Major Concepts

### Ley Lines

While Magic and the arcane permeate through every facet of the world, Ley lines are concentrated conduits of magic that cross through all planes of existence from which all magic originates. Like all forces of nature they possess great power to create as well as to destroy and are the source of Shang Di's omnipotence and all immortal being's longevity. They are also act as the strings that bind the fabric of reality together.

### Chaos

While some Leylines may be more wild and unpredictable than others, they all ultimately represent the ordered flow of energy. Chaos on the other hand is completely untethered and uncontrolled magic energy. Magic in this raw and unfettered state is extremely destructive and seems to erase life indiscriminately. Those that can survive chaos’ touch are often transformed into grotesque beasts and mindless abominations. Only beings of exceptional power and fortitude may survive chaos unscathed and only the most superlative among those may even dream of controlling it. The abyssal wastes are the direct result of unfettered chaos infecting the continent as it spews out in endless waves from the chasm of dis. In ancient times the influence of chaos was held in equilibrium with the power of the Leylines and was relatively contained to the areas surrounding the chasm. However, there have been several eras of chaotic expansion where the influence of the abyss grows rapidly and once it has spread it has seemed near impossible to reverse the effects. After the most recent era of expansion, the Abyssal wastes now occupy more of the continent then civilized land and the capital of the continent, Tian Xia City has become completely isolated.

### The Cycle of Rebirth

All souls are said to be in a constant cycle of death and rebirth. When a mortal being dies, its soul is said to return to the Leylines so they may be born anew. Under normal circumstances, a newly reincarnated soul has no knowledge of its past life. The cycle itself can take anywhere between hours and hundreds of years before a soul may be reincarnated and no one knows what affects these timings. Sacred rituals are performed to ensure the safe return of the soul to the Leylines. Failure to do these rituals risk the soul being caught up in the eddies of chaos and fail to return to the Leylines. These trapped souls then become food for creatures of chaos. Alternatively, if they encounter a dead or soulless vessel, they will inhabit it and create a new demonic or undead being. Even immortal beings such as the gods and goddesses or mortal who have been elevated to demigod status will eventually have their souls returned to the cycle.

### The Eternal Empire

The Eternal Empire consists of all the major cities on the continent with it's Capital in Tian Xia city. Ruled by the Vermillion Empire, said to be the direct envoy of Shang Di, the Empire flourished for many centuries with the Royal Road connecting all the cities and fostering exchange of goods, ideas and peoples. However as the Abyssal Wastes continue to grow, Tian Xia's influence and ability to control the rest of the Empire dwindled. At this point, the Empire is more of a loose federation of separate city states that still rely upon each other for mutual defense and trade but otherwise leave matters of governance to local rulers. There are some notable exceptions to this though which include Imperial Edicts that have becoming increasing rare with Tian Xia's decline and Imperial Court rulings from Ose. Despite the recent fractured nature of the Empire, it's citizens generally feel a great deal of loyalty and nationalism towards the empire as they see themselves as the bulwark of civilization in the face of chaos. Common Mandarin is spoken and taught in every city but it is also just as common to hear any of the other racial languages, especially when in their patron Deity's city, ie Orcish in New Imaskar or Dwarven in Nidavellir.

### The Awakened

Awakened individuals are a special case of the cycle of rebirth sending and a soul into a already occupied vessel causing two souls to occupy one body. Awakened individuals seem to exclusively inherit the souls of powerful individuals. This often leads to the awakened to inheriting exceptional strength or magical power as they are augmented by their inherited soul. The process of awakening and harboring two souls also seems to confer immunity from demonic corruption and the influence of the chaotic abyssal ways, making awakened individuals invaluable in the fight against chaos. However, having multiple souls can also lead to dramatic changes in personality as the host must reconcile their life prior to awakening with the life of the soul they have inherited. The degree to which an inherited soul affects the vessel’s personality seems to vary greatly with some barely noticing at all and only experiencing an increase in power while others suffer complete mental breakdowns as the inherited soul erodes their own personality. Additionally, while people seem to awaken to exclusively powerful souls, there is no guarantee that the inherited soul will be a righteous or just soul and one is just as likely to inherit the powers and personality of a great villain.

The random nature of how one may respond to awakening has led to a very mixed reaction to awakened individuals in public. All major religious institutions openly praise awakened individuals and preached that one must temper their bodies and souls to become greater vessels for awakening so they may help fight back chaos. However many others see them as dangerous liabilities who are one incident away from a violent mental breakdown. There does not seem to be any way of telling how one will respond to awakening and this random nature of awakening. This has prompted the foundation of The Church of Time and the Order of Awakened Individuals to assist awakened individuals as well as monitor and control them. Awakened who do not register with The Order are considered outlaws and are hunted down and imprisoned and are then given the choice to join The ORder under stricter supervision or undergo The Ritual of Serenity. The Ritual of serenity is the most extreme example of control over Awakened and amounts to being magically lobotomized to sever the connection between the Awakened and their inherited soul at the cost of their own personality. The procedure is strictly voluntary, however since it is offered as an ultimatum to renegade or violent Awakened criminals as an alternative to execution it is often called in moral question.

It is unclear whether the The inherited soul is present from birth and only manifest itself later in life or if the inherited soul is gained at the moment of awakening. It is unclear as to why only powerful souls lead to awakening however it is speculated that other souls may undergo a similar process however are too weak to significantly influence the vessel that inherits though. is unclear is what has caused this phenomenon but the rate of awakening has begun to increase as the influence of chaos and the abyssal ways continue to spread causing some to speculate that it is a side effect of chaos’ influence on rebirth or perhaps a counterbalance to the spread of chaos.

#### The Order Of Awakened Individuals

The Order of Awakened Individuals, commonly referred to as just the The Order, is a branch of the Church of Time that directly manages and commissions various Awakened who have elected to use their powers for the good of the empire. While, the Church of Time offers social and mental health services to the newly awakened who vow to not use their powers, The Order offers awakened an avenue to use their inherited power under the auspices of the state. The Order serves as a the public face of the Awakened and is a key source of manpower in fight back chaos. The Order takes commissions from various organizations, ranging from protecting caravans through the wastes and subjugating monsters to hunting dangerous or unregistered awakened, and then offers them registered members to complete through their various guild offices. Most Awakened join The Order voluntarily as they see being Awakened as a great honor and feel a moral and religious obligation to use their gift to serve the empire in hopes of achieving immortality and even demigodhood. Others join it simply for financial reasons as the commissions offered often provide lucrative rewards or because they relish the opportunity to engage in state sanctioned violence. However, there are some who have joined after being captured as runaways as a way to commute their sentence.

### Immortality

A goal of many Awakened. Immortality is offered to the greatest Awakened hero’s as only those with the strength of multiple souls can withstand the process. Immortality represents an opportunity to ascend to become demigods and join Shang Di's eternal host. Immortality confers immunity from all diseases and aging. It also imbues the body with superior constitution and enhanced regeneration from injury. Immortality however does not make one impervious to damage or death from sufficient bodily harm. The goal of all religious and spiritual organizations affiliated with the deities of Shang Di is to cultivate the mind and body of adherents of the faith to prepare them for awakening with the end goal of receiving the gift of immortality however their methods of cultivation very from faith to faith.

### Demigods

From the ranks of the most capable and devout immortals, Major Deities may deign to raise an immortal to Demigodhood. A Demigod is impervious to death from all sources short of another demigod or other similarly powerful entities.

### Avatars

A unique form of Divine blessing, Avatars are said to be the mortal incarnations of a Deity's will and power. How each deity chooses their avatar and how frequently one appears varies from deity to deity but almost all Avatars are exemplars of what their patron stands for. While they are commonly of the same race as their patron deity, that is not an absolute rule as the character is more important than the biology when choosing an Avatar. Avatars often hold important and powerful roles in society, like the Supreme Archon or Grand Theologianist, and actively train successors to replace them at the ends of their lives. Unlike, immortals and demigods, Avatars usually live normal, if not slightly shorter, lifespans as channeling the raw power of a deity quickly burns through their mortal vessels though a notalble exception to this rule is The Vermillion Emperor who is Shang Di's avatar and an Immortal Red Dragon.

##### Known Avatars

* Shang Di - The Vermillion Emperor
* Titania - Supreme Archon Lucinia Eilmoira
* Quetzalcoatl - Grand Theologonist Urzu Matlal
* Asmodeus - High Judicator Crelista Belle
* Yondalla - Chief Mortician Camellia Gloamlight
* Nebellun - Chancellor Seamus MacDhiarmaid