Seriously speaking, I think the Lightbearer Empire is largely China, whether the writers consciously intended or not.
And I mean both dynastic and contemporary China. It may have a Western fantasy aesthetic and a very white and blond royal family (though the nobles and commoners seem to have more diverse skin colors), but the way the Empire treats Ironhold Bay and the Dwarves is very strongly reminiscent of how the Chinese central government handles autonomous regions (autonomous administrative divisions where over 50% of the population are ethnic minorites, as in non-Han Chinese). While these areas are allowed to govern themselves to a certain extent, they're still subject to the central government's unified leadership and some are reliant on funds and materials sent by them in order to function. Hence why Zanie was desperate to find a way to be relevant to the Empire in order to hold the community together.
As for the hostage Mauler prince, it's immediately reminiscent of dynastic China's hostage diplomacy in which sons of royalty, nobles, or chieftains were sent to other kingdoms in order to maintain alliances. First it was practiced between Chinese warring states (even the first emperor Qin Shi Huang served as a hostage when he was a prince), then as China was unified and grew into empires, imperial governments began demanding hostages from subjugated and/or allied foreign nations and tribes. While China wasn't the only civilization to practive hostage diplomacy, it's unique in how long it lasted and how systematic it was. Recently a Tang dynasty era tomb of a Silla (an ancient Korean kingdom) prince was discovered, revealing that generations of his family served as hostages, he himself was given official imperial posts, and married a Chinese woman from a powerful clan. (fortunately it seems he didn't have a one night stand with the empress😅) Even the Manchus practiced this custom as well, taking two Joseon princes hostage after the Qing invasion of Joseon in the 1630s.
Oh, and while the Court Mage Selection is often compared to the Triwizard Tournament from Harry Potter, the latter wasn't about selecting s new civil servant for the Ministry of Magic. So the Court Mage Selection is basically the Imperial Examination 科举. I've seen some players question why Cassadee concludes that becoming a court mage will help a lot of people, but if you view it from the Confuscionist ideal of a scholar improving society as a loyal subject by serving the emperor in a government post (of course reality was much messier but that was the ideal anyway), it makes a lot of sense.
Of course it's not like the Lightbearer Empire is 100% China. No Chinese dynasty lasted 2,000 years. (but this is fantasy so sure whatever okay) Also, regency was not uncommon in Chinese dynasties and sometimes the emperor's mother acted as regent (though it didn't mean that such empress regents weren't viewed with doubt and disdain due to a combination of classic misogyny plus legitimate concerns about her birth family abusing imperial authority). In contrast, according to Hendrik's Heart-to-Heart, it seems regency in the Lightbearer Empire was unprecedented before Queen Gwendolyn. Traditionally when a king is unfit to rule, a council of high nobles and royal elders governed the Empire in his place (presumably until the king's child is old enough to rule). King Maximilian however broke tradition and appointed his wife as regent, likely because he couldn't trust the high nobles since they have deep connections with the Adamant Syndicate.
However, it's not unusual for writers to unconsciously reflect their understanding of the world even in works set in fictional fantasy, and the Lightbearer Empire is the standard default status quo governing power in a large part of Esperia (or at least where Merlin resides). Assuming that most of the writers are Chinese, such a governing power may likely reflect how they see (or are inclined/encouraged to depict) their country. This is the same for any creator, of course.
The Lightbearer Empire was also the largest mortal resistance against the Hypogean invasion during the First and Second Divine Wars (technically, it wasn't even a state at the First Divine War but just bands of humans fighting against Hypofiends). While this is a typical fantasy cliche, it also resembles how the Chinese government views the Second Sino-Japanese as the Chinese People's War of Resistance, part of a global fight against fascism (which isn't technically wrong since Imperial Japan was🤮😡🤬). Again, not saying that the Hypogeans equals Imperial Japan (obviously the former is way more fun and colorful when they butcher people), but they're nevertheless a great force of evil threatening the world. The Lightbearer Empire's birth and legitimacy are largely based on leading the war of resistance against Hypogeans, so there are clear paralells to contemporary China.
Also if the Lightbearer Empire was intended to represent the U.S. government, I have a feeling it would have gotten a far more... critical depiction😅 While the Lightbearer Empire isn't perfect either, (Gwyneth being the first knighted woman in the entire history of the Royal Guards implies there's a sexism problem in Savannah compared to the Empire's distant territories like Rustport or Ironhold Bay. Classicism is an issue too, being one of the reasons Queen Gwendolyn was an easy target.) it's still mostly depicted as a polished, civilized, well-functioning society. Definitely not how most Chinese people or anybody in general views the U.S., especially in recent years.
With the introduction of Eryndor (and actually Pang way back...) we may see a region or faction with more traditionally Chinese aesthetics as well... if the game survives until then.
Thank you for coming to my TED talk!👋
