Five powers share the Murim, one per land.

In the centre, on the sacred mountains, sits the Orthodox Alliance. It calls itself the guardian of the Murim. In the west, behind the Jade Gate, the Heavenly Demon Cult has never forgotten its defeat. Between the two the truce is dead: blood flows again on the loess roads.

In the north, in the Tianshan snows, lived the Northern Dark Palace. Three hundred years ago, its master struck the decisive blow against the first Heavenly Demon. Twenty years ago the Alliance, fearing a strength it did not control, accused it of practising the blood arts. It marched north with its sects, and the Palace burned in a single night. Its survivors hide in the Kunlun ice. They hate the Alliance that betrayed them as much as the Cult they fought.

In the south, the Four Great Families keep their ancient lands under the camphors. They are the oldest blood of the Murim. They are the pillars of the Alliance and give it its best warriors… and each of them dreams of taking its lead.

In the east, the Thousand Canals Pavilion rules the waters of the Jiangnan. It never draws a sword: it sells rice, remedies and secrets to anyone who pays. They whisper that the Cult's gold flows through its canals.

So the Murim has two armies at war, an alliance cracking from within, a merchant who serves everyone and ghosts of the north waiting for their hour.

Who stands where

For the beta, only the Alliance and the Cult get a playable capital. The three others live in the story and will take shape later.