1. Childhood Tales
The rain outside pounded down on the terra cotta roof. The waters outside were rising. In the season of Rising Fire, the floods often drowned the land for weeks at a time. For that reason, this house was built on wooden stilts.
And from within, the voice of a weary mother could be heard.
"Very well. One more story… one more and no more! And then you're going to go to sleep, aren't you?"
There were various noises of agreement from several children.
"Is everyone settled in?"
The children agreed that, yes, they were settled in.
The mother cleared her throat. "Long ago, there was no world. There was no sea. There was no air and there was no life. There was not even any light. Now, the five Elemental Dragons grew disquieted with this lack of anything, so they called together all the gods and told them that they would build a world and that the gods would fill it with glorious things.
"So they got together, and between them they built the world. The Earth Dragon laid down the rocks and the soil. The Water Dragon sung up the rivers and the seas. The Air Dragon flew across the world, and in its wake it left the sky. The Fire Dragon coughed up a mighty pearl and it became the sun, and the embers from its hide became the stars - and when some stars fell to earth, fire came to be. And the Wood Dragon, last of all, made the plants and Creation blossomed in the first growing-time.
"Then the gods filled the world with beautiful things. They made the animals and they made the fishies," she ticked her youngest's nose, and the child giggled, "and they made the birdies and last of all, they made people. And the best of all these places they made, they called An Teng. Now, just like the Dragons made different bits of the world, so did the gods make different kinds of people. The ones who live in An Teng were made by the Golden Lord, who was one of the wisest of the gods, so he made different kinds of people - some to rule and some to be ruled and all them lived in harmony.
"But the Pale Mistress was jealous and cruel and she loves bad things happening…"
"Why does she love that?" one boy asked.
"Who knows?" the mother said sadly. "It is in her nature. She hates harmony and order, and that is why you should never ever ever call upon her. She is a wicked, wicked spirit and that is why sacrifices must be left at the crossroads for her, unless she comes looking for us. Now, yes, anyway. She made bad people who didn't have families and who didn't honour their parents and she sent them to corrupt people. You need to watch out for these wicked souls who serve the Pale Mistress and not listen to them when they try to get you to do bad things.
"Now, the wicked souls that served the Pale Mistress came to take over most of the rest of the world, and people were afraid. Even in An Teng, the bad people who followed the Pale Mistress were powerful, even though most of the people listened to the old ways and honoured the Golden Lord. But fortunately, the Elemental Dragons had made their own people, and these were the Dragonblooded. Their blood is of the Elemental Dragons, and that means that the power of the ones who made the world flows through them. The Dragonblooded slew the wicked followers of the Pale Mistress, and laid waste to the world - and even to An Teng…"
"Why would they do that?" asked a girl.
"Because the Dragonblooded are not like ordinary men," the mother said firmly. "They are too powerful for the world, because they have the power of the Dragons. When they unleash their fury, even innocents might be hurt. Think of how hot the sun is and how it burns people. It doesn't mean to do that, but that's just in its nature and cannot be changed. That is why the Dragonblooded must be obeyed, because it is in their nature to hurt those who break with the proper ways.
"So when the Dragonblooded cast down the wicked followers of the Pale Mistress, they ruled the world and all was peaceful. They knew that they were too mighty to rule, and so they appointed the princes to lead An Teng, for the old queen had given herself to the Pale Mistress. That is why we must obey the princes and the ones who they appoint, because to do otherwise would open the door to the chaos of the Pale Mistress."
"What about the bit when the Pale Mistress nearly took over the world again?" a boy asked enthusiastically.
"I'm getting to that! Yes. Since then, the Pale Mistress has nearly managed to triumph only once. Hundreds of years ago, wickedness and disrespect for one's parents," the mother gave a meaningful glare at her children, "had got so bad that even the rule of the princes could not protect people from her influence. The Pale Mistress released plagues and opened the gates to the underworld and sent her followers out into the world. Then she sent faeries out to eat the bad people because their souls belonged to her and so she wanted to take them back."
"If I'm bad, will a faery eat me?" the youngest asked.
"You better not risk it," the mother said, nodding seriously. ""But fortunately the Dragonblooded once again saved the world, calling on the power of the Dragons to remake everything that the Pale Mistress had destroyed. All the trees and the bamboo and the mangroves had died because of the tricks of the Pale Mistress, but the Wood Dragon made them all grow back. And we remember this still, and that is why we wear red string bracelets, to pay thanks to the Scarlet Empresses and Scarlet Emperors who sit on the Imperial Mountain and watch out for the Pale Mistress and her plans against the world."
She brushed her hand over each of her children's foreheads in turn. "And that is why you will all go to sleep, won't you? Because it is late and everyone knows that the Pale Mistress walks the night, looking for people who are awake when they shouldn't be and if people make too much noise, she snatches them away and sucks all the marrow from their bones… while they're still alive!"
There were muffled squeaks, especially from the youngest. The mother rose, picking up her brass oil-lamp. "Now, all of you, go to sleep," she said meaningfully, "and if I hear another peep from any of you, I'll… well, I better not hear a peep, do you understand?"
"Yes, mother," the children chorused.
"Very well. So. Good night."
And with that said the mother departed, leaving the rain outside to patter down.
As this is a basic part of chargen, posts without justification or for a clear character concept will receive reduced weighting. Meaningless votes tell me nothing about the game you want to play and don't help me at all.
Who are you?
An Teng is a matrilineal, patriarchal society. Women own the land and are viewed as more spiritually close to it, but their very purity and spiritual awareness means the base matters of ruling are best left up to their husbands. Once their first child is born, few women go very far from their home settlement unless absolutely necessary, because that might harm their spiritual link with the land. Nevertheless, the wife - as the true head of the family - retains an absolute veto over any decisions made in her name, though in a harmonious marriage she would of course never have to use it.
The Exalted are of course exempt from such customs for none would dare tell a Terrestrial what to do, and vile Anathema flout the customs of the righteous with ease. You, however, are not an Exalt and so flagrantly and obviously violating the customs will result in social ostracisation by others and sanction from your family.
Are you:
[ ] Female
[ ] Male
Family is everything in An Teng. In An Teng, you will get married and produce children, and if your tastes lie towards your own gender then that's something separate and to be done separately from doing your duty to your family. To be cast out from your family and declared misbegotten is a fate only slightly better than death, and usually leads to that. It is expected that an elder sibling help raise their younger siblings and thus misconduct of the younger ones. Elder siblings are addressed by title - younger siblings by name, and this holds true for other social roles.
The eldest daughter will inherit lands and property as well as have the best husband selected for her, while the eldest son will usually have the best marriage selected for him of the boys and will command the best dowry.
Are you the eldest?
[ ] Yes (+ inheritance/better marriage, - responsibility)
[ ] No
You are the child of:
[ ] Fishing folk - An Teng is riddled with rivers and in its long wet seasons floods are frequent. Much of the population makes a living from the rivers. Your family has some small landholdings, but most of your food and trading goods come from the water. You've grown up on and around boats, and have seen more of the world - why, your uncle once took you all the way down to the coast once so he could drop off some 'goods' with certain individuals. It's not that you're involved in smuggling… well, not very much anyway.
[ ] Peasants - Your family comes from the upper end of the peasantry and - at least in its own eyes - is very nearly a lower noble family. You have thirty hectares of fertile land when many have five or fewer, you have a large herd of pigs, and you're wealthy enough that your parents can afford to dress in silk for special occasions. There are many more expectations on you
[ ] Day labourers - Those peasants up there? Bastards. Your family doesn't have enough land to feed itself, and so it must offer its services to others. Life is hard and you've gone hungry many times in your youth. You're considerably less reputable than other people in your village (not like those honest smuggling fishermen).
[ ] The blacksmith - A blacksmith stands in a peculiar position, between the normal world everyone else lives in and the world of the spirits. A blacksmith is almost a priest, for they must keep their forge spirits happy or the iron they work becomes brittle and useless. They have to know things which normal men and women don't have to know and it's their ironwork which might be the last fallback if the fae come marauding. A blacksmith is a respected member of the community - but only at a distance.
[ ] The local priestess - The god of An Teng is the Golden Lord, a shining champion of Heaven whose benevolence and commitment to the proper ways keep the country strong as long as men honour him properly. But there are many more lesser gods and goddesses who must be honoured, there are elementals in the wilds who must be placated, and the dreadful Pale Mistress must be warded against lest her chaos and disorder cast all into disharmony. Priests and priestesses are respected, even though their work is hard - and they must watch out for the monks of the Immaculate Order who bring foreign ways and rules with them.