Tales of Destiny

Introduction

The honorable Rushing Cloud Sect is the foremost center of learning and culture in the Emerald Seas province outside shining Xiangmen itself. Bound in accord with its brother Sects in Celestial Peaks, Rushing Cloud Sect hosts the foremost experts from the Imperial Capital, sharing the latest developments in cultivation theory and other subjects. Where some sects will require of their disciples many unreasonable and uncivilized demands, at Rushing Cloud Sect, our students’ safety and advancement are the highest priority.

Rushing Cloud Sect offers the most structured and comprehensive syllabus available outside of the Imperial City itself, and our disciples will find their talents and burgeoning Ways nurtured and guided by the wisest of teachers and Masters. We do not shy away from trials and tribulations, which our youth will require to grow, but there is little need to leave such things to chaos and chance. Where our wise ancestors have laid down the foundations and framing, it is up to us of today to build the future upon their works.

Rushing Cloud Sect’s academic features are not its only draw. We at Rushing Cloud seek to instill discipline, chivalry, and honor in all of our disciples, and this is reflected in our military arm where future protectors of the Emerald Seas and beyond find their foundations. Here in Rushing Cloud, the youth learn to serve the Empire, the Empress, and the Duchess with dignity and virtue.

History

Rushing Cloud Sect was founded in the wake of Ogodei’s incursion to shore up the eastern defenses so sorely tested by the barbarian invasion. Initially established to act as a focal point for rebuilding efforts in the southeast by experts dispatched at the Emperor’s decree, at the behest of Prince An, the wise emperor decreed that they should make permanent settlement in the lands left fallow by the fall of many clans and work to restore and archive what knowledge they could.

To that end, Rushing Cloud Sect has made it our mission to cooperate with remaining local powers to tame and civilize the lands left behind and spread the education and culture of the Imperial Capital which had been so long denied by the Hui’s mismanagement to these impoverished regions. From that starting point, the Rushing Cloud Sect became a focal point for local military cooperation and training and a hard point to which defenders could fall back to against the splinter hordes which continued to persist for some time in Ogodei’s wake.

Over the centuries that followed, as stability returned to the region, Rushing Cloud Sect took on more and more academic roles as the men and women with whom Rushing Cloud Sect had rebuilt the east began to send their children there to learn the organization and discipline which had spared their lands from further ravaging at the barbarians’ hands.

In more recent years, under former Sect Master Jia Hong, the Rushing Cloud Sect was instrumental in aiding with logistical concerns when our resplendent Duchess toppled the corrupt Hui to restore harmony to the Emerald Seas province. Although it was a saddening loss for the former Sect Master to depart from his position, we are proud to have been host to the now Patriarch Jia and look forward to coordinating the realm together with him. But Patriarch Jia is only one of the many august personages which have come from our halls. Other personages include…

Heron General Xia Ren: Once merely a member of a fading hill clan, Xia Ren took easily to the programs of the Rushing Cloud Sect, modernizing her people’s crumbling holdings in a whirlwind century leading up to the Thousand Wing incursion in which she fought beside our Lady Duchess. In later years, she was among the first to join the righteous uprising, and today, she stands as the General of Xiangmen and Commander of the Elite White Plume regiment.

The document goes on to a relatively short list of highly placed members of provincial ministries, including the Ministries of Commerce, Communication, and Law.

Enrollment

Rushing Cloud Sect follows all Imperial Sect enrollment guidelines to the letter and without exception. All fees are to be paid and all paperwork filed and dated by the appropriate ministries by the first day of the new year.

However, the Outer Sect portion of the program differs from local norms. All Outer Sect disciples will be housed in a series of dorms for the duration of their enrollment in the program. Which dorm a disciple will reside in is determined by their enrollment details and the results of their entrance exams. Student dorm determines lesson schedule and teacher availability. New dorm placement exams take place every two months.

In order to enter the Inner Sect, students must take a rigorous series of exams and practical combat and cultivation trials overseen by a minimum of two elders. Inner Sect examinations take place only during the final month of the year and may be taken by any disciple who has completed the requisite number of courses, as noted in the disciples’ handbook.

All disciples must undergo the exam process to advance.

Note: Fees are non-refundable. Failure or expulsion of a disciple may be contested through the proper channels at the Ministry of Law. Interference in Internal Sect practices will be reported immediately to the Ministry of Integrity.

Careers

Apprenticeships and Internships: Thanks to the rotating staff of experts kept on site, no Sect in Emerald Seas is better positioned to allow disciples to apprentice themselves to experts and professionals or earn a junior shadow placement in a ministry. Rushing Cloud Sect offers a robust course in teaching disciples the skills and knowledge they need to impress potential mentors.

Military Officer Training: There is more to campaigning than swinging blades and marching. We at Rushing Cloud offer many courses from top experts on tactics, logistics, and the economics of cultivator warfare. Here, a disciple may receive the training to be more than a superb warrior; they may learn what is needed to truly be a general.

Ambassadorial Positions: We at Rushing Cloud pride ourselves in our ability to educate the youth on the proper ways of the Empire. There is much demand for envoys, ambassadors, and other speakers in the Imperial Court, and it is well known that in Emerald Seas, Rushing Cloud gives the best education on these matters.