Editing Kindred of the East (section)

==Not-so [[Exalted]] Anymore==
In ages past, what would become the Kuei-jin started out as the '''Wan Xian''', the Ten Thousand Immortals.  Chosen by the '''August Personage in Jade''' (God essentially), these were mortals who passed various tests of worthiness, and were  granted the ability to absorb and use ambient ''Chi'' (the energy that infuses all things).  They were then tasked with safeguarding the Middle Kingdom (a term used to refer to BOTH the territory of Imperial China at its historical height AND the Mortal Realms in its entirety) against the forces of the '''Yama Kings''' and other supernatural threats.  In their service many amassed great power, reached enlightenment, and eventually gained passage into Heaven.  

Due to the threats they faced, its inevitable that Wan Xian would fall in the line of duty. As such it was tasked to the '''Ebon Dragon''' and the '''Scarlet Empress''' to seak out worthy replacements.

Some of this, particularly the personalities involved, [[Exalted|sounds suspiciously familiar, doesn't it]]?  Don't worry, it's not your imagination.

Eventually all good things come to an end.  The Wan Xian eventually became corrupt, partly due to the influence of the Yama Kings (creating the first ''akuma''), partly due usurping the Dragon Nests (nodes where lines of Chi converged) from their '''Xiong Ren''' (Eastern [[Werewolf: The Apocalypse|Shapeshifters]]) owners, and partly due to simple hubris that led to them slaughtering their half-vampire children (the ''Jin Hai'') when the latter politely asked them to ''stop being such assholes''.  The August Personage cursed them for their perfidy, and only four Wan Xian were spared. 

Left with the inability to breathe, the rest were forced to feed on the Chi of others to survive.  With even their rituals of Rebirth corrupted by the tortures of the Hell realm, it more or less ensured that only those with the blackest of hearts would be returned to Unlife.  

And so it was that the Ten Thousand Heroes would become the Ten Thousand Demons, and the Wan Xian became the Wan Kuei, the first of the Kuei-Jin.