"It is said the history of the Empire can be traced in the clouds of day and the stars of night. This is, in some ways, true, certainly--our magnanimous benefactors, the Empresses, work their immortal magics in the sky, where our very eyes might see. But the history of the Empire can be more properly traced by it's people--from their lows and highs, from the smallest scribe to the mightiest worker. For it is from the people that Heroes have grown, that have time and again saved the Empire from chaos and madness. Always remember this: It may be the Empresses that guide us, but it is by our own hands and our own works that save us." Excerpt from 'Introduction to History', by Xin Shen Yao, Scholar of the Hundred Century.

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ON THE HISTORY OF THE ETERNAL EMPIRE:

From the frigid northern wastelands, where the storms grow so great as to , to the southern mountains beyond which the tribes of Cloud-Kin live, the Eternal Empire stretches. From the western plains in which the Ki-Eaters dwell to the eastern coast, where the boats of the people of fire and scale raid, the Eternal Empire stretches.

Once, a thousand centuries ago, this land was barbaric, filled with three tribes of people, their names long since lost to history. One tribe was of warriors, strong and tough and brawny, great workers of metal and stone, each of them a master of their own strength. Another was filled with scholars and magicians, working grave, ancient magics and rituals to defend and protect themselves, each of them a master of their own wisdom. The third tribe was nomadic, its people wanderers, traders, movers, masters of the fast strike and the quick fade, each one of them a master of their own path. The three tribes would war and fight among each other, none able to conquer the other two without losing land.

Until the Sisters fell.

For one day and one night, both sun and moon remained in the sky. In the war-torn center of these lands, where only scavengers and beggars and outcasts from the tribes lived, a rock from the heavens fell. From this rock came the Divine Sisters, the Immortal Empresses. Taiyang, the Sister of the Sun, was a master of the magics of cloud and fire, a woman of great strength and noble character, a matron of the arts and a warrior without peer... save for her sister, Yueqiu, the Sisters of the Moon and mistress of the magics of ice and stars, a bombastic warrior and a glorious, divine protector.

It was these scavengers and beggars and outcasts that first rallied to their banner and promise of protection. With these cast-aways, the Immortal Sisters began their conquest.

First they rode to the Tribe of Strength. The leader of this tribe, whose name is lost to history, laughed at these strange women. He said they could not beat his people, for their stone was to tough, their metal to strong, and no magics they could bring could compare to the sheer, unrestrained strength that he and his could bring to bear. The sisters smiled as one, and challenged him: The pair, alone, would demolish his strongest castle by the time the sun and moon had once circled the world. He laughed again, and accepted.

And so in the space of one day and one night, the Sisters worked. They used hammers at dawn, bashing stone and metal alike, battering it to the ground. At noon, the heads fell off, and so they used the hafts as simple staves. At dusk, the staves broke in half, and so used them as clubs. At midnight, the clubs shattered, and so they turned to their fists and feet and bodies... and when dawn broke again, the castle was no more.

The chieftain, outraged, demanded to know the secret of their strength. It is not known what they spoke to him of, but when their lesson was through, the chieftain bent knee to the Empresses. He swore the eternal loyalty of he and his people to the Sisters, their strength and endurance and labor theirs to command. And so it was the Tribe of Strength became the Workers.

Second they rode for the Tribe of Wisdom. This tribe was lead by an old woman, an ancient crone and a master of dark magics, she had heard of what had happened to the Tribe of Strength. She told the Empresses that she would not bend knee to them, unless they proved themselves just as wise as she was. And thus did she present to the sisters a riddle: "What is faster?" She asked, first pointing to Taiyang. "Heat? Or... Cold?" She said, pointing to Yueqiu.

And so the sisters talked. They meditated for a day and a night, surrounded by raging flames and burning frost, thinking on the wisdom of the blazing sun and the chilling moon, of fire and ice, of heat and cold, summer and winter, yin and yang, and a thousand other representations. Finally, they returned to the woman, at dawn. "Cold is the slower," they said, "For one never catches a Heat."

The Crone, it is said, simply chuckled, and handed a single prayer-strip to the Sisters. "You have beaten my riddle, and so have the loyalty of my people. Use them Wisely... or not. They are yours," she is said to have told them, before laying down to die. And so it was that the Tribe of Wisdom because the Scholars, their magic, intelligence, and scholarship at the command of the Divine Sisters.

From there, the Sisters rode to the People of Speed. They could not find them, at first, for the Tribe of Speed were restless and did not settle down long, but eventually they came to the leader--a young, headstrong, wild girl, in charge by the simple fact that she was the fastest and none could out-race or out-fight her. She taunted the Immortal Sisters and claimed that her people would never bow to them, for they could not hope to catch them--the wise cannot act against what they cannot see, and the strong cannot crush what they cannot catch.

So the sisters challenged her to a race. A day and a night they raced, on horses until the horses grew tired, and then on foot until their soles bled. The Immortal Sisters ran together, one not leaving the other. And, at the end of the race... they had lost. But the leader of the Tribe of Speed laughed, for it had been close, and she had never had a race like that again. "So long as my people's veins sing with speed and challenge, we shall follow you," she said. And so it was the Tribe of Speed became the Travelers.

Together, the Travelers, Scholars, and Workers built an empire, under the watchful eye of the Sun and the Moon. There has been little to change the Empire since these early days, save for recently, when the tribals of the Arokaz, the wanderers and mystics of the eastern plains, fled into the Empire from the hordes of the Ki-Eaters. They have, slowly, integrated into the society that has adopted them, but they still maintain their own, ancient traditions, a people apart even as they remain a people within, an Absorbed Tribe within the Empire.

ON THE DOJOS OF DAY AND NIGHT:

The Divine Twins, in the early days of the empire, established two Dojos, two schools which any citizen may come to study, teaching each sister's own styles and virtues.

The Dojo of Day, established by the Sun Twin, Taiyang, teaches of the virtues of Righteousness and Honor, but also of Obsession and Revenge. Focus on one's goal, they say, and live a righteous and honorable life, and pay back what is due, always. The styles taught here are flowing and graceful, as swift as a ray of light, harnessing the powers of fire and sun.

The Dojo of Night, established by the Moon Twin, Yueqiu, teaches of the virtues of Benevolence and Force, but also Ferocity and Individualism. Harmony with others is important, but an Empire, it teaches, is only as strong as the weakest member. Be kind to others, and never hide your strength, but release it. The styles taught here are strong, ravenous, almost sinister, but not unholy, shattering away weakness and bringing forth strength, harnessing the powers of ice and moon.

ON MARTIAL ARTS:

The greatest weapon the Eternal Empire has is it's peoples mastery of Martial Arts, channeling the energies of Sun and Moon, Yin and Yang, into their styles and their weapons. The Dojos of Day and Night each teach five styles--together called the Ten Divine Styles--and each of the castes claims two styles as their Birthrights.

ON THE THREATS TO THE ETERNAL EMPIRE:

Perhaps the gravest threat the Empire faces is the Cults of Chaos. Not every member of the Ancient Tribes bent knee to the Empresses--at least willingly. For many, a grave pride burned within them; a dark desire for anarchy. These rebels and malcontents knew they could not face the righteousness of the Sisters openly, and so they turned to an ancient deity, unnamed and spoken of only in whispers, for the power to strike against her. Trading away some of their own souls, this ancient terror granted them power. To this day, these Heretics and malcontents surge in the shadows of the empire, nameless as the god they worship.

Another threat the empire faces, and the newest, comes from the once-beautiful western plains. One day, scarcely a century ago, the people of the plains, the tribe called the Arokaz, fled into the Empire, speaking of a great horde of shape-shifters and face stealers, who did not kill those they captured, but fed on their Ki, leaving broken, empty husks behind. For the first time in centuries, the Empresses acted directly, and over the space of one day and one night rose a great wall between the Empire and the plains... but still the Ki-Eaters lurk behind it, and occasionally one of their scouts will break over the Worker's Wall and let loose a spree of terror... and rarer still, the Wall itself will fall, a horde of the monsters surging into the Empire.

The Other Tribes form a minor threat to the Empire, but a threat all the same: The Diamond Men lurk in their mines, sending raiding parties to the surface for slaves. The Men of Fire And Scale sail their ships up and down the eastern coast, plundering Imperial shipping and burning ports when a war-master leads them, and the Cloud-Kin--mysterious and aloof as they are--act on their own, with no regard for the sanctity of borders.

ON THE CASTES OF THE ETERNAL EMPIRE:

The Eternal Empire has, historically, been separated into three castes--the Workers, the Scholars, and the Travelers. One's caste is a matter of birth and preference. A child born to Workers will be a Worker, but if they prove themselves adept at other tasks, may petition to be admitted into another Caste. Cross-Caste marriages are uncommon but not frowned upon, with children following the path of their like-gendered parent.

Workers: Workers are strong, tough, and dependable. Guards, builders, engineers, and farmers, the Workers build that upon which the Empire is founded. It is said that, so long as there is an Empire, the Workers will stand in defense of it.

Scholars: Wise, canny, and intelligence, the Scholars are the scribes, doctors, and priests of the Empire. While the Workers build the physical things upon which the Empire is reliant, it is the Scholars that build the spiritual. It is said that so long as there is an Empire, the Scholars will preserve it, no matter the cost.

Travelers: Fast, sociable, and fun-loving, the Travelers are the couriers, the scouts, and the sailors of the Empire. They carry food and messages and people from one place to another, providing the glue that holds it together. It is said that so long as there is an empire, the Travelers will keep her people together.''

The Arokaz, the Absorbed Tribe: Only recently added to the Empire's strength, the Arokaz are a strange people from the plains. Nomads for much of their life, they practice a form of ancestor-worship and ancient mysticism alien to the Empire as a whole. They are still settling into their new position as a member of the Empire... and it is said they do not have a true purpose. The Arokaz claim otherwise--but what their purpose is, they are not yet sure.

ON THE TRADITIONS OF THE ETERNAL EMPIRE:
There are a great many traditions in the Empire, but perhaps the most important ones are the traditions of Apprentice and the tradition of the 'Hero'.

Apprenticeship is a simple thing: When one has determined what job one desire, and has sought out a master to teach you, one receives a token of your apprenticeship, a symbol--ancient and traditional--of one's place in the Empire and one's chosen job. To the baker is the symbol of the baker, and the soldier the symbol of the soldier. Some are so dedicated to their work that they will get that symbol tattooed on one of their hands, but most wear it as a medallion.

Heroism is a tradition going back as far as the Empire itself--and further. So long as there have been people, they have had their heroes, those who reach above and beyond simple necessity, who harness their Ki and their virtues and strive, above anything else, to excel. Those who write their name in the histories, who defeat barbarian hordes, who save ships from the storm, who end crime across the Empire--these are all heroes.

But remember, too, that they were also people.