Nirvana in Fire starter guide
Jan. 2nd, 2022 12:52 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lirelynSO enough people have yelled about it that you're ready to start Nirvana in Fire. I'm so happy for you! This is a pretty much spoiler-free guide aimed to help you keep track of who's who and what's going on in the first few episodes. The character guide is missing some important people, but it shows everyone who's involved in the first few episodes. By the time other characters arrive on the scene you'll be more oriented.
After the character guide I've included some brief plot notes about the main intrigues that are going on in the first few episodes, so if you end up going "wait who's doing what and why?" you can take a look.
First, a couple background notes:
Langya Hall - You’ve got questions, they’ve got answers! Features a COOL information filing and retrieval system which, tragically, we only get to see once. Langya Hall also keeps ranked lists of martial artists and other experts, so occasionally you'll see mentions of "so-and-so is ranked 7th in the Langya List for [whatever it is they do]."
The Chiyan case - this is a critical bit of history that gets spelled out over the early episodes, but it's important to know and none of it's really a spoiler. Thirteen years ago, the Chiyan army was accused of conspiring to rebel against the Emperor. A lot of people died as a result of this rebellion/treason case, including:
- The entire Chiyan army, slaughtered on the field, including its commander Lin Xie and his son Lin Shu*
- Grand Princess Jinyang, who was Lin Xie's wife and the Emperor's sister
- Prince Qi, the Emperor's oldest son and then-crown-prince
- Consort Chen, Prince Qi's mother
*Lin Shu is seen falling off a cliff in the opening scenes of the show, I'll let you draw your own conclusions
The Chiyan case haunts a lot of the living characters, and I'll include that in the description where it's relevant and not a spoiler.
Character guide
Mei Changsu and friends
Mei Changsu - head of the Jiangzuo Alliance - a martial arts sect - even though he's too ill/frail to practice martial arts. Is an excellent schemer and political strategist, has just helped an underdog prince rise to the throne in the neighboring Yan kingdom. This is about to make him a person of great interest to the princes of Da Liang.
Connection to the Chiyan case: You might already know -- a lot of descriptions of the show just say it and the clues aren't subtle -- but on the off chance you don't, who am I to spoil it for you?
Lin Chen - Young master of Langya Hall, good friend of Mei Changsu, also a skilled doctor. You won't see him again for a while but he's always a delight.
Fei Liu - Mei Changsu's bodyguard. Gremlin child. Best boy.
I didn't take their pictures but Li Gang and Zhen Ping work for Mei Changsu and whatever he's paying them, it's not enough. Also, they'd do it for free because they love him.
The Imperial family
The Emperor - You'll have plenty of time to find out what kind of man he is and what kind of ruler he is. He's not planning on dying any time soon, but that doesn't stop his two most prominent sons for vying to be next in line when he does.
Connection to the Chiyan case: It was, ostensibly, a rebellion against him so he took it pretty personally. His judgements in the case ended in the death of his oldest son and one of his most favored consorts, so it'd be a shame if he turned out to be... wrong... about any of that.
Prince Yu, aka Xiao Jinghuan - really really really wants to be the next emperor. Has a large faction on his side in the court, and keeps earning accolades from his father, which really pisses off his older brother…
The Crown Prince, aka Xiao Jingxuan - although he's officially established as the crown prince, he can feel Prince Yu breathing down his neck, and is working hard to consolidate and keep his power. The power struggle between the two princes is pretty openly known, and most people in the court have an allegiance to one of them or the other. Including their mothers:
Empress Yan - she has no living sons, but raised Prince Yu, who was born to a low-ranked concubine outside the palace. She treats him as her son and is fighting for him to supplant the Crown Prince.
Noble Consort Yue - mother of the Crown Prince. She's the emperor's favorite, which is probably a big part of why he's the crown prince. She's working very hard to keep it that way.
There are a few other princes, but none of them are particularly important except for:
Xiao Jingyan, aka Prince Jing - out of favor with his father and in the court, partly because he's stubborn and uncompromising, but largely because he was openly upset about the handling of the Chiyan case. He spends most of his time away on military campaigns.
Connection to the Chiyan case: Lin Shu was his best friend, and he was devoted to his brother Prince Qi. He doesn't believe they were traitors and he's not over it.
Concubine Jing - Jingyan's mother. She was trained as a doctor, and was tending Consort Chen when she caught the emperor's eye. She's been in the palace for a long time now, but her status is still low: partly because Jingyan is out of favor, and partly because she avoids getting involved in harem drama.
Connection to the Chiyan case: was very close with Consort Chen and the Lin family.
Other characters, in and out of the court
Yan Yujin (in purple) - nephew of the Empress. We'll meet his father/her brother later. Yujin has zero interest in the court or politics. He just cares about music and shopping and hanging out with his best bro…
Xiao Jingrui (in blue) - has connections both to the court and to jianghu, because he officially has two sets of parents. You'll get the story on that in a few episodes. Is friends with Mei Changsu through his jianghu wandering, and invites him to come stay in the capital city in episode 1.
Xie Yu, aka Marquis Ning - one of Jingrui's fathers. He's the head of the Capital Patrols, an important military power. He is officially neutral in the political fight, but has secretly been working for the Crown Prince (not a spoiler, you see him advising the Crown Prince in an early scene).
Connection to the Chiyan case: he led the forces that destroyed the Chiyan army, after word came of their plot to rebel.
Grand Princess Liyang - the Emperor's sister, also Xie Yu's wife and one of Jingrui's mothers. The story of her marriage is not a happy one - you'll get that soon also.
Zhuo Dingfeng (father) and Zhuo Qingyao (son) - the Zhuos are Jingrui's other family. Zhuo Dingfeng is head of the Tianquan Manor martial arts sect. Because of this whole shared-son business, the Zhuo family and the Xie family are close, which means Tianquan Manor is low-key backing the Crown Prince.
Also in the Xie/Zhuo family are:
- Xie Bi, Jingrui's younger brother - supports Prince Yu, unaware that his father is backing the Crown Prince
- Xie Qi, Jingrui's younger sister, married to Zhuo Qingyao
- Madame Zhuo, who deserves to have a name but apparently doesn't that I can find - but she's Jingrui's other mother
Mu Nihuang - Try not to swoon when she shows up. Her family holds an important seat in Yunnan, a southern province right on the border. She's been the head of the family while her baby brother grows up, and leads the army that keeps the southern country of Chu at bay.
Connection to the Chiyan case: she was engaged to Lin Shu before his death and is loyal to his memory.
Mu Qing - Nihuang's baby brother, just now come of age. Still very much a teenager, doesn't care about politics, loves his jiejie.
Xia Dong - belongs to the Xuanjing Bureau, the emperor's top investigative force. Close friends with Nihuang, although there's always been some tension between them because of the Chiyan case.
Connection to the Chiyan case: her husband, Nie Feng, was in the Chiyan army and it was his letter that warned the Imperial forces about the plot to rebel. This did not save him when the Imperial forces came for the Chiyan army.
Meng Zhi - biggest badass in Da Liang, commander of the Imperial Guards. Everybody trusts him, and with good reason.
Connection to the Chiyan case: served in the Chiyan army for a while but had moved on before everything went down. Was close with Lin Xie and Lin Shu. Whatever reservations he might have had about their guilt, he's served the Emperor faithfully all these years.
Qin Banruo - Prince Yu's strategist and spymaster. Not much else is known about her.
Plot lines
Imperial power struggle and Mei Changsu - Prince Yu is fighting to take the Crown Prince's spot, and the Crown Prince is fighting to keep it. Both princes go to Langya Hall for advice, and receive an answer that points them to Mei Changsu, who has just helped an underdog contender win the crown prince title in a neighboring kingdom. Now they each want to win him to their side. He wants to get involved but doesn't want to pick a side right away; fortunately his friend Jingrui is there to invite him to stay incognito in the city, while he scopes out the scene.
Duke Qing - Duke Qing is a big supporter of Prince Yu; I don't remember if you ever see his face and it doesn't matter. As the story opens, the Crown Prince's faction is working on revealing some corrupt shenanigans of Duke Qing's. You see the Zhuo father-son duo going to sneak a few of Duke Qing's slaves out, and escaping into the Jiangzuo Alliance territory which Mei Changsu controls. After hearing their testimony the Emperor sends Xia Dong to investigate further. The details of Duke Qing's corruption don't really matter: what matters is he's a powerful ally of Prince Yu, so the Crown Prince wants to take him down.
Nihuang's marriage - Now that Mu Qing is old enough to take over the family seat, the Emperor is very eager to get Mu Nihuang married. She's the head of a very large, very strong army and the Emperor worries (probably correctly) that they are more loyal to her than to the crown, so he wants to use her marriage to push her into retirement, basically. She has her own ideas but can't directly defy the Emperor. Meanwhile, both the Crown Prince and Prince Yu would love to have one of their political allies at the head of that big, beautiful army, so they each have a candidate they're trying to advance in the big marriage competition that takes place over episodes 2-5.
After the character guide I've included some brief plot notes about the main intrigues that are going on in the first few episodes, so if you end up going "wait who's doing what and why?" you can take a look.
First, a couple background notes:
Langya Hall - You’ve got questions, they’ve got answers! Features a COOL information filing and retrieval system which, tragically, we only get to see once. Langya Hall also keeps ranked lists of martial artists and other experts, so occasionally you'll see mentions of "so-and-so is ranked 7th in the Langya List for [whatever it is they do]."
The Chiyan case - this is a critical bit of history that gets spelled out over the early episodes, but it's important to know and none of it's really a spoiler. Thirteen years ago, the Chiyan army was accused of conspiring to rebel against the Emperor. A lot of people died as a result of this rebellion/treason case, including:
- The entire Chiyan army, slaughtered on the field, including its commander Lin Xie and his son Lin Shu*
- Grand Princess Jinyang, who was Lin Xie's wife and the Emperor's sister
- Prince Qi, the Emperor's oldest son and then-crown-prince
- Consort Chen, Prince Qi's mother
*Lin Shu is seen falling off a cliff in the opening scenes of the show, I'll let you draw your own conclusions
The Chiyan case haunts a lot of the living characters, and I'll include that in the description where it's relevant and not a spoiler.
Character guide
Mei Changsu and friends
Mei Changsu - head of the Jiangzuo Alliance - a martial arts sect - even though he's too ill/frail to practice martial arts. Is an excellent schemer and political strategist, has just helped an underdog prince rise to the throne in the neighboring Yan kingdom. This is about to make him a person of great interest to the princes of Da Liang.
Connection to the Chiyan case: You might already know -- a lot of descriptions of the show just say it and the clues aren't subtle -- but on the off chance you don't, who am I to spoil it for you?
Lin Chen - Young master of Langya Hall, good friend of Mei Changsu, also a skilled doctor. You won't see him again for a while but he's always a delight.
Fei Liu - Mei Changsu's bodyguard. Gremlin child. Best boy.
I didn't take their pictures but Li Gang and Zhen Ping work for Mei Changsu and whatever he's paying them, it's not enough. Also, they'd do it for free because they love him.
The Imperial family
The Emperor - You'll have plenty of time to find out what kind of man he is and what kind of ruler he is. He's not planning on dying any time soon, but that doesn't stop his two most prominent sons for vying to be next in line when he does.
Connection to the Chiyan case: It was, ostensibly, a rebellion against him so he took it pretty personally. His judgements in the case ended in the death of his oldest son and one of his most favored consorts, so it'd be a shame if he turned out to be... wrong... about any of that.
Prince Yu, aka Xiao Jinghuan - really really really wants to be the next emperor. Has a large faction on his side in the court, and keeps earning accolades from his father, which really pisses off his older brother…
The Crown Prince, aka Xiao Jingxuan - although he's officially established as the crown prince, he can feel Prince Yu breathing down his neck, and is working hard to consolidate and keep his power. The power struggle between the two princes is pretty openly known, and most people in the court have an allegiance to one of them or the other. Including their mothers:
Empress Yan - she has no living sons, but raised Prince Yu, who was born to a low-ranked concubine outside the palace. She treats him as her son and is fighting for him to supplant the Crown Prince.
Noble Consort Yue - mother of the Crown Prince. She's the emperor's favorite, which is probably a big part of why he's the crown prince. She's working very hard to keep it that way.
There are a few other princes, but none of them are particularly important except for:
Xiao Jingyan, aka Prince Jing - out of favor with his father and in the court, partly because he's stubborn and uncompromising, but largely because he was openly upset about the handling of the Chiyan case. He spends most of his time away on military campaigns.
Connection to the Chiyan case: Lin Shu was his best friend, and he was devoted to his brother Prince Qi. He doesn't believe they were traitors and he's not over it.
Concubine Jing - Jingyan's mother. She was trained as a doctor, and was tending Consort Chen when she caught the emperor's eye. She's been in the palace for a long time now, but her status is still low: partly because Jingyan is out of favor, and partly because she avoids getting involved in harem drama.
Connection to the Chiyan case: was very close with Consort Chen and the Lin family.
Other characters, in and out of the court
Yan Yujin (in purple) - nephew of the Empress. We'll meet his father/her brother later. Yujin has zero interest in the court or politics. He just cares about music and shopping and hanging out with his best bro…
Xiao Jingrui (in blue) - has connections both to the court and to jianghu, because he officially has two sets of parents. You'll get the story on that in a few episodes. Is friends with Mei Changsu through his jianghu wandering, and invites him to come stay in the capital city in episode 1.
Xie Yu, aka Marquis Ning - one of Jingrui's fathers. He's the head of the Capital Patrols, an important military power. He is officially neutral in the political fight, but has secretly been working for the Crown Prince (not a spoiler, you see him advising the Crown Prince in an early scene).
Connection to the Chiyan case: he led the forces that destroyed the Chiyan army, after word came of their plot to rebel.
Grand Princess Liyang - the Emperor's sister, also Xie Yu's wife and one of Jingrui's mothers. The story of her marriage is not a happy one - you'll get that soon also.
Zhuo Dingfeng (father) and Zhuo Qingyao (son) - the Zhuos are Jingrui's other family. Zhuo Dingfeng is head of the Tianquan Manor martial arts sect. Because of this whole shared-son business, the Zhuo family and the Xie family are close, which means Tianquan Manor is low-key backing the Crown Prince.
Also in the Xie/Zhuo family are:
- Xie Bi, Jingrui's younger brother - supports Prince Yu, unaware that his father is backing the Crown Prince
- Xie Qi, Jingrui's younger sister, married to Zhuo Qingyao
- Madame Zhuo, who deserves to have a name but apparently doesn't that I can find - but she's Jingrui's other mother
Mu Nihuang - Try not to swoon when she shows up. Her family holds an important seat in Yunnan, a southern province right on the border. She's been the head of the family while her baby brother grows up, and leads the army that keeps the southern country of Chu at bay.
Connection to the Chiyan case: she was engaged to Lin Shu before his death and is loyal to his memory.
Mu Qing - Nihuang's baby brother, just now come of age. Still very much a teenager, doesn't care about politics, loves his jiejie.
Xia Dong - belongs to the Xuanjing Bureau, the emperor's top investigative force. Close friends with Nihuang, although there's always been some tension between them because of the Chiyan case.
Connection to the Chiyan case: her husband, Nie Feng, was in the Chiyan army and it was his letter that warned the Imperial forces about the plot to rebel. This did not save him when the Imperial forces came for the Chiyan army.
Meng Zhi - biggest badass in Da Liang, commander of the Imperial Guards. Everybody trusts him, and with good reason.
Connection to the Chiyan case: served in the Chiyan army for a while but had moved on before everything went down. Was close with Lin Xie and Lin Shu. Whatever reservations he might have had about their guilt, he's served the Emperor faithfully all these years.
Qin Banruo - Prince Yu's strategist and spymaster. Not much else is known about her.
Plot lines
Imperial power struggle and Mei Changsu - Prince Yu is fighting to take the Crown Prince's spot, and the Crown Prince is fighting to keep it. Both princes go to Langya Hall for advice, and receive an answer that points them to Mei Changsu, who has just helped an underdog contender win the crown prince title in a neighboring kingdom. Now they each want to win him to their side. He wants to get involved but doesn't want to pick a side right away; fortunately his friend Jingrui is there to invite him to stay incognito in the city, while he scopes out the scene.
Duke Qing - Duke Qing is a big supporter of Prince Yu; I don't remember if you ever see his face and it doesn't matter. As the story opens, the Crown Prince's faction is working on revealing some corrupt shenanigans of Duke Qing's. You see the Zhuo father-son duo going to sneak a few of Duke Qing's slaves out, and escaping into the Jiangzuo Alliance territory which Mei Changsu controls. After hearing their testimony the Emperor sends Xia Dong to investigate further. The details of Duke Qing's corruption don't really matter: what matters is he's a powerful ally of Prince Yu, so the Crown Prince wants to take him down.
Nihuang's marriage - Now that Mu Qing is old enough to take over the family seat, the Emperor is very eager to get Mu Nihuang married. She's the head of a very large, very strong army and the Emperor worries (probably correctly) that they are more loyal to her than to the crown, so he wants to use her marriage to push her into retirement, basically. She has her own ideas but can't directly defy the Emperor. Meanwhile, both the Crown Prince and Prince Yu would love to have one of their political allies at the head of that big, beautiful army, so they each have a candidate they're trying to advance in the big marriage competition that takes place over episodes 2-5.
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Date: 2022-04-19 07:36 am (UTC)