Celestial Empire of Cathay

Cathay controls the eastern end of the Tradeway. Its ironclads made the empire untouchable—until the crew helped the western coalition capture one.

From the setting document

This page presents established setting lore. Chapter links show where the crew encountered, challenged, or changed it.

Long hidden in seclusion behind the Countergale, these scions of the Dragon consider themselves the only truly civilized people in the known world. Nevertheless, they were quick to mobilize when Westerners first began to show up on their coasts. Unwilling to deal with barbarians on their own shores, they pushed back across the Countergale in order to establish their own colonies dotted along the eastern Moaan islands.

Chief exports: tea, silk, porcelain

Navy

The stereotypical form of sailing vessel in the East are junk-rigged ships, collectively called junks by the West. These ships are able to sail out of the Countergale well enough, but have no ability to go against the wind. For this reason, throughout history there have been sporadic instances of junks stranded in Moa Toa, these being how the world learned about and came to characterize Cathay.

Junk-rigged eastern carrack

It was, therefore, to everyone’s great shock that when the first explorers managed to steer their way to the Celestial Empire, Cathay rapidly pushed back. They did so with their broadside ironclads, ships whose size easily surpassed anything the West had to offer, and were in any case seemingly impervious to western firepower. The threat of these is what ensures international trade is constrained to Moa Toa.

When it comes to day to day operations in the isles, Cathayans still mostly rely on junk-rigged cogs and carracks. Many of these are now constructed on-site in the shipyards of Yang Fu and Yin Tai. No one is quite sure where the ironclads come from, or how many the empire is able to muster. Their seemingly sporadic use may hint at some unknown limitation, but it is just as likely the inscrutable Dragon hides other secrets in reserve against the uncivilized West.

Imperial broadside ironclad with dragon-faced ram

In the chronicle

• Day 33 — A man with a plan and a modelThe crew founds the Fires of Moa, recruits its first followers, and budgets an audacious ironclad heist.
• Day 32 — Clam ChowderA message hidden beneath a bread bowl reunites the crew with the Lively Lady before Kahu receives a vision wrapped in flame.
• Day 31 — Liar’s diceLiar’s dice, a revolutionary cave, and the theft of an everlasting fire from Pirate’s Cove.
• Day 30 — DunmeshiThe crew stalks and kidnaps the Mink, uncovering the revolutionary network behind Pirate’s Cove.
• Day 27 — Time to poke the Master BaitersAfter helping capture the ironclad, the crew studies its fire-driven engine and dines with Saint Sebastian.
• Day 26 — My sailorThe Lively Lady serves as bait in a multinational trap for a Cathayan ironclad—and ends up inside the assault.

Show 6 earlier chapters

• Day 25 — The calm after the stormThe rescued migrants return to their fleet, where a celebration becomes the prelude to an international naval operation.
• Day 23 — Trade negotiationsWeapons negotiations with the Ranti expose missing captives and lead the crew into a harpy-haunted swamp.
• Day 21 — MementoThe crew reunites Kahu with the Migrant Fleet, confronts a Cathayan inspection, and learns of the Ranti slave trade.
• Day 20 — This girl is on fireA burning amnesiac awakens as Kahu while Carolingia prepares to send three Living Saints into the Isles.
• Day 16 — Not a haikuTrade, politics, and the consequences of imperial entanglement give way to the villages’ sacred Culling.
• Day 12 — Day at the zooAlbion’s opera-house envoy introduces the crew to Living Saint Sebastian and his hunt for Don Gregorio.