Xiaojiang

*A place of rest. Home.*

Xiaojiang is the region consisting of a central city, named Xiaojiang city, and two villages: the Blue Mountain Village and Three Pearl Village. With 15 apotheosis cultivators overseeing the city, Xiaojiang is safe. Characters come to no harm while in the city, out of a quest.

## Xiaojiang

Xiaojiang from the river

Map of Xiaojiang

### Inhabitants

Mostly human

Xiaojiang, written as 潇江, means "clear water river".

## Geography

A city centre: the citadel. The very middle is the city-centre. Outskirts in the north are grasslands. One village in the west in the mountains: the Blue Mountain Village. One village in the south-east by the river: the Three Pearl Village. The Yuxue Alliance and its residences are to the west of the city, near the mountains. Further west is a bamboo forest, and the harbour in the east is the closest point to the sea.

Or, you know, you can look at that nice map. Look, it's even got the golden ratio. Kind of.

## Culture

### A Love for Aptitude

The Xiaojiangese perception of love most importantly contains, at its forefront, respect and admiration. This is often admiration for the subject's capabilities. Families love their most capable members; friends and lovers strive to find companions more capable than they are. While this means that personal relationships can seem business-like, it also means that business relationships will often have a familial or friendly quality to them. Within the Yuxue Alliance, for example, the High Committee and the adventurers under them are akin to a large family taken care of by a group of elders.

Other than within formal situations, Xiaojiangese people may also use formal speech with their loved ones, including their firstborns or other children they are particularly fond of. They believe that if a child is spoken to formally since young, they are more likely to garner the respect of the community in adulthood. Whether this use of formal language implies that the subject is a loved one or not is contextual and dependent on some form of knowledge of the user and their relationships.

### Immortality Fixation

The Xiaojiangese believe that the goal of life, or 'success' in life, is to become an immortal through cultivation. "Success in life is living it for a long time." Being a cultivator under the Yuxue Alliance is seen as a prestigious occupation, one that leads straight to this success in life.

Non-cultivators will mimic immortality with youth. Youth potions, age-reversing serums and the like are very popular products in Xiaojiang markets and pharmacies.

## Language

### Local languages

**Huayu**, or 'flower-speak', is the 'common' language used in the continent. Xiaojiangese people speak Huayu with bilingual proficiency or as a second language, and mainly converse in a dialect of it called **Spillspeak**.

Most locals can also speak, at the very least, passable Faerunian Common. Communities also speak their unique languages among themselves.

### Slang

##### Farewells / Goodbyes

"Take leave with light and luck!" (formal, respectful or loving farewells)

When shortened to "Light and luck!“ -- it is less final, and is more of a general goodbye than a farewell. ‘LL' is used as both a formal and informal way to sign off letters as well, e.g.:

LL, Fang Zixi

### Swearwords

A set of made-up swearwords that don't violate PG-13 guidelines.

##### General swearwords

***"Die!"***

With the Xiaojiangese immortality fixation, ‘die’ is a curseword and something many dread. Used like 'crap', except that it is not used to refer to people, just as an exclamation. E.g. "Die, I think I left my stove on." Or: \**stubs toe*\* "Die!"

***"Barnacles!"***

The Xiaojiangese live near water, and barnacles growing on everything is a cause of deep annoyance. People use it as a swearword for this reason. Used in the place swears like 'crap' and can also be used to refer to people (like the word 'jerk‘). Extremely popular with Three Pearl Villagers or people living near the river. E.g. "Barnacles. I lost again." Or: "You little barnacle!" (like "You little shit!")

***"Pee"***

Used exactly like 'eff'. Similarly to 'eff', it is a minced oath of the four most vulgar Xiaojiangese swearwords, which all start with the letter 'P', E.g. "What the pee?" Or: "Go the pee to sleep."

##### God-related swearwords

These are stronger than the general swearwords.

***"Shunya!"***

Used exactly like 'Jesus!" (though unlike 'Jesus!', which is mainstream now, 'Shunya!' is considered a stronger expression, often used by more uncouth folk, but the ability to drag out the last syllable makes for a satisfying swearword to say).

It's minced oath is 'shuh!' -- this is milder, and is like 'jeez'. The use of 'shuh' is mainstream and most people will say it often. E.g. *"Shuh, you don't need to get so mad."* Or: \**slips down a hill*\* "Shunyaaaaa!"

##### Racial slurs

These are very mild swearwords, to the point of becoming common expression, but have roots in racism.

***"A Shankaran."***

It is used in a derogatory manner to mean 'ugly'. E.g. "That dress makes you look like a Shankaran."

***"Bullany."***

Adjective to describe someone or something crazy. Derogatory. E.g, a bullany kid, a bullany bandit, or bullany behaviour. This is a racial slur derogatory towards the bulanis, who, due to their ability to tamper with dreams and the stereotype of their spacey demeanour, are generally perceived to be a little crazy.

E.g. "Bumped into this bullany salesperson the other day who just wouldn't stop trying to sell me 20 bugs in a bell jar."

##### "The Famed Four"

The term for the most unseemly swearwords in Xiaojiang is an allusion to the founders of the region. They are censored from all public media and only used by the most foul-mouthed folk around. These words all start with the letter P and is the reason why swearwords are also locally referred to as 'pee words'.

***"Pumi!"***

Similar to "Shunya!" but considered more offensive as there are people who are followers or worshippers of Pumi, unlike Shunya. Often used to express very intense anger and will draw a few stares. People who use 'Pumi!' as a swear are considered particularly foul-mouthed and uncouth. Its vulgarity comes from the fact that you are using a creator / creation god's name in vain.

Can be used as a versatile exclamation to express intense emotion in general, be it joy, anger, sadness etc.

Its even stronger alternative is 'pumima' which means 'parent of pumi', and refers to Shunya. Pumima is less versatile and is mostly used as an exclamation; it is widely regarded as one of the most vulgar exclamation.

***"Poklong!"***

Originated from Spillspeak, poklong has a surprisingly inoffensive meaning: it simply means to 'fall into a hole', but its vulgarity comes from the implications of death, and is commonly taken to mean you are asking someone to kill themselves.

Can be used as a very strong swear in the place of 'jerk' or as a strong exclamation. "Go poklong" means 'go to hell'. E.g. "That poklong just robbed me!" Or: "Why should I say sorry to you? Go poklong!"

***"Peach-eye"***

Contains a sexual meaning and is used to degrade someone. Used as a strong alternative to 'jerk'. E.g. "Why are you acting like such a peach-eye?" or "Stupid peach-eye."

***"Panda"***

Vulgarity is similar to the N-word, a very strong racial slur that refers to the Pandakin. Calling someone a panda is to call them feral, mad, or ugly, based off the negative stereotypes associated with the race. It can be used as a strong alternative for words like 'psycho'. E.g. "Stop staring at me, panda!"

## Leisure

Several forms of entertainment and games enjoyed in Xiaojiang, many activities shared with Shou Lung as a whole, too.

**Opera**

In Xiaojiang, most people would have seen a show in the Yuxue Tavern Opera.

Shou opera is colourful, and can be a display of martial fighting, acrobatic skill, singing, drama and theatre as much as it can be a display of music and magic. Full opera shows are more often than not a combination of multiple, if not all, of these.

Its music and singing is distinctively sharp, emotional, expressive, loud and exciting, most iterations instantly recognisable to anyone who has heard Shou opera music at least once.

People across all ages and social classes participate in opera, especially when a talented performer brings their own brand of inspirational magic to the show.

**Three-Dragon Ante**

Brought into Xiaojiang by Faerunian adventurers, it has grown popular among the locals. It is most popular among cultivators, who interact with Faerunian adventurers most, as a way to gamble away their worries or merely to learn how to better look into people's motives. In addition, there is a social aspect to playing a game of TDA: it also serves as a good way to get to know people better.

**Cricket Fighting**

Cricket fighting is a popular activity for people of all ages. Two crickets are put into a ceramic can and pit against each other in a fight for their lives. The crickets are sometimes even fed special diets to make them better fighters. And that’s the boring version of this sport.

The more exciting version is *giant* cricket fighting! It’s the same principle, except instead of a tin it’s an arena that’s essentially a hole in the ground, and instead of normal crickets, it’s giant crickets! Either way, these fights can take a while, even longer if the crickets are well fed and strong. Large cricket fights are typically attended by adults as the beasts tend to terrify children.

**Tea**

Drinking tea, at a tea house or at home, prepared formally or informally, is a mainly social endeavor, often just as invigorating as some of the more exciting activities on this list. Different blends of tea, where they’re grown, how they’re dried and prepared, and how long they’re steeped can all influence this classic drink. Meaning there’s a lot more to learn from leaves and boiled water than people realize.

Some people can even read a fortune from your leaves! Exciting.

**Kite Flying**

Originally used for military communication across long distances, the creation of and flying of kites, small and large, has become a very popular recreational Shou and by extension Xiaojiangese activity. It’s little surprise as to why: they’re pleasing, colorful, and it’s relaxing to watch them blow in the wind.

Some kite-flyers will demonstrate their skill by participating in kite fights, where they fly specially self-made kites in battles with other flyers to cut each others' kites down. These fighting kites are often made in the shapes of monsters and mythological creatures, and 'fight' by cutting each other down with their glass-laced strings.

**Cuju**

Cuju is a game in which two groups of twelve attempt to kick and headbutt a leather ball filled with rice into an opposing goal. It builds discipline, and so is often used in soldier training, but a pick up game in the streets is very easy to find, especially among children with whom the sport is especially popular. Many children grow up playing this game with their friends, and in doing so, build the skills of teamwork, discipline, and honor they will need for life beyond childhood.

**Music**

Even beyond opera, music in general is popular entertainment and can be found in most social spaces, indoors or outdoors. Xiaojiang hosts many popular folk songs, such as The Mayura's Thousand-Eye Ballad. Songwriters and poets are constantly writing new songs based on their experiences as well.

From stirring ballads, to muted instrumental songs, from lone players, to the massive orchestra, there is something for everyone.

## Economy

Xiaojiang has a diverse economy, dealing in silk, jade, paper, rice, fine arts, opera, tea, medicine, antiques, and gunpowder, as well as rice from Blue Mountain Village's collective farms and ornamental carp and fish from Three Pearl Village.

###### RISE Program

Residents of XIaojiang can also take part in the RISE program to buy stocks in some of these industries.

## Politics

Governed by the Yuxue Alliance's High Committee, each member a head of a governmental department.

## Transportation

South Xiaojiang: mainly water transportation up and down the river.

North Xiaojiang: mainly by horse, donkey, mule etc.

Planar/continental travel: Arriving by teleportation at the Teleportation Circle.

## Healthcare

Healing services by clerics in the four-winds-temple, managed by Ryoko and a team of clerics.