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March 10th, 1988 was not a particularly important day. Ronald Reagan was President of the United States; George Bush Sr. just cemented a solid lead over Bob Dole on "Super Tuesday" (March 8th) for the Republican nomination. The Justice Department was preparing to indict Oliver North and John Poindexter. The Winter Olympics ended on February 28th; the Jamaican bobsled team was a center of media attention. Ivan Demjanjuk was on trial in Israel for being a death camp guard during World War 2.  Premier Gorbachev had just begun his perestroika program in January. The singer Andy Gibb died that day. The Space Shuttle program had been grounded for a couple of years, since the Challenger disaster. DC Comics recently released the "Killing Joke", a Batman one-shot by Alan Moore and Brian Bolland. 

But the previous day, none of that was true or even possible. In the 17th Century, four Chinese sorcerors -- masters of sorcery and feng shui -- had arisen to control the world over a few decades. Apparently immortal, these siblings became the Si Wang (Four Monarchs), and fought endless wars for arcane -- or no -- reasons. The Earth's cultures warped and were overlaid with some Chinese elements; technology stagnated.

On that unimportant day, however, at 9:04 a.m. Greenwich time, everything changed instantly. No mighty magics, no Chinese armies and conquering culture spread over the world, and no mention at all of the Four Monarchs. None, except for the Monarchs themselves, and some of their closest followers.

Having passed into another Juncture (the Demon Juncture, specifically) they were personally unaffected by the change in history. Unaffected, but profoundly shocked and dazed, of course. Their mighty magics no longer worked, their immortality was in peril, their armies and treasuries mere memories.

They opened gates to the Demon Juncture and fled to that terrible place -- a place where their magics still worked, and their power was strong enough to hold the demons at bay.

The Four Monarchs had apparently never known about, or at least never cared about, any of the other Junctures (except the uses of the Demon Juncture to obtain useful servants). It seems that some ancestors or predecessors of the Ascended were responsible for the critical shift in history which erased the world of the Four Monarchs from the timeline.

For twenty years, now, the Monarchs have plotted for their return; but also plotted against each other. Within Hell, the Monarchs have each used their magics to create new palaces, which they claim are replicas of the ones they created on Earth. The Monarchs are:

• Ming, Queen of the Darkness Pagoda

• She created a towering edifice of solid darkness on Peking. A cruel and ominous figure, the culture of her empire was a bloodthirsty mix of Chinese and Aztec beliefs. She has a magical, artificial right arm (it's black). Her desire for a return to power, and her hatred for the Ascended, drive her plans. In hell, her palace is built in the Chamber of Grinding. Her symbol is a skull with a black band across the eyes.

The symbol of the Darkness Queen

• Huan Ken, Rex Tempestas, Pontifex Maximus, King of Europe in Exile, etc.

• He conjured the Thunder Palace of storm and cloud on the remains of Rome. He is a tempestuous fellow, very vain and in love with royal (and papal) trappings -- he has many more titles that those given above. He is the most Western of the four, and the culture of his empire was a mix of feudalism and the baroque. Obsequious behaviour works well with him; despite which, he is the most effective of the Monarchs in personal combat. His palace in Hell is in the Chamber of Wind and Thunder. His symbols are either various Christian crosses, or a lightning bolt.
  

• Li Ting, King of the Fire Pagoda

• His palace was built on the scorched remains of Jerusalem. A calm, charismatic and rational fellow, but also vicious and unfeeling; he directly states his disbelief in, and opposition to, all religions and codes of morality. Very skilled at exploiting human weakness, but he has trouble attracting loyal followers. When his powers were at their full, he could annihilate entire armies with a gesture, but only within Hell does he retain any of his power. Not surprisingly, his new palace in Hell is in the Chamber of Flames. His symbol is a flame.
  

• Pi Tui, Queen of the Ice Pagoda

• Youngest of the Monarchs, her ice palace was erected in the middle of the Bering Strait. She's very aloof and distant; not much is known about her plans or desires. Her followers are very loyal to her, and apparently well-treated; they've worked with the Jammers a few times in recent years. And yes, her palace in Hell is in the Chamber of Ice. Her symbol is a snowflake. Some of her minions are:

• Akani Hideo, steward of the Ice Pagoda

• the Ice Falcons, white birds of prey

• lots of Siberian tigers

• Silver Jet, a skilled martial artist and apparently the husband of Pi Tui