Celestial Empire

The Celestial Empire, also known as the Celestial Bureaucracy and the Celestial Heaven, was the dominant faith of the continent of Kara-Tur, especially the empire of Shou Lung.

The Spirit World
The Celestial Empire stood within the Spirit World, a plane that lay coexistent and coterminous with the land of Kara-Tur. Every deity who was a part of the Celestial Bureaucracy had a small realm attached to the Spirit World. The whole realm was known as the Celestial Heaven.

Sphere of Influence
The Celestial Bureaucracy held dominion over the continent of Kara-Tur, from the empires of Shou Lung and T'u Lung in the interior; to the Ama Basin in the north; Koryo, Kozakura, and Wa in the east; Tabot in the west; and Malatra and Petan and the islands of Bawa and Bertan in the south. Its sphere of godly influence abutted the Faerûnian pantheon and the Mulhorandi pantheon at the Hordelands and the Utter East, and the Zakharan pantheon in its far southwestern corner in the Sempadan Forest. From the celestial perspective, the whole land was known as the Red Earth.

Organization
It was ruled by the Celestial Emperor, who was served by the Nine Immortals:
 * Ai Ch'hing: Goddess of love, marriage
 * Chan Cheng: God of war, the martial arts, combat, bravery
 * Shi Chia: God of artificers, the arts
 * Nung Chiang: God of agriculture, fertility
 * Ch'en Hsiang: God of poetry, music, literature
 * Fa Kuan: God of justice
 * Chih Shih: God of history, lore, tradition
 * Kwan Ying: Goddess of compassion, mercy, joy
 * Hsing Yong: God of fortune, prosperity

Lesser Immortals
The Lesser Immortals were servants and aides to the Nine Immortals. They were drawn from the spirits of deceased sages, those who had in life been especially holy. The Celestial Emperor bestowed on them immortality and limited godly powers. Under the direction of one of the Nine Immortals, they also had certain tasks to carry out, whether in the Celestial Heaven or on the Red Earth of Kara-Tur. There were six main groups of Lesser Immortals.

The Moon Women had the great responsibility of maintaining Heaven itself. They refilled the oil lamps in the Sun, polished the crystal orbs of the stars, and steered the motions of the Moon and the constellations. Since these governed the calendar, Moon Women were patron saints of festivals, portents, auspicious moments, and other matters of time.

Serving Chan Cheng, the Spirit Warriors had the duties of creating courage and resolve in those who wavered, and leading armies of phantoms, the manifestation of which could swing a battle. Spirit Warriors also helped those who'd fallen in battle for a good cause, escorted the spirits of heroes for judgement by the Lords of Karma, and guarded the gates of the Underworld against trespassers.

Serving Shu Chia, the Jade Ladies created copper, gold, jade, silver, and other riches, and hid them in the earth for mortals to discover.

Serving Nung Chiang, the Rice Spirits governed the harvest and fertility, causing rice to grow, animals to have their young, and women to bear babies, and decided if a family should have children.

Serving Kwan Ying, the Ladies of Compassion roamed both Heaven and the Red Earth to find pain and suffering and either alleviated it themselves or had the goddess do so.

Serving Fa Kuan, the Lords of Karma acted as defense or prosecution for the souls of the deceased before the Lawgiver, or sat as judges themselves. Together, they decided whether a worthy soul, one who'd lived a life of goodness and merit, should be raised to Heaven to be among the Ancestors, to be considered a Sage, or even to serve among the Lesser Immortals themselves. Those they found unworthy were condemned to remain as spirits, imprisoned in the Underworld in the day, and wandering the Red Earth at nights.

Ancestors
The Ancestors were the spirits of the worthy deceased who had been granted entry to Heaven. There, they always had delicious food and fine clothing, and enjoyed eternal lives without pain, weakness, or suffering. They had the responsibility of giving advice to their still-living descendants. Each had a secret name they told only to their most trusted child, which they could use to summon their parent to seek their wisdom.

Sages
A Sage (or "Budda", as they were known in Tabot) was a spirit who'd lived a life of boundless merit, purity, and resolve, with the sole goal of attaining perfection and becoming one with the will of Heaven, to become Heaven itself. They came from all classes of society, from any race or kind. Sages were allowed to walk beside the Lesser Immortals, but they were not yet granted godly powers or Immortality, not until they'd achieved in death the greatness they'd not yet achieved in life. However, some great people were considered Sages while they still lived, and they wandered the Red Earth, dispensing their wisdom and teaching others through example. When they died, they were raised to the ranks of the Immortals.

Living or dead, Sages dwelled apart from society, as hermits in caves in the mountains or secluded spots in the jungle, where they could seek peace and simplicity and achieve an inner harmony. This gave them knowledge, wisdom, and long life (if they still lived). They also acquired mastery of elements of the material world, gaining the power to perform great feats, such as walking across hot coals, breaking swords with but a touch, and quieting typhoons and earthquakes. Sages conversed with nature spirits, could command beasts to serve them, or cause monsters to retreat. Great creatures of the Celestial Bureaucracy such as dragons sometimes sought out the counsel of Sages, or merely desired to talk with them.

Others
Mad Monkey was a demideity of mischief who sometimes helped and sometimes hindered the Celestial Bureaucracy.