Jiangshi and the Court of Golden Twilight

It is a fact that many of the monsters that inhabit this world, are not natural. Many come from realms beyond our understanding, strange paranormal forces, and other strange begginings. However it is alsoa  fact that a good number of the many monsters and creatures that inhabit this land come from experimentation by spellcasters and other madmen. It is believed by some that even the fabeled Ishtar Empire partook in the creation of life (something that flies in the face of most religous doctrines in the world. After all, the gods created life, not man). These created monsters are more terrifying than any could imagine, for they should not be and yet are made all too real. One such experiment, led to the birth of an entirely new strain of vampirism, combined with the both magic and alchemy: the Jiangshi.

The Creation

The origins of the Jiangshi are difficult to pin down, however alot of evidence points to a break away from the now long dead Order of the Silver Sun. The Order of the Silver Sun is a monastic order inhabbiting Catai, typically known for being a loose but large collection of faiths in the holy value of silver. Gold represents decadence, and the decadence of the throne of Catai, and so when an emperor or empress grows to decedant and corrupted by the Jade Throne, the Silver Sun must rise to topple them down and pave the way for a new leader. Many of the leaders of this order are knwon simply as Immortals, strange beings of described as akin to stone statues pulsing with jade. These are ultra powerful entities said to have attained there current affliction with alchemy, magic, and enlightenment. They are forever lasting, and all are wise beyond the countless years and generations they have lived. Some have even been said to have overseen the construction of the Jade Throne every ruler of Catai sits upon. They are uncorruptable in the extreme. At least so they would like to believe.
The name of the Immortal is lost to time, though he is simply reffered to as Yuli the Forbidden. It is said that though he was Immortal, he longed for the desire to gift long life to those who did not walk their path. Some argue if this was due to a love for a certain person or a simple "fleeting fancy" but regardless, he would beseech the other Immortals who polietly rejected such notions. Immortality is only for those that have proven themselves. Perhaps he would abandon such curiosities in another life, but unbeknownst to all but him, a strange ship would wreck upon the shores of Catai.
This event was known as the Nightmare Migration, when vampires began to spread across the world for unkown reasons. This ship was apart of this event, but in transit had suffered great damage. Few of the vampiric passangers survived, writhing in agony in the coffins, and that is when the immortal would find them. Their affliction of vampirism fascinated Yuli, a state of imperfect immortality, but oh so close to blossoming into something truly magnificent. So it was that he took the survivors to a secret lair, and began to experiment on them with alchemy and esoteric rituals hedge wizards utilized, with specifically a focus on the creation of zombies, and even a viral strand of zombisim. Vampirism on its own is a supernatural curse, not a viral one, however its effects on the body are extremly similar to a virus, and this virus is highly prone to mutation. However perhaps the greatest sin Yuli commited, he took the sacred and magical jade, and bent it to suffuse and power his creations, corrupting and perverting it. No one knows what happened truly, but before Yuli would be found out and smitted for his treason, his creation failed spectacurarly. Instead of creating a perfect form of immortality, instead he created the first Jiangshi, driven by greed and desire. However as he lay dying, even as his body crumbled, he uttered a curse: that his creation would see light once again, and that he would come to the greedy and the jealous, and gift them his many wonders, and bestow a golden twilight. So it was that the curse of the Jiangshi has plagued Catai for as long as people can remember. Now with the Silver Sun having long since been felled, those that do know of the Jiangshi wonder: what will stop them now?

The Curse

A Jiangshi is said to be born of those who are greedy, and a mixture of supernatural energies and the magical aura of jade. It is said that some are too scared or greedy to give up their life, no, their last breathe. They claw at reality even as they lay dying, and scratch at their throats and claw at their mouths to not give up their breathe. So it is that sometimes, their last breathe does not leave their body, and instead solidifies inside their heart almost like a disgusting tumor. The heart stops beating, and instead the breathe solidifies and eventually bursts the unused heart. After five days, corpse arises as a Jiangshi, combining the powers of vampriism and zombification in a bizzare and yet powerful hybrid. Jiangshi do not feed on blood, but instead the magical energy of the soul, or "breathe" inside all living things. This makes feeding somewhat easier, as the telltale signs of exsanguination in vampire victims is not there, instead looking like the victim simply dropped dead.
Jiangshi have a number of benefits bestowed to them, immortality of course being chief among them. Their bodies are highly magical, making them resistant to many forms of attack. While a vampires skin may be likened to highly toughned leather, a jiangshis skin is more akin to rock. They are able to sense living beings more accurately than a normal vampire, able to hear their breathing as opposed to hearing a heartbeat. Their physical attributes are enhanced similar to vampires, and they are able to modify themselves further with talismans they hang upon their clothes and body. The first one they recieve is said to be gifted by the lingering spirit of Yuli, heping keep their breath in their body, and ones added further can be infused with corrupted jade magic to enhance strength, apperance, magical prowess, and so on. Their claws can be made as strong as the toughest metals in the known world, and bizzarely it seems Jiangshi generally grow more powerful in direct moonlight.
However as much as it bestows power, it is imperfect in that it takes away much as well. While being able to enjoy the many decadent delights of their original life, their bodies are wracked with strange changes. The most famous being the stiffness of their bodies, seemingly a lingering effect of rigor mortis. While not wholly total, it can be noted that Jiangshi are somewhat slower at walking speed than most living beings, though its been observed feeding on the breathe of others regurarly seems to lessen the sevaritiy of this phenomena. However, to get around this, many Jiangshi take to "hopping" or just leaping great distances to reach their prey. They are unable to transform into animals like vampires, but it is not needed when they can jump to such degrees that one might mistake it for innate flying ability. While some travelers have scoffed and laughed at the idea of "hopping monsters" they rarely laugh when a jiangshi lunges out of the dark to tear them open in both body and soul. It has also been observed that silver is still effective at stopping them, though some have also said that said silver needs to be dosed in chickens blood. This phenomena of chicken blood can even be used to write onto talismans to repel them, typically forcing them to flee for a time. Wood from trees is also said to be weak if enchanted in a ritual involving eggs, magical ore, gold coins, and silver flakes can cause an effect similar to the wooden stake of the typical vampire. They are also said to eb impuslive creatures, and though it is not a gaurentee, it is said throwing gold coins on the ground can at times cause a Jiangshi to almost frantically leap into the coin pile and begin collecting them, even when under attack though this trick varies with its effectiveness. Regardless, in the end, Jiangshi are notoriously difficult to keep dead, for the solidified chunk of jade in them has to be torn out of their body, smashed to pieces, mixed with silver (flakes or any source will do) and then further crushed and scattreted. The timeframe for this is 5 days, after which the Jiangshi magically forms again in the place it considers home.

The Court

Much like the vampiric clans, the Jiangshi have their clans and affiliations, however all pay tribute to the Court of Golden Twilight. Said to be made up of the most ancient and powerful Jiangshi, it is almost a horrifying parody of the eternal archenemy, the Order of the Silver Sun. It seeks to exert more control over the empire of catai and beyond, even finding strong ground in Kanto and some of the Al-Hinoso city states. Those favored by the upper nobility of this court are granted swords made of gold coins, enchanted to be as tough as the strongest steel. The court seeks to ensure their continued survival and propogation of their kind, though gifting the curse of the Jiangshi is a process kept highly secret. While in truth this vampiric clan was going into remission and falling due to the Silver Suns constant hunting, since their fall they have begun to rise in power at an alarming rate. Some even question if they have already turned the Jade Empress to their side, and some conspiracies even say the Jade Empress has been a Jiangshi this whole time, though these rumors are surely based on nothing. Some worry their spread will soon bring them to conflict with the vampiric clans of the Crypt Kingdoms, and such conflict could result in apocalyptic destruction. However, for know the Jiangshi remain the unseen threat, the slowly growing shadow looming more and more closely behind ones back. Waiting with bated breathe to ambush you in your weakest moment, and steal yours...