Divine Spirit

Divine Spirits are embodiments of nature, though several of them have a day-to-day purpose that they carry out dutifully. Before the world was created, it's said in many religions that the Divine Spirits were manifested to help lay the foundations. The animals of the world that inhabit the world, many of them having been created by the Divine Spirits, often resemble these deities.

## **Divine Dragons**

### **Ryujin, The Spirit Lord (Fire)**

Wise and benevolent, Ryujin acts as a guide to lost spirits. Some claim to spot them flying through the sky after a great battle, his blue scales shimmering with magic, beckoning the deceased to rise up and follow him. He was the firstborn of the Divine Spirits, tasked with breathing fire into the spirit of man, the first spark of life. When not carrying out their duty, they dwell within the spirit world.

### **Quetzalcoatl, Master of Serpents (Wind)**

Slumbering within the depths of Gehenna's jungles, Quetzalcoatl is brash and cynical. It was Quetzalcoatl's task to refine what the Spirit Lords built during creation, born with a heightened sense of grace and insight. The perfectionist would never know content, choosing instead to get lost in the primal, her duty done. She started a feud with Ixchel, beginning a war between two Divine Spirits that would shape the landscape of Gehenna.

### **Shenlong, The Skywarden (Lightning)**

Thunder follows the Skywarden, and its said to dwell within a fortress that floats aimlessly within the stratosphere, always surrounded by thunder and lightning and harming any trespassers that have the incredible ability to fly so high, but yet aren't tuned to the surrounding element as profoundly as the Skywarden's dragons..

### **Huatl, The Solar Drake (Earth)**

Deep within the reaches of the largest volcano among the land, a beast rests and licks his feathered wounds as the crimson scales of the Solar Drake rumbles within the world's core. Said to have created the land masses of Gehenna along with the Cloud Weaver due to their bout, the Solar Drake is said to commandeer earth and magma so easily that if he were angered profusely he could easily destroy the lands he's created.

### **Jormungand, The Great Leviathan (Water)**

The great serpent of the sea, Jormungand is the lord of the oceans. As fluid as the water it represents, it enjoys watching the creatures within the depths grow and change. Eventually, these creatures grow to become the leviathans that the dangerous seas are known for.

Regardless of Jormungand’s fondness for fellow ocean-dwellers, it is the greatest amongst them. As such, the sea-serpent rules absolutely beneath the depths with an impartial, observant eye for the change around it. It roams the far reaches of the deep sea ceaselessly, occasionally slaying arrogant deep-dwellers who believe they can usurp its unending, distant rule.

## **Divine Animals**

### **Asena, Summer**

The White Wolf of the Summer. Roams the world during its seasons.

### **Saekanis, Winter**

The Black Wolf of the Winter. Roams the world during its seasons.

### **Ixchel, the Moon**

Prowling the jungles of Gehenna, Ixchel resembles a giant panther, fading into the shadows at night. When the moon sets in Gehenna, the sun rises in Jianghu, the opposite side of the world.

### **Jiuweihu, the Sun**

Unlike Ixchel, Jiuweihu lives high up. They're a celestial, golden fox, representing the sun and residing at the peak of Kunlun Mountain within the Imperial Empire of Jianghu. The mountain is one of the few places where the spirit realm blends with the corporeal, a gateway between the two worlds. Phoenixes choose to nest here, watched over by the fox.

During the Divine War, Jiuweihu was imprisoned within the mountain's stone, bound by dark forces. While she was subdued by the armies of Azrael, the sun failed to rise for twenty nine days, but on the thirtieth day, the man that would eventually become the Emperor of Jianghu led an attack, aided by rebel forces and the Phoenixes of Kunlun Mountain.

Despite defeating the opposing force, Jiuweihu was still sealed away. The runes were far beyond the knowledge of those present. Jiuweihu offered the remaining forces knowledge in exchange for brawn, and so she blessed them with the wit and intelligence of a fox, the ones who accepted becoming the first Kitsunes. They managed to break the seal before the thirtieth day was up, freeing Jiuweihu. During the time she was trapped, much of the ore within the mountain was transformed into gold, enriching Jianghu among the eastern countries.