuta Sahdmadhi that, when turned upside-down, is revealed to be the following hiragana: "さとら・いまおまん・どもさまし・でたしぬけ・たれがさよ・そのか!" (Satora imaoman domosamashi detashinuke taregasayo sonoka!).[3] These hiragana can be rearranged to read "さとらぬ・けがれた・たましいよ・しそさまの・かおも・さんどまで". (Satoranu kegareta tamashiiyo shisosamano kaomo sandomade). The literal meaning is "Oh unenlightened, tainted soul. It takes three times to the Holy Mother's face."[4] or as mentioned by Nahyuta in the English localization, "Even the merciful Holy Mother loses patience if she is struck three times."
    • Another example includes the four-panel tiles in the courtroom to denote a Witness Testimony or Cross Examination. In the original Japanese version, the four panels are merely the Japanese words "証 言 開 始" (Shō gen Kai shi, "Begin Testimony") and "尋 問 開 始" (Jin mon Kai shi, "Begin Cross-Examination"), respectively. For the English localization, the panels use Khura'inese text that is upside-down hiragana "しょう げん かい し" (Shō gen Kai shi) and "じん もん かい し" (Jin mon Kai shi), respectively, while the English translation is placed below the panels. According to Janet Hsu, this was one of several options to localize the panels.[5]
  • Takeshi Yamazaki has speculated that magatah'mans have something like red bean paste inside them, and that they are made by hand.[2]
  • Yamazaki has also speculated that Khura'in relies heavily on tourism financially. This is supposed to explain the country taking serious measures regarding tourism, such as having translations available for the Song of Ceremony and Ahlbi Ur'gaid referring to his own country as a "land of spirit mediums and mystery."[2]

Gallery[]

References[]

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