Empyreal Masters

Empyreal Master is a title given by the Yi-Tish people to the foremost spiritual leader of Xua'li (literally the faith of Xua), the chief religion of Yi Ti. Since the founding of the Great Empire of the Dawn, Empyreal Masters have always come from the Xuarus family. The Masters were regarded as fundamental to the continuance and security of Rome, able to say when the emperor had been punished by the gods and lost his divine right to rule as well as perform miracles and bring prosperity to the land. Each Empyreal Master is believed to be the incarnation of the Great Bixie.

## History

It is said that the constellation of the Great Bixie was pushed from heaven and fell to the earth, incarnating as a human, who would become the first Empyreal Master. The Master sought out the God-on-Earth and raised and protected him with powerful magic and spells, which would later define the unique magic the Empyreal Masters use. Once the God-on-Earth had founded the Great Empire of Dawn, the Master would raise up a special domain in the mountainous regions of modern Yi Ti—the Sanctuary of Stars. There, he worked his magics and built temples for all the millions of stars in the sky, also breeding mystical beasts. His wife was a cloud fairy, the most beautiful of them all. They fell in love, and for ten thousand years, she was his only wife and bore him one child and no more. More than two Empyreal Masters in the world at the same time would be blasphemous, said he, as the soul of the Great Bixie was split between the Empyreal Master and their child, and it would only be rejoined whence the parent had died. More than one child would cause the Great Bixie's soul to split too many times, resulting in it's disappearance.

Empyreal Masters are renowned for their indescribable beauty throughout Yi Ti. Fitting for the protector of the emperor, they had dark hair, as opposed to the silver-and-gold hair of the gemstone emperors. It is said their eyes held the stars and all its wonders, and one look would entrap you forever. Their hair is black as night, the darkest color ever seen, fixed in intricate hairstyles thanks to the influence of the first Master's wife. They wear queer clothing and makeup, but all agree it is beautiful. The Xuarus are apart of one of the 186 officially recognized ethnic groups within Yi Ti, the Faiyen, and the blood of the first Master's wife remains strong despite the years. In order to ensure

They wield magic, bestowed upon them by the stars above, each varying depending on what the current climate in Yi Ti calls for. They have historically kept fu lion dogs as their companions, given as a gift by the Lion of Night.

## Number of Masters

Every Master is only to have one child; when the child is born, the soul of the Great Qilin which resides inside the Master will split in two, one half remaining in the child, and the other in the Master. The more children born, the more the soul is fractured, before eventually disappearing. Masters are taken to the Imperial Palace to bid goodbye to their childbearing years and drink a special tea in front of the son of heaven that will make both man and woman infertile. However, there have been three recorded cases of Masters who have broken this law; the Master was sentenced to death and the children, save for the eldest, were all killed.

There have also been cases where a Master was infertile no matter how many spouses they took to bed—in these cases, they chose a worthy successor from their ethnic group.

## The Night of a Thousand Stars

Ideally held during December 21, when the night is longest. People make a pilgrimage to the Holy City, where it is said to be the birthplace of the Father of the Wild. was born from the flower of the ; Yixiang. The pilgrimage is called the **something**, which directly translates to "holy pilgrimage". The people of Yi Ti travel to their nearest temple—for some is it just a few minutes away, and for others, it is miles. The pilgrims are more likely than not people who have never undergone the Night of a Thousand Stars before, but people who have are allowed to Before they begin their pilgrimage, though, they scrub themselves and their hair clean to start anew. They travel in groups and fast on the journey there whilst also performing night vigils.

No one knows what happens once they go inside, however. All we know is they are given an amount of the blood and flesh of gods to drink and eat so as to break their fast and come out of the temples completely reborn. From the little, vague records people have left behind, there appears to be two stages—death and despair, then rebirth and ecstasy. The people who have talked about the festival in public have been tried, the worst beheaded. However, there is one thing all are allowed to say and have agreed upon—their lives are forever changed, some even losing the fear of death completely.

Once this has been completed, people are immediately transported to the capital city, provided for by the emperor's finances. The people in the capital gather, donning masks, and most by rare fragrance satchels of intoxicating scents and crowd around the plaza, tens of thousands. The new Empyreal Master emerges and lights incense in a circle around themselves, dressed in the exotic garments of the Xuarus people. They cut the throats of **significant number** criminals and then speak in the Ancient Language, holding their arms up to the sky as they kneel and begin to dance about as music plays behind them, the sashes that cover them making them seem as if they truly fly and float in the wind. Once they have finished, an officiator asks what their name is, now after their rebirth. The Master then declares their holy name to signify their marriage with the people and says a few more words to the stars as the crowd cheers their new name. They release a giant, beautiful lantern into the sky, showing how their impurities have been cast away to heaven, and take their leave.

Afterwards, others fall suit, taking part in the festivities of the capital and releasing their own lanterns.

**i need something for them to hold as they dance that splinters into a thousand pieces, showing the moon meteors**

## Terms of service

A Master is made once they've undergone their initiation ceremony. They are to only have one child; to ensure this vow is kept, Masters are fed moon tea after the birth of their child. If any other are found, they are to be put to the sword. In the case of a Master being infertile, they are allowed to remarry to a maximum of three times until they will choose a worthy successor from the Xuarus people.

**need help figuring out when a master is initiated; is it after the death of the prev one? what if one lived to 90? if this isnt the case, what happens to the prev master? are they kept in the inner palace to be used by the concubines n emperor/empress?**

Once retired, a former Vestal was given a pension and allowed to marry. The *pontifex maximus*, acting as the father of the bride, would typically arrange a marriage with a suitable Roman nobleman. A marriage to a former Vestal was highly honoured, and – more importantly in ancient Rome – thought to bring good luck, as well as a comfortable pension.

### Duties

After their initiation, Masters embark on a journey around the world **for some reason.** Empyreal Masters hold a yearly blessing for noble families and are, before anything else, servants of the imperial family. They normally preside over religious celebrations of all the major church festivals of the year inside Saint Peter's, including Christmas and Easter, when he also appears on the same balcony where he was proclaimed pope after his election to deliver his "Urbi Et Orbi" message to the city of Rome and to the world.

TOne of the duties of the Master is to meet at least once every five years with all the priests all around Yi Ti from around the country - roughly 1,000 a year, or 20 a week. Under imperial law, priests are obliged to visit the Holy City to report to the Mater on the state of their dioceses. They divined auspicious dates for royal marriages, performed the funeral rites for all the emperor requested them to, and were given dying people to euthanize, this being seen as the highest honor. They commonly blessed items sent to the emperor.

### Privileges

The dignities accorded to the Masters were significant, second to only the emperor. Their presence was required for numerous public ceremonies and wherever they went, were transported in a lavish carriage. They had a reserved place of honor at public games and performances and could give evidence without first taking the customary oath, their word being trusted without question.

They were entrusted with important wills and state documents, such as public treaties, on account of their incorruptible character. Their personhood was sacrosanct, and they were given escorts to protect them from assault; anyone found to have injured a Master would suffer the death penalty. Masters also had the power to free condemned prisoners and slaves by touching them.

## Zilinai

**Zilinai** is at the center of the world, covered in gem-like rocks and towering cliffs of jasper and jade, exotic jeweled plants, peaches, and myriads of deer and cranes. Trees of fairy gems of blue and green grow throughout the land. Birds of unimaginable beauty sing sweet songs that can be seen, like tiny plumes of smoke. There are lakes and rivers so clear you can see the rocks and fish that swim at the bottom, an enormous firefall, dark purple fruit, bizarrely formed and colored magical fungi, numerous birds and other animals, hanging gardens, red flowers striped and speckled with white, and all sorts of ethereal sights.

However, most of it has never been seen, and therein lies indescribable horrors that shock all upon viewing.

The five main rivers of Yi Ti flow out of **Zilinai**.

Outside the House is Lu Wu, the guard, who has a human head, a tiger’s body with nine tails, and is as big as 99 normal tigers.

## Titles

### Holy name

Empyreal Masters unveil their holy name to all gathered during the Night of a Thousand Stars, and that is what they are hereby referred to afterwards. Holy names are granted by the gods and Empyreal Masters revealing their own signifies **SOMETHING to do with being a reincarnation.** The High Priest of the temple of the Lion of Night then appears on the balcony of Saint Peter's to proclaim the new pope by his birth name, and announce his papal name in the Old Language.

### Servant of the servants of God

Although the description "servant of the servants of God" (Latin: *servus servorum Dei*) was also used by other Church leaders, including Augustine of Hippo and Benedict of Nursia, it was first used extensively as a papal title by Gregory the Great, reportedly as a lesson in humility for the patriarch of Constantinople, John the Faster, who had assumed the title "ecumenical patriarch". It became reserved for the pope in the 12th century and is used in papal bulls and similar important papal documents.

### Other titles

Other titles commonly used are "His/Her Majestic Holiness", "Holy Sister/Brother" **because emperor & empress r parents of the nation,** Most Blessed Sister/Brother, and Most Holy Sister/Brother.