Dragon River War

The Dragon River War was one of the formative conflicts of the Middle Kingdom at the end of the Shang dynasty. It is generally seen as one of the markers of the end of the Third Age and the beginning of the Fourth.

Prelude
During the later days of the Shang dynasty, the fallen Wan Xian had taken to rule over mortals from the shadows. Posing as priests and shamans, they demanded sacrifices in form of chi and manipulated mortal rulers by the use of their powers. Likewise, peasant wizards like the Wu-Keng extorted the population for protection, while those practicing higher magic often secluded themselves from the world.

The War
According to the Akashic Brotherhood, the war began when a sect of Devil-Tigers known as the Searing Wind seized Kailas, which they believed to be the physical remnant of Meru. The Kuei-jin themselves tell of a war between the Yellow Emperor and the Scarlet Phoenix Court that grew out of control. The Hsien speak of the conflict as a rebellion of the people against the Wan Xian. The Shih tell that conflict was a reaction of corrupt shen against their growing order, who sought to reveal the knowledge of their weaknesses and combat them if they overstepped their bounds.

The conflict was soon intertwined with the rebellion of the Chou against the Shang. As the conflict became more heated, the Kuei-jin who ruled lashed out against their subjects. The Hsien, seeing that the Wan Xian had lost their mandate, stepped in and tried to continue to fulfill the Mandate of Heaven, while others tried to abstain from the conflict entirely. The growing Shih, under the leadership of their founder Yi, began to target all supernaturals without discrimination.

At the peak of the conflict, nine additional suns were created to scorch the Middle Kingdom. While the Kuei-jin state that this was the work of the Scarlet Phoenix Court,, the Akashic Brotherhood believes a rogue Wu Lung named Yi Han responsible.  The Hsien state that the creation of the nine suns was the deed of the Yama Kings, in exchange for the Wan Xian abandoning Heaven, while the Shih state that it was a combined act between the Yama Kings and the Kuei-jin to punish the Chou for their insurrection. All agree that the creation of the nine suns took thousands of sacrifices, and that the land suffered under the bristling heat. Wu-Keng and similar infernalists prospered, while the magical battles waged between the factions caused rivers to ignite and harvests to wither''. ''

Finally, the suns were destroyed by Yi with the blessing of Heaven. Mounting the Great Dragon Kung Kung, he shot nine enchanted arrows into the suns, leaving only the original in the sky. After this display of power, the Chou managed to defeat the last remnants of the rogue in shen in the following months, while Yi's Shih made sure no shen infiltrated their ranks.

Aftermath
The events of the Dragon River War shaped the Middle Kingdom for ages to come. Through Yi, Heaven delivered curses against the Wan Kuei and the Yama Kings. Knowing the wrath of Heaven, the now doubly damned Kuei-jin knew that they would never again rule over mortals as they did as the Wan Xian, skulking back into the shadows to live in parallel societies. As they had aided in the creation of the false suns, the light of the true sun would now forever burn them. The Hsien, for daring to place themselves in positions above their station, were cursed to be confined to mortal bodies, without access to the spirit world. The Shih became an organized force with the intent of watching the other shen and keeping their transgressions against the people low. The excesses of the shen had caused a deep mistrust among the population against the supernatural, which aided the formation of the dalou’laoshi, a faction of mages from the Wu Lung that frowned upon occult sorcery and instead relied on tools and logic to better the lot of the common people. Finally, a new dynasty, the Chou, followed the Shang.

Chronology

 * Dragons of the East erroneously states that the conflict took place from 496 BCE to 480 AD, while all other sources agree that it took place from 496 BCE to 480 BCE.   Other accords have no dates, instead placing it at the of the Third Age into the Fourth.