Heaven Born
[taijitsu surrounded by ten thousand petals]
Ten thousand things serve bellow the Heavens. Ten thousand gods work in unison to bring forth order and life. Ten thousand people endure and serve under the commands of those holding the Mandate, following the story of perfect harmony and eternal glory. Ten thousand things are being tied together by fate- the destiny decided by the one to hold the Mandate of Heavens. Ten thousand things express the Three. The Three are produced from the Two. The Two are the faces of the One, and the One follows the Way. The Way tells the story of the ten thousand things- and from the Mandate of Heaven is the mechanism which brings that story fourth. All take part of the grand tapestry, serving their part in the delicate, ever changing structure of reality. By following the Way, the natural path of all, all things would be fulfilled. There are ten thousand things serving beneath the Mandate of Heaven.
And ten thousand demons to spit in its face.
The Yaoguai- strange devils, strange spirits. Lesser deities who strayed the path in the name of egoistic desires, pets of the gods and animal-demons who feast on the souls of the righteous in search for power. They search for immortality, for deification, for rising in the ranks of Heaven and taking by force what belongs to others by right. In the name of their hunger, the Mowang, lords of the demons, send forth the yaoguai to bring them souls to feast upon, twisting their flesh and spirit until they become another pet in their service. They exploit the Mandate and turn against the natural Way. They make nothing- only take, only steal, only break and destroy. Their mansion-worlds are realms of madness, and their servants exist simply to fulfill their every desire.
They make nothing- but the nothing makes the whole.
The Tiansheng are a weird lineage, coming from the ancient days of China (during the time of the legendary Xia dynasty, if the stories are to be believed). They speak about old, wild times in which the the Mowang has just rose their heads and bound lesser spirits as pets and servants. In those early days of terror, the people were exposed to constant attacks by the demons, being exploited by the Mowang through deals and pacts sanctified by the Mandate. Many souls were lost in those days, and the demon-lords danced in their mansions and drank their fear with pleasure.
However, the Way is more powerful than any selfish desire, and even demons are forced eventually to bow their head before it- bound by the very laws they use to bind others. One day, after another raid by a group of yaoguai, the elders of a nameless village has gathered together and made a decision to stand against the Mowang which kept stealing their children and force it into a challenge. They knew it was a risk- for by the pact they made with the demon lord, they had to option to be freed from its clutches, yet while currently the Mowang could have attacked only once per month and take no less then three and no more than a dozen, if they'll fail it would be free to take them all to his mansion and feast on their souls for all eternity. But if they'll win- the demon would not only stop harassing them, but would also return all the souls it captured through those countless years.
And so, when the moon shined bright and the servants of the Mowang came riding the wind, a single woman came before them and called the Mowang's true name, demanding the right to challenge their lords. Following the terms of their oath, the yaoguai took the women beyond the thorny walls which protected their lord's mansion, leaving her alone before the mighty throne upon which sat the demon lord.
"I have heard you have challenged me" said the Mowang "and as promised, I follow the terms. What do you believe you could do that I, with all my sorcery and knowledge, could not?"
and the woman said "I can make"
and the demon laughed, for it knew that no being in its kingdom make create anything new, for it was too far from the guidance of the Way. "Very well" it said "and what do you wish to make?"
"I can not say" she said "but it shall require time. The moon must shine nine times, where I shall not be seen or touched by you, and once it would I shall present you with my creation".
"very well" said the demon "take all the time you need- but you must stay here, in my kingdom, and I free to hunt as I please as the Mandate dictates while doing so".
The woman agreed, and the Mowang smiled, believing its victory was guaranteed. And the moon shined and set, and the yaogui hunted and the halls of the Mowang were filled with screams of terror- but the woman sat quietly in her room, hidden in the darkness. Once nine months have passed, the demon-lord broke into her room, preparing to demand its due- only to stand before her, holding a newborn baby in her arms.
"Nine moons has passed" she said "and I present you my creation- the greatest thing a mortal may make and you can not. I made life, for I was pregnant as I walked through your gates. I made her here, birthed all alone through blood and pain. I have made her- and you have lost".
The Mowang raged, wishing to tear the woman apart- yet as it failed the challenge, it lost the Mandate of Heaven through which it governed. Its kingdom crumbled around it, and its was ripped apart by the broken laws which defined its existence. As the mansion collapsed upon itself, the woman escaped- taking her new born together with her as the two of them run through the thorns. As the woman was not a demon, the thorns cut through her flesh and scarred her heart, and she came different then before. She became a yaogui, unable to create, unable to make. Yet her baby was birthed in the realm of demons, and as such was a demon by herself. The thorns didn't cut through her delicate skin, and her bright soul was unarmed. She was a child of heaven, the first Tiansheng, carrying the cleverness of men- and the powers of a demon.
While the accuracy of that story is a matter of debate, it can't be denied that the Heaven Born are touched by the Mowang and their terrible taint. Each member of the lineage shows the signs of the yaogui, having the potential to work terrible magics and innate sense to how the Mandate stirs the events of the world. That influence, however, also effects their ability to reproduce- for the powers of the Mowang consume their creative spark as it burns in their blood. Only one out of five Tiansheng is fertile, and one out of five pregnancies ends with an abortion- not to mention the high death percentage of the mothers. More than that, only the children of the mothers carry the demon-blood. Male Tiansheng who sire children bring fourth only regular, normal kids, if any at all. Some claim it to be a curse of the ancient demon-lord their tricked. Others claim it to be a natural effect of being so far from the Way, only barely being able to live natural life.
For that reason, the hierarchy of the Tiansheng is highly matriarchal- the women choose their husbands, give orders and decide the course of the conspiracy. Each of the Tiansheng is trained from very young age to use his powers, learning occult secrets and methods to channel their abilities and the different weakness of their eternal enemies- the yaogui and the mowang who control them. Those training last up until the Heaven-born is 18 years old, and after that she takes an oath under the Mandate and the Way to ward off evil and hunt for those who feast on human misery and fear. Some try to escape the oath, searching for life of freedom from the binding Mandate- but few manage doing so. Those who do usually ends up making bargains with the yaogui, leaving this world to the world of demons and becoming Mowang by their own right. Others are enslaved by the demons and become toys and pets in their service. However, the most take the oath and humbly serve the Mandate of Heaven- not out of fear, but out of duty, for if they were not to protect their people, who would?
Unlike certain other conspiracies, the Tiansheng are a lot more rural- their leadership stays away from the large cities and the centers of powers, preferring small, isolated places as temporal bases. They never stay in the same place for too long, knowing that by drawing too much of attention the mowang would track them down and send their yaogui against them, as they see their very existence as a disgrace- half bloods who rebel against their parents, birthed out of trickery and lies.
Because of that constant threat, the Tiansheng has developed through the years complicate forms of communications- from a complicated set of road signs and gestures meant to allow one member to recognize other members and call them for help which was perfected through hundreds of years of hard work, which is constantly changing and evolving in order to make sure their enemies won't be able to break the code. While the modern era has brought with it many new ways for communication, the older members of the conspiracy are still wary from using them, preferring the old system over things like phones and the internet. After all, while the mowang are not able to create anything new- they are quick to exploit the creations of others for their uses. Some of the younger members, however, work to incorporate their old system through the new media- using hidden messages in blogs and websites in order to share information or ask for help, but currently the fear from both supernatural and mundane threats (such as being hunted down by a governmental agency as a cult) are enough to keep the old tradition strong.
While the Tiansheng carry their Vigil against any kind of monster, blocking the influence of the mowang is seen as their top priority. Those demons are powerful and terrible- yet thankfully they are bound to their mansions from beyond the wall of thorns. Instead, they act through the yaogui- their pets and servants enslaved by the Mandate to their demonic will. Fighting against those demons is possible, and many of their members have lost their life by doing so, but as whole the conspiracy prefers using trickery over brute force. Once tracking a roaming yaogui, their goal is to tire it out- misleading it again until it grows tired and tired until it is banished back to the realm from which it came. That means, however, they must make sure the yaogui keeps interested and won't return to its mission. Doing so is a dangerous act, but the life of the Tiansheng are dangerous. Luckily (or not), the enmity of the demon lords marks the Tiansheng, drawing the yaogui's attention toward them, for better or worse.
Although hunting down the yaogui is seen as their greatest duty, the Tiansheng do not forget their duty for those who escaped the clutched of the demons. Those people, who call themselves as "the Lost", are twisted beyond any redemption of returning back to the path- but they are not, by themselves, evil. Usually, the Heaven born even work with those broken people, trying to help them adjust to their new lives, such as killing the fake manikins the mowang created with their magics to replace those who were kidnapped (as the Tiansheng have little qualms about banishing those demons). Still, the Tiansheng avoid making a long term relationship with those beings, always keeping one eye open and never establishing an oath or bargain with them or their so called "courts". They may have suffered a lot- but once a demon, always a demon.
While the Tiansheng have some rigid rules meant to fulfill their goal, they rarely intervene in the hunter's personal life. They believe that each person has his own path to walk, and while the core believes of cosmology of the conspiracy are strongly influenced by the Taoism, their members come from every religion or system of faith, be it Buddhism or Christianity. Once they are young, the conspiracy trains their members to improve their strengths and learn their weaknesses, carefully matching members together into creating "perfect cells". The conspiracy governs the many cells through their communication system, requiring monthly reports which are transmitted from once cell to the other until it reaches to one of the Five Perfects who leads the conspiracy. Each of the Five, in turn, sends her commands through her own information network, and the Five meet together only once a month in order to compare intelligence and discuss their vision for the conspiracy. Each of the Five has her own method of operation and her own goals needed to achieve, with one of the other members of the Five working to help her while another works against her. The official stance is that by doing so, they confuse the mowang and protect the conspiracy from spies. Others think they simply can't trust each other.
Still, unstable as it may be, the system works- the Tiansheng stand strong in China, and even reach out for nearby territories, from India to Japan- where they fight new monsters and meet similar yet different lineages. Some of them even reached out and went to the western world, establishing a small presence in the United States. They go wherever the Way leads them, be it across the land, beyond the sea or even through the thorns of the demonic mansions. They know their place under the Mandate of Heaven.
It's time for the demons to know theirs, too.
Status:
0- you have finished your training and took an oath to protect mankind from the hungry demons. You may buy dots at the Mofa Endowment, and can expect to live for 150 years.
000- you have fought in the name of the Mandate to remove unnatural taint from the world, and you learned to recognize it. You gain the Eye for the Strange merit for free. You may also live up to 200 years. This is the highest a man could reach in the conspiracy.
00000- you have shown yourself worthy to the Mandate, and many think of you as possible candidate for the Five Perfects. Until then, your place in the conspiracy allows you to touch the Mandate itself. You get Unseen Senses (Talecrafting), and you can expect to live up to 400 years.
Endowment: Mofa (0-00000)
The Heaven-born know how the Mandate stirs, and to exploit it to command the Ten Thousand Things. Mofa works as if it was the Goblin Vows merit- that is, each dot represent a single aspect of reality which the hunter learned to command. However, there are few changes- first, the hunter may replace current aspects with new ones. Doing so requires a quest which re-balance the Mandate, both repaying the replaced aspect and serving the new one. Second, each of those dots also grants the hunter an alternative form which is related to that aspect. That form may be humanoid or not, to your choosing (most actually prefer beast-like forms), and works like the Disguise of an Huntsman- although instead of paying Yearning, the hunter reduce her permanent Willpower by 1 for as long as she is in that form. Third, she gains one Arcadian weapon per dot, which may be summoned by spending a Willpower point and under a situation appropriate to the bound aspect (arcadians weapons to be released with C:tL 2E). Finally, once activating her Endowment (not including shape-shifting), the hunter draws the attention of the yaogui around her. She gains the Marked Condition toward any Huntsmen in a range of 2 meters per Mofa as if she was a changeling hunted by it. The Huntsman in question would mark her as its top priority.
[taijitsu surrounded by ten thousand petals]
Ten thousand things serve bellow the Heavens. Ten thousand gods work in unison to bring forth order and life. Ten thousand people endure and serve under the commands of those holding the Mandate, following the story of perfect harmony and eternal glory. Ten thousand things are being tied together by fate- the destiny decided by the one to hold the Mandate of Heavens. Ten thousand things express the Three. The Three are produced from the Two. The Two are the faces of the One, and the One follows the Way. The Way tells the story of the ten thousand things- and from the Mandate of Heaven is the mechanism which brings that story fourth. All take part of the grand tapestry, serving their part in the delicate, ever changing structure of reality. By following the Way, the natural path of all, all things would be fulfilled. There are ten thousand things serving beneath the Mandate of Heaven.
And ten thousand demons to spit in its face.
The Yaoguai- strange devils, strange spirits. Lesser deities who strayed the path in the name of egoistic desires, pets of the gods and animal-demons who feast on the souls of the righteous in search for power. They search for immortality, for deification, for rising in the ranks of Heaven and taking by force what belongs to others by right. In the name of their hunger, the Mowang, lords of the demons, send forth the yaoguai to bring them souls to feast upon, twisting their flesh and spirit until they become another pet in their service. They exploit the Mandate and turn against the natural Way. They make nothing- only take, only steal, only break and destroy. Their mansion-worlds are realms of madness, and their servants exist simply to fulfill their every desire.
They make nothing- but the nothing makes the whole.
The Tiansheng are a weird lineage, coming from the ancient days of China (during the time of the legendary Xia dynasty, if the stories are to be believed). They speak about old, wild times in which the the Mowang has just rose their heads and bound lesser spirits as pets and servants. In those early days of terror, the people were exposed to constant attacks by the demons, being exploited by the Mowang through deals and pacts sanctified by the Mandate. Many souls were lost in those days, and the demon-lords danced in their mansions and drank their fear with pleasure.
However, the Way is more powerful than any selfish desire, and even demons are forced eventually to bow their head before it- bound by the very laws they use to bind others. One day, after another raid by a group of yaoguai, the elders of a nameless village has gathered together and made a decision to stand against the Mowang which kept stealing their children and force it into a challenge. They knew it was a risk- for by the pact they made with the demon lord, they had to option to be freed from its clutches, yet while currently the Mowang could have attacked only once per month and take no less then three and no more than a dozen, if they'll fail it would be free to take them all to his mansion and feast on their souls for all eternity. But if they'll win- the demon would not only stop harassing them, but would also return all the souls it captured through those countless years.
And so, when the moon shined bright and the servants of the Mowang came riding the wind, a single woman came before them and called the Mowang's true name, demanding the right to challenge their lords. Following the terms of their oath, the yaoguai took the women beyond the thorny walls which protected their lord's mansion, leaving her alone before the mighty throne upon which sat the demon lord.
"I have heard you have challenged me" said the Mowang "and as promised, I follow the terms. What do you believe you could do that I, with all my sorcery and knowledge, could not?"
and the woman said "I can make"
and the demon laughed, for it knew that no being in its kingdom make create anything new, for it was too far from the guidance of the Way. "Very well" it said "and what do you wish to make?"
"I can not say" she said "but it shall require time. The moon must shine nine times, where I shall not be seen or touched by you, and once it would I shall present you with my creation".
"very well" said the demon "take all the time you need- but you must stay here, in my kingdom, and I free to hunt as I please as the Mandate dictates while doing so".
The woman agreed, and the Mowang smiled, believing its victory was guaranteed. And the moon shined and set, and the yaogui hunted and the halls of the Mowang were filled with screams of terror- but the woman sat quietly in her room, hidden in the darkness. Once nine months have passed, the demon-lord broke into her room, preparing to demand its due- only to stand before her, holding a newborn baby in her arms.
"Nine moons has passed" she said "and I present you my creation- the greatest thing a mortal may make and you can not. I made life, for I was pregnant as I walked through your gates. I made her here, birthed all alone through blood and pain. I have made her- and you have lost".
The Mowang raged, wishing to tear the woman apart- yet as it failed the challenge, it lost the Mandate of Heaven through which it governed. Its kingdom crumbled around it, and its was ripped apart by the broken laws which defined its existence. As the mansion collapsed upon itself, the woman escaped- taking her new born together with her as the two of them run through the thorns. As the woman was not a demon, the thorns cut through her flesh and scarred her heart, and she came different then before. She became a yaogui, unable to create, unable to make. Yet her baby was birthed in the realm of demons, and as such was a demon by herself. The thorns didn't cut through her delicate skin, and her bright soul was unarmed. She was a child of heaven, the first Tiansheng, carrying the cleverness of men- and the powers of a demon.
While the accuracy of that story is a matter of debate, it can't be denied that the Heaven Born are touched by the Mowang and their terrible taint. Each member of the lineage shows the signs of the yaogui, having the potential to work terrible magics and innate sense to how the Mandate stirs the events of the world. That influence, however, also effects their ability to reproduce- for the powers of the Mowang consume their creative spark as it burns in their blood. Only one out of five Tiansheng is fertile, and one out of five pregnancies ends with an abortion- not to mention the high death percentage of the mothers. More than that, only the children of the mothers carry the demon-blood. Male Tiansheng who sire children bring fourth only regular, normal kids, if any at all. Some claim it to be a curse of the ancient demon-lord their tricked. Others claim it to be a natural effect of being so far from the Way, only barely being able to live natural life.
For that reason, the hierarchy of the Tiansheng is highly matriarchal- the women choose their husbands, give orders and decide the course of the conspiracy. Each of the Tiansheng is trained from very young age to use his powers, learning occult secrets and methods to channel their abilities and the different weakness of their eternal enemies- the yaogui and the mowang who control them. Those training last up until the Heaven-born is 18 years old, and after that she takes an oath under the Mandate and the Way to ward off evil and hunt for those who feast on human misery and fear. Some try to escape the oath, searching for life of freedom from the binding Mandate- but few manage doing so. Those who do usually ends up making bargains with the yaogui, leaving this world to the world of demons and becoming Mowang by their own right. Others are enslaved by the demons and become toys and pets in their service. However, the most take the oath and humbly serve the Mandate of Heaven- not out of fear, but out of duty, for if they were not to protect their people, who would?
Unlike certain other conspiracies, the Tiansheng are a lot more rural- their leadership stays away from the large cities and the centers of powers, preferring small, isolated places as temporal bases. They never stay in the same place for too long, knowing that by drawing too much of attention the mowang would track them down and send their yaogui against them, as they see their very existence as a disgrace- half bloods who rebel against their parents, birthed out of trickery and lies.
Because of that constant threat, the Tiansheng has developed through the years complicate forms of communications- from a complicated set of road signs and gestures meant to allow one member to recognize other members and call them for help which was perfected through hundreds of years of hard work, which is constantly changing and evolving in order to make sure their enemies won't be able to break the code. While the modern era has brought with it many new ways for communication, the older members of the conspiracy are still wary from using them, preferring the old system over things like phones and the internet. After all, while the mowang are not able to create anything new- they are quick to exploit the creations of others for their uses. Some of the younger members, however, work to incorporate their old system through the new media- using hidden messages in blogs and websites in order to share information or ask for help, but currently the fear from both supernatural and mundane threats (such as being hunted down by a governmental agency as a cult) are enough to keep the old tradition strong.
While the Tiansheng carry their Vigil against any kind of monster, blocking the influence of the mowang is seen as their top priority. Those demons are powerful and terrible- yet thankfully they are bound to their mansions from beyond the wall of thorns. Instead, they act through the yaogui- their pets and servants enslaved by the Mandate to their demonic will. Fighting against those demons is possible, and many of their members have lost their life by doing so, but as whole the conspiracy prefers using trickery over brute force. Once tracking a roaming yaogui, their goal is to tire it out- misleading it again until it grows tired and tired until it is banished back to the realm from which it came. That means, however, they must make sure the yaogui keeps interested and won't return to its mission. Doing so is a dangerous act, but the life of the Tiansheng are dangerous. Luckily (or not), the enmity of the demon lords marks the Tiansheng, drawing the yaogui's attention toward them, for better or worse.
Although hunting down the yaogui is seen as their greatest duty, the Tiansheng do not forget their duty for those who escaped the clutched of the demons. Those people, who call themselves as "the Lost", are twisted beyond any redemption of returning back to the path- but they are not, by themselves, evil. Usually, the Heaven born even work with those broken people, trying to help them adjust to their new lives, such as killing the fake manikins the mowang created with their magics to replace those who were kidnapped (as the Tiansheng have little qualms about banishing those demons). Still, the Tiansheng avoid making a long term relationship with those beings, always keeping one eye open and never establishing an oath or bargain with them or their so called "courts". They may have suffered a lot- but once a demon, always a demon.
While the Tiansheng have some rigid rules meant to fulfill their goal, they rarely intervene in the hunter's personal life. They believe that each person has his own path to walk, and while the core believes of cosmology of the conspiracy are strongly influenced by the Taoism, their members come from every religion or system of faith, be it Buddhism or Christianity. Once they are young, the conspiracy trains their members to improve their strengths and learn their weaknesses, carefully matching members together into creating "perfect cells". The conspiracy governs the many cells through their communication system, requiring monthly reports which are transmitted from once cell to the other until it reaches to one of the Five Perfects who leads the conspiracy. Each of the Five, in turn, sends her commands through her own information network, and the Five meet together only once a month in order to compare intelligence and discuss their vision for the conspiracy. Each of the Five has her own method of operation and her own goals needed to achieve, with one of the other members of the Five working to help her while another works against her. The official stance is that by doing so, they confuse the mowang and protect the conspiracy from spies. Others think they simply can't trust each other.
Still, unstable as it may be, the system works- the Tiansheng stand strong in China, and even reach out for nearby territories, from India to Japan- where they fight new monsters and meet similar yet different lineages. Some of them even reached out and went to the western world, establishing a small presence in the United States. They go wherever the Way leads them, be it across the land, beyond the sea or even through the thorns of the demonic mansions. They know their place under the Mandate of Heaven.
It's time for the demons to know theirs, too.
Status:
0- you have finished your training and took an oath to protect mankind from the hungry demons. You may buy dots at the Mofa Endowment, and can expect to live for 150 years.
000- you have fought in the name of the Mandate to remove unnatural taint from the world, and you learned to recognize it. You gain the Eye for the Strange merit for free. You may also live up to 200 years. This is the highest a man could reach in the conspiracy.
00000- you have shown yourself worthy to the Mandate, and many think of you as possible candidate for the Five Perfects. Until then, your place in the conspiracy allows you to touch the Mandate itself. You get Unseen Senses (Talecrafting), and you can expect to live up to 400 years.
Endowment: Mofa (0-00000)
The Heaven-born know how the Mandate stirs, and to exploit it to command the Ten Thousand Things. Mofa works as if it was the Goblin Vows merit- that is, each dot represent a single aspect of reality which the hunter learned to command. However, there are few changes- first, the hunter may replace current aspects with new ones. Doing so requires a quest which re-balance the Mandate, both repaying the replaced aspect and serving the new one. Second, each of those dots also grants the hunter an alternative form which is related to that aspect. That form may be humanoid or not, to your choosing (most actually prefer beast-like forms), and works like the Disguise of an Huntsman- although instead of paying Yearning, the hunter reduce her permanent Willpower by 1 for as long as she is in that form. Third, she gains one Arcadian weapon per dot, which may be summoned by spending a Willpower point and under a situation appropriate to the bound aspect (arcadians weapons to be released with C:tL 2E). Finally, once activating her Endowment (not including shape-shifting), the hunter draws the attention of the yaogui around her. She gains the Marked Condition toward any Huntsmen in a range of 2 meters per Mofa as if she was a changeling hunted by it. The Huntsman in question would mark her as its top priority.
(and I don't have full access to my Dark Eras copy right now, so I said "possible". better safe then sorry :P ).
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