History as You Know It

Up until 2,000 years ago, Creation was ruled by insane creatures known as “Anathema.” They wore the shape of humans, but had stolen the power of the gods for their own evil use. The only good to come of this era were the advanced technomagical constructs that the Anathema had created.

The Dragon-Blooded, led by five Enlightened heroes known as the Immaculate Dragons, struck down these mad tyrants and imprisoned their spirits in a cage at the bottom of the ocean. This event is known as the Usurpation.

For 1300 years the Dragon-Blooded ruled as a shogunate that spread across Creation. But then a great plague, referred to as the Contagion, swept across Creation. The Fair Folk, which dwelled in the chaos beyond Creation, invaded the land and nearly destroyed Creation. In an act of desperation, the woman who would become the Scarlet Empress was able to seize control of a massive artifact-fortress called the Sword of Creation and drive the Fair Folk back.

Her glorious reign lasted for more than seven centuries, until five years ago when she went missing. The Great Houses placed a neutral puppet figure, Tepet Fokuf, as her regent until her return. Since then new threats have sprung up across Creation. The Anathema, once sealed away, have risen up once more and begun to grow in power. Powerful entities from the Underworld have led armies of the dead into creation and seized territory. Cults that defy the authority of the Immaculate Order have begun to grow in power.

Creation

...is a flat expanse of land and water, about 10,000 miles across, floating in a sea of chaos called the Wyld. Five elemental poles anchor it into place: Air to the north, Water to the west, Fire to the south, Wood to the east and Earth in the center. Each pole indicates the sort of climate and terrain to be found there: things are colder to the north and warmer to the south; the Great Ocean extends to the west and endless forests extend to the east. Where the influences of the poles overlap, the land can change significantly. In the northeast, where Air and Wood overlap, is a cold land filled with evergreens and scrub brush. To the southeast, at the overlap of Fire and Wood, lies a thick tropical jungle, and the southwest holds swamps and rainforests.

At the center of Creation is the Blessed Isle, seat of the Scarlet Empire. The very center of Creation—the Pole of Earth—is occupied by the Imperial Mountain, a vast peak nearly tall enough to touch the sky. Earth's influence of calm and stability makes the Blessed Isle a temperate and fertile land. The Isle is surrounded on three sides by the Inland Sea, while the western side borders the Great Ocean.

The lands between the Blessed Isle and the Wyld are known as the Threshold. Many kingdoms of the Threshold are satrapies of the Scarlet Empire; other nations stand in rebellion against the rightful rulers of Creation, the Scarlet Dynasty of the Dragon-Blooded. On the very fringes of Creation dwell barbarian tribes.

Setting

• People
• Deliberative
• Immaculate Order
• Magistrates: Wandering enforcers of Imperial law, they enjoyed great latitude under the Scarlet Empress. Since she disappeared, they have lost her protection and now face a good many enemies.
• Patricians: Those of noble blood that have not Exalted.
• Thousand Scales: The government bureaucracy of the Scarlet Empire.
• Wyld Hunt: Experienced Dragon-Blooded from both the Immaculate Order and the military, dedicated to hunting down Anathema.
• Anathema: Insane entities that have stolen the power of the gods. The most powerful type are the so-called Solar Exalted, who stole their power from the Unconquered Sun. Subservient to them were the Lunar Exalted, shapeshifting monsters. The Anathema are divided into castes that define their strengths, but these castes define an approach to solving problems rather than a limitation to their ability. Anathema are powerful enough that it often takes a team of Exalted to take down one.
• Deathlords: Powerful entities from the Underworld. The most notable of late has been the one known as Mask of Winters, who took over a city in the Scavenger Lands, right across the Inner Sea from the Blessed Isle. Agents of the Deathlords known as deathknights have been seen. Their powers seem similar to Anathema, with necromantic overtones.
• Demons: Creation was built by the Primordials, who were later usurped by the Gods. The Gods locked the Primordials away in Malfeas. Imprisoned, the Primordials have become known as Yozi. Demons are the spawn of the Yozi. The most powerful of demons are only summonable by Anathema. Dragon-Blooded sorcerers can only summon and bind demons of the First Circle. Demons of the Second Circle can be summoned by a thaumaturge, but gaining the cooperation of the demon is a tricky thing. By default they are immaterial but can become physically manifested.
• Elementals: Spirits of Creation that are aspected to one of the five elements. They are responsible for managing the orderly running of Creation. By default they are physically manifested but may become immaterial. The most powerful elementals appear as dragons.
• Gods: Spirits that embody and oversee Creation. They reside in the heavenly city of Yu-Shan. When they come to Creation they are immaterial by default. The ruling gods are the Cestial Incarnae: the Unconquered Sun, Luna and the Five Maidens (Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn).
• Places
• Blessed Isle
• Malfeas: The prison that holds the Yozis, made from the living body of the Yozis' king.
• Scavenger Lands: The populated core of the East, dominated by the River Leagues. It also features the ruins of many First Age cities, filled with lost treasures from the bygone Age. The Scarlet Empire has never been able to establish a foothold in the area.
• Threshold: A broad term for the area between the Blessed Isle and the Wyld. The Empire has several provinces that pledge loyalty to the Empire.
• The Underworld: Formed by the death of Yozis when the gods overthrew them, this dark mirror of Creation is where some ghosts linger when they are not ready to move on to the next incarnation. The Deathlords come from here.
• Shadowlands: Places where the boundaries between Creation and the Underworld is thin, allowing some travel into the Underworld and back. On the Blessed Isle, the Immaculate Order has rigorously purged all shadowlands from the area. In the threshold, there are cities and small nations that are entirely within a shadowland.
• Yu-Shan: The heavenly home of the gods. Dragon-Blooded once travelled there, but none know the way now.
• Wyld: The great expanse of chaos beyond the shores of Creation. Home of the Fair Folk.
• Things
• Artifacts: During the First Age, many great technomagical constructs were built. Some still survive into the modern era. These include mechanical lifeforms, airships and more. The technology for making these have fallen by the wayside.
• Calendar: The year in Creation is 425 days long. It features fifteen months of twenty-eight days, plus five days outside of the year called Calibration. The months are named off of the elements, with three months for each element. It starts with Ascending Air, Resplendant Air and Descending Air, then continues the pattern through the elements Water, Earth, Wood and Fire. During Calibration, no moon or stars are visible in the sky. The days of the week are Sunday, Moonday, Marsday, Mercuryday, Jupiterday, Venusday and Saturnday.
• Five Magical Materials: There are five commonly identified ores that are the most useful in creating magical artifacts. Jade is associated with the Elemental Dragons and are tied to the Dragon-Blooded. There is a different color of jade for each of the elements: Blue/Air, White/Earth, Red/Fire, Black/Water and Green/Wood. Orichalcum is associated with the Unconquered Sun and is used by the Anathema who stole power from him. Moonsilver is associated with Luna and the Anathema who stole power from her. Soulsteel is an alloy forged using ore from the Underworld and souls. It is most often associated with the Deathlords and their minions. Starmetal is associated with the Five Maidens, but no one has a special inclination towards using it. More elaborate artifacts will utilize more than one of the Magical Materials.
• Naming Conventions: The Blessed Isle is vaguely Asian in tone, giving family name first followed by your given name. So Ejava of House Tepet would be referred to as Tepet Ejava. Commoners will often have descriptive names with no family name: Wandering River, Red Chrysanthemum, Six-Pence None the Richer.