The Moon Rises, the Stars Sink

Manzhou is hardly a pleasant place. It is common to face the day wrapped in thin gauze and the night bundled in a quilted coat. Fortunately, natural disasters are rare here, and so are human calamities. No troops are stationed here, no high officials come to stay, and the common people live in peace and prosperity under diligent, benevolent county officials.

Manzhou is divided into three commanderies, from north to south: Lishan, Shunan, and Cangyuan. Lishan lies at Manzhou’s northern gate, where mountain ranges stretch on without end and valleys abound. Most people live in tribal communities. Shunan lies on the central plains of Manzhou. It is the largest and richest of the three commanderies, with many large towns. Cangyuan lies in Manzhou’s southeastern corner, where wetlands and lakes are common, along with the occasional wooded hillside filled with fruit trees. The Cang River rises in Cangyuan and flows north through fourteen cities of all sizes across the three commanderies. It eventually reaches Lishan, where it splits into countless streams before disappearing into the mountains.