Pretty much. If we die here, we return. Clones - well, it's basically a copy. Our souls were summoned here, and our bodies are duplicates of ours back home. There was a cloning facility under the turtle but it kind of... exploded.

Asti is the turtle's name, though you might also hear him referred to as Tu Vishan. And yes, the current Emperor is Evandau - the late Emperor was a woman named Eshai. And yes again, the title is unisex here.