Pretending to be nose blind to the Child after so long, Master Jiang dismissed the air in the shop with a quick flick of his wrists and addressed the package that lay before him. Wrapped in simple paper it was the book he had been waiting for about the Heroes of the War of the Guardians.
They were mighty and although he had some minor details laid out in several of the books in the shop, none of the notations covered the Guardians themselves and the majority of the things written only had details about their Bloodlines. The book was written by one of the Guardians but no one could prove it. The author had written it more than five thousand years prior, no one even had a name.
The book on the counter was one of the few remaining copies and one of the originals. He waited a long time to get his hands on it. Seemingly worth it, he flipped the page, a few drawings were on each of the sheets and descriptions of items that were crafted by the Guardians and the Custodians followed. Near the end was a passage, the reasons they had cast aside procreation and started a war among kind.
Master Jiang studied its pages, the delivery had come at a perfect time and he had plenty of questions.
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The pressure mounted for a century, great houses had differences and difficulties that couldn't be settled. Co-Captain of the Custodians, Emixese, wiped out an opposing family at its roots, _________ ending the clan branch without any mercy or afterthought. _________it was _________een.
_________ _________ ____ _________ _ ____________ _____ ____ ____________ _______ _____ __________ ____ _______
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Appalled, the Great Families spoke up among a Summit. The Great Mountain, Glacier Peak atop Blizzards Rock, housed an organization of the powerful, doom befell them before they could take _________ action._____ _______ __________ _____ seething with rage, the families of and those who were not wiped out had banded together. They were met with betrayal at Blizzard Rock. _________. ___ ______ _____ ____ the survivors stripped themselves of insignia and took to hiding, renaming themselves as guardians. ___ ______ ______ ______ ________ ________________ _________ .
.__ _ _____ _____ ____ ___ ____ _ __. rather than watching the children and grandchildren they had spent their existences raising be turned to ash and forgotten, _________. They hid themselves and protected the races from the _________ wrath,_________ ._________using the Powers left by the 'Creator' they __ ____ ______ __ ____ _________ sank the majority of their power at the time into a large scale spell that covered the world _________, a golden wave of protection would warn the Guardians of impending peril..____ ___ __ ____ _______ ___ ______ ____ _____ _____ ___ __ ______
_ _____ ___. ____ _____But, It did not stop the forces of the Custodians. Having chosen the forms of some beasts, several clans of Powerful creature conquerors had laid claim to a _________ large swath of the land. Until _________ drove them back into the chaotic realms they had been suppressed after the loss of a few guardians and many of their progeny.
No longer holding the numbers to sustain the world entirely.. _________... _________ perished while the Guardians were forced to withdraw until the Creator would return. Less they lose all of mans accomplishments.
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The Book was full of holes, entire passages were wiped clean by time. The Original had gotten damaged and each reproduction was complete. Even though they had holes in them, the one in his hands was still the most complete version. There were some items discussed in the back of the book, details about materials and weapons.
Protesting, Old Man Jiang felt that it had to be a matter of pride that led to the downfall of the Guardians. He could only lament, their blind trust had cost them everything. "This will be of great help in the future I'm sure but when.."
Coughing, the woman who delivered the book looked at Old Man Jiang and said, "Master misses Old Master, I have relayed my duties and the message from Master. I will be leaving first." She was polite but felt a bit awkward passing messages along.
Instead of watching her leave, he hurried to the door to stop her. "Tell him to wait a bit longer, I might come see him sooner than I had said." Smiling, Old Man Jiang opened the door for the young woman.
Crowds in the streets caught a glimpse of her when she re-mounted the giant metal bird. With a flap of its enormous wings, the Brolga shot itself into the distance like a sprung arrow. Its beak was blinding to look at from constant polishing, they both disappeared within a few minutes beyond the clouds.
Old Man Jiang had a lot of information to take in. The book itself didn't have many passages but it's contents left a lot of room to wander the mind. There was not much within the book about any specific subject, it was a rather short journal and closer to what would be considered a set of notes.
The Book was the still most complete and intact version, everything had been copied exactly. A lot of what the Old Master was able to take in about the Guardians was fragmented but it was clear that they had been one group, in the beginning. 'Guardians and Custodians, I wonder why the Creator would leave the world like that.' His interest had been piqued and Master Jiang would never let a question go unanswered.
After reading the most of what was written inside the book for a second time, another passage, a prominent one, was before him. He had seen it before, in the writings of Munidod, some of the final words of the Creator. They rang in his ears as if played from the pages. He imagined a time when Gods walked among them and the passage itself left a deep impression on his mind.
"I haven't lived until I have died."
"I haven't lived, and so I must."
"I have not died, so I cannot".
"I will choose to change."
"I will be the architect, I will create a path for my own."
The remainder of the Book was related to items they had crafted. On the final page was a rough sketch of what looked like the weapon Wu Hai had in his possession. There were many small devices called Gygax created alongside a singular Weapon. They held many shapes but the common factor between them all was the writing on their exteriors. From their appearance, Old Man Jiang knew what they were. "The Dice?"
They were a set of objects created by the Creator but the details about their individual nature was not only missing, it seemed omitted.
The Creators Crusher's description matched the Weapon that Wu Hai had in his possession, it was said to hold the power of the Creator in passes, shaking the Crusher would change its effects.
Although never wielded in battle by the Creator directly, the crusher was said to be impossible for others to lift. The notes in the back of the companion book were full of speculations about the myth of the weapon, none ever had better information.
Astonished that the weapon in the other building next to him could possibly be or was a weapon of God, he flew out of the shop and opened the gate to Wu Hai's residence. Master Jiang had to test theories, too many were coming into his mind.
The air was peaceful and steam could be seen from the back of his Disciple's room. Wu Hai had made another steam bath and was lingering in the vapor. As he stripped the clothes from his body, a certain stickiness had emanated from all over, he was expelling toxins and purifying himself. He was going through changes that he couldn't quite understand. Each time the changes came, they never stopped surprising him, he was excited to find new abilities.
The steam room was emanating a delightful fragrance, Wu Hai could afford excellent herbs for his bathing. His regular trade of materials in the City had earned him and his family a small fortune.
Old Man Jiang had to stop himself from entering the house without permission. What would happen if his disciple got the wrong idea during his bathing routine.
He was about to knock.
Sensing someone from outside Wu Hai stood up and opened the door. He was still young and had never worried about anything about the thoughts of others. So when he opened the door he was not dressed at all.
Old Man Jiang turned his head.
Wu Hai started to clear the water from his hair with a 'dry' spell and reached down to grab his pants. Looking up, he said. "Disciple Greets Master, what brings you here tonight?" A moment passed and he repeated himself, "Master?"
Old Man Jiang had decided to look away. After Wu Hai had dressed himself, he sat on a bench near his bed. His Master had brought a newly delivered book over and placed it on the table.
Old Man Jiang had Wu Hai pull the large weapon from his spacial bracelet and place it on the table. He looked over the passage concerning it and his eyes couldn't stop from switching back and forth. Twitching from time to time, he started to speak, "Disciple, I have good news and terrifying news. I shall give you the first and you can decide if you want to hear the remainder."
Shocked, Wu Hai stopped what he was doing and paid close attention to the following words from his Master.
"This Weapon of yours, I have believe that I have its origin in hand. It's might is fierce, so fierce you could grasp the World if you so chose it. I fear there is further news and not the terrifying news yet." Master Jiang sucked in a deep breath, preparing to finally stump the boy.
"The Weapon is.. A Weapon of God." Stopping for a moment to let things set in. Old Man Jiang waited for Wu Hai to have one of those strange episodes, it did not come.
"What is the rest? you said you had found more information, what exactly you have found?" After just a half a breath, Wu Hai asked his grief stricken master. The worry on his Teacher's face obvious.
Master Jiang looked to Wu Hai and closed the book. He said, "The Guardians, Err.. No. The Custodians, the original branch of the Guardians will most assuredly come for this Weapon in time. When they come, I'm afraid it will be immensely difficult to remain alive." He gave air quotes and continued. "I believe your true power is buried quite deep and I know you have a destiny that I could never imagine, assuredly your situation is unique. That said, I do believe that it is time for you have your day of adulthood. Even though you have not come of age, you learn very quickly."
Nodding repeatedly he circled his Disciple. "I do not believe for a moment that your parents would disagree with this conclusion." Touched by Wu Hai's obvious courage to face the truth, Old Man Jiang didn't hold anything back.
Picking up the red cube again, knowing it was likely a weapon created by the creator, Old Man Jiang could only wonder about their reason for being, the information in the books was just too little. Turning the cube around, he could see several symbols. Six in all, just like the other two cubes. "This one is red, it's made of Arcanum, one of the symbols resembled a sword, the next was a star streaking across the background, a downpour, a wave, an explosion, and a ring circle fading from the center."
Currently, the only side that was lit was in the shape of a ring. While thinking about it, all of his initial powers had a ring. 'Could it be?' He couldn't push the thought out of his mouth, Wu Hai grabbed the other two dice and threw all of them together. The lights twinkled and stopped after a moment.
Wu Hai read them in his head, 'Ice, Mind, Explosion.' A new sort of magic twisted and filled his body, he found himself sensing a lot of new things and detecting a lot more activity in his proximity than ever before.
After looking at the weapon, he picked it up. "Creation Crusher" He knew exactly what it was but its inner mysteries remained hidden.
When the words left his Disciple's mouth, Old Man Jiang was struck like lightning, 'So.. he even knows its name.'
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