Warlord of Mikaboshi, Master of the Hollow City wu

In the mid-18th century, the first ship of Chinese immigrants set sail to San Francisco, leaving behind a China torn by Opium Wars and conflict with European colonialists searching a new and better place to live. Those immigrants did not leave behind the spirit world of the Middle Kingdom, however, and they struggled with hunger, thirst and disease to reach their new golden land. Chan Te was among those who succumbed to illness on the trip across the Pacific. He was nobody, a peasant and smuggler with dreams and hopes of something better. Before he even began, however, his life was cut short and his soul sent screaming into Yomi. What had he done to deserve such a fate? How could Heaven be so cruel and unjust? Chan Te was not afraid to question, but for the first time ever he questioned the very meaning of creation. He would not meekly submit to his fate. He gave his Demon free rein and escaped his imprisonment, fighting his way from Yomi Wan and returning to the flesh that failed him. When the ship reached California, the men aboard told stories of a flesh-eating ghost stalking the decks, but people dismissed them as tall tales. Chan Te vanished among the immigrants, promising his existence in this new land would be different. His old life was truly over. The sudden and rapid growth of San Francisco caught the eye of Mikaboshi, Yama King of the Wicked City. Never before had a city surged so quickly, the people swarming across the land like maggots over a piece of rotten meat. Mikaboshi tasted the area’s rich Chi and knew that here was something of interest to him. He also discovered one of the Wan Kuei in this newborn monstrosity of a city, one who only recently took the Second Breath and remained untouched by the Middle Kingdom’s guidance. Mikaboshi moved to make this new vampire his own. It was not difficult. Chan Te was alone and knew nothing of his true nature save for folk tales he learned at his grandfather’s knee. When the stranger with the metal hands approached and offered to teach him about himself, Te agreed. So began the lessons that made Chan Te an instrument of the Yama King. The agreement was mutual. Chan Te wanted power and Mikaboshi offered it in exchange for favors to be negotiated later. Chan Te gave little thought to events that would arrive more than a century later. Te learned his lessons well, becoming a true master of the Demon Arts and a useful servant of the Lord of the Wicked City. Under Mikaboshi’s guidance, Chan Te helped keep the Kindred out of Chinatown since its establishment. He helped thin the ranks of chih-mei when they appeared among the populace, sometimes choosing one as a disciple and creating his own Corpse Family under the guidance of his master. The Hollow City wu has been the secret rot eating at San Francisco’s soul since its earliest days. They have been present while the city struggled through growth, earthquake, fire, rebuilding and more, patiently watching and waiting. Chan Te anticipates the day when the Wicked City manifests itself in San Francisco’ s fogshrouded streets. Then he will hunt Kuei-jin and Kindred alike, and Mikaboshi will raise him up as the ruler of a piece of Hell on Earth. CHAPTER FIVE: HONORED SHEN 99

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