Monomiki Family

### Territories

A large semi-isolated property in the unprotected areas of the Apennine deciduous Montane forests

**The Monomik**i is a family of alchemists and martial artists, known as a "surprisingly organized chaos" due to its decentralized nature, as opposed to the standard mage clan. Founded by Sun Cheng, or best known as “Ojirou Monomiki”, he set the foundation for the family after perfecting his version of an Elixir of Immortality. They are known for combining both Eastern and Western Alchemical traditions, and the "main branch" currently resides in Europe.

## History

In 1234 a boy, then known as Sun Cheng, was born in a Chinese village. Cheng was born into obscurity from the start, having unremarkable parents and surroundings. That's how he would have remained as well if it weren't for the give and take of fate.

When he was 12, bandits attacked Cheng's village and by the end of the raid, he had been left orphaned. With the village in hard times thanks to that raid, no one either cared to or could take in the boy themselves. He had to make his own way through life until one day at age 15, his village was visited by a wandering magus from the Eight Courts. This mage went by the name of Shen Han and when he met the young boy he sensed a talent for magic.

Shen Han had not had any children himself and also perhaps feeling some sympathy for the boy, he adopted Cheng. Cheng proved his foster father's intuition right as he quickly learned from his lessons on alchemy, martial arts, and Taoism. His knowledge progressed so quickly that after only a year he was considered a skilled enough alchemist to be an independent Fāngshi within the Court of Gèn. It wasn’t just his skill that was impressive either but also his thirst for knowledge and his desire to perfect his pursuit of Taoism. He became determined and obsessed with achieving the Dao. This was a goal he knew would take many lifetimes and so he began to develop an elixir of immortality.

In 1271 the Yuan dynasty was officially declared with the Mongols at its head. Shen Han was an avid supporter of the falling Song dynasty and he perished alongside the dynasty at its final battle. Cheng had grown close to his adoptive father and spoke out against the Yuan dynasty in response to his death. This made his position in China very untenable and he was forced to flee to Japan where he continued his research and eventually took on the name of “Ojirou Monomiki”. His research took him all over the world and by 1305 he had finally perfected his elixir of immortality.

At this point Ojirou immediately resigned as family head, he wanted his descendants to have their own legacy and this would also give him more time to work on his personal project. The Monomiki picked up on his habit of traveling the world for a long while, becoming masters of both Eastern and Western alchemy. They eventually settled down in Europe as part of the Grand Order of Magi in 1598. The Monomiki have continued to develop their skills in creating and modifying objects and elixirs, being some of the foremost experts in their field amongst the Order.

## Organizational Structure

The Monomiki practice what they often call "surprisingly organized chaos". While they technically have a family head and a main lineage, all branches and members are treated equally and can pursue any project they like. Although Ojiro is no longer family head and is often engaged in his own work, whenever he visits his family he is still treated with much respect and affection, most members seeing him as a revered grandfather.

## Relationship with Other Organizations

### The Grand Order of Magi

The Monomiki have been members of the Grand Order of Magi for around four centuries. They are not as well regarded by aristocratic families as their age would indicate. Although they joined the Order long ago they largely remain secluded from the politics of the magical world and have few political allies. Additionally most traditional magi, so most order magi, look down on the way that the family operates. They have no unified goal, they have many odd members, and many of them engage in pursuits unrelated to the family or other usual magical pursuits. On top of that the current family head is the subject of more than a few jokes related to his drunken exploits and tendency to mate with magical beasts. Because of this the Monomiki usually aren’t treated as seriously or given ranks as high as mages of their exceptional ability would usually be.

### The Eight Courts of Crimson

Although the family departed long ago they still have some distant connections to the Crimson Courts. Ojirou in particular is still considered a specialist of the Court of Gèn since his departure from the Crimson Courts was under circumstances many members could sympathize with.

## Magic

The Monomiki consists of alchemists, artificers, and martial artists of considerable skill. Despite being new to the world of magic their founder was able to discover the secret to extensively prolonged life with no drawbacks to himself, a goal that is considered to be the ultimate achievement by many alchemists but to Ojirou it was only a stepping stone. The older and particularly brilliant members have already achieved the feat of creating philosopher stones, the ultimate expression of alchemy able to extend life and effortlessly enact alchemical processes. Members generally have very different ways of expressing their family magic. Some may be masters of multiple martial arts, some may make automatons lifelike and powerful enough to attend classes themselves, some develop ways to more easily interact with the realms beyond the mortal world, yet others experiment with replacing parts of their bodies. No matter the member or pursuit, the Monomiki family is exceptionally varied and skilled.