The Ghost Emperors

> The shops have re-opened. Naganika's five Ghost Emperors -- a quintet of elemental mogwai -- have returned to run them.
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> Fire, Water, Earth, Wood, Metal. They give their complementary element power, while keeping their opposite's power in check; all of them are forever locked in a balance. There is love and support. And there is struggle.
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> And the serpentine Naganika draws power from them all...
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> --- Ikkin
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The Ghost Emperors are a quintet of primordial elemental mogwai, released into the world by Naganika when she was a child. They currently run shops in Xiaojiang's Market Street, and are the main source of Naganika's magical power.

They each have elemental powers (following the five Chinese elements rather than the Greek elements). Their powers are kept in a check-and-balance system based on elemental feng shui.

## Interpersonal Dynamics of the Five

#### Dislikes

* **Metal hates Fire.** Gang hates Ming because he is always criticising and physically attacking him for fun. As the armourer and weapon smith respectively -- Gang always has to defend himself from Ming.
* **Fire hates Water**. Ming hates Liang because he finds her draining to be around, sapping his energy when he spends time with the laid-back Liang.
* **Water hates Earth.** Liang hates Hua out of sibling rivalry (they are twins) and because his cats come into the potions shop all the time to smash things.
* **Earth hates Wood.** Hua hates Qiang because Qiang is brutally honest and critical towards Hua. Qiang believes Hua is the weakest among the five, and does not let them forget it.
* **Wood hates Metal.** Qiang hates Gang for a similar reason: he thinks the metal mogwai is weak, as he never seems to want to, or be able to, attack Ming back. Qiang is as critical of Gang as he is towards Hua.

### Personality

Passionate -- prefers to actively pitch his sale. Will eagerly tell you almost everything about his ware to hype it up. It’s his way of stoking the fire of desire. He’ll even let them have a test swing if asked. Hot-headed -- will easily blow his fuse if you ask too many questions without actually buying anything. Hates indecisive people.

## Bonds

#### Likes

* When it comes to likes, the mogwai are simply friendly with that other mogwai and will constantly express their love for them in weirdly wholesome ways.

### Nickname

Xiao Gang (小刚） / Gang (‘a’ is pronounced ‘ah’ and not ‘eh’)

### Personality

Prideful -- loves seeing people’s greedy gaze. He likes to show off his wares, especially the costly ones. It’s his preferred way to empower their desire.Honest -- wouldn’t hide things when asked but only if he is asked about it. He will refuse to answer if it’s personal.

## Bonds

### Personality

Gentle -- gives off a calming aura that makes people feel close to her. It’s to a level where most would feel guilty leaving her shop empty-handed.Sharp -- is actually very keen unlike what her calmness suggests. Her sales pitch is usually on point, hitting the nail on the head and generally very hard to resist.

## Bonds

### Vendor of

Domesticated animals and animal-related items

### Personality

Caring -- likes to give advice to customers. In their words, it’s better to be well prepared than to regret not buying enough later. Their customers usually don’t stop at one or two items.Animal lover -- they're even friendlier than normal if they see you with an animal companion. Animal-like races don’t count since they are not as simple as an actual beast.

## Bonds

### Vendor of

Miscellaneous gear and equipment, tools and instruments

### Personality

Friendly -- has the aura of an honest person. He isn’t actually that honest but people often let their guard down since he feels like an old friend. Resourceful -- can easily recommend the right tools to overcome your problems. He doesn’t always recommend the costliest but he does have a way with words to make you second guess buying the cheaper ones.