The Shijie Empire: Sheng-gu

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SHENG-GU
The Garden of the Gods

   The northernmost province and the seat of imperial power, the Sheng-gu value grace, scholarship, outward and inward beauty, and absolute ambition. Their province is highly fertile, with grassy rolling hills to the north and thick, bamboo forests to the southeast. As such, they produce most of the grain food for the empire, with trade lines established all the way down to the capital of Gushui. Sheng-gu leadership is the Emperor himself, and the considerable noble courts that dictate every citizen's place in life.

   As with all the Empire, the Provincial lands run deep with magic, and as such there is a residual effect on anyone who remains within their borders. For Sheng-gu, they live in fear of being too greedy in life, too hypocritical and power-hungry just for the sake of meaningless material gain.

   People who die wanting more riches, more power, more status, are morphed into gorgeous white deer. These deer look almost as if they are carved from alabaster, slim and delicate and hauntingly beautiful. However, getting too close to one shows what they're really like-- the deer's face splits open like a carnivorous, tooth-filled flower, and long, spiked tendrils shoot out to ensnare their prey and pull victims in for consumption.

Pronunciation: SHUNG-goo
Capital: Tanhuang
Demonym: Sheng-gu-ren
Kingdom Colors: Lavender and pink

Table of Contents

• Regional Culture
• Magic and Religion
• Politics, Law and International Relations
• Technology, Language and Economics
• Race
• Gender and Sexuality
• Available Ranks

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REGIONAL CULTURE

   Sheng-gu favor ornate, flowing robes of soft silks and sheer fabrics in delicate pastel colors. The amount of layers depends on the weather of the season, but always incorporates heavy floral motifs, and often tiny gems are sewn into the embroidery for those who can afford it. Jewelry is incredibly ornate— even the simplest of jade stud earrings are carved to resemble flowers, and the Sheng-gu often decorate their antlers with silver coverings in delicate, sweeping designs. Bells are common for noble women to wear in their antlers, and it's a mark of grace if she can walk without jostling the bells too much. Adding to this emphasis on a display of grace, Sheng-gu nobility also favor wearing flowerpot shoes of ornate design, which take considerable skill to walk without falling.

   The Sheng-gu treat their hair with the utmost care, heavily perfuming it with oils and carefully brushing it into ornate styles complete with precious metal hair pins and headdresses mimicking floral arrangements. When the Sheng-gu shed their antlers, they replace them with elaborate mock antlers to keep them "crowned" all year round.

   Every home, no matter how humble, is structured around a courtyard garden. Most of the lower class Sheng-gu-ren utilize this space to grow useful items like food, with lotus ponds being especially popular. The richer the family, the more decorative the plants become, with fragrant herbs and flowers lining meticulously maintained pathways.

   The grandest home of all is the Imperial city; the Emperor and each of his family members possess their own palace, with the grandest going to the Emperor and the wife he currently favors the most. Each palace has its own garden, and is decorated to reflect the rank of the person living within. The Emperor's own palace is especially ornate, possessing jade floors, which "grow" into jade baseboards styled as grass. The walls have built-in pots for the walls to hold fresh cut flowers, ensuring that every step through the halls is perfumed with a different blossom.

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MAGIC

   Magic within the Shijie Empire is both subtle and potent. For the Shijie-ren, there is an understanding that magic is not this alternate, arcane, otherworldly influence. Rather, magic is a facet of the natural world, in the land and its people. The continent of Panzhong is rife with its own natural magics that influence flora, fauna, and even the weather. It is especially potent within the Provinces of the Empire, with the power to transform the people who live there.

   Personal practice of magic largely expresses itself as a form of alchemy. The Shijie-ren are skilled in developing elemental oils that can be bottled and applied in whatever way the user may wish. Freezing oils may be applied to clothing for Gushui-ren who travel to hotter climates, for example, and burning oils may be applied to weapons to give them a constant flame.

   Spellwork, in the classical Le'raanian sense, is less common than alchemy, and any verbal components are utilized more in the form of chanting to let different nature spirits know they are being called upon. Herbal medicines and appealing to spirits in this manner are common forms of magic healing in the Empire.

RELIGION

   The Shijie religion is largely animistic. Every part of the natural world has a spirit, and each 'type' (water, stone, etc) has its own 'spirit King' and courts. Only someone of similar rank may implore help from a ranking spirit, as it is seen as rude for someone of a lower class to ask for a powerful spirit to fix his problems. Offending a spirit carries very real consequences, as doing so will invite terrible luck in whatever realm that spirit occupies. Angering a water spirit might cause floods, or fire spirits to refuse to light lanterns, or burn a house down.

   Outside of these social restrictions, however, there is very little dogma. Care and keeping of local spirits is done primarily by local priests who are responsible for the maintenance of shrines and offerings. House spirits, similarly, are cared for by the members of that household.

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TECHNOLOGY

   Shijie technology is fueled by their advancements in alchemy. They have unlocked gunpowder, freezing concoctions, perpetual fire, and even oils that make bone weapons as hard as forged steel.

LANGUAGE

   Embass is the official imperial language. There are various dialects of Embass, and it can vary from Province to Province. The language is highly tonal, with great emphasis on interpersonal propriety and rankings. It often goes hand in hand with complex body language such as eye contact, bowing, and even the physical space between two persons.

ECONOMICS

   The Shijie Empire relies on thin metal markers to represent their currency. The markers themselves are not made of valuable metals, but instead represent a certain amount of tradeable goods based on a symbolic stamp. An ox, for instance, might cost a hundred beast marks, versus a chicken might only cost two or three. Bags of rice, wheat and vegetables fall under plant marks, metal resources mountain marks, and so on. Local economies depend on what is available to trade, and the value of certain items can vary depending on the needs of the Province.

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RACE


_{A chart of provincial styles of dress, as well as the antlers grown in each Province}

   The Shijie-ren are small in stature, with their tallest citizen being around 5'10". The Shijie-ren are humanoid in shape and bipedal, with skin that ranges from earthy-pale for the southern provinces, to a deep tan in the northern provinces. Eye color also varies by province, with blues for the Gushui-ren, greens for the Songtu-ren, oranges and yellows for the Huohu-ren, and purples and pinks for the Sheng-gu-ren. Their pupils are slitted, and their eyes are angular and heavy-lidded typically.

Every Shijie-ren possesses small, white dots on either side of the bridge of their nose, a natural marking that is often flaunted with makeup. Their ears are pointed as one would expect from an elf, with the tips sloped back parallel to their skull. All Shijie-ren of adult age grow antlers regardless of gender, and these antlers vary in shape and size depending on the region. These antlers shed on a yearly basis, and it's common fashion in the imperial city to wear elaborate headdresses during shedding season to give the impression of being perpetually antlered.

   All Shijie-ren have long, thick black hair, and it is considered disgraceful to have close-cut short hair. As the Empire often shaves the heads of criminals as a form of penance, having shorter hair marks one as being a recovering criminal and can result in social stigma. Hair is often pulled back as a point of fashion, and elaborate hairstyles vary by province and whether the Shijie-ren in question has shed their antlers for the year or not.

   Unlike humans, or the Anathanati of Rulastinia, the Shijie-ren's legs taper off into thin, deer-like feet with cloven hooves. Another difference is the state of their teeth and bones, which are a dark grey rather than white. The most important difference between Shijie-ren and any other race, however, is their heart. Each Shijie-ren is born with their heart semi-exposed, with the coloration of the heart and surrounding skin dependent on their home province and matching their eye color. The hearts themselves pulse brighter depending on their emotional state, with quicker heartbeats causing an almost bio-luminescent glow.

   Children are born with fawn-spots on their back that fade with age, and these patterns of spots are often used as a form of divination to determine the child's fortune. Belief in this divination varies from person to person, but is widely accepted by imperial society as a whole. Often, the patterns of spots on royal children will be read to see who will succeed the throne, and there's a rather lucrative business to be had for fortune tellers who know which children to divine good fortunes for.

_{A cheat sheet for the Sheng-gu-ren, with possible eye colors}

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AVAILABLE RANKS

Emperor of the World: [1 rank available] This position is twofold: not only is the Emperor King of Sheng-gu, and thus has responsibilities to the province, but the Emperor is also responsible for maintaining the Empire's vast borders.

Empress: [1 rank available] The Emperor's wife. Empresses typically begin their marriage while their husband is still the Crown Prince, as the union is often an arranged political move.

Empress Dowager: [1 rank available] The mother of the current Emperor, widow of the prior Emperor. Often retains considerable rank as the imperial advisor.

The Four Ladies: [4 ranks available] Second only to the Empress, they share rank with one another, and often compete for the Emperor's favor. Hailing one each from the four provinces, the Four Ladies are Imperial Consorts who often have ambitions to be the bearer of the Crown Prince.

   Lady of Beauty: Royal consort chosen from Sheng-gu applicants. Essentially a diplomatic position, the Lady of Beauty is responsible for managing relations pertaining to visitors to Sheng-gu.

   Lady of Virtue: Royal consort chosen from Huohu applicants. Essentially a diplomatic position, as the Lady of Virtue is an ambassador between the Imperial Court and Huohu's regional courts.

   Lady of Grace: Royal consort chosen from Songtu applicants. A diplomatic position as the Lady of Grace is an ambassador between the Imperial Court and Songtu's regional courts.

   Lady of Honor: Royal consort chosen from Gushui applicants. Meant as a diplomatic position, where the consort would act as an ambassador and liaison, cultural tensions between the Gushui and Sheng-gu have made this a difficult position to hold.

Concubines [Unlimited availability]: Not officially married to the Emperor, but may bear children that become nobility, thus elevating the concubine's family to a higher status as a result.

Crown Prince: [1 rank available] Typically the first son born to any of the Emperor's official wives, but sometimes chosen outside of this lineage by Imperial edict. Will be crowned Emperor following his predecessor's death.

First Princess: The firstborn daughter of the Emperor. Cannot succeed the throne, but she is often a key administrative figure. Marriage to the First Princess is a highly sought after position as it is tied to considerable wealth.

   LING

Princes/Princesses: [Unlimited availability] The younger children born from the Emperor's wives. Succession to the throne is based on birth order, making the Emperor's sons born rivals to one another.

City Lords: [8 ranks available, one for each Sheng-gu city] Held only by nobility, and passed down to the eldest son of the noble house.

Nobles: [Unlimited ranks available] Officers of the imperial court, responsible for varying aspects of governmental structure such as accounting, taxation, trade agreements, etc. The Sheng-gu are notorious for having a title for almost everything, their court bureaucracy is overwhelmingly dense.