Hunters of Meng Xiang - Main Thread

[NyuBomber]

Welcome to Meng Xiang
Latest update: 9/3/2014 - Added a couple of things to Inspirational Material



INDEX
Overview

Lore
The Three Clarities' Scrolls
Musings and Tales: Selections from the Imperial Library

The Shen-lieren Clans
THE FIVE ORIGINAL CLANS: Lion - Tortoise - Ox - Bat - Owl
MAJOR NOTABLE: Hound - Whale
MINOR NOTABLE: Carp

People
General Culture - Notable People & Roles - Opposition

Places
General Geography - Notable Places

The Spirits

Inspirational Material

Discussion Thread Archive
Current Discussion

OVERVIEW

Meng Xiang is a land styled on a medieval fantasy China. Following three millennia of death and constant running at the hands of otherworldly beings known as "spirits," humanity has, to date, enjoyed 433 years of relative peace. This is thanks to the ingenuity of the man-turned-god known as Demon King Zhong Kui, who sacrificed himself to steal the secrets of powerful techniques and magic straight from under the nose of Yama, the Hell King. In defeating the armies of Hell, Zhong Kui is said to have brought forth the shen-lieren, spirit hunters, humans who possess powers on par with spirits and have been duty-bound by Heaven to defend the world from further incursions.

Following Zhong Kui's conquest, in early years of the era denoted with the acronym AZ (After Zhongh Kui) The Five Masters, the first of humanity to receive training for their incredible abilities under the Demon King's tutelage, worked with the new Imperial Court to begin to bring civilized order the devastated world, settling as follows:

- Shengmen, the Holy Gate is the political seat of power for humanity. The Imperial Family resides in the Forbidden Halls at the physical apex of the city, and it's central location serves as a point of reference from which the continents were named.

- The Master known as He of Judging Swords erected the Citadel of Judgement in the fertile, hilly plains of the Central continent, near Shengmen. Because of the proximity of the two locations, many people followed their example and established villages and towns. The Central continent, because of its proximity to both the political and martial seat of power of Meng Xiang, is thusly the most organized, developed, and well-governed region. Weather is temperate and enjoys the full range of seasons. The average person enjoys a decent life, tilling the land or going to work in Shengmen proper; worth noting is that the Central continent serves as the Emperor's vision for the world, with the sole organized mass public transportation wagons and the sole compulsory public education for children up to age 12.

- She of Unbreakable Shields led a particularly religious and sea-faring population to the Northern continent, which is really a large collection of islands. On the largest isle stands the Unbreakable Monastery, the religious seat of power for humanity. While the monks and nuns of the North bring it the most acclaim, the regular person is likely continuing the tradition of being the best cartographers, sailors, and fishermen on Meng Xiang. Due to the range of islands, you can climes from the permanently tropics to the unexplored arctic; typhoons and lesser storms are common occurrences. Despite the close religious oversight, Northerners enjoy a large degree of sovereignty on the waters and shores, leading to a spirit of co-operation and unique merchant enterprise.

- She of Shimmering Gems promised her followers riches in the Southern desert crags, and she did not lie for some. The Shimmering Bank is the central authority on the economy and finances of Meng Xiang. Around it, miners and prospectors dig into and explode the crags and rock of the South's desert valleys and caves for precious metals and gems. However, not everyone can get lucky and someone has to do the digging. Thus, the Southern continent has the largest disparity between rich and poor with an almost non-existent middle class. With poverty comes immense freedom from most any oversight, and danger from unregulated businesses and criminal enterprise...with riches comes the oversight of the zealous Purity Committee, the lure of the Fortune City district around the Shimmering Bank, and a different breed of criminal enterprise. Your average person is of these two extremes, working poor or haughty upper class, and their lives reflect as much. The South is a desert clime of mesas and jagged valleys where inventive people have literally built into the shadows of the walls, and immense elevators and bridge systems give workers express transportation to their quarries and tunnels.

- He of Eternal Arrows dared to lead brave souls into the mountainous, dark forests of the East, and it is there that they have settled into an immense population. A burgeoning lumber industry, wild fruit, exotic game, and ample sources of fresh water led to a population boom and the largest territorial claim of any other continent. This is in particular thanks to the feat of engineering that is the Eternal Perch, a base of operations that seems to float in the canopy with its hidden ladders, zip-lines, and shelters nestled in tree branches. From here, community leaders organize and divvy up responsibilities and areas, determined to keep track of everyone in this still shadowy land. Settlements generally emerged along rivers and lakes, though some have created hunting camps large enough to be their own villages within the jungle.

- Lastly, She of Speaking Mirrors trekked to the West, a fog-immersed land beyond the Howling Mountains. There, she and her death-studying disciples traveled further, to the lone sentinel of Maotouying Peak, the only point of reference against the shadow of the Howling Mountains when one is within the mist. On that mountain, across an unearthly stone bridge bound by immense chains, lays the Speaking Steeple, a tower filled to the brim with experimentation that does not concern the average Westerner. And that mystery suits your average Westerner just fine, because making due on the tundra is hard enough. Besides the harsh cold weather and day-long fog, the Western continent is home to mystical sights and spirits who seem just as lost as any unfamiliar traveler. Still, the people make due, cutting out a prized stone and salt mining industry alongside farms that cultivate some of the most valuable herbs and fulfilling vegetables in Meng Xiang. The fur trade is also significant. Settlements are largely untracked, but, on a good day, you can see clear to your neighbors miles away. The flatness promotes a welcome ease of travel, and this has led to merchants greatly favoring traveling the long way around the Howling Mountains, heading to their true destinations or hooking up with Northern ships, while still plying their goods in the West. Because of this, the people enjoy a decent, if manually tough life.

Other Notable Regions

The Silk Road - Major caravan route prized for being the easiest inter-region travel path. Officially patrolled by the Imperial Court, but disorganization and sheer size means bandits and the black market also thrive off of it.

The Glass Desert - The largest desert region on Meng Xiang, lying on the Southern continent. Notable for frequent lightning storms that leave the sand turned to natural glass where they strike, as well as immense crystalline structures.

Ruins - Across Meng Xiang are the remnants of settlements from thousands of years ago, either as leftovers from the golden age before spirits or humanity's attempts to settle in vain against the spirit hordes. Humanity tried everything to get away and protect themselves, and this has led to an air of the unknown about humanity's past on the planet, as individual stories and experiences are largely lost. Often home to increased spirit activity, not even the known ones have been fully explored, and the discovery of a new site is big news for courageous/crazy Imperial architects and immoral individuals looking to make a quick dollar.

The Horizon Sea - The immense ocean of Meng Xiang, areas of which are noted by their proximity to the continents more than anything else, due to a lack of major sea travel (ie. The Horizon Sea around Shengmen would be known as the Imperial Horizon or Central Horizon.) Many tales start with something emerging or going into the Horizon Sea, good and bad.

[NyuBomber]

Who and What are the Shen-lieren?

In-universe general belief: Heaven created Meng Xiang and humanity, and for a time it was good. As sin and malevolence are intrinsic to man and violence is a natural concept, Yama, the Hell King, created the Realm of the Black Veil from the darkness of men's hearts and the harsh reality of nature. From that moment forward for 3000 years, spirits ravaged Meng Xiang and hunted humanity to near insanity. Until a hero known as Zhong Kui committed suicide, entered Hell, and endeared himself to Yama. Sensing the chance to usurp the power of Heaven forever by truly corrupting its greatest creation in humans, Yama opened the secrets of the spirits to his new apprentice. This would be his downfall, as Zhong Kui turned the teachings back on to the armies of Hell as they marched on Meng Xiang and Heaven, routing the lot in the span of a month. Yama was punished and banished, freeing a seat in Heaven's Council, and Zhong Kui took that seat as the Demon King.

The Demon King's first order of business was to teach the Five Masters, the first five of humanity, after himself, capable of surviving the lessons that needed to be learned in order to begin the spread of the shen-lieren, the spirit hunters. Following the completion of this task, Zhong Kui ascended to Heaven permanently, leaving the Five Masters to work with humanity in establishing settled civilization and leaving a legacy of continued defense against spirit incursions.

Shen-lieren are those blessed by Heaven with the potential, through extraordinarily dangerous and soul-rending training, to learn the abilities capable of defending against, controlling, and/or destroying spirits. They are a select few, burdened with the duty of the protection of Meng Xiang.

In-reality: Heaven and Hell are real places. Zhong Kui's suicide led him to Hell, he performed a clever ruse on the Hell King to unlock the secrets necessary for humanity to fight back against spirits, Zhong Kui ascended to Heaven after committing his teachings to the Five Masters, who followed through in passing it on to humanity, leading to the present day shen-lieren clans.

The true story begins earlier, at the moment the first spirit crossed-over from the Black Veil to Meng Xiang.

All things in existence are made of energy, known to Meng Xiang humans as chi. Spirits, by their nature, are corrupted chi, and their presence on the formerly pure Meng Xiang tainted it. Humans who survived spirit attacks, especially repeatedly, experienced immense sickness, nightmares, day visions, and alterations in their personality. But, they lived. And those that lived tried to live a life of normalcy, which led to children.

3000 years of fear, death, and unholy presence has left the chi of Meng Xiang and humanity irrevocably tainted. At the height of the spirit presence on Meng Xiang, it got so bad that the first humans with the potential of utilizing spirit-like abilities from birth were born...the Five Masters. While their individual stories on the discovery of their abilities have changed and outright been lost to the sands of time, the fact remains that Zhong Kui, as the Demon King, was fully capable of seeking them out and revealing that they were testament to the power within humanity as a result of their survival against the spirits. Zhong Kui taught them with the rites and rituals stolen directly from the Hell King. Following Zhong Kui's ascent to Heaven, the Five Masters established the first shen-lieren clans, and over the next four centuries the teachings spread alongside civilization.

Shen-lieren are those humans with the fortitude to withstand the Hell-sourced training necessary to unleash the potential of humanity's tainted chi. In theory, anyone with enough training can become a shen-lieren. In reality, most are comfortable being protected instead of doing the protecting, most are comfortable not having to go through supernaturally-demanding trials, and most are comfortable with not risking their mortal soul in reaching that elite goal.

[NyuBomber]

Who and What are Spirits?

In-universe general belief: Spirits are the mirror to humanity. When Heaven created Meng Xiang, humanity was birthed in its light. When Yama, full of hate and envy, utilized the sin that always exists in humanity's heart to create the Realm of the Black Veil, spirits were birthed in its darkness.

Humans are birthed. Spirits are manifested.
Humans create. Spirits destroy.
Humans are the sun. Spirits are the moon.
Humans are sincere. Spirits are manipulators.
Humans are moral. Spirits are monsters.
Humans are well-reasoned. Spirits are consistent only in their evil.
Humanity is pure chi. Spirits are corrupted chi.

Death is the caretaker of places where spirits and humanity meet.

Humans, generally, have a collective, identifiable form. Spirits are twisted and variable.

To place Spirits above or on the same tier as Heaven is to be a blasphemer. To place Spirits above or on the same tier as humanity is to be a heretic.

Spirits compromise the remnants of the army of Hell, a mass of chaos and destruction, conquered by a lone human's ingenuity. Demon King Zhong Kui's legacy, the shen-lieren, are duty-bound to continue to protect Meng Xiang from spirit manifestations. Existence may not now, nor ever be rid of them, but no longer shall humans be powerless.

Spirits are the denizens of the Realm of the Black Veil, literally Hell-bent on the subjugation and/or obliteration of humans and Meng Xiang. The corrupted chi that makes up spirits affords them natural access to powers that shape and destroy Meng Xiang to their whims. Instinctually evil, spirits are the eternal enemy to humanity.

In reality: Just as Meng Xiang exists, so does the Realm of the Black Veil. Just as humans are finally beginning to learn more about their stable, sun-soaked world, the Black Veil is its mirror: an intrinsically chaotic void, where landscapes can be made of abstracts and are ever-changing. Spirits, as the highest creations of Yama and the Black Veil, are best-described as ideas given form, the ripples of the thoughts and dreams of Heaven, Yama, humans, Meng Xiang itself, and even other spirits.

The most key way that spirits differ from humans is in their hearts: Humans were formed with purpose, live in a world of purpose, have systems to live within purpose, and contain within each individual the potential to fulfill greater purposes that they, themselves, are capable of choosing via free will.

Spirits, always the mirror, are inherently purposeless. Yama created them and their world for the express purpose of overtaking Meng Xiang. The 3000 years of worldly rampages, freely floating between Meng Xiang and their own, was perhaps the closest spirits will ever brush with the idea of stability. Now, without the Hell King's guiding hand, spirits find themselves left with three choices: de-manifest and die, continue the eternal siege on humanity under their own devices...or try a new approach. Unbeknownst to most humans, some spirits have had ideas other than turning Meng Xiang crimson and black. Some have the idea to ignore humanity in favor of exploration of the Realm of the Black Veil. Some have aped humanity's culture, manners, and continued sin. Some seek redemption, and some seek a natural partnership. Rarely...some might even help humanity.

Though, they must be careful. For reasons unbeknownst to most spirits, the humans designated as shen-lieren are capable of utilizing the powers of Hell against spirits. To be certain, it is possible for a mundane human to take on the weakest of spirits, and for an organized group of them to take down a slightly stronger spirit...maybe...given enough time...but, the shen-lieren are simultaneously intriguing and terrifying, tools and targets, scions and merely the tastiest prey. And they seem to be on a mission to render spirits extinct.

As humanity's mirror, spirits come in all shapes and sizes. Whereas humans are generally the same form and contain unlimited potential within this relatively set form, spirits are bound by the limits of their manifestation, unless they can find a way to expand the corrupt chi at their core. This is impossible for most spirits, however, and most never think on it. Thus, spirits can range from goblin and ogre-like creatures, to walking over-sized imitations of human body parts, to ephemeral shapes and objects and lights, to landscapes and pocket realms and weather systems, to monstrous beasts, to undead and abyssal horrors, to the stereotypical demonic depictions of the ranks of Hell...to quite human. The work "Common Spirits" touches on some of these types, but, in reality, it's only those types...common. There are incomprehensible levels of spirits that humanity should be thankful it has not encountered...or, so most think.

This is all as true of the Realm of the Black Veil when compared to Meng Xiang. Meng Xiang is orderly and relatively set, to be settled by humanity. The Realm of the Black Veil is chaotic, and, instead, expressly shaped by the manifest power of its population. Powerful enough spirits can, and have, shaped this plane to their own will and purposes, resulting in strangely beautiful and grotesquely abhorrent lands that float in the void. And, even then, whereas Meng Xiang has a finite size and shape, even if humanity hasn't explored all of it yet, the Realm of the Black Veil seems to go on forever. To put it best, making a map of this world would involve drawing scribbles and the occasional object-thing all over a blank sheet of paper, doing the same for another sheet, and another, and another, and so on...and then taking them all, throwing them all up in the air, watching to wind scatter them all over, and continuing this process, and then trying to use it to find your way to Disney World. And then tossing more on...

And finally, whereas humans have found it impossible to crossover to the Realm of the Black Veil, spirits can crossover so easily that, in the case of spirits with no intelligence, their presence on Meng Xiang is an accident.

Spirits are the mirror of humanity, formed ideas with consciousness and, following the defeat of Yama, no inherent purpose in using it. Thus, a lot of them, but not all, default to their original way and hate humanity's existence, especially as it compares to their own chaotic existence; notable is that not all spirits manifest this hatred with violence, and they are thusly regarded as manipulators and lethal tricksters as well. They hail from the Realm of the Black Veil, a land impossible to truly generalize or comprehend, defined instead by the manifest power of the spirits within.

[NyuBomber]

Lion Clan

“I don’t know how they get anything done. Seems like they need someone’s seal of approval for everything…including relieving themselves in the bushes.” - Anonymous, Ox Clan

“A little...zealous for their work, but it’s always good to be enthusiastic about one’s sacred duty.” - Anonymous, Tortoise Clan

“Much too serious when sober, but their drinking and the occasional gambling away of valuable equipment keeps the wheels turning.” - Anonymous, Bat Clan

“Lion Clan seems to think their weapons, armor, and honor can stop the inevitable. They are wrong.” - Anonymous, Owl Clan

Founding Master: He of Judging Swords
Current Master: Lady Mu, the Demon of Spears
Headquarters: The Citadel of Judgement, across Yu Bay from Shengmen, Central Continent
Virtues: Imperial Command, Loyalty, Camaraderie, Protection of the Weak, Glory of Battle, Martial Arms, Metal Work
Personality: Hot-Blooded

Since time immemorial, when the First Imperial Court was formed amidst the spiritual violence and corruption of the pre-Zhong Kui era, certain families pledged their undying fealty to the idea that the Empire represented: a steady hand to guide the whole of humanity, a blueprint of order amidst the chaos. This formed the beginnings of the first Imperial Army. When He of Judging Swords founded the Lion Clan on Central Continent, the most devout of these families followed, and a capable number were able to become shen-lieren.

If their history seems short, it is because their purpose is simple and sweet. Lion Clan see themselves as humanity's primary guardians, and are energetic about doing so, to say the least. This pride manifests itself in the power of their armaments and gusto in charging into battle, as well as boastful and haughty attitudes to other shen-lieren. What they hide, however, is that this competitive streak is born from a sense of respect for their gifted brethren, at least for the four other original clans and newer ones that have reached the nebulous status of honor that Lion requires. For regular people, however, Lion does not play around in protecting them...and in this, they hide a sense of being gods among men.

Because of the clan's longevity, and the individual status and training of their students, Lion Clan are seen as the de facto battle commanders. Their training tends to build both mental and physical acuity, and it is rare to encounter a Lion Clan who is a total meathead or a completely hands-off general...though, not unheard of. In any case, Lion Clan are always formidable.

Shen-lieren Educational Style

Because of the Citadel of Judgement's proximity to many settlements on Central Continent, including Shengmen, and the fact that it is the heart of Imperial Army activity, the headquarters of Lion Clan runs its training as a cross between a boarding school and barracks. Recruits stay in dormitories for a period of months before returning home for a few weeks, and then coming back to the Citadel halls.

Shen-lieren classes tend to be per generation, or about every 20 years. A typical Lion Clan generation is around 30 to 40 individuals. Students are separated into companies of 4 or 5, based on instructor's data gathered during an extensive interview and review period, and expected to bond together, both within their own groups and with others. Though they see their birth families relatively often, it is expected that they form a new family within the company, thus cementing inter-familial bonds. It is rare that students are transferred from one company to another.

Lion Clan lessons put a heavy emphasis on learning-by-doing, and almost everything is related to or expressed through combat and athletics. Even when learning battlefield tactics, students make extensive use of the Citadel grounds to conduct war games. A signature track of the Lion Clan curriculum is in armaments, as students are tasked to, somehow, learn what weapon suits them and its ins and outs. Many of the most innovative and high-quality blacksmiths in Meng Xiang have emerged from Lion Clan as a result of this area, the one place where loose experimentation is allowed.

Discipline is of the utmost priority. Students must be punctual, precise, attentive, and obedient. Disobedience or failure to follow regulations is dealt with harshly. Many first scars are often earned, not during drills or in the field, but from instructors.

Cultural Perspective & Impact

Lion Clan are the most approachable of the original five clans, and as such have enjoyed a super heroic status among the common people. They are seen as dependable and easily related to, on account of recruits never really leaving their communities. Part of their popularity can also be attributed to the tradition of attractive weapons and armor. Lion Clan's involvement in the mundane military also adds to their aura of familiarity.

Central Continent is the most generally developed region for a few reasons: a gentler climate and terrain, being home to both the capital city and Lion Clan headquarters, and patrols by both Lion and Hound Clan among them. The biggest reason, however, is the mix of industry and innovation spurred by Lion Clan blacksmiths. From their workshops have come innovations and improvements to the everyday lives of Central people. Transportation, food storage and preparation, healthcare, all have been touched by Lion Clan innovations.

Yet, Lion Clan is also seen as a class separated from and above all others. Lion Clan leaders tend to always get their way when it comes to resource requests from the Emperor, and some take issue with their involvement with the military. Accusations of corruption fly regularly, but rarely get anywhere, even with soft evidence.

Still, for the average person, the presence of Lion Clan is both expected and welcome, a trustworthy matter of fact for Central life.

[NyuBomber]

Tortoise Clan

“Swords can cut, but it is faith that keeps us strong. There are no closer siblings than Lion and Tortoise.” - Anonymous, Lion Clan

“Too stuffy, too ritualized, too much sermonizing, too haughty... they’re very stubborn and persistent. I can respect that.” - Anonymous, Ox Clan

“Pfffft, hahahaha… Get out.” - Anonymous, Bat Clan

“Owl is the caretaker. Tortoise is the messenger. Made for each other, like a man and his mother-in-law.” - Anonymous, Owl Clan

Founding Master: She of Unbreakable Shields
Current Master: Abbot-Lord Huang, Heaven's Lantern
Headquarters: The Unbreakable Monastery, centrally located on the largest island of North Continent
Virtues: Heaven's Earthly Hands, Historical Research & Archival, Lorekeeping, Empathy, Clarity, Cartography, Above Excess
Personality: Full of Grace

Overview

Heaven has a plan for everything and everyone. Every experience to the present is a a heat and anvil to shape us, every challenge to come is an opportunity to purify ourselves and get closer to enlightenment. The great purge of humanity by the spirits, therefor, was a just culling that will lead to a better world; that world is already coming into being, protected by the hands of the shen-lieren. It is with this faith, these teachings of She of Unbreakable Shields, handed down from Heaven, that Tortoise clan trains and studies relentlessly. Tortoise is innately superior by virtue of their aims, not because of arrogance.

Because Heaven is perfection, Tortoise aims to get as close as humanly possible to the gods; to not cherish earthly possessions, to remain unattached to worldly endeavors such as economics and politics, to remain even-tempered and clear of mind, and to always act selflessly.

Because they are sworn to a sacred duty, Tortoise aims to perfect their body into the penultimate weapon; to master martial arts, to be able to tear spirits asunder with their bare hands.

Because Heaven has the library of all knowledge, Tortoise seeks to learn from the secrets passed on to humanity in the Age of Antiquity; to seek out opportunities to collect valuable artifacts, and make sure they are cataloged and shared with the world.

And, because Heaven is the foundation of existence, Tortoise values the philosophical mind; to come together from multiple perspectives and peacefully discuss the infinite questions of being.

That is, Tortoise aims. They are only human. They fall, they fail, they covet, they rage. But, more than anything, Tortoise feels the weight of its self-imposed, impossible standards, and how the outside world can see them as hypocritical. The tortoise, however, is the cousin to time. Through persistent effort and patience, Tortoise Clan shen-lieren hope to transcend the failures of themselves and their flawed comrades in the other clans.

Shen-lieren Educational Style

Shen-lieren classes tend to be per generation, or about every 20 years. A typical Torttoise Clan generation is around 10 to 20 individuals. Because of the history between Tortoise and the Northern peoples, the clan takes the position that they will only take the most dedicated pupils in; outsider views say that they simply have trouble getting people to attempt to join. Whatever the case, Tortoise tends to have the smallest class sizes in any given generation. It also cannot help that students are kept on the island that houses the Unbreakable Monastery and its training grounds, forbidden to speak or share correspondence with their families on the outside. Detachment is one of the first lessons learned.

Perhaps Tortoise has a point, however, because their training is more rigid than Lion Clan, more secreted than Owl, and more arduous than Bat or Ox. Bone-breaking martial arts-teaching techniques push trainees to their physical limit, while tasking scholarly lectures and exams drill students to the point of mental breakdowns.

Most famous of Tortoise teaching techniques is the forum, where students are pitted against shen-lieren in moral quandaries and interpretations of lore. Forums can push well past 24 hours in length, with naught but water to sustain the participants. Leaving before a mutual conclusion is reached is severely frowned upon.

Cultural Perspective & Impact

To understand Tortoise's relationship and impact with the North, it is necessary to go well before the time of salvation for the continent.

When She of Unbreakable Shields arrived on the coasts of the North's numerous isles, she and her contingency were surprised to discover three things: that the natives of the North possessed ocean-faring boats which out-classed the new arrivals' Central-made vessels twice over; that word of Demon King Zhong Kui's victory had barely reached their ears North; and that Northerners did not appreciate the revolutionary shift.

Over the despairing age of Meng Xiang, something peculiar was occurring in the turbulent and geographically segregated North. When the last vestiges of humanity's Age of Antiquity on the islands were annihilated, when typhoons racked soil and sea and tsunamis changed the landscape on a monthly basis, when it seemed that Heaven had abandoned its favored creation, Northerners turned to the only possible saviors they could see: the spirits themselves. Some pleas for mercy were met with continued slaughter. Some spirits accepted sacrifices of food and flesh.

But, there was one luminous spirit that heard the cries and responded: by making fish, fruit, vegetables, and herbs bountiful, by keeping hunting spirits at bay so that these gifts may be gathered, and by clearing out the storms and exposing the star-filled sky, all for nothing tangible in return. For this reason, the natives referred to the benevolent force commonly as Daohang, "The Navigator," but also Mingxing Songli, "Star-Giver," and other names as good deeds were attributed to it. The spirit was was dubbed to be a force of good. With The Navigator's blessings, the people pf the North could look outward and skyward.

Then, one day, the sky turned to black at high noon. No spirits were anywhere to be found, including The Navigator. Those on the islands closest to Central relayed the message of Demon King Zhong Kui's routing of Hell's army. Reactions were mixed, to say the least, but Tortoise Clan was welcomed amicably. It had to be a good thing to finally have an era that could be called peaceful.

Peace, however, did not come without growing pains. At first, residents were happy to have Tortoise attack the remaining cults dedicated to malevolent spirits, but their attention turned to the continued everyday worship and shrines to those perceived to help, including The Navigator. The Proclamation of Apostasy was passed by Tortoise, banning such activities; property was confiscated, shrines destroyed. On the Night of the Blood-Stained Palm, an organized mob of Northerners and Tortoise trainees came to blows. It took an Imperial mandate to force Tortoise to tolerate the worship of spirits in the North, but they still aggressively send missionaries to proselytize the word of Heaven. When spirits attack, however, the unease is put aside enough to coordinate transportation/evacuation, and suppression of the threat.

Thus is the basis for the relationship between Tortoise and its people, a tense blight on an otherwise sunny, varied, idealistic, and sea-bound population.

[NyuBomber]

Ox Clan

“Knows the value of working hard and being ruthless. What more can one ask for? Well, aside from keeping track of who is where and when and why. And some decorum.” - Anonymous, Lion Clan

“The land is their temple. Tortoise does not take issue.” - Anonymous, Tortoise Clan

“Let me tell you, those beast-lovers know the value of secrecy and property.” - Anonymous, Bat Clan

“Pleasant.” - Anonymous, Owl Clan

Founding Master: He of Eternal Arrows
Current Master: Hop Kang, King of Wasps
Headquarters: The Eternal Perch, an expansive tree-top camp-city deep within the north-western segment of the East Continent
Virtues: Community, Hard Work, Animal Kinship, Knowledge of Nature, Survival of the Fittest, Growth, The Simple Life
Personality: Children of the Land

Overview

While the spirits reigned, inhabitants of North, South, West, and Central continents roamed the land, cursing the weather, the terrain, the animals, anything that got in the way and made life difficult in the face of inevitable extinction.

But, not the East. The tools for them to survive, the Easterners observed, hung from every branch, poured down immense cliff sides, roamed the darkest groves, and laid hidden, waiting to be discovered and utilized. The East fought back against their otherworldly oppressors more than any other region. Out of sheer spite and instinct, they would rush in mobs to take on any threat, using sharpened sticks as spears and armor of bark strips. This land was their land, and they would be damned to have it taken from them.

These encounters would often end in grave losses to the fighting men and women, with victory being claimed if a spirit fell along with the ravaged human bodies. Defeat did not strip the Easterners of their morale -- rather, their humanity, as "useless" principles such as compassion, mercy, empathy, the arts, and pursuit of progress fell by the wayside. The constant fighting left the population of East Continent in a pack mentality, where your usefulness was measured by how well you could fight, how much food you could gather when opportunity arose, or how well you could breed (love was among the first casualties) and take care of the children -- who, too, were forced by circumstance to become adults before their time in the blood-stained jungles. Survival of the pack was law. The infirm, the barren, the hopelessly sick, and the weak were to be left to the wilds.

Thus it was, until Zhong Kui used cunning and power to ascend to the throne of the Demon King. He of Eternal Arrows, most troublesome of the Five Masters, sought to remain practical, immediate, and effective with his approach to uniting humanity, as opposed to his peer's varied levels of what he called "smug airs and dung examining." In East Continent, he found a population purely bred and steeled for working with their hands to tame the land, with little of the sentimental drivel of other lands. The best naturally met and exceeded He of Eternal Arrow's standards, and so was Ox Clan born.

Ox Clans likes things focused and straight-forward. Point them toward a goal or target, give them room to work, and their cleverness and resourcefulness will usually win the day. The pack mentality sees Ox through all things, as they love the company of others and working together; if Lion is the brain of leadership, Ox is the heart. They are adaptable, willing to mold themselves to the needs of the situation, because anything can be overcome if you have the right work ethic.

Do not mistake Oxen simplicity and friendliness for a lax attitude. They have no tolerance for laziness, political subterfuge, red tape, anything that hinders the individual's or clan's progress. In addition, they aren't familiar with the subtler elements of modern culture, such as art or religious rites, resulting in either bewildered looks or short, sweet, derisive insight.

Ox Clan is utilitarian, embracing all fighting forms and weapons if they prove useful enough. Similarly, they do not discriminate against magical methods or scheming, if convinced they'll produce results.

Though Ox Clan embraces all combat styles, all members are trained in the use of the bow and arrow, out of tradition and respect for He of Eternal Arrows.

Shen-lieren Educational Style

Shen-lieren classes tend to be per generation, or about every 20 years. A typical Ox Clan generation is around 40 to 60 individuals. All young Easterners are subject to a preliminary test at the age of 12; those who fail move on to a normal education that peters out around age 16, and those who pass are sent to the Eternal Perch grounds for proper shen-lieren training.

This training is oriented toward two paths: survival, and bonding with nature. Students are live in a singular group, which is temporarily split up to facilitate instruction and expeditions to the wild. Then they are brought together for a few days of rest, and then it's back out. The cycle continues through all four seasons, at which point a student choose to undergo the sacred rites to become a true shen-lieren. Only the rare prodigy does so after a year, however. On average, students are looking at 6- to 8-year process.

Though Ox Clan is generally straight-forward, their mystical side comes out when it comes to their ties to nature. At some point in every student's training, a vision enchants them, waking or asleep. At the end of the experience, the student finds themselves in possession of either an animal companion or totem.

Animal companions will serve the Ox's beck and call (within reason), theorized to share in the human's true chi in order to become abnormally strong and capable of wielding a degree of power, like the shen-lieren themselves. This connection has a degree of empathism, the animal able to share in the master's emotional state, and able to track them to a general area from anywhere. These animals seem to share in the human's life force as a source of sustenance. If the animal is slain and the shen-lieren is alive, the animal returns after a couple of days, with the human going through a period of withdrawn depression. If the human dies, no matter the method, the animal perishes a few hours later.

Totems are trinkets, accessories varying from pendants to belts or earrings, crafted in the Ox's stupor and enchanted by an unknown force to provide the shen-lieren and their allies a strengthening boon, as well as utility functions such as ambient light and serving as makeshift compasses. They're made from natural material -- wood, stone, packed dirt, minerals, even ice. Totems do not erode or decay, and are impossible to break by conventional means as long as their owner is alive. If lost, the totem decays into uselessness, and the shen-lieren enters another trance to create it again. If the human dies, no matter the method, the totem decays into ash a few hours later.

Cultural Perspective & Impact

Manifest destiny is the way of life for East Continent. Intrepid, fearless, resourceful, and tough, these people followed He of Eternal Arrows into the jungles, marshes, river valleys, and lake shores of the East Continent to stake humanity's claim on Meng Xiang's lushest region. The people lay claim to every acre and beast they feel is owed to them -- and they're willing to work for it.

Eastern workers are prized for their ethic, skill, adaptability, and ability to not question orders. However, they are no rubes, and the East's philosophy of community and unity has resulted in a nascent union movement that guarantees pay and safety for every miner, lumberjack, farmer, crop-picker, hunter, brewer, fisherman, leather worker, everyone. Because of this, the average Easterner is deceptively well-off, economically.

The general populace admires Ox Clan, though the shen-lieren stay out of business and political affairs, because they lead the charge into unknown territory. This gung-ho attitude has lead to grave trouble in the past. Early on, the Ox Clan and the East were rapidly expanding northward on the continent, and had eyes set on the islands of the North. Contrary to initial impressions, the Northern peoples and Tortoise monks were not pacifists. Their righteous claim to holy lands brought about many skirmishes. Ultimately, Lion Clan quelled the fighting enough for the Imperial Family to broker borders which hold to this day -- alongside tensions.

Generally, people of the East are friendly and well-traveled. Trade caravans provide transportation to Central, the Northern traders provide boat travel, and the impulse to see the world is strong, if only to return and continue the prosperity at home. However, Easterners bring their down-home culture, manners, accents, and penchant for not respecting space with them, resulting in prejudices against the so-called "hicks and bumpkins."

[NyuBomber]

Bat Clan

“Wouldn’t trust them as far as I could throw a wagonful of them.” - Anonymous, Lion Clan

“What’s there to say? We handle our business, they handle theirs.” - Anonymous, Ox Clan

“Also pleasant.” - Anonymous, Owl Clan

“Hedonistic, whore-mongering, crime-sheltering, money-lending, slumlording, material-hoarding, drug-peddling, anarchistic, slothful, depraved degenerates. But, they get things done. You didn't hear that from me.” - Anonymous, Tortoise Clan

Founding Master: She of Shimmering Gems
Current Masters: The Lovely Twins - Lord Zuo Nao, the Left Fang & Lady Yu Nao, the Right Fang
Headquarters: The Shimmering Bank, the heart, brains, eyes, and lungs of the sprawling Fortune City district of the South Continent
Virtues: Materialism, Freedom of Choice, Games, Beauty, The Grey Area, Complexity, Mobility
Personality: Insufferable Rogue

Overview

Life is forfeit -- this was reality in the pre-Demon King Zhong Kui era. If the spirits or their cultist agents did not murder them, the people of the Southern Continent would be done in by the bone-stripping, water-less desert. One day, someone, or a group of someones, realized this, and the continent succumbed to anarchy. Raiding bands and slaver rings helped to disentegrate any semblance of unity. Hope was how long the supplies you were carrying on your back could last; value, how much food you could get in exchange for your flesh. Tales of the depravity and desolation of the South drifted to the rest of Meng Xiang, and everybody wrote the region off as a lost cause. She of Shimmering Gems, however, was not everybody. She, the most unorthodox of the Five Masters, sensed opportunity. Leading her followers, despite their trepidation, into the desert, She of Shimmering Gems immediately set about wheeling, dealing, gambling, planning, out-smarting, assassinating, and laying waste to any human or spirit who got in her way. This was a game she intended to win. Under one wing, she shielded the hopeless from the lethal elements of the South, while providing sustainable settlements and tapping the hidden treasures of the land. Under the other wing, a guiding hand keeping up the cloak of night, the Master organized the criminal element and turned it to her darker aims. From both worlds, she sought out her disciples, and instilled them with her values. Thus was born Bat Clan.

Bat Clan's complexity runs so deep that they don't seem to do anything at all besides play games and indulge in vice, but anyone with an ounce of info knows better. Through heavy surveillance, control of money, enhancing of culture, and potent shen-lieren abilities, Bat Clan works to develop and protect the South Continent from threats from both the Realm of the Black Veil and Meng Xiang.

Bat Clan are very individualistic and often come into conflict with each others aims. It's through sheer luck and dedication to seeing that the chaos of the past does not take hold again that they work together.

Bat Clan has a slight chip on its shoulder for being constantly underestimated (or, in the case of their relationship to Tortoise Clan, derided) in their abilities and methods by the other original clans, which has led to a certain flamboyant streak in decoration, as well as manifesting in secret symbols, hidden messages, and even a separate language -- Echo-tongue.

More than any other of the original clans, Bat Clan has a very wide swath of people from differing walks of life. The sons of deceased miners co-exist with the daughters of upper class nobility, who are forced to work with the fresh dregs of Fortune City's streets. The potential for implosion is forever pushed back, however, by the liberal use of privilege passes to food & drink, drugs, games, and entertainment.

Shen-lieren Educational Style

Shen-lieren classes tend to be per generation, or about every 20 years. A typical Bat Clan generation is around 10 to 60 individuals, the disparity owing to each teacher's style and views on record keeping. Likewise, record-keeping is lax on who drops out and why. Initial assignments of students to teachers is made with seemingly no regard other than how the clan Master feels toward the teacher that day. No delineation is made between student groups, and enterprising hopefuls can even float between teachers, if they can find them. As far as facilities, there are only designated meeting spots that students are expected to report to when told. These can be moonlit back alleys, spots in the middle of the wild, brothels, restaurants, or even the teacher's home.

"The wise man makes his own luck," and "It is always better to be lucky than good" -- These two proverbs always initiate recruits into Bat Clan on the first day. From then on, all bets are off as to what students can expect. Bat Clan teaches completely via the hard knocks of real world experience. Only those who can keep up and blaze their own trail through their teacher's curriculum are worthy of the final trials and further refinement..

Assignments start very internship-like, with no rewards given for menial tasks, but in reality every last one has a purpose in growing the recruit. As the student progresses, they'll be given more and more responsibility, up to and including important business negotiations and the odd bounty hunt, spirit or human. However, students are almost always left to their own devices in getting things done; very little oversight is provided, as the teachers are very busy individuals with their own ventures. Money and material incentive tend to come quickly to those who do well. With that said, this is the South Continent, and competition is incredibly fierce, to the point that some students actively work to eliminate their peers, whether through machination or violence. On the flip side, other students see the value in strong teamwork and partnerships, forming clubs to look after each other.

The signature idiosyncrasy to Bat Clan training is the prominence of games, whether strategic or of the chance variety. It's not uncommon that teachers will test their students comprehension of their training by actually playing with them.

Cultural Perspective & Impact

The average Southerner takes for granted how integrated Bat Clan is to the continent's way of life, and can go a lifetime without thinking on it. Unless there is a spirit attack, most people are more concerned about how they'll get through the week with their food, or pay off their debt. The privileged class is more focused on escapism. In the fast-paced and "new"-obsessed lands of the South Continent, it is Bat Clan's ancient ways that have insured survival for all and prosperity for some. Those with the gumption (and ruthlessness) to rise to the top do so, and live it up in doing so. Because of the cost of living in the developed areas, there's a very small slice of the South Continent that can be considered middle class.

Bat Clan has its hands in all industries of South Continent, but their most important contribution to the world is in regulating the Meng Xiang dollar and providing an example for other institutions to follow.

Similarly, because Bat Clan's plans include the criminal element, law enforcement is somewhat lax, when compared to the other continents, and that's on top of more liberal legislation already. A "wild West" attitude pervades in the frontier settlements. Drugs and prostitution are legal, though heavily regulated and taxed, limited to certain areas and specialized buildings.

Seeing value inside and out is a Bat Clan virtue, and South Continent followed suit. Because of the mix of poverty and luxury, South Continent is home to the most thriving culture scene on Meng Xiang. Art, music, theater, and literature all enjoy a wide variety of styles and accessibility levels. It is rare that a Southerner doesn't have a hobby in these areas, if only because there's a chance they could be discovered by one of the numerous arts guilds and strike it rich.

There have been two major counter-movements to the decadence of South Continent: first, the Ascetic movement which completely shunned the material aspect of life, but did not become a major force due to lack of leadership; second, the Purity Committee, a special group organized by certain Fortune City's leaders to attempt to inject their own brand of morality into South Continent culture.

Rich Southerners travel often for work and leisure. Poor Southerners travel by way of luck and daring. Both groups benefit from hitching rides on Bat expeditions to other areas, and also make a point to not ask too many questions.

Though they may be the ones in charge, Bat Clan is seen as one group among many, maneuvering as it needs to maintain and spread control. In doing so, Bat Clan is also innately responsible for keeping the latent powder keg of social warfare from exploding.

[NyuBomber]

Owl Clan

“They worry too much about events that have not happened, and not enough on the threat in front of them.” - Anonymous, Ox Clan

“Owl possesses a disturbing focus on the wrong side of life.” - Anonymous, Ox Clan

“Owl Clan’s so-called ‘communion’ with spirits is a hair’s width away from heresy, and should be treated as such.” - Anonymous, Tortoise Clan

“Funny folks when you get them inebriated, but...you think we have secrets?” - Anonymous, Bat Clan

Founding Master: She of Speaking Mirrors
Current Master: Hei Tu, Foresaker of the Open Grave
Headquarters: The Speaking Steeple, the foreboding tower of an otherwise idyllic campus at the summit of Maotouying Peak, West Continent
Virtues: Seeking a Higher Plane, Gardening, Experimentation, Equality, Solitude, Travel, Empathy
Personality: Riddle, Wrapped in a Mystery, Inside an Enigma

Overview

Profane inquisitors. Curse-bearers. Omens of ill-fortune. Death-worshipers. These are the misconceptions of the "unknowable" Owl Clan. It began thousands of years ago. As humanity suffered in the midst of the spiritual purge, it stood to reason that some chose to escape into madness. The insane, useless and often actively detrimental to the survival of those who remained unfortunately sane, were cast out. Most of these outcasts fulfilled their last beneficial task, becoming distracting prey for ever-pursuing spirits.

One such outcast, however, defied fate. She was outcast as a child, having witnessed the death of her family and razing of her village. The trauma struck her mute and unpredictably violent, a pure liability. Her only possessions when she was forced out at sword point were the rags on her back and a dresser-top mirror, which she voluntarily attached to her waist with a rope and dragged around...surely, just one sign of her madness. But, as it happened, tales of the child with the mirror began to circulate. Some would say that they only saw signs of her presence, a glimmer of moonlight on the ground as if reflected, and then nothing. Some said she was seen on the outskirts of camps, standing with her back to everyone, looking into her glass, always just before spirit attacks. Then, one day, the child, now a teenager, fought back, erupting in a font of energy that annihilated the attacking spirits. The survivors who were sane fled from her, an obvious demon-in-disguise. The insane followed. The woman was thrust into leadership, responsible for the safeguarding of her flock. Often, she failed to muster her potential. Often, her uncontrolled powers were responsible for destruction. The insane still followed. And she allowed it. And so they wandered.

When Zhong Kui felled the armies of Hell, the woman was the last found of the group that would become the Five Masters. When the encounter came, Demon King Zhong Kui asked her to allow herself to be taught. This is the only confirmed instance of her looking into the mirror. And she put her hand to the glass as she gazed deep, and uttered her first word in so many years: "Why?"

"Why?" Questions are at the core of Owl Clan, and they believe the answer is within, for it was from within humanity that spirits were birthed, and it was within Meng Xiang that the Realm of the Black Veil was created. More than any other clan, Owl asks why existence is the way it is, and they seek the answers without regard to the judgments of outsiders. Nestled away on Maotouying Peak, an anomaly of a mountain on the Western tundra, most think Owl Clan to be conjuring magical horrors or spreading curses. In reality, they conduct experiments on nature, relics, minerals, spirits, and willing humans within the forbidden recesses of the Speaking Steeple...and, unknown to outsiders, their facilities actually run deep into their mountain headquarters.

Owl Clan are the closest thing modern Meng Xiang has to scientists, mad or otherwise. Combining mysticism with methodology, the clan's ultimate goals are to do the impossible: learn how to enter the Realm of the Black Veil, and how to end the spiritual threat forever. Because of the subject matter, though, progress is slow, if moving at all, with an infinite amount of theories and approaches taken.

Legitimate Owl Clan are notably not without morals or principles. They hold their responsibilities to protect Meng Xiang from spirits in equal esteem as their quest for knowledge. They do not seek to spread death and despair, for that is the sphere of spirits. Imperial laws are followed. Animal experimentation is done as humanely as possible. If humans are involved, procedures can only be done by consent of the well-minded subject. And the insane are to be cared for.

The most controversial Owl Clan experiment method is the process known as communion. Rather than outright kill some spirits, Owl Clan will restrain them and attempt to connect with the being on the level of the soul, in a process that resembles simple meditation. The process reveals its true nature, however, when the spirit becomes a thrall to the Owl Clan and begins following its master's commands. Most of the time, this simply means the spirit will be complacent in following the Owl Clan back to the Speaking Steeple; but, once in a while, the spirit will be used as a supplement to the Owl Clan's own abilities and combat. No matter which result the communion brings, it is looked down upon to dare get close to spirits in this way. It is also dangerous; if the Owl Clan is unprepared for the spirit, their soul will be consumed. But, as established, Owl Clan asks the questions others do not, and eagerly o where others have reservations.

Shen-lieren Educational Style

Shen-lieren classes tend to be per generation, or about every 20 years. A typical Owl Clan generation is around 10 to 20 individuals, and they progress as their skill dictates rather than strictly with each other. As if through divination, Owl Clan is at the doorstep of families where they feel young children are destined to become shen-lieren. These visits are dreaded by West Continent people, because if the parents allow it, accepting fate means that the child is whisked away to Maotouying Peak to live until maturity. Parents who make the trek can see their children, but as time passes and the child grows into a proper shen-lieren, it is unlikely they will have the time or affection to truly connect with birth family.

Young students follow a monastic lifestyle of academic lessons, teachings in magic and their own abilities, and conditioning through meditation and martial arts, all scaling according to age. These lessons are as trying as anything other clans perform. However, the pupil must pass their rite of shen-lieren initiation before the depths of the Owl Clan are revealed. Once in, however, all the previous lessons form the basis of their further research and growth.

Experimentation and fearlessness are encouraged by Owl Clan in their students. Simultaneously and, as often pointed out by their own, hypocritically, however, they strictly keep outsiders at arm's length, and especially when it concerns their inner workings. Allowing a non-Owl Clan into the Speaking Steeple is punishable by exile or worse.

Upon reaching a certain level of maturity in their work, young adult Owl Clan are made to travel to the other three continents for years before being permitted to return, if they so choose. This is facilitated by Tortoise and Whale Clan's sailing and shipping expertise.

Cultural Perspective & Impact

If there is one thing Owl Clan is universally looked upon favorably for, it is their care of the unstable. They are cared for in an therapeutic asylum on Maotouying Peak. It is required for students of sufficient maturity to spend a period of time caring for these outcasts, for the express lesson of teaching what it means to be on the brink of humanity. Notably, if someone is deemed well again, they are immediately sent back to where they came from.

Life on West Continent has formed on its own, with Owl Clan providing nothing but protection. Other than their regular attending to those who are mentally unwell, Owl Clan is disconnected from everyday life in the region. And, as far as the clan and the general populace of the West go, this arrangement is perfect. People can go about their business, not bothering Owl Clan, and Owls do not show up a moment before they're needed. Encountering the feathered variety of owl is considered bad luck; encountering Owl Clan outside of a spirit attack is considered an ill omen.

Because Owl Clan is disconnected from everyday life in West Continent, and because there's no rush to establish a large settlement on the tundra, government is handled by a council of representatives from a cross the land. These representatives meet to hash out disagreements and arrangements with each other, on behalf of their people, and in meeting with Imperial representatives. Business is also handed via council rule, though the environment and lack of hands-on oversight has resulted in prominent cabals and smugglers gaining footholds in trade.

Owl Clan travel often, and generally find a more tempered, if still wary, response from people of other continents. They are merely bemusing and strange, rather than sinister. However, it is easy for Owl Clan methods to be mistaken for cult activity, and they're thus rarely left unattended or unsuspected when things go awry.

For these reasons, Owls tend to go unseen and unheard, popping up in strange places, at the right opportunity, and without making it obvious that they're Owl. This has the side effect of making it easier to conduct observation studies. The general populace of Meng Xiang in denial of Owl's wide presence.

In contrast to their resident historic clan, it's rare for a Western person to travel far from home within the continent, let alone to other lands in Meng Xiang. In comparison to Easterners, the tundra peoples are outwardly cold unless familiar with whom they are dealing.

[NyuBomber]

Clarity Scroll: Origin
As Passed Down from the Three Clarities to the Holy Jade Emperor and Holy Jade Empress, Stewards of Heaven
(As Translated from the Language of Heaven, and Summarized, by Lady Qing, the Balanced One, High Nun of the Unbreakable Monastary, circa 15 AZ)

Chapter 4, Section 1 (Origin 4:1): On Meng Xiang

Three millennia ago, the Lords and Ladies of Heaven created the earth and bestowed upon it the name Meng Xiang. They gave it light, life, happiness, and knowledge. Humanity was created in their image and given the task to grow and learn. And, for a time, it was good.

Jealous of his brothers' and sisters' creation, Yama, the Hell King, created the Realm of the Black Veil from the sin of humanity’s heart and the shadow of the natural world. The Veil grew as a cancer takes over a lung, spreading darkness, death, misery, and ignorance throughout existence. Spirits were created to do Yama's bidding. Humanity suffered greatly under the claw of their unstoppable violence and poisoned whispers. Humanity was forced to wander the land for survival, unable to settle and prosper. Meng Xiang was overrun, and river and field turned crimson with mortal blood.

Lord Zhong Kui of the 1st Imperial Court, having proven his intelligence and resolve through the first first imperial examination, sought to bring an end to the destruction and despair spread by spirits, and thusly devised a plan. Knowing that one who commits suicide is destined to an eternity in Hell, Lord Zhong Kui, to the uninformed despair of all, threw himself from the Yu Falls, into the Horizon Sea. Once he passed into Hell, Lord Zhong Kui sought the attention of Yama. Impressed by Lord Zhong Kui's seeming arrogance and judging him to be worthy, Yama took Zhong Kui on as an understudy, planning to eternally tip the balance of existence in his favor by corrupting his brothers’ and sisters’ most esteemed creation.

Yama marched upon the Court of Heaven with Lord Zhong Kui and a spirit army 80,000 strong. However, Lord Zhong Kui turned all of his natural guile and newly-learned techniques on to Yama’s forces. In one month, 80,000 spirits and generals of Hell lay dead, an army slain in defeat for all inhabitants of Heaven, Hell, Meng Xiang, and Veil to see. Yama was punished for his insolence with the loss of his right foot, right hand, and right eye, but the greater sting came from his humiliation and banishment from the Court. Lord Zhong Kui was bestowed the title of Demon King and given a Seat in the Court of Heaven, from where he passed on the gifts of spirit control, banishment, and destruction down to humanity, such that humanity could finally settle Meng Xiang and prosper.

Thus it was that the first five shen-lieren masters found their callings under Demon King Zhong Kui’s tutelage. When he left Meng Xiang to see to Heaven’s affairs, Demon King Zhong Kui commanded them to continue to hone and innovate on the teachings, to continue the battle against the machinations of Hell and spirits.

So sayeth Heaven
For each movement, a shadow
Each hero, a fiend
Each mountain, a valley
The sun and moon
Day and night
Yin and yang
Balance is eternal
So sayeth Heaven

Chapter 4, Section 2 (Origin 4:2): On the Settling of Meng Xiang

And, thus it was that the Five Masters spread throughout the provinces of Meng Xiang, leading those who chose to follow, and humanity established itself thusly:

The Forbidden Halls of the Emperor sat atop the Yu Falls, at the edge of the Horizon Sea, the crown of the capital-commerce city of Shengmen, the Holy Gate, overseeing all of Meng Xiang.

Quite near the capital city, on fertile amber hills and forests, He of Judging Swords settled the Lion Clan, wherein gifted hunters studied the art of war and how to vanquish spirits with muscle, metal, and will.

Among the black-sand islands of the Northern Horizon Sea, She of Unbreakable Shields settled the Tortoise Clan, wherein gifted hunters studied the legends of Heaven and perfected their discipline until both the elements and spirits were cowed by their abilities.

Within the especially hearty and viridian bamboo forests of the East, He of Eternal Arrows settled the Ox Clan, wherein gifted hunters studied humanity’s bond to nature and how to grow, hunt, and protect the world from spirits alongside it.

Nestled in the crevices of the simmering-clay red Southern valleys, She of Shimmering Gems settled the Bat Clan, wherein gifted hunters studied the blessed pleasures afforded to humanity by Heaven, and drew, from these seemingly-innocuous games, lessons in the methodology and physiology of spirit existence.

Far to the snow-covered white West, She of Speaking Mirrors settled the Owl Clan, wherein gifted hunters studied the methodology of death, the attraction of spirits to it, and how to manipulate the connection.

So sayeth Heaven
For each movement, a shadow
Each hero, a fiend
Each mountain, a valley
The sun and moon
Day and night
Yin and yang
Balance is eternal
So sayeth Heaven

Clarity Scroll: Purpose
As Passed Down from the Three Clarities to the Holy Jade Emperor and Holy Jade Empress, Stewards of Heaven
(As Translated from the Language of Heaven, and Summarized, by Lady Qing, the Balanced One, High Nun of the Unbreakable Monastary, circa 26 AZ)

[Contents to be accessible only to the Imperial Family, on penalty of death]

Clarity Scroll: Fate
As Passed Down from the Three Clarities to the Holy Jade Emperor and Holy Jade Empress, Stewards of Heaven
(As Translated from the Language of Heaven, and Summarized, by Lady Qing, the Balanced One, High Nun of the Unbreakable Monastary, circa 75 AZ)

[Contents to be accessible only to the Imperial Family, on penalty of death]

[NyuBomber]

"Education is a Heaven-mandated right of all humanity. Even as our nomadic ancestors moved from place to place, pursued by the spirit hordes, they had storytellers and scroll-keepers to keep our cultural identity secure. Following Demon King Zhong Kui's victory, the Imperial Library was founded to see to the collection, research, archival, and dissemination of important works of historical record and literature. From the headquarters in Shengmen to our furthest rural branches, we of the Imperial Library are proud to continue the mission of our fore bearers.

Public access to our stacks is as healthy as ever, from curious child to studious shen-lieren. In celebration of the upcoming 89th Spring Unification Games, we present, to the population of Meng Xiang, a list of exceptional works we believe that would be to the betterment of anybody to read.

The Imperial Library hopes that all will find this selection useful. If you feel there has been an oversight in our judgement -- a poem, story, or retelling that deserves a spot on this list -- we welcome public feedback in writing to the desk of your local Head Librarian.

Heaven bless."

Signed,

-- Imperial Library Director Zixin

Musings and Tales: Selections from the Imperial Library

"Titles and Why They Matter...And, Why They Don't!" - By Ji Shen, the Watchful Frog

"Common Spirits" - By Lord Quao, the Ox's Hooves

"Spirits over Spirits: Collected Poetry of Fortune City, 5th Edition" - Originally by Lord Chonglin of Fortune City; 5th Edition compiled by Lady Liling of Fortune City

"Folk Tales: Of the Western Tundra" - By Song, the Wanderer

Excerpts from "Night Within Day" - By Cho Xi of the Tortoise Clan

[NyuBomber]

"Titles and Why They Matter...And, Why They Don't!" - By Ji Shen, the Watchful Frog - Published 430 AZ

(What follows are select passages from this complete and public work, in which Ji Shen covers the history of honorific titles in Meng Xiang and, and her opinion of their significance today)

In Beiyin, we have a saying: "The clothes make the man."

I have a personal saying based off that: "The man makes his name!"

They say the tradition of honorific titles goes back to the beginning of time, that we people simply took after Heaven. I respectfully reject that notion as merely accepting the way things are for the way they have always been. In other words, it's a simplistic view.

My research shows that our use of titles truly goes back to Demon King Zhong Kui's conquest over the legions of Hell. The moment that the gods gifted him the title of "Demon King," it was an encapsulation of all that he went through to perform such a feat, and how he contributed to history in doing so. Consider that, before he was the Demon King, he was Lord Zhong Kui of the 1st Imperial Court. With all due respect, of course, that is not much of a title, especially considering that he had just gotten inducted into the disjointed and loosely-organized 1st Imperial Court. Shengmen wasn't even a proper city at the time! Before Zhong Kui, there is only little, and its very disputable, evidence that the title system, as we know it, was in use.**

...

What is the title system, anyway? Per the Imperial Court regulations:

-- Titles are descriptors of great feats of resolve that also serve to encapsulate the individual's character up to the point the title is officially certified.

-- Certification, being officially recognized in the public record, takes place after an official application and period of investigation to be no shorter than 3 weeks, and no longer than 6 weeks. The investigation is to be conducted by the local province government.

That's the official word, anyway. To add to the above, if I may be so bold, I have taken the liberty of summing up common etiquette when dealing with people and their titles:

-- Here is where I explain why titles "do not matter," in a way. It is the most important rule of honorific title etiquette: Do not talk or act down to someone because your title is of higher station than theirs. While we would like to look away from such things, it is a fact that the title system is somewhat intrinsically tied to economic and cultural stations. But, if the title is official, it is to be respected; everyone expects this from others, and everyone should expect to do so themselves.

To do otherwise is to show yourself as a pompous mule among steeds. Lord and Lady is brought low, down to the level of a pig, if they act in this way toward a farmer. Likewise, the farmer would be nothing but a petty shrimp if he acted in such a way to anybody. Pride is a sin used by Yama...but, more concrete than that, you just look really, really bad.

-- Although there are rules to official titles, there are tons of unofficial monikers, whether we're talking about the common "Student" when referring to school-age kids (Student Sho, Student Meiling, and so on), or punks and highwaymen and gangsters who want to make themselves seem threatening. I've come across at least 17 men with the title "the Razor" in my travels. It's quite sad.

Anyway, the point is that your use of these unofficial titles should depend on your relations with the person in question.

-- The shen-lieren are quite notable in their mobility through the title system. For example, a strapping young Whale Clan priest who had earned the title of "The Star-Sighted" just early last year is now known as "The Thundering Star." Remarkable, if I do say so myself!

Some people think this devalues our shared tradition, or that the government is more willing to change their titles, but I respectfully disagree. They have, perhaps, the most dangerous duty in Meng Xiang. And, in that fact, they perform incredible feats almost monthly. I think it is well-deserved, and I welcome a debate with anyone willing to argue against that sentiment.

-- Unless you're friends with the person in question, you should always greet or open a conversation with someone with their full name, including the title. If you do not know their name, you ask what it is, greet them in full, and then continue onwards. Societal authority then dictates how you continue. Is the person your elder? Are they your authoritative superior? Are they your lover? And so on. When in doubt, use the full name. The last thing you want to do is insult the person, right?

-- There's no set method for just how titles are formed. Sometimes it stems from the person, sometimes it stems from the deed, sometimes it stems from the witnesses' perception. Things tend to balance out in this regard, so do not attempt to force it or game the system. Otherwise, you'll end up stuck with something like the infamous "Lord Jin, the Morning ****."

Ahem.

...

For example, I'm humbly known as Ji Shen, the Watchful Frog. I earned that title because, firstly, I'm much too young and pretty to be known as a "Toad." But, it also came upon me because of my extensive work in uncovering corrupt government officials conspiring with opium-pushing gangsters in the eastern lumber mills, highlighted by my hours-long vigil in Lake Qing He in my patented frog disguise, in order to catch a meeting between the gang leader and the officials on its shores.

Replicas of my disguise are available in North Point Crafts Market of Shengmen for the low, low price of ¥25 dollars -- the perfect gift for children's birthdays!

...

A colleague of mine once questioned what a title means in our society, and I want to use this space to answer him. Consider the following:

We do not title animals. A cat is a cat no matter how many mice it catches; a hawk is a hawk, no matter how fast it flies. We give them pet names, sure -- the cat would be Mouse-Bane, the hawk would be Sky-Blade -- but they're not proper names.

We do not title places or sites, outside of Shengmen, the Holy Gates. The Horizon Sea is just the Horizon Sea, the site where Demon King Zhong Kui dove to his death is still Yu Falls.

And we certainly do not name spirits.

We, humanity, have many duties in our lives -- to our professions, to our clans, to our family, to our Emperor -- but we still leave marks. I believe the tradition of honorific titling is our identity as humanity, the mark we leave as individuals on existence when our deeds are done. We should take pride in this system, because it is for our benefit, to insure that each and every person's greatness can live on eternally if they act righteously.

In conclusion, consider this:

We do not know the birth names of the Five Masters. Not even Lady Qing, The Balanced One's popular translation of Clarity Scroll: Origin makes mention of their birth names. But, we certainly do know the titles and deeds of He of Judging Swords, She of Unbreakable Shields, He of Eternal Arrows, She of Shimmering Gems, and She of Speaking Mirrors. We see their legacy everyday, training and risking their lives to defend the world, as the shen-lieren.

And, personally, I sleep better knowing that they will always be with us.

...

** Editor's Note: For the unfamiliar, the study of the Age of Antiquity, the time before Demon King Zhong Kui's defeat of Yama, the Hell King, is made difficult, chiefly, by the shrouds of chaos and destruction. As the Clarity Scroll: Origin dictates, our ancestors lived for a short time of peace before the spirit hordes were unleashed for thousands of years upon Meng Xiang, forcing humanity into a long period of erratic movement, narrow survival, and mass death. Artifacts from that time, the key to understanding what transpired and what life was like, are hard to find and are spread all over the lands. They are often in very inconvenient areas that harbor not only deadly natural obstacles, but are either home to or attract very powerful spirits. And, that does not take into account the possibility that spirits, whether purposefully or as collateral damage, destroyed such items. And, that is not taking into account the black market for such items, leading to researchers of ill-repute and down-right graverobbers selling off our history instead of collaborating as they should.

For this reason, the conclusions reached from our present evidence of Antiquity are ever-changing and hotly debated. While we continue to re-build what we know, it is an exciting time. -- End Note

[NyuBomber]

"Common Spirits" - By Lord Quao, the Ox's Hooves - Published 72 AZ

[Lord Quao, the Ox’s Hooves was a pioneer in every sense of the word, exploring and fighting during a 20-year period, from 40-66 AZ to greatly expand the Ox Clan’s habitable territory in the eastern forests. In his trials, Lord Quao took notes on the spirits he faced, which he later refined into the first chronicle of spirit types and habits of the post-Demon King Zhong Kui era.

What follows are select notes from the total work.]

...

The first thing one must understand in combating spirits is that there are no catch-all rules for them.

Our world is orderly, as per Heaven’s mandates. Night follows day and into night again, objects fall to the ground when released, we can navigate the Horizon Sea via the stars. We cannot predict where a storm will go, but we can prepare.

The Realm of the Black Veil...what we know of it, if spirits themselves are any indication...is the balance to ours, the night to our day. Thus, it must be chaos, a neverending storm of unpredictable energies and beings. The spirits we’ve come across prove it as such.

This storm ravaged our ancestors and the land that rightfully belonged to humanity. To this day, they continue to attack our villages, raze our fields, corrupt the weak, and haunt our dreams. Like we prepare for the storms of nature, we must be prepared for this evil force.

Yama may now sit...incomplete...on his throne in Hell, but spirits still do his bidding. Do not be mistaken: they intend to kill us and destroy everything we’ve built in Meng Xiang. With the knowledge I impart to you today, and with the legacy the Five Masters, including Ox Clan’s own He of Eternal Arrows, are sure to establish, we may be able to not only hold our own, but someday turn the tide into the Realm of the Black Veil itself. While the Masters hone the abilities of our future protectors, I will share what I know, in a way that can help even the un-gifted.

...

It is commonly taught that all things possess flows of energy within them, positive chi and negative chi. Those who study the concept of chi further learn that there are layers to it. The elements...fire, water, wood, and so on… have radiant chi, energy without life. Animals...the wolf, the trout, the dragonfly, and so on...have instinctual chi, energy and life without morality. Only humanity, as gifted by Heaven, have energy, life, and morality, combining the qualities of the previous two types into a new third type…true chi.

What of spirits? Innately, spirits are a corruption of Heaven’s vision for Meng Xiang. Thus, they operate on corrupt chi. This is easily seen if you have ever seen a shen-lieren pierce the flesh of a spirit. Our blood runs red...their blood runs blue.

...

The nature and approach of each individual spirit, then, must be approached carefully. They are unpredictable to us, for all their goals. However, common manners and methods allow us to group them, as follows:

Ciyao - “Imagine our surprise when we caught up to our dog, Field-Runner, and found her chasing flock of bats. Well, they weren’t really bats, and it was the middle of the day. They were more like floating balls of fur with wings, and they made the most ridiculous yapping sound. And we should’ve probably called Field-Runner back before the big one came out and got her.”

Ciyao are minor spirits that range from mere annoyances to moderate threats, especially in numbers. Lacking in intelligence to the point that their sentience is called into question. Often seen following more powerful spirits. Forms greatly vary, though typically no bigger than a large man.

The most commonly encountered spirit type, ciyao exhibit a habit of environmental mimicry. For example, ciyao that manifest in a paddy field may turn up as a clump of rice stalks. The most disturbing example is when ciyao attempt to mimic humans; whether from lack of intelligence or ability, they always turn into over-sized body parts, rather than whole persons.

Ciyao can also appear as what can only be surmised is their true form, beings of pure spiritual energy and myriad appearances: balls of shimmering light, strings of hair and teeth that move like whips, creatures that can only be described as spider-like...and that’s just what I’ve encountered

Intrepid people may attempt to destroy the forms of ciyao, but they will reform sooner or later. A novice shen-lieren will be able to properly cleanse the beings. And, it is recommended, as always, that only shen-lieren deal with them.

Jieguan - Spirits of a certain strength are able to merge their own chi with that of inanimate objects and animals, producing a malicious being. Warping the form or body of the host, the jieguan creates a monstrosity much stronger and more durable than the original. Jieguan can be especially problematic if they inhabit a weapon or predatory animal, but these beings are dangerous no matter what form they take due to a marked intelligence increase when compared to the ciyao.

Thankfully, there have been no known cases of a jieguan possessing a human, shen-lieren or otherwise mundane. Many mystic experts say our true chi prevents this; others say we’re simply blessed by Heaven.

No blessing will prevent the damage a jieguan will do to you, no matter its vessel, so it is imperative that a shen-lieren of appropriate level is brought in immediately...to be safe, bring in two or more.

Yuansu shou - The most dangerous type of spirit I’ve encountered, combining a control over the elements and their environment with incredibly tactical minds.

Yuansu shou...at least here in the East, as I cannot say what others have experienced elsewhere...are beings of terrible beauty: white wolves as large as houses and with eyes that shine like the sun, serpents who displace entire forests with their writhing, walking and laughing mountains…

Their abilities match their stature. In the case of the white wolf, I lost many of my companions that day to its ability to...turn humans into mere canines under its control...the shen-lieren we had with us had to put them down… And the white wolf grinned at me before it simply vanished in mist...

Yuansu shou are not to be trifled with. Abandon your belongings, drop your tasks, retreat, and find the hunters.

Wangling - I must make a note here that I wish the yansu shou were the last category, but it is not so.

One night, as we were beginning to wind down from a day of journeying, my group began to reminisce on those we had lost to either illness or spirit attack. It was intended to be a time of joyful remembrance, with toasts and stories told to honor the dead.

I began a story on a soldier named Seng Shu, who had been run-through by his own sword, possessed by a jieguan. It was at this moment that I can distinctly remember a chill piercing my clothes, into my flesh. But, I ignored it, and I was compelled to finish...perhaps quite literally. I could suddenly recall every detail of Seng Shu...the color of his armor, the length of his hair, how he handled his weapon while it was still under his control. I became engrossed in talking about him...and then I noticed the horrified looks of the others around the campfire.

I felt a hand on my left shoulder. I looked over, and on it was Seng Shu’s favored ring.

The others say I blacked out at that moment, but they described the scene to me thusly: Seng Shu, or a spirit in his body...or something along those lines, because, the way they say it, it was as if Seng Shu’s face was cut off and worn like an ill-fitting mask over the monstrosity’s own skin...attacked everyone, and it took the shen-lieren several hours to put it down.

I will be sending a request for consultation to the Owl Clan, as my observations conclude that this type of spirit relates to our blessed deceased.

I do not wish to think further on it.


...

I make no claims to be a definitive source. I’m sure there are those living now who have forgotten more about the creatures than I will ever learn. In the future, they will look back on these scrolls as a quaint relic. But, with this framework, I hope I have provided a guide for everyone to begin to prepare without needing a shen-lieren to tell them where to go and what to do...

[NyuBomber]

"Spirits over Spirits: Collected Poetry of Fortune City, 5th Edition" - Originally by Lord Chonglin of Fortune City (Published 233 AZ); 5th Edition compiled by Lady Liling of Fortune City (Published 419 AZ)

(Spurred by the Purity Committee of the Southern destination of Shamo Baoshí, Lord Chonglin of Fortune City set out to record the poetry of the everyday people he encountered around the region, outside of Fortune City's shimmering walls. The result was the 1st Edition of "Spirits over Spirits." The work proved extremely popular, and his family continues the tradition of its updating and re-release. The 5th Edition, the latest, was published in Liyiu 419 AZ, was edited by Lord Chonglin's great granddaughter, Lady Liling of Fortune City.)

“Plight of the Pure” by Unknown Ascetic

City within the city
A miniature city
That is Fortune City

Be fortunate to find your fortune
Be fortunate to leave with your fortune
That is Fortune City

Pretty women in the city
Buy the prettiest in the City
That is Fortune City

Highest clouds are in the South hills
Highest haze is in the South stills
That is Fortune City

Fortune City, Fortune City
‘Tis a pity

(Lady Liling Note (LLL): Asceticism took a strong hold of some residents of the southern region approximately around 110 AZ, in direct response to what was seen as the excess of the growing Fortune City district of Shamo Baoshí. While the Bat Clan continued the philosophies of She of Glittering Gems after her death, Ascetics completely rejected material possessions and wealth, believing that they got in the way of a closer connection to the earth and Heaven. No organized ascetic organization truly came to the forefront, though, and currently only a small number continues following this ideal.)

“Miner’s Rhyme”

There once was a miner named Li
Who wanted to see all there was to see
Li spotted a spirit
Li crept over near it
And it ripped off his feet at the knees

There once was a miner named Sho
Who wanted to learn all there was to know
In spirits he sought help
One night, came a yelp
All that was left of Sho was a nose

There once was a miner named Meng
Whose voice was greatly fit to sing
He saw fit to boast
To spirits the most
And now he sings for the Hell King

There once was a miner named Chen
Who knew now what he knew then
Do not test a spirit
Or even go near it
And for Heaven’s sake, call the shen-lieren!

(LLL: Ore is the Southern region's greatest export, so miner culture is something of great study. The "Miner's Rhyme" is a common work with many variants, but always with the protagonists falling to dire fates due to not heeding common sense warnings about spirits, and ending with an example of someone with such common sense to leave them to the experts.)

"Will & Testament" by The Enlightened One of Fortune City

I see them outside
Draped in white robes with white torches, full of false conviction
I see them outside
A holy pox sent by Heaven to claim me

Because I sold it to them.

I had a child's name, at a younger time
I am the Enlightened One of Fortune City
Now, my name will go down in history

I hold the key
To every locked door and gate in this town
I hold the key
Those named Purity, full of false conviction, seek the same power

Because I sold it to them.

No one can touch me
I am the Enlightened One of Fortune City
In history, none shall be so great

I see their movements
Tilted like sun-baked grass, staggering from the whiskey and other substances
I see their movements
Unwavering right toward the safe place, betrayal on their breath

Because I sold it to them.

I can escape
I am the Enlightened One of Fortune City
In history, countless leaves have been carried out of reach by the wind

I must face them
Two jewels in this refuse pile, brought forth by me and another
I must face them
To keep the jewels safe in this hiding place

Because I sold it to them.

I will not escape
I am the Enlightened One of Fortune City
With this testament, I cleanse my name in history

(LLL: This poem was found attached to front gate of the Purity Committee headquarters in Shamo Baoshí one night in 233 AZ, the night before the infamous criminal lord, The Enlightened One, was beheaded. Most curious is that he was held securely in custody for two weeks prior, following a raid on his position following an anonymous tip.

The Purity Committee, of course, was set-up in 231 AZ to crack down on crime and vice in the region through various means, an operation that continues, though altered somewhat, to this day. Whether The Enlightened One was deserving of his punishment, having attained a sort of hero status, is not really up for debate. However, the meaning behind this poem is. Some continue to search for The Enlightened One's purported treasure, while others think it's either more or less than the words on the page seem.)

[NyuBomber]

"Folk Tales: Of the Western Tundra" by Song, the Wanderer - Published 218 AZ

The first thing you notice about the West is how dead it seems.

People from across Meng Xiang are used to the land being alive, rolling, and reeling. Our plains have gentle hills, our forests are precious spots of green among still stone behemoths.

We shape our land and lives according, cities cut into the walls of valleys, villages slanted along hills, farms terraced in steppes, roads forged in the winding mountains from sweat and blood.

None of that was needed in the land settled by the Owl Clan.

You get your first look at it from the last of the Howling Mountains. Immediately, the winds you were accustomed to hearing day and night, night and day...they die. The mountains themselves die off, sinking into the frozen tundra. You look forth and see the nearby grass and shrubs, and then they disappear into a wall of fog. And this grey sheet stretches into the distance, forever, and the only feature you can make out is that of the silhouette of Maotouying Peak. Like a guard at the edge of the world, or, more accurately, a graveyard caretaker.

Actually, if I didn’t know where I was, I would have mistaken the step-laden pathway at my feet, leading out of the Howling Mountains for the stairs leading down into the Tombs of Shengmen. The Owl Clan may not have sculpted these stairs, but whoever did certainly must have realized the picture they were painting with this set-up. It’s a deep descent into an otherworldly area, for certain.

Ever since the She of Speaking Mirrors first led her population and Owl Clan initiates here, it was as a homecoming. A strange terrain for a strange people. Many things have been reported within the mists. Travelers coming from here, mostly trades persons, tell conflicting tales of rampant spirit feeding frenzies and spirits that follow witches in step like children. Ruins from a millennia ago seem to rise and then disappear, unable to be found again. Holes to nowhere open up and swallow people whole, or so they say. There’s no hiding the suspicion that the Owl Clan’s presence and dominance is responsible for all this, but, on the other hand, maybe this is just the way the land is? And the Owl Clan was drawn here, to think on it...or revere it. Maybe everyone’s just coping and telling stories.

That’s just one thought, at least. This is my first time here, and I’m most worried about my inadequate packing for the cold. They say the summer season here is only as warm as the Eastern winters, lasts half as long, and is a quarter as comforting. I’m not certain how the people here manage to get by, but I didn’t wander all this way to turn around!

...

The bottom of the footpath met with a junction of sorts. Temporary camps are set-up, some traveling merchants selling supplies and crafts to those leaving and entering the region. From here, there are multiple paths back up into the Howling Mountains, including a more caravan-friendly gradual path around that connects with the Silk Road.

So here I sit, immersed in fog, sitting on a rock and enjoying some soup from a nice older woman’s stand. And a gentleman sits down next to me, and he remarks the following, completely unprovoked: “These lights remind me of my passed sons and daughters.”

I, initially having no idea what he’s talking about, look up. Against the smothering grey backdrop, the candles and torches signaling every station did indeed stand out, like they were floating on nothing. Similar, continuing the theme, to a cemetery in the morning.

“I’m sorry,” I said, “For your loss.”

At this, he smiled widely. “You’re a traveler, then?”

“A wanderer, really.”

“I could tell. When you come from the West, you learn to appreciate a person’s life and not feel sorry when they pass. These lights, they remind my of my passed young, but they are warm flames, and they provide light in all of this damned fog, heheh.”

I smiled and shifted my gaze to the camp’s perimeter, and could barely make out a lone tree. Everything else was obscured; even the sun struggled to pierce through, an orb barely brighter than the torches in front of me.

Maotouying Peak loomed, distinct as ever.

“What brings you here, friend?” The man asked. He was the definition of burly, and layered in ragged furs. On his back was a neatly packed basket, secured by ropes around his shoulders.

“My name is Song. They call me the Wanderer.” I paused as the correction from earlier clicked for the man, resulting in a laugh. “And I’m collecting stories from across the world.”

His name was Lu Yun, and he invited me to dinner.

...

I cannot get over the silence.

It is high noon and the air is stiller than you can imagine. Every region has its distinct sounds: the East’s abundant leaf rustling, the South’s incessant insects and coyotes, the North’s waves on the shore.

No such distractions here.

It’s around high noon now, and, miraculously, the fog is beginning to lift somewhat, and what I think to be a featureless land reveals itself to be something more. Turning in one spot, the keen-eyed can see clumps of bush, the keen-eyed can see large clumps of brush, hawks swooping in to pick-off prey, the top-most scaffolding of mines, and, if you’re lucky, a roving horse.

Lu Yen spotted it, too. “I have a friend,” he says, “The latest in a long line of horsemen. It’s very difficult work. We need horses to do almost anything here, and catching them is the easiest part. And we can’t just bring in horses from Central. Not only is the distance too great, but, between you and me, Song, our breed is tougher. But, besides...even then, you see our situation, as we cannot sneak close to them anywhere in the West. The horses we have must simply be fast enough to keep up with the wild ones.”

At this, we began walking again. “Then, that leaves us with a key mystery: How did our ancestors lasso the first horses? We have a story for that, of course!”

“Before the Demon King defeated Hell, our ancestors lived on the edge of the Howling Mountains, as they was, a safer place to be when the alternative is to have nowhere to hide on the tundra. Remember, this is before horses were tamed, afterall. And so, they lived among the perilous caves and crumbling paths you came through.

But, occasionally, when the fog was clearer and the spirits were not attacking, our ancestors would look out over the tundra and see a peculiar sight. The wild horses were outrunning the any spirit pursuers, even those devils who flew like birds! It was as if the horses toyed with their pursuers until the fog fell once more, and the animals disappeared into it.

“We’d soon find how how this was possible. when the moon was a crescent, and when they found themselves at the right place in the mountains, they could he thunder, rhythmic like drums. Looking out to grasslands, the fog pulled like a bed sheet behind a creature It looked like a horse. Looked, but it was far too large, as long as three of the crossroad tents. And, besides, it had six powerful legs, and its iron hooves were the source of the thunder. This King-of-Horses, as they called it, was obviously a spirit. But, why then, did it not attack the horses that followed in its wake? The mighty steeds seemed entranced by the spirit, and it saw fit to let them continue behind it, almost as if rejuvenating them.

“Our ancestors began to learn from the King-of-Horses, to be inspired by it, began to better survive and outmaneuver the spirits. Those who were alive when Demon King Zhong Kui conquered Hell took it as a sign to pursue the creature...to what end, they didn’t know. But, they would never find out. Our ancestors had learned the lunar cycle, but the King-of-Horses did not appear on the next crescent moon, nor the next, nor the next. This continued for a few years, before She of Speaking Mirrors bolstered their population and strength with her West-bound procession, and led them into the fog, without fear.

“One night, the crescent moon high in the sky, it is said that a group of original mountain-dwellers had a shared dream of the King-of-Horses, and they immediately left their huts and entered the fog. It would be morning before they returned...and they returned with dozens of horses in tow, tame and ready for helping us settle this land.”

I asked Lu Yen if he thought that the arrival of the Master had anything to do with the taming of the horses. He shook his head, “No, of course not. She and Owl Clan haven’t done anything but cause trouble for us, and they can stay in their tower or whatever it is. I’m not saying we worship the King-of-Horses, but it’s obvious that it was good towards us...a real kindred, spirit, ha!”

I smiled and pursued the subject no further.

...

Lu Yen’s wife, Tiang, is a wonderful cook, and the family has two children still, two healthy boys.. When they were put to bed, we adults took in the chilly night around a bonfire.

After explaining who I was, I asked, politely, about their other children, and how they passed.

“Well,” Tiang began, “Illness is...not uncommon here. Or injuries, which tend to lead to illness. And, well, we have medicine here, but not the places to keep sick people comfortable…”

“Our home is all the comfort we need,” Lu interrupted. “Plenty of people have gotten better just fine, without the Central’s clinics or whatever they’re called. It was just...their time. Nothing we could do.”

Tiang didn’t falter, continuing on, wistfully. “Maybe you’re right. Two sons...Ping and Jie, and two daughters, Meilin and Ting...what are the odds that the same owl would be present at each of their funerals over the years?”

Lu rolled his eyes and left back into the house. Tiang could see the interest in my eyes, and continued. “As I understand it, owls are seen as prophets of death and bad fortune elsewhere. But, my best friend, believe it or not, was discovered to be shen-lieren and trained by Owl Clan, and she told me the true meaning of the presence of the owl.”

“You see,” she continued, “The owl arrives for two reasons. First, it does not bring death, but it warns of oncoming catastrophe. Death is not certain, but it can tell you to take action to prevent an untimely one. Secondly, it shows following death, as a message from Heaven that the passing was preventable and not fated. You, see, we have to cherish each moment we are alive, because there is no coming back once we crossover. If it takes a little bit of caution or extra care, what of it?”

Sullen silence fell. As I couldn’t stand it, I asked how it came about that the birds of night came into this role.

“Ah, there’s a tale for that.

“When the Yu Falls were just a stream, and the first spirits came onto Meng Xiang, they say, there was an Owl. It favored living near a certain Family on the tundra. The Owl would eat up the rodents that tried to get away with the Family’s grain stores, and, in appreciation, the Family built it a perch and shade to rest its weary feathers. As you know, there are nearly no trees on the grassland, so, normally, owls have to come from the mountains to feed out here. This provided the Owl with a much better location to feed from, and Owl was grateful.

“Well, as fated, the spirits came. For this Family, it was a singular attacker, which first struck, one night, by taking a babe from the Family’s bedroom.

“It struck again, another night, by taking the life of the next oldest, a young man, taking him from behind as he tried to guard the home’s gates.

“The next night, the home was guarded on all four sides by the two eldest sons and two eldest daughters.The spirit did not attack. As the Family rested during the day, however, the spirit entered and took the lives of a son and daughter.”

“Desperate to try anything, the remaining Family asked the Owl to watch over them.The plea of a lunatic, maybe, but when certain death is on the horizon, the lunatic suddenly starts making sense.”

“And so it happened. The Owl perched itself on the roof of the house, and stayed there. The spirit came. It did not advance. The owl’s golden eyes watched it, unblinking. The spirit could not move forward when being observed. It circled, but an owl’s head can turn halfway around it’s body, you know.”

“The Family observed the spirit circling their home. They planned accordingly. When the time came, their belongings were on their wagon, and they were abandoning their home. The Owl took flight for the first time, circling the Family so that the spirit could not advance on them. And then the Owl backed the spirit into the house. It flew to the perch. It knew the spirit would want vengeance. It sat, and watched the spirit in the doorway. When the time came, the Owl knew it needed to rest…”

Tiang smiled at me, and I smiled back. I had come to the West without a true destination, but now I knew where I had to go.

...

I think I’m being followed. And it’s not human.

Even as I sit here, it watches me. I feared that it would be Tiang’s tale come to life. But, I’ve seen nor heard any owls this morning, and it has made no move toward me as I sit here munching on bread and writing on this paper.

I’ll describe it as such: a shadow man, maybe nine or ten feet tall, wearing some sort of robe or tatters that hang off his wide shoulders. Where his head would be is instead a pulsating white orb of light. I fear it may be a spirit...but if so, why has it not attacked?

In the good-byes with Lu Yen’s family, I did not stop to think if they had any particular advice to give concerning spirits in the West. I’ve been in encounters with the fiends before, even by myself, and have escaped with my life many times.

But this is most unusual and unsettling. I’ve been chased, stalked, toyed with, pinned down, held up high, levitated, and nearly sacrificed. Never simply...followed.

I had best get to Maotouying Peak.

...

The bridge leading to the Speaking Steeple is as much a relic from the past as any spirit-ridden ruin one can find. It’s obvious where the Owl Clan’s reconstructive efforts end and the original stonework begins -- the difference between the work of skilled Western stone cutters and the hands of ancients with lost knowledge. Some are doubtful, though, that humans had anything to do with it, and I’m inclined to agree. The sheer length of this structure would have taken over a century to accomplish alone...time people certainly did not have back then. And what of the gigantic chains cradling the bridge on either side? It’s quite a sight to see them, and the bridge, drifting into the eternal fog.

Whatever its origins, Owl Clan has claimed it, including the installation of a series of stone benches, one of which I’m enjoying a rest on right now. They’ve also added lantern posts. Worryingly absent is fencing, but the bridge is quite wide and the wind gentle, so maybe I’m worried for nothing.

It’s worth noting that I’ve encountered a few people heading away from the Speaking Steeple campus, and no one but myself heading towards it.

I looked back. It had been some time since that mysterious figure stopped following me, but one can never be too sure.

...

I don’t know what I was expecting, but I was not expecting the home of the Owl Clan to be so...sparse. Though, perhaps I should have.

For those fearing any sort of visit to the campus of the Speaking Steeple, I am here to say that you should not fear it...nor should you expect anything extraordinary.

The gates were open with no attendant, and so I wandered.

The Owl Clan campus is a painting made real. In spite of the fog, they maintain their grounds well. Immaculate gardens take up all space that isn’t the stone tile walkway or a building. Speaking of, the buildings themselves are low lying and quite bland.

Then there is the Speaking Steeple. It’s like looking at Maotouying Peak from the tundra all over. An immensely tall cylindrical structure of pale white brick, each layer interconnected to the others with immense jade etchings.

“Some say they see pictures in the Steeple, and some see nothing at all.”

Those was the words of the young girl behind me. After I settled down from her sudden appearance, I learned her name: He Na Xian.

“I’m sorry to have scared you, Sir Song,” she said, bowing.

“How did you know my name?”

“I saw your arrival. I see all arrivals for Owl Clan.”

“Ah. I see.”

“No, I see.”

“Yes, but…” Her smile disarmed me.

He Na was a shen-lieren. As is the way of Owl Clan, she would not share the mechanics behind her training, but did clarify that she was one of ten in the current crop of students.

“What can you tell me about the Speaking Steeple,” I asked. “May I go inside?”

“Absolutely not.” Her eyes flashed a certain sternness, the kind you know was drilled into her state of being by hard lessons. But, it was for a second, at most. Her features softened. “But, as for the exterior…

“When She of Speaking Mirrors arrived in the West, it was well known which aspect of existence she dealt in. The people who were in the area already did not find much fondness in their hearts for the disciple, nor the people who followed her here. Who could blame them, really...you speak of death and it often comes.

“But they weren’t going to stop her from venturing into the fog, of course. There were still major spirits to be slain, and slay them she did. Those she did not cleanse followed her like lapdogs. All on the way to Maotouying Peak.

“She is said to have performed a miracle by crossing the bridge, by herself with the spirits in tow. And remember, this was before our forebears organized a repair effort. It was a treacherous passage. Some said storms were raging as to keep her back, and that they calmed once she crossed. Some say she died and her ghost finished the journey. Whichever explanation it is, the night of the crossing, it is said that a green lightning bolt struck the very top of the mountain.

“She returned and invited those brave enough to cross to see what she had seen, the Steeple. But, just from the outside, just as we see it today. Some saw a scene of war, some saw a lake with grass and herons, others saw the sun and moon...and, some see nothing. What do you see, Sir Song?”

I studied the tower for a good minute. “I see a road untraveled.”

He Na smiled, and I was suddenly aware of the silence here as I was on the plains below.

“You should head home, Sir Song,” she said. An owl flew overhead towards the Speaking Steeple, its hooting cry echoing down to us.

“Sage advice.” With a bow, I turned and began the journey back to Central. As soon as I exited the compound, the immense wooden gates shut behind me. I write this final notes of the chapter with a stonecut of an owl glaring down on me, and I wonder what depths remain unknown to us mere outsiders.

[NyuBomber]

Excerpts from "Night Within Day" - By Cho Xi of the Tortoise Clan - Original Publishing Date Unknown; Committed to the Archives of the Unbreakable Monastery in 31 AZ

(Cho Xi of the Tortoise Clan, one of the first head priests of the clan -- a level just below that of She of Unbreakable Shields -- is thought to have written this document mere years after Demon King Zhong Kui's conquest, but that cannot be confirmed. The existence of this scroll was first on record in 31 AZ from the Unbreakable Monastery, and it has been controversial ever since. Aside from the radical ideas presented, parts of Cho Xi's work are missing or were destroyed by time, preventing the realization of valuable context to understanding his thought process.

While we of the Royal Library welcome open and healthy debate, we advise against taking the claims made here seriously, in any sense, academic or in common life. Modern studies have all but refuted the claims made within this work.)

Heaven bless me, and protect me from falling into darkness as I conclude my studies and thoughts with the following scroll.

For if you stare into the night long enough, you begin to see yourself.

Our existence is plural. Within each person is a yin and yang, and without one you cannot have the other. Such as Heaven made the world of Meng Xiang, so did the Hell King create the Realm of the Black Veil. Spirits have tormented humanity for millennia, and we are only a year removed from Demon King Zhong Kui’s conquering of our antithetical foes, to which we owe an eternal debt.

And in that lies the trouble.

Demon King Zhong Kui was fated to die. He was fated to go to Hell. And he was fated to gain the Hell King’s trust, so that his plan could come to fruition. And Demon King Zhong Kui marched with the armies of Hell to to the Gates of Heaven.

From the vantage point of the Heavenly Court,...what was the difference between the spirited devils and Demon King Zhong Kui, before he revealed his loyalty and fortitude? I can only conclude that there must have been none.

And because the Five Masters return from their training with Demon King Zhong Kui and proclaim themselves protectors of our realm, with power we have not seen since the spirit hordes were put down, I must conclude that there is no difference between these shen-lieren, our protectors, and the monsters they defend us against.

…

I’ve seen it in her eyes. She of Unbreakable Shields is no longer the little girl I once saw falling over herself in the ashes, searching for her mother and father, who were among the many lost that day. She didn’t cry. She fully believed they were merely separated, that even as we took in the survivors we could find and moved on that they were simply on the other side of the glade and we were in the wrong.

And some point, her belief changed and began to channel resolve. I cannot pinpoint the day it happened...because it was at night.

Our camp came under attack from cultists. Somehow, more disconcerting than the denizens of the Realm of the Black Veil themselves was the idea that humans would willingly begin revering them, begin harming their own kind in tribute to the spirits. And they were upon us, and I knew the face of the man who threw blinding powder into my eyes, but I did not know that I was not to die that night. For he left me behind, and I could hear her screaming, and I fumbled and could not find my way and her screams faded.

We discovered that more were taken, and we knew that because we survived that an even more wicked fate awaited those taken. We mounted a rescue immediately, tracked the cultists to a cavern system, miles away...tracked them by the beheaded corpses of those we knew and loved left behind. A sign of failure, we would discover soon enough.
Within the cavern was a temple most vile, fetishes made from the skeletal remnants of so many hundreds of victims before our camp was ever targeted. Their scavenged weapons and clothes spoke to the range of this group, their wicked reach and insatiable hunger to please their masters.

We thought it a relief when the cultists, their faces painted green with an unknown substance, lay strewn about every chamber, dead and dying. The man I knew was not among them, for that I wish he was so that I could run him through myself.

We heard her before we saw her.

We found her naked, caked in blood, kneeling atop an alter, a shield she must have recovered from a slain soldier grasped in both hands and coming down on the stone like an axe. Over and over, she attacked the corpse of a cultist whose visage had been obliterated, likely by her. We dared not stop her, not even to call out. Her eyes were fixated...inhuman. The only sort of innate malice you can see when face-to-probable-face with a spirit. She never tired, despite the grievous wounds to her throat, her chest, her abdomen. Cutting implements still hung from where the cultists were in the process of eviscerating her flesh.

With a final thrust, she drove the shield into the stone altar, splitting it in two and causing a font of blood to come forth from the body. She stood, fully erect…

And we saw the blood...and there was so much blood...rise into the air, tiny crimson spheres collecting into bigger crimson spheres with a sick sound, until only one large globe remained. And it was clear that she was manipulating the globes, though whether she was cognizant of this fact, I do not know. But the globe came unto her, and she put her lips to it, and she drank. And, as she did so, her wounds closed. The cutting implements were forced out.It was as if she had never been harmed at all. And she drank in so much blood…

…

We agreed that day that the cultists had done something to her. That was the only reasonable explanation. Following that episode in the caverns, she fainted, and we covered her, and we took her back home.

She acted as if nothing happened, but I saw it in her eyes then and in her eyes now. She is not the same human being that I knew. Not in that darkness of the cavern, not in the darkness of the night.

And as I learned more about the Five Masters, I no longer believed what we had frightfully agreed upon in the cavern. The circumstances differed. One of them never encountered cultists, according to conjecture, and none had been captured and tortured. But, their power was undeniable, and almost immediately after humanity and spirit witnessed the Turning of Yama, the Demon King sent for them all. And she left, as if it was natural, as if she was born that way, as if it...was a relief.

…

How had Demon King Zhong Kui come upon his power? He tricked Yama into teaching him and imbuing him with it. Why did Yama do so? Because he wanted a human to corrupt, to prove his superiority. This is as the Clarity Scroll: Origin dictates.

And Heaven bless me, for what I say may be heretical, but I cannot help but think it…

…

It was not often that our warriors survived once when defending us from spirit attacks, and rarer still were those who earned the right, through multiple campaigns against our enemies, to retire from service. I consulted many of these men and women, helped them make sense of why they lived and so many others died. Or, at least, I tried. For my younger self did not have the experience or knowledge that the older self, now one of the head priests of the newly formed Tortoise Clan, with so many accounts to look over and study and make sense of.

But I think on them now.

For if you stare into the night long enough, you begin to see yourself.

I must conclude, Heaven bless me, that the bloodshed of both humans and spirits must have left residual effects on us. How can one dive into water and not emerge with their clothes soaked? How can one trek amongst ticks and not emerge covered in bites? Was humanity fated down this path, for our own survival?

It goes deeper than my observations. Survivors of spirit attacks often speak in whispers about the nightmares that rob them of sleep. Sometimes it’s about their encounters with the spirits, sometimes it’s other deeply held fears. For anyone who survived a singular attack, the nightmares alleviate themselves with time and herbal remedies.

But, not for those survivors of so many massacres and battles. It gets so bad that we have to concoct dangerous elixirs for them to get a few hours proper rest. Some even report seeing apparitions during the waking hours, which has led to so many false alarms that threaten to make our guards lax.

It is no wonder that they found comfort in each other, man and woman with similar experiences, and attempted to go about life as normal. For the alternative to this normalcy is a painful existence, indeed.

But, Heaven bless me, what of the children?

…

How could this happen?

I remember encountering many animated objects, twisted and full of hate and running men through, one after another. So, too, have I heard stories of animals themselves coming at guards with unwarranted aggression, veins and muscles deformed almost beyond recognition of the base life.

Now, from the tranquility of this monastery, I can reflect. And I must conclude, from my other chronicled testimonials, that it is an effect on our most basic energies. Could a spirit possess a human? Would it need to? Was this fated?

...

The Demon King spoke, and the Five Masters help lead us into an unknown era of relative peace. The Five Masters have returned and She of Unbreakable Shields has led us North, to the islands. And even as we build new villages and fish the sea’s bounty, I hear the stories of children...mere children, almost tossed into the depths because they must be spirits. How else do you explain their sudden power? How else do you explain She of Unbreakable Shields’s edict that they be brought before her? How else do you explain that they are now in training under her, and that they’ve already not only defended us from further spirit attacks, but pursued the damned things to their lairs and purified the forsaken places from whence they came with this power?

How do you address a child, no older than seven years, who wakes you in the middle of the night and recounts sleeping visions on par with those of their parents and grandparents have seen?

What I have seen?

…

I can hear the whispers past the waves at night, especially when the Moon has vanished within itself. Sometimes they speak to me, sometimes to themselves, sometimes to other whispering invisible things...and sometimes they howl at the world. Sleep is impossible without the remedies. I have chosen not to have children. How can I risk their well-being with this survivor’s curse? Is there not enough suffering in the world? I cannot risk it.

What of the implications? What of the danger?

Do I write in vain? What I speak is unholy. The shen-lieren have been gifted their power from Heaven and Heaven blesses them and entrusts them the duty of protecting us. There are no implications beyond that simple fact. The Sun rises in the East and sets in the West and the shen-lieren are our protectors and they know that.

She of Unbreakable Shields...Heaven bless, what was her name before? Why can’t I remember it? Has it been that long, am I that old?

The elixir of sleep beckons me on my desk. It will be a welcome relief from the beckoning of the shadows and my dreams.

[NyuBomber]

Notable People and Roles of Meng Xiang

The Imperial Family
Current Core: Emperor Iron; Empress Sky; Princes Talon III and Hoof; Princesses Dragonfly II and Lily VI

Said to be many things: the oldest surviving bloodline in the world, with a family tree whose roots are founded in the golden age before spirits; appointed by Heaven to serve as the infallible leaders of humanity; divine messengers made flesh, the closest things to Heaven on Meng Xiang; a bunch of disconnected, in-bred, pompous asses.

No matter how they are perceived, The Imperial Family serves an important role as a stabilizing entity for humans on Meng Xiang. Historically, The Imperial Family was atually a collection of Central continent families who realized the need to organize and work together in order for humanity to keep hopes alive in the face of the spirit onslaught. They organized the first Imperial Court, modeled on the tales of Heaven, and were looked to as the foundation of the world's political system when Demon King Zhong Kui's conquest allowed humanity to finally settle down again. When peace came, The Imperial Family formed alliances with each major family on the other four continents to birth the empire.

Order is kept by The Royal Family's de facto rule from the Forbidden Halls within the city of Shengmen. From there, The Imperial Family works with the Imperial Council to appoint major political figures, enact the universal laws known as mandates, and keep humanity's collective history together through research initiatives and ceremony.

NOTES:
- The Imperial Family is generally treated with reverence and respect, even in private. To do otherwise is to invite the wrath of everyone else, especially Lion Clan shen-lieren.
- The Imperial Family, contrary to the insults of the envious, is not in-bred; in fact, marriage into the family is relatively common for reasons of politics, and not unheard of for reasons of love, even through economic class barriers.
- The surname of The Imperial Family is not publicly known. All members are instead known by their title, a combination of their rank and an item of their choosing (ie. Emperess Ruby, Prince Fire, etc.); this goes as well for individuals who marry into the family.
- The Forbidden Halls, the Imperial Family's residential compound, is called as such for a reason. No person, whether commoner or noble, is permitted within without invite. Notably, though Imperial Family members often meet with shen-lieren masters and high-ranking individuals, no shen-lieren are permitted within the Forbidden Halls under any circumstances. Rumors abound as to the reason why, but there has yet to be a major issue with this provision.
- There is no record of a spirit attack on the Forbidden Halls, which most owe to a boon from Heaven.

General Notes on Culture

North
The saying goes "There is always a new taste in the North," owing to the multi-cultural tableau palette of the islands.

With sea-travel mastered, the North are the de facto captains and shiphands of intercontinental trade routes. It's always a pleasure for Northerners to see what they bring back home from foreign lands.

Life in general is easy-going on the islands, and this is personified best in the universal sport of surfing. In the azure and emerald waters, it is a true sign of acceptance if an outsider is offered lessons.

[Jakodee]

[Redacted]

[NyuBomber]

Inspirational Material

Traditional

Romance of the Three Kingdoms - Political, historical, and sometimes personal epic that spans generations and the the history of China. 'Nuff said!

The Legend of Hua Mulan - An individual decides her own destiny, defying expectations to go on to something grand.

Television

Avatar: The Last Airbender & Avatar: The Legend of Korra - Very straight-forward influence going on here. Spirit worlds, elemental magic combined with martial arts, adventure spanning distinct continents and cultures, characters fated to do great things with a heavy burden of duty, coming together as friends, it has it all. While HMX characters are in no way required to use elemental attacks or magic, these series give a good example of the feel and look of how they operate in Meng Xiang (unless you're playing a sorcerer and summoning a fireball and lightning storms, of course.)

Steven Universe - General tone of the action and adventure apply -- the fated guardians, Steven learning his powers, the ancient ruins, the monsters, the artifacts -- but what specifically stands out is the Opal episode.

Kill La Kill - It all came together here. HMX should be fun. HMX should be awesome. HMX should be distinct within itself and in the meta-sense. Sometimes, HMX should even be crazy.

Film

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Hero and other more wu xia-oriented films - More ponderous, more striking when the action begins to break the drama, the subtler character development

Kung Fu Hustle and other more action-oriented movies - More on the action and comedy side, but it all reflects how shen-lieren operate in battle, whether the foe is a mob of gangsters or a giant spirit. Especially appropriate is the over-the-top use of tools and special attacks: martial arts in general, the bo staff, the laundromat rings; the gu zheng, the chi manipulation. Whether you're busting out your routine stuff or your special attacks, it's impactful and impressive in HMX. Also a good example of how even sim,ple character development can still be significant.

Studio Ghibli films - Specifically, Spirited Away and Howl's Moving Castle. If you've seen 'em, 'nuff said. If not, watch em, they're great.

Disney's Mulan - Same points as the legend, but also has the addition of the use of a literal spiritual aspect(Mulan's ancestors, Eddie Murphey the dragon), a solid antagonist in Shun Yu and the Huns, and applicable awesome music like "I'll Make a Man Out of You" and "Reflection."

Games, Video or Otherwise

I can't beleive I forgot it, but Jade Empire!

Dynasty Warriors - Romance of the Three Kingdoms turned into an overdramatic beat 'em up, with a rockin' soundtrack. Perfect.

Civilization Political and history-based strategy. Obviously, China's role is important, but inspiration can be drawn from any culture for HMX.

Smite - This "battle of the gods" MOBA has an entire pantheon for Chinese mythology, making it the perfect jumping off point for deeper research if you care to do so. Featured figures include Guan Yu (also of Romance of the Three Kingdoms), Ne Zha, Ao Kuang, Chang'e, Nu Wa, He Bo, Sun Wukong, and (dun dun nuh nuuuuh!) Zhong Kui. The other pantheons are also good for inspiration. UPDATE: Smite has added Hou Yi to the line-up.

Dungeons & Dragons, Fate, Exalted, other PnP RPGs - Where would we be without it? Feel free to look at the China/Japan/Asia-inspired stuff from the various sources.

Magic: The Gathering - Specifically the Kamigawa setting and its depiction of spirits.

Music

Some stuff to get you started!

This here Chinese classical music station. Very good for getting into the ambient spirit of (the peaceful side of) HMX.
Without Ulterior Motives
Hour of Guqin tracks
Blue Little Flower
Return of the Fishing Boat
Song of the Dragon and Phoenix (My sources say it's Chinese, but who cares, it's beautiful and evocative)
Avatar: The Last Airbender OST
Avatar: The Legend of Korra Book 1 OST
Kill La Kill - Main Character Themes
"Visions of Beauty (Beatz Dub)" - Saloo

[NyuBomber]

Places

General Geography
Author's Notes in italics.
- Unless marked with double asterisks (**), all information presented in this section is generally known in-game. Breadth and specificity of general facts, and knowledge of the lesser known, should naturally vary depending on background and education of the individual characters or organizations.
- If numbers are presented, they're more for giving the GM/players a sense of relative scale than something to live or die by.
- The world is a vast place, and there are more things to discover as humanity attempts to become the force it once was. If you want to fit in an environment, area, or site, feel free to do so! I know I will.

The Continents
Rice is an ubiquitous crop on Meng Xiang, owing to many different strains being cultivatable in many different environments. It is central to every culture and lifestyle's diet. Like freshwater, it will go without saying that rice is a core resource the world over.

Central
The center of the Imperial government's political power is also the center of humanity's resurgence. Its fertile grasslands, forests, hills, and shallow valleys lead to ample farmland for a variety of crops, whether plowed or stepped. Moderate, temperate clime and few non-spirit natural dangers allowed humanity to to firmly place its foot. Close to 80% of the landmass is potentially livable by humanity. Hot summers and snowy winters are comfortably buffered by spring and fall transitions, resulting in a four seasons experience. Tornadoes are a particular natural danger in the summer and early fall months.

There are scatterings of Age of Antiquity ruins across the continent, but particularly along the western coastline.

**An extensive cavern system occupies the deep underground beneath the capital of Shengmen and the northern area of the continent.

Notable resources (not exhaustive): Non-rice grains (particularly wheat); various fruits and vegetables; domesticated farm animals; fish (fresh and saltwater); salt; non-precious metals; wild animals common to grasslands, plains, low hills, and temperate broadleaf forests; lumber/other wood products such as paper

North
North continent consists of one large, mountainous, perpetually cool central island in the central region, a few smaller island masses around it, and dozens of much smaller isolated islands and atolls. Going west, these smaller islands get cooler in climate as they near the polar region; heading south and southeast, they near the equator, becoming perpetually tropical. The central island has precious little arable land, but the outlying small areas have been cultivated. About 65% of the landmass is potentially livable. Summer and winter are buffered by short, extreme transitions through two storm seasons, where typhoons and blizzards are more common in their respective areas. Earthquakes, and the accompanying tsunamis, are threats to smaller islands.

Among the dozens of small inhabited islands are dozens more uninhabited isles, which contain Age of Antiquity ruins more often than not.
** There are also a swath of ruins nestled in the mountains of the larger islands.

A number of the smaller islands are active and dormant volcanoes.

** A volcanic force beneath the waves gives rise to and topples small islands on a monthly basis; whether this is natural or not is undetermined.

Notable resources (not exhaustive): Saltwater fish, shellfish; seaweed and kelp; exotic fruits and vegetables; herbs; wild animals common to jungle, saltwater coastal, coral, and open ocean environments; pearls

East
Living jungle, muddy bogs, glittering lakes, behemoth mountains, jagged valleys that hide rushing rivers -- all seemingly go on forever in East continent. Containing the largest tracts of habitable land in the world, East continent's parallel orientation and proximity to Meng Xiang's equator, combined with ample freshwater sources, makes conditions ripe for life. East continent possesses the tallest mountain peaks and deepest valleys, resulting in winding cliffside paths, wondrous rock formations, and a wholly unstable topography. The flattest the land gets is the lake shores, and it is generally on a body of water that humanity settles. The soil is rich for farms, and goats generally replace sheep. Around 90% of the land is potentially livable. The weather of East continent is perpetually hot and humid, cycling between wet and dry seasons. Forest fires, flooding, and rock/mudslides, are the biggest dangers from the land, while unique aggressive, predatory, and venomous beasts also challenge humanity's survival in the area.

Ruins from the Age of Antiquity are surprisingly low in number in East continent. However, the few known to exist are much larger in scope than on other continents.
** Many more ruins have been covered by lakes and dirt, or their artifacts scattered from their original sites by rivers and floodwater.

Notable resources (not exhaustive): Lumber; standard fruits and vegetables; exotic fruits and vegetables; herbs; grains; domesticated farm animals (particularly oxen and goats); exotic wild animals common to tropical jungle and heavy mountain forests; freshwater fish, shellfish , etc.; stone; minerals; non-precious metals

South
The geography of South continent is informed by the immense rain shadow cast by the Howling Mountains. Precious little precipitation makes it to South, leaving the land generally dry, cracked, and baked from the near-equatorial sun. Nights are unbearably cold if one is not prepared. Plateaus, canyons and cavern systems are the remnants of past erosion by now-dormant volcanoes and dead rivers through the badlands. Most striking is the Glass Desert, an immense plateau where lightning storms with no rain smite the land daily, creating natural glass and crystal formations from the constantly-renewed swirling sands. Sandstorms and drought are a persistent threat in the interior, leaving the few reliable freshwater sources to emerge along the coasts and creating arable land. Only about 50% of the continent's land is potentially habitable. There's a nearly-singular dry season in South, split only by a brief wet season in the spring, rejuvenating life. Alongside sandstorms, non-living dangers include desert fires, tornadoes, and the heat itself; flash floods and coastal typhoons are a concern in the wet season. The fauna of the South may be more diminutive than that of the East, but makes up for it in tenacity and spitefulness.

Oases help facilitate travel through the region, and in general sustain life in the interior.
** Most oases are formed from groundwater that all but bypasses the surface of South continent, sourced by the Howling Mountains.

Ruins from the Age of Antiquity are most often found high-up and hidden inside canyon walls, requiring ingenuity to reach.
** Desert sand dunes also hide ruins and the entrances to underground ruins.

Notable resources (not exhaustive): Precious gems (South continent is the only land with known deposits of diamond, jade, ruby, etc.); precious and non-precious metals; non-rice grains (in particular, sorghum is exclusive to South continent); stone; domesticated farm animals (in particular, camels are exclusive to South continent); wild animals common to deserts, dry grasslands, and badlands; saltwater fish, shellfish, etc.

West
On the other side of the Howling Mountains, soil has been compacted and ground down to produce the flatlands of West continent. Heading from the Howling Mountains toward the plateau, the terrain goes from flat with scattered groves, to tundra, to permafrost, and finally to plates of pure ice. What should be a fertile region is handicapped by its close proximity to the geographic north pole. However, the lack of features also makes it easy to reach the mineral resources beneath the surface, and the residents show it is possible to farm the land. Seasonal transitions are gradual and nuanced, not only because of slight temperature changes, but in animal migrations and the unique plants that come to bloom. About 65% of the continent is potentially livable, though that shrinks to around 55% as ice encroaches on the coast in the winter. Year round snow and cool-to cold temperatures have made the surviving flora and fauna hardy. In terms of natural dangers, humanity must be mindful of the signature fog of West continent, as it can hide sinkholes or predatory animals and spirits. The frigid cold is a constant threat, as well as year-round sudden blizzards.

The anomaly of Maotouying Peak is the most iconic sign that West continent is much more spirit-touched than any other continent, and calls into question how much influence the spirits have on the assumed natural features of other lands. Supernatural occurrences are reported monthly; ghosts wondering in the fog, sinkholes opening and closing within the span of a few days, wisps of light floating from the ground, and ribbons of light in the night sky are just some of the examples.

Ruins from the Age of Antiquity are scarce in West continent, but those that are fond are almost always damage-free.
** There are numerous ruins from the Age of Antiquity in West continent; their apparent scarcity comes from the ruins warping around the land, and sometimes out of existence. In addition, there is said to be a set of ruins among the clouds.

Notable resources (not exhaustive): Domesticated farm animals (particularly horses); non-precious minerals; precious minerals; exotic herbs; fruits and vegetables; grains (particularly rye); wild animals common to cold weather plains, tundra, and polar regions; fish (freshwater and saltwater)
**Corrupted chi from the spirit presence of West continent has affected some plant species in strange ways.

A Broader Look At the Land and Sky

Global
The total above-water land mass of known Meng Xiang covers approximately 4 million sq. mi/10.3 sq. km. For real world comparison, this is a bit larger than the United States (3.794 million sq mi/ 9.827 million sq. km) and a bit bigger more than China (3,705,405 sq. mi./9,596,960 sq. km).

The science of astronomy has advanced to the point that Meng Xiang is known to be spherical. Humanity inhabits five continental regions (Central, North, East, South, and West) that reside in the northern hemisphere of the planet. The size of the planet is not known; exploratory sea ventures report more and more water in the Horizon Sea, with no sign of further land, before being forced back by spirit attack, weather, or lack of supplies.

The magnetic north pole sits above North continent, with magnetic south pole far and away unreachable outside of South continent. Thus, maps depict North continent at the "top," and South at the "bottom-most" area.

The geographic north, inaccessibly frigid pole sits above the region known as West continent. It is theorized a mirroring south pole exists on the opposite side of the planet.

There are two primary ocean currents humanity utilizes:
North Stream flows clockwise, east-to-south-west, above the equator, connecting West, North, and Central continents.
South Stream flows counter-clockwise, east-to-north-to-west. below the equator, connecting South, Central, and East continents.

**Smaller ocean currents also exist that connect the continents in different ways, though they're in a state of constant turbulence.

Cosmology
Meng Xiang orbits one sun, and is orbited by one moon.

There are countless stars in the night sky, alongside comets, asteroids, and meteorites, but there are no signs of anything resembling additional planets to available contemporary observation tools.

[NyuBomber]

Major Notable Clans

The Original Five clans are not the only shen-lieren groups in the world. For a variety of reasons, other clans have formed. Though smaller and less historically important thus far, the groups listed here all exist with the blessing of Imperial Mandate, and serve crucial roles in society.

Hound Clan - Founded 369 AZ

Lion Clan exists in a strange place, simultaneously the front-running shen-lieren when it comes to spirit defense, but also eager muscle for the Imperial Family, a pseudo-personal army while the regular army is overseen by the Imperial Council and its own rank and file. One particular Lion thought that the clan would do much more good if they were spread all over the world, protecting everyday folks. When faced with pushback, he took his case directly to Empress Rain II, and so it was in 349 AZ that Hound Clan was formed.

Hound acts as a patrolling police force, with precincts in every major population area, supplementing the local shen-lieren population when called upon, as well as handling investigations and apprehensions of mundane criminals. Admission to the clan is less strict than normal, as good character and adequate martial arts skill are all that are required, as a rule.

Leadership comes from shen-lieren who find themselves unable to meet or keep up with the rigors of the Original Five clans. Obstinately, this practice is honorable as it allows them to continue their sacred duty. On the other hand, the inferiority complex is plain to see in the way many Hound commanders control and direct their forces. In addition, the clan's relative youth, thinly-spread reach, and ambitious vision leaves it open to scandals and corruption.

Nevertheless, "a good Hound is good to have around," so they say. Good Hounds take pride in their global presence and readiness to respond where needed.

Whale Clan - Founded 228 AZ

Originally a collective of water-bound Northern shen-lieren who took issue with having to join Tortoise Clan, instead wishing to continue their reverence of the waters that had sustained them through the past. Legend tells that the forebears to the modern Whale Clan were men and women who took their families to sea on boats and rafts, pledging not return to land or, more importantly, supply Tortoise with food and medicine, until Tortoise Clan would accept that their religious differences. Naturally, Tortoise did not give in. The two sides entered into a battle of wills: the sea-bound Northerners having to brave the elements and spirit attacks, and Tortoise forced into rationing what supplies they had down to the last grain, on top of mounting battle injuries.

For an entire year, it was a couple dozen individuals against the Tortoise Clan. Word of the stand-off spread, particularly of the sailors' ability to navigate currents, storms, and occasionally outrun the monsters that inevitably attacked. Eventually, Emperor Fire III, so impressed with the tale, personally made the journey north with his envoy to see it for himself. Bringing both sides together, the mutual truce was recorded, and Whale Clan was born.

With investment of technological resources, materials and people willing to learn, it was not long before Whale Clan established itself as master of the sea, bringing on the era of intercontinental travel and trade that continues to the present day. In Truth, Whale Clan enjoys a monopoly on the industry, and they are good at their jobs. However, with a lack of competition comes complacency and shortcut-seeking. In particular, pirates have become a danger.

[NyuBomber]

Gonna be getting back to this!

Update the Minor Clans section.

[Yora]

Chinese Ghostbusting? Very cool.

Is the entire known world a single empire or are the five continents independent? I didn't quite figure this out from reading the introduction and skimming the description of the clans.

[NyuBomber]

Chinese Ghostbusting? Very cool.

Is the entire known world a single empire or are the five continents independent? I didn't quite figure this out from reading the introduction and skimming the description of the clans.

Hi ya!

It's a single empire at the moment, with all the tensions that brings along from the varying cultures and viewpoints on survival.

[NyuBomber]

The hunt will continue.