Minxiao

== The Town Filled with Lanterns ==
Minxiao is a moderate sized town at the foot of the Morayuki Mountains. These mountains are heavily populated by various onii from multiple different tribes that have different goals. As a result of this, the people of Minxiao are often assaulted by the Onii and their servants. Primarily shadow demons, the servants of these Onii tend to avoid light, so tradition has evolved to place lanterns around the town to prevent the creatures from entering and slaughtering the citizens. The town has been around since the early days of Essen, however hasn't grown quite so much as it's capital. Much of it's population is elven and kitsune, with some humans settling here, so the magical nature of the location is inherently observed in it's populace.
== A Thousand Lanterns ==
Tradition dictates the constant placement of lanterns as the city grows, leading to a generally large number of these stone lanterns scattered throughout the area- both in and around the city. This has shaped some of the way society moves, with many individuals placing prayers to the gods at the locations of these lanterns- some lanterns even being attributed to certain deities, with large numbers of these lanterns coming together in various places to create something akin to a "shrine" of sorts. Small carvings on these such lanterns depict the deities in question that the lantern or group of lanterns are attributed to, and villagers pray for safety, prosperity, or other such wishes.
The destruction, unlawful altering, or removal of these lanterns without permission as a result is often seen as highly offensive, in some cases being viewed even as treason or sedition. It is rather rare for these lanterns to be altered in any major way by the population, however when they are the punishment is quite often very severe- not limited to but including death. Being not only focuses of religious significance, but the only line of defense from the forces of darkness swirling around Morayuki Mountain, these lanterns are protected to the best of the settlement's ability.