Welcome to the heart of the Tiandi Realm, the Evershining Empire that persevered for at least five thousand years. The recipe for this remarkable longevity is its people, the Shen, though our Emperors insist otherwise. They seem to think that mingling with the Celestials during the Dynasty of New Dawn, 5,650 years before our story begins, awarded their ancestors the Heavenly Mandate to guide the Empire forever.

The Celestials themselves departed the Earthen Realm abruptly after they've issued The Final Interdict that prohibits them from setting foot on the mortal soil. They however left behind the race of Faeries to protect the Shen against the Demons who would otherwise hunt the Shen with impunity to prey on their qi, the life force. The Faeries build their Temples on the ancient grants of land that are touched by the Celestials and may be linked to the Heavenly Realm of the Celestials. Most Humans worship both the Celestials and their ancestral spirits.

The Evershining Empire went through many turbulent periods, but none was bloodier and more rife with both heroes and villains than the era approximately 500 years after the Final Interdict. At that time, the last scions of the Dynasty of New Dawn failed to uphold the Heavenly Mandate and fell to greed and corruption.

The Emperors of the Dynasty of Purifying Glory painstakingly united the land by using means that may shock the modern readers or secretly excite them. Depending on who you chose to quote, they've achieved their goal of ruling the entire Evershining Empire from their capital in Sutao between 4,300 and 4,800 years before this humble Court Historian was born.

Until this day, the storytellers tell about the excesses of the three Empresses of this Dynasty - the cruel Empress Mei, the wanton Empress Du, and the duplicitous Empress Luchan. The men were not the paragons of virtue either.

At the time our story begins, the Empire is ruled by the Celebrated Emperor Wo Jia, of the Dynasty of Clear Foresight, that lasted for 235 years. Wo Jia assumed the throne 13 years ago, aged 28, and engaged into the aggressive expansion of the Empire's borders to the South (beyond the Province of Luitong), and to the North-West (gaining the Province of Quantong).

He signed treaties with numerous barbaric tribes from the Northern Steppes to fight even more numerous other tribes and, more importantly, gained the allies in the ancient pirate republic of the Laughing Men Islands located about four days' sailing to the East-Southeast from Sutao.

Almost immediately upon his ascension to the throne, Wo Jia moved his capital from the coastal Sutao to the inland Xichon, in the Middle Province.

The heroes of this novel also spend a lot of time in the Province of Shantong and its capital, Kefei. It's famed for its orchards and has no brothel of note (trust me).

Leaving the Emperor to his brooding and his wars, for the time being, allow me to introduce you to the many characters you might meet on these pages.

Be warned, however, the list below may contain what you would call 'spoilers' (and so are added to separate chapters)

May your daughters be few and beautiful, and your sons - many and strong.

Shan Jiang the Honest