Duanjia
Geography
Duanjia is a temperate land that varies a great deal in both terrain and climate. Generally, the climate gets harsher and colder the further south one travels. The continent is divided in two by a narrow waterway known as the Straight of Dragons, which is almost sacred to the people of both nations.
The west side of the of the Straight is Jiayuan. This is the more varied of the two lands, home to swamps, plains, woods, and tundra scattered throughout the landscape. There are mountains on the southwest side of the continent and the city of Ganhuang on a peninsula on the northwest.
The eastern side of the Straight of Dragons is the kingdom of Sokoku. This land is more heavily wooded than its twin, only occasionally interspersed with meadows and bogs. This land, too is home to mountains, much lower peaks on the northeast side. This is also where the capital of Oketura can be found.
Ecosystem
The temperate nature of the lands of Duanjia means they are practically teeming with life both magical and natural. The natural creatures include such animals as monkeys, deer, tigers, pandas, and tanuki. Magical beings include weretigers, the mysterious and mystical lung dragons, and fey such as the huli jing.
Sokoku is especially close to the Otherworld much like Fasach. As such, fey creatures are a lot more common here than in other places. The Sokokans call these creatures "yokai", and they come in forms both varied and strange. These include the cat-like nekomata, and the powerful and mysterious tengu.
Even though Jiayuan is not so close to the fey, there are fey unique to this land. These creatures, called "yaogui" by the Jiayuanese, have their own unique variations including the boisterous xiao. The strange magic of this land has led to the creation of other creatures, including hungry undead known as jiangshi.
History
The story goes that Yuhuang and the Bureaucracy of Heaven directly created the continent of Duanjia, once one land. Then, according to legend, Isanagi cut off half of the land, which would one day become Sokoku. The story both the Sokokans and the Jiayuanese tell says that the Jiayuanese gods allowed this, out of caution according to the Sokokans and generosity according to the Jiayuanese.
The tales told about the earliest history of the Jiayuanese people claim that the favored people of Yuhuang and Xiwangmu engaged in a war over the superiority of the mortal yin or yang. This ended when Zhinu, goddess of love brought the two sides together, creating the tradition of rule by the emperor and empress.
The Sokokans believe that their origins lie with the sun goddess Amaterasu. They believe her children were the first people on Sokoku, and that they became the first emperors, with the lesser people of the land following behind and making up their loyal subjects.
Over time, Jiayuan's method of government have made its history very stable, with the rule over it passing from one pair of rulers to another as their gods dictated. Sokoku's history, however, has been anything but stable. It has been ruled by the whims of its emperors, and power has not always passed so simply.
The greatest threat faced by both lands came at once. A mated pair of t'ien lung dragons discovered an infernal portal in the Straight of Dragons. They closed the portal as they were mandated to, but in doing so they became corrupted by the evil energies coming from it.
They became determined to rule over all of Covenant as the ultimate tyrants, and started in Duanjia. The male removed and replaced the emperor of Jiayuan while the female killed and replaced the emperor of Sokoku. The plan of the Dragon Emperor and Empress seemed as though it would work perfectly but for the interference of two heroes.
In Jiayuan, this hero was the emperor, who the Dragon Emperor felt would be amusing if he was changed into a female form that no one could recognize. She trained in martial arts and rebelled, going by the name Tao Sing. Eventually, she slew the dragon in single combat, restoring Jiayuan to its rightful rulers.
The Sokokan hero was a priest of Amaterasu named Ando Haketuro. He was sworn to the service of the emperor, but eventually discovered the deception of the Dragon Empress. He gathered together a party of companions and fought against her. Eventually, they gained the power to defeat her. After the battle, Ando was crowned emperor and his descendants continue to rule.
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