Shining Isle Protectorate
Gong'an
A warrior brandishes his sword. He lunges at an enemy equal to his skill and patriotism, but he trips and falls upon his own blade. Yet, this warrior wins the battle. Why did he even fight?
China is home to contradictions and the hengeyokai are no different. The Beast-Court connected to Macau of course maintains its Dragon Nest holding far from that bustling, corrupted city. They scorn the greed and crime of that place. Yet, their fortunes are indelibly tied to it. Long ago, arrangements were made that public funds generated by Macau’s gambling establishment would in part underwrite conservation in Guangdong (Canton) province. The hengeyokai’s home benefits from this. They have an interest in curtailing the worst of the Centipede’s malevolence in Macau.
So, Changing Phantoms of all sort gather to defend their home and the Emerald Mother. Patience and cunning are counseled here rather than brute force. Hence, the Beast-Court’s name (and its reference to Zen riddles known as koan or gong’an). In fact, the Court’s Regent, a charming and wealthy Kitsune matron named So Wai Yi, makes frequent trips into Macau to protect the court’s investments. She also seems to visit the Beast-Court of the Iron Cedar, which lies just north of Hong Kong and is considered a sister-court. The hengeyokai may also have Kin in Macau, though the mainland province has plenty of its own big cities for humans to move to and work in. Besides other Kitsune, the Court welcomes Stargazer and Dadi Ertong (Children of Gaia) Garou, Tengu, Nezumi, a few Nagah who spend more time south by the Hongqi River, a few Zhong Lung enjoying the subtropical climate, and even a Khan or two. Their general lack of interest in specific casino and gambling activities helps keep them out of the hair of other shen (and vice versa).
Rules
The Mandates are upheld stoically here. Trial by combat is actively discouraged; too few hengeyokai survive to spare. Instead, duels of riddles and games are far more common.
Other Shapeshifters
Same-Bito might join this Beast-Court despite its land-central location and, like the Nagah, operate out of regional waters rather than linger in the forest. Same-Bito might join because they might be driven to it by Sunset Rokea in the South China Sea and Indian Ocean who have no compunctions attacking and ripping apart “traitor betweeners”. Few Ananasi are thought to operate in the area, while any Kumo would be unwelcome in the Beast-Court (and may only be played in the Shades of Darkness game).
Court of Empty Riddles
As noted, this Beast-Court favors strategy over force, wit over muscle. In addition to helping its members survive everyday circumstances, it helps the court avoid rubbing other shen or demon hunters the wrong way. The Court has thusly stood since the Ming Dynasty, as the hengeyokai regrouped at the cusp of the Fifth Age. Harmony in breeds and shapeshifter traces is sought, with none favored over any other, making it popular to Fera who often feel downtrodden or ignored (like Nezumi). “Purity of thought, mastery of action” is a favorite motto of the gai’nan, who often repeat it to supplicants like a mantra.
Location
Dajianshan Forest stands in Guangdong (Canton) Province about thirty miles north of Macau. Not far is the mainland city of Zhongshan, a major industrial metropolis home to over 4 million souls. The mountains and surrounding forest has a status as a national conservation park. It’s partially open to the public for recreation; a small price to pay to keep their home, the hengeyokai reason.
Over 45 square miles of subtropical, mixed forest sprawl across a valley floor and up the sides of lowland hills and mountain sides. Oak, fir, pine, hemlock, orchid trees, and camphor trees spread over the land. Groves and thickets of bamboo, some rising as high as the tallest fir, scatter within the woodlands. The mountain heights are speckled with delicate and fragrant orchid flowers. Once home to many species of animals, larger predators were mostly driven out, though the hengeyokai are carefully reintroducing some of their animal Kinfolk to the region.
Bawn
The park offices are located to the south of the forest edge. Hiking trails are cleared around the outer heights. Carved stone steps create an illusion of ascending a forgotten staircase to an old hidden temple, though typically lead only to summits with splendid panoramic views of the forest and the horizon beyond. The hengeyokai tolerate the tourists but they and/or their Kin are involved with the park management office, and steer humans away from the deeper and more sensitive areas.
Dragon Nest
In the shadow of the highest mountain in Dajianshan, the peak with the titular name of the park, the forest grows thicker and wilder. A particularly dense grove of bamboo has no manmade path or trail that leads into its heart. Scent is typically how hengeyokai find their way through it to the center, which opens into a spacious and quiet glade. The bamboo rustles softly in the wind, the grove’s canopy keeping it largely enclosed. Here Assemblies take place and court affairs decided. The peaty, mossy floor of the grove absorbs footsteps of creatures of all sort. The moss itself is the heart of this Dragon Nest: to be tread upon, scented, consumed.
This is a Level 3 Dragon Nest of Wisdom. Fuzhu is the Totem (treat as White Doe).
Other Landmarks
The Grave of Hallowed Heroes is relatively small despite the Beast-Court’s venerable age. It’s located just outside the Dragon Nest heart, scattered among a looser bamboo copse. The Pathstone for the gate is buried under the earth in the center of the grove, deep beneath the moss. There are plenty of natural niches and dens of wood, earth, and stone that could provide shelter for hengeyokai in Homid or animal forms. A field of orchids on the summit of Dajianshan, called Choudeifaa, is especially blessed by the spirits and leaves any hengeyokai who wander or frolic there with a feeling of wholesome serenity.
Tribal Structure
Any shapeshifter (except the demon-corrupted, like Kumo) may take up the Great Burden.
Guardians
The Beast-Court appoints its mightiest warriors to guard the Dragon Nest and its most judicious members to oversee park management to help steer humans clear of hengeyokai territory. Fuzhu will send avatars in the form of ghostly deer to lead or scare intruders away. Should that fail, Fuzhu has taught the gai’nan a special and unique rite that summons the South Mountain Wind and sweeps over the entire forest, both in the Middle Kingdom and the Mirror Lands. All touched by that breeze fall into a deep slumber (even vampires) that does not end until the ritual is ended. Only two of the four gai’nan are required to enact the meditative rite.
Grotto of the Deepwater Sanctuary
Far out into the South China Sea, many more small islands exist in the middle. Most of those islands are atolls, islets, skerries, and cays. Far to the south, some 400 miles from Macau, lie the Paracel Islands. These islands are contested by several countries, including China, Vietnam, and Indonesia. One of the islands is called Bombay Reef, which China patrols. It’s known as a dangerous atoll because of its jagged reef tips. It’s also the shelf over one of the deepest grottos in the South China Sea.
From that Grotto of Savagery (Level 3), several slews of Rokea swim. They call their home Samseoi-Geoi (“Deepwater Sanctuary”). Only one or two of those packs have any interest in hunting or punishing Betweeners (which includes Same-Bito). Most of the Rokea in this area are embroiled in a long, low-energy war with minions of Qyrl, namely the frightening and epidemical Chulorviah.
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.
Feast of the God Toutei
The god Toutei is a tutelary earth deity of Chinese “folk” religion that the hengeyokai of Canton believe is the consort of the Emerald Mother. Once a year, a great feast is held in his honor at the end of the tenth moon (October), near the end of harvest season. This feasting coincides with a similar holiday in Macau proper, where the feast is held in the Buddhist temple of Pou Tai An (located in western Taipa).
“You’re asking me about the riddle of the warrior who fell on his own blade? Here’s the answer: try not to fall on your own sword.”
-- Kwan Wong Kei, General of the Court of Empty Riddles
