[OOC] 朝代循環

[Hexaflexagon]

^{“The empire long united must divide, long divided must unite; this is how it has always been.”
~ Luo Guanzhong, Romance of the Three Kingdoms}

_{The Story So Far}

---

The Emperor has died, The kingdom has shattered, and war has consumed the land.

In the northeastern province of Guijiang the terrible effects of this war has come crashing down atop of their heads. A small and inconsequential strip of land situated within the Guijiang Valley where its name is derived. Yet now with conflict brewing between General Zhen Ba and General Fan Yi, the valley ability to move troops more easily through the surrounding mountains has made it into a contested war zone between Zhen and Fan.

The troops and supply caravans moving into the valley has put both sides into conflict with the local bandits who dwell within a series cave hidden within the surrounding woods. The bandits seeing opportunity with the Zhen and the Fan being preoccupied with one another would strike out against their lines taken food, supplies and the like at their leisure, the raiding parties always coming at night and slipping back into the woods before any real response could of been thrown against them. These attacks have inadvertently gained the support of the mostly agrarian populace of the province. As they saw anyone who was attacking and harassing the soldiers that were raping their women, burning down their homes, and generally causing a ruckus while not doing anything useful like DEFENDING them from MONSTERS the bandits were almsot preferable.

Shortly thereafter there was a small influx of the local populace into the woods to join up with the bandits for protection. (Most staying in the confines of their homes either too stubborn to leave or willing to risk it with the soldiers, only the desperate and the vengeful willing to even consider it.) At first the bandits were taken aback but as they began to be treated as heroes and the populace they offered shelter to began rewarding them for their service it turns out the bandits liked being rebels instead. And so now this cluster of deserters, brigands, and peasants must somehow repel these invaders.

They know it is only a matter of time before the Zhen or Fan secure the province and when that happens a much stronger force will be able to be sent into the woods and crush the rebels once and for all. And so using the smoke and carnage of the ongoing conflict as their only advantage they move to strike first aiming to take over the small Fan controlled town of Daluzhuang for if they can do that and show their ability to actually defeat the armies they may be able to gain support of the local elders and with the support of the elders comes the province.

_rules.

---

<sub>1. Follow Guild Policy
2. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you have a question, or whatever.
3. Be Fonz Cool
4. If you have a sudden urge to be an asshole please refer back to # 3.</sub>

[Hexaflexagon]

_{the world.}

---

^{THE NORTH - The Northern expanse of the Imperial Kingdom holds a special place in history. It is believed here that their ancestors landed amongst the soaring cliffs generation upon generation ago. The many natural harbors and coves intermittently cut by the jutting cliff faces create a good location for shipping and trade to thrive. Resultant the North is a surprising blend of surrounding cultures and ideas from scholars of Sinjeon willing to trade knowledge for coin, to the warlike Nami whose brigadiers stalk the seas and mercenaries fill the ports finding plenty of work with the Fan's new warlike agenda, and even the wealthy princes of Vua who had distant bloodties to the late Emperor. And so through commerce and food the sea has always been kind to these people}

Anjiha

The largest city in the North and home of the Fan. It is said that only the Jade City itself can beat it in its splendor and size. It has been nicknamed the City of One Thousand Sails for the amount of shipping traffic it receives day by day. Situated at the mouth of the Anji River where it empties into the sea, Anjiha is rightfully called many as the gateway to the North. A popular destination for nobles and well-off merchants to spend the cooler months with the winter estate of the Imperial Family located at the heart of the city, the walled-off ‘city within a city’ now being used as a base of operations by the Fan to plan their conquests.

^{THE EAST - The east is a rugged and harsh land reflected in the people that reside within it. Composed of large steppes and plateaus of mostly flat land where one is at the mercy of the winds, the East is the home of many nomadic tribes using horses adapt to travel across the long flat expanses. Though not even these nomads have traveled past the vast Fùhuó Desert upon which stretches seemingly endless with only the rare caravans of strange dark skinned men with large two-humped horses who seem to disappear as suddenly as they appear trading gold for common silks and porcelain. Yet what the land likes in general appearance it makes up for it with what is contained beneath the surface. Beneath the rocks lay large mineral deposits which have made these rugged land into an industrial powerhouse. Arguably the most important of these minerals are what the local call Dragon Tears from which trained alchemist can create Dragonpowder allowing for the construction of the terrible cannons and armants called firelances (very basic and pretty inaccurate rifles). Under the watchful gaze of the Zhen, these industrial capabilities have been used to their fullest potential arming Zhen soldiers with strong weapons and armor, and with the capability to call in swarms of vengeful horseman.}

Fort Chongxin

It is telling of the atmosphere of the East that the largest city is a converted military fortress. Once a small town atop a hill it was converted into a fortified citadel during General Zhen Ba initial campaign to pacify the region. Having totally and utterly decimated the nomadic tribes during this campaign the general had earned their eternal respect, a respect he plans to use in the common war. A tiered city it rises high into the sky giving views of miles in every direction across the flat plateaus. Where most cities are made of wood with only outer walls of stone, the entire city was made of slabs of cold earth. With constant patrols across the tiered walls and a strong administrative presence that keeps check of all goings in and out of the city, taken the Unconquerable Jewel of the East would be no small matter for any army.

^{THE WEST - A land of fertile plains that end washing against the sea which grants them some measure of safety as the rugged currents from the meeting of warm and cool waters makes landing a treacherous business along the coastline save for a scant view rivers and natural harbors whose courses are more or less predictable. These lands compose of the agrarian center of the kingdom and it is said that they have enough foodstuffs so that no man may never die hungry. Though in reality many die hungry as much as it is a land of prosperity and extravagant riches it is also a land of corruption and strict social hierarchies. This is enforced by heavily of what remains of the Imperial Army now under the direction of the Sum, much of the army remained loyal with only those that served directly under Fan or Shen having gone rogue as it were. In their current position the Sum have the distinct advantage of being able to run a defensive campaign using their experienced armies to hold the large, well supplied fortress that defend the roads inland and wait for everyone else to go and kill themselves and they can easily pick up the pieces or that is the plan at least.}

The Jade City

The Jade City could be a country upon itself. Rising from the fertile floodplains, the city stretches seemingly endless in every direction even upwards and downwards. The city itself is divided into four rings each with two walls on at its outer and interior permentier rising in height as you get closer to the center and the Jade City (it’s like Ba Sing Se from Avatar guys). At the outer edge you have the vast farmland and closer to the walls the dwellings of the lower classes, next you have the middle class folks merchants, artisans and the like, next are the estates of the aristocracy and at the center of it all is the Imperial Palace vast and opulent and currently being used as the seat of power for the Sum. The walls of the city have never been preached in its entire history but these are strange times.

^{THE SOUTH - The South is maybe the most distinct of all the lands at least culturally. A divide that can be seen most easily in the ruling figure of the Tseng the greatest of the southern tribes Tseng Xia, a woman some say who is older than the world itself. The last to be integrated into the Kingdom, the Southern Wars haven ended a mere decade ago to many it is a land of mystery and intrigue. The land itself composed generally of trembling marshes, ancient jungles, and towering pillars of stone that erupted from the ground long ago.The people here follow an old spiritual faith distinctly related to the old ways of the rest of the Kingdom. It is a land where the people have always had a deep and intimate connection with the spirit world, and it is no coincidence that the first dragon in over a thousand years was sighted in these lands. Resultantly these communities produce the highest calibre of Tongji known and one can be certain their magics and demons they bend to their will, will be used to their fullest potential in the battles to come.}

Yacha

Yacha is the last ‘proper city’ in the South before you venture into the deep marshes were most of the actual populace lives. It is a strange place of houses built entirely upon stilts as to raise it above the swampy waters. The houses and buildings are connected by large wooden walkways but most of the inhabitants instead use small skiffs following the waterways that cut through and around the city to get from place to place. It’s pretty unremarkable really used primarily as a point for traders to trade goods and supplies for potions, tonics, and salves made in the swamp. But few know of what lays deeper within those mysterious jungles.

[Hexaflexagon]

_sorcery.

---

Sorcery is somehow at the same time one of the oldest arts in the Kingdom and one of the newest. The time of gods and demons actively partaking upon the mortal sphere was thought to be long ago but the chaos and discord caused by the war has made the two worlds begin to bleed together. Thus practitioners of these ancient arts have regained abilities thought to have been lost long ago, these practitioners being collectively known as Tongji. The powers they use are best understood as three different ‘schools’ of thought.

Channelers typically use scrolls, potions and the like part alchemist and part sorcerer. Through the uses of these materials as casting mediums they are able to perform miracles small and large from casting fireballs, to creating blades of moving wind, to healing wounds. Channeling is more of an articulate science than it is anything else with the formulas, incantations, and materials used have to be just right or things can just not work or go terribly terribly wrong. Channelers are considered by many as the most powerful of the Tongji for their versatility and ability to seemingly bend reality to their will, but resultantly they are also very very rare as it takes typically a lifetime committed to study to actually use their power to any effect, as a result most are just old souls trying to gain back the youth of their glory days.

Binders are the type most commonly seen in the South. Binding unlike channeling is less based in science and study and more upon feeling and understanding. A binder can as their name suggest bind spirits and demons to their will through pacts of communion. Some spirits are little more than floating orbs of light that help guide their path, others more vengeful creatures are fearsome beast of battle that will fight their foes to the death, and some binders have been known in dire circumstances to bend animals and in rare cases humans to their will, though such arts are looked down by many as dark and evil things. Generally the rule of thumb with binding is the stronger the things will is the harder it is to bind them which is why controlling humans is feat only performed by very powerful and very desperate binders.

There are also of course Physical users, Men and Women that devote their entire lives to achieving harmony through bodily strength and sheer force of will. By harnessing their own inner strength and tapping into these energy they are able to do feats considered miraculous by the common man. Shatter armor with a series of punches, catch arrows out of the air, jump walls with great leaps. But such users typically devote themselves to lives of simple living in isolated monasteries and for them to take place in affairs simple as common warfare would be great indeed. Though it is not unheard of simple soldiers being able to tap into such abilities in times of great stress when they exert themselves to the fullest.

_technology.

---

It is time of learning and new technologies despite or maybe because of the war. Steel exists but is a relatively new invention in the scope of time with most weapons and armor still made of iron. The firelance predecessor to what one would recognize as a gun exist but they and their larger cannon sized brethren are still made of bamboo wherein they are used once and then discarded for more traditional tactics their inaccuracy and tendency to explode on the user making them more of a scare tactic than anything else. And so the prefered ranged unit of the day is still the crossbow. The horse gained after the pacification of the East has been introduced by this point into everyday life including warfare and the first cavalry units had been formed. It is fun fun fun.

_bestiary

---

_{Demons and Spirits encountered will be listed here}

[Medjedovic]

Why is this OOC so quiet?

@Hexaflexagon can you elaborate on the binding more? Like, if I decide to make a binder, will I bind a new thing every fight or will I start with one spirit/demon/thingy and then bind more during the RP like Pokemon?

[Malchivo]

I am working on a sheet :)

[Medjedovic]

Fuck man, I'm only left with Skills, Equipment and Other fields blank and I have no idea what to put in them.

[Gwynbleidd]

Hex rollin' in clutch with dope looking OOC background story and art as usual.

Time to Xiahou Dun some Yellow Turban losers.

[Vec]

If this is even remotely related to the wuxia/xianxia/xuanhuan genres of fantasy fiction, I will have to give it a try!

[mickilennial]

Hex rollin' in clutch with dope looking OOC background story and art as usual.

Time to Xiahou Dun some Yellow Turban losers.

@Dark Wind

I think that’s one of my concerns with this – I’m unsure if this is a sandbox where we’re left to do whatever or if it’s a linear RP following the bandits. Nothing is really explicitly said in the OOC regarding this so I am rather confused. Hex really should clear this up!