Eight Courts of Crimson

## The Eight Courts of Crimson

"The Magic Pillars of the Middle Kingdom"

The **Bā Gè Shēn Hóng Fǎtíng** (八个深红法庭), also known as the *Eight Courts of Crimson* or simply the *Crimson Courts*, is an organization and institution of magi that was formed in Zhou Dynasty China at around the 500s BCE, although they prefer to be called *Fāngshì* instead of magi. The Crimson Courts pride themselves as the hidden power behind the old emperors as court wizards and the authority on magic within the Middle Kingdom for millennia, and despite the turmoil that came with the Qing Dynasty, the Eight Courts outlived the old emperors. They challenged the influence of organizations outside of China and stopped many from taking control such as the Grand Order of Magi or The Martyrdom.

## History

The Fāngshì of the Courts claim a venerable parentage, stating that the very first Fāngshì was the Yellow Emperor, the legendary culture-hero from before the very first dynasty. The disciples of their progenitor supposedly laid out the foundation of magic in China. These Fāngshì codified the practices of ancient magi like Fu Hsi, Na Kua, and Sui-Jen and claim to be the inventors of written language, silk, and agriculture. While ancient magi kept secrets from one another, it was the invention of the "Shēn Hóng Zhī Dùn", known as the Crimson Parma in English, that resulted in the formation of the organization's predecessor. The Parma was a spell that created a small red field shaped like a Bagua which allowed two or more magi to meet up and parley without the worry of deceit or violence, since the field imposed peace and prevented anyone from casting any hostile magic while inside the Parma. This resulted in more civil negotiations and discussions and resulted in the formation of the organization as simply the "Crimson Court", singular unlike its later Eight.

During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, China underwent a rapid technological progress and social changes. While peasant and wandering sorcerers concerned themselves with making the rain come and serving in the rural areas, the Fāngshì Court served as astrologers, inventors, and strategists for the nobility. But even with their best efforts as wizards for the lords' courts, they could not prevent both dynasties in collapsing due to peasant revolts. This resulted in the Warring States period, and different Fāngshì scattering to each of their lords' domains, or leaving the service of the nobility entirety. The Crimson Court did not decline, and instead their cunning and intrigue allowed them to rally behind the king that would become Qin Shi Huang Di. With their influence over the Qin Dynasty, they made sure the Emperor burned any source of knowledge or magic that went against the Crimson Court. When the Emperor began his search for immortality, however, the Court deliberately sabotaged his quest and provided false information. While they did not plan to kill him immediately, a vengeful mage and former member of the Crimson Court named Yao Si, poisoned the Emperor. She disappeared before the Court could retaliate.

The death of the Qin Dynasty and the rise of the Han Dynasty, the Crimson Court returned to serving the nobility but grew to be more an more manipulative in the shadows. The rise of educated officials under Han rule allowed the Crimson Court to dominate Chinese society. The Court's membership also began to increase drastically, resulting in the formation of different Halls across China, and necessitating the expansion from one Court to Eight, with each court specializing in one of the classifications of magic according to the Fāngshì. This also allowed the Crimson Court to come into contact with Western Magi beyond Persia. Unfortunately, the Courts viewed a majority of them as coming from primitive feudal societies or practiced a form of magic that they deemed "incompatible". Prosperity did not last forever, however, as the Decay soon become apparent, and the Mongol Invasion and rise of the Yuan Dynasty forced the Courts to completely cut themselves off from Chinese Society in desperation. This also resulted in a schism between the Courts who refused to abdicate power from Chinese politics and those who wanted to preserve themselves from the Decay. Countless died in this civil war, but the latter came out on top, and the Crimson Court became nothing more than a memory of a bygone age once the Qing Dynasty came to an end in the 1900s. By then, the Courts still secretly manipulated society in a smaller scale, mostly to enrich the aristocratic classes of the Courts, but they never revealed their true identity as Fāngshì. They also fought foreign magi and prevented them from gaining a proper foothold in China, from the European Grand Order of Magi to the Christian Martyrdom. While they integrated a lot of non-Chinese Asian magi, they rejected any European or American magi that tried to join them, a bias that persists to this day. They outlived the dynasties of China and naturally infiltrated the ranks of the Communist regime that still rule China to this day, using it as a way to create a web of intrigue and secretly siphon money and resources to the different halls of the Eight Courts across China.

With Monopoly over Chinese magic secured, the Eight Courts of Crimson continue to defend their territory to this day, and while they were more open to cooperating with outsiders on the pretense of preserving magical knowledge, they remain vigilant in preventing others from usurping their seat of power. It became natural for a mage in China and in some Asian countries with a prominent Chinese influence in culture that they join the Crimson Courts and attempt to past the many difficult tests that come with it for the sake of prestige and the opportunity to learn from a group that supposedly survived the fall of every dynasty.

***"Only the results! This world only remembers the results!"***

-Dragonmaster of the Crimson Courts, 1921

## Organizational Structure

The Eight Courts of Crimson is divided into Eight "Courts" spread out across China which specialize in one category of magic, a category canonized by the Crimson Courts. While every Court taught the basics of every category of magic, even housing specialists for certain categories, the Court's assigned category takes the most priority. While there are multiple "Halls", the equivalent of a guild hall for local Court magi to gather in, each hall is built around one of the main "Court Hall" across China. Individual workshops for Court magi also dot mainland Asia.

The Eight Courts are led by the Dragonmaster **(Lóng Shī, 龙师)**, who is counselled by the 8 Grandmasters **Qí Shèng, 棋圣)** who govern the 8 Courts. Each hall is also governed by a local **Hall Magister (Dàtīng Mó Dǎoshī, 大厅魔导师)**. Below the Magister were the **Master Archivist (Dǎng'àn Guǎn Zhǎng, 档案馆长)** who took charge of keeping the records and magic archive and the **Marshall (Jiang Jun 将军) ,** who took charge in training the Enforcers of the Courts for security. Underneath the Master Archivist are the Teachers and Masters of different Magic fields that take charge in educating and testing newcomers.

The Ranks of the non-governing members are as follows:

1. Initiate (Fāqǐ)- Those who are currently undertaking the exams and trials across the Eight Courts.
2. Novice (Xīnshǒu)- Those who pass the test and are allowed to partake in classes run by teachers and masters across the halls of the Eight Courts.
3. Apprentice (Xuétú) - Students are required to win the approval of a master and become one of their apprentices to rise through the ranks.
4. Scholar (Xuézhě) - Members who finish their apprenticeship and become an independent mage in the Eight Courts become a Scholar.
5. Specialist (Zhuānjiā) - Specialists are the Scholars who discover a breakthrough in magic or contributed to the many research journals and works of the Eight Courts, and have 8 of their works published and archived in the grand library of the Eight Courts. Specialists also become qualified to teach classes in the many halls of the Courts, but are not allowed to take select apprentices
6. Master (Zhǎngwò) - Masters are the certified experts in their fields and have already thought numerous classes, and are allowed to select one to ten apprentices that they mentor outside of classes. Masters are also the ones who can become the Marshalls, Hall Magisters, or Master Archivists.
7. Grandmaster (Qí shèng) - Masters above other Masters, a Court is only allowed one Grandmaster, who has accumulated the power and influence to assert their authority within one of the Eight Courts. They only answer to the Red Dragon, and are known to compete with other Grandmasters.

Those who wish join the Courts are usually recommended by an existing Hall Magister, or voluntarily seek out and find one of the Halls and possess the potential for magic. Joining is not as easy as signing a contract, however, as the Initiate must travel to each of the Eight Court Halls and partake in several tests which range from written exams testing their intelligence when it comes to magic, and physical trials that vary depend on the Hall Magister that oversees the Court. These range from finding specific magical artifacts to heading to the Border Zone and killing a magical beast. Those who are skilled or lucky enough to win the Approval of all Eight Courts become a Novice, and are allowed to freely use the facilities of each hall in the organization.

## The Eight Courts

The Eight Courts are based on the trigrams of the "Fu Xi" Bagua (伏羲八卦) and specialize in one of the 8 categories of Magic in Crimson Court Canon.

### Qián (乾), Heaven

Also known as the Court of Heaven. Their Court Hall is located north of the city of Lanzhou. The Qián Court specialize in the oldest type of magic practiced by the sorcerers of China known as **Paradox Magic** or Bèi Lùn Mófǎ (悖论魔法). This categorization of magic derives power from its conundrums and paradoxes. Magic is the ability to perform seemingly impossible tasks for a normal person, such as undoing wounds or firing lightning from one’s fingers, but Paradox takes it to another step by embracing this very concept of impossibility. Telekinesis through Paradox, for example, allows a caster to “grasp” an apple 20 meters away from them, essentially a paradox since they were able to hold a fruit without having long-enough arms that can reach up to 20 meters away from the caster. Another example are Detect Spells, which allows a caster to see through walls and spy at the people located in the adjacent room, drawing power from the paradox of seeing despite having your vision blocked by a wall. Ancient and Powerful, and not to mention rare magic such as Clairvoyance also fall into this category since it works on the paradox of seeing the future despite existing in the present. Flight and Levitation spells also fall into this category since it derives power from the paradox of ‘standing’ and ‘moving’ in the air despite having no solid ground. An easy example would be Necromancy, which works with the paradox of making the dead alive.  The many forms of Longevity are also classified as Paradox as those who acquire such status remain alive despite living beyond the natural lifespan of a human. The "trapping" of Souls are also fall into this category of magic as it works on the paradox of "storing a Soul without it's proper body or container. Paradox by its very nature forces the practitioner to divorce their mind from logic, to embrace a temporary sort of insanity in the already illogical world of magic.

The Court of Heaven is also the location of the Dragonmaster's quarters, and the seat of the 8 Grandmaster Council, and is the heart of Crimson Court's political power.

### Xùn (巽), Wind

Also known as the Court of Wind. Their Court is hidden in the city of Xi'An. The Court of Wind specializes in **Illusion** Magic. Illusion is the category for magic that alters the physical and mental perception in oneself or others. Illusion is the imposition of one’s will to others and to one’s self by influencing the psyche. Hypnosis and Brainwashing are common spells seen in this category, as well as spells used for psychological warfare such as causing fear, calming, and even simple but effective methods of misinformation, such as tricking your foe that you are using your left hand instead of your right while in melee. Mental Invisibility, as opposed to some Alteration-based Invisibility, is perhaps the most iconic spell for this School. Tricking a target into thinking that you aren’t there is a prime example of Illusion. While most of the Schools of Magic require a Magical Resistance, be it from their own bodies or from equipped artifacts, resisting Illusion spells require special Mental Resistance that could protect one’s mind from being manipulated. Mental Resistance, unlike Magical Resistance, is honed through improving one’s mind, training oneself to resist temptations and strong emotions and cannot be artificially increased through normal artifacts.

### Kǎn (坎), Water

Also known as the Court of Water. Their Court is hidden in Xiangyang. The Court of Water specializes in **Alteration**, the art of altering the physical world. Magic and Alteration are synonymous in the idea that they are the distortion of local reality through direct imposition of the mage’s will. And it is this willpower of a magus that allows them to manipulate the magical energy within them and around them. Some subtypes of this ‘School’ include Reinforcement, Transmutation, and Elementalism (Elemental Manipulation). Alteration is typically the first type of magic thought to most novices, as it is easy to learn but very difficult to master. Fundamental concepts such as channeling one’s own magical energy and drawing them from leylines are categorized in Alteration since they involve “altering” the current flow of magical energy within yourself and adjacent sources of magical energy. Sharpening blades, hardening armor, and even increasing resistances to fire or magic fall into this category, along with many spells that physically alter the world in a grand or microscopic level.

### Gèn (艮 ), Mountain

Also known as the Court of the Mountain. Their Court is hidden in and underneath the mountains of Jiangxi. They Specialize in the Category known as **Magecrafting**, the closest magical category to regular Science. It is the study of the magical virtues of different forms of matter, their effects, combinations, and re-combinations. This is therefore the category in which the Alchemy, Botany, Mycology, Minerology, and Anatomancy (The usage of human and animal body parts as ingredients and reagents) are categorized into. Artificery (creation and enchantment of artifacts and lesser magic items), Golemancy, and Homunculicraft, are also included in this category. While ancient magi tend to be more individualistic in terms of Magecrafting, modern era magi are more organized and many utilize a nearly-industrialized network for Magecrafting, such as the usage of plantations and mines for materials, and utilizing artificial workers or familiars as a labor force, disregarding those who still prefer inefficient, albeit cheaper human labor.

### Kūn (坤 ), Earth

Also known as the Court of Earth. Their Court is hidden in the city of Kunming. The Court of Earth specializes in **Binding**, which is the classification of magic that involves the, as the title suggests, binding of items, familiars, people, and even locations, to a mage. This also includes the summoning and binding of spirits and other beings from the Border or Mythic Realm. The most commonly-used Binding magic used by magi is the creation of a familiar, be it creating one from scratch or finding some stray and forming a master-servant pact with them. Contracts where two parties are magically bound into an agreement are also included in this classification. Items such as weapons or artifacts can also be bound to a single user using rituals so that a sword, for example, would become blunted unless it is used by the person bound to it. There are even spells that forcefully binds a target with curses and hexes, hitting them with restrictions or punishments for breaking a restriction they did not know they had to follow, without their consent.

### Zhèn (震 ), Thunder

Also known as the Court of Thunder. Their Court is hidden in the southeastern Mountains of Tibet. The Court of Thunder specializes in **War Magic**, the a composite of different categories of magic but are specialized in the art of combat. The Court of Thunder is comprised of the most Enforcers and Battlemagi of the Crimson Courts. Outside of Magic, they also train in Martial Arts and tactics. The Zhèn Court Members are the most commonly encountered outside of Crimson Court territories as the martial arm of the organization.

### Lí (離), Fire

Also known as the Court of Fire. Their Court is hidden in the mountains of Yushu. The Court of Fire specializes in **Destruction**, considered the simplest classification to understand in terms of concept, but the most dangerous to the novices of magic. It is the type of magic that projects arcane power into the physical world, which results in the splintering of material bonds by the direct or indirect application of magical force, typically elemental in nature. Any spell that directly causes harm falls into this category. Fireballs, Lightning Bolts, Air Bullets, Metal Spikes, etc. Spells that also harms the physical attributes of a person, such as Hexes that weaken the body or drain a victim's endurance are classified into this type. While Alteration is distortion of local reality through direct imposition of the mage’s will, Destruction is the direct imposition of a magus’ willpower on others through harm. The School of Destruction has been responsible for both keeping the peace and causing conflicts in the history of Magic, and it is unlikely that it will stop doing so.

### Duì (兌), Lake

Also known as the Court of the Lake. Their Court is hidden in the middle and underneath Donggei Cuona Lake. The Court of the Lake specializes in **Restoration**, The category diametrically opposed to Destruction, Restoration is the type of magic that restores wholeness by reknitting the damaged material or reversing damage done. The category includes spells such as healing, curing of natural and magical disease and poison, the restoration of damaged physical attributes, the rejuvenation of fatigue, and even the turning of undead by forcing purification effects. Although typically seen as the category that cannot harm, highly skilled magi can use Healing spells to make themselves virtually unkillable by mundane means while maintaining long-duration regeneration spells. It is difficult to prevent a mage that keeps closing their wounds in a fight from walking up to you from burning your face off Restoration can is a tool, like most magic, that could be used for the benefit or destruction of others.

## Culture and Beliefs

Centuries of involvement in the courts of the aristocracy in Dynastic China has created a very hierarchical and courtly culture within the Crimson Courts. Members are expected to show respect to those who are above them, and the higher ranks are expected top properly guide their subordinates. The magical style of the Crimson Court is highly legalistic and bureaucratic. Every part of the cosmos works in a specific fashion, just so, as a result, every form of magic, every feat, no matter how insignificant, must be properly conducted and practiced. Tradition is more than a way of life: Tradition preserves the uncorrupted means to petition and appease Heaven and the spirits, as the Courts believe. This resulted in Ornate regalia, precise writing, and exacting pronunciation are required to please Heaven, to fit the clockwork order of the cosmos, and to pull the appropriate forces of magic into conjunction. Spells are carefully worded and Fāngshì make sure to follow the orthodoxy of the codified magic.

While helping fellow Court members is encouraged, the magi who trace their lineage to nobility hold themselves higher than members who have no lineage, or worse, descendants of peasant magi. This results in a passive-aggressive or outright hostility towards the "lower-class magi". Bias against non-Asian, and even Non-Chinese magi is also common within the aristocracy, while there are also others who are open to outsiders, but even they have a sense of superiority. Some view themselves as privileged to be part of thousands years of magical heritage enlightening the outsiders.

## Known Members

* Yao Si "Fenghuang" Long - Former member
* Yun "Youlan" Guǎn - Master of the Court of Wind