In a remote area many years later, amid a clattering of plates, a bowl fell out of nowhere. Catching it before it crashed to the ground a young boy handed it back to his mother. She had been having false labor pains for the past few days and the boy's father had told him to watch after his mother carefully and to find him when she needs help.
Zao Zhan had been waiting for a brother or sister for a long time. He only had himself to play with in the house and wasn't allowed to wander too far away. Beasts roamed the nearby forest and neighbors were far and few between in the valley they helped settle. Protected from the sides with a steep cliff behind them, the family was rather cozy in their tiny cottage by the mountainside.
Calistown felt a tugging on her apron, she looked down.
"Mama, the floors wet.." Zao Zhan picked his feet up in agitation and his mother sent him off to get his father. She slowly walked her way to the nursery, they had long decided to do the birthing in there.
A while later, Zao Ooran stumbled in and saw the mess. He asked "Where's mother?"
Zao Ooran looked upon his son and saw that he was pointing to the nursery. Zao Ooran rushed into the room and sent Zhan to get clean hot water. After he returned, he watched his new Baby Brother open his eyes. The baby was screaming, and so Zhan covered his ears while stepping aside.
Zao Ooran looked at his wife. "Its a Boy!!"
"We have another Son." Calistown looked back at her husband with trembling eyes. She really wanted a daughter. Zhan loved being with his father, it was sure to be the same again.
"Oh, Right. What should we be calling our new addition to our family?" Calistown smiled while she stared at Ooran dumbfounded, normally it was the father who named the sons and the mothers who named the daughters in this world.
So naturally Ooran spoke up, "Wu Hai"
Looking down while standing on a stool by baby Wu Hai's bed, Zao Zhan looked at his new baby brother with excitement. He had never seen a baby, it was only himself, his father and mother in the house for five years now.
It didn't take long for Zhan to incessantly talk about what games they could play and what things he liked to his little baby brother, but Wu Hai didn't have the ability to speak yet. Otherwise, it probably would have ended quickly; Wu Hai didn't fuss much after his birth, looking around in the rooms he's normally be placed in was his daily activity. The breast feeding and diaper changes were nice for Wu Hai. He would fall asleep almost immediately, and never threw up.
By the age of a few months, Wu Hai had mastered the art of kicking his legs back and forth and so not much longer.. the baby was upright and walking. Truly a magnificent thing to behold; he was Quick, Wu Hai could even outrun his parents at less than 1 year of age. It was a serious complication in their lives, but they still laughed off their confusion calling it a blessing from the Guardians of the past in this world.
"He will be a great hunter." Ooran kept insisting while Calistown would only frown, both her boys were gifted.
Zhan had strength and Wu Hai was fast. Sometimes, she felt like she wouldn't mind spanking Wu Hai. The boy would always sneak food and stare off into nothingness. It was really confusing for the couple, but never-the-less it was their family, they were their boys.
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When Wu Hai was five, and Zhan was ten, they finally got their father to take them both on a hunting trip together. Zhan could show Wu Hai his skills and Wu Hai could learn to hunt from their combined experience.
Ooran Laughed every time he'd see his two boys covered in mud as they chased down their prey. He couldn't tell if it was funnier when Wu Hai would step on his brother to crawl out of the mud or if it was more comical to see Zhan laying there for him to safely get out of the mud. Either way he was proud of his sons for their teamwork and attitudes under otherwise slippery conditions.
The hunt came a close when second day came, they had already caught two large bird beasts. Although there are many animals in the world, much had changed since the great wars of their history. They ate one before they went out to catch a crawler, since the birds were large, only meat could be taken back, they had their fill and captured a crawler to pack the rest back to their home.
The meat was dried and stored while Calistown washed up the boys. Their Father did most of the cooking and cleaning of meat.. while their Mother would dote on the children and teach them to read.
Some dialects were easier to understand than others, but they mostly had a unified language. Only the Custodians had decided to come up with a language to hide their intentions and communications from others. Wu Hai and Zhan would listen to their Mother read History Books and tell stories of the past, about Magic, and about the mysteries concerning the World.
Each night when the boys were ready for bed, they would often discuss what they wanted to do when they got taller. Zhan would joke about finding a good wife like his mother, to have many children of his own. Wu Hai usually stayed silent about wanting a family and instead said he wanted to learn how to do everything. He wanted to learn how to farm, how to be a Hunter, a Fighter, King and Pauper. He wanted to have every experience, and change the World. Wu Hai had heard many stories over the years from his Mother about the tragedy of Blizzard Rock, and the 502 Custodians of the World. Every night it would play in his dreams.
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[502 Custodians gave rise to the Great Families, but the Great Families were mortal. To bring peace to the Great Families and stability to the land they had made the choice to no longer create new life themselves. When a few of the Custodians had lost some of their families, they went against the others. 26 in total had cast aside all thought of the others and paired off into the darkness to create more generations. Before they left, they had slaughtered anyone who objected, the Original 502 Custodians left under a hundred survivors to scatter, waiting for the 'Creator' to return.]
[Betrayed by their fellow Custodians, those that remained took up the mantle of protector and renamed themselves, the Guardians.]
[More than 40,000 years have passed since the Custodians had betrayed the Guardians. It all seemed like ancient history, no one knew what would come to pass. The Creator wanted it that way, leaving many of the populace at a loss for the thoughts of their Ancestors.]
[Before he left, he entrusted his will to the Leader of the Guardians, swearing his return.]
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It was Zhan's 15th Birthday, he had finally taken rights to be an adult.
He and his brother were thick as thieves, always at each others side. When a boy changes to a man, he has to enter a Quest. To get a Quest, he must go out into the world and find one. Zhan's day of adulthood would come to a close with the setting of the sun but he would not leave his little brother to worry.
Calling out to him, Zhan chased down his Brother. "Wu, What are you doing?" He was entirely miffed.
It was Zhan's day, today was suppose to be his day of adulthood but his little brother was no where to be seen. After a few minutes Wu Hai came out of the forest and something was weird, he had a black flame covering on his hands and he couldn't seem to put it out. He shook his hands furiously but it never left his palms, Zhan panicked and ran up to Wu Hai.
"Brother!" Zhan was alarmed, he grabbed his brothers free hand and dragged him down into the mud trying to put out the flame out but it didn't work. The ground cracked and peeled beneath his grip. Thinking his brother's life was in danger, Zhan grabbed hold of his little brother and ran toward the house screaming for his parents.
"ZHAN!! What happened?" Grief stricken at the sight of her panicking sons, she ran out and noticed the flames on Wu Hai's hands but at the same time she also noticed that the skin on his hand was perfectly fine. Calistown looked at Zhan and had him release Wu Hai. Wiping the mud from his face, she grabbed his wrist and looked him in the eyes. "Its okay, are you okay?"
"This is Magic, remember what we talked about.. this is exactly Magic." Hearing those words from his Mother, Wu Hai settled down a bit and Zhan dropped to the floor with an unhappy look at his Brother.
"What do you mean? this is Magic?" Wu Hai didn't understand.
"I've never studied magic, only heard stories." Calistown talked to her son with as quiet a voice as she could, she needed to keep him calm.
"Why won't it go away?" Wu Hai was still confused, his mother patted his head and started explaining how to extinguish the fire.
This wasn't the first time she had seen fire powers before, it was one of the more common types of magic in the World. She was thrilled no matter what, both of her boys were growing up so fast.
"Zhan. Go get your father, Now!" Calistown cried out to Zhan, snapping at him a bit.
Zhan needed the reality check, he ran to fetch his father from the back.
He was a little overwhelmed, this was suppose to be his day.. but Wu Hai had already started stealing the moment. Bitterness, a feeling a little unfamiliar to Zhan started welling up inside. With his Father leading the way, Zhan and Ooran came back to the House and his parents consoled Wu Hai. They helped him lower the intensity of the flames slowly until they started to waver and dissipate.
Normally when powers emerge or go out of control, the easiest way to resolve it would be to run out of power but for some reason Wu Hai had quite a lot of it. That small flame did not want to go out, not by snuffing and not with a calm mind.
It finally took some meditation and serious discussion for the flame to fully extinguish before re-emerging and needing a second, third and 16th attempt. The sun was close to setting, the family had not even eaten yet with all the commotion and Zhan's special day had been thoroughly interrupted.
Ooran and Calistown told Wu Hai to not tell others about his Magic and then Ooran called Zhan over, making sure not to let such a happy occasion ruin his own.
"Everyone matures at different ages, and not everyone is born with Magic. Some spend their entire lives pursuing goals that are unobtainable. My biggest hope for you Zhan, is that you find a happy place in life. So that you don't have to suffer hardships. In your quest, you'll encounter beings, things, and dangers you never imagined. You are older than your brother by only five years, he will have his own turn. Never forget you are Brothers, Family goes beyond experiences, hardships and trust. Sometimes, you might not agree with the decisions of a Family Member. Sometimes you might find yourself surrounded by family and want to take their advice. What choices you make, those are yours alone." Ooran continued "I hope you won't regret your life, I hope that you find your adventure, your quest, and return home. When you do feel the urge to return, we will be here for you, waiting."
"Father." Zhan sighed inside. He walked to his father and gave him a hug. Knowing it could possibly be the last time, even Ooran was touched, he held back the tears.
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