The Bai Clan

The Bai clan is an ancient clan that predates the Celestial Empire itself by more than five thousand years. Claiming to be the oldest of the founding clans, the Bai are descended from a powerful serpent and this ancestry leaves a clear mark on all Bai members, leaving them with features that are snake-like in appearance.

Calling the Thousand Lake Province their home, the Bai clan are renowned for their capacity for vengeance as well as their powerful defensive capabilities. The Bai are a large clan, with apparently several membership tiers that are dependent upon the hair color of the clan member. The system appears similar to a caste system, but Ling Qi has very little understanding of the in's and out's of the clan's hierarchy. It is known that they have eight sub clans.

As the Ducal clan of the Thousand Lakes, and a founding clan of the Empire, the Bai are one of the most politically powerful, and wealthy, clans. However, events in recent centuries have shaken up the Bai's political power significantly. The start of this was the refusal of one of their vassals, the Sun clan, to stay away from the Western Jungle. Revolting against the Bai's leadership, the Sun convinced swathes of other Bai vassals to join them in a conquest of the Western Jungle.

The Bai were furious and demanded to the Emperor that the Sun be reprimanded. The Emperor refused, and instead reprimanded the Bai for letting the Western Jungles get to such a state. Outraged, the Patriarch of the Bai challenged the leader of the Sun to mortal combat but was killed in the ensuing battle, thus cementing the Sun's position and dealing a massive blow to the Bai.

However, the Bai are a well-established clan, and while there have been political troubles and difficulties they seem to be slowly regaining back what they lost. There are deals being done behind the scenes that Ling Qi is not able to fully perceive, but if the exhibition match between Duchess Cai Shenhua and the Heir of the Bai, Bai Suzhen is anything to go by, the Bai are beginning to form connections to other powerful clans and regain their lost political power.

Their hair is slow to grow, so it is traditional for them to not cut or alter it until they hit green soul stage or get married.