Huanzhao

Huanzhao (often corrupted to Hanzo), known as the Celestial Dragon and - to the Heguomins - the Husband of Isha and Lord of the Spirits, is one of the eldest, most powerful and physically largest Dread Titans. Worshipped as a deity by a large minority of Kanidintoans, there is a great deal of folklore about him and his appearance is well-known. Though he bears the name of "Dragon", he is not to be confused with the species of Dragons - nor the Titan which created them, the Flame-Bearer, who is portrayed as a rival to Huanzhao in some stories of dubious authenticity.

Traditional Heguomin belief (which extended to many Onshian Kanidintoans) is that Huanzhao is the husband of Isha, the foremost of the spirits and creator of the universe, and that he guards her essence from malevolent spirits. The traditional belief has been updated since Inquisitor Fangli Choyuan discovered the actual home of Huanzhao within the Dreadlands, a place named the Celestial City (not to be confused with the Cosmic City of Mogarakh). Most Heguomins believe that Isha's essence is housed within the Celestial City, specifically an object within it named the Jade Engine.

## Appearance

Huanzhao somewhat resembles a Dragon, but he is notably wingless and proportionally significantly longer, with a more serpentine body. He exclusively makes use of magic to fly, rather than conventional lift. Huanzhao sports dark blue scales on most of his body, but they pale to white on his underside. His claws are also white, as are the two long whiskers on his snout, the horns sprouting from just behind his glowing golden eyes, and the feathers which adorn his spine and tail. In most respects, he resembles a dragon from Chinese mythology.

Huanzhao's size is not exactly clear, but it is known that he is gargantuan. He may be as long as (or longer than) the Flame-Bearer - who was known to be five to six hundred metres long - but is not as wide, because he lacks wings whereas the Flame-Bearer has a wingspan as wide as his length.

## Celestial City

The Celestial City is Huanzhao's realm within the Dreadlands. All information on the Celestial City comes solely from the reports of Inquisitor Fangli Choyuan, a Heguomin and devout Kanidintoan who saw Huanzhao as a deity, so some information may be misremembered or misrepresented, but it is the only source that exists.

The Celestial City resembles a city of Heguo, but colossal in size ("larger than Onshi itself" according to Inquisitor Fangli) and filled entirely with almost palatial white houses, each sporting a roof made of green jade tiles. The roads and paths are paved with marble tiles, and the streets are illuminated by magical torches whenever the light from the powerful Magestream currents flowing overhead fades. At the centre of the city, resting upon its highest point, is the Palace of Light, a gargantuan structure large enough to house the massive bulk of Huanzhao himself.

Within the Palace of Light - it is not clear exactly where - is the Jade Engine, which many Heguomins believe to house the essence of Isha. Nothing is known of the Jade Engine's appearance beyond the fact that it is made of jade, but its purpose is known; it both stabilises and soothes the unstable, fluctuating Magestream circuits around the Celestial City, and casts a colossal spherical shield around the entire floating island the city lies upon.

Inquisitor Fangli reported that the Celestial City was remarkably empty, but not utterly devoid of inhabitants. Thousands of guards stood atop the thick walls, which Fangli believed to be Constructs, given their entirely armoured appearance and methodical, unnatural movement pattern. Fangli also reported seeing some creatures wandering about the city, but only from afar; he described "creatures of red skin, of white, of pale and dark brown and of purple". Some scholars have interpreted this to mean Red Demons, Jesters, Elfkin and/or Humans and Dark Elves respectively. The nature of the Celestial City's inhabitants is unknown, but it is clearly a safe haven of some kind for those whom Huanzhao grants refuge to.

## Rivalry with the Flame-Bearer

Some stories of Huanzhao, which are noted as having no evidence whatsoever to support them, assert that Huanzhao and the Flame-Bearer were long-standing rivals. Their nature of their rivalry differs between the different versions of the tale; some portray it as a friendly rivalry, whereas others insist the two despised each other.

In any case, the traditional reasoning behind their rivalry is their opposing views on what a Titan should be, and perhaps what a Dragon should be; Huanzhao preferred wisdom, methodical care and magic, whereas the Flame-Bearer favoured strength, decisive initiative and physical power. However, that is not to say that Huanzhao never made use of overwhelming force, nor that the Flame-Bearer was incapable of subtlety.

One of the most famous variations of their story, which depicts them more as friendly rivals than genuine enemies, claims that Huanzhao was in the process of creating his own race to rival the Dragons of the Flame-Bearer before he was interrupted by the Annihilation, putting an end to his project.