Kaocho

Kaocho (カオチョ) is a town in, and is home to Kaocho Palace and The Ouroboros labyrinth. Kaocho is based on Ancient China, with similar architecture and people. The town includes several farms, with the main crops apparently being bamboo and rice.

The encyclopedia entry for Kaocho is as follows:
 * This powerful nation was founded by King Wo, who wages war against Passaj and Ayuthay from its rich palace.

Story
Kaocho's motherland, Sana, located northeast of Kaocho at the east end of Angara, was previously under the iron rule of the warmongering tyrant Emperor Ko, infamous as the "Dread Emperor" for his aggressive expansionism. Ko sought the secret to eternal life, much like the late Babi, and Ko's example and original goal is what his aspiring successor, Wo, tries to live up to. On Ko's death, a civil war broke out in Sana which eventually crowned the scholarly Unan as its new emperor, bringing much-needed peace to the region. Wo later attempted to take Sana back by military force, but Unan successfully repelled Wo. Unan now governs Sana from its capital city, Tonfon

Matthew and company are granted entrance into King Wo's palace because King Wo has been expecting "new Adepts" for a while now. The adviser in his court that has told him of Matthew's arrival in advance - and is likely the one that manipulated the greedy king into attacking the other kingdoms for their Alchemy Machines - is a noticeably non-Kaochan named Chalis, a voluptuous woman with very non-humanlike horns on her head. Tyrell correctly deduces from her name that she is affiliated with Blados. Chalis presents Matthew's group as the Adepts that will help Wo fulfill his ambitions, which are to retrieve the Sol Mask from the Ouroboros and to help his army conquer Ayuthay. Wo describes the Sol Mask as the key to the power that can help him wage war to a greater degree, but decides that the campaign to take over Ayuthay is the more urgent issue for Matthew to contribute to, so he has Matthew take Wo's signed letter of approval.

The Adepts' obvious displeasure with what is happening quickly sours the mood, but Chalis invites the four to act on their intentions to try to take the Sol Mask from the Ouroboros for themselves, and has them dropped into the first room of the labyrinth below via a trap door. Chalis explains to Wo that despite their refusal to comply with Wo on the surface, she is certain they will end up proving their worth to him anyway - she predicts that they will see they can't truly enter the labyrinth yet, will then go to Ayuthay, and later return to find an entrance into the dungeon and retrieve the Sol Mask. Down in the first part of the Ouroboros, the Adepts, figuring out what Wo and Chalis are generally intending of them, decide anyway to leave and go over to Ayuthay with Wo's letter in hand.

Later on, after the Alchemy Dynamo is activated and the Grave Eclipse occurs, Kaocho is completely decimated by the shadow creatures, save for a few who hid inside the palace.

Politics
Kaocho was once a colony of the larger empire of Sana, and was founded by Wo. After Sana's civil war, Kaocho would split off into its own country, with Wo as king. It was initially on good terms with its neighbors, however, Kaocho would eventually become militaristic, with attacks on both Passaj and Ayuthay. Around the same time of the attacks, Chalis, a Tuaparang commander became a part of the Kaochan court, with the implication that she had encouraged the attacks to gain access to each city's Alchemy Machine. Kaocho is also bad terms with its homeland of Sana, with Wo constantly plotting to retake the throne he believed to be rightfully his.

Most of Kaocho's military is said to be made of farmers, with the only true fighters being the army's two generals: Ku-Tsung and Ku-Embra. However, both generals are terrible leaders, which has led to many defeats. Following the Grave Eclipse, the country is completely devastated, with monster attacks claiming the lives of the military and most of the citizens. It is stated that some survivors took refuge inside the palace. However, the implications of the disaster on Kaocho's political situation are not fully known.

Enemies
Enemy Formations
 * Group 1: Dark Skull x1-2, Foul Glutton x0-1
 * Group 2: Foul Glutton x1-3, Dark Skull x0-1

Vendors
Kaocho's inn is located in the right half of the central plaza, just south of the item shop, and costs 8 coins per party member.

Collectibles
Steel: walk around to the right of the town, and come up next to the stairs leading into the palace, use Grip and follow the path to the Djinn. Alternatively, you can simply use Grip from the stairs themselves, provided you align yourself properly first. Lava: Outside the city wall near a lily pad, but a man staring at the fish is blocking the lily pad. After Amiti joins the party, the dumpling shop opens, buy a Kaocho Dumpling and give it to the man. He now lets you use the lily pad that leads to Lava. Sanan Dress: Found in a chest in town.

Name Origin
Kaocho references the Xia Dynasty (夏王朝, Kaōchō), the unproven first Chinese dynasty established by King Yu (equivalent to King Wo) during the late 2000s B.C.E.

Trivia

 * While Kaocho becomes capable of random enemy encounters following the beginning of the Grave Eclipse, the step-based timer for the effect of Avoid and Sacred Feather is nonetheless paused while in the location. Thus, a party under the effects of Avoid will permanently remain under its effects until it steps back out into the world map, where the timer will resume as normal.