Wǔ Ge Lóng Wáng

Wǔ Ge Lóng Wáng ( 五个 龙王, Five Dragon Kings in the Pinyin transliteration of Mandarin Chinese) are titles given to the greatest alkahestrist of Xing. These titles are given by the first Jade Emperor to the five greatest warriors during his time. It is not known if how many people had already held the titles or how it is passed on. While it is known that their primary duty is to protect Xing from oppressors or even from itself.



History


Status
The current condition of the Wǔ Ge Lóng Wáng greatly differ from what it was in the past, as time moved on and new Kings arise, the titles began to only be measures of power, rather than being symbols of the duty they have to guard their land. The reason might be because as time go by, the essence of these titles vanishes. A number of title holders were seen as threats by the government, as a result, some were sealed into deep and secrets areas of Xing, there are also those who were banished into the desolate places of Xing for disobedience, and in one case, executed.



Titles
These are the five titles given to the Wǔ Ge Lóng Wáng: 
 * 1) The Azure Dragon [Weilanlong 蔚 蓝龍 ] -
 * 2) The Vermillion Dragon [Zhulong 朱龍 ] -
 * 3) The Yellow Dragon [Huanglong 黃龍 ] -
 * 4) The White Dragon [Bailong 白龍 ] -
 * 5) The Black Dragon [Heilong 黑龍 ] -

These titles could be passed by several methods: 
 * 1) Inheritance - A King could pass the title to anyone he/she deems worthy.
 * 2) Challenge - One could challenge a King to a fight, whoever wins gains the title.
 * 3) Inauguration - The Jade Emperor may bequeath the title of a King to whoever he deems worthy enough, although only if the place of the King is left vacant, which can only happen if a current King decides to retire without giving the title to anyone and without dying. This method was only used twice, and the only known instance is during the first generation.

Recognizing a Dragon King is a bit difficult, if they don't wish to, they can stay hidden. A tattoo which can be located anywhere in their bodies and signifies their titles is the only determining factor of them being Kings. They can let their tattoo glow in one of the five colors, depending on the title of the bearer. Lastly, the tattoos disappear upon death or fade away when passed during a short "ritual".

