Monk: Gods of War

War was erupting across around the lower continent of Carmere. Drawn into inevitable conflict through border disputes and political instability, the Great Western Kingdoms and Holy Eastern Empires begin their move against each other in the name of conquest and honor. Over a span of a month, they gathered their forces on key battlefields and the Supremacy War began. Armies by the hundreds of thousands do battle over numerous fronts, turning the central border territories into inhospitable wastelands. Entire towns, castles and cities close to those areas were reduced to rubble. Uncountable numbers of peasantry perish. Those who were lucky rapidly flee, creating huge influxes of refugees into the more secure inner lands on both sides. The threat of crime and attack by beasts and monsters terrorized the village folk, while those in cities not heavily fortified by troops fall slowly into decay. The areas closer towards each side's capitol cities were the least affected, with many still able to live their normal lives in the relative safety of their settlements.

Amidst this time of strife, the mysterious sky islands of Shambala Kangra remain untouched and isolated from the world below. It was a mythical place of magically levitating islands the size of a small continent located high above the clouds, said by mythic scholars to be home to ancient humanoids known as the War Gods, who were descended from divine beings of great power, and each one had the potential to perform impossible feats of strength, speed, agility and endurance, along with with powerful sorcerous abilities drawn from indescribably deep wells of internal magic energy within their bodies. Unknown to the researchers of the world below, the denizens of Shambala Kangra actually exist. A race of human like people, they age slowly and can live for hundreds of years. They were dedicated to the ways of martial warfare deeply rooted within their ancient traditions, even if they do not actually fight wars among themselves. They instead test their mettle through large scale martial contests and trials across the floating islands, using their magic to literally fly at will. They fight without the use of any hand held weaponry, for they train themselves to become weapons themselves, in accordance to the teachings and guiding principles of Honos, their patron deity. This multi disciplinary martial art was the War God's Way, an emulation of the Honos' unrivaled skills and power in unarmed combat. Each discipline drew from the abilities of various lesser gods who served Hono, and the temple dedicated to their worship trained every member of Shambala Kangra's isolated society to fight, preaching the 4 key tenets of the War God's Way at every available turn. To fight with wisdom, honor, courage and strength was the crux of the Way, least their powers weaken and dull into dormancy and stagnation.

Although unimaginably powerful, the replenishment of their internal energies required more than simple food and rest. Honos and his lesser gods were intimately active towards each other, and the people of Shambala Kangra also emulate this to rapidly recover their power and grow stronger. Their society was one that practices liberal polyamory, where any man or woman of age may engage sexual acts with anyone they wished. This has led the people to be able to live happy lives free of jealousy, creating tight knit bonds of kinsmen and lovers that provide for near unshakable mental and psychological stability. The more successful copulations a warrior can muster, the stronger the warrior will become, as the harnessing of these erotic energies produced by these acts fuel and nurture their magical power. As such, members of Honos' temple were encouraged to interact with each other as part of their training, the physical and magical practice of Innara's Art of Pleasure being an essential teaching that was a requirement for graduation into the more advanced ranks. The Art of Pleasure was not without its risks, however, as it must be practiced regularly for it to continue to be effective. The lack of sexual energy often leads to weakness and lethargy, so even the slightest of stimulation was an important activity of the day to day lives of the War Gods.

For thousands of years, they maintained their isolation and watched the world below with keen interest. On occasion, small numbers of Spirit Warriors of Honos descend from their homeland to interact with Carmere's people, and throughout the ages, they left behind many legends of their existence before they returned home, sometimes even viewed as gods themselves in some primitive societies. Some time after the early beginning of the Supremacy War, 2 grandmasters, Indra and Parvati arrive in Carmere with a pair of their finest proteges. Their mission was to test their most promising disciples, veteran Spirit Warriors Kai and Miru, in the matters of the 4 key tenets of the War God's Way, to determine if they were ready to be proclaimed masters.