Two mythic encounters in our crowdfunding campaign
Qiong Qi, the winged tiger, represents unadulterated violence as it eats people. In our setting, it's a Rakshasa Archfiend that was previously a particularly wicked mutated chimera born with troll's blood. More in the vein of devillish Lawful Evil. Qiong Qi believes that the utmost violence of war is where people can truly be one with each other and the act of killing and feasting on others brings them closer in an act of profound love. His cult infiltrates militaries and sabotages diplomatic efforts to burn the lands in a conflagration of war. He loves war.
Hundun embodies chaos, appearing like something that exists but with non-existent features. It normally appears like a large, six legged animal with wings and no face. Our version of the Hundun is a manifestation of a world egg which still holds the divinity of Pangu, one of the great primordial creators of the world after he had hatched. Normally, these shards just transform into fey called Di Jiang, which look like the mythological Hundun. But Hundun is another world egg having been incubated with the sins and negative inclinations of mortal beings in the Abyss rather than positive, creative energies. It possesses no intelligence besides wanting to be born. If another world were to be born after Hundun hatches, calamity would befall the world that already exists.
The Perils' Hierarchy Taowu serves as the face of the Perils as an organization, weaving together all of their individual schemes to serve their common interests. Qiong Qi provides military power and logistical support so long as he's given a new battlefield. They've convinced Taotie that cooperating will ensure that he's fed well and so happily serves as their muscle. All three have knowledge and some degree of leverage against one another through Hundun whose hatching they all view as a reset button to any plane or world it resides in.
From its inception, this alliance was made possible through the puppet mastering of the Demon Lord, Mara, who manipulates all of the four's desires and ambitions. Whether they know it or not, Mara stands at the center of their alliance, consciously using them as a counterbalancing force against the Four Benevolent Beasts.
The archrivals to the Benevolent Beasts, based on the element they're counteracted by, are as follows:
Chigoku, Azure Dragon = East/Wood = Hundun (Earth rots Wood)
Vaivaruka, Vermillion Bird = South/Fire = Taotie (Metal de-energizes Fire)
Birupa, White Tiger = West/Metal = Taowu (Wood dulls Metal)
Jambhala, Black Tortoise = North/Water = Qiong Qi (Fire evaporates Water)
