Five Sacred Beasts

### Other Names

Five Beasts, Five Great Elementals, Five God-Beasts, Great Spirits of The East, Wu Xing Beasts, Greater Spirits of Wu-Xing

## Details

### Affiliation

Five Principal Clans (Contractors)
Celestial Bureaucracy
Eastern Civilization (Gods & Witches)
Youkai (Kyoto Faction & Kanto Faction)

### Current Members

* Azure Dragon
* White Tiger

## Origins

### Summary

Five Greater Spirits who each represents one of the five elements of Wuxing: Vermillion Bird, Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, White Tiger, and the Yellow Dragon

### Origins

Chinese Mythology, Wuxing

**Five Sacred Beasts**, also called the **Five Beasts**, are five Greater Spirits known in East Asian cultures for representing one of the five elements: Black Tortoise, Azure Dragon, Vermillion Bird, White Tiger, and the Yellow Dragon.

The Five Principal Clans of Japan have made contracts with them since the Heian period, with the strongest of each clan wielding the power of their Guardian Beast.

## Overview: ***Wuxing***

***Wuxing*** (Chinese: 五行), usually translated as **Five Phases**, is a fivefold conceptual scheme that many traditional Chinese fields used to explain a wide array of phenomena, from cosmic cycles to the interaction between internal organs, and from the succession of political regimes to the properties of medicinal drugs.

The "Five Phases" are Fire, Water, Wood, Metal, and Earth. This order of presentation is known as the "Days of the Week" sequence. In the order of "mutual generation" (相生; *xiāngshēng*), they are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. In the order of "mutual overcoming" (相克; *xiāngkè*), they are Wood, Earth, Water, Fire, and Metal.

The system of five phases was used for describing interactions and relationships between phenomena. After it came to maturity in the second or first century BCE during the Han dynasty, this device was employed in many fields of early Chinese thought, including seemingly disparate fields such as Yi jing divination, alchemy, feng shui, astrology, traditional Chinese medicine, music, military strategy, and martial arts.

Although often translated as the **Five Elements** in comparison to Classical elements of the ancient Mediterranean world, the Wuxing were conceived primarily as cosmic agents of change rather than a means to describe natural substances.

## Summary

Since ancient times, the Five Sacred Beasts have been legendary Greater Spirits within East Asia, having been the inspiration behind the philosophical concept of Wuxing of Ancient China. These spirits are the Yellow Dragon of the Center, Huánglóng; the Azure Dragon of the East, Qīnglóng; the Vermillion Bird of the South, Zhūquè; the Black Tortoise of the North, Xuánwŭ; and the White Tiger of the West, Báihŭ.

For many generations, they have been under the guardianship of the Five Principal Clans, the five grand witch-covens who have been ruling Japan's supernatural world. The one who hosts them is the strongest member of their respective clan, not only in eastern mysticism but also in terms of martial arts, and would inherit their name. In addition, if the host is not already the head of their clan then their position of authority is even greater than the current host themselves.

With the protection of the Five Sacred Beasts, in addition to the blessing they receive from the Shinto gods, the Five Principal Clans have been the secret rulers of Japan since the Heian period when they were founded, even more than the government themselves. The Five Beasts are noted to have such immense power that even the *Daiyoukai* could not oppose the Five Principal Clans.

Later on, it's revealed that the Five Sacred Beasts were made the Five Principal Clans' sacred protectors against their will. According to Abe no Seimei, all five founders of the Five Principal Clans were former Longinus possessors, with one of them owning a Longinus with the power to "rewrite one's true nature". Using their powers, the founders had defeated the Five Sacred Beasts and the previously mentioned founder then bound the Five Sacred Beasts into their bloodline.

## Abilities

All of the Five Sacred Beasts wield immense powers based upon their respective elements, ranging from Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal, and Water. Their powers alone make the Five Principal Clans untouchable by other witch-covens, magic cabals, and even the *Daiyoukai* who can rival Ultimate-class devils. When a Sacred Beast forms a pact with their chosen host after undergoing the ceremony to inherit them, the possessor can summon them onto their side on the battlefield and/or enhance the effectiveness of Shinto rituals, Eastern Magic spells, and spiritual powers.

In addition to this, the host can perform a "Spiritual Synthesis" by fusing with their Sacred Beasts, transforming into a humanoid hybrid version of their specific Sacred Beast. While this grants them superior control of the elements and even God-class powers, it risks the host losing their humanity entirely and turning into a Divine Beast, an avatar of the Sacred Beast itself.

## Trivia

* Upon becoming the host of a Sacred Beast, the host would receive some minor physical changes which can be hidden beneath glamors and illusions. These changes are scales (Azure Dragon), feathers (Vermillion Bird), fur (White Tiger), and an exoskeleton (Black Tortoise).
	+ The only exception to this is the hosts of the Yellow Dragon, who are fully humans in terms of appearance, albeit some do possess some metallic gold hair and eyes.