The Ensorcelled City

     The Unifier built a splendid city in the midst of the realm to serve as his seat of power. Four marvelous palaces stood at the four cardinal extremities. In the north was the Water Palace, warmed in the winter by hot springs, the water of which ran through pipes beneath the tiled floors. The Palace of the Arcing Arrow was built upon a low series of hills on the southern edge of the city. It was open to the wind, to cool it in the summer months. At the very crest of the hill was the Pavilion of Fireflies. The Bronze Palace in the west and the Palace of Secret Thunder in the east were both famed in their own rights. But in the center of the city, surrounded by a wall and only accessible by magic gates from each of the four palaces, was a secret garden of white flowers and dark but glossy leaves. In the center was a pool in which the moon could always be seen, whether She were in the sky or no.

    Over the years the king's descendants added to the wealth and extravagance of the place, and they grew in pride and decadence. The last king's hedonism and cruelty knew no bounds, and he was spurred on to greater depravity by his concubine, a mysterious woman known as Daji. Their outrages grew so great that at last the nobles rebelled, spurred on by the lords of the western marches. Breaking the king's forces in a chariot charge, the rebels marched upon the throne city. But when they reached the valley they found that a wall of thick mist surrounded the capital. Anyone going in found himself after a few steps returning to the spot he had just left, with no memory of having turned around. All attempts to enter the city were stymied, and so the conquerors established a series of sentry posts around the perimeter and left.

    Thus the Ensorcelled City has stood inaccessible for hundreds of years, and no man may say what remains within it. But with the hazards and changes of war, the watch on the borders of the mist was disrupted. The lands in which it lay came under the control of the Shan's dogmen allies. They report that shadowy figures can be seen moving in the mist, and they occasionally find strange corpses of indiscernible shape left at the edge of the fog. It is possible that whatever power held the city is beginning to loosen its grip, but why and for what purpose remains to be seen. Certainly only the very brave or the very foolish would dare to find some way to venture into the cursed town.

The Potency

    The founder of the previous Dynasty was a sorcerer of unusual power and craftiness. It is said that he was a shepherd who was favored by the Moon Goddess. Madly in love with the stripling youth, she taught him magic lore which he learned eagerly. After slaying a great white serpent (or in other versions, being gifted a sword from a river serpent), he rose to fame and preeminence in his locality. At that time Liangyu was divided into many petty kingdoms, all with differing customs and tongues. Having gathered a following, he proceeded to swiftly conquer the nearby princedoms-- and then slowly but inexorably weld them into one realm.

    The kingdoms or lords who submitted to him willingly and quickly were allowed to keep the bulk of their domains as his vassals. Those who resisted, he wiped out and replaced with loyal retainers or relatives. Much of the captured bronze arms and armor were melted down to create twelve bronze statues placed along the borders of his realm. It is said that the king could see and hear through these statues much of what went on within his kingdom and along its marches.

    He began a thorough process of unification, standardizing laws, measurements, weights, and rituals throughout the kingdom. Nobles and bureaucrats were required to use the king's speech in their official duties and their visits to the court. The king is also credited with taking the first steps toward establishing a standardized writing system, although scholars are divided on this. What is more certain is that many magic-users, diviners, village elders and shamans were killed at this time. Partly this was to wipe out previous customs to make way for those of the king's new idealized culture, partly it was to prevent the rise of potential rivals to his power. In this way much of the early oral history and traditions of this area were lost.

    Toward the end of his reign, he caused a great tomb complex to be built, either hollowing out a mountain or construction an artificial one. The main chamber was filled with a scale model of his kingdom, complete with rivers and lakes of liquid mercury. Upon his death he was entombed within a magnificent sarcophagus at the center, crafted of silver and ivory. High in the ceiling above a great round mirror was set. It is said that the Moon Goddess views his tomb through this mirror. Other efforts, less unearthly, were taken to keep the place secure. Tripwires connected to loaded crossbows guarded narrow passages, and an army of undead warriors patrolled ceaselessly the main thoroughfares. With all set, the architects of the complex were also entombed within and the entrance sealed.

    Due to the fear in which he was held, the Liangyese avoided speaking his name after his death. (This remains a customary taboo for all Liangyese kings after passing.) Because of this, and a lack of written records from that time, the sorcerer's true name remains unknown. A wide variety of titles and euphemisms have been used to refer to him, but the two most common are "The Unifier" and "The Potency".