Shang Rasoul
by Tevish Szat
Status: Public

Shang Rasoul is a plane that suffered a massive devastation hundreds of years ago. There were very few survivors and the collapse of society was essentially total. The cause of this devastation was a Planeswalker – possibly Ellia, possibly The Duchess or The Shifter, possibly a planeswalker not widely known in the multiverse. It was not likely to have been Clade as the results do not fit his common modus operandi: the landforms left behind are highly varied and society’s reconstruction has been badly stunted.

Indeed, Shang Rasoul now quite strongly resembles Shang Rasoul a mere hundred years after the devastation, its brightest point of civilized society being a monastery founded by Zhiran in the wake of the downfall of the old civilization. While it is possible that distant corners of Shang Rasoul hold other pockets of civilization, the following is what the Monastery is aware of.

Merfolk: The Merfolk of Shang Rasoul are among the more civilized peoples left. Their society was less badly struck by the collapse than those of terrestrial folk. However, Shang Rasoul merfolk are not particularly capable of operating on land, and thus their domain is only vaguely known of by the Monastery. They seem to have a tribal culture and fight amongst themselves a good deal

Viashino: Viashino dwell in the hot lands significantly south of the monastery. They appear to be semi-nomadic, possessing dwelling sites that a given group will move between based on the season and availability of game. In addition to building such structures, the Viashino have, based on artifacts found in uninhabited lairs, mastered pottery, tanning, and fishing, and possess their own writing system based largely on pictographs. The Viashino are also excessively aggressive towards outsiders: peaceful contact has never been made in the modern area

Wildfolk: The Wildfolk, or lowlands humans, have reverted to an entirely feral state. At first, this was believed to be the result of some sort of arcane poisoning of the land, robbing people of their intellect, but wildfolk who have found the monastery and been taken in have taken quickly to education and possess the same intellect as any other human strain in Dominia, so if their habitat is indeed inhibiting them, the effects do not stick.

Wildfolk, in their natural state, can best be described as pack hunters. Their ranges are largely north of the Monastery, in the river valleys that once housed the greatest bulk of civilization, though other clans can be found in distant reaches of Shang Rasoul. Their numbers are few, owing to the harsh nature of their environment, and in general the animals of the lowlands, even near wildfolk territories, have lost any conditioned fear of humans.

Wildfolk use very few tools: they produce stone adzes and use those to sharpen sticks into passable spears at times. They wear no clothing, make no fires, and have lost the vast majority of language, communicating with a vocabulary of around a thousand words derived from (but no longer recognizable as) pre-downfall language, with almost no syntax or grammar and no written form. They are often peaceful towards humans (and presumably near-humans).

The Monastery: What the Monastery knows of itself is this: It was founded by a Planeswalker as a place of magical learning. He saved them from destruction, helped them build the sanctuary itself, and taught them of the colors of magic and the basic core of the arcane arts. Since then, the Monastery, with its population of several hundred at least, has preserved something of a civilized culture upon Shang Rasoul. Their culture is a fusion of pre-devastation philosophy, the planeswalker’s teachings, and further discoveries and adaptations of magic and philosophy since the founding. The Monastery is run by a set of masters, the number and function of which fluctuate as old masters die and new masters achieve their status. The current list of masters and their main disciplines is as follows

Ling: Overseer of the Academy, studied in blue, black, and white magics, but not the best at any one form of magic

Hyna: Master of White Magic, least involved in monastery politics

Guozhi: Master of Blue Magic, the oldest current Master

He: Master of Black Magic, though highly proficient in white and green as well.

Lanfen: Master of Red Magic, also in charge of Child Care.

Wenling: Master of Green Magic, former Wildfolk.

Kaen: Master of Martial Arts, the youngest current Master.

Others may be granted the rank of Master on a lesser order if they are deemed fit to teach. There are several second-order Masters at any given time, but they spend most of their time on instruction while the masters above spend some time instructing those who wish to learn their discipline and some time managing the affairs of the monastery. Traditionally (for the last 400 years or so of the monastery existence) the seven seats listed above have been stable, a second-order master replacing a Master who steps down or passes on.