Serving Chan Cheng, the Spirit Warriors had the duties of creating courage and resolve in those who wavered, and leading armies of phantoms, the manifestation of which could swing a battle. Since these governed the calendar, Moon Women were patron saints of festivals, portents, auspicious moments, and other matters of time. They refilled the oil lamps in the Sun, polished the crystal orbs of the stars, and steered the motions of the Moon and the constellations. The Moon Women had the great responsibility of maintaining Heaven itself. There were six main groups of Lesser Immortals. Under the direction of one of the Nine Immortals, they also had certain tasks to carry out, whether in the Celestial Heaven or on the Red Earth of Kara-Tur. The Celestial Emperor bestowed on them immortality and a limited godly powers. They were drawn from the spirits of deceased sages, those who had in life been especially holy. The Lesser Immortals were servants and aides to the Nine Immortals. Shu Chia: god of artificers and the arts.Nung Chiang: god of agriculture and fertility.Kwan Ying: goddess of compassion, joy, and mercy.Hsing Yong: god of fortune and prosperity.Chih Shih: god of history, lore, and tradition.Ch'en Hsiang: god of literature, music, and poetry.Chan Cheng: god of bravery, combat, martial arts, and war.Ai Ch'ing: goddess of love and marriage. ![]() The Nine Immortals and their responsibilities were: They were also known as the Nine Great Dragons, in which form they held up the world and could move all things with their minds. Their duty was to embody an ideal of the Path-one of the nine core virtues of Artistry, Compassion, Courage, Fidelity, Honor, Karma, Love, Respect for Tradition, and Scholarship-and so teach by way of example. At his direction, they commanded the Lesser Immortals and other officials and each took responsibility for one aspect of the Path of Enlightenment. They stood beside the Jade Throne, always ready to do as the Emperor bade as agents of his divine will. When Shou people spoke of "the immortals", they invariably meant the Nine. In addition to the subjects of the Celestial Empire and the officials of the Bureaucracy, the Celestial Emperor commanded the Nine Immortals. Ī master of delegation, he gave all deities their divine duties, and appointed the Celestial Court-also called the Great Court of Heaven-and the Million Officials to deal with trivialities like dealing with humans. He was also the architect of the Path of Enlightenment. He determined that Heaven and the Red Earth should mirror each other in the pursuit of perfection. From this lofty position, he decided the path of What Has Been and Will Be. Celestial Emperor Īt the head of this pantheon, the Celestial Emperor ruled the Celestial Empire and oversaw the Celestial Bureaucracy. Most of the so-called spirit creatures of Kara-Tur were subjects of the Celestial Emperor, and many held positions or offices in the Celestial Bureaucracy. The empire was governed by the Celestial Government and in turn managed by the Celestial Bureaucracy. The people of the material world, even its mortal emperors, were all subjects of the Celestial Empire. It was an empire of the spirit world, with a bureaucracy to match, populated by immortals, demigods, dragons, spirits, and other powers who served as the officials of the Celestial Emperor. Therefore, the existence of the empire of Shou Lung reflected the existence of the Celestial Empire, a divine state that ruled all of Heaven and the Red Earth. In the Shou view, as espoused by the Path of Enlightenment and most accurately by the Faith of the Nine Travelers, the Red Earth was the Mirror of Heaven in all ways. This and the Sky above were all part of the Celestial Empire. From the celestial perspective, the whole land was known as the Red Earth, or simply the Land. Its sphere of godly influence abutted the Faerûnian pantheon and the Mulhorandi pantheon at the Hordelands and the Utter East, and the Zakharan pantheon in its far southwestern corner in the Sempadan Forest. ![]() The Celestial Bureaucracy held dominion over the continent of Kara-Tur, from the empires of Shou Lung and T'u Lung in the interior to the Ama Basin in the north Koryo, Kozakura, and Wa in the east Tabot in the west and Malatra and Petan and the islands of Bawa and Bertan in the south. Lying at the Center of All Heaven, the Celestial Empire was governed from the Celestial Palace, where the Celestial Emperor sat upon the Jade Throne. The whole realm was known as the Celestial Heaven, or simply Heaven or the Sky. Every deity who was a part of the Celestial Bureaucracy had a small realm attached to the Spirit World. The Celestial Empire stood within the Spirit World, a plane that lay coexistent and coterminous with the land of Kara-Tur.
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