Wu-Tang Clan
Affiliation: White Clan (aligned with Shaolin and The League of Beggars)
Clan Headquarters: Tianzhu Peak, Hubei Province.
Current Leader: Master Tianxing, Clan Leader
Lost Dragon: Master Lingyun*
Weapon: Master Lingyun uses a one-handed sword.
Kung Fu Style: Wu-Tang is famous for its Tai Chi style Kung Fu which provides balanced attack and defense through contemplation and mastery over the cosmic energies of Yin and Yang. Their hand-to-hand combat system is known as Boundless Fists, and their legendary Divine Sword techniques are unmatched throughout The Land.
* Master Lingyun fell in love with Lunar Umbra, a former assassin. The clan leaders are furious because Lingyun supposedly gave up all his responsibility toward Wu-Tang and disappeared for the sake of his forbidden love.
Location: Wu Tang Shan, located in Hubei Province, is a breath-taking mountain range with seventy-two peaks. On Tianzhu Peak, the highest among them, sits the central Taoist monastery. There, in the courtyard, members of Wu-Tang, the Clan of Divine Sword, practice their legendary Tai Chi.
Clan Overview
The clan is a discipleship of Tai Chi practitioners who serve as living instruments of the divine justice inherent in The Tao, or Water Course Way, symbolized by the sacred Yin and Yang. The clan is also referred to as the “Clan of Divine Sword” because their disciples hone their minds, hearts and bodies to become as one with their swords.
“I am a swordsman without peer throughout The Land!” The siren song in the heart of each Wu-Tang disciple is supreme confidence. Just as the Buddha proclaimed that he alone was most honored in The Land (a claim which requires deep contemplation to comprehend its truth), so does the Wu-Tang disciple proclaim his superior skill. Unwavering confidence, based on sound training, ensures success without fear from contemplation and guarantees victory by ignoring any obstacle blocking its achievement.
“The sword kills, not the disciple.” The disciples believe that, to be a well-honed pupil, one must surrender himself and his steel to the will of The Tao, which brings unbiased justice to the world in the guise of cause and effect. Therefore, a student who has mastered the techniques of his weapon, serves merely as a capable, neutral instrument, standing ready to act against the darker intentions of his opponent. Since the disciple has freed himself of intention and does nothing but calmly react to the destructive urges of an opponent, the opponent’s death causes no bad karma.
Unlike Shaolin disciples, who try to reform evil through the Buddha’s mercy and compassion, those dedicated to the precepts of Wu-Tang believe that a balanced cosmos demands justice through retribution against evil. Therefore, the Black Clans and evildoers throughout The Land are especially wary of Wu-Tang disciples. Heavenly Demon and Sacred Flower in particular have proclaimed open hostility toward Wu-Tang.
“Each disciple embodies Five Elements, Three Treasures, and One Sword.” A Wu-Tang disciple’s successful path requires meditation on The Tao and the Yin and Yang, as ascribed through an understanding of The Five Elements and Three Treasures that underlie Tai Chi swordsmanship. The ultimate goal is to become an immortal instrument at one with The Tao.
Style: “Divine Sword” disciples are proud, brave and, above all else, noble. A disciple would lose a limb to save a fellow disciple, duel at the slightest provocation, or bloody a commoner who dared belittle the name of the clan.
Clan Slogans:
“Yin and Yang have no beginning nor end, creation and destruction reside in the ways in which they bend and yield to one another.”
“What is firmly grasped cannot slip away.”
“One sword takes life while another gives it back.”
Common Farewell: “Sound sword and sharp mind.”
Membership Requirement:
One needs to undergo a series of quests to become a disciple of Wu-Tang, which culminate as a prospective member reaches Cheng 1 of Opening Chi. Other clans receive disciples into apprentice roles at either Cheng 4 or 6 of Losing Self, then accept them as full disciples once they have achieved Opening Chi. But neither Wu-Tang nor Heavenly Demon take on prospective students as apprentices.
Specialty Class: Blue Dragons, Red Phoenixes, White Tigers, Black Turtles
Shaolin Clan
Affiliation: White Clan (aligned with Wu-Tang and The League of Beggars)
Clan Headquarters: Mount Song Shan, Zhongyuan Province.
Current Leader: Fachang, Shaolin Elder
Lost Dragon: The Immoral Monk
Weapon: The Immoral Monk uses a Polemace.
Kung Fu Style: Shaolin’s monks are famous for their unarmed Praying Mantis Style Kung Fu. Upholding their belief in human goodness, they learn to master defensive techniques and disabling moves, and prefer using unbladed weapons to avoid unnecessary killing.
Location: Song Shan is the Central Mountain among the Five Great Mountains of Zhongyuan Province. Great pilgrimages are made here by Buddhists to visit the holy Shaolin Temple, home to the much admired Clan of Shaolin.
Clan Overview
The clan is a strict discipleship of Buddhist Monks, sometimes referred to as “The Noble Clan,” because their disciples demonstrate righteousness and mercy in all their deeds.
“A disciple of Shaolin must vow to reform evil when he finds it and to bring peace where he can.” They believe that even the worst evil-doers can be reformed through the clan's light. When proven false, the fault lies not in their opponents, but within themselves.
“You should not take life, make others take life, or take delight in death." To become a student of Shaolin, you first need to rid yourself of ego.” Passing Shaolin’s gates, and earning discipleship, means giving up all worldly possessions, vanity, and selfish desire. Then one must commit to endless meditation upon the Buddha’s merciful teachings. Coinciding with this, one must make a suitable temple of one’s own body where the Buddha’s seed may thrive. “Take this body and hone its endurance and skill to defend those who cannot defend themselves, so that they too may thrive. Then die with the true understanding that ego is emptiness, and all life is one.”
Never before or since has a clan held fast to such noble purposes.
Style: These disciples are merciful monks, thoughtful and reflective, residing in harmony, and gentle in their speech and movements, unless provoked to righteous action… in which case they are harsh and swift in their dealings of justice or punishment.
Clan Slogans: “Always hold Buddha’s mercy at the forefront of your mind.”
“The path to Buddha is a seed within you. All you need to do is water it.”
“Empires rise and fall, yet Shaolin remains as the spiritual light for The Land.”
Common Farewell: “Never forget that all life is precious.”
Membership Requirement: One joins the clan when one achieves Cheng 6 of Losing Self and proves their honesty and virtue. At this point one is required to shave one’s head in the name of piety, cast off one’s worldly clothes and don the simple robes of a disciple. In time honored tradition, only men are permitted to join Shaolin.
Specialty Class: Luohan Monks, Diamond Monks, Deva Monks, Exorcist Monks
The League of Beggars (aka: The League)
Affiliation: White Clan (aligned with Shaolin and Wu-Tang)
Clan Headquarters: Tianjin City, Huabei Province.
Current Leader: Drunken Moon, King of Beggars
Lost Dragon: Hu Shanshan
Weapon: Hu Shanshan uses a staff called a Flowery Dog-beating Staff.
Kung Fu Style: The League's martial arts were originally derived from the dog-beating moves of a beggar combined with the showmanship of a street performer. Newer techniques have their origins in catching snakes, filching purses and, perhaps every beggar’s favorite pastime, getting drunk.
Location: Tianjin City is the central hub of transportation and culture in the Huabei Province. Here you will find the headquarters of The League of Beggars, which boasts the highest membership on the continent.
Clan Overview
The clan is an organization of beggars, sometimes referred to as “The Endless Clan,” because, as one clansman once stated, “You could sit beggars one by one across The Land and never see the end of the line! Take faith in our great numbers and be counted among the faithful!”
Through accepting charity, helping those who face hardship, and giving noble purpose to those who find themselves lost or empty, the disciples of The League, although poor and often pitied, display all the noble characteristics of true heroes. They are the clan with the closest relationship to the common people.
“No city is without its beggars.” The clan’s territory has spread to include all parts of the country. You can find beggars wherever you go, and many of them are members of The League. Disciples of The League still wear beggars’ clothes, rather than specific clan outfits like Shaolin or Wu-Tang. Therefore, one cannot easily conclude whether one is discouraging or assisting a common mendicant or a master of Kung Fu. This autonomy serves The League well, in that its true numbers remain hidden, and it also serves the common beggar in obvious ways. This relationship is indicative of all the clan’s philosophies, for they give as much as they receive. Since The League is the easiest to join of all the major clans, it is no surprise that they have become the largest clan and serve the White Clan Alliance as “the eyes and the ears of The Land,” for the purpose of gathering information. Beggars are, after all, everywhere… and few lower voices or take notice of their presence.
“A meal shared is far more delicious.” All of The League’s income comes from begging. However, it is not merely the act of begging for food and goods. It is begging aimed towards healing a world that has grown isolated and less compassionate, while in return offering righteousness and justice to any who find themselves in need. This is the grand ideal of begging.
Style: The members are usually very relaxed and optimistic, providing a lot of comic relief. When these clansmen aren’t begging, they’re drinking; indeed, some of their abilities are not active unless they are intoxicated.
Clan Slogans:
“One beggar need never beg of another.”
“Never display greed for the wealth of others.”
“Always relish justice over drink and choose the noble path above the gutter.”
Common Farewell: “May all you give come back to you threefold.”
Membership Requirement: The League of Beggars is the largest clan and perhaps the simplest to join, which is why they boast the largest territory in the region. One joins the clan by first reaching Cheng 4 of Losing Self and then proclaiming the phrase, “Rice is everything!” aloud in front of the elder of the clan. After all, beggars hate tests, rituals or formal procedures.
Specialty Class: Vanguard Beggar, Strategy Beggar, Spirit Beggar, Dragon Beggar
Subject: The White Clans 
Sat Jun 09, 2007 10:41 am
