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The Shining Way
The world exists as a shadow of what it once was. The Scarlet Dynasty sits upon the ruins of the Shogunate, which in turn sat upon the ruins of the First Age. Everywhere, the world tries to hold on to the fading glory of the Solar Exalted. This is wrong. The Shining Way seeks not to hold onto what is long since past. Instead, they forge ahead, seeking a new world to form.
History
The Shining Way was founded, as the other Lunar tribes, in the horrors of the Wyld. As the great scholars of the Lunars transformed their Castes, linking their Shards forever to the moonsilver tattoos, they came to understand the importance of what they did. The Lunars would never be the same. Instead of shying from this truth, they embraced it as a stage of evolution.
In the years of the Shogunate, the Shining Way was active. Deep in the Wyld, they laid their plans. Inevitably, the Shogunate would fall. It could not but fail to hold on to the past. As it faltered, the Way prepared to move in, each Lunar elder thinking of different ways that society could be reshaped and reforged. Changing the people, changing the culture, even changing the rules of what was real, they were among the most common Lunars to learn the Shaping arts of the fae in their endless quest for improvement.
The Contagion was brutal, more so than even the Way anticipated, but in the aftermath of the Balorian Crusade, they began to move. Now, they are scattered across the edges of Creation, working tirelessly to repair what others are casually tossing aside. Let the other Lunars try to repair broken systems; the Way will be the ones to show them the truth.
Organization
The Shining Way is the least organized of the three Lunar factions. Usually, they divide into small groups of Lunars, each made up of one elder and his or her students. As the students age and learn, the elder sends them on quests, until they grow old enough to seek their own path in the world. Overall, close to a quarter of the Lunars of Creation make their homes in the Way.
Lunars of the Shining Way seek to create new knowledge, to change society, and to explore the Wyld. Rather than recreating the past, however, they gain honour by finding new ideas and thoughts. Knowledge is their primary currency, and those who can create spells, artifacts, societies and beings are the most revered in their world. Rakshi, Queen of Fangs, and the two Lunars Rain Deathflyer and Silver Python of Halta, are among the First Age Lunars of the Way.
Goals
Ultimately, the Shining Way seeks experiments. By removing what is weak, and adapting to new situations, they seek to constantly expand and increase their skills and knowledge. Recovering old knowledge is acceptable, but relying on the lessons of the past simply for tradition's sake is scorned and considered to be the greatest stumbling block to a brighter future. Ultimately, the Way hopes to transform all of Creation into a society that flows seamlessly around problems, changing to fit the dangers that it faces.
