By Jason C. Marshall (JCMarshall@sympatico.ca)
Hong Kong spread out before him.
Towering skyscrapers topped with pseudo-Chinese filigree stood amid short, wide housing tenements, industrial sectors and commercial zones. A thousand lights seemed to wink at him from the city, each indicating a place of life and warmth.
Hamish snorted in contempt. He walked across the pier to the limo parking lot. A ghoul stood waiting for him, the door to a limo held open.
He took his seat and looked at the older gentleman sitting across from him in the limo's back.
"Hamish McCellen, Venture of the 9th generation and childe of Lady Sonja Whitehall."
The gentleman nodded and extended his hand to Hamish.
"Kyle Emmerson, Ventrue of the 9th generation and childe of Sir Montgomery Hammond, prince of Hong Kong."
They shook hands.
"So what's all the big hoop-la that's dragged me in?"
"As you know, with the change in approaching government, we of the Camarilla here are facing a serious problem."
"Which is?"
"That we can't control the incoming new politicians. They are under someone else's influence."
"Sabbat?"
"No, but just as bad. The Celestial Court."
It is a tightly knit body, made up of three organizations or Houses as they are known. The overall society is ruled by a council of three known as the Dragon Council. These three kindred are known as T'angs (A Chinese word roughly meaning Overlord), and the wield immense power over the Cainite populace.
The Celestial Court is more like the Camarilla than they'd like to admit. Though their social structure's heavily modeled on ancient Chinese rule, much like that of China's Shadowlands, they have begun incorporating some modern systems of government.
The Court only has two major problems facing it in the coming years: the possible fall and subjugation of Japan's Kindred society, known as the Shogunate, and the return of Hong Kong to mainland China. The return of Hong Kong has caused immense panic, not only in the mortal populations but in the kindred one as well. Many Ventrue, Toreador, and even Giovanni fear the eventual invasion of the Court and its masters.
It was from these kindred that the members of what would one day become the Celestial Court began.
During the early Romance of the Three Kingdoms period, roughly 185 AD to 240 AD, the first of the Oriental Kindred surfaced. They were, In the beginning, childer of their sires, following in the foot steps of their creators. They fought among themselves and plotted with their mortal followers in order to gain power. Many secreted themselves with powerful families, such as Lui Bei, Dhong Shou, Cao Cao and others. The first ones were petty, reveling in their powers. Many blame the epic upheavals of the Romance period on their power struggles and machinations.
The modern Celestial Chorus is able to accurately trace their origins to one Cainite in particular: one Lung Jih, daughter of Lung Chiute. Lung Chiute was a powerful man, but not too well politically connected. He and his two children, Lung Cao and Lung Jih lived in a small fortress in the unclaimed south western lands. In the start of their campaigns during the Romance period wars, Lung Chiute's army met with and was defeated by the armies of Sun Jian, one of the leading rulers of the period. Among the spoils of war that Sun Jian took during final battle was the daughter of Lung Chiute. Lung Jih managed to beguile Sun Jian's general into letting her live. He agreed, but only if she were to become his wife. She initially refused, but then the General offered to spare the life of her bother Lung Cao. She reluctantly agreed. Unbeknownst to the general Lung Jih was a childe of a wandering Gangrel. The Gangrel's name is lost to the history books, but many hint that he was the first childe of Leliah, who was the second childe of Lilith, founder of Clan Gangrel.
In the following months Lung Jih managed to worm her way into the heart of the general's liege lord, Sun Jian himself. His 'death' some two years later was seen as a bad omen for the house's future. In reality Sun Jian had been embraced by Lung Jih and joined her and Lung Cao in the creation of the Jen Lung, the first house, that of the Dragon.
In other parts of China, many of the other Chinese saw the rise in power of the Lung and decided to wage total war. For close to 40 years the Three Kingdoms battled it out until finally three major houses ruled. The final battles saw Cao Fang, descendant of the great Cao Cao put on the throne as emperor. It also saw the end of the Jin Dynasty.
In the following years, the remaining kindred who'd survived the wars banded together out of mutual protection. Still the most powerful of the lot, Lung Jih and Lung Cao dominated the meetings and soon the Jen Lung was created. They immediately began setting up rules of conduct for all kindred in China. The formed the first Dragon Council and issued the first set of royal decrees.
The Celestial Court was born.
The Court was originally headed by three of the fledgling Lung bloodline; Lung Cao, Lung Jih and Sun Jian. They took up the titles of T'angs, overlords, of the Celestial Court.
At first the other fledgling bloodlines went along with the Jen Lung, following their decrees and rules, but dissension occurred. Two small rebellious factions of commoner kindred attempt to take control of the Dragon Council. This prompted the Council to create a solider caste to help protect them while at the same time acting as enforcers of the will of the Court.
They chose their first soldiers from the fanatical ghouls of Sun Jian, lead by a general named Pao Yu. Pao Yu was a brilliant tactician and after his putting to rest of the rebels he was embraced as a reward. Pao Yu and his ghouls became the founders of the Jen Pao, the House of the Panther, serving as the Court's soldiers and assassins.
The rest of the commoner kindred and those few rebels who survived the raids were delegated to the ranks of the House of the Rat, the Jen Shu. All the bloodlines with in were referred to as Shu or rats, a reflection of the way the Dragon Council thought of them.
As the years passed the three houses grew in size, their internal bloodlines growing with power and new members. The Jen Lung found itself under the sway of two powerful bloodlines, the Lung and the Jian. Both bloodlines viewed each other with distrust, and as the Dragon Council had been decreed to be run by three kindred, this created a possible power gap for whomever had only one seat. This was soon solved by having a elected member of the Jen Shu brought in as the third T'ang. This act smoothed over feelings between the Jen Shu and the Jen Lung, which had been slowly rising.
The Jen Pao had also grown, finding itself viewed with awe, as the legends of the Mo-Sha magical men became whispered here and there. The Mo-Sha were the assassins of the Jen Pao and Dragon Council, feared shadowy men and women who were rumored to able to kill with a thought. Unlike the Jen Lung the Jen Pao had not become divided. True, rivalries did exist between the three major bloodlines of the Jen Pao but since each had been delegated a differing area of specialty, they never saw the need to compete with each other.
The Jen Shu grew out of control. It took a decree, backed up by the threat of Jen Pao soldiers to put a 'birth control' rule into effect amongst them. Too many bloodlines existed in the Jen Shu, all clamoring for status, power and wealth.
It was just after the discovery of the Orient by the hung mao, or Europeans, that the Celestial Court erected the mystical wall around China so that they would be able to tell when other kindred not of the Court entered the country. It was rumored that they did this with the aide of the Wu Lung, a order of true mages with whom the Jen Lung had dealings. The Dragon Wall, as it became known, was centered along the Great Wall of China, and seemed to encompass all of China. It was seen as an affront to European kindred, who were outraged at the 'slant eyes devils' presumptions that they were better than they.
Many European kindred entered China, intent on setting up shop. When they did so, members of the Jen Pao would meet them and escort them out. None were allowed in under pain of Final Death. Oh, they tried. Members obfuscated their way in, used thaumaturgical means and so on. All were found and escorted out or destroyed.
It wasn't till Hong Kong became a trade port that the Dragon Wall was dropped in certain locations. European kindred moved in, members of the Camarilla hunting for information and the Sabbat hunting for new territory. What they found was the Celestial Court, run by the enigmatic Jen Lung and supported by the Jen Pao and Jen Shu. The Celestial Court informed members of both groups that the environs of China, Tibet, Malay, Korea, Indonesia, were under their rule. The Camarilla grudgingly left, but the Sabbat had to be physically ousted after trying to take over Hong Kong in China.
When China became a communist state, the Celestial Court backed the idea totally. Though they deeply regretted the loss of Hong Kong to the hung mao and the Camarilla, they were content. They would get it back in time.
Today the Celestial Court still rules the areas of China, Korea, Malay, and Indonesia. They are far from losing their territory and are currently waiting for their counterparts in Japan, the Shogunate, to fall due to internal bickering and corruption. They are planning to take over Japan and add it to their territory. Both the Camarilla and Sabbat would like nothing of the sort.
T'angs are responsible for the creation of the rules that the Celestial Court lives and governs by. The three T'angs wield immense power over their subjects. All it requires is a vote of two to have a decree pass, and much political mechanization's go on behind the closed doors of the Council.
Yamen: This is the name for the lesser council of bloodlines within the Celestial Court. It is made up of Shih, or Masters, two from each bloodline of the Jen Pao and Jen Shu. It is left up to the Shih of Yamen to decide to how the orders of the T'angs will be carried out.
Shih are elected in much the same fashion as the Jen Shu T'ang is. Every ten years the elections are held and the seats filled. The number of seats is always changing, as new bloodlines crop up and others die out within the Jen Shu.
Jen Lung Bloodlines:
The Jen Pao is made up of 4 bloodlines. The soldiery comes from the fanatical Pao Yu and the stoic Kwai Tao. The assassins from the Tong Chu and the Men Hu.
The Tong Chu are considered one of the deadliest groups of assassins in the kindred world, easily on par with the Assamites, the Khoga and the Ega. Many Jen Pao agents are known as Mo-Sha, a name that was given to the Chinese magician-assassins. This is a name that the Tong Chu bloodline try their best to live up.
Jen Pao Members:
The Jen Shu was brought into existence in order to deal with the dozens of smaller bloodlines that were emerging right, left and center. Literally every new Chinese kindred was trying to declare himself a founder of a bloodline in order to gain social rank and a place within the Yamen.
There are four definite bloodlines within the Jen Shu, but at any given time there are usually two or three 'minor bloodlines' declaring themselves worthy. These bloodlines usually get absorbed into one of the four main bloodlines within a year or so. The majority of the Jen Shu bloodlines usually act somewhat Brujah-like in their ways, often being gang members, punks, rebels, and so on. They seem to revel in making trouble and then blaming it on someone else, like another member of the House.
Ironically, the term Jen Shu is also used to describe those vampires who are from non-Asian clans and bloodlines, unless they have proven themselves, then they are called by name.
Jen Shu Members:
The Hung Mun and the mortal gangs and triads are all secretly controlled by an enigmatic kindred known only as Mu Li. He uses them carry out his dirty work of piracy, smuggler, prostitution, slavery, drugs and so on. The Mui Tsai bloodline owe their creation to this kindred.
The four triads mentioned above are the only tongs in China to have direct connections to the Celestial Court, usually through the Jen Shu, and are only vaguely aware of Mu Li's behind the scenes plans for his eventual rise to power in the Yamen and then the Jen Lung.
The thaumaturgists of the Jen Lung and the Mages of the Wu Lung, used the mystical lines to erect a barrier type wall around the Celestial Court's areas of influence. The Dragon Wall. This 'wall' would let the Jen Lung know when and where kindred and other supernaturals passed over them. Thus the Jen Lung kept tabs on all incoming and outgoing kindred. This is how they managed to stop incursions by the Sabbat, Anarchs and Camarilla.
In the last 200 years, the wall has been lessened in certain places, such as Hong Kong, Beijing and other major cities. These locales are used as terminals for incoming kindred. Jen Pao typically meet with all inbound kindred, listing off the rules to be followed when in the Court's area of influence.
The Camarilla, Sabbat, and Anarchs have set up limited operations within the area claimed by the Celestial Court due to the Dragon Wall, usually with the major port cities.
Several independent kindred have been allowed into the Courts area, but they usually leave after a short time, forced out by members of the Jen Shu