Hengeyokai shapeshifters of the east download pdf

We call them Namebreakers, and watch them as a mongoose The shen are as diverse as the mortals they live with, but are watches a cobra. The magi have taken possession of a power also empowered to varying degrees beyond their mortal kin.

We that was not meant to be theirs — the power of Naming. Let me keep an uneasy accord with each of them; the Kuei-jin may well tell you a story, and you will see what I mean. We are not above making pacts with hsien, Second Age. None remember his name, but this cavalier was ghosts, even Kuei-j in or Namebreakers should it prove necessary. So dashing was he that the chamber- skirt, and spat a curse which fell on the cavalier, boiling him inside maids who kept Gaia's palace in order would often pause in his skin.

But the Weaver had been too late; already the secret of their duties to look down from Heaven and watch him, leaning Naming had been passed on to other humans — a courtesan, for on their brooms and sighing wistfully.

To this day, the Eventually, he drew the attention of a goddess, a Minister of Namebreakers are punished by sendings of the Weaver and the Rivers and Streams.

She was beautiful beyond all words, so when Emerald Mother, and such is only just. She carried We have little love for those who work what they call him up to her bed in Heaven, where they dallied for a day.

Worse, the magi often plot and scheme to wrest the sleeping on her bed to go walk the halls of Heaven and wonder energy of the dragon lines for themselves, energy to which they at what he found there. Soon he found himself in a library, and have no lawful right. If only the humans had been content to he resolved to read the poetry of Heaven for himself— for what work the sorceries and rituals that had been given them.

But the books he such is never the way of things. The cavalier was returned to Earth the next day, his mind The spirits of the wandering dead are best avoided. Those who do not move correctly with the Great Cycle are suffering a. I boiling with his new insight. Impatient to test this knowledge, he walked up to a boulder and spoke its Name—but he pronounced form of banishment and must come to terms with their karmic the Name differently, and it flew into bits.

Delighted with his new debts. Those who do not correctly reenter the cycle face possible power, he danced away, and began to play with it. Some of us traffic with these unfortunate Of course, eventually the Weaver noticed that this cavalier souls. A few amongst the Kitsune and the Tengu are known to do was disrupting the precious order of all things. Immediately she this, as are some of the skinchangers of other lands. My advice is ran to the Emerald Mother, and told Her that a human had stolen to leave the dead to their own functions.

They must return to the the power of Naming and must be punished. Gaia stopped and Great Cycle on their own. The debt that they must pay to return listened, and then She felt a tug at Her being; at this time, you see, the cavalier had called the lightning to dance for his amusement.

It is a hard thing to know the proper civilities for We are of one blood, but not one mind. We refer to all of encounters with such a diversity of beings. If the fading of all our various cousins as beast-folk, but the Sunset People have things has not slain the wondrous beings that once roamed the grown apart in a land very strange to us. The differences continent, then perhaps you will one day meet with such an between us and them are often matters of values and integrity.

May you honor the Courts with your Our interactions with the Sunset People arc made all the more behavior if that comes to pass. They are fractious and warlike, clannish and fatalistic. They do not understand why the Beast The Hakken fell silent, and only the faintest whispers Courts of the Emerald Mother exist in the form that they do — broke the silence of the court.

Su Huo's knees ached from the and this knowledge is so instinctive to us that the Sunset People long lecture, but he didn't speak a word of discomfort. Finally, seem ignorant and blind. Some of our Breeds meet cautiously with their relations, to "It is time. You five may rise; then you may follow General share information or to find common ground, like the Khan Tearing Lightning, who will set you on the next step of your and the Tengu.

Others admit to harboring a strong disdain for education. In no case, however, do we allow them to dictate The massive man with the antique halberd stepped forward, their rules to us.

We are bound by the Mandates of the Courts, and his blazing eyes swept over all five. His mouth moved into not by their various codes of honor. We are ordained by the something that might have been a smile, but probably wasn't.

Emerald Mother Herself, as much as they are, and it is not their "Now you five learn why you are here," he rumbled. If they respectfully Su Huo's heart skipped with fear — and also with excite- enter our lands, honor our ways and traditions, and do not seek ment.

Of course, many hengeyokai have heard the tales of their War of Rage. We hengeyokai have never understood what drove the beast-folk of other lands to such foolish disregard of ou are bam to human, to beast. We of the Middle Kingdom received those who fled beneath. For countless generations it has been debated by the Courts that perhaps the Garou have lost their proper place Certainly the most distinctive thing about the observing the Great Cycle.

Some even postulate that the Garou hengeyokai is the manner in which they gather in courts. To may have become cast out; like our own Kuei-jin. To this I say: Westerners, the very thought of cooperating with other Chang- Do they not have their own totems? Do the spirits not heed their ing Breeds is often startling, particularly to the races who still calls?

It would seem that the Mother has forgiven them to some bear modern Garou a grudge for the actions of their ancestors. Time will tell whether we do the same. However, the hengeyokai have kept to a common system of cooperation since before human history began. They refer to Of course, there are certain members of their tribes who have themselves in whole as the Beast Courts of the Emerald Mother made oaths to the Beast Courts of the Emerald Mother, and who — a society that crosses racial and geographical lines to unify are as much hengeyokai as you and I.

They are not found in great the shapeshifters of a continent. Among the Beast Courts, numbers, but many of them have lived in our lands for generations. The greatest concentration of these Garou—apart from the Stargazers, who are Of course, not all Asian shapeshifters belong to the Courts.

The most predominant of these breeds is serving the Great Centipede, but they are hardly the only the Boli Zousizhe, who were once known as "Glass Walkers". Also exceptions. Many Khan give their loyalty to the Bastet ideals and to be found there are the Wangtong, who are related to the tribe reject the common law of the hengeyokai, and the Hong Kong Glass Walkers maintain cordial relations with — but not fealty called the "Bone Gnawers.

In short, being a shapeshifter born in Asia they come and go with the passing of the seasons. To truly be a Many other shen may yet dwell in the Middle Kingdom: member of the Beast Courts, a shapeshifter must pledge his loyalty to the Emerald Mother and to the court system which, in Her Taoist immortals, spirit creatures, mythic beasts and more once wandered our lands, and still may dwell in the bleakest wilder- wisdom, She decreed the hengeyokai were to follow.

The most obvious is that they uphold a communal Renown system, the Way of Emerald Virtue, that rewards hengeyokai for follow- ing their auspice roles. Unlike the auspice system of the Garou, the hengeyokai's auspices are discovered through ritual divina- tion, and do not necessarily correspond to moon signs or positions of the sun.

Not all shapeshifters loyal to the Courts follow this system, of course — there are many who continue to uphold the virtues of their Changing Breed while still offering their services to the Courts.

But the hengeyokai who have entered into a permanent court position at one of the sacred caerns, as well as those who join together in the bonds of a mountain sentai, usually adhere to the communal Renown rules. Another significant difference is the common code of behav- ior, called the Mandates.

Those who adhere to Court law are expected to follow the Mandates without question. This some- times causes trouble when individual hengeyokai find that the Litanies of their kind and the Mandates conflict on a certain matter, but for the most part the Mandates have been an unswerv- ing and fortifying part of hengeyokai law for as long as the Beast Courts have existed.

Again, hengeyokai who adhere to the Way of Emerald Virtue are expected to have set the Mandates before their tribal laws; however, such hengeyokai can often j ustify honoring their racial Litany by invoking the First Mandate. Although the hengeyokai don't practice a formal caste system — there are too few of them to require such stratification — they acknowledge that each Breed has its own task, set in the Second Age before the birth of the first shapeshifter. Even the Nezumi, the plaguebearing Children of Rat, serve their own purpose in the hengeyokai courts; not even the most arrogant Khan can deny that the Mother fashioned them with their own role to play.

Perhaps the sole exception to this unity is the Kumo, the Goblin Spiders. The Kumo never swore fealty to the Emerald Mother, and the other hengeyokai view them as enemies. Of course, the Courts give the Kumo as much respect as they do to any enemy; Kumo ambassadors are never turned away from our courts, although they are carefully watched, and the hengeyokai will sometimes strike pacts with the Goblin Spiders to destroy a mutual enemy of even greater spiritual foulness.

Nonetheless, it is almost unheard of for a Goblin Spider to reject the ways of the Wyrm and j oin with the Beast Courts. If ever any have done so, history does not speak of them. Each caern has a court to defend it, and in most ways a hengeyokai court is identical to a Garou sept. Many of the members live at the caern, there is a definite hierarchy of officials, and each court strives to maintain packs of shapeshifters suitable for pursuing necessary quests.

In the twilight of the Fifth Age, however, the courts are but mere shadows of their former glory. Where once there were many ministers of all manner of affairs, now only four offices remain constant from sept to sept. Where once there were mighty war bands ready to slay entire legions of the Centipede's spawn, now each court must struggle to maintain two or three sentai, if that many. I The ranking personages of a court are usually referred to as courtier who summons spirits to ask favors, bind sentai, teach Goi'ran — a shapeshifter word literally meaning "Gaia's liegemen.

The closest human approximation is magis- Gifts or perform other tasks. As could be expected, the seer wields a great deal of personal power. It's not unheard of for a seer to become over- proud of his importance, and thereby corrupted. Such individu- I trate; however, the term Gai'nan doesn't imply government ap- als can easily play the role of the archetypal wicked vizier, using pointment as much as it does responsibility, fairness and honor. There are only four Gai'nan offices that remain constant from What's more, the position of seer is one with many innate risks.

As a result, A seer will almost always have at least one potential successor each Gai'nan's office includes a host of minor responsibilities and in training, if a young hengeyokai with promise is available at all. Such responsibility is frankly tremendous, and should before he had passed on even as much as half his lore; therefore, a magistrate betray his post, the punishments are never lenient.

If more than one potential candidate exists, the court may well assign both or all to the seer, in the hopes that The regent is essentially the highest-ranking caern elder; he will be able to weed out the most worthy successor over the the ultimate authority figure of the court.

He is the keeper of the course of their training. A great number of rivalries start this way. The regent is typically chosen by the court's acclaim and by petitioning the Court of Ancestors to Like all shapechangers, the hengeyokai keep an oral recognize the most worthy candidate. It is an office few ask for, tradition that stretches back to the days of prehistory.

It is the as the temporal influence gained is nothing compared to the historian's task to learn and know the story of the caern and its burden of justly overseeing the affairs of a court. The eyes of all court from the very beginning, as well as to know the tales of the are upon the regent, and he must cleave the closest to the battles fought against the Mother's enemies. The historian is a Mandates or lose face before his courtiers. By analyzing the patterns of what has gone before Gai'nan.

In accordance with the Mandates, this must only be and comparing them to current events, the historian provides done if the regent is clearly ignoring the recommendations of the other Gai'nan with all the knowledge they could require. Removing the regent from power, task. Some historians are trained to accept the role almost from the even temporarily, can lead to great losses of Renown if the other day after their First Change.

Zhong Lung are found in the role of Gai'nan cannot prove that it was absolutely necessary. The historian in many courts, for obvious reasons. In many others, the regent is never chosen lightly, and circumstances must be grave historian is a metis of varying race; the advantage of being raised in indeed to go against the will of the Emerald Mother.

The general, or warmaster, fulfills a role similar to that of a Although a court's war parties are not as high-ranking as the Garou caern Warder. Her duty is to ensure that the hengeyokai Gai'nan, they serve a highly distinguished purpose.

Members of of the court are properly trained in war and are prepared to defend mountain sentai are traditionally excused from holding any formal the caern should it become necessary. Of course, in modern times offices; their active duty is considered to be too important to weigh the general's particular preference of tactics can vary widely; them down with unnecessary conflicts.

As expected, wave sentai depending on the general involved, the court's hengeyokai may serve no real long-term purpose in a court's hierarchy, and are often find themselves required to learn the tactics of SunTzu, practice gathered from the hengeyokai of several courts. Mountain sentai arts of stealth that would shame ninja, or undergo instruction in are far rarer, and those that pledge themselves to the defense of a the latest Red Army commando tactics and weapons training.

The general's influence with the court is not invariable, but most can call on a great deal if need be. As the Hakken proverb runs, "Peacetime is a pretty poem, but the world is Compared to the Gai'nan, the hengeyokai who choose the illiterate. Although varying degrees, the general can count on her talents being they must still uphold the Mandates and defend the caern in constantly in demand and her advice rarely ignored.

The regent will often assign minor offices to such courtiers, partly to distribute the responsibilities The seer of a court fulfills a role much like the Master of the of the court and partly to ensure that each member of the court Rite. He is the keeper of the rites, the one who dictates to the has a duty with which to occupy his rime.

As creatures born to spirits, the master of summonings. A wise regent ensures that each of drain away forever. Violations of the other edicts are punished his courtiers has valuable tasks to perform; not only does this rigorously, but few can flaunt the First and Final Mandates and keep the court running smoothly, but as the hengeyokai slowly escape without suffering protracted and brutal retribution.

All shapechangers are creatures of purpose. No less so are In essence, the First Mandate requires each Changing the hengeyokai. When the Beast Courts of the Emerald Mother Breed of the Courts to serve the Mother in the manner in which were formally drawn into being, they set down the ultimate She intended. No Garou of the courts may turn from the path laws that would guide their kind — the Mandates.

In Her sagacity, Gaia Lung , the Mandates were handed directly to the regent of the granted each shapechanger with a duty; to insult Her wisdom First Court by the Emerald Mother Herself. Consequently, the by choosing another path is a dreadful offense. In particular, Mandates are treated with all the reverence one would expect.

But unlike the Litany, the Mandates are Those who violate this fundamental mandate, whether held in accord by many Changing races at once, and in many through sloth, cowardice or other failings of virtue, are punished cases are the only thing holding a fractious court together. Of by the Rite of Quiet Burial. As creatures literally born intoa life's course, the hengeyokai interpret individual edicts to suit their purpose, hengeyokai have no patience for dilettantes.

A Hakken might be frail of body, more suited to a The First Mandate and the Final Mandate are considered courtier's life or that of a stealthy agent. A Zhong Lung might to be the cornerstones of all hengeyokai law. Obedience of the take an active role in a sentai, rather than spending many hours First Mandate is necessary to the understanding of all man- in dreams. This mandate doesn't prohibit hengeyokai from dates, as well as the duty all shapeshifters bear.

And the Final breaking the stereotype of the "perfect warrior," or "consum- Mandate may never be ignored, altered or forgotten, for if the mate spy," or what have you. So long as the greater purpose is hengeyokai fail to uphold it, the lifeblood of the Mother will served even obliquely, the Courts will probably be content. Many shen, particularly the hell-born Kuei-j in, would be happy to see the Wheel stop in the age of their choice.

The hcngcyokai, creatures of balance, were created in part so that they might ensure that each age would rule in turn, and then be succeeded by the next. The hengeyokai have been promised that if they are successful in this, the Wheel will eventually turn to the Twelfth Age, when Heaven and Earth will again be made one. Gaia will be healed of all Her ills, and Her faithful servants' bodies and spirits will be made one with All.

Such a perfection of the universe seems very far away — in fact, nothing more than a pipe dream in the bloody, stinking Fifth Age. Yet it is the one true hope of the Courts that this may yet come to pass, and thousands of hengeyokai have given their lives for just that purpose. Reality: A few hengeyokai believe it a superior purpose to stop the Wheel and turn it back to the First Age, without ever enduring the slaughter of the Sixth Age.

However, these secre- tive dissidents are few and far between. The Courts have faith in the wisdom of the Mother, and generally do not seek to offend Her by presuming to know a better way to order Creation.

Each must be trusted to perform his duties fittingly, or the Courts would devolve into a swirling mass of chaos where progress would be impossible. This mandate forbids hengeyokai from ignoring their own work to criticize their fellows'; on general principle, a warrior should not instruct a sorcerer in how best to work a ritual, and a spy should not correct a diplomat in his manners.

Of course, this mandate doesn't prevent a spy from warning a general of forces that would make a given plan of attack suicide, or any similar hengeyokai from sharing wisdom relevant to a given field. It mainly reminds the hengeyokai that superior expertise should be heeded, and that each Breed is presumed to possess such expertise in the task for which they were created.

The hengeyokai least bound by this mandate are the Nagah, those who judge and punish. To honor the First Mandate, they must carry on their appointed duty as the magistrates of the Courts, ensuring that none betray their positions.

However, even they are not entitled to punish hengeyokai for performing "poorly" or "inadequately" — they may bring retribution against traitors, but not against the merely unsuccessful. Reality: Court politics being what they are, this mandate is often bent just a little. Many courtiers gossip about the judiciousness of their comrades' decisions, or the efficacy or lack thereof of the latest sentai. Few hengeyokai care to openly challenge their rivals if they are of different Breeds, of course , but one does hear things, such as the latest Nezumi plot, or the Hakken's rapidly paling wolf-blood, or.

The Courts also tend to themselves, the hengeyokai must always be true to their nature classify treatment of Kinfolk and even local humans under this by honoring the spirit world, a vital part of their own being.

Naturally, each of the hengeyokai interpret particularly those who grew up fascinated by Western culture "proper and honorable treatment" of humans as suits them best and find more antiquated traditions unnecessary. However, — the Hakken school their Kin in the lower affairs of the since the spirits respond well only to those who honor them in Courts, whereas the Nezumi act as gardeners to their human turn, most hengeyokai learn to faithfully follow this mandate in charges in a slightly different fashion.

Reality: Many a bloody conflict has been started between shen as a result of obedience to this mandate. The hengeyokai share the territorial instincts of most shapechangers, and often Some might see this mandate as a simple rule of survival, consider themselves the best qualified to oversee any given sacred much like the Western vampires' Masquerade — humanity is area.

Considering the Chi-thirsty Kuei-jin and power-drinking so numerous, and so destructive, that if they learned of the magi, the hengeyokai may well be right in their thinking. However, this mandate was composed long before the Chinese had gunpowder, in a time where humanity was hardly a threat. Instead, this edict is meant to More than anything, this mandate was decreed to prevent remind the hengeyokai that their nature contains that of bloodshed between hengeyokai.

Although logic dictates that human and animal, and that neither side must be abandoned. There are other animals — it forbids active campaigns against species, settle- enemies aplenty thirsting for hengeyokai blood; there is no ments or the like. The Impergium was deemed a failure, and there point to losing it to an ally's blade.

In performing one'sduties, itmay larly Westerners, to be outside the Mother's Court. When transpire that many human deaths are necessary — but those deaths dealing with Kuei-jin, Western vampires, hsien, Namebreakers should never be the first object of a hengeyokai's mission.

Hakken have interpreted it so strictly that in maintaining a peaceful coexistence with the Japanese humans, they have lost contact with the fullness of their wolf natures. The other hengeyokai have remained mostly free of this trap, although Without the wisdom of those who have gone before, the the Tengu's growing fascination with the modern world's beast-folk would be no greater than their animal kin.

Just as wonders is causing some concern among the Courts. The First Mandate com- properly honor their Ancestor-spirits, whom they refer to mands them to keep the humans in check, so surely they could collectively as the Courts of the Ancestors.

Worse, with the near-extinction of their tiger when dealing with their elders. With age comes wisdom, and brethren, many Khan are questioning the wisdom of a decree with wisdom comes strength.

Just as the Courts encourage one that forbids making war on humans when the humans have to learn the lessons taught by the Wheel of Ages, it is deemed clearly declared war on the beasts. The younger shapeshifters, Of all the mandates, the Final Mandate is the most invio- particularly those homids raised with Western ideals, are usu- lable.

The sacred sites of the Earth were entrusted to the hengeyokai ally the ones most frequently violating this mandate. However, in the Second Age, and betraying that trust — thereby abandon- disrespecting one's elders is usually a poor idea among ing the world to a fate of decay — is unthinkable.

Reality: The hengeyokai have not rid themselves of corruption completely, and sometimes traitors arise in their All rites and rituals are to be performed in the proper midst. However, the suffering that awaits those who betray the fashion, and proper obeisance must be made in the presence of Final Mandate is so excruciating that few consider the rewards the great powers of the Yang World. As creatures partly spirit of success worth the price of failure. When all the mountains have been shaken Then where will all the dragons go?

As the Wheel turns, however, the Tapestry continues to Although the greatest spirits have fallen into fade. Some hengeyokai harbor secret doubts that there will even Slumber, and the fading of the Fifth Age bleaches be a spirit world left by the time that the Sixth Age passes — in the color from the highest spirit mountaintops, the these darkening times, it becomes very easy to believe that the Tapestry is still a dramatic world unto itself.

The Umbra will choke and wither away, its host of secret and beautiful Umbra, the shadowy dream land, home of the things lost on the Yellow Wind. Only time will tell if the spirit spirits, retains far stronger ties to the physical world in the East world of the East will be born anew, or if it will wither and die on than it does in the West.

Dragon lines lie buried below the the vine. As long as there is breath left in the hengeyokai, they surface — but not too deeply. The spirit world yet lives in Asia will fight to preserve this greatest of all treasures. Many still trust simple rituals and ancient charms more than science or technology. Although some westernized city The Wall, the shen's name for the Gauntlet, stands between dwellers may scoff at folk tales of dragons and powerful spirits, the Umbra and the physical world just as it does elsewhere.

And they do so quietly; even many corporate presidents carefully like the Great Wall of China, the Wall is many walls, not just a honor tradition and show respect to the spirits. The people single constant barrier. There are areas of great ambient energy, have not completely forgotten what once was. Emerald Mother insist on maintaining good relations with The Wall, of course, is thinnest along the dragon lines and their Incarna allies.

Homid hengeyokai often have far less in the dragon nests. It's rumored that a handful of gates even difficulty comprehending the Umbra than their human-born exist between the physical world and the Umbra — or at least Western counterparts; their human relatives have kept the that they did as little as a century ago.

Hidden in natural glens 'A knowledge knowled of the spirit world better than one might expect. If any exist, no doubt they are held by powerful spirits or shen with their own personal ambitions, and use of such gates would never be free.

It should be noted that in the places where the Wall is Mountain sentai enjoy a special advantage when it strong, such as laboratories or microchip manufacturing plants, comes to traversing the Wall and walking in the Umbra. As it is almost impossible to cross into the Umbra, even to use some with Garou packs, the sentai may nominate a leader to draw Gifts. The standard ratings for the Gauntlet apply in Asia, but the other members of the sentai through, making the Gnosis due to the incredible variations of human belief, the Storyteller roll for the entire war party.

However, if the sentai members is free to raise or lower the Wall's rating by one where it seems have held true to their aligned roles, and the spirits are pleased appropriate such as a site of pilgrimage or a sterilized factory. Thus a Hakken may lead his Khan and Zhong Lung The Mirror Lands, as the shen call the Penumbra, are the teammates into the Mirror Lands, even though they would be places in the Umbra closest to the physical world.

They are normally incapable of such a journey. The potential to step named for their reflection of the material, a reflection which sideways is innate to all Changing Breeds—the power of the reveals the underlying meaning in the physical realm.

They can sentai simply acts as a catalyst. Naturally, this ability only be frightening, confusing places, warping the physical world in functions when the sentai is together; when separated, the most exotic ways, but the wise have learned their language.

The conflict between the strong Weaver areas, such as modern research facilities, and the strong Wyld areas, such as Mirror Lands; even the vampires of the East, the Kuei-jin, can well-tended ancient shrines or groves, creates fluctuations in the develop the ability to enter the Umbra. Mirror Lands. These vibrations, the secret pulse of the spirit The physical laws of the Mirror Lands for the most part realms, strain the threads of the Tapestry in places.

They also remain the same as on the other side of the Wall. What goes up, cause storms in the Mirror Lands which can damage the spirit still comes down. A hengeyokai who walks five! Of course, there to feel the vibrations of the Umbra and sense disturbances in the are exceptions. The Mirror Lands contain many domains, places spirit world. These domains are much like those found in the world than those in the West.

They have strongholds and Western Umbra, but there are a few significant differences. According to shapeshifter dogma, all Lands; their unholy mix of Wyrm and Weaver energies often things have a spirit. However, the spirits of the Mirror Lands are appears in the reflections of crowded cities such as Bangkok and much more active than their Western counterparts, and a Beijing.

Here the power of the Wyld ebbs, and the stench of rot greater number of them are awake. Some are tricksters, some clings to the spirit webs. And as the Fifth Age draws to a close, terrors, but all have a place in the spirit courts and a role to play. True to their name, these places are often ruled by Mirror Lands; although the awakened spirit of an antique demonic spirits who breed monstrosities to terrorize the Mirror family stool may seem irrelevant or harmless, it may well be a Lands.

Some of the most powerful Banes build mockeries of the servant of the Dragon Prince of Wood, who would be quite spirit courts and rule from these domains. The Epiphs, the strange domains which represent abstract Like the Penumbra of the West, the Mirror Lands are lit ideas and concepts, are equally present in the East.

The primarily by the light of the moon. However, ten distant suns, hengeyokai tread carefully near them, knowing full well that the smallest not much larger than the brightest star and the within Epiphs, the rules of reality break down. Nonetheless, largest only thrice that size, are also visible during the day. The some shapeshifters go to the trouble of contacting the abstract Zhong Lung pay reverence to the largest sun as the one true spirits within, struggling to find enlightenment from these Sun, and rumble that the other nine are siblings, stillborn in the living koans.

Westerners find many of the Eastern Epiphs even physical realm but not forgotten here. The corre- places corrupt and strive to destroy such domains. Hengeyokai are likely to encounter other shen in the declined with the expansion of man. Many still survive in the. Every Glen is a scenic vision of a perfect natural environment, corresponding with its physical equivalent. Many a court convenes their affairs in the serenity of a Glen; youngsters who are disre- spectful to such an environment are stringently punished.

The Weaver's blitzkrieg on the Mirror Lands is keenly evident in the profligation of Webs. The coming of industry to the East has altered the Mirror Lands forever in places; now areas such as Tokyo, Hong Kong and Seoul, as well as the numerous factories and research facilities, have bedecked the spirit world with glistening metal spiderwebs.

Few hengeyokai, even Kumo, feel safe in such places. A list of all the physical locations of interest in the Mirror Lands would take several exhaustive volumes, but one region deserves special mention. Swirling mists fill the border between China and Russia, and a great barrier stands between the two countries.

A powerful force, spoken of only in whispers, separates the Russian Penumbra from the Mirror Lands, and travel through the spirit world between China and Russia is not possible. Many shen stand sentinel on this border, diligently guarding against whatever threats may break through from the other side. It is a place of moon tracks and dragon paths, where time loses its meaning.

The laws of the physical world hold less sway. Power becomes a measure of Chi and wisdom. Westerners know this place as the Near Umbra, but they do not know it as well as they would like.

Life and energy fill the Yang Realms, whereas Yin Realms are places of death and darkness. The hengeyokai feel greater ties to the Yang Realms, and it is there that they do most of their interactions with the Umbra. Yin Realms are considered domains of ghosts and demons, and as such, most hengeyokai try to avoid them. Although all hengeyokai agree on the basic nature of Yang Realms and Yin Realms, they have many disagreements on the number and placement of these places in the Tapestry.

Travelers can reach the Tapestry from the Mirror Lands by following moon paths or dragon tracks. Most of. The Stork-spirits that glide through the Tapestry have no particular allegiance to anyone other than the Mother herself. They are willing to aid friendly hengeyokai, but must be somehow compelled to even speak to Kumo, fallen shapeshifters, Kuei-jin with powerful P'o energy or any other suspicious character. They appear as beautiful herons, cranes and storks of all kinds, and their feathers glisten with a radiant sheen..

Strange are the safest ways to move through the Tapestry, for both the sounds echo there, and scents of a hundred different spices moon and sun trails change and shift as the moon and sun rise mix in the air. Some hengeyokai seek signs and symbols in and set, while dragon paths remain as eternal as the spirits that the patterns of the swirling vapor. Benevolent and mali- once created them.

However, many young hengeyokai have cious spirits wander through the mists, and clever hengeyokai noticed that servants of the Wyrm and nobles of the spirit who have somehow lost their way summon Stork-spirits to courts commonly move along dragon paths and while they do help them find a way out of the mists. The Stork-spirits not fear conflict, neither do they wish to draw attention to have a long tradition of aiding lost travelers, and their themselves. Prudence may well demand seeking out other ways assistance is always welcome.

Dragon paths, roads created long ago by the passage of In addition to the great Realms, hengeyokai may visit mighty dragon spirits often lead between the Mirror Lands and many other locations in the Tapestry. They are familiar with the Tapestry. These roads tend to be safer and more direct ways several of the Realms and locations known to the Western to reach the various Realms than wandering through the shapechangers, although certain areas such as the Tribal Home- Tapestry.

If someone is standing on a dragon path, then they are lands and Erebus are completely unfamiliar to them see under the protection of the dragon who created the trail.

Werewolf, pg. The dragon paths are well-marked and appear to the discerning eye as roads inlaid Many spirits have their own domains in the Tapestry. The type of substance indicates the influence of the scheme, many of the Ministers of Heaven have begun ruling in dragon who made the path; pearl indicates the tracks of a sea a more feudal manner, seeing themselves as an absolute power dragon while precious woods imply the passage of the ruler of within their own spheres.

However, they have not forgotten a forest domain, for example. Even some of the Eastern Banes are not completely hengeyokai between Realms. The Hakken are the most com- corrupt; many of them are trustworthy and honorable, their mon travelers of moon paths, while Zhong Lung prefer the less dark goals notwithstanding.

Most of them have a palace with a great tower wherein they dwell. All visitors must enter ang realms are places of light and power where through a main gate, which is always guarded by powerful many spirits allied to Gaia gather or hold sway.

Water, diverted from the great river of life and realms, and that as shcn become more enlightened abundance, flows through the courtyard of every noble. A they can perceive more realms. Ancient hengeyokai bridge of marble, ivory, jade, pearl, or another valuable sub- even postulate that all living things have a domain stance crosses the river, often guarded by other spirit sentinels.

Some spirit nobles have great carved poles where peti- can call on and possibly even summon. The spirits of the realms tioners can hang their pleas or requests for the spirit to consider are extremely powerful, likely on the level of Incarna, although overaday. If they deem the request worthy, then they will allow within their own realms, they can seem more like Celestines.

Of course, nobody knows the names of all the Yang Lords; the Young hengeyokai should be warned: The nobles of the Courts had to use much diplomacy and bartering to uncover courts are tied to each other in many ways.

If a hengeyokai even a few. Proper behavior is exceedingly Realms follow. At all times, a hengeyokai should be careful with what he says and how he acts in the courts of the spirits. By the same token, if a hengeyokai shows wisdom in her words and actions, she may earn the aid of not only the court she visits, but many others throughout the One of the most visited of the Yang realms is The Realm Umbra. It is also worth noting that too favorable of an impres- of Fighting Spirits, a vast plain of carnage where spirits of the sion may lead to a prince offering to wed a hengeyokai, an offer unhallowed dead go to do battle.

Remnants of countless battles that is not easy to escape without risking offense. Caution throughout history mix to create the most horrific battle scene should be the wise one's guide. Tribesmen with sticks beat on the metal sides of modern tanks. Hindu fakirs. Asia is a smart dragon, drowsing because it awaits the turning of the age.

We Shake the Pillars of Heaven! Here Mage gamers and Storytellers will locate not just information regarding the background of Asiatic mages just like the Akashic Brotherhood and the Wu Lung, yet of different hidden teams within the a ways East, in addition to the distinctive magic of Asia.

Leverage: Hitters, Hackers and Thieves. When you've got to damage in, bust heads, or skip a firewall, this sourcebook for the Leverage RPG offers the instruments and tips to do it.

Zombie Apocalypse The End of the World. Input the top instances with Zombie Apocalypse, the 1st booklet after all of the realm roleplaying line! The useless upward thrust and stalk the earth, hungry for the flesh of the dwelling.

All that stands among a zombie and your mind are your talents, wits, and abilities. Pathfinder Module: The Moonscar. To astronomers and stargazers, the weird faded patch at the moon is named the Moonscar. Many theories abound as to the character of this unusual characteristic, but in actual fact a terrifying legacy from the traditional prior. He is one of the few great dragons still awake; his power extends over the waters surrounding him and boils from his mouth in the form of fire that devours even metal and stone.

Many whisper that nuclear tests in the Pacific have angered Gajyra beyond reason; others claim that Banes have seduced the seneschal, leading him down a path of corruption. Through the screen of branches he saw a short, hunched-over, beady-eyed man crouched alertly on a fallen tree.

Next tohim, a smiling pig-tailed girl was just standing up, her gaze on thehandsome features of a youth on the other side of the clearing. Hesat tailor-fashion on a carved granite slab, close by two other youngmen one giant sprawling lazily, one perched lean and hawklikeat the stone's edge. The giant picked up a die, and tried to bite it. Michael frowned. The Li compound was supposed to beabandoned. Gradually he eased back from the tree. Then, just as rhe last ounce of weight came off his front leg, helooked back to the man on the tree to see the tiny black eyesfocused directly on him.

Michael twisted free, turned to run clear of theorchard, and found the hawk-faced one blocking the way. Michaelheard the other four close in around him. He held the jar tightly tohis side. Without it, he would have broken free and changed to afaster form; with what Roadrunner had taught him he was sure hecould outrun anyone The Stargazer narrowed his eyes and drew. No taintclose by. He wondered what tribe the hawkcame from, and what the handsome boyapparently no Garoucould be doing with four of his kind.

My teacher charged me with the duty oftraveling here and performing the rite. His ancestors are strongest in thisplace. He asked to rest here. This will happen," said Michael, withfinality. Li Feng. So this cur knows a name and he brought a vase. Lis were wiped out by the People's Republic, and I don't see onehere to vouch for him," snapped the watchman.

Let her speak," said the youth. The Master had perfect eyes, but could read onlybooks and the sky. He wouldn't have. Michael's brow furrowed in confusion, but the circle aroundhim relaxed and broke. The young man strolled easily toward him,and the confrontation seemed to be over. My second,. Our lovely ladyfriend, Jimi, the Strictly Secret. On watch, Hong Tan, the RedAltar. And last, but never least, Shan, the Mountain.

Say hello,Shan.