long guo [Lore] Fenghuang Valley

[Bellosh]

Fenghuang Valley - A Sanctuary of Enlightenment

 

Deep in the foothills of Long Guo, accessible only by a windy and unkempt road through untamed wilderness, is the fabled Valley of the Fenghuang. Relatively distant from Long Guo’s major cities, Fenghuang Valley is the perfect spot to wash away the troubles of the material world and bask in the glory of Nature. As such, the area is a favored spiritual retreat for followers of the Harmonious Path. In an age where an ever-increasing amount of temptations make undertaking the Path more difficult, this valley has become a popular locale for masters to teach their pupils how to take their first steps into a more mystical world.

 

Fenghuang Valley is the perfect example of natural harmony; a paradise of lush forests, tranquil pools covered in lotus blossoms, and vibrant waterfall-fueled streams. Isolation is readily available in offshoot ravines and the numerous caves burrowing into the surrounding hills. Of course, the most celebrated geographic features of Fenghuang Valley are the enormous sandstone pillars which jut out from valley floor. Trees grow on the top of the pillars, and these trees shelter the nests of the valley’s namesake birds; phoenix-like fenghuang possessing rainbow-colored plumage. Like the phoenixes of Equestria, fenghuang live an incredibly long time, are extremely rare, and are highly regarded as a symbol of harmony.

 

When early followers of the Harmonious Path discovered the beautiful fenghuang living in the valley, they knew instantly that they had stumbled upon a most sacred place. On the highest hilltop overlooking the entire area (and with a glorious vista of the Ancients’ Abode), the first masters carved out the complex known today as Fenghuang Monastery. There are many established, diverse ways to follow the Harmonious Path; the Fenghuang Monks embrace an ascetic tradition, regarding worldly pleasures as distractions from achieving understanding of the natural world. By choice, their possessions (if any) are meager, and the Monks rely on donated food from nearby villages for subsistence.

 

Most initiates into the Path don’t intend to abstain from material comforts their entire lives, yet the spiritual reputation of Fenghuang Monastery is such that learners from all corners of Long Guo are eager to learn the Path’s tenants under the Monks’ strict tutelage. Most students come to Fenghuang Monastery as fillies and colts, sometime after earning their cutie marks. To reinforce the teachings of the Harmonious Path, apprentices are encouraged to learn a wide variety of subjects; from scholarly arts and philosophy, to advanced dragonbreathing, alchemy, and martial arts. If an apprentice makes it to adulthood without straying from their studying, and they pass the trials set by their masters, the Fenghuang Monks confer upon them the rank of Anointed Follower. No longer apprentices, Anointed Followers are empowered to venture forth... and bring balance to the world. 

~Journey to the Dragon Kingdom

Dr. Tong Zei & Ash Ravencrest