Gallery

Overview

The Cheongai is a nation primarily made up of monks, alternative medicinal alchemists and spiritual scholars. Cheongain monks are very minimalistic and often engage in fasting as a spiritual practice. They are very superstitious and suspicious of outsiders, and the feeling is generally mutual; most of the world doesn’t understand Cheongain traditions or rituals and regards them as eccentric. The Cheongai is well known for their cultivation of rare spell components and unusual ingredients. Anyone foraging without a keen eye and a great deal of training could easily end up accidentally dosing themselves with something incredibly dangerous and possibly incurable. For this reason, Cheongain apothecaries are considered to be among the best in the world.

Geography

Most of the Cheongai is a maze-like multi-level complex of rainforests, mountains, lakes and streams. The dense jungle foliage covers all except for the tallest mountain peaks. Rather than having roads, virtually all travel here is done by boat across the intricate network of rivers and bodies of water rather than fight against the underbrush to maintain roads. However, navigating these inland routes is dangerous. Many of the people that live away from the cities use this danger to their advantage and for the solitude and isolation it provides.

The Cheongai has only one major port town, Zhongmei, which itself is connected to the prime hub of the international transportation travel network called Tree Stride Transportation Company. Zhongmei is a community almost entirely populated by catfolk, and is considered to be one of the few places in the Cheongai that isn’t entirely (outwardly) opposed to receiving tourists. Near Zhongmei is a massive cat statue with perpetually glowing eyes called Shouhu Mao, which is said to watch over the city. Most catfolk believe that Shouhu guards them, but some are more skeptical and instead believe that Shouhu’s eyes are the eyes of Idris— spying on them, observing them, judging them, studying them, at all times.

In some more heavily traveled parts of the Cheongai, there are illuminated, suspended walkways that connect important points of trade. These walkways branch off into less accessible platforms, ropes, slides and swings that require high levels of agility and strength in order to traverse. For this reason, as well as the large populations of anthromorphic races native to these lands, Cheongain humans are sometimes derogatively referred to as “monkey men”.

The best known Cheongain landmark is the Taiyang Mei. Perched upon the highest mountain peak in the Eastern Mountains, it is believed that the Taiyang Mei is an ancient shrine built on top of a nexus.

Geography

Settlements

Appearance

People in the Cheongai wear silks and cottons, usually in loose layers meant to keep moisture and insects off of the skin. Many Cheongain practices are centered around weaving, so it is common to wear and use woven textiles in traditional arts. This also extends to hairstyles; it is very popular to braid one’s hair in an elaborate fashion, or to weave in colorful strands of embroidery thread.

The Cheongai has more racial diversity than most other regions. This is largely due to Xuanhua, a massive laboratory complex built into the mountains that is run by the god Idris. There, it is said that he has completed experimentation that has resulted in the creation of new anthro-morphic races, often referred to collectively as “Idrisian races”. Some Idrisian races end up staying and living in the Cheongai, and have contributed much to Cheongain society.

Of these Idrisian races, the most well-known are the Catfolk, who make up a majority population in most of the northern Cheongai territories. Catfolk are typically thought of as crafty, aloof, and more than a little strange, but generally friendly towards outsiders after getting to know them.

More towards the south are a few scattered Grippli villages, which, by and large, are far less welcoming. They tend to see all non-natives as hostile, and any perceived intruders have been known to end up poisoned, stuck in quickmud, strung up in vines, drowned...or worse.

Military & Diplomacy

The Cheongai is naturally extremely defensible and has not encountered any invasions for generations. Those that try quickly find themselves outmatched by the guerilla war tactics preferred by Cheongain scouts, and anyone who has come to blows with a Cheongain monk has generally regretted it.

The Cheongai regularly accept diplomatic missions from the United Altos Isles and consider themselves to be on good terms with the Empyreans. However, they have had much more strained relations with their continental neighbors, especially Falkor. While they admire Falkor’s creative spirit and experimentation, they cannot forgive Falkor’s decision to use volcanic energy, for they believe this has disrupted Diqiu, the Guardian Spirit of Earth. They fear that this disruption will have lasting global consequences, and blame Falkor for the recent increase in rockslides and earthquakes. Cheongains also believe that it is Falkor’s fault that they have begun to see Darkspawn infestations in their forests, and see this phenomenon as evidence of Diqiu’s imbalance.

Magic & Faith

While the Cheongai is generally strongly associated with the god Idris and is the homeland for most Idrisian races, the Cheongai is not a particularly divine-focused region. When they do worship, they typically worship the The Primordial Spirits:

Tiankong, The Sky
Xingxing, The Stars
Haiyang, The Ocean
Diqiu, The Earth
Taiyang, The Sun
Yueliang, The Moon.

The Cheongai is also a particularly popular place for the study of occult magic. One of the only established and internationally recognized academy for the occult is in Wenshou, a village built high up in the mountains surrounded by waterfalls. Many Cheongain monks incorporate occult rituals and beliefs into their practice, and frequently visit Wenshou as a place of refuge, training and reflection.

Cheongains believe that Darkspawn are the result of corrupted The Primordial Spirits, and that the only way to stop their spread is to heal the Spirits that have been hurt and restore them to their intended purpose. To this end, Cheongain scholars have been focusing their efforts on discovering Nexus, which they believe to be associated with the The Primordial Spirits . They hypothesize that if the world can cleanse and purify each of these nexus points, the The Primordial Spirits will return and destroy the Darkspawn once and for all.

Education & Technology

While they would agree with Amina Dorei’s approach towards living in harmony with their natural environment, most Cheongains would feel that Doreians take it too far. Instead, Cheongains seek to learn as much as they can from the abundant life around them while constantly striving for improvement and refinement. They are generally opposed to industrialization and mass production, which frequently puts them at odds with Falkor, and place high value on custom work and hand crafts.

As the world’s most diverse region, they are keenly aware of its value and champion variance in nearly all that they do. Their schools have a reputation for being “soft” and undisciplined, since much of a child’s education is student-led and student driven. Cheongains have a reputation for being a very traditional people, and have a preference for older, proven methods rather than new, untested innovations. They are slow to trust, especially in matters regarding outsiders and their foreign ways, so it is highly unusual to see foreign technology being used or sold here. That said, they teach both Cheongain and Common and most of their population is fluently bilingual, as they see the value in being able to understand your enemy so as to not be taken advantage of.

Family Life

Due to the often-overwhelming heat and humidity in the Cheongai (and to avoid the plethora of natural daytime predators), most of the population in the Cheongai is at least partially nocturnal. They commonly stop to take a mid-day rest, and most mealtimes are taken at a leisurely pace.

Night markets are a cornerstone to their socialization, and are usually open from sundown until sunrise. These markets usually take place along the riverside, with larger, more permanent shops set up inside boats and smaller shops arranged in temporary stalls on the banks. There are very few socially acceptable reasons to not attend the night market, so locals who regularly avoid them are certain to be gossiped over.

Weaving is an incredibly important traditional art amongst Cheongains. From a young age, all Cheongains are taught the basics of how to weave. Cheongains have a special weaving market where they display and sell their best work, with the very best weavers commissioned for work in the capital; there is no higher honor than this.

Naming Conventions

Cheongain names are inspired by Chinese names. Cheongains use personal names and family names, but usually write and use their names with the family name first, followed by their personal name.

Family names: Duan, Wan, Jia, Hu, Gao, Qiu, Luo, Shi, Xiong, Xu, Peng, Zhong, Lei, Xiao, Xuan, Hu, Ye, Huo, Liao, Chen, Pan, Du

Personal names: Fen, Xieren, Qigang, Ru, Shui, He, Bai, Zexian, Guanting, Wei, Jian, Zhou, Lei, Yong, Lim, Xuefeng, Jing, Delan, Yazhu, Feng, Zhihao, Yijun, Huang

Local NPC Compendium

· Lang Bai, martial artist
· Ren Yijun, occult scholar
· Dai Yuhan, occult scholar
· Shao Xiang, monk
· Zhen Shun, merchant

Additional Details

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Story Notes

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