the 4 heavenly kings
in the original 3 kingdoms, zhuge liang and zhou yu serve different masters (the one quote about "a wise bird chooses its branch; a wise servant chooses their lord"). i think the same will apply to my vn version but the "masters" are faceless and archetypal enemies ("two enemies meet on a narrow road"), but they are enemies with a combined third party enemy ("the enemy of my enemy is my friend")
like in 3 kingdoms "all is ready, but for the east wind" for zhou yu's fire-based tactical plan against cao cao to succeed, he needs the east wind to fan the flames in the enemy direction, so then zhuge liang "borrows the east wind" (a miracle).
there will be 4 "heavenly kings" (ungendered / genderless) that reference both the 4 heavenly kings in buddhism and the 4 divine beasts in chinese mythology (which both represent the cardinal directions), and 3/4 are in conflict. zhuge liang's master is the east wind, and zhou yu's master is the west wind, and they're fighting against the south wind, with the north wind prevailing as the previous dynasty, and the south wind as the most threatening usurper (tho both of their own masters seek to usurp)
i also think i'll have an ensemble cast, featuring elfin the gunmaker as a clockmaker / music box maker turned fine weapons designer and his wifeguy husband bouncer in the role of the blacksmith, and kitty the high courtesan / "lady (mistress) of The House," and pande as the djikstra type (witcher 3) smiling buddha cowardly sadistic information broker / spymaster, and a ratty old guy of ambiguous age just called "uncle" who shows up randomly like your save point tutorial NPC dressed up as a janitor / nobleman / accountant / butler depending on the location.
these are all zhou yu's motley crew, but no one seems to know anything about zhuge liang's faction (INCLUDING ZHUGE LIANG...) who seems to perform as a pure soloist.
zhuge liang is a natural "kingmaker" but zhou yu has the makings of a "king."
(if only the two could unite...)