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Mandate Of Heaven

In The Beginning

The Gods are very primal - almost elemental - beings and the world they created was very different than its current form. It was an eternally perfect world that was completely static and utterly lifeless, and from the moment it was created, it was doomed. The forces of Entropy and corruption twisted and altered the elegant patterns of Chi that the Gods had created, thus bringing about the rise of Life. This development destroyed the perfect stasis of the world but gave it purpose and the potential for meaning. Yet when the Gods discovered this they found it distasteful and would have destroyed the world entirely - or at best, wiped out the infection of life upon it - in their disgust and opposition to Entropy.

There were two things that stayed the Gods hands. One was a creature, known as Man, that arose out of the twisted parasitic Chi of Life. Man was a strange mixture of the awe-inspiring glories of Heaven and the horribly disgusting corruption of Entropy. Man both attracted and repulsed the Gods, a being they only dimly understood but could feel deserved a chance. This was especially so with the discovery of the Second fact, that Man had a sympathy with the now chaotic Chi of the world. They could further twist and churn it as all living things did, or shape it in a return of the now vanished order that had once ruled. This intrigued the Gods enough that they visited Men and taught them the Martial Arts. While the ways of Man and Gods are varied in many ways, the Gods agreed to stay their wrath if Man could use their gift to bring order to the chaos of the world.

Bringing Order To Chaos

In the eyes of Heaven, two roads exist to greatness under its light. The first is ones mastery at shaping Chi in any of its myriad manifestations, while the second is mastery of the forms of Martial Arts as demonstrated by ones placement in various tournaments and duels. One or the other is sufficient for some respect in society, and can earn one some small blessing from on high, but the highest esteem in the eyes of Heaven are reserved for those who have mastered both the Art Of War and the Threefold Path.

Basically, one cannot pass the second tier (Heaven's Blessed) through either path alone. The greatest of Martial Artists eventually find a comfortable niche for themselves in the Clans as Heaven's Blessed, the greatest amongst them attaining vast amounts of respect and authority within society. Those who eschew the Warrior's Path in favor of mastery of Chi are more likely to remain out of the public spotlight, but there exist highly regarded organizations such as the Sisters of the Dying Balance and the Forgemasons Guild.

Individual Sages and Wisemen tend to gain great respect in the very same society they ostracize themselves from.

The Light of Heaven

There are (at least) four tiers to the Light of Heaven:

• the Eldest Son of Heaven, bearer of its Mandate, the Emperor. Only one individual can hold this highest of tiers, which brings with it true Immortality as well as bountiful gifts of wisdom and empathy. The Emperor also enjoys all the blessings of the lower tiers, though of far greater potency.
• the Sons of Heaven stand but one step below the Emperor himself, either crowding the highest ranks of the Great Clans, catapulting their clan to greatness, or quickly forming a new clan of their own. The Sons of Heaven enjoy Boundless Health, the Wisdom of Heaven, and all the blessings enjoyed by the lower tiers.
• the Heaven's Blessed make up the mass of the Clans, both Greater and Lesser, some never even seeing Capital but instead acting as governors and lords over the outer provinces. As this is the highest tier one can achieve in the outer territories, though, many Blessed quickly find their way to Capital to seek greater glory. The Blessed enjoy Heaven's Blessing.
• the Heaven's Touched are the lowest tier, composed of all those who have earned the approval of the Heavens. Little can be said of them as a group, except that such attention often spurs them on to greater mastery of Chi and the Martial Arts, in hopes of gaining greater blessings. The Touched enjoy Heaven's Touch.