Zhong Lung

Zhong Lung are the Asian Stream of the Mokolé. They are the stream of water, who inhabit the Middle Kingdom of eastern Asia. They are great scholars and philosophers renowned among the Hengeyokai. Throughout the Middle Kingdoms of China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam, they have endured as the stream least harmed by the Garou.

Overview

When the Mokolé first came to the Middle Kingdoms is unknown, although it is claimed by the Zhong Lung that the Dragon Kings were their progenitors. According to their tales, the Wani, the Dragon Kings of the Eastern World, gave five of their eggs to the Queen-Mother of the West. She bore the eggs into the Middle Kingdom, where they became the first Zhong Lung. Of course, there is little evidence in this and the truth is unclear.

Known for their epic patience, their aspects are measured by the season in which they are born. Although they have inherited the millennial Mnesis of countless scholars and teachers, because of their association with the Emerald Courts, they have the fewest memories of conflict with other shapechangers.

Breeds and Territories

Homid Zhong Lung are born to humans from one of the East Asian nations (China, Japan, Korea, etc) and each Homid's Suchid Form is that most common in that of the land where their ancestors are buried, and vice-versa for the Suchid born.

At present, they avoid cities when they can. In China itself, they inhabit communes along the Yangtze River, which are almost entirely populated by kinfolk and dragons, thus escaping attention. Many solitary elders retreat to the mountains to contemplate.

The purges and slaughters of the twentieth century have not left the Middle Dragons unscathed; Hei Lungren, Spring in the Clutch of Seven Pearls, still shudders when tells the tale of Kuei-Jin engorging themselves on Mao's Death Camps, bloated almost mindless with Yin Chi from the dead. Two Clutches lost kinfolk during the Cultural Revolution when gangs of Red Guard attacked them whilst the Dragons were absent. The island Clutch of Fang Zhang in the Pacific has taken several refugees from China's troubles. Less and less do the sacred lanterns beckon the Dragons and their kin to sacred sites, whilst the Chinese Alligator is nearly extinct, meaning fewer and fewer Suchids are born.

Indonesia's troubled politics have meant ill for the Ancient Clutch of Towers-Above-the-Kings (on Komodo Island), as the Designer attacks the island and leaves the Komodo Dragon population under threat, to the point of having to be rescued by kinfolk maneuvering.

Among humans, there are very few Japanese or Koreans who carry the Old Blood, caused by lack of Reptiles in those lands. This "losing the dragon" left Japanese and Korean Zhong Lung to travel abroad to seek mates, though this is considered socially taboo among some. Southeast Asia's sorrow has led many Middle Dragons to flee or enter the Dragon's Slumber, though a few clutches remain; at Samutpraken Crocodile Farm in Thailand, six Zhong Lung guard clutches in the jungle. In Indonesia the Dragons are still strong, as they are in the sea realms beneath the Pacific. The Aborigines of the Phillipines and the Andamans are Kin to the Zhong Lung, and Clutches exist on both island chains.

Under the Sea, more Zhong Lung dwell, in the Dragon Kingdom of Umi. Here they bide their time, waiting alongside their Same-Bito comrades and many other supernatural denizens.

Forms

The Zhong Lung have three forms, as do all Mokolé since the Age of Sleep. Their Archid form is that of the great vision that comes to them during their First Change, although their dreams drift towards the sinuous grace of the Wani rather than the hissing and thundering great beasts their sunset cousins recall.

• Homid: A human of the East Asian World. The Zhong Lung, as the eldest breed of the Hengeyokai, breed with the common folk and aboriginal tribes rather than nobles or cityfolk.
• Archid: Archid forms differ from clutch to clutch and from dragon to dragon, but the Zhong Lung tend to resemble the Dragons that come from their homeland rather than Reptiles or Dinosaurs. Chinese Mokolé, for instance, are most disinctive. Bull Dragons are called k'iulung in Mandarin. They are splendidly whiskered, often bearing a prominent pearl under their chin, as well as a horn that is often curved and thin. Their sisters, chiu'lung, are gifted instead with narrow, clever snouts, and crests of coloured feathers which rise and fall according to mood. Zhong Lung are more flexible in Archid Form than others, due to their serpentine bodies.
• Suchid: In this form, the Zhong Lung is a Reptile of the appropriate Varna. Mating in Suchid form is common even for Homid's, as it is believed to be especially erotic.

Varnas

Zhong Lung Varnas include:

• Karna: Saltwater crocodiles
• Lung: Chinese alligators
• Ora: Monitor lizards, particularly the Komodo dragon.

Auspices

The Dragons recognise four Auspices depending on when the Mokolé is born;

• Tung Chun: The warriors and lovers, born in the Spring. Their colour is Blue and Green, and the east wind blows on them. They resemble the Rising and Setting Suns in demeanour.
• Nam Hsia: Born in the Summer are the judges and lawmakers. Their colours are the Emperor's Yellow, they are favoured by the South Wind, and their demeanour is similar to that of the Noonday and Eclipsed Suns.
• Sai Chau: The colour of the seers and scholars born in Autumn is Deathly White. They are the Shrouded Suns of their people, and are also keepers of the Wallows of the East, sometimes called "Dragon Nests". The West Wind Blows on them.
• Pei Tung: The jokers and tricksters with little rage, the Pei Tung love the contrary and paradox. Born in Winter, they are warmed by the North Wind. They are coloured Black.

Gallery

Mokolé Zhong Lung forms

References

• WTA: Mokolé (book), p. 17, 40-43