Shiyan
The heavens fall and the hells rise; three worlds and twelve kingdoms fail to unify; and calamity menaces the Valiant Societies
Of course there was a glorious empire long ago. There had to be. We can still see signs of it today. They must have carved the magical stone of the Great Path for vehicles heavier than our paltry wagons. It’s said the outer walls of Jangan city are actually the foundation of a single mighty building from that time. And if you’re lucky you can still see a heavenly engine; who but great ancestors could have created such wonders? This was before catastrophe, and before history. This was a time of legend. We call this lost empire the Yan dynasty, and we live on the time after the death of Yan: Shiyan.
What caused the catastrophe? If you ask the others we humans did. But that’s just their fear and jealousy speaking. Except for the fairies, they still whisper and whine that it must have been their ancestor’s transgressions that brought down the heavens and raised up the hells. They would say that, though, being so naturally guilty and thieving that they will even steal blame from us if they can.
There are three worlds coexisting uncomfortably in Shiyan. The world of city and road is where most of us must live. The tamed world, the world of politics and peasants. Sometimes called the green world, it is a place of duty, decorum, and royalty. The world of mountain and river is filled with heroes and swords. They call it the Wilderness of Blades. The Valiant Societies wander this blue world, looking to win their name and glory with mighty deeds. And then there is the red world of sky and tunnel; the strange places of the world, filled with strange people from the fallen heavens or lifted hells. That is world of wonder and danger, fit only for heroes and fools.
The World of City and Road
In this new and ruined Shiyan the twelve kingdoms formed and grew. Violent Tiger in the north, locked in perpetual struggle with hungry Dog. Proud Horse to the west, and remote Sheep looking down on them from snowy peaks. The embattled fairies of Rabbit just want to be left alone. Grim Ox and soaring Rooster, the gatekeepers of the south, protecting the mainland from the mysterious Serpent islands and the warlike fairies of Boar. In the plentiful east Dragon, Mouse, and Monkey vied bitterly first to conquer one another, and then to reunite the other kingdoms into a single empire stretching shore to shore.
It was Dragon who eventually triumphed over Mouse and Monkey, and together these three kingdoms eventually dominated the entire land and even bringing Serpent to heel. But never Boar. This Dragon Dynasty was long and glorious, officially the equal successor of the Yan, even if the ancient wonders still remained impenetrable. Over time the Dragon's grip became weak and brittle, and finally the great Boar War shattered it. Rooster fell into chaos and Mouse was occupied by these invaders. Dragon quaked ineffectually, and was finally rescued by vicious Tiger. The Boars were repelled and fled back their island fortresses, but then Tiger simply neglected to leave the east and go home.
So began the Tiger Dynasty. Dragon royalty and scholars were slaughtered, but bureaucrats were allowed to serve their new masters...unless they wanted to share the same fate. The Tigers are ruthless and brutal tyrants, but they are also many things the Dragons hadn't been in some time: effective and passionate. There are many opportunities for women and non-humans afforded by Tiger purges that were otherwise forbidden by Dragon tradition. Despite this, or possibly because of it, there is a seething rebellion of outlaws and outcasts fighting either to restore an imaginary perfect Dragon dynasty. Or if nothing else, just to get rid of these Tiger outsiders and try something new. But for most of us, Dragon or Tiger never made a difference. We work and live and sometimes starve no matter whose flag flies above us.
The World of Mountain and River
Ah, the bold wanderers of the Valiant Societies. Though some are royalty and magicians, most of them come from simple villages like ours. They set themselves apart with their talent and training, and the righteous among them are generous, kind, and fight to the death to protect the downtrodden. But there are also eccentrics who follow weird paths in place of righteous ones, and it's so difficult to tell the one kind from the other. Plus both the righteous and the weird will kill over an insult, so it's best to enjoy tales of the blue world from a safe distance.
The world of mountain and rivers is balanced precariously around the fate of the Tigers. Tradition has it that the Valiant Societies are above and apart from politics, and only concern themselves with idealistic action and martial prowess. Tales would have it that a skilled disciple of a respected society could best an entire troop of soldiers or bandits. And in truth societies are powerful and feared enough that the Tigers are very wary of them. But the societies are wise to be wary too, for the Tigers have heroes of their own.
Many Tiger generals and warriors are disciples of the Glory Fist clan, one of the five major righteous societies. The Glory Fist's deep ties with the Tiger dynasty troubles the other societies. Also troubling are the Free Shields, once the elite warriors of the Mouse kingdom. They have survived under both the Dragons and the Tigers as a 'sports association' rife with rebels and vigilantes. The other societies fear someday the shields will go too far and drag all the valiant into an impossible war with the imperial dynasty. The popular monks of the Foundation Stone monasteries just want to ease the suffering of the people, but when the suffering is caused by the Tigers or the people they are helping happen to be rebels that sets them on the same dangerous path as the Free Shields. The Magic Wheel navigators, part priest and part beggar, are eccentric outsiders dedicated to battling demons and unruly ghosts. The Tigers have the same priority, unlike the decadent Dragons before them, which has lead to a burgeoning alliance. Finally the sages of the Righteous Text struggle to remain neutral, and to keep the other Valiant Societies the same. The sages are the oldest and largest of the societies, and have long been the alliance's unofficial leaders. But the sages have been in decline for some time, and both the Glory Fists and Free Shields are poised to challenge them for supremacy. It seems only a matter of time before swords will once again fall like rain in the Wilderness of Blades.
The World of Sky and Tunnel
The world of sky and tunnel is beyond my kin. I know only that all manner of devils live underground, and emerge at night to ravage the living. Mystical immortals practice their bizarre rituals on lonely mountaintops. Heavenly engines vault from cloud to cloud on streams of magical fire. It is said that the red world is a mirror of the others, and as rebellion rages against the Tigers so too demons rise up against the order of heaven and sow destruction and chaos. To some it is the Tigers who have upset the natural order, and the demons and ghosts are just following suit. It is true that the horrors of the red world have been all too common in the 20 years since the outsiders came into power. Either way, magic and monsters are destructive, deadly, and far too interesting for small folk to survive. And so we are cursed to live in interesting times.
