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Geography
Regional Geography
Jun Hoard- A nation of nomads. Fierce horse archers who have raided into The Middle Kingdom since before recorded history. The Jun once claimed all the land from the frozen north to the Yellow sea until The Chin built the great wall and barred them from the south.
Mt Haung- One of the four cardinal Mountains. Home of the Black Tortoise, Elemental lord of water, patron of winter.
Great wall- A series of forts and wall stretching across the northern border. Each of the forts is part of a small imperial province with a parcel of land assigned to it. Each House provides a force of 100 men once every 8 days to reinforce the forts and patrol the walls. House Yung often hires out to fulfill the duties the more distant provinces.
Kunlun Mountains- Home of the fairies and the Queen mother of the west, a figure that is a mix of fairy godmother and baba yaga.
Zheng- A free kingdom ruled by renegades from the western isles. Zheng is often called the bandit kingdom since it serves as a haven for outlaws and all things illegal in the empire.
Originally two low caste Western Lords fled a feud and set up silk production in the mountains under the protection of the Queen mother of the west. As silk was unknown in the Middle Kingdom the Zheng quickly grew rich. The western lords repeatedly tried to hunt down the renegade, but they simply hid them selves in the Kunlun Mountains.
Today Zheng is too strong and populated for the Western lords to raid in less then full strength, a attack that would allow the Han a chance for their Vengeance. The countryside is a narrow stripe of damp jungle with cites and farms carved out it and strongholds dug into the towering mountains.
Yung Province- Yung was originally the southern part of the lands claimed by the Jun, most of the people of Yung Province still bear clear signs of Jun Blood. When the Chin drove out the Jun, Chin Ito set up Yung, one of his generals who had been born in the area, as the lord of the province. Yung Province is a dry flat land, the farming is poor so most of the land is given over to grazing. The House Yung supports itself by raiseing cattle, sheep, hireing out for duty on the wall, and trading with the Jun.
Mt Taishan- A holy mountain that stands on top of a passage to the hells. The mountain is the most sacred spot of the White temple and many tombs are carved into its sides.
Shan- The Province was a ancient kingdom with language, beliefs and even a race that was different from the rest of the Middle Kingdom. During the time of the Ming Empire the Ming attempted to conquer it for many years, but face a rebellious people forever encouraged by their priests. In the end the Ming outlawed the priest and forcibly marched as many of the Shan as they could catch and forcibly resettled them in the sparsely populated Khai forest. The Ming marched a Equal number of Chu peasants into Shan and set up Ming nobles as the overlords. The remaining Shan married into the Chu families and taught their beliefs to them. In time the differences between the New Chu and the Old Shan faded, as did the power of the Ming. Shan survived the time of the warlords by supporting the warlords of Khai who still considered them selves the protectors of Shen. When Chin Ito came to the Shan he offered them the choice of conquest by him and a Chin overlord, or the option to join his emperor with a Khai noble of their choice as their lord. The Shan chose to rejoin the empire. Shan is made up of a fertile vale in the lowlands which is culturally much like the rest of the empire, and high mountains full of forgotten temples and small valleys where old Shan is still spoken. The mountains are also full of prospector and creatures of legend.
Mt Shui- One of the 4 cardinal Holy Mountains of the Middle Kingdom. It is home the Green Dragon, the Lord of the Earth, Patron of spring.
Vorda- A land of barren stony beaches and cold hard valleys. The Vorda a race of beastal pale haired barbarians live here. The Vorda sail single masted Dragonships with which they have raided the shores of the Middle Kingdom for centuries. The Vorda raid for glory, loot, and food. While the Vorda often leave behind Half-breed children on the women they can catch they never take captives back with them.
Khai Province- A land of shadowy vales and tall trees. The Khai were originally the common people of the Shan, when the Ming relocated them to the forest of Khai and set Ming nobles over them, they took on much of the habits and culture of the empire, but resented doing so.
The Khai still consider themselves the guardians of Shan and helped bring about the downfall of the Ming. Today the Khai have returned to many of their old traditions, there is little difference between noble and commoner, the people live close to nature and honor the priesthood. Due to the fact that they are closest to the Vorda, the Khai have the largest population of Half-breed Vorda, these red haired giants are called Fox haired princes and are treated as lucky in Khai. The Khai are known for their practice of using two longswords at once as their national fighting style.
Western Isles- These are the home of the Western lords, a race of long-lived arrogant men. The lords are one of the oldest races around. Instead of trying to live in harmony with the world, the lords are oppressed with controlling it, elegant Tea ceremonies, the code of bushido, and some fine arts are the positive e\result of this. Ninjas, power mad Wu Jen, and periodic invasions of the Han are some the negative results. The Western Isle are entirely landscaped to within a inch, everyone is status conscience and paranoid about what every other lords thinks of them. Every generation (about 80 years) another generation of lords begin to look for something to do to gain status, historically this has been conquest of the mainland, setting up vast estates, and then leaving them behind in the care of a Half breed son while the lord returns to the Western isles. The lords have failed to conquer the seas and so do not acknowledge the sea as one of the five cardinal elements, instead recognizing metal, wood, air, earth and fire.
Mt Feng- One of the four cardinal mountains. Home of the White Tiger the Elemental lord of the winds, and patron of Autumn.
Han Province- A land of large vales and history. The Han have been periodically invaded by the Western lords, taught much of their arts and then abandoned. By the time of Chin Ito the Han had enough of this and allied with the Chin to drive out the lords for once and for all.
The Han have kept what they considered the best and most useful of the Lords culture and have throw out as much of the rest as they can. After the Chin declined the Lords again invaded and only when the Han dynasty took over where they once again tossed out on their elegantly pointed ears.
Chu Province- The breadbasket of the empire, a vast flat moist land that has been farmed for centuries. The people of Chu are short and stocky, placid and even-tempered. The Chu also have a tradition for being to place where Dynasties fall, for when the Chu are angered enough to rebel they out number all the rest of the Empire combined. The Chu are generally governed by a series of Imperial governors.
Chin Province- Almost totally independent from the Empire, a isolated mountainous land. The Chin are Mystics taking on beliefs and magics from both Shadia and the Western lords. The chin came out of their mountain and conquered the plains below then at the time of the Ming dynasty and contested their claims to empire, they later came under the rule of the Magician Chin Ito and reformed the empire.
Gru- A wet sinking land held at various times by Shadian warlords and Imperial dynasties, a exotic lands made rich by trade with Shadia. Shainhai is the only large port on the whole seaboard of the Middle Kingdom.
Shadia- A land of a thousand nations. The whole land is divided into many small valleys each of which seem to hold its own people and language.
Local Geography
Junhurian Mountain- Home to Junhurian Barbarians, a tribe of Jun who settled down to raising sheep and drinking heavily, often hire out as mercenaries in the Middle kingdom.
Wan Province- Last of the seriously defended Fort on the Wall, under the rule of a Yung Chow, a ageing serious career military man who resents being put out to pasture.
Yellow Shoe Province- Major trading post with the Junchurians. Under rule of one Rin Feng, a young corrupt bureaucrat who bends too many rules.
Red Bow province- This fort often has problem with discipline of the traveling units, the Governor is the senile Moyota Ni. The captain of the guard Ho loo is mostly in charge.
Last reward province- Discharge point for traveling units. Under command of general Han Chang. A rising general serving a ceremonial tour of duty on the wall.
Mt Tai-Shen- A mountain that stands on the entrance to the hells. The mountain houses the Milk jade temple, the main holy spot of the White Temple as well as many tombs.
Po- A rough and rowdy village of minors and outlaws over the border to Shan.
Dragonwall- Site of the famous Dragon's wall and a thriving villiage dedicated to silk harvesting and houseing many ancestrial estaes of local nobles.
Castle Song- Formally the summer home of the House Yung, it has been fortified over the years into a mighty fortress that few truly live in. House Song mostly resides in Tai Village.
Broken Tiger- Town dedicated to housing retainers and followers of those who visit the Song. It is also the last place for the traveling units to spend their money before arriving in Tai Mien.
Flowerfruit Mountain- Mountain famed for it beauty and showers of flower petal that rain down from the mountain. A young lord of House Yung once tried to build a retreat upon the mountain, but was harassed by the local monkeys. The lord had the Yung giants kill the monkeys but was haunted by their ghosts. The lord later killed himself and his ghost now leads the monkeys in terrorizing any who attempt to climb the mountain.
Tai village- Village which serve the needs of Tai-Mien, the holy city. Host to many visitors.
Tai-mien- Neutral ground since the time of the 5 warlords. Now a holy city with representatives from all Temples.
Bridge of Birds- Small town that stands at the last spot riverboats can travel up the Tai river. From here visitors and pilgrim must travel by horse, foot, or palanquin, all of which are for rent.
Site of the famous prayer bridge dedicated to the Queens of the Birds.
Hawks landing- Small village in Chung province, usually the boats land here, the pilgrims cross over the bridge and then travel on to Tai Mien.
Castle Chung- Ancient castle, in old day this was the stronghold that kept the Jun from going further into Ming lands. Now the Ancestral estate of the House Chung.
Wu- A large farming village in Chung province.
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