Tsi

at a glance

• Patron deity of China.
• Symbol: tree.
• Chairman of the Council of Originals; leader of the gods.

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character profile

Name: Tsi (see [Anglicised] or more accurately czee)
Gender: Cisgender male
Sexuality: Homosexual
Nationality: Chinese

Magic:

• Identifiable by the colour brown.
• Most adept at sleep magic.

Appearance: Tsi is relatively short, standing at about 5'6", and is slender. He has short, straight brown hair and very dark brown eyes. He has an inverted triangle-shaped face with a pointed chin, but the rest of his facial features are comparatively soft. He tends to wear neutral colours, usually in shades of brown, black or green.

Looks favourably upon:

• Underdogs.
• The less gifted, especially intellectually.
• Asian minorities in non-Asian countries, such as Asian-Americans or British-Chinese.
• Dog-lovers and dog-owners.

Looks unfavourably upon:

• Repeat criminal offenders.

Personality: Tsi is one of the more selfless deities and generally does everything in his power to help people indiscriminately. Since becoming Chairman, Tsi is more bound by Council rules and duties, and rarely has the time or opportunity to help people as much as he used to. Another consequence of his job is that he is permanently tired and overworked.

Relationships with other deities:

• Close friends with Zed.
• Previously had a crush on Kiya (now deceased).
• In his role as Chairman, often acts as a mediator between deities.
• Traditionally enemies with Mallos, but they've more or less buried the hatchet. Mostly.

epithets

Native language: Mandarin
Native term: xiansheng
Epithets: a'am ("the Asiatic"), qeded-tu ("one who causes to sleep")

council role

Tsi is the Chairman of the Council of Originals. In this role, he serves as the leader of all the originals, coordinating all of the other deities. Tsi is personally responsible for ensuring the safety of all fairies and other believers; it his job to ensure that the other deities cannot terrorise mortals.

Tsi has previously worked for the Council as an emergency relief worker.

monotheistic cult

Tsi has numerous small monotheistic cults all over the continent of Asia. The largest have a few thousand members, the smallest less than ten. The cults are very variant and all focus on different aspects of Tsi's personality, which has changed significantly over time. "Tsaite" (pronounced sigh-ite) is the generally accepted term which can be applied to any monotheist of Tsi, but individual cults have their own names. Outlined below are three of the more common cults, but members are welcome to create their own.

Freed Beastriders, established circa 1,000 BC by modern estimates.

• Colloquially called "Rats" or "Ratters" by non-followers. The term "Rat" comes from the name of Tsi's leviathan-dragon monster familiar, Therait.
• Among the first (if not the first) monotheistic cults dedicated to Tsi, established in ancient times when Tsi was a very different person to who he is today. Back then, Tsi was bitter, had anger problems and engaged in minor gang culture, petty crime and piracy.
• Considered to be immune to sea monsters. Often reckless seafarers.
• A cultural tradition among Beastriders is riding on the backs of sea monsters, like a sea rodeo. Beastriders are often adrenaline junkies.
• Many modern Beastriders still engage in petty crime, gang culture or piracy.
• Beastriders are not active worshippers and have few rituals or celebrations. They don't have established churches which they attend.
• There is no formal leader, but higher up members of the cult are known as "Beastains".
• Initially established in Africa but moved to Asia with Tsi in ancient times. Their reach is not restricted to or based in a specific country in Asia, but they are more commonly found in coastal communities.

The Protectors, established circa 1,400 AD.

• Established at a time when Tsi was working as an emergency relief worker for the Council of Originals.
• No hierarchical structure and the church has more of a "community" feel, with equal-level priests who operate in a democratic organisation.
• There are a few physical churches for members to attend but it is not considered necessary or even uncommon to not attend.
• The key teaching of the church is helping others. Members are encouraged to do a "good turn" at least once a day.
• The church organisations largely exist to organise charity and aid rather than to preach.
• Members of the Protectors often work in social, "helpful" type careers, such as doctors, charity workers, child carers, teachers etc.
• Members of the church traditionally referred to each other as "brother" or "sister", but modern members are increasingly using gender-neutral terms such as "sibling" or "friend".
• Based in China in the Sichuan province but spread to other countries.

The Divine Church of Tsi, established circa 2012 AD.

• A very young church only established when Tsi became Chairman of the Council of Originals.
• Members refer to themselves as "True Tsaites" or "True-Sayers".
• Based in China in Beijing but has spread to other major Asian cities such as Hong Kong and Tokyo.
• Members are largely from elite ranks in society and are invariably wealthy or upper class. Some Immortal Ones are members.
• It's unclear whether the True-Sayers are really believers in Tsi or whether they're just opportunists looking to get close to him now that he's the "most important" deity.
• Because it's so young, the structure and organisation of the church is a little chaotic and still being established.
• For the most part, members of the church tend to meet up at parties, swill champagne and smugly reassure each other of the righteousness of their beliefs.
• This cult is open to development by members!

role in polytheistic cults

Much like his monotheistic cults, Tsi is a variant figure in myths. The vast variations in his mythological role is usually dependent on the time when the myth was written. In the oldest myths, Tsi is a minor figure who only appears occasionally and usually in an antagonistic role. In these older myths, Tsi is usually separate from the other deities and often living out to sea.

The only aspect of Tsi's personality and role in mythology which has remained unchanged over time is his position as a god of sleep and dreams. He has always been associated with a peaceful or a good night's sleep. He is often invoked by people with insomnia or people struggling to sleep for any reason.

For the last few thousand years, Tsi has attained more positive roles. He is considered a god of healing, good harvest, construction and repairs, nature, and a protector of people and especially seafarers. In mythology over the last few thousand years, Tsi has appeared as a more helpful figure, often coming in to assist mortal communities with healing and rebuilding after a disaster.

reputation on shaman

Tsi is seen in a largely positive light after he ended the Shaman civil war and imposed peace. Although he heads the inefficient and not particularly popular Council of Originals, Tsi is seen as being on the side of ordinary people.

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