A black Nethari in ornate black robes decorated with gold symbols cut through the skies on his immortal sword. A floating island follows him, flapping its earth wings occasionally as it treads behind its master. The beast's head pops up from the cloud, like a dragon from the deep.
It had resplendent feathers of stone partially coated in gold and a pair of sagacious topaz eyes filled with ancient wisdom. The great falcon of earth cried out, splitting the clouds. The Nethari sage shouted in annoyance, "A little more you dumb bird!"
The great earth falcon retorted with a louder cry, causing the ground far below them to tremble and the trees to be flattened. A catastrophe rocked the land below and the clouds were pushed away for several miles. Yet, it did not affect the middle aged Nethari, it only served to annoy the ancient sage like the loud barking of a spoiled dog.
"Look, we're almost there!" He pointed at the ominous, swirling and thundering clouds ahead. Soon, the duo dived down from the clouds, entering the cold domain of the first temple, the holiest site of the Nethari race. Here is where the creator gave life to their patriarch and granted him children who would start the Nethari race.
It had been 6,000 years since the dawn of the Nethari race and 50 generations of Nethari. Their race had grown from a mere 17 to around 3 million people centered in eight kingdoms spread throughout the Meru-Pandava realm, an area thrice as large as asia bordering the sea on its east, the Rakshasha realm in the south and the Huoniao realm on the west and north.
Most geographical knowledge were gained from cultivators in their society who have reached the Spiritual God realm, capable of flying at airplane speeds and are immortals. The sage here is one of them, but he belonged to a higher realm as he guards the northwestern kingdom of Zhou Hu. Guardians like him must be the strongest of their respective kingdoms in order to guard it against monster attacks and hostile incursions.
However, they are not allowed to interfere in political affairs and are effectively above the law. A kingdom's guardian can only be replaced with the former guardian's death or by ritual combat. So far, no guardian has stepped down from his or her rank and guardians don't have to be Nethari.
As the duo flew, the sage remarked on how much the temple has changed over six milleniums. The temple had three concentric circles of stone walls, a mile apart from each other and two miles from the main temple complex for the innermost wall. Pagodas, pavillions and temples of stone dot the frozen land, lighting and warming the valley of cold and mist.
Statues of divine and horrifying beings alike guarded the land, their auras generating a mystical presence and granting protection against the frequent blizzards. These stone idols were placed inside the pagodas, or before the stone doors of various buildings. Many Nethari cultivators below could be seen giving offerings and praying before these statues, wishing for success in their work and cultivation.
Some of them wore similar outfits and seemed to be priests for certain statues regarded as their gods. Although the sage doubted the deity of some of these statues, his master always reminded him that gods and demons are only differentiated by their power. If a demon could rival gods, it would be named a demonic god or a heavenly demon.
There are such beings, summoned by evil sects to wreak havoc on their enemies, but within the massive temple complex, all beings are equal before the creator's mountain, before the abode of His student, Mithra. Soon, they passed through the second wall, where the temples and pagodas are higher and larger, where mystic structures are commonplace. Spiritual lakes and rivers give life to the land, patches of green growing around them.
Ancient ice crystals full of qi sprout on the riverbanks, surrounded by mystical herbs. Tablets and pillars of ice float flank the main road leading to the innermost wall, profound words by enlightened masters of all species inscribed on them. Three wooden bridges are part of the main road, each arching over the three largest rivers that intersect with the main road.
The closer they get to the innermost wall, the more grand the structures they found. Spires and towers of stone stretch up to the heavens, flying beasts and cultivators on swords, beasts and boats flew in the air, adding to the liveliness of this holy city. The high qi concentration in the air makes it easier for cultivators to fly or ride on swords.
Believers and sects preached their ideologies on the streets, Nethari, Fuxi and Ancient Beast merchants sold their exotic goods to all cultivators in the city, setting up shops in empty temples and buildings. The streets were full of cultivators, purchasing goods or waiting in line to cultivation rooms to break into higher realms. Most of the cultivators here were at grandmaster realm, with the occasional demigods and the odd spiritual god.
Sea Gods like him rarely visited the temple, only to pay respects to Mithra, join diplomatic meetings or whenever a sudden meeting is called for by the the patriarch himself. This meeting is one of those occasions and this time, the creator himself has finally spoken after millenia of silence and all sentient beings are invited to this meeting.
Soon, they made it to the entrance of the temple complex. Not much has changed from the outside, only more ancient ice crystals growing on the walls and the area around it. These crystals contain enough power to create a divine form and is a priceless treasure to any non divine cultivators, which makes up the vast majority of all cultivators.
Their presence was immediately sensed by the temple and the pair of fierce deities at the door cocked their head at the two, radiating horrifying presences from their fiery topaz eyes. The male deity holding a vajra (lightning shooting divine weapon) spoke, "State your intent Nethari." Immediately followed by the female deity holding a spear, "State your intent Ancient Beast."
The two immediately did what they asked, stating their intentions with honesty and humility. The two fierce deities powered down and simultaneously announced, "You may pass."
The earth falcon shrunk itself into a normal falcon's size and perched atop the Nethari sage's head, sparing no expense in trying to annoy him with his sharp claws. Sage Gu could only grumble his way inside as the damn bird kept pulling his hair with its claws. Luckily, he made it to the entrance without having any of his hair forcefully pulled out.
Two figures emerged, laughing at his misfortune. A white Nethari sage in navy blue robes embroidered with intricate gold designs and a Fuxi lady wearing a black kimono.
Fuxi are the descendants of the escaped raptors who established tribes and a united empire that controls half of the Huoniao realm. Till now, the Nethari have not completely mapped out the size of their empire due to the frequent air beast attacks that plague the less crowded regions. Fuxi appear as anthropomorphic velociraptors with five claw limbs and a talent in learning, shooting darts and arrows, and stealth.
"Old friend, I see that bird still follows you." Said the white Nethari sage. "Yes, and it grew from a simple dirt falcon into an island sized dirtbag." The falcon squawked in offense and started pulling more of his hair. "Hey! Who told you to shit on my face while I sleep or shred my papyrus scriptures when I'm not looking."
It squawked in argument and stopped its hair pulling, before squawking long sentences and possibly curses, as the black Nethari sage had an annoyed face while hearing it. "Fertilizing my garden is no good reason to shit on my face or shred my things. If all you can do is that, you're no different than a parasitic fertility pill."
The falcon squawked and hotly debated against Sage Gu, who gladly argued with his pet and household parasite. As they fight with words, his two friends chuckled at the scene and placed bets on who would win this time.
Anyone who came to know Sage Gu would also know about his legendary debates with his falcon. These debates start with either the sage or the falcon annoying the other, then, a fierce battle of words would ensue and profanities would be shouted to the heavens. The victor of these heated arguments will receive bragging rights and a decade of chores or whatever household service they can think of.
"So you're telling me that an evil spirit kept trying to possess me at night by entering my nostrils and you think at shitting on a spirit works?" The falcon nodded and the sage was bewildered, "Spirits are intangible and you're shit is surely material, as I can feel it on my FACE every time I shower!" The bird chuckled and squawked, saying that the shit is an illusion from the spirit so that he cannot drive it away.
"You expect me to believe that?" The falcon nodded and the sage face palmed, "I will never believe it until you can catch it in a cage of solidified shit and show it to me!" The bird hovered off and shook its right wing with the Nethari's right arm, accepting this challenge.
Then, the horn sounded and the meeting began. Thirty eight people were in the enlarged stone chamber, sitting on ornate and luxurious pillows graciously prepared for them by the houskeeping spirits of the temple. Nethari, Fuxi and Ancient Beasts, the masters and lords of their own realms, gathered within one place.
Mithra sat on his throne, a masterpiece combining hindu, chinese and buddhist architecture. Two dragons with crowns served as his armrest and a pair of protective deities flank his throne. He remained eternally youthful, as he had attained immortality by the age of 37 human years.
Eternal Youth is something you only attain once you become an Immortal God. So far, only one such person exists and he was Mithra's star pupil and the patriarch of the Xia family and kingdom. He had broken through one millenium ago and is still adjusting to his new power, finding divine essence as the hardest force to control despite his greater talent for manipulation of qi compared to his siblings.
Soon, the meeting started with Mithra telling the story of the Nethari's origins. "After my ascension to the Heavenly Immortal Realm, the creator returned to me, my master returned to me. He rewarded my success with exotic riches and priceless artifacts of immense power, however, I was interested with the notion of siblings the most."
"Then, the creator granted my unspoken wish with a task of raising sixteen disciples to give birth to our race, the Nethari. A hundred years of cultivation and they reached the Demigod level, becoming long lived sages. Then, they fell in love and bore many children, children whom they raised within the temple until they became grandmasters."
"They left once the third generation arrived, the temple was crowded and the families left one by one to establish settlements, possessing knowledge of early bronze age technology. Soon, the fourth generation arrived and the settlements gradually became small tribes. On the fifth generation, demon beasts began to attack, causing the elders to become hunters and protect their respective villages from these threats."
"The decade cycle of demigod beast attacks would injure dozens and even kill several of us. When the sixth generation arrived, the cultivators established great stone walls and the ancient sects for the sole purpose of fending off demon beast attacks. When the seventh generation arrived, a basic ruler system was established, the Eight Families."
"San, Huang, Wu, Di, Xia, Yu, Sha and Zhou, the eight royal families were established. A simple caste system arrived after two thousand years of civilization, the eight families being the ruler caste, hunters and cultivators being the warrior caste, second only to the rulers, the builder and craftsman caste, and the farmer caste. These castes were loose classifications and the progenitor of social classes."
"A thousand years later, the tribes encountered one another, giving birth to currency, trade and a new caste. The birth of currency allowed more efficient management of society, but also creating social divides, a neccessary sacrifice for progress. Trades also created more diverse cultures and a foreigner friendly society."
"Another thousand years and the kingdoms were born. Palaces were built for the rich and powerful, cities were protected by tall, qi reinforced stone walls and several cities were built. This is the time when the first Sea Gods were born, allowing them to push back against the demon beasts and claim more land for the Nethari civilizations."
"It will be another millennium past when the Fuxi were discovered. Their lack of cultivation talent was replaced with much more advanced technology and skillful combat arts. Trade was conducted and peace reigned as the two budding civilizations became close allies."
"And finally, eight centuries ago, we discovered the existence of Ancient Beasts, demon beasts who have gained souls and ruled their sacred domains. Among these powerful and secluded masters, only three of them joined us in this meeting, as the rest are unaware of the creator's existence."
Mithra stood up and opened his arms, welcoming them to this meeting. The attendees pay their respects with short bows, Fuxi claw gestures and respectful grunts from the beasts. After they had greeted him, they greeted one another and exchanged pleasantries.
Later, he gave reason to this meeting, a message from the creator that the world shall expand. In a thousand years, the earth will tremble, the sea will churn with rage and the sky shall rumble as the world grows in size. Divine thunder will strike down and empower the world, granting innumerable riches but also insurmountable foes.
He tells them that the creator urges them to prepare for the day will be filled with fierce fighting. Demon beasts would go mad and new types of them would appear, stronger, smarter and much more familiar. This event cannot be prevented, only mitigated by preventing divine thunder from striking any beast and increasing alertness in all civilizations' defenses.
This way, the event will roll over and no one will have to perish. The meeting was brief and only a few questions were raised about the message, all of which were easily answered by Mithra. Now, the attendees would pass on this message to their realms and prepare for this event.
After all, no one knows what would happen after.