The Mantis possess so many worlds that they cannot truly be said to have one primary seat of power (the Clan Champion may choose anywhere amongst the clan’s vast holdings to base themselves), but one good contender is the oceanic world known as Kaimetsu-Uo Sekai. Though 80% of the planet is covered with water, this isn’t a problem for the Clan of Yoritomo, and numerous massive island cities dot its surface and its ocean floor.
Not all of these are even controlled by the Mantis: as part of a longstanding trade agreement, the island known as Distant Turtle City is a semi-autonomous zone controlled by the Tortoise Clan, and a well-known haven for smugglers who wish to hide in plain sight. Kaimetsu-Uo Sekai is also one of the most resource-rich planets in the galaxy, with vast deposits of valuable metals and other things hidden in its ocean depths. Extracting these would be an issue for most clans, but not the Mantis, who have a long history with underwater exploration.
Orbiting Kaimetsu-Uo Sekai is perhaps the most feared place in the galaxy, at least by the criminal element of the Emerald Stars: the moon-prison of Onnotangu’s Heart. It is here that the Mantis consign the worst criminals (or those they claim are criminals) sentenced for crimes against the clan. It is said that none have ever escaped from the fortress built upon the lifeless rock. The advantages it has are both man-made (the Mantis have invested a tremendous amount of resources to make sure Onnotangu’s Heart is impregnable from within) and natural (a peculiarity of the moon’s obsidian core creates a magnetic field that renders magic unusable), and there are few places in the galaxy you’d less want to end up.
Though the Mantis possess hundreds of worlds, their most important financial center isn’t a world at all – or even a space station. The massive worldship known as Daikoku’s Dice is one part massive casino, one part shimmering entertainment district, one part financial center, and every part gaudy, ostentatious, yet strangely-compelling monstrosity. It’s the top tourist destination in the galaxy that doesn’t fall under the purview of the Crane, a perfect spot for anyone who thinks Doji refinement makes things too staid for a truly wild holiday. Though the Mantis have revenue streams from nearly-innumerable sources, sooner or later, all of them run through Daikoku’s Dice. The ship itself hasn’t moved in decades from its position at the center of system governed by an unusually active star colloquially known as Sun City, but there’s every indication it could move – should the Mantis ever see a need for it to do so.
The Toripuru system is one of the oddest in the known galaxy, and were it not located on the far outskirts of Mantis territory, it may have fallen under the control of the Dragon or Phoenix simply for its unusual nature. Toripuru contains three worlds locked in geosynchronous orbit with each other – Ichi, Ni, and San – creating strange sunsets and hours of daylight that defy normal understanding. The Mantis claimed the system shortly before the Empire-wide ban on land grabs went into effect, making it one of the farthest reaches in any clan’s holdings – meaning the more mysteriously-inclined Great Clans could not effectively claim they could administrate such a system. The Mantis were lucky it shook out that way, because the rich platinum and lithium deposits on all three worlds have done much to facilitate the Clan of Yoritomo’s burgeoning galactic dominion.
Many of the Mantis’s worlds are largely untamed, not worth the Clan of Yoritomo’s efforts to deal with the violent local flora and fauna in pursuit of more resources. Even by those standards, the Nest merits special mention. The jungle planet is home to some of the largest and deadliest creatures in the known galaxy, a legacy of their toxic mix of influences from Chikushudo, Toshigoku, and Sakkaku, creating a planet where you either hunt or are hunted. Ever the opportunists, the Mantis have turned this to their advantage, charging exorbitant prices for those who wish to take their chances on hunting expeditions to the Nest – provided they sign an extensive series of waivers first, of course.