Q'in Sanizaj

After the Primordial war, Wyr'palja retreated to the far east and built a city with sorcery called Q'in Sanizaj. Even for the First Age, Q'in Sanizaj was a wonder, the pinnacle of First Age technology and architecture mixed with the natural wonder of the eastern forests and the vegetative and crystal technology of the dragon kings. Refugees from the ruins of the Primordial War, both human and dragon king, formed the founding population of the new city after following Wyr'palja there on a long pilgrimage. Many followed her out of a sense of desperation, but when she actually did deliver them to paradise, they loved, idolized and even worshiped her.

Wyr'palja participated only marginally in the Solar Deliberative, and as the First Age continued and the Great Curse began to take hold, soon ignored them completely, running her city and her subjects according to her whim. She began to shape more and more of the city's society, inventing her own language and banned use of any other first in her palace manse, then through the city itself. Even as her demands became progressively more bizarre, the force of her personality was such that the vast majority of the population continued to adore her. Her court, however, was another matter. Most of the terrestrials who had sworn allegiance to her knew her and her moods better than the general population and were coming to the conclusion that she was losing her mind. They began to organize, but could do little. When she turned an entire neighborhood into glass, inhabitants and all, however, the terrestrials managed to convince her lunar lover, Iron Monsoon, that she needed to be brought down. In the early morning, while the terrestrials eliminated the automatons and Dragon Blooded who remained her loyal bodyguard, Monsoon killed Wyr'palja in her sleep. This act broke his will entirely, and by the time his co-conspirators reached him, he had taken his own life.

Knowing the high regard the population had for Wyr'palja, the surviving terrestrial conspirators kept silent on their participation, putting the blame entirely on Iron Monsoon. They even sent out parties to search for Wyr'palja's next incarnation. Wyr'palja was given a lavish burial and, while they claimed to have scattered pieces of Iron Monsoon's body to the four poles of Creation, in actuality the terrestrials secretly buried Monsoon with his beloved. Content that they had acted in the only justifiable way, the terrestrial conspirators were unprepared for what came after. At the exact instant the official period of mourning expired, a highly coordinated revolt of dragon kings, god-blooded, spirits and average mortals managed to destroy every dragon-blooded in the city in one night.

The leader of the revolt named a high-ranking, competent bureaucrat to run the city as Regent until Wyr'palja's incarnation returned, or the Solar Deliberative came calling. Neither of these came to pass, as the Usurpation erupted several months later.

Q'in Sanizaj went nearly unnoticed by the resulting Shogunate, who were content to manage matters closer to home. Run by a stable and solid line of Regents, the city survived in mortal control, but the city's incredible technology gradually wore down and could not be repaired. By the time the Great Contagion swept the city, Q'in stood impressively, but just a shadow of its former glory.

The Fair Folk swept over Q'in Sanizaj like a tidal wave, bringing the chaos of the Wyld crashing down around the city in their wake. The dragon kings, gods and mortals of the city, who had so ably put down the terrestrials, could offer almost no resistance to the twin assault of disease and raksha. Within days, the city became filled with ghosts, walking husks and mutation. The opportunistic among the Fair Folk horde settled into the city, turning its manses into freeholds and shaping it to their liking. All that remained unscathed was Wyr'palja's mausoleum, protected by some kind of reality engine that kept the forces of the Wyld at bay. Seeing this example, the desperate primary spirit of Q'in Sanizaj attempted to pull the ghosts, bodies and memories of the remaining residents into itself. The spirit hoped that imprinting both itself and the essence of the city's citizens into the actual terrain of the city would form form a stable island of reality that would push the raksha away in the same way.

This ambitious, last-gasp ploy failed. Instead, the spirit, the citizens, the city and even some of its raksha conquerers merged with the ambient Wyld energy to form an unshaped colossus. Only semi-aware of itself, the city animated itself and began to wander the Wyld. Ironically, its first action was to eject Wyr'palja's mausoleum, the harsh reality surrounding it now painful to unshaped entity. As it shambled into the deeper wyld, it mutated even further, occasionally devouring those raksha foolish enough to try to shape it.

Over the centuries, the stray memories of the inhabitants and the intent of the spirit began to coalesce into more intelligent guiding forces. Still confused and forgetting almost everything about its past, the entity now known as Kinaniz roams with more purpose.

Citizens

• Wyr'palja - Founder and creator of the city
• Iron Monsoon - Wyr'palja's mate and, ultimately, assassin
• The Sunset Exigence - a sworn brotherhood of terrestrial exalts who organized the assassination of Wyr'pala to protect the city from her excesses. These ten (a male and female of each aspect) ruled the city during the official year of mourning for Wyr'pala, after which they were overthrown. They are:
  • Erormbur Loretan - Female air aspect
  • Dimkel Ustina - Male air aspect
  • Chedeny Polynys - Female earth aspect
  • Uiry Hintan - Male earth aspect
  • Belissul Creeng - Female fire aspect
  • Enthusk Kelhon - Male fire aspect
  • Yerquae Adi - Female water aspect
  • Tanusk Ildaver - Male water aspect
  • Nyild Turran - Female wood aspect
  • Rynn Nal'skelo - Male wood aspect