Shengdi the Middle Empire
20th Day of the 3rd Month of Wood, Year 251 of the 5th Phoenix Ascendant, 2651 DM
Shengdi is not your typical Spaghetti Samurai, generic eastern-themed world. It is a sprawling empire encompassing many races, species, and cultures. At its heart are their Imperial Majesties, twin demigods reborn countless times in the same bodies and minds to lead the empire through each subsequent age of peace and prosperity. From them the Imperial Bureaucracy spreads outward to maintain law, order, and tradition throughout the empire from the lowest peasant to the highest bureaucrat and noble. None are above, or beyond, the reach of the Bureaucracy. For it speaks with the voices of the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress, and all fortune, good or ill, spreads outward from the Center.
Seven great provinces encompass the known world with several, smaller, vassal states to make up the Middle Empire. The environments run the gamut from mist-enshrouded, mountain peaks to frigid steppes, lush rain forests and sweltering jungles and swamps to great bamboo forests and deserts so hot the little rain evaporates before it ever touches the burning sand and rock. Each province is ruled over by representatives of the Imperial Bureaucracy from the governors at the top on down to the magistrates at the city and county level. Each is also nominally represented by the Daixue, high blood, Great Houses which came out of the bloody mists of the war-torn past of the Kami-no-sensou and even further back into the Age of the Bushi.
Shinto, the Way of the Gods, along with ancestor worship, is the predominant religion of the empire. Practiced, in one form or another, among all its peoples. The great gods of Heaven, the Amatsukami, are especially revered and worshiped in great temples all over the face of Shengdi. The sun goddess, Amaterasu, and her twin brother, the moon god, Tsuki-yomi are held in highest esteem by the people as the divine parents of their Imperial Majesties. As well, each of the provinces, and the Great Houses that originated them, all have a specific Amatsu-kami to which they are devoted. As can specific occupations, places, and landmarks have heavenly kami attached to them. The latter two, however, are far more commonly tied to earthly spirits, the kunitsu-kami, or one of the Innumerable Gods. As an animistic faith, Shinto asserts that everything within creation can be possessed of its own spiritual entity, i.e. kami. Places which particularly embody the power and/or beauty of nature are often possessed of their own awakened kami and are revered by the populace. Oftentimes even having shrines or temples dedicated to them. Even man-made objects can eventually possess an awakened spirit if they are old enough and/or revered enough. Priests and priestesses of the world, even if they are devoted to one of the Amatsu-kami, will usually be bound to one or several of these little gods to intercede on their behalf and channel the divine energies of the Shinkai, the spirit world, to perform their miracles.
The magic of the world comes from Qi (chi), or Ki, a natural energy that, like spirits, exists in all things. Like the various peoples of the world, Qi in its raw form usually comes aspected to either Yin or Yang, Negative or Positive. This basic dualistic principle also forms the basis for the Alignment system of the empire. There is no "good" or "evil" as moral concepts. Only what is good for the Empire and creation as whole or what is not. Even demons, being generally antithetical (apathetic at best) to mortals, have their place and duty within creation itself. That said, Madoshi or Modaoshi (wizards) are those people trained to channel the Qi that exists within their own bodies and the world around them. This Qi is most often a balanced blending of Yin and Yang and, thus, is incredibly versatile in its uses. These magi are often Bureaucracy scholars in their own rights and many hold high postings throughout the realm. Sorcerers (Yakuhoshijin or "Burning Star People") are those that have a natural gift for wielding the raw Qi aspected to one of the Five Elements (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, or Metal), and are, themselves, aspected to one of those elements. The magics they summon are often much more powerful and easily manipulated by the caster, but are much more prohibitive in scope than the more common Qi Scholars. As being aspected to one element prohibits access to the qi of an element antithetical to the aspected one, i.e. it's difficult to freeze something when all you have is fire at hand.
As stated, this setting is much more than just another samurai filled romp through yet another clone of feudal Japan. Over a decade of research on Imperial China and, yes, feudal Japan, with much of the rest of East Asia being represented in one form or another, has gone into this project. Historical accuracy has been glossed over, when deemed appropriate, but many of the tools, cities, government and military bodies, occupations, and societies have been represented within the work. Thus the world is a fusion of East Asian cultures with standard Western fantasy fare which will, hopefully, make it a fun and interesting place to adventure in.
Seven great provinces encompass the known world with several, smaller, vassal states to make up the Middle Empire. The environments run the gamut from mist-enshrouded, mountain peaks to frigid steppes, lush rain forests and sweltering jungles and swamps to great bamboo forests and deserts so hot the little rain evaporates before it ever touches the burning sand and rock. Each province is ruled over by representatives of the Imperial Bureaucracy from the governors at the top on down to the magistrates at the city and county level. Each is also nominally represented by the Daixue, high blood, Great Houses which came out of the bloody mists of the war-torn past of the Kami-no-sensou and even further back into the Age of the Bushi.
Shinto, the Way of the Gods, along with ancestor worship, is the predominant religion of the empire. Practiced, in one form or another, among all its peoples. The great gods of Heaven, the Amatsukami, are especially revered and worshiped in great temples all over the face of Shengdi. The sun goddess, Amaterasu, and her twin brother, the moon god, Tsuki-yomi are held in highest esteem by the people as the divine parents of their Imperial Majesties. As well, each of the provinces, and the Great Houses that originated them, all have a specific Amatsu-kami to which they are devoted. As can specific occupations, places, and landmarks have heavenly kami attached to them. The latter two, however, are far more commonly tied to earthly spirits, the kunitsu-kami, or one of the Innumerable Gods. As an animistic faith, Shinto asserts that everything within creation can be possessed of its own spiritual entity, i.e. kami. Places which particularly embody the power and/or beauty of nature are often possessed of their own awakened kami and are revered by the populace. Oftentimes even having shrines or temples dedicated to them. Even man-made objects can eventually possess an awakened spirit if they are old enough and/or revered enough. Priests and priestesses of the world, even if they are devoted to one of the Amatsu-kami, will usually be bound to one or several of these little gods to intercede on their behalf and channel the divine energies of the Shinkai, the spirit world, to perform their miracles.
The magic of the world comes from Qi (chi), or Ki, a natural energy that, like spirits, exists in all things. Like the various peoples of the world, Qi in its raw form usually comes aspected to either Yin or Yang, Negative or Positive. This basic dualistic principle also forms the basis for the Alignment system of the empire. There is no "good" or "evil" as moral concepts. Only what is good for the Empire and creation as whole or what is not. Even demons, being generally antithetical (apathetic at best) to mortals, have their place and duty within creation itself. That said, Madoshi or Modaoshi (wizards) are those people trained to channel the Qi that exists within their own bodies and the world around them. This Qi is most often a balanced blending of Yin and Yang and, thus, is incredibly versatile in its uses. These magi are often Bureaucracy scholars in their own rights and many hold high postings throughout the realm. Sorcerers (Yakuhoshijin or "Burning Star People") are those that have a natural gift for wielding the raw Qi aspected to one of the Five Elements (Water, Wood, Fire, Earth, or Metal), and are, themselves, aspected to one of those elements. The magics they summon are often much more powerful and easily manipulated by the caster, but are much more prohibitive in scope than the more common Qi Scholars. As being aspected to one element prohibits access to the qi of an element antithetical to the aspected one, i.e. it's difficult to freeze something when all you have is fire at hand.
As stated, this setting is much more than just another samurai filled romp through yet another clone of feudal Japan. Over a decade of research on Imperial China and, yes, feudal Japan, with much of the rest of East Asia being represented in one form or another, has gone into this project. Historical accuracy has been glossed over, when deemed appropriate, but many of the tools, cities, government and military bodies, occupations, and societies have been represented within the work. Thus the world is a fusion of East Asian cultures with standard Western fantasy fare which will, hopefully, make it a fun and interesting place to adventure in.