Xiang Feng

In the eastern mountains of Dath lays the hidden lands of Xiang Feng, commonly known as the "Serene Peaks'. This reclusive nation of the world prefers to be left alone, though respects those who come to its lands.

The Humans of Xiang Feng are the only ones who acknowledge the true origins of Humanity as slaves of the Invaders. They feel deeply responsible for the ruin their ancestors brought to the world, especially their neighboring land of Dath. As such, they tend to live simple, ascetic lifestyles.

They do however, still poses a standing army. Through some spiritual means, the people of Xiang Feng have managed the preserve their lands, somewhat similarly to the Fey Courts. Because of this, they are occasionally attacked by the tribes of Dath and even Xhalandar. The people of Xiang Feng however, have turned combat into an art form, and possess well constructed mountain strongholds.

History
Xiang Feng attributes its founding to Mù Lǐngdǎo, a commander in the slave legions of the Invaders. In the early days of the Invasion, the dark legions swarmed across Dathenay, fighting with the beings of Wings and Light as well as the Dragons of the Sky. Although Mù was a loyal warrior, ascending in the ranks higher than a man normally could within the dark legions, he found beauty in both the land and the passion of its peoples to defend it.

And so Mù cast off the shackles of the Invaders, and turned his forces against his dark masters. Even so, the loyalist forces were too great. The Broken Sea came to be and Dathenay was reduced to tainted ashes. Upon a single mountain however, in a great golden citadel, Mù and the land’s remaining defenders had one final stand. They were utterly decimated, but not without inflicting considerable harm against the Invaders. Their attention drawn elsewhere, the Invaders left mountain silent, and the lands beyond pristine.

The survivors would go on to settle the remaining fertile lands, riding out the rest of the Invasion. As Xiang Feng was mysteriously protected from the wasting of the world, Xiang Feng's time keeping organizes itself into different ages separate from the Cycle system used by other lands.

The Period of 31 Kings (0/0 - 154/1 AI, 554 years)
Following the Invasion, the lands of Xiang Feng split into roughly 31 city states focused along the two major rivers of the land, 5 of which were actually Kinnara. The mountains were generally left as a natural barrier and monument to the sacrifices had been made. The divisions were less antagonistic, and more people were focused on surviving and building a new society rather than deciding who got to be top of the totem pole.

Many of rulers at this time became immortalized as part of their developing ancestor worship.

Kinnarate Period (154/1 - 944/1 AI, 790 years)
This was the first unification of Xiang Feng following a failed invasion from Dath. The devastating effects of the dark machines used by both the Dathi invaders as well as some of the Fengese city states lead to general desire to rid Xiang Feng of these tools. While the Kinnara, who had no ability to control such devices, headed the movement, many Humans also sided with them having witnessed the effects of them. Following the civil conflict, Xiang Fang unified under the rule of Kinnara.

This period invented the concept of the Mandate of the Heavens, the idea that the ruling party had been put in charge by Thanh. It was believed that a ruler lost the Mandate of the Heavens when natural disasters occurred in great number, and when, more realistically, the sovereign had apparently lost his concern for the people. In response, the royal house would be overthrown, and a new house would rule, having been granted the Mandate of the Heavens.

However, the Kinnara had cast aside their normally jovial, light hearted ways. Some would say they had cast off the favor of El-Rabee. While they were successful in ridding Xiang Feng of Invader technology, they slowly became more tyrannical and authoritarian in their search for 'purity'. While much of the Kinnarate's years were relatively peaceful, there were a number of rebellions in its later years, which only created a cycle of rebellion and authoritarian escalation.

The burning of the Library of Qingshan marked the destruction of perhaps the best record of of the Invasion and pre and first cycle periods, and is believed to have sparked the rebellion that ultimately lead to the end of the Kinnarate.

Warring States Period (944/1 - 246/2 AI, 302 years)
The collapse of the Kinnarate under the weight of repeated uprising lead to the deaths of many Kinnara. The surviving members of the race headed into the mountains, where their survivors would fall under the protection of Thanh and seek to atone for their actions. For most people, the Kinnara fade into myth and legend past this point.

This was a bloody period ruled by warlords who fought over control of Xiang Feng while also repelling further assaults from Dath, though none so successful or threatening as the one that had lead to the unification under the Kinnara in the first place. It is during this time that most demons found their way into Xiang Feng.

Through the machinations of Qingshan, Xiang Feng was on the path to re-unification when it was invaded by Xhalandar.

Xhali Occupation (246/2 - 288/2 AI, 42 years)
With the onset of the Summer years for the rest of the world, the merchant lords of Xhalandar sought to make up for their drying lands by conquering Xiang Feng. Mustering a great army of slaves and mercenaries, the merchant kings sent their forces north with the promise of freedom, wealth, and verdant land.

Due to their reliance of slaves and mercenaries, the Xhali occupation forces eventually rebelled against their own leaders and sided with Fengese uprisings. It is this lack of a professional army that eventually lead to the Xhali creating the Golden Legion.

Often called the 'New Heroes' the rebel leader of this time, such as Xidao Shi Huang and Shénshòu, became another major generation of venerated ancestors.

Xidao Dynasty (288/2 - 303/2 AI, 15 years)
Though the unified reign of the First Xidao Emperor lasted only 12 years, he managed to subdue great parts of what constitutes the core of the Xiang Feng homeland and to unite them under a tightly centralized Legalist government seated at Xianyang. The doctrine of Legalism that guided the Xidao emphasized strict adherence to a legal code and the absolute power of the emperor. This philosophy, while effective for expanding the empire in a military fashion, proved unworkable for governing it in peacetime. The Xidao Emperor presided over the brutal silencing of political opposition, including the event known as the burning of books and burying of scholars. This would be the impetus behind the later Han synthesis incorporating the more moderate schools of political governance.

Major contributions of the Xidao include the concept of a centralized government, and the unification and development of the legal code, the written language, measurement, and currency of Xiang Feng after the tribulations of the Waring States period. Even something as basic as the length of axles for carts—which need to match ruts in the roads—had to be made uniform to ensure a viable trading system throughout the empire. Also as part of its centralization, the Xidao fortified the ports of Xiang Feng as well as moved the established strongholds in the western mountains, placing the capitol to where it remains to this day.

The tribes of former slaves to the south, collectively called the Júwàirén by the Xidao, were free from Fengese rule during the majority of the dynasty. Prohibited from trading with Xidao dynasty peasants, the Xiongnu tribe living in the Ordos region in southeast Xiang Feng often raided them instead, prompting the Xidao to retaliate. After a military campaign, the region was conquered in 295/2 AI and agriculture was established; the peasants, however, were discontented and later revolted.

A major Xidao innovation that has lasted till the modern era was reliance upon a trained intellectual elite.. They were civil servants appointed by the Emperor to handle daily governance. Talented young men were selected through an elaborate process of imperial examination. They had to demonstrate skill at calligraphy, and philosophy.

After Emperor Xidao Shi Huang's unnatural death due to the consumption of lodestone pills, the Xidao government drastically deteriorated and eventually capitulated in 207 BC after the Xidao capital was captured and sacked by rebels, which would ultimately lead to the establishment of a new dynasty of a unified Xiang Feng. Despite the short 15-year duration of the Xidao dynasty, it was immensely influential on Xiang Feng and the structure of future Fengese dynasties.

Minkai Dynasty (303/2 - 833/2 AI, 530 years)
A Golden Age for Xiang Feng, the Minkai Dynasty was a time of expansion and development. The threat of Xhalandar was forgotten and the meticulous regulations of the Xidao dynasty were no more. The Minkai provided a distraction for the general populous in the form of encouraging them into the armies to help bring the outlaying lands under control. Even the boarder regions with Dath were colonized to improve defense and grant access to more exotic minerals.

This era also gave rise to numerous schools across the land. Training, the martial, spiritual, and even arcane arts became formalized. No more were arcanists subject to persecution, and were instead seen as an asset in Xiang Feng's defense.

After the initial laissez-faire policies of previous rulers, the ambitious Emperor Wu brought the empire to its zenith. To consolidate his power, the Way, which emphasizes stability and order in a well-structured society, was given exclusive patronage to be the guiding philosophical thoughts and moral principles of the empire. Imperial Universities were established to support its study and further development, while other schools of thought were discouraged.

After Emperor Wu, the empire slipped into gradual stagnation and decline. Economically, the state treasury was strained by excessive campaigns and projects, while land acquisitions by elite families gradually drained the tax base. Various consort clans exerted increasing control over strings of incompetent emperors and eventually the dynasty collapsed during the Night of Madness.

Period of Madness (833/2 - 884/2 AI, 11 years)
At the end of the Minkai Dynasty was the Night of Madness. For reasons unknown, the Primordial Ghadab was summoned to Castores by a Fengese arcanist, bringing with it an age of chaos. Records from this time are a disorganized mess, with sons giving birth to their fathers, cats chasing dogs, nine moons occupying the sky, and an outrageous amount of cheese being produced.

During this uncertain time, the Unified, a foreign cult following a strange god were a beacon of sanity. Eventually however, Ghadab was cast back into the void, and while the Unified attempted to seize power over the Fengese, the Way ultimately won out.

Kasai Dynasty (884/2 - 127/3 AI, 243 years)
Following the passionate expansion, exploration, and eventual insanity of the Minkai Dynasty, the Kasai took Xiang Feng in a more puritan, ascetic direction. Magic was tightly watched and controlled by the state, artists were regulated and contracted. It would later be considered a grey age, existing to restore order after the appearance of Ghadab. Stagnate, but not cripplingly so.

Four Kingdoms Period (127/3 - 207/3 AI, 80 years)
After the grayness of the Kasai, they were overturned by the Poet's Rebellion. In the power vacuum, four houses rose to prominence. Often romanticized by later generations, it was not just an age of conflict but also of cultural revitalization.

Ueusugi Dynasty (207/3 AI - Current)
As seems to follow period of division in Xiang Feng, the Four Kingdoms Period came to an end with an invasion from Xhalandar. This time the merchant kings had the Golden Legion, the renowned as the greatest fighting force in the world.

While the threat was greater than before, the Xiang Feng was now fortified, and its citizenry were educated and trained to repel invaders. The Four Kingdoms afforded eachother a temporary truce. In the end, Xiang Feng won more through numbers than quality, for the Golden Legion was not to be underestimated. The Legion however eventually proved too expensive for a drawn out foreign invasion and was forced to withdraw.

With their homeland defended, the Four Kingdoms were enemies once more, however the Ueusugi, the northernmost Kingdom, was the least impacted by the conflict, and easily beat their beleaguered rivals. Still, for their bravery on the field, the Ueusugi Emperor allowed his former rivals to keep their lands in a show of benevolence, provided they swore fealty to him.

In 397/3 AI, Ahmed headed east. The Fengese were at first wary of the arrivals. An army of such size had never marched upon their mountain strongholds in the name of peace rather than war.

However the Emperor allowed them entrance into their cities in hopes of better understanding the foreigners. Ultimately Xiang Feng would not be lending its forces to Ahmed's movement, though agreed not to oppose it either. They merely considered Ahmed's forces too warlike, and with their little paradise they did not suffer the same trials as the rest of the world. It also didn't help that Lorath Wind, Ahmed's bastard, was rumored to have had developed a thing with the Emperor's daughter.

In 406/3 AI, the imperial family was assassinated by the Emperor's brother. Appearing legitimate through deception, the brother assassinated any servants and retainers who suspected foul play and has waged a secret war with Uesugi Hiromitsu, the Emperor's surviving son, since.

Chūqù Wán
Perhaps the most of Xiang Feng most outsiders see, Chūqù Wán is a frontier settlement built along the coast where the steep mountains of Xiang Feng meets both the rest of Dath and the Devouring Sea. It was originally settled by outcasts and bandits before developing into what some consider the gateway into Xiang Feng.

Chūqù Wán is known to travelers as the Hanging City for many reasons. Visitors marvel at its cliffside rope bridges and gawk at its many hanging prison cells, temporary homes to ruffians, spies, thieves, and, worst of all, gambling cheats. She is a city built on vice; her two true loves are food and gaming, and she overindulges in both. Ruled by a fat, charismatic overlord whose wealth and fabled skill at games draws enthusiasts from across the land, Chūqù Wán  is a crossroads for some and a destination for others.

Most buildings in Chūqù Wán  are cut into the high, gray walls of the river canyon, between thirty and sixty feet off the ground. Their entrances are linked together by rope bridges and bamboo scaffolding, whose precarious footing can prove treacherous to the unwary. People approaching Chūqù Wán  from the busy river landings must either be hoisted up in cages or lifts, or climb many stories of rope-and-plank stairs.

Travelers coming overland must descend narrow, treacherous stairways meant to funnel and obstruct attackers in the event of a siege. Guests in Chūqù Wán  might encounter great hospitality and luxury, or squalid ruin. The city was built in and above ancient caves, some of which were once home to a variety of monsters. In other areas, tombs and shrines were carved into the cliffs by later residents.

Most of these caverns, both natural and chiseled, now have wooden fronts and anterooms affixed to the cliffs outside. Inside, the repurposed temples are decorated with gaudy fabric and fancy furniture to create a feeling of casual luxury that has become synonymous with Chūqù Wán.

At its highest point, far above the river, the city is posh and palatial. In its middle reaches, bustling

throngs crowd into low-ceilinged gaming dens, smoky taverns, and paper-walled teahouses. In the lowest areas, poor travelers and beaten-down residents throw stones and dice to test their luck, catch fish in the sluggish river, and sometimes disappear into the network of caves at the waterline, never to be seen again.

The Golden Palace
Atop the highest peak in Xiang Feng, the tallest mountain the world, stands the Golden Palace. A great structure that resembles the golden cities of Xhalandar, it is said that the oldest dragon in the world makes it roost here, guarded by the last remnants of a forgotten race. Only the most respected of the Fengese populace are permitted entrance.

Trivia

 * Xiang Feng was supposed to mean something but its translation is embarrassingly incorrect.