The sorceress Hao Jin left an indelible mark upon the land of Kara Tur. Throughout her centuries-long life, Hao Jin—a devout follower of Abadar, god of contracts, wealth, and order—set out to amass her own First Vault, a collection of those items she deemed most perfect or wondrous in all the world. Among the many Abadaran pacts and contracts that dictated Hao Jin’s life was her carefully contracted agreement with the temple of Abadar in Goka regarding the fate of her collection in the event of her eventual death.
Fearful that her treasures would fall into the wrong hands or simply be lost to history, Hao Jin left strict instructions that were she not to set foot within the temple for 10 years and a day, on the 10 year anniversary of that occasion, an epic competition of martial arts was to be held, overseen
by the city’s Abadaran clergy; the winning team would be allowed to choose a single item as a prize for their victory. Not only would this prevent the collection from immediately being broken up, but it also ensured her life’s work would attain its own legendary immortality through the prestige the contest would bring. During her lifetime, many who knew of her will attempted to end her life prematurely, and many succeeded. But Hao Jin had contingencies in place to such a degree that even her most cunning and careful would be assassins underestimated her ability to return from
the dead. Each time an enemy killed her, she miraculously emerged unscathed days later, her red hair a shade more vibrant than before her death. Her ability to overcome death and the resemblance her hair soon had to an animated, flickering flame earned Hao Jin the nickname Ruby Phoenix, and over the centuries of her life, many believed her to be truly immortal. Yet in 6891 ic (Imperial Calendar; 4391 ar), a recordkeeper at Goka’s Grand Bank of Abadar informed the archbanker that a decade and a day had passed since the Ruby Phoenix last visited the temple. The conditions of her will had been
met. As no one had seen nor heard from the sorceress for several years, she was assumed to have finally met her end, and the preparations were made to conduct the first Ruby Phoenix Tournament 10 years later. That tournament also established the office of the Emissary, an Abadaran official appointed for life to run the proceedings. Each decennial since, the greatest champions from across Kara Tur and Faerun have vied for the victors’ spot, and most contestants have competed honorably and passionately.
A decade ago, however, the Ruby Phoenix Tournament was the subject of a terrible scandal that resulted in the first disqualification of a contestant in over a century. The shamed competitor was the earth sorceress Wu Dizhen, who was caught callously and repeatedly cheating and had to be ejected from the contest. Among the most egregious of her crimes were employing her identical twin,
Wu Jufeng, as a body double (which allowed her to leave the island for healing and aid), using Wu Jufeng as outside aid during contests, and not sparing foes who forfeited bouts. Wu Dizhen’s crimes were discovered only moments prior to her entry into the final round of the contest, and her disqualification resulted in the automatic victory of her competitor, the paladin of Ilmater, Marthysan the Righteous.
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