Broken-Winged Crane

Quick Primer on Demons

The makers of Creation and the gods are called Primordials. The gods rebelled against the Primordials, with the help of the exalted. Some of the Primordials died, their bodies defining the Underworld. These Primordials are called The Neverborn. Other Primordials surrendered. These were forced to swear oaths imprisoning themselves within the body of one of their own (Malfeas) and are called Yozis.

A Primordial is best thought of as more of a region than a creature. The bodies of the Yozis, for example, take the form of hellish landscapes. Surviving records speak of at least 23 known Yozis, including:

Malfeas, the Demon City
Cecelyne, the Endless Desert
She Who Lives in Her Name
Adorjan, the Silent Wind
The Ebon Dragon
Kimbery, the Sea That Marched Against the Flame
Isidoros, the Black Boar That Twists the Skies
Oramus, the Dragon Beyond the World
Cytherea, the Mother of Creation

Each Primodial is comprised of a variable number of "souls". These souls embody one aspect of the Primordial's personality, and usually manifest as creatures of immense power. To kill a Primordial, all of its souls must be destroyed. As part of their surrender, the Yozis were forced to agree to serve their conquerers. Very powerful magic (solar circle sorcery) can summon a soul of a Yozi and bind it to service. These souls are called third circle demons and are extremely powerful. These creatures are dependent upon their lords, but are not puppets. One of these souls is more important than the others, defining the heart of the Yozi's being. This soul is called the Yozi's fetich.

Like their superiors, third circle demons also have multiple souls. Usually, they have seven, defining their ability to protect, gratify, define, communicate, express, reflect and understand her own essential nature. Each one of these souls also manifests as a separate entity, referred to as second circle demons. Such creatures can be summoned and bound by celestial circle sorcery.

Second circle demons can, and usually do, spawn whole races of even lesser demons. This is done through gestation, laying eggs, budding, even carving from stone, wood or severed organs. It is a mechanical/biological process, however, not spiritual. These lesser minions are known as first circle demons and can be summoned and bound by terrestrial circle sorcery.

As an example, the 18th soul of the Yozi Adorjan is the third circle demon Jacint, the Prince Upon the Tower. The wisdom soul of this demon is the second circle demon Gumela, the Jeweled Auditor (he's the one you fought on the bridge). Gumela has spawned at least two species of first circle demon: Amphelisia (lizard-like creatures that can summon poisonous vermin) and Hopping Puppeteers (weird collections of legs).

Learning from the Broken-Winged Crane

So, given all of the above, and the rumor that the Broken-Winged Crane is actually the a demon in the shape of a book, it may be possible to figure out who this demon's higher souls are, and ultimately the Yozi that spawned it. If this is the same book that corrupted the Empress, this could be a big clue as to where she might be now. It's also possible the book might have some kind of connection back to its creator.

How you would actually find this out, however, is a bit obscure. Stag knows he has at least the following options:

There is a very slight chance that Efficient Secretary Technique might be able to find out.
The charm Embracing Life Method (see "The Way of Knowing" on that improvement sheet I gave you) could probably answer answer this (and maybe a bunch of other questions). The training time is substantial, however.
It may be that more information could be found in the location where the book was found by the mortal archeologist.
You know that the Dragon-blooded you fought were after the book for some reason. Chances are they might know more than you.
You could take the book into heaven and request help from other sidereals. The drawback is that you'd most likely face severe sanctions for your activities as Flowing Pen and subsequent disappearance. It's also hard to know if you'd be believed. Lastly, you know that at least one sidereal (your old sifu) seemed to be involved with the Empress' corruption.
You could try possessing the book. It is difficult to know what this might do to you.
You could read the book. This would almost certainly subject you to the same fate as the Empress, but at least you'd know what happened to her.
You could simply try holding onto the book for later study. To do this, you'd need to convince the group not to give the book to Grandmother Bright, or convince her to give you back the book once she has it.