Celestial Court

Celestial Court

(Organization)

Type

Divine court

Leader

Shizuru

Headquarters

Heaven

Goals

Organize and moderate the deities and immortals of Tian Xia

Scope

Continental

Structure

Bureaucracy

Members

Tian deities, immortals, spirits, dragons

Source: Tian Xia World Guide, pg(s). 23

The religious symbol of Shizuru, leader of the Celestial Court.

The deities and immortals of Tian Xia fall under the purview of the Celestial Court, alternatively known as the Heavenly Court, ruled by the goddess Shizuru.

Goals and methods

With the growing multitude of immortals in Tian Xia, the Heavenly Bureaucracy of the Celestial Court is charged with maintaining order to the best of its ability. To this end, the mortal world is closely monitored for disruptions. Once a being becomes immortal, they are subject to court-sanctioned enforcement, but the court often avoids direct violence, using threats, soft power, social pressure, or non-violent challenges such as elephant chess when possible. Because enforcement of immortals can be difficult and potentially devastating, some dragons and deities stop individuals from ascending before it occurs, though this is not sanctioned by the court. Conversely, another common trick employed by members of the court, especially Yaezhing, involves granting divinity to a disruptive magician, fueling their pride and making them subject to Yaezhing's punishment.

Structure

Shizuru, Ruler of Heaven, has maintained leadership of the Celestial Court since its founding. Yaezhing, who earned his title as Minister of Blood from this court, handles much of the enforcement of the court's will, punishing gods and immortals who cross it.

Immortals of the court are assigned tasks, often based on the method through which the immortal ascended. For example, those who became enlightened are given tasks of spirituality and mortal advisement. Those who used alchemy or knowledge to achieve immortality maintain books and laws. Those who ascended through raw power or strength become military commanders. Young or lesser immortals can act as agents of the court in the mortal world, where the presence of full deities is usually too much. The tasks given to immortals serves another purpose in curtailing and granting purpose to young and inexperienced immortals. Joining and participating in the court is a simple way to avoid crossing Yaezhing or the dragons.

Spirits frequently serve as agents of the court and its deities, much like newly ascended immortals. When spirits lose their domain in the mortal or spirit world, they are at risk of fading away. To avoid this, many threatened spirits join the the court to be reborn as a deity's clerk or emissary. These spirits can influence the Universe in subtle ways that deities, immortals, and dragons cannot.

Dragons frequently act as enforcers for the court.

History

Origin

Early in Tian Xia's history, Shizuru and most of the deities and dragons of the continent agreed that for order to be enforced in the mortal realm, order in the celestial realm would need to come first. Shizuru spearheaded a rough organization that was eventually codified into the Celestial Court.

Notable judgements and events

During the Age of Dragons, Fumeiyoshi's famous jealousy-fueled murder of his brother, Tsukiyo, was answered by the Celestial Court. Shizuru, who was also Tsukiyo's lover, had Fumeiyoshi stripped of his position. Yaezhing was tasked with making an example out of his transgression against the Court, entombing him alive forever in his brother's grave.

In 2501 IC, the sovereign dragon emperor of Yixing, Aolin, who had been infused with a phoenix's self-resurrecting life force, drew the Celestial Court's ire by using a loophole in a promise he made. Aolin's promise, made over 2000 years before, was to relinquish rulership once humans could prove they could become as great as the divine. This was fulfilled that year by Aroden's ascension. Though Aolin stepped down from the title of emperor, he implemented a puppet emperor and maintained de facto rulership over Yixing. Direct confrontation was considered by the court, but Shizuru elected to instead indirectly curtail Yixing's dominion over humanity. In 2600 IC, in the land that would become Minkai, she blessed five imperial families with divine right to rule. This led to the formation of the Teikoku Shogunate.

After being dismissed by Irori, Sun Wukong increasingly drew the attention of the court through the mischievous havoc he wreaked across the land, but the court could never properly temper him. This culminated in an incident where he accidentally ignited the celestial orchards. In the name of keeping order, Shizuru was forced to sentence him to death. Sun Wukong managed to subvert even this, however, as he traveled to the Boneyard and erased his name from Pharasma's records, permanently defying death. Yaezhing continues to attempt to contain Sun Wukong, failing as often as he succeeds.

Relations

Not all immortals of Tian Xia choose to participate in the Celestial Court. Most immortals can get away with rejecting the court as long as they can avoid the ire of Yaezhing and the dragons. Yet some rebels continue to clash with the Celestial Court, most famous of which is Sun Wukong whom the court has not been able to control.

Sites

As a consequence of closely monitoring the mortal world of Tian Xia, the court has a detailed record of history, politics, and science. These records are kept in the Imperial Hall of Records. Both to educate and to keep them out of trouble, newly ascended immortals are sometimes assigned centuries of reading here. These assignments have mixed reception among the young immortals, seeing it alternately as a reward or punishment. Rebel immortals and powerful mortals sometimes raid the Hall of Records, seeking knowledge of powerful magic or historical secrets.