Shiyan Loyalty

Out of the twelve default loyalties for Shiyan, eight are considered virtuous and four are vices. The eight are called the eight pillars, and four of the eight are labeled cardinal virtues and have greater importance. The cardinal virtues count as true virtues for game mechanics, while the other four pillars are treated as neutral. Though vice is looked down upon as impure, vices are usually considered either useful or secretly desirable by most citizens.

• Decorum (virtue)
• Harmony (virtue)
• Justice (virtue)
• Law (virtue)
• Family
• Prowess
• Progress (vice)
• Gain (vice)
• Liberty (vice)
• Passion (vice)

Decorum

Decorum is loyalty to keeping up appearances and impeccable manners. Courtesy, politeness, ritual, and compliance with Shuchew tradition are all bound up in this ideal. However the Shuchew principles that govern decorum require strict gender and ethnic roles, and are increasingly seen as oppressive to women and non-Humans. Concubines, poets, and servants are often ruled by desire for decorum. To some you are shallow, but to others you are civilized. Decorum is seen as a cardinal virtue in Shyan, and is associated with 'sun'. Irreverence and scandal are breaches of decorum.

Tales are told of a beautiful young Ming maiden from many centuries ago. She was virtuous and popular, and sure to marry well. Ching barbarians raided her village, and began to rape and pillage. Rather than be sullied, the girl scarred her own face and mutilated herself to avoid their vile attentions. Tales of her purity moved the Emperor himself, and he summoned her to the capital where she become a concubine.

Family

Family is loyalty to your blood pacts, children, marital partners, blood relations, friends, organization, and culture...in that exact order. Bands are often blood pacts. Anyone might be ruled by a desire for family, even monsters and the dead. To some you are preferential and biased, but to others you are social and caring. Family is no longer a cardinal virtue in Shiyan, but it remains one of the eight pillars. It is associated with 'wood'. Abuse and betrayal are breaches of family.

A retired Wuelin fighting man found that his young son had accidentally led the city guards to become suspicious of his guests, rebellious former comrades. The fighting man killed his son with a single blow, and with tears in his eyes begged his friends to forgive his betrayal.

Gain

Gain is loyalty to yourself: your own pleasure, safety, or ambitions. Criminals, merchants, and nobles are often ruled by desire for gain. To some you are selfish, but to others you are pragmatic and wise. Gain is seen as a vice in Shiyan, and is associated with 'marsh'. Shuchew teaches that making things produces value, while selling or trading them for profit produces nothing. Despite popular philosophy trade is vital to keeping the Shiyan economy functioning, so this vice is at least tolerated. Charity and sacrifice are breaches of gain.

Jhow Sang is one of the most hated men in Shiyan. At the height of the Vakian invasion a generation ago, it was he that allowed Ching forces into the Ming capital to repel the invaders. When the battle was over, the Ching declined to leave and awarded Jhow the governorship of the Hanu province under the banner of the new dynasty. Whatever Jhow's true motivation, everyone on both sides assumes he acted for himself, not Shiyan. To this day Hanu is a hotbed of rebellion and discontent.

Harmony

Harmony is loyalty to a higher order. At the heart of most Shiyan belief systems is the notion that there is a harmonic design to the world, and everything has its place. This harmony is maintained by each person performing his or her own role and allowing others to perform theirs. This notion of order keeps peasants oppressed, but also allows various religions to exist side by side without conflict. Monks, priests, and scholars are often ruled by desire for harmony. To some you are haughty or passive, but to others you are pious and serene. Harmony is seen as a cardinal virtue in Shiyan, and is associated with 'earth'. Desire and destruction are breaches of harmony.

A monk was tasked with climbing a tiger infested mountain to clean the small shrine at the top. On the way a tiger appeared, and told him it was his destiny to be eaten that day, and asked if he would submit. The monk did not wish to be eaten, and claimed he had to clean the shrine first as an excuse. The tiger nodded solemnly and let him go. While cleaning the shrine, the monk disturbed a seal and released thirteen terrible monsters into the world. Too late, the monk realized that the tiger would have prevented all this evil.

Justice

Justice is loyalty to a personal sense of right and wrong. Justice is not about law, although the two may coincide. In Shiyan, justice is usually synonymous with revenge and retribution. Detectives, judges, and warriors are often ruled by desire for justice. Some see you as obstinate and unpredictable, but others see you as staunchly righteous. Justice is a cardinal virtue in Shiyan, and is associated with 'water'. This can be volatile, since justice may conflict with law, decorum, and harmony and yet still be considered virtuous. Apathy and mercy are breaches of justice.

Wuelin still tell tales of an incomparable warrior who cut off his fiercest enemy's arm in a duel. Defeated but righteous, the enemy accused the warrior of needing to use poison to win. When the warrior discovered that his lover had indeed poisoned the enemy, he first cut off her arm, and then his own.

Law

Law is loyalty to the written law of the land and the current government in Shiyan, the Ching empire. Judges, officials, and soldiers are often ruled by desire for law. To some you are mindlessly submissive to authority, but to others you are ethical and righteous. Obedience to authority is a cardinal virtue in Shiyan, so much so that following an evil order is considered a more ethical act than disobeying. Service to your local community and family are considered lesser forms of this concept. Law is associated with 'wind'. Complaining and disobedience are breaches of law.

Before the cataclysm it is said that Prince Shin Wue possessed a magical blade that was said to be invincible if 99 willing lives were sacrificed on it. He had only 99 followers at this time, including his family, and refused to perform the ritual. His mother pinned him as he held the sword, and people hurled themselves onto his blade one after another, until to his horror his mother herself became the ninety ninth victim. They had done their duty, and then Prince Wue did his duty, using the sword to conquer all the kingdoms and become the first ever Emperor.

Liberty

Liberty is loyalty to freedom from bonds. You go where you please, and believe in an individual's right to pursue happiness. Performers, pilots, and explorers are often ruled by desire for liberty. To some you are insolent and anti-social, but to others you are strong and independent. Liberty is seen as a vice in Shiyan, and is associated with 'storm'. Submission and tyranny are breaches of liberty.

Two great masters, one from the Wuelin, the other from the Gwuytan, attempted to withdraw from the martial world together. The Wuelin were about to launch a purge against the Gwuytan, and the prospect of fighting each other was too much for them. So they both gave up honor, duty, and family to live together in the mountains, free from the constraints of the martial world. Eventually they were hunted down and executed by both sides, as the only thing the two factions could agree upon.

Passion

Passion is loyalty to love and romance. Concubines, performers, and poets are often ruled by desire for passion. To some you are fiery and promiscuous, but to others you are warm and loving. Passion is seen as a vice in Shiyan, and is associated with 'moon'. Abstinence and lethargy are breaches of passion.

Tales tell of a girl who disguised herself as a boy so she could gain an education. She fell in love with a fellow student, who returned her feelings but did not realize she was in disguise. Unable to accept the forbidden nature of their love, the male student committed suicide. At his funeral a terrible storm broke out. Everyone fled for cover except the girl, who was never seen again, and who many believe remains with her love to this day.

Progress

Progress is loyalty to creativity and intelligence. Engineers, pilots, and spies are often ruled by desire for progress. Government positions are nominally filled by merit only, proven through education and rigorous examinations. Not only is the system corrupt, but it only favors the regurgitation of traditionally accepted teachings. Any effort to update theories or improve upon them is treated as disruptive and dangerous. To some you are radical, but to others you are clearly brilliant and working for the betterment of the world. Despite the value of higher learning in Shiyan progress is considered a vice. It remains one of the eight pillars, and is associated with 'fire'. Deceit and regression are breaches of progress.

An ancient scholar once built a sedan chair covered in firework rockets. He seated himself and lit the fuses in a grand display, and with a crack of thunder he and the chair disappeared. It is still taught that the device worked, and the scholar was transported straight to the heavens to become a great sage there. With much work later mortals were eventually able to adapt similar concepts into the current Rocket Hoppers, more suitable for transportation between worldly locations.

Prowess

Prowess is loyalty to professionalism and excellence. Physical skills and the hard work required to achieve them are highly respected, especially within the Wuelin. The highest levels of prowess are usually deadly, and bitter rivalries form as practitioners stop at nothing to be the best. Doctors, pilots, and warriors are often ruled by desire for prowess. Some see you as obsessed, but others see you as disciplined. Prowess is not a cardinal virtue in Shiyan, but is one of the eight pillars. It is associated with 'metal'. Allowing insults and showing fear are breaches of prowess.

A thug led a small gang attacking a superior Wuelin fighting man. Half the gang was killed immediately, and the other half fled...except for the thug. Respecting the thug's discipline, the fighting man made him an offer: if the thug could survive three blows the fighting man would take him on as a student. The third blow killed the thug, but the Wuelin respect his commitment and honor to this day.

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