Post by Harkovast on Feb 8, 2018 0:51:06 GMT
The Wu-Yao resemble goats and their magical elements are air and darkness.
If you ask a Chang, they will tell you that the Wu-Yao are one of the races that make up the White Kingdom, and are ruled over by the White Empress, trusting in her divine wisdom as all civilised people do.
If you ask a Wu-Yao, the answer is a little more complicated…
Wu-Yao believe that no adult has authority over another. Only children need an authority to rule over them. They believe people who accept authority are little more than mindless slaves. Those who seek to rule over others are tyrants.
Every Wu-Yao rules over him or herself and nothing else.
To the Wu-Yao the Chang obsession with hierarchy and their ideas of “order” are utter folly. Society is a agreement of like minded people do what is best for themselves and the group. To make it anything deeper than that is simply limiting each person from achieving their potential. The servant limits his freedom and the master grows lazy and idle with others doing his work.
As long as he does not harm others, each Wu-Yao is free to follow whatever path he thinks best. If there is a conflict then a gathering of wise elders and peers will discuss how it should be dealt with. The Wu-Yao put a lot of focus on self improvement and seeking enlightenment and excellence. Those who better themselves are greatly admired, but those that do not are not scorned. There is always something admirable about a person who chooses their own path and lives the way they want to.
The Wu-Yao take a very dim view of dishonesty, and expect each other to hold to their word. They take an equally dim view of people trying to trip them up with rules and regulations and the letter of the law. Many a Chang has found that Wu-Yao fill out a contract as they understand it, and pay no heed to someone trying to call them out on the exact wording.
Due to their distrust of any kind of authority, Wu-Yao live in small villages, dotted throughout the forests and mountains of their homelands.
However, though their ways may seem simple, the Wu-Yao are not to be underestimated. They believe in their ideals with unshakeable certainty, and this makes them extremely dangerous when roused to anger.
The First White Empress, in her wisdom, realised the Wu-Yao could not be conquered without destroying them utterly. She realised that the Wu-Yao believe respect is not given but earned, and so submitted herself to a series of a trials set by the Wu-Yao elders. Assuming a pampered Chang noble would soon fail, the Elders were stunned that she not only completed each task, but exceeded what was asked of her. When asked to move a pile of stones, she built a mountain, and when asked to build a house she built a fortress.
The Wu-Yao would not acknowledge her as their rulers, for none can rule them, but were so impressed with the Empress that they agreed to take part in the functions of the White Kingdom, cooperating with its rules and laws as willing participants.
This agreement holds true to this day, though the Wu-Yao consider it their right to withdraw from this arrangement at any time and have done so in the past when they felt disrespected or neglected. While some felt it outrageous that the Wu-Yao were given such autonomy, The First White Empress realised that the Wu-Yao were extremely valuable allies, and intractable enemies and this arrangement was the best one possible.
Some White Emperors and Empresses have sought to gain more formal over the Wu-Yao, but all came to regret the decision.
Wu-Yao ignore any law or edict they consider unfair or unreasonable, including any demands for fealty.
Wu-Yao civilians engage in passive resistance against any occupier, being entirely unhelpful, removing food and water supplies and slipping away to other settlements.
With their focus on self improvement as part of their culture Wu-Yao warriors are some of the most deadly fighters in the White Kingdom, each attempting to perfect his or her skills in the martial arts to be the greatest he or she can be.
Their most feared skill is the ability, through dark and air magic, to turn one arrows into many dark bolts. They can send deadly hails of projectiles into the enemies before slipping away.
The Emperor Jing the 4th made the greatest effort to control the Wu-Yao, sending vast numbers of soldiers into the Wu-Yao territory to force their compliance.
The mission was a disaster from the start, with the Wu-Yao fighting back constantly and the Chang soldiers having to resort to ever more heavy handed methods to try to control them.
Yulbax and Dol-Kim forces became unhappy at being used by the Chang to attack another part of the White Kingdom in what was seen by many as an unfair and oppressive action, and many deserted.
The rest of the Empire strained under the cost of raising ever larger armies to occupy the Wu-Yao more and more intensively.
Finally Emperor Jing was assassinated by a group of Wu-Yao warriors calling themselves ‘Heavens Shadow’.
Such a blasphemous act outraged the Chang, and many called for bloody retribution.
The new Empress Juan, initially agreed with these calls, but realised that continuing this conflict was threatening to plunge the White Kingdom into full civil war.
She went into secluded contemplation within her palace, whose walls are made of white stone that is said to resonate with the divine spirits of former rulers.
She decided that her fathers actions had been against the teachings of the First Empress and that was why they had brought about disharmony.
The White Kingdom should unite the many strengths and ideas of its subjects, not force them all to conform to the Chang.
She met with a council of Wu-Yao elders, and negotiated a peaceful resolution. She promised to make no more efforts to force Wu-Yao compliance, and the Elders swore to have Heavens Shadow destroyed for their crime. Both sides made good on their vows, and the heads of the leaders of the Heavens Shadow fanatics were presented to Juan as a gift and show of gratitude from the Wu-Yao.
Juan understood what the First Empress had realised, that the Wu-Yao are capable of great loyalty, but it must be given freely, and not demanded from them.
Wu-Yao tend to be disdainful of outsiders, considering their ways to make them weak and dim witted. They will often present tests and trials to outsiders to get the measure of them. Those that fail will be treated with scorn and disrespect, but those that succeed will be well treated, having proved themselves in the Wu-Yao’s eyes.
Wu-Yao are known for their enjoyment of ale. None can tell a Wu-Yao when they have had enough to drink and woe betide anyone who tries to take a drink from one! The most highly respected of all Wu-Yao are the drunken masters, an informal order of warrior mystics. Throughout the White Kingdom drunken Wu-Yao will sometimes be seen, begging for change by a temple, invariably to buy more drink.
Those who lack insight will dismiss these figures as simple tramps, but they are far more than this. They are experts in a bizarre martial arts style of unpredictable, stumbling swaying motions, fighting purely instinctually (with alcohol helping to dull their conscious mind so it does not get in the way.) They are also far along the enlightened path, possessing deep spiritual understanding, which they will gladly dispense in between slurred drunken ramblings (especially if you buy them more ale.)
Whether challenged physically or intellectually, a Drunken Master is a daunting opponent.
Wu-Yao admire these figures because they live by their own rules, not those of any society around them. Also their presence serves as a useful test, catching out those who are too quick to judge or too sure of their underserved self importance.
A drunken master has much to teach and a Wu-Yao who ignores their wisdom would be considered foolish, but his path is his own.
After all, as the Wu-Yao say when they part ways from each other “Serve no master.”
Wu-Yao embrace physical pleasures and spiritual enlightenment with equal enthusiasm, seeing both as connected and vital parts of the Enlightened Path.
Following the Enlightened Path, the Wu-Yao believe that spiritual perfection can be attained and elevate a mortal to godhood. However, they do not worship any gods, not even the First White Empress. To them no truly enlightened being would want power over another.
The Wu-Yao have a casual attitude to love and romance, treat both genders equally and have no concerns about homosexuality, as is keeping with their philosophy.
They are entirely accepting of half castes and indeed people of any kind that are able to earn their respect. Wu-Yao freiendship can be hard work to gain, but is valuable indeed once it is won.
While they consider charity and helping others to be a good thing, they don’t feel there is a compulsion to it. If someone decides not to help another person because it is not in their interest to do so, that is their choice and they cannot be forced to do otherwise. If you think you will need a Wu-Yao’s help in the future, it pays to stay on their good side, as they won’t feel any guilt letting someone they hate starve to death! As long as they didn’t cause your hardship, they don’t have a responsibility to alleviate if they don’t want to.
The Wu-Yao are a strange, sometimes frustrating people. But they are true to their beliefs, bringing no harm to others as long as they bring no harm to the Wu-Yao, with each of them ruling over him or herself and considering that enough.
If you ask a Chang, they will tell you that the Wu-Yao are one of the races that make up the White Kingdom, and are ruled over by the White Empress, trusting in her divine wisdom as all civilised people do.
If you ask a Wu-Yao, the answer is a little more complicated…
Wu-Yao believe that no adult has authority over another. Only children need an authority to rule over them. They believe people who accept authority are little more than mindless slaves. Those who seek to rule over others are tyrants.
Every Wu-Yao rules over him or herself and nothing else.
To the Wu-Yao the Chang obsession with hierarchy and their ideas of “order” are utter folly. Society is a agreement of like minded people do what is best for themselves and the group. To make it anything deeper than that is simply limiting each person from achieving their potential. The servant limits his freedom and the master grows lazy and idle with others doing his work.
As long as he does not harm others, each Wu-Yao is free to follow whatever path he thinks best. If there is a conflict then a gathering of wise elders and peers will discuss how it should be dealt with. The Wu-Yao put a lot of focus on self improvement and seeking enlightenment and excellence. Those who better themselves are greatly admired, but those that do not are not scorned. There is always something admirable about a person who chooses their own path and lives the way they want to.
The Wu-Yao take a very dim view of dishonesty, and expect each other to hold to their word. They take an equally dim view of people trying to trip them up with rules and regulations and the letter of the law. Many a Chang has found that Wu-Yao fill out a contract as they understand it, and pay no heed to someone trying to call them out on the exact wording.
Due to their distrust of any kind of authority, Wu-Yao live in small villages, dotted throughout the forests and mountains of their homelands.
However, though their ways may seem simple, the Wu-Yao are not to be underestimated. They believe in their ideals with unshakeable certainty, and this makes them extremely dangerous when roused to anger.
The First White Empress, in her wisdom, realised the Wu-Yao could not be conquered without destroying them utterly. She realised that the Wu-Yao believe respect is not given but earned, and so submitted herself to a series of a trials set by the Wu-Yao elders. Assuming a pampered Chang noble would soon fail, the Elders were stunned that she not only completed each task, but exceeded what was asked of her. When asked to move a pile of stones, she built a mountain, and when asked to build a house she built a fortress.
The Wu-Yao would not acknowledge her as their rulers, for none can rule them, but were so impressed with the Empress that they agreed to take part in the functions of the White Kingdom, cooperating with its rules and laws as willing participants.
This agreement holds true to this day, though the Wu-Yao consider it their right to withdraw from this arrangement at any time and have done so in the past when they felt disrespected or neglected. While some felt it outrageous that the Wu-Yao were given such autonomy, The First White Empress realised that the Wu-Yao were extremely valuable allies, and intractable enemies and this arrangement was the best one possible.
Some White Emperors and Empresses have sought to gain more formal over the Wu-Yao, but all came to regret the decision.
Wu-Yao ignore any law or edict they consider unfair or unreasonable, including any demands for fealty.
Wu-Yao civilians engage in passive resistance against any occupier, being entirely unhelpful, removing food and water supplies and slipping away to other settlements.
With their focus on self improvement as part of their culture Wu-Yao warriors are some of the most deadly fighters in the White Kingdom, each attempting to perfect his or her skills in the martial arts to be the greatest he or she can be.
Their most feared skill is the ability, through dark and air magic, to turn one arrows into many dark bolts. They can send deadly hails of projectiles into the enemies before slipping away.
The Emperor Jing the 4th made the greatest effort to control the Wu-Yao, sending vast numbers of soldiers into the Wu-Yao territory to force their compliance.
The mission was a disaster from the start, with the Wu-Yao fighting back constantly and the Chang soldiers having to resort to ever more heavy handed methods to try to control them.
Yulbax and Dol-Kim forces became unhappy at being used by the Chang to attack another part of the White Kingdom in what was seen by many as an unfair and oppressive action, and many deserted.
The rest of the Empire strained under the cost of raising ever larger armies to occupy the Wu-Yao more and more intensively.
Finally Emperor Jing was assassinated by a group of Wu-Yao warriors calling themselves ‘Heavens Shadow’.
Such a blasphemous act outraged the Chang, and many called for bloody retribution.
The new Empress Juan, initially agreed with these calls, but realised that continuing this conflict was threatening to plunge the White Kingdom into full civil war.
She went into secluded contemplation within her palace, whose walls are made of white stone that is said to resonate with the divine spirits of former rulers.
She decided that her fathers actions had been against the teachings of the First Empress and that was why they had brought about disharmony.
The White Kingdom should unite the many strengths and ideas of its subjects, not force them all to conform to the Chang.
She met with a council of Wu-Yao elders, and negotiated a peaceful resolution. She promised to make no more efforts to force Wu-Yao compliance, and the Elders swore to have Heavens Shadow destroyed for their crime. Both sides made good on their vows, and the heads of the leaders of the Heavens Shadow fanatics were presented to Juan as a gift and show of gratitude from the Wu-Yao.
Juan understood what the First Empress had realised, that the Wu-Yao are capable of great loyalty, but it must be given freely, and not demanded from them.
Wu-Yao tend to be disdainful of outsiders, considering their ways to make them weak and dim witted. They will often present tests and trials to outsiders to get the measure of them. Those that fail will be treated with scorn and disrespect, but those that succeed will be well treated, having proved themselves in the Wu-Yao’s eyes.
Wu-Yao are known for their enjoyment of ale. None can tell a Wu-Yao when they have had enough to drink and woe betide anyone who tries to take a drink from one! The most highly respected of all Wu-Yao are the drunken masters, an informal order of warrior mystics. Throughout the White Kingdom drunken Wu-Yao will sometimes be seen, begging for change by a temple, invariably to buy more drink.
Those who lack insight will dismiss these figures as simple tramps, but they are far more than this. They are experts in a bizarre martial arts style of unpredictable, stumbling swaying motions, fighting purely instinctually (with alcohol helping to dull their conscious mind so it does not get in the way.) They are also far along the enlightened path, possessing deep spiritual understanding, which they will gladly dispense in between slurred drunken ramblings (especially if you buy them more ale.)
Whether challenged physically or intellectually, a Drunken Master is a daunting opponent.
Wu-Yao admire these figures because they live by their own rules, not those of any society around them. Also their presence serves as a useful test, catching out those who are too quick to judge or too sure of their underserved self importance.
A drunken master has much to teach and a Wu-Yao who ignores their wisdom would be considered foolish, but his path is his own.
After all, as the Wu-Yao say when they part ways from each other “Serve no master.”
Wu-Yao embrace physical pleasures and spiritual enlightenment with equal enthusiasm, seeing both as connected and vital parts of the Enlightened Path.
Following the Enlightened Path, the Wu-Yao believe that spiritual perfection can be attained and elevate a mortal to godhood. However, they do not worship any gods, not even the First White Empress. To them no truly enlightened being would want power over another.
The Wu-Yao have a casual attitude to love and romance, treat both genders equally and have no concerns about homosexuality, as is keeping with their philosophy.
They are entirely accepting of half castes and indeed people of any kind that are able to earn their respect. Wu-Yao freiendship can be hard work to gain, but is valuable indeed once it is won.
While they consider charity and helping others to be a good thing, they don’t feel there is a compulsion to it. If someone decides not to help another person because it is not in their interest to do so, that is their choice and they cannot be forced to do otherwise. If you think you will need a Wu-Yao’s help in the future, it pays to stay on their good side, as they won’t feel any guilt letting someone they hate starve to death! As long as they didn’t cause your hardship, they don’t have a responsibility to alleviate if they don’t want to.
The Wu-Yao are a strange, sometimes frustrating people. But they are true to their beliefs, bringing no harm to others as long as they bring no harm to the Wu-Yao, with each of them ruling over him or herself and considering that enough.
