Eastern Azure Great World

**Warning:** this page contains significant spoilers!

*Note: this article is a work-in-progress*

Eastern Azure Great World is located in the Azure Four Worlds region of the Azure Astral Starfield.

## Geography

### The Imperial Continent (in the centre)

The Imperial Continent is where the Influence of the Kong and Huang Heavenly Clans is strongest, and where the powers of the world are mostly congregated. It is also home to 'Mt Tai, the tallest mountain on Eastern Azure.

### The Easten Continent (in the east of the world map) -

This is sometimes referred to holistically as the Eastern Continent, including all its islands and two sub-continents (Yin Eclipse and the other 'island' off its eastern coast.

The Easten Continent is the most undeveloped because Yin Eclipse is the gateway to much of it and that's not easy to traverse, and the lands beyond, while expansive are not that prosperous. Its tribes and clans have a very mixed relationship with the Imperial Court but more and more of them are turning to the support them, compared to the Azure Astral Authority. There is also a core of forces that refuse both influences and is heavily focused around the periphery of the Yin Eclipse Great Mounts northern and southern limits, using its suppression as protection.

### The Demon Continent/Southern Darklands (in the S.E of the world map)

The Southern Darklands are a place where a bunch of demons took up residence in a previous Aeonspan and have yet to be dislodged. They mostly keep to themselves.

### The Argent Gate Continent (in the South) - this is occasionally called the Southern Continent.

The Southern, Argent Gate Continent is the one most closely allied to the Central Continent in terms of its powers and sects and is very developed. It also holds a number of strategically important ruins and the Argent Devouring Caves, a forbidden zone.

### The Merciful Skies Continent (in the S.W)

The Merciful Skies Continent is the home to this realms 'Mount Kunlun'. It has a very adversarial relationship with the Imperial Court but has a strong relationship with the Azure Astral Authority. Most Dharma Cultivators are based here.

### The Western Shu Continent (in the West)

The Western Shu Continent is named for the Shu Clan, and the Shu Pavilion based on its northern end. At the south, it also has the Yerrek Pits, one of Eastern Azure's forbidden zones and its foremost prison.

### The Northern Tang (In the north)

Northern Tang Continent is the ancestral lands of the Tang Clan in this world, and also the home of their core influence. they are largely neutral, but a lot of rogue cultivators and forces unsympathetic to the Imperial Rule (like the Mo Clan) linger in their lands, causing many problems for the Imperial Court and the Azure Astral Authority Alike.

## Social Generations

A social generation on Eastern Azure represents a group of cultivators born within a specific timespan (generally 9,000 years) who have kept pace with Eastern Azure's standards of advancement. Those who fail to keep pace are 'left behind' and relegated to positions of authority commensurate with their realm, and are no longer granted the same resources or attention. This system provides clans with the opportunity to compete for standing, fame, and notoriety within a generation. The latest generation is generally referred to as the "Younger Generation" and is a potentially volatile grounds for competition given the relative speed at which cultivators advance between minor realm steps. The current Younger Generation on Eastern Azure is dominated by Cang Di of the Shu Pavilion, who has held his position as the generation's #1 figure for millennia.

This pace is measured according to a cultivator's age and realm. The first threshold is to reach the Immortal realm by age 100. Due to the costs and risks of an Immortal Crossing, this threshold winnows away many common folk. The next known thresholds require cultivators to advance to:

* Ancient Immortal by age 9,000
* Dao Immortal by age ~18,000
* Dao Lord by age ~30,000

Just as cultivators can be left behind, they can 'exceed' a generation by advancing to the next threshold before the required age. For example, Cao Leyang is a 3,000 year old Dao Lord, and therefore has exceeded two generations.

### Young Sovereign Competition

The Young Sovereign Competition represents a relatively recent exception to generation rules and was created by the Huang, Kong, Long, Weng, Tang, Shu and Fang clans. Following the Huang-Mo wars these clans wished to avoid such conflicts and instead compete in terms of a clan's resources. Each clan would raise a junior of particular talent to Dao Ascendant within 100 years. The winner would be acknowledged as the 'Young Sovereign' for that generation; a talent to which all others could aspire.

The conditions and timing of declaring a winner are unclear, but there may be multiple Young Sovereigns in a generation if the current leader ascends to the Venerate step.

### Heavenly Hundred

The Heavenly Hundred Ranking was created following the deaths of two Young Sovereigns in rapid succession, and aimed to alleviate the pressure of competing for a single position. Each world has at least one slot for a member of the Younger Generation to be considered for the Heavenly Hundred. Cang Di holds that slot on Eastern Azure for the Shu Pavilion.

## Calendar

*Note: this section is pulled from the original Glossary & Terms*

First up, Eastern Azure is basically drifting in the eye of a huge cosmic hurricane. There are four 'Azure' Great Worlds' within the vicinity of this place, each with their own little cosmic gyre. Shan Lai sits above them, suspended in the eye of the hurricane as the 'fifth' world in this region of the Azure Astral Star Field.

So, why is this important? Well, Eastern Azure is flat, with an accretion disc. its solar cycle of years comes from orbiting the eye of the hurricane its in. Day and night happen because the plane oscillates regularly in the vast tidal forces, shifting the closest thing it has to a 'sun' into the maelstrom far enough that it stops giving light to the world. its moons are weird ruins and fragments suspended in its own accretion disk. This works because of the Heavenly Dao and Qi.

In a technical sense, the Calendar is divided up into fourteen months, based on animals and a few other things. Months are 30 days long, and the year is 420 days. Corrections for celestial weirdness are handled by the Astrology Bureau, doing Astrologer/Divination/Astronomy things.

The Current Dynasty is the Dun Imperial Dynasty (actually its the 2nd dynasty for this Clan but they don't mention that!). The Current Emperor is Dun Jiang and he has been on the Throne for ~19,000 years (or so) and is the 9th Dun Emperor.

*Note:* Book Two Spoiler of sorts (regarding chapter 41 & 46)

For those eagle-eyed readers, you will note that this coincides rather closely with the purported clashes between the Mo and the Huang Clans 20,000-18,000 years ago according to Ju Shan. The emperor didn't die, he abdicated to his eldest son and went to join the Dun Branch of the Kong Clan. In the aftermath of that, there was a bunch of fighting because there was a new emperor etc. This also broadly coincides with a generation 'being declared' (9x2 = 18 ya see :p). this was a period of notable instability.

Also for those who might have cared why the imperial uncle (Dun Jian) is only ~35,000 years old and a Dao Eternal. He was a younger sibling.

TLDR?: 30 days in a month, 14 months in a year,

60 seconds to a minute, 60 minutes to an hour, 24 hours to a day. 7 days in a week, 60 weeks in a year.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 42 - Huang Leng POV
2. ↑ Chapter 104 - Epigraph
3. ↑ Chapter 24 - Author's Note
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chapter 77 - Epigraph