The Atlas of the Changed, Peter Berchan (2155)

The Erlangs are considered to be the largest Changed race in modern times. The name comes from the legendary Lord Erlang Shen, Lord of Sichuan, often represented as a three-eyed divine warrior in pre-Fall Chinese culture. When the massive Changestorm swept across that very province, five years after the Fall, it left an enormous number of Changed in its wake. Estimates put the original seed population of Erlangs at close to one hundred thousand, and the few unchanged populations venerated the "elevated", as they were often called, thinking that they were the envoys of the eponymous Lord, set among them to save man from the disaster of the Fall.

The Erlang control the whole of Sichuan and many of the adjacent areas. Human populations in those territories come second to the three-eyed lords of the realm, and while they are said to rule with benevolence, rule they do, and non-Erlang have no say whatsoever in the governance of the realm. Courts are divided between Erlang and non-Erlang, and the judges - which are always Erlangs - will rarely judge in favor of the mundane, save in cases of egregious abuse. It is widely considered shameful by Erlangs to mistreat the "lesser beings", but that is a general guideline, not an absolute. The one case where the judges will always rule against the Erlang is in the case of "miscegenation", as any union between an Erlang and a non-Erlang is sterile, and it is considered a failure of the lord - or lady - of the realm to even consider such.

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One of the things that also sets the Erlang apart is their peculiar affinity for the manner of the sorcerous. It is not uncommon for Erlangs to exhibit adept-level sorcerous powers, almost universally in the realm of nature, wood, and growth. One Erlang saying is "The man tills the soil, the lord rises the crop". Similarly, Erlang sorcerers are far more common than anywhere else on Earth, which accounts for the "sorcerer-kings" nickname often attributed to the race.

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Another "sorcerous" attribute of the Erlangs is that, for some reason, their third eye will change color to reflect their nature. It is a sign of gaining sorcerous powers when their eye suddenly changes color when waking up, with the new color reflecting their power according to classical Chinese elements: light grey eye is associated with metal, skies, and lightning, dark blue eye being associated with water, mists, and ice, yellow eye reflecting earth and stone, orange-reds being the mark of fire sorcerers and adepts, and finally the most common one being a deep green eye for nature, wood, and growth. Erlangs will recognize this sign before they even realize what their nascent power is.

It is also not uncommon for an Erlang to gain additional powers later in life, with their eye sometimes changing to reflect this. Most Erlangs gain a green eye first, then change as a new power is obtained. "Green is the first color" is a common form of felicitations when an Erlang gains powers.

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The government of the Erlang relies on the Five. The Five are the most powerful Erlang sorcerers for each of the five elements. The Erlang keep meticulous records of the full sorcerers of their realm so that the proper sorcerer for a given element can be called upon when the previous member of the Five dies or should a mage rises above him or her. Almost all of the Five are dual or archmages, and usually relatively old, owing to the slow accumulation of sorcerous powers. Each of the Five has a title, representing its major power. The council, as of 2152, was comprised of:

► Gang Mian, the Steel Face - Grey-eyed Sorcerer Lord

► Panyan Zhe, the Rock Climber - Yellow-eyed Sorcerer Lady

► Huo Jian, the Fire Sword - Red-eyed Sorcerer Lord

► Da Senlin, the Great Forest - Green-eyed Sorcerer Lady

► Lan Xue, the Blue Snows - Black-eyed Sorcerer Lady