One night ago...
In the quiet confines of a studio adorned with intricate paintings of oriental landscapes and shelves filled with ancient scrolls, two figures were engaged in a conversation that resonated with the solemnity of the ancestors.
Sitting opposite each other, the light of the oil lamps danced on their faces, highlighting the silver threads that wove their hair, as if they were threads of moon intertwined with the night.
The man, with a serene gaze and reflective gesture, emanated a wisdom forged by countless cycles of the moon, while the woman, with her blue eyes like deep lakes, reflected the determination of one who has sailed tumultuous seas in search of knowledge and power.
The woman watched her brother with a piercing gaze, her blue eyes shining with a mixture of disbelief and wariness.
"So... your children are going to start performing," she began, her tone delicate but loaded with meaning.
(None of them are particularly mediocre but neither are they talented... the arrival of new princes with a good "background" as the Phoenix sect certainly is alarming), the woman thought as she analyzed the situation.
The man, with a sigh that seemed to carry with it the weight of centuries, replied in a deep and melancholic voice, as his mind filled with worries about the future of the empire and the inheritance of his descendants.
"It is true. Everyone is anxious to prove themselves. They think the birth of the twins is a sign of my dissatisfaction," he admitted resignedly, aware of the expectations and tensions weighing on his lineage.
The woman, one eyebrow raised in a gesture of disbelief, let out a sarcastic chuckle.
"You called me from my territory only to have me witness your family troubles in the front row, brother?" she questioned, her voice filled with irony and a hint of bitterness from past complications.
How could she not feel bitter? If the two of them were the only survivors of the cruel purge a few hundred years ago in the imperial family.
She might even claim that the man in front of her, "The Majestic Emperor," was the luckiest guy in the litter, surviving that purge and rising above it all.
(Although I guess my fortune is not far behind, since I bet on the winning horse...), thought the woman wistfully reminiscing.
*Sigh loudly.
The man, with a deeper sigh, shook his head regretfully before replying slowly, his words laden with a revelation that would change the course of their destinies.
"No, I have another deal for you. Something I know you'll be interested in.... at least, I hope so," he said with a tinge of uncertainty, aware that the proposal he was about to make could change everything.
(Silver hair instead of scarlet... silver eyes instead of crimson.... Is this my luck acting up or misfortune coming?), the man analyzed in his mind.
The woman, intrigued by her brother's words, adopted a mocking but sharp tone.
"What are you up to, my dear brother? Do you intend for me to take sides with one of your sons in this absurd struggle for the throne?" she suggested with a sly smile, aware of the political machinations that always surrounded the royal family.
(You want me to pick a winning horse for you?), the woman thought grimly.
In the disputes for the throne of the next emperor, many powers, such as sects, nobles and some clans, get involved and offer all kinds of support to their chosen candidate in order to have benefits as soon as their chosen one wins.
All well and good up to there, the downside comes when the winning horse assumes the throne.
(If I bet wrong...)
A cruel tradition of the emerging Emperors is to impose severe sanctions and even purges on those who supported their competitors.
"It's not what you think," the man exclaimed with a strange little smile as he stood up.
*sigh
Staring off into the horizon beyond the window, he let out a sigh before replying, his words laden with a hidden meaning that only the two of them could understand.
"Both twins have inherited the characteristics of 'that' holy land. Do you understand now what that means, sister?" he said, his voice filled with grim foreboding as the weight of ancestral history loomed over them.
(!!!)
The woman went blank for a few moments.(The lineage of the founding empress...).
"You don't say..." the woman exclaimed in deep surprise and shock.
The founding empress.
Not many people know about her, although this is also normal, as time passes mercilessly, but those who know her know that she holds an even more terrifying background.
She was once the heir to the holy land of the moon god, one of the greatest powers mankind ever saw the birth of.
Her talent was terrifying, so much so that she was compared to the current dragon empress, who is said to be the pinnacle of power in the upper world.
Her story is not so complicated, how did she become the founding empress?
She fell in love with an ambitious young man, a commoner with great charisma, who was dissatisfied with the previous dynasty.
Needless to say what happened next, right?
With the help of such a woman, the young man became the founding emperor and immediately married the prodigious young woman.
There were drawbacks with that holy land, but she did not mind and with her great determination and overwhelming talent she became the founding empress.
Thus was born the Silvermoon Empire. Ambition, determination, talent and... love. All these factors gave birth to a vigorous and vibrant nascent empire.
Unfortunately, not everyone is destined for eternity.
Neither determination nor ambition gave the founding emperor what he lacked most and what his beloved had most to spare: talent for cultivation.
No matter how many miraculous elixirs the empress found, the fate of the founding emperor was set in stone.
In the end what was meant to happen happened: the founding emperor died within a few centuries of the founding of the Silvermoon Empire, giving his place to one of his sons.
So... What happened to the founding empress? Did she retire as the first mother empress? Did she die of grief?
No...
As time passed, the next generations of her blood were born... each more disappointing than the last.
"You have talent, but a fragile mind; you have determination and strength, but lack talent; you have talent and determination, but lack ambition."
Generation after generation, all the new emperors had a fatal flaw in the eyes of the empress, who perhaps exalted her beloved too much.
In the end, she decided to return to the holy land to continue her path as a cultivator, but not before saying that, if one of her descendants met certain characteristics, he should be evaluated and, if he is worthy, he will be taken to the holy land together with her.
Sounds interesting, doesn't it? So, did anyone meet these characteristics before?
Yes, it is told that there was a generation where a young prince with silver hair and beautiful silver eyes was born.
They said he was said to have outstanding talent, though not very extreme; he was also well versed in politics and his ambition was on par with the founding emperor.
His ideas were revolutionary, his inventions were incredible, but.... hasn't history already taught him that? Genius attracts envy.
And his brothers and even the reigning emperor of that time began to see him as a threat, especially the "crown prince", who, fearing that his father would see this silver prince in a better light, came up with the idea of hindering him.
It started as a few simple words, but ended with the unfortunate death of the silver prince, all while the envoy of the founding empress, whose purpose was to observe her descendants, watched very carefully.
In the end, the writings relate that the founding empress, in her anger, personally executed all the members of the imperial family, except for the firstborn of the silver prince, who years later would succeed to the throne.
Thereafter, all subsequent emperors understood the message and passed it on to the next generation, when the time came for them to relinquish their throne.
"Fear the silver prince, but, above all, fear those who watch him."
Since then, no silver prince has been born and practically this saying became a legend or an anecdote.
The following generations saw it as absurd, especially those princes who did not meet these characteristics.
(Even I thought it was stupid, well... in fact, I still believe it), the woman thought with a hint of skepticism.
But... what if she were in her brother's shoes?
(In this world, some legends turned out to be true, besides... if we take into account the monstrous talent of the founding empress, shouldn't she still be alive? Honestly, I wouldn't risk disturbing her), sighed the woman.
"Do you understand my anxiety? Besides, I don't just have a silver prince...", sighed the man.
(Twins... a boy and a girl, what a pain...), thought the woman.
"So that's why I called you. Didn't you tell me you wanted a boy? Well, I'll give it to you to take care of, along with the girl," and finally, the man revealed his task in calling her.
"I wanted a child yes, but from my own womb. Besides..."
"Oh, and as a bonus, you both have a chance of being that legendary prince, isn't he attractive? If you do it right, and it turns out that either one of you is the silver prince, you'll have a powerful ally," the man continued, trying to tempt the woman.
The circumstances of their home, along with the attractiveness of the legendary prince, made the idea of having those children more tempting to the woman.
(I don't think my husband will be leaving his cultivation in the next few decades... and Eris needs some friends, right? Who better than her cousins...?) The more the woman thought about it, the more tempted she felt.
*sigh... Fake?
"Let me see them first. If they turn out to my liking, I'll help you take care of them," the woman replied with a sigh, as if she was doing the man a great favor.
And in a way it was true...
"Thank you."
(My children are a bit... bloodthirsty. It's fortunate that the Phoenix sect has disowned those twins. That way, it's easier to take them out of the fight for the throne...), the man thought.