Hello again all!
I figured for this post, I’d give you all a little more background on the world so as to avoid any confusion later when, in character, I talk about things the reader should know. Firstly, as indicated in a prior post, this is an asian-inspired world from an unofficial Dungeons and Dragons source material called Heroes of the Orient. This source material was pulled from the store by the author, Marc Altfuldisch, back in April. As I have no intention of rehashing any conversations that happened back in April surrounding the content of this source book, I’ll let you read why Marc decided to pull it. He posted the announcement on his twitter:
Moving on, the world of our campaign is divided into several clans, all named after various animals. The lands are ruled over by the Jade Emperor who, according to the source material, “has absolute authority within the Jade Empire in regards to administrative, judicial, religious, and military might”. Though the book admits that the clans have a certain amount of their own autonomy. Much of the military power in the world are forces controlled by the clans themselves, after all. Each clan has their own customs and traditions, which result in both friendly and deadly rivalry. As I think it’s easier that I dump context on you as it’s needed rather than all at once, I’m going to introduce you to one clan today in this post; the Phoenix Clan.
The Phoenix Clan
The Phoenix clan is one of the seven Great Clans and described in the book as the wisest of the clans. Magic is widely practiced in Phoenix territory and they are also very religious. They take great pride in their shugenja, highly skilled wielders of magic. The forests of the Phoenix clans are especially dangerous without a Phoenix guide due to the prolonged use of magic in the area turning them into a have for fey and other dangerous creatures. In particular the forest to the east, known as the Viper Woods, is rumored to be home to maho-tsukais (blood magic users).
Religion
On the subject of religion, I won’t dive into everything the Orient believes in just now, but I have to introduce the Shijin. The Shijin are five powerful creatures, each with their own representation in the world. The two we’re going to talk about today are Genbu and Suzaku.
Genbu is the largest of the Shijin, as the whole of the Orient rests upon his back. He is known as the The Black Turtle, Great Guardian of the East, Aspect of Water, Lord of Winter, The Great Healer, and Father of Faith. If you look back up at the map above, you’ll see a large section to the East known as the Shadowlands. The Shadowlands are a corruption of taint upon the world, threatening to expand over the entirety of the Orient. It is said that if the Shadowlands cannot be contained, that Genbu will have no choice but to dive deep under the water, ending all life in the Orient, in order to contain the spread.
Suzaku is a large phoenix and known as The First Phoenix, Great Guardian of the North, Aspect of Fire, Lady of Summer, Giver of Life, and Mother of Knowledge.
What the Party knew…
This week, I’m going to share with you the backstory I gave to the party. What they didn’t know reading this is that the whole thing was fake. My character, introduced to the Party as Nash Yosoku, was using a fake persona to hide his true identity; an identity I will reveal to you all in time. So this backstory is what Nash presented to the world. Enjoy!
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Talent. Intelligence. Will. These are all things a promising young wizard needs to succeed in the deeply religious clan that is Clan Phoenix. Nash spent most of his life as a poor lowborn child with parents who had…issues. Well, to be fair, he never actually knew his father as the man rode in on a caravan one night, met and impregnated his mother, and rode out the next morning. His father, named Jia, was a bard and a member of the Weasel Clan. His mother was called Bian and was, simply put, a prostitute. Even in a city such as Sozo, prostitution was still a fact of daily life, perhaps even more so in a city so obsessed with religious principle.
Nash was born several months later and lived his entire life in the brothel where his mother worked. It’s not like he was the only one, having bastard children was commonplace in this line of work and Nash had several other children who had become his friends. Being a bastard, Nash didn’t even bother taking his mother’s last name and from the time he could walk, they had him working.
It was around the age of ten when the frustration of washing sheets mounted to an all time high. Nash would always remember this one, singular moment as the first time he cast a spell. He shouted to the sky in frustration and slammed his hands down on the sheets before him. Trying to calm his emotions, he looked down at the piled sheets at his feet. Whereas before they had been a pile of crumpled, filthy sheets with all manner of filth on them, they were now exceedingly clean and neatly folded. It took him a couple weeks to replicate the spell to consistent effect, but soon he could add Prestidigitation as the first spell he ever learned.
For the first time in his life, he didn’t feel like just another street urchin. He had potential and his drive and passion to be better than any before him rivaled only the sun in intensity. One night, a shugenja paid the brothel a visit, having heard tales of the young boy who could perform magic, albeit minor magic. Nash showed him all that he’d been able to teach himself with Prestidigitation. After he was done, the man knelt down and placed a hand on each of his temples. He closed his eyes and hummed a low melody. Nodding to himself after a little while, he stood up and walked out without saying a word.
Two weeks later, Nash sat in a library, surrounded by books and being taught by the finest wizards and sorcerers that Sozo had to offer. He routinely visited his mother and showed her all the magic he learned, but at some point she began to resent his gifts. Envious that he had a way out of his pit, while she was still trapped in hers, she told him to leave and never come back. So he did.
He was thirteen when the most horrific event of his life happened. He was scavenging on the outer edges of the Phoenix woodlands for spell components when he heard a voice calling him. He looked up and saw the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen, standing stark naked in a small pool of water. That should have been his first clue that what he was seeing was an illusion, because the water was too clear, too blue. Secondly, it was winter and the water was not frozen, nor did the woman give any indication that she was cold.
Despite knowing better, he found himself entering the woodlands, deeper and deeper. It seemed as if no matter how far he walked, the woman never really got closer. Until suddenly she vanished and he found himself deep in the unfamiliar woodlands. A cry came out from his right and a man, brandishing a large knife attacked him, casting a spell as he used the blade to cut deep into his own arm.
The spell would have hit him for sure if it had not been for the phoenix. Swooping in, the bird grabbed Nash by his back, claws digging deep and causing him immense pain. The phoenix took off, flying as hard as she could and although Nash was very small, the bird just wasn’t strong enough. However, she started to call wildly and a group of passersby were attracted by the sound and ran over to find no maho-tsukai. In their eyes, Nash was being attacked by a phoenix, an extension of Suzaku herself.
He was brought back to Sozo for medical attention, but the claw marks from the phoenix were large and nasty. They healed improperly and Nash would forever have four grisley scars diagonally from shoulder to hip on his back. Rumors grew and spread about the promising young wizard who had been attacked by a phoenix. Although he explained what happened, that the phoenix was only protecting him from the maho-tsukai, it didn’t take long for people to start believing that the maho-tsukai was him. In their minds, the phoenix was protecting him from himself, by trying to kill him. They’d seen it before, promising spellcasters lured to the maho for the power it wielded. About the time they started questioning whether they should finish the phoenix’s job, is when he decided it was time to leave Sozo and Clan Phoenix for good.
He left Sozo late at night, passing by along the furthest edges of the woodlands that ruined his life. He heard a call, the screeching sounds of a phoenix, and something that could only be described as desperation in that call. The phoenix, a lesser phoenix he could see now, landed beside him and bowed her head low. He didn’t know how he knew exactly, but this phoenix knew what had transpired and somehow was offering her service to him as penance. Since then Fiona, or Fi for short, has been a loyal familiar to him.
He traveled for weeks, barely surviving, when he came across a temple dedicated to Genbu, the Black Turtle. The priests inside welcomed him warmly. They fed him and clothed him and when they learned of his wizarding aspiration, offered to let him stay and learn from them. They themselves were all Wu Jen Wizards of Water mastery and followers of Genbu.
They taught him about faith and power. They taught him about the forces of nature and how it was to be protected at all costs through constant daily suffrage. They taught him about how the Shadowlands and its Taint was an abomination. He learned about the unnatural blood magic practiced by the maho and how it must be stopped, something they didn’t need to tell him twice.
He took a vow to never own more than he could carry on his person and Genbu rewarded him for that vow. Eventually, he set off on his own to learn more about the world, to protect nature and others, and to seek out corruption wherever he found it. So now he travels through the Orient, righting wrongs and correcting the natural order of things with Fi by his side. Some have begun to whisper of The Phoenix, a man who shows up and fixes problems, before disappearing again. No matter where he goes, when he leaves he marks the town to let them know he had been there. A black turtle outline with flaming phoenix wings to mark the duality of his mind. Knowledge and Faith, these are the things he exemplifies to others in hopes of inspiring a better tomorrow.
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That’s all for this week, everyone! Don’t forget that you can subscribe to my blog to be emailed when I post new updates! Just fill out the extremely short form below and leave me comments with any questions, comments, or insults you have.
Josh Hoffman 