Qigekki Order

The Qigekki are an elite mostly female(around 99%) order of warrior Inquisitors within the Zhu Empire. Chosen by genetic mutation they all share characterized by more wild and powerful chi than usual, they are trained from the onset of puberty in various special camps around the empire. These harsh and brutal camps train them in the ways of the warrior and condition them into seeing themselves as the wrath of the religion, something them and the squad they are put into are expected to take into their daily life. Their purpose is to combat threats to the religion as well as general things that are against it, from demons and rebel cults to heretical citizens spreading their ideas. They are sent as small squads to do various missions, with countless operations going on each year all across the world and beyond, at least one of the squads on a mission each week. They are sent out on missions that range from the quick exterminating a small cult, to more long term jobs sending them to temporary hide outs or traveling in foreign lands for extended periods. Outside of missions they are expected to watch out for and take care of threats to the faith, killing any proven cultists, demons, or anti zhu rebels they find. If they simply suspect someone of connection to such things or of general heresy and trying to incite people against the religion they can bring people into regional Qigekki grounds for trial. No one can refuse and not cooperating grants the Qigekki the right to kill the person on the spot with no legal consequences, as well as putting on trial or killing any others who interfere. The sole exceptions are nobles who can force a Qigekki to halt for one day, after which if no word from command they can continue to their jobs no matter what the noble says. Regional nobles and above can’t be confronted by normal Qigekki and after evidence is collected, must be dealt with by Regional Command or the High Council, the latter of which has the authority to force even the Imperial family to do tests of faith or put them on trial with an unanimous vote. Qigekki of all levels are exempt from all authorities baring the Qigekki Order and the Empress herself, and any problems with them must be taken to the High Council who run and govern over the Qigekki . The government otherwise has no hold over them, and they expected to do whatever must be done to fulfill their tasks, something that makes them both feared and heavily respected within society.

Duties:

Protect Zhu: It the priority of any Qigekki regardless of rank or type to protect Zhu by any and all costs. This refers to protection in a big picture sense, but some Qigekki take this on a more local level and take it as their duty to always protect people from threats if they are nearby. This does not speak the Empire itself, but of the species in whatever form is best for it.

Cleanse Corruption: There are natural enemies of the sea and chi and their corruption threatens to damage the environment as well as the hearts of people. A Qigekki must remove both before they spread too far, and look into any reports of it.

Protect The Faith: A Qigekki is to always protect the faith, from threats that seek to destroy or disrupt it. Those who seek to do so should be shown no mercy and do not deserve the honor of a trial.

Enforce The Faith: A Qigekki most enforce living by the standards of the Great Mother and her prophets when she sees the opposite happening. Warnings for minor mess ups such as slight blasphemous speak or ill-suited actions, and trails for those she suspects are more sinister.

Embody The Faith: A Qigekki should be a living embodiment of the 5 tenets of faiths to set an example for all those around them.

Five Tenets of Faith:

The core tenets of the kind of person a devout child of the Great Mother should be. How exactly to embody them is up to interpretation as there is no official direction for them.

Strength: Weakness in all of its forms is to be challenged and overcome and not allowed to fester within one's body, mind, or soul. To accept the weakness within is to fail the Great mother and accept dishonor.

Courage: Never allow fear to take hold of your mind, one must fight through it and continue on with whatever causes them distress. To follow Zhu is never whimper in the face of fear, but to bear your fangs and destroy it.

Loyalty: Blood may be thicker than water but Loyalty is stronger than blood. Your loyalty must be the most sacred bond you have no matter who it may be too. When you swear loyalty you must stay true to it as long as it stays honorable, the faith and those who you are loyal to must take precedence over any others.

Honor: The most important of all tenets is to be an honorable person at all times. To disregard Honor is to forsake the Great mother and be a blight on society and those above you. Even in the face of certain death, Honor must be maintained for the integrity of one's soul is more important than the vessel of flesh

Discipline: Having control over one’s life, keeping yourself balanced in the aspects that form a proper Zhu. You must be able to control your emotions and reign yourself in when needed, or have the strength of will to force yourself to learn how. You don't abandon tasks of import and force yourself to see them through to the end. You must be in complete control and no instincts or circumstances should win over your mind unless you want them to.

 Qigekki:

Qigekki Warrior: The most common type of Qigekki is the Qigekki Warrior, the Death Dealers of the Great Mother. Split into squads these are the Qigekki that undertake the various missions given by their commanders and are who drags people off for trials and on occasion slays people in the middle of a street. Any large scale combat operation fill be filled with them as there are essentially the military of the Zhu religion. Their primary focus is to take up the various missions given to them and follow up on local reports, but they are also told to handle any relevant problem that they happen to come across as they see fit.

Qigekki Guard: A type of Qigekki trained to defend things and areas as their primary focus. They get moved around a lot but their focus is watching over and protecting holy sites, artifacts of religious significance, and serve as security for large scale religious events. In ancient times they were the bodyguards of the prophet herself and as such it is a position of high regard, these Qigekki don’t involve themselves in trials and have the authority to kill anyone to protect what they are watching over, told to never given more than one warning from a distance. They don’t guard the Qigekki buildings as that task tends to fall to the Qigekki Warriors.

Qitontai: They are the Qigekki of the shadows; they start off in the same camps but are quickly moved into a more hidden location for special training. While the rest of the Order reacts to threats to the faith they are tasked with preemptively taking them out before they can become a proper threat. They are spies and assassins and most are unknown to all but the High Council until after their death and sometimes their retirement if they gain considerable honors.

Qigekki Guide: While still combat trained these Qigekki focus more on the spiritual side of things and often are taught various magics in addition to their chi abilities. As their name implies they help guide others on the proper path, and maintain the various holy sites, they are also called on to battle spirits. Their most important job is creating and altering the Tests of Faith, physical and spiritual trials the Qigekki sometimes force people to go through testing both their fortitude and their will/faith in the Goddess.

Command: Various Commanders and the people apprenticing to replace them and other officers. They mostly work within a large building within each sector where they sort out the various missions and assign Qigekki squads to deal with it, or post open ones. They control the various operations and collect the evidence found against people, these are always older Qigekki though very promising young ones tend to work alongside them in directing other Qigekki around. The majority of trials are presided over by them.

The High Council: Above the sector command is the Qigekki High Council. These are the 11 Qigekki in charge of the entire order and have the final say in all of the affairs. Any actions against a high ranking noble has to be approved by them, and with an unanimous agreement they can even put the Empress herself on trial. They are in the position until death in which new ones are chosen by the High Priestess upon approval of the Empress and Matriarch. If those three also agree they are capable of removing the Council and replacing them.

Tribal lore

Will do a more indepth post later but here is some tribal stuff for some new worldbuilding



The Vek-Rhra Tsenu or Tribals as they are commonly called, are the descendants of the various indigenous people of the Zhu empire. Before the prophet Zhu Shang formed the empire, the Vek-Rhra were scattered tribes living in the various lands touched by the Sea of Chi. Each was different but they all shared a few cultural themes and gave the sea of chi religious focus. They mostly lived in small settlements dotting the landscape while some lived more nomadic life styles. While they all traced common ancestry they each were their own tribes with separate customs and beliefs. They lived in such ways for countless generations until eventually the prophet Zhu Shang came and led the various peoples to victory over the Dark Ones and their outsider armies. Following her example and the power she displayed most of the population quickly converted to her teachings and started to form the Zhu Empire, with various regions becoming kingdoms led by the lesser prophets. As the empire absorbed more and more of the Vek-Rhra, some rejected the idea and refused to be part of some new system.

While the Zhu people weren't happy about it, Zhu herself accepted their decision and reached an agreement with all who didn't want to be part of her new society. They would be allowed to continue their life style without persecution within the vast areas of wilderness that she sought to preserve and keep off limits for development. It was a deal that would last for all time, the tribals would be guarded from outset threats and allowed immunity from imperial law as long as they didn't interfere with things outside of the the designated lands.

As countless generations went by the two groups and the races within them began to drift apart as their cultures became more and more different and they even began to look different. Eventually the imperial Zhu began to resent the Tribals, seeing them as in the way and many seeing them as treacherous heathens instead of as sisters. The ancient decree was clear however so they couldn't outright get rid of their neighbors in the wilderness, instead they became much more proactive and strict about splitting up tribes that get to large. They increased restrictions on tribal traders entering imperial grounds and stopped the old programs of allowing Qigekki of tribal descent to be tutored in their cultures ways, as well as the old deals to get said Qigekki. Ri-kougar and rebel factions began to make hideouts in the same areas as them further increased imperial aggression as well as cause the general public to become more distrustful. In the modern day tribal communities tend to fear and distrust the empire, and there have been a handful of violent incidents in the past few decades. Even the tribals who move into imperial society tend to face a degree of discrimination when in the cities.

library spirits preview

A first look/preview of the spirits that work in the Palace library and at various other mystic locations within the palace area for the game.  

A Piece of Folklore

This is a piece of In-universe folklore written by a friend/contributor to the projects by the name of Jonathan Duckworth. There will be a couple of these over time to help give a look at the sort of stories that inspire the people within the setting. 

The Tale of the Two Fisherwomen and the Unlung

(A Lesson for Children)

The tribals tell a story that may be of edification for the children of the empire. The story goes that on a lesser island that has long since been swallowed up by the ages and the sea’s foam, there lived two fisherwomen. Their names were Lumang and Kunang. Kunang was short and boisterous and let her hair, which should have been quite beautiful, turn to knots, while Lumang was tall, soft-spoken, and sad eyed. She kept her hair oiled and tied neatly. From childhood they fished together, they built their huts next to one another, and even married a pair of brothers so that they would not be apart when living every third moon with their in-laws, as was the custom of this island. They lived a simple but happy life. The reefs around the island were blessed with bountiful fish, and for many generations hunger was unknown to its people. But all this changed one year when Lumang and Kunang were young women—an exceptionally long Sa came to pass, ripping the clouds from the sky as one sweeps away cobwebs. For many moons the reefs were always plunged in light, and the fish were driven mad by the constant trailing on of their own shadows, and too frightened in the clear water of predators to even eat. So the fish deserted the reefs, and the people began to starve.

At this point it should be said that she was lazy and her chi weak, Kunang was a clever young woman. There was a spring on the island—a sacred spring from which the islanders derived the greatest share of their drinking water. The spring was guarded by a spirit called an Unlung, a creature not quite of Kios but also not quite of The Dark Realm, born instead in one of the deep wells that exist on the edge of The Dark Realm . The Unlung was a dangerous but fair creature, allowing the islanders to take water from her spring provided they paid the proper respects, only taking as much water as they needed in specially-blessed sea-shells and never touching the water with anything else, or the Unlung would eat their Chi and leave the husks as warnings to others. But even knowing this, Kunang suggested that she and Lumang fish from the spring.

“This is foolishness, sister-mine,” Lumang said. “Everyone knows that the Unlung guards that spring and will not allow anything but a shell to enter it. If we were to put our hooks down—”

“I have already thought of that,” Kunang said, “It is said that the Unlung will only allow us to dip our shells in the water to take that which we need to sustain us. I see no reason why we cannot take fish as well as water, for that is what we need to sustain us now.”

“But how will we take fish from the spring with a shell?” Lumang asked.

Kunang explained her plan, which Lumang accepted, for Lumang was too hungry to argue with her friend’s cleverness. First they found the widest, deepest shell they could in one of the reefs and then had it blessed by the island’s priestesses. Once this was accomplished, Kunang weaved a line from the reef-spider webs—a strong material, but so thin that is almost invisible, thus the Unlung would not notice it—and with the shell and the webbing made a tool something like a bucket-and-rope in a poor farm’s well.

“So we have this contraption—but the fish will not bother with it without bait, and we cannot put bait into the water without angering the Unlung,” said Lumang.

But even here Kunang had a plan. She waited by the spring for the salamanders to come onto the banks to sun themselves and recharge the fire in their throats, and once they were on the banks she captured several of them and chopped off their tails, tying the tails to the shell with more spider line so that they would not drift away when put in the water.

“These salamanders and their chi are native to the spring—the Unlung will not notice the difference,” she explained.

Now came the last part of the plan: Lumang’s part. Lumang, tall and strong in body and chi, operated the shell and line, dropping it into the spring, waiting for the fish to smell the salamander tails and then, once the fish had started to nibble, pulling it up with such force and speed that the fish would be dragged out of the water and thrown to the shore. The plan worked. Thanks to Kunang’s cleverness and Lumang’s strength, the pair caught no less than ten fish in an hour, each one longer and heavier than the last.

“That’s enough, we have enough fish for a week now,” said Lumang. “Longer if we crush the bones into flour.”

But Kunang was too excited. “Enough for us, perhaps. But what of the rest of the island? Think of it, Lumang, we could feed everyone—they’d all be in our debt; we could be the queens of the island!”

And though Lumang felt great trepidation in her breast, she also desired to feed her family and her neighbors and so continued. Five more fish were dredged up by her mighty arms, but then came the sixteenth fish. This one was so large that it swallowed the shell, and when Lumang pulled it pulled back, dragging Lumang into the water. Kunang watched from the banks as Lumang disappeared, horrified that her friend was gone.

But the bubbles kept coming up. Then blood started to rise, staining the pristine surface of the spring. Lumang’s beautifully oiled hair breached the water. She was dragging up the dead fish—a fish almost twice her body’s length, so large that one would wonder how it could fit in such a small spring—by its tail, while clenching her bloody stone knife in her teeth.

“They’ll sing songs of you, Lumang!” Kunang cheered, kissing her friend on her lips, concerned not one bit over the taste of fish blood that covered every inch of her now.

For a moment, Lumang’s sad eyes became happy, like two perfectly carved pieces of blue coral in the sunlight.

But Kunang’s cheering turned to screaming, and then the screaming died too. Rising from the spring water, coming to tower over the fisherwomen was the Unlung.

She was fearsome and beautiful, pale as a fish’s belly. Instead of legs she had a long, scaly tail like a serpent’s. She had five eyes—two on each side of her egg-shaped head and a big, burning one at the center—, six breasts, and too many arms to count. The arms started were a person’s arms would be, but more arms grew along her side, becoming increasingly smaller until by the fifteenth row one could hardly distinguish the arms from little white hairs. When she spoke, she spoke with the voice of a woman underwater, and so it was difficult at first for the fisherwomen to understand her. The fisherwomen put water in their ears, and then they understood her perfectly.

“You have committed a great sin,” the Unlung said. The fisherwomen tried to speak, but the Unlung waved her thousand hands and they fell silent. She picked up Kunang’s device and inspected it. “Very clever,” she said. And even now, even frightened close to death, Kunang felt pride at this compliment. “Who crafted this?” she asked.

Kunang had a chance to accept her responsibility, but she was too frightened to speak. But Lumang, being the braver of the two, spoke up. “It was my fashioning, Great One.”

The Unlung did not believe her. “You? No, I sense no cleverness in you. Are you sure it was not your friend?”

Now Kunang had a second chance to do what was right, but still she was too afraid and Lumang spoke up for her.

“I’m the clever one, Great One, it was my folly that despoiled your spring. And besides, I touched the water, not her.”

The Unlung knew better, but she was awed by Lumang’s bravery and loyalty to her friend, however misplaced it may have seemed.

“I will give both of you the chance to beg for your lives,” she told them. “But only one may keep their life, while the other will be paid with death.”

Now Lumang was silent. She had no interest in begging for her life, and she would rather die than live without her friend Kunang. But Kunang was different. Kunang was quick to jump on the chance of saving her life, and so supplicated herself before the Unlung. Kunang did not have time to even cry out a farewell to Lumang before the Unlung descended on her, plunging her long tongue through Lumang’s navel and sucking out her chi as a woman sucks the juice from a fruit. She ate Lumang’s flesh and bones and hair, leaving only a shriveled skin. Kunang wept, horrified that her friend was gone and would not even pass on to the Sea of Chi. She prepared to run from the spring, but the Unlung held her there.

“I did not speak idly when I said one of you would be paid with death,” the creature said, pinning Lumang’s husk to Kunang’s back as if it were a cape. “Through my belly is direct passage to the Sea of Chi, your friend will be happy. But you—you must live with what you have done. You will walk throughout this island with your friend’s skin on your back. Everyone will see you and know that you have let your friend die, that you are a coward without honor.”

And so the Unlung sent Kunang off. Kunang’s husband would not touch her anymore. Her parents would not speak with her. When the fish eventually returned to the reefs, they would not even nibble Kunang’s hook. So it passed that a woman who dreamed of being queen of the island became its lowest outcast. She survived on tree roots and rainwater and the charity of strangers. As she grew older, the skin on her back seemed to grow longer and heavier. There came a time when the skin came to outweigh Kunang herself, and she could no longer move. Pinned, unloved, and broken, Kunang looked up to the sky. It was Fu now, a very severe Fu indeed, and the rain started to fall. She opened her mouth to the rain and let it fill her, now longing for death. But when death came, the weight of the skin held her chi in her body, keeping her far from the Sea of Chi and her friend, Lumang. Even after the island sank below the water, it’s said—by the tribals of the lesser islands—that Kunang still exists somewhere deep in the sea, lost to honor but perhaps not to mercy, for there may come a day when Lumang, eternal friend, comes to collect her. Or so the tribals say. Wise children should know that Kunang would not have to wait if she’d done the right thing in the first place.

The School of Magi

History

While magic has been utilized and studied across Kios from the very first days that people began to walk along its surface there was no central organization that handled magic as it related to the Zhu until the beginning of the modern Zhu Empire.  It's earliest incarnation was much more simple and was literally one school in which some of the Zhu prophets taught people the basics of magic and more select people were taught higher understanding and spells.  From there it began to grow as more and people began to learn what many thought of as the correct way of magic, forming the foundation for the modern form as more and more people began to teach others over the generations.  Over time various people were teaching what they had learned about magic all over the Empire creating a rather robust Magi caste.


Eventually attempts were made centralize all this knowledge and ensure that everyone was learning the same principles and methods.  Eventually these efforts formed the School of Magi a branch of the government focused in all things magic including education as well as military applications.  While it has been updated and adapted to new theories and magics since then, it had always stayed the same at its core only changing the details and not its foundation regardless of who ran it or what theories were leading at the time.

Role

The School of Magi is government run organization that is in charge of all things magical as they relate to the Empire. As its name suggests it 's primary function is running all the schools for Magi and all the classes in non magic schools that involve magic. One doesn't need their training to practice magic, but if you want to work in a magical field within the empire you have to be at least licensed by them. Any one teaching magic to non family members is required by law to pass the School of Magi teaching exam, and any course dealing with magic must be approved by them. Their schools have a reputation of being some of the best in the known Universe (only counting space faring races) and have much higher percentage of aliens and foreigners then the rest of the Empire. A fact that is also helped by their more accepting nature due to the dangers of untamed magic being greater than any nationalism they may hold.


Outside of schools they are the primary source of funding for magical research, expeditions, new magic based technologies, and defensive barriers. They supply the military with battle magi, and normally are the ones supply royals with their Gakeouzu( not always though). Essentially if it's important and involves a magi or a lot of magic, it more than likely is the result of the School of Magi. Unless it's necromancy or demon summoning as such things are outlawed.

Licenses

Trainee: Self explanatory, still in the basic training.

Rank 2: Mastered or are very skilled in the basic concepts and is currently studying intermediate spells and classes. Qualified to be an assistant to any higher ranked Magi and to use magic in public areas or the work place.

Rank 3: An Intermediate level Magi, qualified enough for most magic related jobs. Such as teachers, Combat Magi, enchanter, magic maintenance person.

Rank 4: Someone who was at the top of their class in the studies, an Expert mage. If you plan on working in a lab and researching all the most potent and rare items you'll have to be a rank 4.  Most of the more complex spells or permanent effects require rank 4.

Archmage: Master Magi; required to be the head of a school, grant ranks, Judge magic related crimes.


Highmage: Reserved for the most powerful and influential magi around. They are the highest authorities within the school and tend to be Military Veterans as well. Can only be disciplined by two other Highmages or a high ranker Government official in general.

Zhu Religion

An explanation of the religion of characters such as Li Hua and Xing Yi


The dominant Religion of the Zhu Empire has no unique name in its but is referred to under the umbrella term of Zhu by most outsiders and in conversation with outsiders.  As old as the society itself it focuses on a set way of life and virtues that are to be followed and interpreted in a way that benefits both yourself and society.  In terms of Deities it is a monotheistic faith but with various lesser beings of power and prophets within the cosmology that are revered or of great power but not really worshiped.   It is a somewhat ethnocentric religion but it is more than accepting of others who follow similar codes of ethics.

Name

For most of the Empire's history their system of beliefs was completely nameless, it being so ingrained in to them and simply how they lived that the notion of it needing a name was strange to them and even offensive to some.  It wasn't something labeled or really discussed it simply was just as they just were, what more was there to it? It was only when they began having more and more communication with other cultures that the need for labels and names become more important for explanations and reference purposes.  They settled on the name Zhu as a collective term for the people, the language, and their faith/philosophy.  Zhu was them in all of their aspects so why differentiate?

In Society

The Religion is as mentioned, completely inseparable from the Empire as it is the foundation of it.   Priestesses and such are important members of government, ethics are shaped by what the teachings of it dictate, and the belief is the primary thing that binds each race to one another and makes them so loyal.   There are temples in every neighborhood and attendance is mandatory for Zhu at least once a week, though more encouraged.   The Temples are important community centers and how the religious community sees someone has a large baring on how the rest of society sees them.  Religious stories and aspects are taught in all schools and whole castes of society are devoted to areas of it.  Blasphemy is regarded as a serious crime for Zhu, and a moderate crime for non Zhu.  

Beliefs

The System

The Zhu refer to Existence as The System, a sort of incomprehensible Cosmic machine  with mechanisms that span all of time and space running concurrently across all dimensions and realms simultaneously at all points in time.  Given the vastness and age of the System there is no definite religious answer to who if anything created it, and what exists beyond it.  The system is conscious to an unknown degree, somewhat aware of what goes on inside of it.  Creating what could only be described as antibodies to cleanse the Universes that form inside of it, purging them after a while and leaving no trace of them behind while the new one forms. 

It's callous disregard for what spawns within itself creates an endless cycle of universal creation and destruction; a Pattern of death and rebirth stretching across infinity on an unimaginable scale.  Some believe the system seeks perfection and destroys all that doesn't fit it's unknown definition of it.  Others believe the System is simply unaware of what is born within it, and destroys it out of fear once it finds out that more exists beyond it.  Others still feel the System was formed to monitor and contain something else.  All are theories that are debated by religious scholars and will likely continue to be far into the future.  

The Great Mother

The Deity of the Zhu Religion is a being known as the Great Mother, a powerful woman who came from the prior Universe.  Over the course of time she brought the various predecessor races of the Zhu people onto Kios before began to alter them into what would become their current forms in order to fit the landscape of the land she had made for the planet.  She is worshiped as a warm of loving creator, with people referring to death as returning to her loving embrace.  All religious activities are done in her honor as they hope to one day appease her enough for her to return to them, and make everything the way it was supposed to be.  Speaking ill of her is a criminal offense within the Empire, especially if the speaker is Zhu.  

After Life

There are three areas of life that the Zhu take note of: The Body, the Chi, and the Soul. When a Zhu dies they aren't buried but laid out somewhere away from wildlife with a sheet over their body, over the next few hours their chi converts their body into base nutrients and returns it to the ground (Though people with unstable Chi will literally burn up instantly upon death).  Both the Soul and the chi are brought into the Sea of Chi a mystical realm within the planets center where a vast sea of all the Empire's chi flows, seeping through the land and across space itself to the other areas. 

There the person's essence is processed by systems left in place by The Great Mother.  If a person was honorable their soul is moved on to be joined with her in a state of bliss and enlightenment their chi recycled and sent out into the world on its own, helping keep the land and people healthy (or stored for them to later return as divine warriors).  If they were a dishonorable in life both their soul and chi are kept together and recycled into a new life, that will have certain aspects and a vague memory kept over in hopes their soul can learn and have a more honorable life. 

Five Tenets of Faith

Strength: Weakness in all of its forms is to be challenged and overcome and not allowed to fester within one's body, mind, or soul. To accept the weakness within is to fail the Great mother and accept dishonor.

Courage: Never allow fear to take hold of your mind, one must fight through it and continue on with whatever causes them distress. To follow Zhu is never whimper in the face of fear, but to bear your fangs and destroy it.

Loyalty: Blood may be thicker than water but Loyalty is stronger than blood. Your loyalty must be the most sacred bond you have no matter who it may be too. When you swear loyalty you must stay true to it as long as it stays honorable, the faith and those who you are loyal to must take precedence over any others.

Honor: The most important of all tenets is to be an honorable person at all times. To disregard Honor is to forsake the Great mother and be a blight on society and those above you. Even in the face of certain death, Honor must be maintained for the integrity of one's soul is more important than the vessel of flesh

Discipline: Having control over ones life, keeping yourself balanced in the aspects that form a proper Zhu. You must be able to control your emotions and reign yourself in when needed, or have the strength of will to force yourself to learn how.  You don't abandon tasks of import and force yourself to see them through to the end.  You must be in complete control and no instincts or circumstances should win over your mind unless you want them to.   

Institutions

Temples

Temples are the primary location of worship in the Zhu religion, one in every neighborhood they vary from modest home sized buildings to massive castles. Much like the size the contents vary based on location and need but some things are universal. There are always areas designated for both prayer and meditation, normally a specially marked section of the floor covered in mats or special seals.  There is seating areas in various parts of most temples, or a somewhat large section of the smaller ones.  An altar and statues of whatever patron prophet or various ones if a larger temple, religious texts, and various private rooms for when people need to be more isolated for whatever reason.   

Religious services are usually done on either and individual level or in small groups, only in very special occasions with a large group at one time.  More normally an individual or small group is assisted by a priestess who aids in prayer, consul, meditation and various rituals.  Depending on the size of the temple there are anywhere from 5 to hundreds of priestesses, either security golems or warriors hired as guards, and some have dragons of their own which help watch over the place and take supplies back and forth places.  The Temples are open all day and night never without at least a few people on staff and always willing to aid whoever needs shelter, help, or just wants to get closer to the Great Mother.  If one has nowhere else to turn they'll always find a reassuring shoulder, a warm meal, and a place to sleep regardless of their race or actual religion for honor compels them to help any who need it. 

Priestesses

The primary and most common job regarding the religion is the all female staff that are the public's guide and aid to the faith.  They are government employees that work at the temples closest to their home, aiding in prayer, teaching religious tales and lessons, group meditation, consoling,  and general work within the community.  Priestess are required to always be willing to help those who are in need, and if a dishonorable person seeks redemption they are required to aid them in the task and speak on their behalf in regards to any trouble they've got in.  This isn't a get out of jail free card for the criminal since the priestess has to actually believe they want to change, and even then it only reduces the sentence and not actually removes it all together.  They are well respected in the community and serve as sort of community mother and big sister figures to many people of all ages for how much they assist others and their warm friendly attitude.

To become a priestess one has to go through a year of classes which take place every day at the temple, and once they prove they have learned the basics and concepts they are made a priestess in training where they shadow a more experienced Priestess for several years learning more and more of the practices as well privately studying with them to ensure they become as dedicated and understanding as the job requires.  As time goes on they are allowed to do more and more things on their own until they are allowed to take a final test to prove they are ready.  The test involves memorization of several legends and holy texts, at least a basic understanding of how to do magic, consoling a person in need while the Head Priestess observes, explaining how the Five Tenets of Faith apply to  them on a personal level, and the sacrifice of their great accomplishment (if it's not a physical object then a symbolic sacrifice of it) on an altar to the Great Mother.  

Zhu (species)

Image of the Empress and her Adviser.  Any with this sort of coloring is done by Henry

Slight change from my character or concept specific posts to put some stuff on a species itself, just a brief bit on what they are like.  Just still showing what sort of stuff I'm working with.



Zhu is a general term for the collective of species and are the descendants of the final creatures created by the Great Mother.  They are natives of the Zhu Empire, a space faring highly militaristic society that originated on the planet Kios.  A diverse species made up of 4 very distinct races and many more sub-races, they are all largely humanoid in shape though with various non human traits.  Outside of their military they are a race most known for their natural attunement with energy and their intense love for nature.



While there are differences between the various Zhu races they all share certain key biological traits as well as certain things programmed into their minds.  Most notably is their chi, the backbone of all Zhu life.  Unlike most other creatures their chi isn't some passive energy that flows through all life forms, instead a unique living energy; their true selves in a sense.  It is housed in their dantian like with humans but it is made up of an unknown energy type, theorized to have been brought into the Universe with the Great Mother.   This energy is naturally drawn to others for the purposes of absorbing, granting every Zhu the ability to absorb energy and perceive all forms of it. These sense of energy perception is their strongest allowing them to fully navigate their environment through it as well as communicate with one another and other chi based creatures.  Their ability to absorb energy is very powerful and can be used as a substitute for actually eating if the individual has strengthened the ability enough.

As they are at their core, energy beings, their physical shell is moldable to a degree making the Zhu populace latent shape shifters.  Some speculate they were meant to have full control over their forms but the process wasn't fully developed, and others say it was a quirk that developed randomly through evolution.  Regardless of how and why it is known that Zhu are capable of altering their bodies to a degree, most commonly in things such as forming claws, fangs, and in rare cases extra sets of arms.  So far all instances of shape shifting are known to be additions to the body such as that, though it is possible more advanced techniques exist and are kept hidden from most people.

While all Zhu have free will, their minds are inclined to certain ways of thinking most notably towards preferring balance with one another and the environment, leading to them being very strict conservationists.  Each Zhu race taking the minimum amount from the environment and leaving the vast majority as it was initially created by The Great Mother.  Great care being taken to ensure everything is and every creature is kept in stable numbers and in as close to the proper condition as is possible.   A large example of how such a thing consistently is shown is through every Zhu being born with an innate connection to their dragons.  If a baby Zhu sees a baby dragon the two will instantly be comfortable around each other and even communicate through altering the wavelength of their chi.  Similar innate interaction exist with other intelligent lifeforms in Zhu, leading to a deep understanding with every related race around them.

The Evolution of Zhu (Concept)

When I first came up with the setting that Empress Li Hua lived in, it was more or less just a means to an end.  It was little more than "here's a place where they do martial arts" but soon after I decided to really look at it and began to take inspiration from things like Jade empire and kung fu flicks to slowly but surely add on to it.  It was a large island on some world that was vaguely described, but really outside of the fact that it had the standard martial arts mystic power going on it was basically just another china stand in.  That didn't really change until I started to change the Empress herself, feeling no need to even hold on to former limitations.

The Zhu people became their own distinct species, with various races of their own as well as a fleshed out origin and explanation for their similarity to humanity.  The island of Zhu Shang Qiao ceased to be their whole nation and was changed to be merely the capitol kingdom of a much larger Empire.  That Empire itself fitting into my new way of handling things as it went from a straight fantasy setting into what I'd consider an even mix of fantasy and science fiction.  Zhu retained their mostly magical roots but now they were part of a larger universe filled with races and groups of all tech magic levels.  As time went on it progressed more and more into it's current state the people and Empire they live in no longer being just a place to have martial arts fights and a unique world all their own with those inspirations and the concept of chi merely a fundamental building block instead of the entire thing.

Empress Bio

Art once again by Henry

The Empress is as the name suggests the ruler of a place known as the Zhu Empire, the main setting of my current projects.  She serves as the main protagonist of the second time line, representing a leader caught between the traditions of her society and the increasing need to modernize in a more complex world.   

Li Ling is the daughter of the one of the more loved Empresses of recent times, her parents teaching her some degree of duty and responsibility but mostly allowing her to learn on her own.  As such her youth was mostly spent trying to find new ways to have fun and throwing parties, even the skills she gained from training were mostly applied for tricks.  She had numerous misadventures that will stick with her for the rest of her life, but her story really begins at age 18.  A few weeks past her birthday a demon mostly known through legend mysteriously got into the palace him and his minions assaulting the place from within suddenly and without warning.  Despite their best efforts, her mother was killed and her gravely injured, her father having to give his life to destroy the demon.  Unable to handle what had occurred the now Empress left with her grandmother, leaving the Empire to fall upon it's back up government measures as she left her nation behind.

Several years later she returned, finding herself mentally ready to take the throne.  It was a long journey of her traveling around and working to muster up enough support to claim the throne of her various family members vying for the Imperial seat above the other kings and queens, but eventually she carved out her true place at the head. Since then her rule has been a very controversial one her policies moving more and more into an area many find uncomfortable as she seems to regard less and less of tradition as the years go by.  She is loved for her strong dislike of bureaucracy and focus on defending and helping even the smallest part of society, but the massive love for her is becoming more and more towards her as a person and less as a leader as time goes on.  With already major internal conflict under her belt, only time will tell where her rule will lead and if the martial strength she possesses will be enough to face the next coup.