'For a story, you earn wealth beyond your wildest dreams. For two, you earn your heart's desire. For three, you may keep your soul.'
- The Witch Si Fong, Seer of Port Hifume
For much of the Empire's history, it was thought that nothing lay beyond the shining sea that stretched to the horizon. Explorers who set out to find distant lands never returned, and to sail east became tantamount to embarking on a pointless, suicidal quest. It wasn't until recently that explorers began returning from journeys to the East, bearing tales of Islands that shift in the mist, of moths the size of mountains, and screaming whirlwinds. Those who practice chi talents claim that such things come easier in the East as if the air were suffused with energy, but say that things often twist beyond their control as if guided by an unseen hand. The most spiritually sensitive of people claim that they can feel a great beacon energy from somewhere deep in the isles but this is generally considered to be a delusion of those few who sense it.
What exactly happens in the East is a matter of some debate, but the Empire's preeminent minds agree that the barrier between the physical realm and that of spirits is especially thin as one travels further East from the shores of the Empire. The thinning of the veil has resulted in the islands being suffused with alchemically important ingredients, used throughout the Empire. The consequence of this is that spirits abound on the isles and one can rarely journey far without meeting one or several. Space also appears twisted upon itself and many travelers find themselves sailing for days only to arrive back where they started or walking for a few minutes and emerging back into the empire miles from shore. This makes travel to the East a tricky proposition at best. For this reason, competent guides to the East are highly sought after and it can be a lucrative, if dangerous, profession.
Recently, the Imperial Mercantile Guild has been trying to establish trading outposts to harvest the riches of the East, and clamping down on the scores of pirates, smugglers, and freelancers who profit from the weakness of the Imperial Navy.
The Imperial presence in the East dresses much as they do in the Empire proper, albeit often a year or two out of fashion due to the inherent difficulty of travel. Many affect a multitude of tokens, charms, amulets, and trinkets meant to serve as protection from the dangers of an extended stay in the East.
The human natives of the Isles adopt a wide range of styles, often seeking to emulate the disturbing fashions of the spirits. The thin barrier between the spirit realm and the physical world also permits all manner of strange accoutrements that would be impossible anywhere else. For example, it is not uncommon to see a lady garbed in smoke walk the streets of Port Hifume accompanied by a bodyguard in an armour made from the plates of colossal beetles, or a sorcerer in a robe of lies and names haggle over the price of truth.
Native and Imperial alike have a great respect for the spirits who inhabit the Isles, many of whom do not recognize the reach of the celestial bureaucracy.
On one of the isles closest to the empire lies the monastery of the Monks of the Dancing Tide. The monks claim that, in the East, the wellspring of power within all people overflows. They dedicate themselves to mastering their chi, and focusing on self-control and discipline. The monks frown on those who let their emotions overrun them, believing that it is letting oneself be controlled by the chi, rather than than mastering it. Rumors speak of another monastery which actively pursues such activities, but if it exists, it is only as rumours.
On an island of eternal spring a days journey into the East travelers come upon the eternal dance. To the music of pipes and drums, all manner of creatures dance, play, create, shout, and scream; from those who look at least outwardly human to the strangest of spirits. There is not a time in recorded history in which the dance was not occurring and each sighting seems to contain yet more strange creatures. Those sensitive to the flow of chi claim that the dance calls to them as it distorts the flow in it's vicinity into a chaotic but beautiful turbulence.
On the shores closest to the Empire lie the first efforts by the Mercantile Guild to lay claim to the riches of the East. Port Hifume is a bastion, a guarded citadel warded against the worst of the pirates and the rages of malevolent spirits. From here launch expeditions further into the islands. In its markets one can find all manner of mysterious and bizarre goods, brought back from the wildest islands often at great personal cost. It is the only place in the empire which requires that not only do you show your face before you enter but that you also prove it is yours.
Some say that Kanagawa was founded centuries ago by Imperial Explorers who became lost in the Islands, and resigned themselves to piracy when they could no longer find their way home. Others that Kanagawa is a realm of twisted, evil spirits banished from Heaven for their crimes. It lies deep in the islands, far from the mapped regions. Ships bearing the flag of Kanagawa have become the bane of the Mercantile Guild, somehow able to navigate the twisting, shifting seas of the East without being lost forever. The more pragmatic travelers often find it faster and safer just to pay for passage on ships from Kanagawa. The secret of their peerless navigation is something the Mercantile Guild would pay dearly to possess.
The Celestial Companion, Morning Star, was once a favoured concubine of the August Personage of Jade. It is said that she was banished for reasons unknown, and has made her new home somewhere in the islands of the East. Having lived in the inner circles of the Celestial Bureaucracy, she knows more of its inner workings than most.
Faceless Hao is generally considered to be the most reliable guide for anyone considering a trip to the East. His most notable feature is the fact that he has no face, just a blank white mask of bone. He claims that a spirit stole his face long ago, but he doesn't miss it. Now vengeful spirits know not whom to curse once he has stolen from them.
Bin Hao is representative of the Mercantile Guild in the East. He is known to be a wily trader who believes that he can tame the wild. He has grand designs for strengthening the Guild's iron grip on trade in the East.