Ghadovara mountains were cold this time of the year, it was just the last few weeks before winter gave way to spring. And for some reason unlike the rest of the world, the chill here was something else entirely. Yet Divyat followed behind his elder brother, clad in cheap woolen clothes that did nothing to stave off the cold, or offer any sort of protection. The Ghadovara mountains was not just a cold place, it was a dangerous one, and no amount of woolen clothes could save a man and a young boy from the claws of demon beasts that roam this mountains.
There was a rustle as Divyat felt the heavy hands of his elder brother on his shoulder. The hand gripped him and pulled him down to the ground, right into a pile of snow, that did little to hide his dark chocolate skin. Divyat felt his heart skip a beat, the forest that dotted the mountains suddenly went silent, at the very least this particular area anyways. The ground rumbled a bit as a slow huff was heard, and Divyat raised his head a bit, doing little to stem the terror that overtook his body.
Eyes blue with the flakes of soul, antlers silver and gold, stretching from a skull the size of a small cow, long canines jutting out of it's upper jaw, with hooves gleaming like moonlight of an autumn spring evening. A stag⦠the winter Stag of Ghadovara. One of 14 Spirits of nature in existence, keepers of the balance and seasons, and messenger of the immortals, gods and devils. The winter Stag was not fond of humans, and it was even less fond of demons. Yet funny enough , it served as the guardian of the mountains, protecting the demon beasts that lived on this mountain from encroachment, be it human or demonic in nature.
Divyat and his elder brother watched, they waited slowly until the colossal being vanished into the forest, holding on to their breaths tightly so as not to be noticed by the extremely powerful and territorial spirit of nature. And then just as quickly as it vanished, sound reappeared. Birds tweeted and bugs filled the forest with their creeks and chirps. Divyat looked up at his older brother and couldn't help but ask.
"Will I ever be as powerful as that brother?" His innocent black eyes looked up at his brother as his short hair swayed in the wind. His brother; Nivgyat looked on with a solemn look on his face. He would very much like to lie to the boy, to preserve whatever bit of dignity the 10 year old still had intact, but lies was not the way of their family. This world was brutal, severe and dangerous, only truth can ensure survival.
"You would probably go much further than any of us on the road of cultivation, perhaps even make it past the foundation building stage and step into the Qi condensation state. But with a none attributed spirit root, you will never be able to step into the Elemental manifestation stage, and that's where true power and immortality begins. You will have some power Divyat, but not power enough to rival the Winter stag of Ghadovara."
Divyat pursed his lips as he considered what his brother had just told him. It was a worrying situation and it did dampen whatever enthusiasm he had built for when he would finally be allowed to cultivate. But as it was, the thought of never being able to become as powerful as the Winter Stag hurt him, because perhaps if he could get as strong as this, then he might be able to figure out a way to save their mother, to save her from her constant cold, and from being nothing more than a slave in a sect that did not give a damn about her, perhaps. But life was never fair, it traded in lies but always sold the truth, and the truth as always is a bitter pill to swallow.
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5 YEARS LATER
DIVINE SKY DAO SECT
Divyat hated the cold, it reminded him so much of that day five years ago when his brother had told him that, he was destined to a life of obscurity as a cultivator. He could gain some achievement, but not enough to actually make any sort of significant difference, or have enough power to move the heavens and part the seas. But in the end, it wasn't as if he had much of a choice in that matter, little strength is better than no strength at all. At the very least he would be able to live his life in the sect as an outer court elder. A small position, but at the very least it would guarantee him an easy life. However he still had a long road to walk in order to achieve that goal.
"Say Divy, what foundation building exercise are you going to choose ?. You know it has to be something that fits your personality and spirit root. Which would be quite rare as almost all exercises are elementally attributed." Divyat turned his head to the side taking in the 'rotund' figure of the girl who had just spoken. Zhao Min was a handful, overweight with an annoying love for chocolate lathered buns. She was the daughter of an inner sect disciple, one of the few that was even part of a clan. So in retrospect she had some identity as opposed to Divyat being the youngest son of a servant that was raped by a now deceased inner court disciple.
Their status was as clear as night and day, but they have been playmates right from the crib. Zhao Min was just a few months older than Divyat, but she had also been nursed by Divyat's mother. Zhao Min's parents were cultivators, so they chose to instead to focus on their cultivation rather than have time for the child they brought into this world, as a result she saw someone else as her mother, forming a family outside of the norm.
"I'm not so worried about what I have to choose Zhao Min, the sect only has one foundation technique that is unattributed. And that's the Tai-Chi theorem. So in the end my choice has been pretty much made for me. Father and brother have spent years making a plan for me, they've thought about the best skill and cultivation technique that would synergize with my unattributed spirit root, which should help make cultivation a little bit faster for me since I won't have the speed or specialization of those cultivators with elemental roots." Zhao Min looked up at him with awe in her eyes, absolutely surprised that so much thought had gone into this.
"You really want to be a cultivator huh? Personally I don't see what's there to be so desperate about, cultivation only means you will never have the time to look after the thing 'most precious' to you." Zhao Min said with her voice becoming a whisper at the end, obviously severely shaken by her parents practically abandoning her and having a servant raise her.
"Well at the very least, it would give you a chance to prove that you're better than them. Now come on, the dousing ceremony is about to begin, we need to be as close as possible in the center of the chamber so that we can gain more Qi than the others. It would awaken our channels better and be properly nurtured so we can have an edge over everyone else." Divyat said as he dragged Zhao Min behind him, pushing through crowds of bodies and ignoring the swears and curses that came his way, until they were both standing in front of an oblong pillar glowing with hundreds of sigils. Divyat took a big breath as he looked up at itβ¦
"Its time!"