Prologue
The continent of Xuanhuang is a land wrapped in blessings. The Six Mythical Beasts that raised this land from the ocean brought life from that which was nothing, and the beings they brought to life on it grew under their watchful gazes.
The phoenix bestowed upon the earth its down, from which the first flames sprung.
The dragon shed its scales unto the land, infusing qi into every being born from it from then on.
The tortoise, molding the land to shield these beings, created the mountains and caves where they could hide from the elements.
The tiger, seeing the fragile nature of these beings, gave them its left fang after teaching them the way of the weapon.
The kirin gifted the beings of the land with knowledge they would need to live and grow at peace, breaking off a single horn and carving onto it that which was necessary to live.
The xiezhi, at long last, gave not an 'item' but a 'concept': the order needed for peace and the chaos needed to avoid monotony.
Of course, though they could create the perfect 'land' on which to live and give the perfect 'gifts' to use, they could not create perfect 'life'. Those that lived on this land were prone to corruption, to wrongdoing, to evil, and to death; though not all were inclined towards such traits, what existed was enough.
And so, these beings lives, sometimes at peace, sometimes at war. The Beasts, growing tired of such matters, left to slumber in their own lands. Time passed, and these Beasts became naught but just a name, forgotten by the ones who prospered under them.
Or so the story goes, at least. This tale, known to every human across Xuanhuang, is simply that: a story, and nothing more. To those who lived upon the land, their knowledge was borne from their own hands. Though remnants of the Beasts' presence are claimed to still exist, they are regarded as naught but an old wives' tale, and so life continues on.
Or, at least, so it seems.
So... Contrary to what I've painted at first glance, this RP's actually going to be more Asian-fusion fantasy rather than primarily focusing on Chinese lore. A lot of the RP will be rooted in classic wuxia elements (I won't deny that), but there will also be heavy influence from other East Asian cultures (namely, Japanese, Korean, etc;) present in the RP... So feel free to make a character that falls into that sort of regional archetype, I guess.
This RP will also be enabling guns! Yes, thoseguns. I'm nerfing them, though! In a way, at least. More details on that below.
The Land of Xuanhuang
The continent of Xuanhuang is split into 6 "regions", each corresponding to one of the Beasts that are rumored to have created the land. As you can probably tell, the cultural influence of that myth is fairly high.
The Dragon's Domain is located to the east, and is filled to the brim with abnormal phenomena. Mountains seem to float in the air, water flows from out of nowhere and create majestic waterfalls, and, possibly the craziest part about it all: things are able to thrive in this environment.
The Tortoise's Rest is a large mountainous region located near the northern part of the continent and stretches through to the northwestern regions of the land before stopping. The mountains themselves seem to be perpetually covered in mist, but leave a majestic sight in the mornings when it parts.
The Phoenix's Roost is located to the south and stretches to the southwestern regions of the continent; it is a land filled with deserts, with oases dotting the lands every so often. Unlike in normal deserts, though, the sands remain heated regardless of the time of day.
The Tiger's Den rounds out the west, and it is absolutely covered in forests. Occasionally, valleys and streams cut through these lands, adding a bit of variety in what seems to be an otherwise unremarkable region.
The Kirin's Realm is located in the center of the land, directly to the east of the Tiger's Den. It is a slightly rocky region, though much less mountainous than the Tortoise's Rest, whose land seems to blend into the other's near-flawlessly. Being as it is, it has also become a center of trade for many regions, seeing as how it is difficult to grow or hunt things in the area.
The Xiezhai's Field is simply that: a large expanse of plains, with arable land and grass as far as the eye can see. The region stays as such year-round and, as such, is coveted by farmers from all over.
The town of Kizun, located in the center of the Dragon's Domain, is where the RP will begin. It is located on the ground (and not on one of those floating pieces of land like you might expect), but still has seldom contact with other towns, much less other regions. Traders are still welcome, though.
Qi, Combat, and Notable Professions
Qi is what drives a lot of things in this world. Naturally occurring within a person's body, one who has been sufficiently trained can manipulate this energy at their behest. How that is done, exactly, is based upon the person. Sometimes, it is used for combat; others, for production of goods. In rare cases, it can be used to heal wounds (though this talent is somewhat rare, that may only be because of the scarcity of people who are willing to take on such a task).
Guns, as stated earlier, do exist in this setting and have no explicit need to any sort of qi infusion. The guns themselves are fairly primitive by our standards, but they cannot easily pierce, say, a qi barrier used by a practitioner. The bullets themselves, however, can be infused with qi to increase their damage output. Most must be reloaded after a single shot.
In terms of more traditional combat, qi can be used to enhance the physical combat capabilities of a person, be it with their fists or even a weapon. Some are even able to channel raw qi into combat and fight with elemental powers, though this is much rarer simply for the sheer effort it takes and the necessary aptitude required for such abilities. More proficient fighters can infuse more qi into their attacks and/or defenses, altering the result thereof.
'Elemental' qi is based upon the concept of 'wu xing', and, as such, has five derivations: wood, metal, fire, water, and earth. Two other elements, aether (heaven) and dark, also exist. While the first five are fairly self-explanatory, the other two are now. Aether attribute is usually oriented towards more healing, regeneration, and purification abilities; dark, on the other hand, is more suited towards corruption and destruction.
People can have a primary affinity for an element and a secondary affinity for another; however, a person may have only one more none, but never more than two. People with only one affinity also have the ability to output stronger attacks of that specific element.
For the purposes of this RP, dark chi cannot exist as a primary or secondary for any characters, simply because of its nature. Aether is fine, though.
Oh, right. Qi mastery also lets people fly. Just thought I'd put that out there. Of course, flight is only for those who have advanced mastery. Even a newbie can glide, though.
On the topic of profession: two of the most notable professions that exist in this world are alchemists and adventurers. Alchemists use qi, along with various other materials and items, in order to create medicines of various effects. Compared to normal medicine makers, the rare materials used combined with the qi of the alchemist enables the end result to have a larger amount of effects and a higher potency due to a lack of imperfections. Adventurers, on the other hand, hunt down rare flora and fauna that the alchemists can use in their own curatives along with handling any issues that people may have. As expected, they work in a guild-esque system to accomplish their goals.
So, without further ado, here's a form!
(By the way, every PC will be a human. Won't say the same about NPCs.)
