Preview: Moon Sword Temple (Patreon)

*SPOILERS*

Something awesome happened. During my month off from Asians Represent, I started a regular D&D group! This has been a fantastic opportunity to develop my ideas while quietly working hard on Chronicles of Spring & Autumn!

I think one of you amazing Patrons is in my D&D group (and this setting may appear on Asians Represent), so I'm going to warn you again...

**SPOILERS**

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MOON SWORD TEMPLE

The path to the summit treacherously winds through Paradise Mountain. Between biting winds and heavy cloud cover, death is but a single misplaced step away. As you climb beyond the top of the clouds, you are greeted by the sight of an immense sword protruding from the mountain. Constructed around it is an ancient temple complex tended to by monks clad in deep purple robes. As you draw closer, the smell of flowers fills the air.

Moon Sword Temple is a place of great reverence - where heaven and earth meet within the Yue lands. In the time before the establishment of the Lunar Kingdom, the gods plunged a heavenly jian deep into Paradise Mountain. Everything under the heavens and above the hills is subjected to the divine authority of the Sky Court - order and peace exist when this authority is respected. But when ignored, those of the earth will incur their wrath. No symbol of the authority of the Sky Court is more prominent than the heavenly jian. To honour their gift, the first King of Yue commissioned the construction of a sprawling temple complex called Moon Sword Temple around the base of the colossal sword. To this day, it remains untouched by the conflicts that have ravaged the lands below.

ORDER OF THE MOUNTAIN ORCHID:

Martial artists belonging to the Order of the Mountain Orchid serve as stewards of Moon Sword Temple and the heavenly jian. Monks of the Order aspire to understand the natural law of the world and the splendors of creation. Most notably, they are researchers and caretakers of mountain orchids, flowers of divine quality that resemble the crescent moon and sing in the moonlight.

CHARACTERS:

Master Chi Sin ("Immense Kindness") - Current leader of the Mountain Orchid sect and one of the Five Grandmasters of martial arts in Yue.

• Appearance: Elegant, imposing, elderly.
• Voice: Soft, calming, gentle.
• Morality: Driven to learn and highly devoted to the gods of the Sky Court (heaven).
• Motivations: To protect the sanctity of Moon Sword Temple
• Secrets: In addition to her role as Master of the Mountain Orchid sect, Chi Sin guards a magical ring connected to the hidden location of Yugu ("Monkey Valley").

Xiao Lan ("Little wind from the mountain") - A senior disciple of the Mountain Orchid who has spent her entire life living in the temple.

• Appearance: Brawny and towering. Xiao Lan keeps her hair short and cropped.
• Voice: Polite, booming.
• Morality: Humble and fiercely protective of her friends.
• Motivations: To find her parents. Xiao Lan has lived her entire life in the temple and hopes that her parents will one day ascend the mountain.
• Secrets: Xiao Lan has no recollection of her parentage. According to Chi Sin, Xiao Lan was carried to the peak of Paradise Mountain on a cloud when she was a baby.

Nianzhen ("Read the truth") - A recent initiate of the Mountain Orchid. Nianzhen is eager to earn his place at the temple.

• Appearance: Handsome with long, silky hair tied into a topknot.
• Voice: Formal, educated.
• Morality: Righteous to a fault.
• Motivations: To find a new family and become powerful enough to rid the Yue bureaucracy of corruption.
• Secrets: Nianzhen comes from a line of Yue nobles, but was forced to discard his status and name after killing a powerful, but corrupt, noble.

Notes & Events:

* With its ornate pommel pointing to the heavens, locals say that it will one day be drawn from the mountain by the gods when they wage war against the demons of the prison beneath the earth.

* At night, when the temple is bathed in moonlight, the orchids gently sing. The monks view this as a sign of the gods singing a lullaby to all of Yue.