三国从演

Setting 2

The region to the south of the Empire is known as the Festering Lands (南烂地).

Otherwise known as the Festering, it is land inhabited by strange beasts, demons, devils and a great manner of evil spirits. A feeling of malevolence hangs in the very air around it. Those who were presumed lost in it later re-emerge, as undead with a fire in their eyes, and attempt to slay the living. This and evil place encompasses the entire southern range of the Empire.

The Empire is mostly sheltered from the Festering Lands by mountainous ranges covered with thick foliage and often impassible terrain. The few passes that exist are heavily guarded and fortified. In any case, most of the time, the demons and monsters known to inhabit those lands do not seem interested in invading the Empire en masse.

The natives of the Southern Ranges (南端山峦) are a hardy folk used to the mountainous terrain, harsh weather (where torrential storms sometimes sweep down without warning triggering off flash-floods and landslides. They are often join the ranks of the military to garrison the forts that guard the passes. Their defences are often tested by small bands of monsters, undead and demons that harry the humans in the territory. Each time their defences are breached, the monsters go on to wreak great havoc in the Empire. However, these are usually quickly resolved with the local lord quickly sending troops to destroy the invaders utterly.

So far, the last full scale assault which overcame their stalwart defence was about a thousand years ago, when the Shang Dynasty marshaled a host from throughout the Empire to drive the horde back. This was the only time in history when each of the dozen forts fell to the Festering Horde, their defenders valiantly fighting to the last man and proudly refused to abandon their posts. Many lives were lost before the passes were retaken and the forts rebuilt and strengthened. The attack was believed to have been led by the White Bone Spirit (白骨精), which was believed to have fled when its minions died. The Horde wreaked havoc till the tide was stemmed north of Jingzhou. Till today some of the lands where they bivouacked remain barren and uninhabited, with the stench of evil lingering.

However, there have been many other concerted drives led by terrifying devils and demons, each having been repelled at the cost of lives.

Little is known about the south by most of the common folk, save legends and rumours that grow more ludicrous with each re-telling. Most scare little children by telling them that is where their spirits will end up should they be naughty children.

However, there are those who do study the and the strange power it exudes, known as the Taint.

The Taint has been known to drive men and beasts mad, provoking even the most honourable man to commit vile acts and the most docile animal to extreme savagery. It also gifts those affected with inhuman strength, yet cursing them with a hideous visage. The Taint has even been known to reanimate the dead, and so those who perish near the Festering have their corpses burnt. The many effects of the Taint are still not known and will be left to later discussion. Those with an interest in the Taint and the Festering Lands will have to be careful and aware of its many subtle dangers. In fact, there have been not a few who had been seduced by the mystery and power of the Festering, and they have all come to bad ends.

The natives of the South had long since learnt to combat the effects of the Taint by wearing jade on their persons. But the protection is only for the finite amount of time, for the jade piece, while absorbing the Taint on the wearer's behalf will slowly turn black and cease to offer any protection. That is scouting and exploration missions are usually brief sojourns with a few elite members.

The people of the Empire commonly refer to the natives disparagingly as the "Southern Barbarians" (南曼人), for they are often surly, if not outright rude, to outsiders. Their boorish behaviour is often seen the result of being too close to the Taint and too far from the civilised lands of central China. The terms used to address them is no doubt a play on the Chinese words for the Festering lands and is seen as an insult by most of the natives who prefer to call themselves the Southern Mountain Sky Tribe 南山天族.

Tha natives themselves do not care much for the culture and social niceties of the northern folk, as these do not aid them in their harsh lifestyles. They are often dark-skinned and built like bears. Used to hardship and battle, they are often recruited by the Shu and Wu kingdoms as crack shock troops. Many of them serve in the garrisons of the 12 forts, and patrol the environs, believing that they were placed there by the Celestial Jade Emperor 玉皇大帝 to protect the realm of humanity. They see this onerous duty as a sacrifice for the blessings which makes their tribesmen strong in mind, spirit and body.

It is often rumoured that there is a Festering Pit deep within the Festering Land that spawns the vile creatures and evil spirits from the depths of Hell itself. This Pit is supposedly located within the bowels of Black Mountain whose summit itself is rarely glimpsed, since the sky over the Festering Land is often heavily overcast, rendering the mountains and its foothills as shadows cloaked in darkness. The land of the Festering is usually covered in an unnatural greenish fog. Legend has it that the Pit is guarded by an evil tree spirit of immense power (黑山老妖).

Intrepid scouts sent out over the ages have as yet been unable to verify these claims.

No Emperor has thus far risked trying to invade the Festering Lands, as it is inhospitable and there seeming little gain in such an exertion, which would probably cost so much that it would severely weaken the state.

And so the Festering remains a lingering and ominous threat to the existence of China.