Cathay (Warhammer Fantasy)
Cathay is a country that features in Warhammer Fantasy.
Contents |
History
Cathay
The history of Grand Cathay was said to be longer than even the arrival of Chaos to the world. It was said to had originated more than 5,000 years ago when the Celestial Dragon Emperor ruled the land before the coming of the Old Ones. He came to learn to take human form where he came to gather the tribes of man located there and served as the ruler. When Chaos began to sweep the world, he defended his burgeoning empire and constructed barriers to hold back the Chaos invaders. Thousands of years ago, the Great Bastion was constructed in the North of Grand Cathay where it was imbued with magic by the Celestial Dragon Emperor. This massive wall stood as a bulwark against the attacks from the forces of the Warriors of Chaos.
Millennia ago, it was said that Grand Cathay’s astromasters were responsible for calling down the comet that struck the land that became known as the Great Maw.
Merchants from the old world occasionally travelled to Cathay upon the Silk Road which was a perilous journey due to the hordes of the Hobgobla-Khan who roamed the steppes along the Ivory Road west of Cathay. The Skaven Clan Eshin spent many years in Cathay and Nippon. A Cathayan expedition to the Southlands was decimated by two hurricanes sent by the Slann, conjured on the strength of an ancient prophecy
Overview
It was known as the Kingdom of the Dragon and as the Empire of the Celestial Dragon which was described as an enormous empire with it being ruled over by a divine Emperor. Grand Cathay was a massive and incredibly powerful empire located in the east, beyond the Dark Lands, across the Mountains of Mourn and past the Great Maw.
Locations in Cathay included:
- Great Bastion : a massive wall constructed thousands of years ago by the Dragon Emperor's magic where it stood to oppose the attacks from Chaos.
- Nan-Gau : a fortress city sad to had been never conquered or sacked despite the many wars that have met its borders.
- Shang-Yang : a westernmost fortress town located on the Silk Road.
Cathay was said to be a sprawling empire as diverse and eclectic as the Empire of the Old World. In size, its landmass was larger than the Empire, Bretonnia, and many other nations combined.
Vast cities pockmark the landscape, with huge populations watched over by the ruling Dragons. Their power allowed them to change from human to dragonic form at will where they could adopt the latter to lay waste on the battlefield.. Harmony of the Cathayan way of life is ever-present, their forces acting in concert to lay waste to enemies with devastating precision and calm. The Dragons served as teachers and wardens for their people rather than as tyrants or aloof aristocrats. They saw little point in creating an imbalance between the mortals and themselves whe facing the every-present threat of Chaos that would destroy them all. Despite their power, the Dragons were not treated as gods nor did they demand worship of their people. Instead, these immensely powerful beings ruled by magical and physical right rather than any claims of divinity. The iconography of the Dragons was every present across Cathay due to them being every present and being powerful rulers. It was this reason that they were treated with reverence by the people with those not being native to Cathay being quickly killed if they spoke ill of the Dragons.
Harmony was the driving force behind Cathayan society with this stemming from the teachings of the Dragon Emperor. According to this, all must work in concert with themselves and the land for the betterment of all in order to find their natural place in the world. The concept of balance drove everything from the magical lores of Yin and Yang to the way the Dragon's governed the people of their empire. Though opposed to Chaos, a cult to Tzeentch operated in the empire where the Chaos God was known as Chi’an Chi where his followers had managed to significantly infiltrate Grand Cathay where these cults were a common cause of disruption and rebellion within.
The ancient nature of the Dragons meant that over the years they came to have many of their own progeny that existed within Grand Cathay. These Dragon-Blooded often rose to positions of power due to both their heritage and the power from being part of the family. They were skilled combatants, natural sorcerers and talented leaders though this brought about a sense of jealousy and resentment from some high-ranking mortal Cathayans with this especially being the case if the Dragon-Blooded allowed their powers to develop into arrogance.
Ogres hailed from the Mountains of Mourn to the north-west of Cathay who posed a danger to merchants and travellers though some go to Cathay to find employment as mercenaries.
The sages of Cathay spoke of creatures known as the Ki-rin that were born from a union of Air and Earth when the world was young. These single horned horse-like creatures rode among lightning, storms and thunder with them being of unnatural magical composition yet manifested as physical creatures of flesh and blood. (Warhammer Armies, 3rd Edition)
Their temples were known to have Temple Dogs beside them which were inanimate stone statues. In times of war, they were capable of being animated and sent into battle with some being ridden leading to the riders deemed favoured by the gods. (Warhammer Armies, 3rd Edition)
The armies of Cathay included:
- Dragon-Blooded Shugengan Lords :
- Lord Magistrates :
- Alchemists :
- Astromancers :
- Celestial Dragon Guard :
- Jade Warriors : Grand Cathay's line troops named for the Celestial Dragon Emperor's sacred stone that needed to hold the line and cut down enemies who thought them weak. They were a well-trained ad equipped standing army capable of fighting off Ogres, rebels, Chaos and anything else attacking their kingdom. Each city maintained their own regiment of Jade Warriors with few making their home outside the metropolises that dotted Cathay. They could be armed in a number of different ways which led to them being collectively known as the Warriors of Jade & Steel.
- Peasants :
Inhabitants
- Celestial Dragon Emperor :
- Moon Empress :
- Emperor Wu :
- Miao Ying : the Storm Dragon was the female daughter of the Emperor where she protected defended the northern lands from the Great Bastion with her armies preventing invaders from entering into Cathay.
- Zhao Ming : the Iron Dragon was a male son of the Emperor where he protected the Western frontier of Grand Cathay where he was based in the fortress city of Nan-Gau.
- Dien Ch’ing :
Notes
- Cathay featured in the setting of Warhammer Fantasy.
- It was named after northern China that was given this name in the 14th century by Marco Polo.
- Grand Cathay's lore and background was largely provided by the developers of Total Warhammer and Games Workshop following the release of Total Warhammer III.
In other media
Video games
- In Total War: Warhammer, Cathay was referenced in the setting of the turn-based strategy video game. The Norsca faction could equip Cathay Slave Dancer followers to characters that provided a boost to public order. It was also mentioned that spices from Cathay had great value as a resource. The Empire's mercantile fleet was also said to travel far and wide with Cathay being among their destinations.
Appearances
- Warhammer Fantasy:
- Warhammer Armies, 3rd Edition: (1991)
External Links
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