Aspects of Hanzhou
Death & Judgment: Hanzhou ensures that every soul meets its fate, whether by natural passing or violent execution. None escape his ledger.
Obedience: Just as death is absolute, so too is his law. To question authority is to challenge the divine order itself.
Servitude: Those who die in disgrace or rebellion are not granted rest but forced into servitude, their souls becoming paper-pushers of the damned, cataloguing the dead for eternity.
Worship & Rituals
The Ledger of the Departed: Before burial, a person's name, deeds, and failures are recorded in an official ledger, ensuring Hanzhou’s judgment is fair and absolute. Some alter their ledgers with bribes, attempting to cheat their way into a higher afterlife rank.
The Emperor’s Coin: It is customary to place a coin upon the tongue of the dead, a toll to ensure safe passage into the afterlife. Those who get burried without it are said to wander as restless spirits, caught between realms.
The Chains of Oath: Those who enter into service under the Veiled Republic must swear their loyalty before a shrine of Hanzhou, often sealing their pledge by engraving their name upon an iron chain. To break such an oath is to condemn one's soul to servitude in death.
The Procession of Silence: Once a year, the priests of Hanzhou lead a silent march through the streets of Han, dressed in golden funeral robes, reminding the people that their place in death is determined by their obedience in life.
Sacred Places
The Ivory Spire: A towering temple within Han’s capital, constructed from bones of the condemned, where the Veiled Republic judges criminals in Hanzhou’s name. Those sentenced to death within its halls are said to never find peace.
The Endless Ledger: A cursed book said to contain the names of every living soul, forever updating itself as the world changes. Those who find their own names in the ledger are said to die within the year.
The Ashen Bureau: A temple said to exist only in the afterlife, where the souls of bureaucrats and corrupt officials work tirelessly, sorting and categorising every soul that passes into Hanzhou’s domain. It is said that only those who truly suffer their fate here can ever hope for reincarnation.
The Black Pillars: A field of dark stone monoliths, each engraved with the names of those who died resisting the Republic. Their souls are believed to be bound within the stone, forever silenced by the weight of Hanzhou’s judgement.
Sacred or Magical Objects of Hanzhou, The Emperor of Bones
The Ivory Mask: A featureless bone-white mask, said to have been worn by Hanzhou’s first mortal judge. When placed upon the face of the dead, it reveals the sins of their soul, whispering their final judgement. Some say it grants its wearer glimpses into the afterlife, but others warn that if worn for too long, it will fuse to the wearer’s skin, binding them to Hanzhou’s service forever.
The Ledger of the Departed: A massive, ever-growing tome that records the names of all who have died, no matter how obscure or forgotten. The book writes itself, appearing in different places across history.
The Chains of Oath: A set of unbreakable iron manacles, rumoured to have bound a once-mortal king who defied death itself. Those shackled by them cannot break a vow, nor can they escape their fate. The Veiled Republic uses replicas of these chains in ceremonial oaths, but legends say that somewhere, the true Chains of Oath still exist, waiting for their next victim.
The Silent Bell: A small, rusted iron bell that, when rung, makes no sound - yet all who hear it feel the weight of judgement upon them. It is said to summon Hanzhou’s unseen servants, who ensure that no soul escapes the fate it is due.
The Bone Scepter: A grim artefact, carved from the femur of a long-dead ruler, said to grant absolute authority over the dead. Those who wield it can command restless spirits and enforce final judgement, but doing so binds them further to Hanzhou’s will - each command given in life is another chain waiting in death.
The Ashen Seal: A wooden stamp, burnt black with age, once used to mark official death sentences in the Republic. When pressed against paper, it does not leave ink but instead carves the names of the condemned into the surface itself. If the name is not erased before the next moonrise, the person will meet their fate, no matter where they hide.
The Executioner’s Cloak: A tattered black shroud, worn by those who serve as Hanzhou’s chosen executioners. The one who dons it cannot be seen by those fated to die, allowing them to walk among the soon-to-be-dead like a ghost. It is said that only those who accept the burden of delivering death can wear it without being cursed.
Noteworthy People Connected to Hanzhou
Judge Kaelor, The Voice of the Dead
The chief magistrate of the Veiled Republic, known for his unwavering sense of order and absolute obedience to fate. It is said that he never raises his voice, for he does not need to—his word is final, and death itself enforces his rulings. Some claim he has not aged in decades and that he has already written his own name in the Ledger of the Departed, awaiting his inevitable end.
Master Huang, The Warden of Shadows
The overseer of Han’s most feared prison, where those who defy the Republic are erased from history. He claims to be a humble servant of Hanzhou, ensuring that those who are condemned never return to disturb the natural order. However, rumours persist that his prisoners do not simply die but are used in dark rituals to strengthen Hanzhou’s grasp on the living.
The Black Herald
A mysterious figure, draped in funeral robes, who appears only before massive tragedies or massacres. Some believe they are a mortal cursed to be Hanzhou’s harbinger, doomed to wander the earth delivering omens of death. Others whisper that they are no longer alive at all, but merely an echo of fate made flesh.
Shira the Unforgiven
Once a feared warrior, Shira defied Hanzhou by refusing to kill her enemies, even in war. When she finally fell in battle, her soul did not pass into the underworld, and she instead wandered the land, neither dead nor truly alive. Now, she hunts those who try to cheat death, seeking to earn her place in the afterlife by ensuring others meet their fate instead.
The Silent Procession
A group of veiled monks, clad in bone-white robes, who travel the land ensuring that no soul is left unjudged. They never speak, never eat, and never rest, appearing only in times of terrible death to perform rituals that ensure the departed move on as they should. Some believe they are no longer mortal, but spirits of Hanzhou himself, bound forever to his will.
Lady Veyna, The Bone Collector
A noblewoman obsessed with ensuring that all debts—both financial and mortal—are paid in full. She is known to purchase the bones of the dead, believing that they contain the lingering echoes of fate. Those who have tried to cheat her in deals disappear without a trace, with their names later appearing in the Ledger of the Departed.
Monk Jidan, The One Who Knelt
A monk who once stood before Hanzhou’s shrine, pleading for the lives of a thousand condemned souls. It is said that he knelt in prayer for seven days and nights, refusing to move until Hanzhou himself answered. On the final night, he vanished, leaving behind only a single set of footprints leading into the underworld. Some believe he walks the halls of the dead, bargaining for mercy to this day.
The Chainbearers
An order of warriors who have sworn themselves to deliver divine punishment in Hanzhou’s name. Each of them wears a single iron chain around their neck, and they believe that when they have delivered enough justice, the chain will break, releasing them from their duty. No one has ever seen a broken chain.
The Unnamed Prophet
A dying man was once found in a ruined temple of Hanzhou, his face gaunt, his body covered in ritual scars, yet he still breathed. He spoke only in warnings, claiming that death had been disrupted and that something unnatural was coming. The Republic tried to execute him, but each time they did, he returned, gasping for air, unable to truly die. He still wanders, seeking someone who will hear his warning before it is too late.
Philosophy of Hanzhou’s Followers
“To serve in life is to earn peace in death.”
“Rebellion is a crime against eternity.”
“Only the obedient escape the Ashen Bureau.”
“Fate is not to be questioned; it is to be obeyed.”
GM info / spoilers / plot hooks.
Brought to you by 