Feng-Huang (Bygone)

A Feng-Huang is a bygone creature.

Overview[]

One fire burns out another’s burning,

One pain is lessen’d by another’s anguish.

— William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet

Legendry[]

The feudal lords had turned their authority over to Emperor Shih Huang Ti. The common people worked on building the Great Wall to keep out invaded from the north. Shih Huang To ordered the construction of roads and canals to bring the people together. He was a fair and just ruler - or so it was often said. He was a god among men when even the great Buddha did not yet walk the land.

Shih Huang Ti's people mourned his death deeply. They laid him out on a dais made of jade and gold and wrapped him in the finest silks. That very night, the invaders came. Shih Huang Ti's soldiers, weakened by their wailing grief, let their defenses down. The battle raged all night. Shih Huang Ti watched from behind death-jellied eyes. He listened through frozen ears to the clashes, the cries of fear and pain, and to the death-rattles. His still heart ached.

Finally, at dawn, when it seemed that the invaders would prevail, a spark from a burning hut set fire to Shih Huang Ti's robes, Unnoticed, his body went up in flames. A single aching note arose from the fire, a bird call so pure and wondrous that it stopped the fighting. Everyone turned to watch as a great plumed bird rose from the flames. Blazing like a burning parchment, it flew up on rainbow wings into the morning sky and circled overhead. The invaders fled. As the barbarians were chased down and slaughtered beneath the gaze of Heaven, the feng-huang sang its grief for the fallen soldiers, then disappeared into the clouds to live among the gods.

Description[]

Like the phoenix of ancient Egypt, the feng-huang arose from the flames, reborn and renewed. Many cultures have similar stories, though all think that their own feng-huang is unique. In truth, several of these wonderous creatures exist, and they continue to be born. Rarely do the proper conditions coincide to create one, however - it takes a special combination of death, extreme human passion and fire to reincarnate the human soul in this fantastic form. The rebirth, it is said, is reward for a life boldly lived. Firebirds occasionally feature in witch-tales, rising from the corpses of executed sorcerers and taking vengeance.

Revenge, however, does not seem to be a feng-huang's calling. Although some stories tell of angry firebirds, the majority of them tell of hope, not horror. By the reckoning of sages, the burning purifies a soul, allowing it to rise upward to a better state. Perhaps the cremations that follow some feng-haung sightings are necessary sacrifices, purgations of some great evil that must be cleansed before the soul-bird can rise.

Future Fate[]

As the world becomes banal, as its people surrender to passivity, cringe in indecision or while away their lives in front of television sets, the feng-huang becomes a relic of the past. Never common to begin with, this celestial creature is a myth by the modern era. Even so, tales of the firebird continues to surface. According to one rumor, a flaming creature was seen rising from the ruins of the Branch-Davidian compound in Waco, Texas. Perhaps it was only coincidence that three ATF officials died later in fiery "accidents." The FBI assumes domestic terrorism, but no human link to the incidents has ever been found.

Image[]

Ecstatic color marks the plumage of a feng-huang. A welter of tail feathers ripples behind the bird, glowing like a comet dripping rainbows as it flies. A crest of quills at the back of the firebird's head blazes with scarlet intensity. Its cerulean eyes have no pupils, but mores of gold and silver glitter within. Fangs of midnight-blue lashes fringe the feng-huang's eyes, and its wings strike sparks on the empty air. Sleek and long-bodied like the soul, this mystic avian displays a rare grace. On the ground, it flows, bright and liquid, rather than hopping and thrusting like a common bird. Silent save for the crackling of its voice, the fabulous creature regards all things with a wide, encompassing gaze. Each sound it makes carries the passion of a spirit that has glimpsed Heaven and finds it glorious.

Charater Sheet[]