Aeravoins Cos oF re Dea APPENDIX: EIFIES OF TNE DEAD Tfaman take no thought about whats distant, he willfind sorrow near av hand. — Confucius, Analects The Middle Kingdom achitwilight of the Fourth ‘Age is quite far removed from the life experiences of ‘most Blood & Silk Storytellers and players, which can make getting started a litele difficult. In order to give Storytellers some additional tools with which to jumpstarta chronicle, this appendix coverssome of the major cities in the Middle Kingdom at the time. Wan, Kuef aredlargely urban ereatures, and these are some of the centers of rheir unlives. Any of these locations can be the center of a your chronicle ora port of call daring ‘your wu’s travels. Cuangan (Centrar Cjna) The city of Changan, once the'imperial/eapital, is fading graciously. The arcention ofthe Son of Heaven has been drawn away to the southeast, tojche éiry of Linan; ‘Changan waits like a privileged consort of the Imperial Cityjwvithin her high stone walls, hoping to once again draw the eye of the emperor before her beauty fades away, Liu Bang, the firstemperorofthe Han dynasty founded the city of Changan (meaning “long peace”) it 206 BCE to setve as the capital of his new empire. The citizens of ‘Changaniquickly became prosperous;ot only were they atthe bureaucratichubjof astrong, growing empire, they were also situated near the fertile Yellow River and avthe termination of a great trade route that stretched formiles across Asia to Antioch, Baghdad and Alexandria —the fabled Silk Road. Twelve crowded bridges erosed the ity’smoat, leading to [2)gates through-the 40-foot walls. Exotic trades fromthe Westand the East met in Changan's nine hubbub-filled markets, bartering woods, spices, pre- cious metals, gems, medicines and uncountable other trade goods or selling them for coin. As many as two million people lived inside and-outside the great walls during the Tang dynasty ‘With the end of the Tang in 907 CE, the Silk Road faded in prominence asthe warring princes and tribes attacked the merchantearavans to finance their troops. Changan’s markerplaces dwindled in number to two; several of the city’s gates were permanently closed for Jack of uses"The gates to the vast Imperial City are also closed Changan houses no mortal emperor, and the ‘chambers that once sheltered the Son of Heaven grow ‘coldin his absence. The chambers are not, however, empty. Upon the death of the final Tang ruler, the ancestor of the Yellow Emperor Court took possession of the imperial palace Mortals no longer pass through the majestic Chengtian Gate into the Imperial City; only the Wan Kuei of thecity and those mieSSengers or supplicants who bear ap- propriately sealed letters of recommendation may pass the sileniguards. While the city slides into quiet de- cline, the Wan Kuel have gréacer freedom than ever to live and move about as they.wish. The city's wealttiwas as much eurse as boon to, the scholars of the Yellow Emperor Gourt; now, sages and students may spend their nights in study and impenetrable seelisiony untemipred by the boisterous sounds of a thfiving city, the smell of spiced foods and wine or the lilt f song. Nicht Peopir oF Cuangan Many Wan Kuei left, of course, when the vici tudes of polities pulled the locus of power élsewher Those who remained and those who now travel tthe Yellow Emperor Court are dedicated s6 th€ acquisition, preservation and proper dissemination of the wisdom and writings of the Wan Kuei. The Yellow Emperor himself, Wang Hongben, and/hig wu-mates in| the Golden Jade Society lead thesmembers of his court by diligent example. He has pefSarially recorded commer taries on the Ki Chugrf and other sacred works; in recent years, he hasiwith@rawn into nearly total seelu- sion, conceritfating on the translation and coftumens tary of a new discovery — an ancient. vamipirie work written in a primitive styleofik@fa. In his consuming pursuit of knowledge, Wang Honghen has delegared most of the traditional duties of the ancestor, even the greeting of visiting Wan Kuei, to the eager and indus- trious jina and mandarins of Changan’s other wu. His distinguished visitors are, for the most part, under- standing — it is the wisdom earned from long study that they have come to the Yellow Emperor Court in search of, after all. The composition of the court at Changan varies Students, both, thosesfeshiftom,the Second Breath and! thoseywh® have come for long petiods of study, are organized into temporary wu. There are usually three or four student wu at any given time, In addition to the Golden Jade Society, there are three prominentw offina and mandarins who reside in the’eity: the Amber Wren, the Illustrious Scribesiofithe Yellow River and the Bronze Pennant. Eachiof these has thltypical duties of inscruct= ing young varapires along theirDharinic path and outside responsibilities assigned by the court. Lastly, there are visitors and supplicants from all the lands of the Middle Kingdom, who must seek thé approval of the Yellow Emperor before traveling on to entreat the Sages of the Fivefold Way who reside inthe Shaolin Monastery —an additional journey of 300-miles tothe east, and into Jin held lands. Many of these are turned baick at Changan — some of them having learned what they sought from the sages of Changan, others insteueted to seek further en lightenmenton theirown before troublingthebodhisattvas with unworthy requests.Avvenopx: Cres oF wt Drab Te Taree Wo ‘The members of the Amber Wren ww are responsible for overseeing the messengers utilized by the Yellow Emperor Courtand forauthenticating the tokens brought by those seeking to travel through or visit the court. The court uses a small number of Wan Kuei who have under- taken the Way of theéne Walker as messengers, in addition to-an unusual numberof mortiltraders and afew dhampyrs. The wu has become quite wealthy through the years, as their ScarletScreen traders enjoy the benefits of, safe passage through the White Tiger-controlled lands of the Silk Road. When messengers are in short supply, Amber Wren student —likely one who has been insolent or inattentive to herstudies—may be pressed into service as a messenger. The Illustrious Scribes of the Yellow River are granted the great responsibility of recopying the scrip- tures and works of the Wan Kuei for dissemination throughour the Yellow Emperor Court aud beyond. When necessary, the members of thigagu attend to the Sages of the Fivefold Way. at-Shaolin, to record thé! bodhisattvas’infrequenttsermons:A luckystudent who has proven himself diligent. may be permitted) to ac- company his sifu, to care or his brshes andiink andhto run errands. The students are more often kept busy perfecting theinkaja brushstrokes or, lately seaming to carve précise characters in blocks of wood. The Illusiti- ‘ous Sctibes have become enamoured with the concept of block printing, which has been in use by the mortals for three centuries; as a test, they have carved and printed the textof a short book of poemsby the Grand! Athat Xe, Footprints in Blood. The distribution of this obviously “mass” produced work has provoked heated discussion in courts across the Middle Kingdom, The Bronze Pennanewu is led by che First Oni of the Yellow Emperor Court, The members ofthis wware truly fearsome; they wield an impressive array of weaponry with deadly skill, are tained in the artvof mounted warfare, and are practiced wildemess travelers. Fearfull ‘rumors suggest that the Bronze Pennant weven uses: hand grenades and rockets. They are commonly Yang aspected, as even the best-trained horses'fear thé cold flesh of those aspected to Yin. Membership in this wu swells in number in times of trouble; those who survive are granted permission to temain with the wu, should they so choose. Rivainjes ano Djssenr This is the face that Changan preséints to outsiders Beheath the calm exterior, the city simmers with in- ‘trigue that might shock those expecting enlightened detachment from Changan's inhabitants. Observant insiders have noticed the Amber Wren wulsicoffers fairly spilling over since its membershave taken overthe Yellow Emperor's communications withitheother courts ‘Wi LishanySouthern, Windl6f the Amber Wren, has publicly claimed great suecess in far-flung ocean trading ventures, but the wus detractors claim that the Amber Wren is granting favors and promises that are not its to deliver. The Illustrious Scribes have become the toast of the town for their impassioned defense of their libraries and printing facilitieeogainet unknown assailanes, Frail- seeming Bone Dancer Tan Xuan alone defended the ‘wu’s printing blocks, the product of years of work, from aflaming-sword wielding attacker. While not wishingto seem ungrateful for the poems and dinners hosted in their,honor, the Illustrious Scribes are beginning to agitate for. full investigation into the attack on their holdings. Aind finally, the Rronze Pennant wu has swol- en to a fulldozen members, much to the consternation of more diplomatic members of the court. Devil-Tiger ‘Wei Anzang, the First Oni, points impassively to the u's longstanding tradition of allowing Wan Kuei pressed into service to remain withythewu; meanwhile, the cotirt begins to wondersjust how many martial ‘emergencies Changan could be having Dijuja (NORTHERN jNDjA) The fertile shores of the holy Yamana River have been inhabited for millennia. tn.736CEythe Tomar clan of the mighty Rajput family claimed the green hills as their own. They built opulent stone palaces and ‘earthwork fortifications and called their stronghold Lal Kor; among the prizes within Lal Kot’ sturdy walls was theron Pillar, arelic from the time of Emperor Ashoka, famous for its pristine surface after years of exposure to theelements. They raised a temple to the sun, the Suraj Kund, high above the surrounding countryside on an ‘earthen mound and piped in fresh spring water from the mountains as sacred offering. Less than a centuryago, the Chauhan Rajput took Dhillika and the surrounding territory, pushing the Tomars back into the hilly wilder- ness, The Chavhans built a fortress of ramparts around their new acquisition and called it Qila Rai Pithora. Te.was by fio means unusual for the Rajput clans to make war on each other, in faet, that seemsto have been the source of their greatést joy. The elans of the Rajput staked aclaim tonobility and the right to rule by claiming their common descent from almythical creature of flame that rose from the sacrificialfirepits of Mount Abu; each hore the name Agnikula, fie family,” in honor of their fiery ancestor. The other elans and families of the area (the Rashtrakutas, Pratiharas and Palas) were in no posi- tion to dispute the Rajput claim to kingship, having squandered their resources and manpower in decades of internecine fighting. Sweeping over all resistance, the Rajputclans claimed vas tractsofland, set up princedoms and fiefs and proceeded to fight amongst themselves just, as theinpredecessors had done. The Rajput brought the art of princely warin India to new heights. The meanest of princes took on fabulous titles, recording themselves in court documents as Majarahadhiraja, “king of kings.” Stylized, poetic insults