1 Prologue

When the Celestial created the Sphere, he created thousands of worlds yet none so beautiful as Seikatsu. The world, abundant in mana (or magical energy) was a verdant paradise where every year hundreds of people were born with a natural gift for magicka. Even those who aren't born with the gift, there still lies the option of apprenticeship with a lorekeeper to learn the art. As Seikatsu is abundant in mana, so too is the world abundant in magical creatures and divine beings. Such is the abundance that nine families created a pact with a divine patron that they would be able to call upon the power of their patron through the bloodlines of their family. These are known as Kannagi (spirit callers), and are often surrounded by much prejudice from the common folk. This balance of power is maintained through the Celestial Hegemony, guided by seven greater gods and goddesses known as the Chumon and the lesser gods which watch over smaller concepts or areas known as the Tochi.

Of the Chumon, there is the Spirit King Seishin, king of the hegemony and protector of the circle of Life and Death, known to be the greatest being in all of Seikatsu except his brother. His wife Chikyu is she who watches over and nourishes Earth, and protects Travelers of the world. His brother Senso is the purveyor of War and the redeemer of Glory and Justice, trusted with the defense of the hegemony. Seishin and Chikyu's daughter is Chi'e, known as a goddess of Wisdom, Strategy, Law, and bringer of the Sun. Their son Denso is known as god of Wine, Music, and Knowledge. There is also Ryujin, the dragon god who shared the domain of Law with Chi'e and also holds domain over the Sky.

Of the Tochi, they are very diverse with river gods, mountain gods, forest gods, beast gods, gods of particular individual battles, gods of concepts; such as the smithing god Tetsu or the god of writing Hon. These gods are in charge of day-to-day events and often report to the Chumon on at least a weekly basis. Very rarely, an ancestor who has been seen as someone that has performed some great deed is allowed into the upper echelon of the Tochi, usually dealing with the day to day events of their descendants. Unlike the Chumon, Tochi can be seen by especially skilled Kannagi.

The world of Seikatsu has been through two full periods of charted time with the emergence of the third such period being a recent event. Of these periods is the Kogane Jidai (Era) - the time when city-states were just forming and the land was still very new and very unknown. This was a time of relative peace with great technological advancement, such as the creation of husbandry, the cart, bronze and jade smithing, irrigation, and arithmetic with the Abacus. This time was ended with the emergence of Yokai from another realm onto the world of Seikatsu, which brought around the Kurai Jidai (Era) when these yokai began to strike southmost city-states - pillaging, raping, and burning with reckless abandon. The era truly began with the raiding of Tetsujo, famed as the greatest and most well-defended of the southern city-states.

At the outset of the era, a baron by the name of Shiruba Neshima allied with several other city-states in the central Seikatsu area and began a conquest of those who would not comply to form the Kingdom of Shiruba. Following suit, a fearsome man and natural magician known as Meijin Seidowa formed the Meijin Empire within the northern reaches of central Seikatsu and the vestiges of northern Seikatsu. Finally, to the far west a group of mercenaries, merchants, and aristocrats formed the predecessor to the Hoho Conglomerate. Out of mutual survival, Hoho Kujin shared the secrets of steel forging with both Shiruba and Meijin. With any remnants of the south fleeing to the southern mountain monastery-fortress, the Yokai turned to the Kingdom of Shiruba, where they were met with open war from the Shiruba Kinshi Knights, Shiruba Iron Guard, the Magician's Guild, and a small number of Tochi and were pushed back through sacrifice of thousands of Iron Guard, hundreds of Kinshi Knights, and a few Tochi, though the Shiruban commander had expected much greater casualties.

Throughout the next ten years and with the early muskets provided from the Meijin Empire, the Kingdom of Shiruba fought the Yokai and their war slaves nearly to a standstill, though this was paid for with the blood of half of their regimental armed forces and a third of the Kinshi Knights. Several more Tochi had also given their lives in battle, not many were left who had aided the kingdom. It was at this time that the Spirit King Seishin brought the emerald star to orbit around Seikatsu and along with chose the first Starborn - seven children who had been born as natural magicians and was gifted the power of the Emerald Star which heightened their magical power to the level of a Tochi or Yokai Prince. These starborn were born with a great brother/sister complex for their fellow starborn and could seamlessly and limitlessly communicate among each other in their minds.

Of these seven were the first son and daughter of Shiruba Neshima, Shiruba Saishu and Shiruba Takara; the second-born son of Meijin Seidowa, Meijin Sora; the daughter of Hoho Kujin, Hoho Aidia; the daughter of the Magician Guild's leader, Maho Idaina; the kannagi child Fuyu Winter, and one of the southern survivors, Okane Omo. Seishin assured that for every generation (roughly every forty years), a new batch of Starborn children would be born to the world. The Meijin Empire took to a new point of legislation - that only a starborn of the Meijin Empire, with preference to royalty if possible, would become the heir to the throne. With this gift, the Kingdom of Shiruba knew that victory would be assured in another ten years, and so they continued their existing method of fighting off the Yokai while synonymously preparing the next generation.

Finally, twenty-five years after the beginning of the war it was ended with the duel between Shiruba Takara and the Yokai prince Mortuus and the routing of the prince's slave forces. Whereas Mortuus and his Yokai followers were banished back into the nether, Takara suffered a grave blow which served to be her end. It is said that Takara's sacrifice brought the Spirit King to course and he was responsible for banishing the Yokai, however this myth has no true credence. While the war had been won, the conflict was not yet over as the Yokai Prince Exitium still marched on the monastery-fortress to the south with a horde, and unchecked lesser demons roamed the lands. In aid of the Fortress-Monastery, Meijin Seidowa and a regiment of the Imperial Guard marched forth along with imperial magicians. Neshima, verging on his seventieth year of life, stepped down and his son Saishu was given the throne.

Unfortunately, Mortuus had only been the vanguard and the entire regiment along with Emperor Seidowa himself were slain, though his two artifacts were recovered by an imperial magician by the name of Kuma Hikari - who would later be given the title of Lord with a parcel of land - who returned the legendary sword Tokushi and the divine circlet Kami to the new emperor Meijin Sora. Emperor Sora vowed revenge for his father and marched upon the forces of prince Exitium along with three regiments of Imperial Guard, one company of Imperial Knights, and one company of Imperial Magicians. Immediately, the Starborn Emperor requested a duel against Exitium, and immediately Meijin Sora gave a grave wound to Exitium with Tokushi held firmly in hand.

The Yokai Prince, not wishing to die that day, fled to the far south beyond the reaches of Seikatsu that had been able to be catalogued. Allowing Exitium and the remnants of his warband to leave, Meijin Sora lead the survivors of the south back to their homes where the empire aided in rebuilding efforts. From this, the southern Kingdom of Okane was formed. Much time passed as technology advanced with early rifles and revolvers, cannons, rocket launchers (such as the Whacha), and airships becoming prevalent. Martial Arts remained an important part of warfare in most nations. Meijin Sora also allegedly removed a piece of the Emerald Star to create a major artifact known as the Emerald Throne - something which would serve to allow a starborn sitting on it to manipulate Sekai and alter the world as a god of the Chumon did, though the throne's domain kept the area of influence squarely within the empire alone.

It was four hundred years later, during the tenth and the beginning of the eleventh generation of Starborn, that the Yokai attacked again and this time in far greater numbers. There had been Yokai and lesser demon attacks frequently up to this point, however they had remained mostly skirmishes with a village or town raided here and there. The three nations of the Meijin Empire, the Kingdom of Shiruba, and the Kingdom of Okane joined in a stand at the monastery-fortress of Toi Iwa where the Yokai flooded in from on high from the mountain. Many warriors were embraced by Senso, however in months of fighting in attrition both sides had been worn weary. In the end Toi Iwa was sacrificed so that the allied army could fight another day. The war would continue until Meijin Juri utilized all five basic elements together to create the spell of unmaking which wiped Exitium and over 50% of his brethren off the face of Seikatsu during the last battle.

The second era ended in the year 451, giving way to the current era of Shin Jidai (Era). It is currently year 14 of the Shin Jidai, with the twelfth generation of starborn just coming into their early teenage years. It is a strange time, with many mythological creatures still roaming the world - including some Yokai. The trembling of a greater darkness on the horizon have begun to impact local seers and diviners.