On this page 7
Intro
The Phantom World is crowded with factions, flaring up and dying down like fireworks. Assassins’ orders, demon cults, secret societies, traditional sects, martial houses, gangs of the Wulin and the imperial state all hold ground, and the fighting between them — some of it open, most of it not — is what makes the politics of the Phantom World as tangled as it is.
Faction types at a glance
| Faction type | Example | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Assassins’ order | The Order | the strongest assassins’ order in the Phantom World |
| Demon cult | the Bastion of Mó | the northern demon cult, standard-bearer of the unorthodox side |
| Secret society | Mirage | founded by the Council of Eleven; in truth an enormous flying ship |
| Traditional sect | the Seven Great Sword Schools, the Six Great Traditional Schools | the great orthodox houses of the central plains |
| Martial house | the Ying clan and others | a house built on mechanical arts |
| the Wulin gang | the Young Masters’ Gang and others | local muscle |
| State power | the imperial court | the authority that stands outside the Wulin |
The Order
The most secretive and the strongest assassins’ order in the Wulin, founded by Mu Tianmiao. Its members are ranked into Living Envoys and Nether Envoys, it lives on contract killing, and its reach runs across the Phantom World.
- Founder: Mu Tianmiao (the Nether Lord)
- Core members: Soul (Black Wound), Zuo Shang (Zi Ming), Mu Xiaokui, An Chan, Inanis, Xiao Si
- Key strongholds: Moon Bastion, Sword Pavilion
The Bastion of Mó
Once the first demon cult under heaven, based in the north. Its lord was Mo Tian; his elder son was Mo Jian, his younger son Soul. When the Bastion fell, Soul was carried off and raised by strangers, and in time became a Nether Envoy of The Order.
Mirage
A secret society that hides in the fog of the Southern Wulin, founded by the Council of Eleven. Mirage is in fact an enormous flying ship: it uses the fog as cover and stirs up chaos across the Southern Wulin.
- Founder: the Council of Eleven (those who vanished in the Tianling Massacre)
- The hand behind it: Xuanyu, the hand behind the Mirage
- Key footholds: Luoye Market, Luocheng, Mirage Tower
- Status: broken by The Order
Traditional sects
The great orthodox houses of the central plains, among them the Seven Great Sword Schools and the Six Great Traditional Schools. Sword Pavilion and Moon Bastion stand for them, and they are the core of the Wulin’s orthodox side.
- Leading houses: Sword Pavilion, Moon Bastion
- Character: orthodox, and proud of it
- Position: keep the Wulin’s order
How the factions relate
| Faction A | Faction B | Relationship |
|---|---|---|
| The Order | the Bastion of Mó | hostile — The Order helped bring the Bastion down |
| The Order | Mirage | hostile — the Battle of Mirage |
| The Order | the traditional sects | mixed — they work together and they clash |
| the Bastion of Mó | the traditional sects | hostile — orthodox against unorthodox |
| Mirage | the Council of Eleven | subordinate — Mirage was founded by the Council |