Mazu Temple Protectorate
Winds of Wealth
A-Ma, also known as Mazu or Matsu, from whom the name Macau derives, is the goddess of the sea, wind, and wealth. She has been the patron deity of Macau since at least the Yuan Dynasty, when the local villages were infused with Song refugees from the north hoping to start a new life. Boli Zouiszhe traveled with their Kin to this place and long ago discovered a small yet potent Dragon Nest in the heart of the islands. They took it upon themselves to help their human relatives and families adapt and grow. Long before a casino opened, the Eastern Glass Walkers were here, growing the commercial enterprise on behalf of their people. When Macau became a gambling destination, the Boli Zouiszhe embraced that, too. They own no specific casino today but have heavy interest and investments in multiple sites across the city. These Garou also continue to sponsor various merchant associations, drumming up business of all sorts. Wantong (Bone Gnawers) became attracted to the unusual apparent altruism of the Boli Zouiszhe and joined the Sept. They help with the homeless population that the city prefers to barely acknowledge.
Rules
The Litany and particularly Veil are both upheld. No specific rules or laws otherwise apply.
Other Shapeshifters
There is no Beast-Court of hengeyokai in Macau itself. As local Ratkin (Nezumi) are generally happy with that Beast-Court, they have no reason to form a nest in the city, even if they frequently visit and cultivate Kin and future Birthing Plagues.
Sept of Endless Prosperity
The Sept of Endless Prosperity continues its goal of wealth and success for both its constituent Tribes and their networks of Kinfolk. The mere generation of wealth is not enough for the Sept. Instead, furnishing of essential goods, food, and shelter are the goal. Unsurprisingly, the Sept elders operate out of a holy temple. They do not disguse themselves as priests but act as the laity they are, as commercial sponsors and patrons and social workers. Their compassion has earned the Sept a powerful network of allies not just among human Kin but Totemic spirits. Should rival shen or Centipede-aligned enemies target these Garou, they quickly discover how supple and resilient they are.
Location
The A-Ma Temple is one of the largest and most impressive holy structures in Macau. Its construction dates back to the 14th-century. This temple is found in southwestern peninsular Macau not far from the river lane separating the city from the mainland. The building blends Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist styles of religious architecture, with imperial gargoyles and a small pagoda-like steeple. The inside is lined with shrines and nooks, with divine icons and Buddhas half-hidden in the plumes of incense.
Bawn
The plaza outside the temple serves as the Sept’s limited bawn territory. Even the trashiest, lowest-class urbanite knows better than to litter their garbage here. More than one loiterer has nearly had his ass literally chewed out by an angry “monk”.
Dragon Nest
The Dragon Nest is housed within A-Ma Temple. The second floor (restricted from the public) is a larger shrine dedicated to perhaps the roughest, ugliest idol ever carved—perhaps because it was hand-sculpted from meteorite-iron to roughly form Mazu herself. The statue throbs with a low-key (Gnosis) energy at all times. Some Boli Zouiszhe have feared radiation, but no tests have revealed any such toxic isotopes. The Sept founder, 800 years ago, found the large lump of “sky-metal” and crafted it herself into the shape her dreamed vision of Mazu brought.
The Dragon Nest is a Level 2 Caern of Plenty. The Totem is Mazu, a sea-goddess and City Mother totem, whose main demand is that her children share their good fortune with all.
Other Landmarks
The Grave of Hallowed Heroes commingles with the human cemetery laid in the temple’s rear. A special section is dedicated to Trueborn Garou but otherwise they are interred among the people. The Pathstone for the Dragon Nest is embedded in the sky-metal statue of Mazu: her eyes, which are perfect diamonds.
Tribal Structure
Boli Zouiszhe (Glass Walkers), Wantong (Bone Gnawers), and Dadi Ertong (Children of Gaia) dominate the Sept. A couple intrepid Hakken, some of mixed Chinese/Japanese heritage and of more dubious clans (like Joseki-myo), have found their way here.
Guardians
Two well-trained Guardians watch over Mazu at all times. Any intruders to that floor are rarely shown the same mercy and understanding the Sept demonstrates externally. The idol is too precious to risk: it’s the heart of their endeavor. And thieves have tried to trick and play their heart-strings before. So, any intruders who sneak past the monks are at best roughed up and subdued and terrified into silence about the idol’s existence, or simply murdered and dumped in the river. In the event of emergencies, the Master of the Rite can summon two powerful guardian spirits who inhabit Fu-Lion statues at the temple’s main door. Those stone statues animate and become ferocious, golem-like defenders.
Special Events
Special events are annual (or more frequent) holidays or special ritual days that the main group or groups observe as a whole community. Attendance and participation are often expected of all members, and sometimes required.
A-Ma Festival
Held on April 23rd, this festival honors the titular deity of the temple and the most popular folk goddess in Macau. The Sept gladly oversees their totem’s public honor by leading a short parade-like pilgrimage across the city, crossing the Sai Van Bridge from the peninsula to Taipa. They continue to march south into Coloane and up the steep hills in the center of the lower island, to Mount Coloane’s summit. There stands the great statue of Mazu herself, the icon of the city. Offerings of food and joss papers are left for Mazu.
“You do not have to ‘earn’ this generosity. Simply pay it forward—reciprocity, not indenture.”
-- Chow Yut, CEO of the Sept of Endless Prosperity
