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History of Rifts® China
With the coming of the rifts, the magic rich lands of China have been greatly changed. The once majestic kingdoms of Asia have been torn asunder during the great wars and cataclysms that led to the end of the pre-Rifts® era. The great temples and landmarks far from the more civilized areas were mostly ravaged by war, time, and plundering. The rest were ripped apart as the ley lines tore through their magic rich lands and forming many Rifts® throughout the motherlands.

Shortly afterwards, the demons and monsters from ancient Chinese lore and mythology, long thought to be just "stories and legends" centuries earlier, emerged to reclaim their kingdoms, and to bring to life the many "stories and legends" that have lived for the centuries before. Great magic and power arose from the earth and gave the monsters what they needed to replenish their lost strength, and allowing them to easily retake what man had taken away.

In pre-Rifts® times, many scholars and monks saw the inevitable coming of the Rifts® and tried to prepare, and teach the younger generations about the wisdom of their ancestors, about the legends of the Shaolin Monks, General Kwan Kung, and Buddah, but the younger generations forsake their great knowledge, so they recorded as much knowledge as they could in their books and scrolls, and some even used technology to forever keep the wisdom of the elders around to hopefully save mankind from the ravages of the devils that would bring darkness and evil to their world.

After the Rifts® and ley lines destroyed their sacred landmarks and temples future scholars and monks searched the magic rich lands that the temples were built upon for any traces of their history, and knowledge. The lands were very dangerous because of all of the supernatural predators and demons that ruled the territories, so many died in search of the legendary "wisdom". The peaceful monks and scholars didn't have the power and strength to defeat even the weakest of the monsters, and were lost or killed in the search. Many sought the strength of warriors and other mercenaries, but the warriors weren't interested in giving their lives in search of a legend. They felt that the scholars should be devoting their strength to discovering new ways to survive and flourish while they protected them, and the monks should be spreading their beliefs to give courage and hope to the future warriors. It seemed that the survival of the fittest was the only way to live in their lands.

Many years passed and a great "scholar warrior" was brought up to lead. His name was Sun Lau Fei. He believed that the wisdom of the ancients did exist since they did find some of the scrolls, and history many years before. The knowledge was incomplete, giving only parts of the beliefs of great pre-Rifts® minds like, Buddah, Lao Tzu, and Sun Tzu. Sun Lau Fei was a great warrior and military powerhouse. His ability to fight and lead inspired the warriors, his knowledge inspired the scholars, and his devotion and beliefs inspired the monks. He began organizing the search to find the ancient knowledge, and wisdom that would free them. Many groups heard about the great man that would lead them to freedom, an man that would teach them to fight the devils, and a man that would protect mankind from the demons that plagued their lands. His knowledge of the lands and ability to plan great military campaigns gave them an edge over the selfish and evil demons, and the monsters that preyed on humans.

He formed an army of great warriors, and mages, along with the monks that would teach and encourage them to keep fighting and searching. As the years passed, Sun's armies destroyed many demons, and uncovered more of the knowledge, and with each discovery, the armies morale grew with the hope that there was more our there. It wasn't until a war against an evil Chiang Ku dragon and his brain washed minions that their greatest discovery was made. The war lasted many months and cost thousands of lives fighting his armies of monsters and supernaturally bestowed minions, but finally a great warrior led Sun's armies though the hordes of monsters and supernatural solders. The warrior, Kwan Fei, wielded a Rune weapon (A Kwan Dao) that was fabled to be the famous weapon of his ancestor Kwan Kung. Though the tale is false, the weapon nonetheless gave Kwan Kai the power to defeat the dragon.

Within the dragon's lair Sun's army found what they had been searching for all the years past. Sun honored the warrior by making him his second in command. Kwan Kai was known throughout the lands as the man who's skill and bravery reclaimed the "wisdom". The Chiang Ku dragon had discovered a vast collection of knowledge from pre-Rifts® China. The scrolls and records were in poor shape and were difficult, but not impossible to read. He had his minions rewrite the scrolls and recorded the knowledge of the ancients, so that he may someday use the wisdom to take control of the people of China who have been looking for a savior. Sun brought the treasure back to his people and the monks and scholars began reading and translating the lost secrets.

Within the writings they found stories of great warrior monks who protected the weak, and taught their beliefs to those who sought the knowledge of Buddah. The records showed the secret fighting techniques of the legendary Shaolin Temples, and the monks that trained within the temples. Also there were writings of the great mind Lao Tzu who's Tao Te Ching showed the ways of Taoism and accepting the natural flow of life. The knowledge of another was discovered. Sun Tzu's "The Art of War" was brought to Sun Lau Fei as a gift to further enhance his abilities to lead the people. Many more secrets were discovered, like the knowledge of great healers, fighters and wandering monks. Ta Mo's Muscle and Tendon Changing classics, taught to the monks of Shaolin were now practiced by all of the Sun army warriors. The knowledge of the legendary fighter, Chang San Feng, further enhanced the fighting skills and his style Tai Chi Ch'uan was then taught to the elite soldiers. more of the internal styles were discovered and taught to various warriors, like Pa Kua (8 diagram boxing), and Hsing I (Heart and Mind boxing) which greatly advanced the skills and abilities of the army. Knowledge of healing and self healing exercises called Chi Gung were discovered and practiced by all of the people within the Sun empire. healing skills like Tui Na (bone setting), accupressure, acupuncture, and Energetic Healing (use of Chi to heal) were taught to the monks and healers.

Years passed and Sun Lau Fei's kingdom grew and the continued to prosper and teach the knowledge of the ancients. Many of the people practiced Lao Tzu's beliefs, but the majority practiced the teachings of Buddah. Sun encouraged free thought and choice of beliefs as long as the peaceful nature of their beliefs remained. the armies were great fighters that used their skills and technology to defeat the demons and monsters that regularly tried to destroy the kingdom. The scholars and technicians worked for years constantly upgrading their weapons and trying to find new ways to utilize the knowledge of pre-Rifts® China. The practice of chi gung awakened many of the latent Mages and Psychics, and brought forth the use of the ancestor's "chi magic".

Although the Sun Empire learned and grew because of the "knowledge", they still accepted all travelers from different lands and tried to learn as much about their technology, and stories of the "outside world". Many Techno Wizards, Operators, Rogue Scholars, and Cyber knights visited Sun's Empire, and shared their knowledge of TW devices, technology, knowledge of the many different lands and armies, and the belief system and training of the Cyberknights.

Just before Sun Lau Fei died, his scholars and technicians finally obtained the ability to build power armor, enabling them to enhance the mobility and combat effectiveness of their soldiers. The technology finally allowed them to fight supernatural threats more effectively with much lower casualties, or manpower. The elite solders found that the power armor enabled them to utilize their martial arts training on the field against the supernatural foes, rather than relying so much on energy weapons. The technicians further developed the agility of the power armor, giving it a minor propulsion system that enhanced the leaping abilities of the power armor, allowing the unit to move in small bursts (about 1 - 2 meters). The soldiers dubbed it "Burst Mobility."

Sun died at the age of 108 years old, and his "Dynasty" was passed to his eldest son, Sun Kar Yuen. He was taught by his father how to treat the people and lead them, not by force, but by example. Kwan Kai stepped down shortly after Sun Lau Fei's death, and his son, Kwan Hsu was then brought in as the second in command. The Sun Dynasty was seen as China's new empire and many people traveled across the lands to live within it's walls, and learn the wisdom of the ancients.

Word of the great Sun Dynasty spread across the oceans and soon the Coalition got word of a great army that had great warriors, and scholars leading, plus a vast army of powerful mages and psychics. Emperor Prosek has since been sending scouts and spies to China to learn about the Sun Dynasty, and to hopefully find a way to keep them from becoming a major threat like the Federation of Magic. Their ideas of Chi, Magic, and beliefs of the ancient wisdom has gained the attention of the Coalition army, and someday there will be a confrontation, Prosek just hopes that his empire will spread to them and crush the Sun Dynasty before their power grows too great. He his not too worried about their technological capabilities, because they are still far behind the CS and Triax, but they are receiving help to advance their technology from various sources, which may be a future problem.

The Sun Dynasty has many practitioners of Magic, Healers, Psychics, Warriors, Scholars, and Monks that have left the Sun Kingdom to travel the world to hopefully repeat what the great scholar warrior, Sun Lau Fei, did with the Sun Dynasty. Many have traveled across the lands into Russia, Germany, Japan, and across the oceans to America, Mexico, and England, to teach Buddhism, and Taoism along with the "wisdom" of the ancients. There was a new Shaolin Temple built further north of the Sun Kingdom and within it's walls the monks practice and teach Buddhism, along with the fighting secrets of Shaolin, mixed with the training of the Cyberknights, creating of new type of "warrior monk".