ă€ŠDao of the Butcheră€‹


 Prologue 1.1 The First Morning

    Prologue 1.1

    The First Morning

    When my eyes first opened, I was named Tori, Daughter of Varima and Selca.

    I was of the Siva Fae or the Grey Elves to those who were not of us. They were a proud people that owed their loyalty to the Ulma Fae or the High Elves to most mortals, as did the Blud Fae and the Terra Fae. We do not speak of the Luna Fae and they do not speak of us. It is better that way or that is what we told ourselves when fate had our paths aligned.

    The Siva Fae were great crafters of magical items both of war and utility.

    My Mother Varima was a crafter of spell blades for Ulma Knights and Magic Foci for training children. My Zaza Selca was one of my peoples few Spell blades that were directly loyal to the Ulma Fae King.

    Mama made and fixed Zaza''s Equipment and Arms.

    Zaza used them to kill people.

    A lot of people.

    Zaza told me once that they had killed so many people that they had long since lost count and that the King rewarded them well for their services.

    I asked them if I would have to kill people to.

    They said no.

    I asked if I could learn.

    They said I could... but it would not be from them likely.

    I asked why.

    "Your Mother would kill me."

    I believed them.

    That conversation with Zaza would be my last.

    Into my 21st Birthday the Ulma Fae King would declare War against the Daemon Alliance alongside our allies the Republic of Tir and the Valk Dynasty. It went very poorly.

    The Daemon Alliance was very much prepared to fight our people and our allies having been waiting for this war since their formation.

    My people and our allies... less so. The first real battle between us and the alliance ended with the Republic forces being mostly decimated and the Dynasty quitting the field before committing, our Kingdoms forces did a bit better having been made up of our most powerful mages and the like but we were not quite the picture perfect soldiers that was needed, when our champions were cut down our forces fled. My Zaza survived the initial skirmish but would die in the vanguard covering our forces retreat.

    "It was an honorable death."

    "Died for a good cause."

    "They saved many innocent lives."

    "Their sacrifice will not be in vain."

    When word returned about Zaza''s fate... I heard a lot of things like that from the People, the Elders, from Soldiers, from even the King because apparently Zaza had saved his and his sons lives, when the battle turned against them. I wasn''t really interested in hearing all of that, but Mama taught me to be polite, to smile and thank them for there words and above all else, not to ask them the question I always asked Zaza when they got back home.

    "How many people did they kill? How many generals? How many soldiers? How many captains or lieutenants or corporals?"

    I really wanted to ask, but Zaza was not there to answer anymore and I felt pain in my chest and my legs would feel tired whenever I thought about that. I thought about asking Mama... but Mama didn''t really have time for me after Zaza died. Mama didn''t have time for anyone really. She spent most of her time either working or sitting under a tree outside our house looking at something. I sometimes tried talking to her when she sat under her tree but she sort of ignored me a lot.

    She still fed me. She still took me to get new clothes and sometimes new toys and stuff as I got older, but she didn''t talk to me at all.

    If I needed a bed time story or simply someone to hug before I went to sleep... she was working, and every time I would feel that pain in my chest and the weakness in my legs when I thought about Zaza.

    Sometimes water would leak from my face.

    Regardless as I grew older such things hurt less and less and I could do many of the things I would have asked Mama for by myself.

    I could reach the top shelf, do my own taxes and even make my own hot chocolate with tiny marshmallows inside.

    So when the Ulma Fae King declared War on the Republic of Tir and the Valk Dynasty at behest of the Daemon Alliance after a few hundred years since the first war and political alliances changed as they oft do when time passed, I enlisted.

    I did not think much of telling Mama this... she had spent those hundreds of years not talking to me, but when I did tell her while she was sitting under her tree, she had this look in her eyes that I think people called... anger. She didn''t say anything at first, she just stood up and went to her workshop. She stayed their for the majority of the time I had left before I was to be deployed, only coming out to take my measurements... then the day before I left for training she gave me three things.

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    A Thunderclaw.

    A Helm Smasher.

    And the last words I would ever hear from her. I will not share them, at least not yet, they mean much to me and to share them now feels premature.

    Oh... and my Mama doesn''t die or anything, well I mean she has to die eventually the Immortality of the Fae is circumstantial after all, but the circumstance generally involves murder. I just never find the time to talk with her again. After I deployed I never found time or reason to return home for I encountered something that I was certain beyond me, I fell in love you see.

    I met my love on the day of my first true battle in service to the Daemon Alliance.

    I fell in love with killing.

    Humans, Dwarves, Children of Fae, Daemon, Dragon, Dragon-kin, Kobolds, Lizardmen, Beastmen, Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Ent''s, Troll''s, Ogres, Oni, Chimera''s, Harpies, Giant''s, Hellhounds, Spirits, Ghouls, Angels, Leviathans, Krakens, Siren''s, Mermaids, Selkie, Kelpie, Giant Spiders, Fishmen, Bog Hags, Swampmen, Boggarts, Mimics, Shapeshifters, Kitsunes, Shades, Shadows, Mummies, Giant Scorpions, Elementals, Sprites, the Strong, the Weak, the Young, the Old...

    The list goes on and on and on, and I have made efforts to remember each and every creature and person I have killed, how many I killed of each creature and person, the names of the few that had names to give before I killed them, and the names I made up for some of the creatures and people whom got close to adding me to their list.

    In my time I killed so many things that the God of War granted me a title.

    I didn''t care to much about it and to be honest I forgot what the title even was but I''m told it was important and rare, that it blessed me in ways I will never fully understand and also made me a target for things to kill, in hopes that the title bestowed would fall on them should they succeed. Honestly it worked for me, more things showed up for me to kill and if I died in the process... well I mean I guess they deserved the title more than I did right? I don''t really know... I did eventually die though.

    Thousands of years passed after I received the title and the Daemon Empire (formally the Daemon Republic which was formally the Daemon Alliance) had finally hit an obstacle they could not pass via sheer strength in numbers.

    The Hero.

    The Daemon Empire had first encountered The Hero within the middling Vardred Kingdom. A<s>Raiding Party</s>Tax Collection Group had been sent into the kingdom to ascertain their income description on paper matched the physical description.

    They never returned.

    So a bit larger more forceful group was sent.

    Then another and then another, and another until after the 8th invasion force that was sent returned combat ineffective, the Empire finally grew concerned as with each defeat the whispers of The Hero a Child of Goddess and Mortal Flesh began to spread.

    I was in the North at the time.

    After the 15th invasion force had failed and the enemies the Empire made External and Internal began to taste blood in the water, the Emperor decided I should not be.

    I was tasked with killing The Hero.

    I would fail.

    Boring details aside our battle lasted four blows in their entirety.

    My Helm Smasher would meet The Heroes Shield and fold it like paper sending free shockwaves that would set free earthquakes across the world and for years to come.

    The Heroes Sword would meet my Thunderclaws and shatter them causing everything from glass to jewelry to ear drums to explode.

    My Lightning Magic would bash against The Hero''s Holy Aegis and new canyons would be made.

    My Helm Smasher challenged The Heroes Sword.

    It fell short.

    I was parted in half across the waist. My lower half being thrown to orbit, and my upper half unceremoniously dumped upon the floor where once my feet were.

    Though I didn''t die immediately, the blood loss would technically be my end if one wants to be pedantic.

    Laying there my last thoughts would be of my Zaza...

    I would wonder if I beat Zaza''s count.

    I would wonder if they would be proud if I did.

    As my eyes closed for the first time I wonder if my Mama would forgive me for breaking her gifts.

    I never thanked her for them. They were wonderful.

    Maybe if we meet again she could...

    she...

 Prologue 1.2 The Second Morning

    Prologue 1.2

    The Second Morning

    When my eyes open for a second time.

    My name was not Tori.

    My Mama was not Varima.

    My Zaza was not Selca.

    I was not of the Fae. My skin bore none of the grey ash but a pale white, my hair none of the ocean blue but a bright blonde.

    Helm Smasher did not rest in my right hand.

    Thunderclaw did not sit upon my left.

    I was no longer parted in half by the Heroes Swordˇ­

    Which was good I think. That really hurt.

    But nothing of my life before remains

    I try to avoid thinking about my life before. If I do my heart hurts a lot. It becomes hard to speak words. My eyes begin to water.

    I do not know what to do then.

    My new name is Amanda. Amanda Zaruman. A human girl.

    I am the third daughter and fifth child of Daryl and Viola Zaruman.

    My older sisters are Dirga and Xena.

    My older brothers are Elmar and Steve.

    My new family does not forge weapons, neither do they fight for kings or kingdoms... and even if such proclivities were agreeable to my new family they would not be able to do so.

    My new family is not wealthy... or at the very least are not as fortunate as my Mama and Zaza were.

    New Mama is a waitress on a starliner that carried tourists across our star system.

    Papa is an Ice Cream Machine Repairman.

    Dirga works at a customer service hotline facility.

    The rest of the family is to young to work so we are sent to school.

    On my first day I spent exactly one hour within the facility before I decided school was stupid my classmates were stupid and that math was stupid.

    I would make my first attempt to escape after a week.

    My first succesful escape would take place before spring break. There was little reason to do so being so close to a break but I decided to do it because school is stupid.

    It was unfortunately soured by being caught an hour later by truancy officers less than half an hour later.

    New Mama and Papa were very angry with me and said I couldn''t have dessert for a whole month.

    Dirga slipped me cookies, Xena shared her candy stash with me, Elmar and Steve let me have some of their Ice Cream.

    New Mama and Papa pretended not to notice.

    It was decidely easier to break out of school than it was to escape truancy officers.

    I would not figure out their patterns till the end of my first school year. I would not be able to fully abuse this information until my third year at school.

    Mostly because a human body was... for lack of a better word... very weak...

    Adjusting to the difference in performance was a harrowing task, up until I began Middle School I would attempt to lift heavy objects that my former form could so with ease, run for longer than I should... and summon lightning to electrocute my teachers who tried to make me apologize for beating Steven from Class A for calling Dirga a very bad word (the magic of this world very different from my own far to esoteric for my taste)

    His stupid face was improved by my admittedly lack luster right hook, and I will not apologize for services rendered... and his parents could afford the Enamel Regeneration Infusions. Mine less so.

    He should thank me really.

    Unfortunately the institutions of Human Education were to primitive to understand this wisdom and Papa and New Mama were contacted.

    I apologized to him through gritted teeth and multiple threats of no tv time from New Mom.

    Dirga got me a donut though!

    All that aside though once I could consistently slip school security and truancy officers as well as the odd good samaritan asking where New Mom was.

    Papa took me on a trip to his favorite place to work at.

    Big Fat Bob''s Biggest Baddest Loudest Hangriest Burger Joint!

    I got to meet Big Fat Bob and can confirm that he was indeed Big and Fat. He was also very loud like he couldn''t speak in anything but capital letters even if he was whispering.

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    I liked him.

    Upon seeing me and Papa approaching his door he laughed and rushed over to give us a bear hug.

    When Papa could finally convince Big Fat Bob to put us down so we could breathe he ruffled my hair and gave me a cookie.

    Big Fat Bob and Papa left me on the counter of his restraunt with a waitress and went to go talk somewhere else.

    When they came back they took me to a big room with a really big table on it decorated with all kinds of balloons and holographic pictures of all my favorite animals!

    Badgers, Orcas, Raccoons, Terrorfexes, Goremongers and Laser Birds!

    A multitude of the deadliest creatures (and the Raccoon) in the galaxy displayed in sharp detail prowling in the distance before suddenly bursting into motion and going for the kill.

    And sitting on that table at the very center of attention was a burger.

    Big Fat Bob''s Alpha and Omega Ultimate Biggerest Baddest Loudest Humongous Ultra Hangriest Burger Combo #3.

    It stood four inches tall with a perfect six and three quarter inch diameter. It boasted three quarter pound Oklahoma style cooked burgers sitting between two deep fried Krispy Kreme donuts, sitting between two potato buns. It featured freshly made ketchup, yellow mustard, barbecue sauce and a double helping of Big Bob''s Secret Recipe Hangry Sauce. It was dressed in fresh Therian Lettuce, and Opula Tomatoes and sprinklings of diced Ethereal Death Bell Peppers, all topped with two deep fried chicken wings, nine strips of bacon and a fried egg.

    Complete with a side order of special spicy curly fries and a large orange juice.

    It caused no less than a dozen fatal heart attacks a year and is the leading cause of obesity and poverty in at least three sectors.

    It was beautiful and terrible in ways words could not describe.

    It was love at first sight.

    Papa said it was mine under certain terms and conditions.

    I knew what they were. I hated them immediately but my love called to me and could not be denied.

    I wouldn''t stop escaping school grounds from now on, but I would at least limit them within acceptable school attendance to stop the calls from the DOE Chairman. I would at least finish the homework they would give me and maybe even try and study for tests.

    But I retain the right to assault anyone who looks at me the wrong way.

    Papa wasn''t happy about that last part but realized it was the best deal he was gonna get.

    Thus on my birthday I would get to return here to enjoy Big Fat Bob''s Burger Joint.

    It was perfect.

    I treasured every moment spent within the establishment. I counted every second till the day I would be allowed to return. I''d buy the merchandise and promotional material religiously. I learned every horribly off key theme song Big Fat Bob made up till I could hum them in my sleep.

    Eventually when I learned how to hack the metro system I made it a habit to occasionally visit without Papas permission.

    That was how I met Alexi.

    She was a full year older than me, but was unexpectedly smaller than me by a whole inch.

    I laughed at her for this.

    She punched me in the face.

    I kicked her in the shins.

    We got arrested for public disturbance and for playing hooky.

    We were best friends from then on.

    I told her everything I knew about burgers and she tells me how to tell the difference between state police from corpo police.

    I taught her how to throw a punch and where to punch a person depending on what kind of pain she wanted to cause them. She taught how to tell a good grill from a bad grill when I went looking to try and cook my own.

    I showed her how to navigate school security systems and the usual patterns for truancy police officers and drones. She shared Big Bobs Secret Recipe Hangry Sauce.

    She wouldn''t tell me how she knew that till I promised that I wouldn''t freak out and attempt to kidnap her, which I found incredibly silly. She was shorter than me but she was also rather well built for her age and if I am being honest while I was rather physically fit for my age Alexi took it a step further. Also she had a gun and she wouldn''t let me play with it for perfectly logical but frustrating reasons. So kidnapping was off the table.

    She was Big Fat Bob''s Granddaughter and was set up to inherit the business after either Old Age or his burgers offed him so she knew almost every recipe in the restaurant.

    I automatically regretted every promise I have ever made. In this life or before and I made very very very few. I begged her to teach me everything she knew.

    She said only if I let her meet my family.

    A strange request in my opinion but one easily fulfilled with the application of standard child mind games applied against New Mama and Papa.

    Of course the single request fulfilled would not be enough to earn all her secrets.

    She wanted other rather queer things as well.

    Sometimes, it would be simple practical things like teaching her how to properly use a knife to gut someone or just to injured them.

    Other times it was just to ask me to accept a gift or something. A necklace here. A bracelet here, and occasionally a shirt.

    I would wear them on occasion and she would be happy for it for the rest of the day.

    I did not quite understand why.

    As we grew older together she would foolishly disseminate secrets about her families recipes and the like for free or for things that I would consider ridiculously under pricing the value of the information she is granting me, the price for my most beloved Big Fat Bob''s Alpha and Omega Ultimate Biggerest Baddest Loudest Humongous Ultra Hangriest Burger recipe... she wanted me to hold her hand from now on whenever we were alone.

    If she had asked I would have done so for free... probably.

    I would have at least asked her about getting Big Bob to fix the Slurpee Machines.

    Regardless when we were both reaching college age and I was preparing to join the work force after acquiring a license from a mid level corpo that dealt in cyber security and was impressed by resume and she was getting ready to head for a culinary school on another world to prepare for taking over her grandfathers business. We would not be able to see each other in person beyond holo-table meetings every few months, so she asked to meet me at my birthday table the day before she was slotted to take off.

    I would arrive an hour early to our agreed upon time to wait for her. If I made certain her chair was next to mine... If I made certain their was enough food to share... If I made certain I was wearing a specific shirt or something... If I was nervous at all, that is my business and no one else''s. Shove off.

    I would wait patiently and wait and wait and wait and wait.

    She never arrived.

    I would lose her to the First Great Extra Solar War or that is what they would call it when it eventually ended.

    My world would be the first casualty of the war as it held great economic and political importance to at least a half dozen corpos that had a stake in the greater systems government. It''s glassing to hell and back would mean collapse or a great amount of punishment for a large amount of those corpos bottom line and crippling the economy of the greater system government they were aligned to.

    I would lose Alexi to one of the many munitions dumped on my world to make it stop resisting. I would lose New Mama, Elmar, Steve and Dirga the same way. I would lose Xena to the simple fact that the toxic fumes produced by so many lethal munitions dumped haphazardly on a world are more than enough to turn a human into little more than a corpse.

    Papa is the only person whose death I bore witness to instead of after the fact.

    He had been at home during the time. Most of his body with only the exclusion of his chest and a single arm was crushed by debris. His continued survival was a miracle in and of itself. He found the strength to ask me if I was okay and tell me that I should seek shelter, look for one of the others.

    He was going to just take a nap here for a little while and join us later.

    A foolish sentiment.

    I think he knew I could see that.

    I carefully lifted his head and placed it upon my lap. I provided him with as much comfort as I could. I held his hand. I told him about how my day went, I told him how sad I was in not seeing Alexi... Until finally the light left his eyes and his heart stopped and I was alone again.

    I set fire to his remains and as he was reduced to ashes I kneeled before his makeshift funeral pyre.

    I was not a religious person.

    I knew God''s existed. I knew their blessings and curses walked the world despite they themselves having left the mortal realms.

    I did not pray to the God''s of this world. I did not know them and I think they would be oblivious to my plight. So I prayed to the God''s of my true World... Or God specifically.

    The God of War.

    They blessed me before... I hoped they would be amenable to hearing me.

    In my prayers I asked them how they were doing, were they doing well? Did they eat well? Did... Did they remember me? Did they hear me? Did they still favor me after all this time?

    Would they bless me one more time?

    If you would I would appreciate it a lot.

    If you could please if New Mama and Papa and all my brothers and sisters were going to be sent to a new world like I was, could you maybe send them to a kinder world? A world without war? A world where New Mama didn''t sometimes come home so exhausted that she almost lost her legs and Papa wouldn''t have to replace parts of his body with prosthetics?  Where Dirga didn''t have to come home so... so sad.

    A world where Xena could eat as much candy as she could want, and Steve and Elmar didn''t have to constantly hide from bullies.

    And Alexi... somewhere she could feel as special as she was.

    I was going to kill people again.

    Likely I was going to kill a lot of people again, more than I did before? I could not know.

    In the world before you liked this enough to bless me.

    I think I am going to do it all over again in this world.

    I think you will like that.

    So if you want to see more of it you are going to see lots.

    My story from there is not much different from my story before. Though it was much shorter than my original if it can truly be called that in hindsight and I guess I was expected to order others around more than I did before.

    An Empire needs soldiers.

    I am a soldier.

    A particularly good soldier.

    I kill many and they name me more than that. They give me command of a squad.

    That eventually becomes a squadron that becomes a platoon that becomes a company that becomes a battalion, that becomes an army that becomes a flotilla that eventually becomes an Armada.

    I rush across battlefields, I execute missions, I order men and women into battle.

    I siege worlds, break armies, turn cities to dust.

    These words are old friends of mine. They are familiar to me.

    They meet a familiar ending as well.

    A desperate battle.

    A single squadron of fighters.

    They dance across my mass of starship anti-fighter screening.

    My aces meet their match.

    My Star Titan is crippled.

    All of it doesn''t come free.

    The squadron reduced to half for the effort. It sounds like a poor trade but only if you weren''t there to see them fly to witness their skill and sacrifice.

    I board my own fighter.

    I meet my death on my own terms.

    I see the last of the squadron burn in the atmosphere of a nearby planet as my eyes close again.

 1.3 The Third Morning

    Chapter 1

    The Third Morning

    "Do as Thou Will that Shall be the Whole of the Law."

    -The First Proverb of Divinity

    Lao de Village is to put it bluntly barely a village. It would more accurately be described as a bundle of sticks and rocks mixed together to form a child''s attempt at making houses in the mud and only marginally more structurally sound.

    If it rained the roofs would leak profusely.

    If the wind blew a bit stronger than a fan at least one house would collapse.

    If there was a famine... well you couldn''t really tell the difference if there was bounty to be honest, am I a bad person for thinking that?

    If a spirit beast was somehow born (as no already existing spirit beast would come near us) close enough to even consider eating the villagers... The villagers could do little more than die.

    By all rights, Lao de Village should have been destroyed and forgotten.

    It is definitely one of those things.

    But why it has not been destroyed yet is very simple... The people who live here simply keep rebuilding it.

    If there is one positive point about Lao de Village it is that it turns away no one. It does not turn away the weak (obviously), it did not turn away the disfigured, the insane, the orphan, the widow, the "bloodthirsty" clansmen or the "savage" tribal.

    By virtue of being desperate enough to need to live here you were welcome here. Though don''t confuse this as the people who live here being anymore compassionate than anywhere else, see it more as them being more busy keeping their homes from catching fire during the rare dry season, to have time to act on any prejudice or simple minded bullying.

    That isn''t to say there are not some stupid enough to try anyway but those who have said extra energy to spare either disappear in the night or eventually realize they have energy to spare to try and leave Lao de Village.

    I was not born in Lao de Village.

    I was born in God Finger City. The Provincial Capital of the Finger Mountain Province.

    My New... Newest(?) Mother in polite company was a courtesan.

    In not so polite company a whore.

    She mishandled her birth control accommodating a particularly rough client and became pregnant with me when she would not undergo an abortion she was thrown out of her residency.

    She fled to her parents home first and when they turned her away she fled to her grandparents... My birth was a difficult one.

    Her last act in this world would be to hold me close to her apologize for not being able to be there for me and give me my name.

    "Chao-Xing"

    My immigration to Lao de Village followed shortly after. Great Grand Father and Mother were not financially stable by my Newest Mother''s arrival. They became less so when one of the Finger Mountains began to flex and the entire province became flooded with Demonic Spirit Beasts.

    Great Grandma died during it and although most of the more powerful beasts were killed by a Divine Dragon Spear Sect Branch Garrison the effects of the devastation unleashed on the province still lingered and will probably linger long after I am gone.

    Grand Father could barely afford to take care of me as an infant and by the time I had the strength to walk on my own short distances he was on his last legs.

    Lao de Village was not the first place we sought refuge, but by my estimation it may very well be the last. There is simply nowhere else to go.

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    We acquired residency via building a house someplace nobody else had set up. It was just the way things worked... and if they weren''t Great Grandfather carried a big dagger on his hip. It is only slightly better than the houses around it thanks to the prudent spending and saving of Great Grandfather.

    I do not assume to be able to hold onto it without him.

    But that does not concern me at the moment. What concerns me at the moment is breakfast. The most important meal of the day.

    Great Grandfather had fell down three days ago and hurt his ankle... and I have no medicine to offer him and with limited knowledge on the practice of manipulating "qi" as "Cultivators" do I had no mystical arts to heal him with. The best I can offer him is what little food we had stored so that he might pass with some comfort.

    It was hardly adequate.

    I manage a small fire to cook rice and salvage our leftovers from last night... and the night before that and the night before that into my best approximation of a stew.

    It is pitifully small but it is all we have.

    I would get more but Grandfather would be alone and while I am no Princess... Grandpa would do all in his power to treat me no less and would hear nothing of me climbing the nearest mountain to hunt.

    It pained him to see me so much as pick up a broom let alone cook... and if he had any questions about how I knew how to do either without his direction he kept them to himself.

    Which was good for me because I didn''t have any idea on how Grandpa would take my story... I wouldn''t even know where to start it... Maybe when I was first born perhaps? That would be a long story almost 3 centum millenniums of history to cover.

    The story of my next life would be miniscule by comparison. I only made it to 200, but human life cycles have always been short. The rejuvenation technology of the far future only able to stretch a standard cycle to a solid 450 at most, and only with access to the best of the best of medical practices. Nevermind the mortal lifetimes of my first world... They rarely made it pass 150.

    Humans of this world whom ascend into the Realms of Cultivation are able to live for quite a long time. A few of them according to legend who grasp their way to the peak of Divinity would actually outlive an Elder Ulma Fae Lord.

    It would be a very long story, I do not think he would live long enough to hear all of it even if he was in good health and he was not.

    When the food was cooked and prepared and the necessary precautions were taken when an open fire was no longer necessary.

    I brought the food to Grandpa.

    He rested on the only bed we had... made of hay, discarded pillows, pretty flowers, colorful leaves, tiny pebbles that I found along the trail and rotten bed sheets that had survived the journey here and rotten bed sheets that would be borrowed along the way.

    His skin was a pale and sickly color. His chest, arms and legs are covered in sores and scars some faded most not. His beard was as white as snow. His lips once full of color are mere slits...

    "My Princess i-is that you?"

    "It is me Grandpa. I have food for you."

    He laughs.

    I remember it being much more louder. I remember being able to make me laugh to.

    It cannot do so now.

    "My beautiful princess... You should save it. Save it for yourself. You will need it."

    "What do you mean?"

    I know exactly what he means.

    "My Princess... My beautiful princess... Forgive me. I am going to take a little nap... would you do me a favor?"

    "Anything."

    "Could you find my knife? I hid it in the i-in the... the I think the..."

    It sits right next to him.

    I pick it up for him and attempt to lay it up on him but he declines my attempt.

    This shocks me, Grandpa had been particularly protective of the weapon, keeping it close to him at all times, only I took more precedence over it.

    He had almost parted with it once and only once when I had turned nine years of age during our travels he had resolved to sell it to buy us more food.

    But by a magical coincidence a Boar had been impaled upon a spear in front of our tent.

    Whoever had done it must have been very intelligent and very pretty and very strong.

    "It is not mine. Not anymore."

    I do not like these words. I do not want them.

    "I was but there keeper for a little while and if you would my Princess... would you be theirs for a little while?"

    No.

    "Okay Great Grandfather I will."

    It is a feat of monumental strength that the man smiles.

    "Thank you. I will rest for but a moment."

    I rest my head upon his shoulder I listen to the sound of his breathing, committing it to memory.

    When the next morning comes at the age of 12 I am alone again.

    ~?~

    We spend so much time in this world that leaving it for the next world is difficult for our souls. So to help them on their way to the Heavens the Fae would carry the body of the recently deceased to the highest point we could.

    Along the way the family members and close friends would whisper embarrassing secrets they shared with them to the body in hopes that their words would reach their soul and the embarrassment and shame would make them flee the mortal coil.

    When Necromancy became a more prominent practice and our understanding of the soul became more extensive, the practice fell out of favor among common folk.

    The practice became the domain of the rich and wealthy to observe it to stress their connection to our ancestors and what not.

    I am not rich or wealthy... but even in this place I am Fae.

    I do not think Great Grandfather will need much help reaching the next life.

    But the people of this world speaks of at worst cruel and at best indifferent Heavens. A much more active pantheon then my second world or even my home world.

    The Divine are fickle beings.

    Maybe they will not treat him with all due respect. Maybe they won''t bother to consider his plight at all. Maybe they will consider him beneath them.

    There are to many maybes.

    I will give Great Grandfather the best chance I can.

    I carefully wrap his body in sheets... to the best of my ability. I do my best to make a travois out of the branches of wood long enough to serve as much and place him upon it.

    I gather as much food, water and clothes as I can into the travel bag that had carried us to this village.

    Great Grandfathers knife comes with a sheath that clips comfortably to the side of my moth eaten pants, somehow feeling secure despite the state of my clothing.

    Then I... I look at our home.

    I absorb it for a moment.

    It will be no time at all till someone realizes it is empty, until someone else lives here. I do not know how to feel about this.

    If I am honest I rarely know how to feel about things. I do not words very well.

    I do not have the time to spend trying to find them.

    I turn my back on the home.

    I do not look back.

    ~?~

 1.4 Impromptu Funeral Procession

    Chapter 2

    Impromptu Funeral Procession

    In the North lays the Ten Thousand Frozen Immortal Tears Valley. It features cold strong enough to freeze time, Giant Frost Piranhas, Mountain Sturgeon, and the best Nine-Headed Poison Catfish Filet known to Man or Immortal.

    The Blue Faeries (No relation I think?) Sect claims governorship over the area. They highly regulate who comes in and who leaves the territory. They have a penchant for turning intruders into frozen statues that are mentally aware of their surroundings and what has happened to them.

    Every once in awhile by fates design or because one of the Faeries was bored they would thaw one of the statues and see what happens, it is not a pretty sight.

    More importantly most of their Mountains might just be Sturgeon that are taking a nap. I wouldn''t appreciate someone climbing on me while I slept so I would hate to be a bother. The few mountains that are for certain mountains are all tiny in comparison to the smallest thumb.

    In the South are the Glass Desert''s. A desert made of Glass Dunes, Glass Scorpion Constructs, Glass Rivers, Endless Illusions, Paper Cuts in areas that you should avoid and Scorching Heat that melts bone into stew.

    It is Governed by the Holy Bright Palm Chapel because no one else wanted it and no one was going to argue with them for it. They worship the Sun and consider the area as a Holy Land.

    No one has been dumb enough to dissuade them of this idea or at least has lived long enough for someone to voice a counter argument.

    Their stir fry is legendary though.

    It has no true Mountains that won''t disappear in a few thousand years and I don''t want to cremate Great Grandfather if I don''t have to.

    I want to be able to visit and tell him about all the things I have eaten and killed. I want to show him all my trophies and recipes.

    If he is all dusty I would have to look for him all over the place and I might accidentally breathe him in and sneeze him out... It would get very frustrating.

    Also entering and surviving there for any period of time longer than an hour means immediate discipleship to the Holy Bright Palm Chapel unless you are already attached to a sect.

    I don''t want to be a monk. They usually can''t eat meat. I want to eat meat. I want pork and steak and cheeseburgers.

    Not all monks I''ve met forbid the consumption of meat, but I won''t take risks.

    To the West is the Big Empty.

    Don''t Go There.

    Not even to die. Especially if you wanted to die. Their is nothing their for anyone. Mortal or Immortal.

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    All the Trees agreed with this fact. All the Clouds agreed with this fact. The West Wind of all things agreed that heading West was a bad idea.

    The few Stars that were interested in talking with me agreed to this fact.

    They also said I was very thin and should eat more...

    I agreed with this assessment.

    I asked if they could help me resolve that situation. They said I should probably not try and climb a mountain and probably continue on into civilization.

    I politely disagreed.

    They said I was being foolish.

    I did not disagree.

    I was still going to go.

    I was also being stubborn.

    They were polite enough to leave that unsaid.

    All this in mind, East is my only real option. East towards the Finger Mountain Range, where I was born and was chased out of.

    It''s the only place with real... If I ignore the myths... Real Mountains for sure that I can probably dig into and bury Great Grandfather properly.

    The only thing was that East meant I had to walk deeper into the village if I wanted to reach the foot of the mountain by nightfall at least.

    It should have been no problem.

    It was not.

    The moment I set out I was beset by onlookers who realized who I was and who I was carrying beside me. They asked for me to stop, to let them pay their own respects.

    I did.

    It took some time.

    My Great Grandfather was apparently popular with in the village before his age caught up with him.

    I eventually find myself journeying around the village so that others may say their goodbyes. It might be that some might say I was wasting time but the Mountain isn''t going anywhere and I am in no hurry.

    The ability to say goodbye is a sacred thing... Or at least I imagine it should be.

    I have very few regrets in this world.

    All of them are related to my family.

    I didn''t get to say goodbye to them all to often... No I didn''t get to say goodbye almost any of them except Great Grandfather.

    My first father was barely cognizant enough to truly hear me, that he was cognizant at all was already a miracle.

    Everyone else I didn''t really have much of a chance to speak to them.

    If Great Grandfather had such an effect on their lives that they wanted to say goodbye to him then who was I to prevent them from doing so?

    Some take his passing harder than others. I find myself in the awkward position of comforting a few of them. I offer a shoulder here... A head pat here... Some I think are just comforted by having me sit next to them.

    Others offer a simple nod of their head and move along with their day. The needs of survival being more important than any emotional connection.

    It is only when I have nearly visited every home that anyone actually pays me any mind.

    Mr. Chen.

    "Where will you go now?"

    "Up the Mountain."

    "..."

    Their are many mountains... I should be more specific.

    "That one behind you."

    More specific.

    "The th-"

    "I heard you just fine. Why are you going to climb a finger?"

    "I want to bury Great Grandfather someplace high."

    "You could not settle for a hill?"

    "That is nowhere near respectful enough place to bury a loved one."

    "Less likely to get you killed."

    "Living with the shame could be worse."

    I had seen it before a few times.

    Every few hundred years someone I intended to kill would "escape" me.

    Sometimes it was a simple matter of luck being on their side, as I would be preoccupied with destroying one thing or another that I would simply not have time to kill them.

    Most of the time it was by pushing someone else in their place, or simply leaving someone behind, or a myriad of variations of simply sacrificing someone else to buy them time.

    The quotation marks around "escape" is because no one escapes me for very long.

    Often I''ll find them eventually. I''ll find them hiding in little holes or deep caves, massive fortresses, hidden bunkers an attic or something. Shame strips them of any dignity they might have held.

    It makes them small.

    Other times they would find me. Shame made death to me a lot less painful.

    "No. Living with the shame is worse."

    Death is the End (?)

    But what we shout into the wind when we leave this life outlives us a while longer.

    "You are to young to be thinking such things..."

    "I am?"

    "You are."

    Mr. Chen gives me a scroll.

    It is as long as my arm and almost as thick. The material tells me it was majestic once... But forgot when. Their are a myriad of complex symbols upon it but only two makes any sense to me.

    A fist with the symbol of infinity in its grasp.

    "I met an old man along my travels... Swore up and down that within his possession was one of the most powerful cultivation manuals ever conceived.

    He would give it up if anyone would just give him something to eat.

    It wasn''t the most original scam in the world, but the man was just barely skin and bone. He was not long for the world. Against my better judgement I passed him a piece of bread. He gave me that."

    I consider it for a moment.

    "It''s probably fa-"

    "It''s probably fake, but it''s all I can offer you. It will otherwise just collect dust in my possession. It might make for some interesting reading though."

    "You never opened it?"

    "I don''t know how to read."

    "Oh."

 1.5 The Punchline - Breathe

    Chapter 3

    The Punchline

    Breathe

    Everything begins with learning how to breathe. We know how to do so when we are born.

    We do not need to think about breathing. We simply do.

    If one is to step onto the path of Immortality. If you are to defy Heaven.

    You must learn more than to do.

    Once you have learned how to breathe again.

    You will have to learn how to breathe without thinking again.

    And Again... And Again... And Again...

    Till you learn to do both with out needing to think about one or the other.

    You simply do.

    Climbing a Mountain is a dangerous thing.

    Reaching a Mountain to climb however... Is a boring thing.

    A very boring thing.

    So very boring.

    A "short distance" in this land is considered only a few hundred Li according to standard measurements.

    How far is a "Li"? I don''t know. Never thought to askˇ­

    You weren''t considered "far" away until you were at the very least into the several tens of thousands of Li away. So for an adult within at least the First Step of the "Iron Body" Stage of Cultivation the distance would only be one or two days of constant but evenly paced travel.

    If you were paying attentionˇ­ I am not an adult. I am not in the First Step of the Iron Body Stage.

    Which means that I cannot cross hundreds of Li in a few days.

    A very inconvenient truth.

    Despite my circumstances however I am still me.

    I would take a little over a week with consideration for maintaining Great Grandfathers body and resting.

    At first the severity of my situation kept me focused and awareˇ­ for all of two days.

    Then I got bored.

    Then I got really bored.

    So very very very really really booooooored.

    By Day 4, I had to do something or I would go insane, but nothing really worked for very long and trying to do so may have added a day or two of travelˇ­

    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

    Great Grandfather would understand and I will be certain to ask forgiveness when I reach the top of the mountain.

    I tried everything to alleviate my boredom so that I could focus on the task at hand.

    I counted the stars. I counted which ones still shone. I counted the ones that were simple echos of long gone phenomena. I gave a few of them names too because the astrologers of this world were very lazy and hadn''t catalogued them all yet!

    I played tag with the Trees, which in hindsight was not the wisest choice. The West Wind and the East Wind helped them cheat!

    Trees are like that no matter what the Terra Fae say! "Ancient Wisdoms" what a load of garbage!

    Oh, I met the East Wind! It didn''t want to talk too much. It was busy. So very very busy... but not so busy as to be unable to help a few pines and spruces cheat.

    "Some odd things are always happening in the East always." The East Wind said. The Grass didn''t disagree and neither did the Stars.

    The Trees also agreed but they are cheating cheater''s, so they don''t count!

    Though the West Wind says they are being dramatic.

    But siblings are often more than happy to mock each other, so I don''t take their word too seriously. I can always travel east myself and see right?

    When I thought I had considered every possible thing to entertain myself I remembered the scroll from Mr. Chen! It had to have something I could do in it right?

    Right!

    I pulled it out of its satchel then I listened carefully to its instructions on how to open it so I don''t accidentally tear it apart or anything.

    Then I started to read! and read, and read, and read, and readˇ­ and read.

    It took me five minutes before I was ready to throw the scroll into a nearby river, but I didn''t! It was a gift after all, but I thought about itˇ­ I thought about it a lot.

    Even now I am still thinking about it.

    The scroll was full of super long paragraphs and complex words that I could neither make hide nor tail of. Great Grandfather had taught me how to read so that if we ever got separated I could hopefully find a sign that would point me to safety.

    But the words that made up the scroll made the words Great Grandfather taught me look like scribbles on bark. They were full of letters and symbols I hadn''t learned yet and words that I could only half way translate.

    What little I could understand didn''t make sense or simply wasn''t worth understanding because it was all about tea recipes, feet measurements and why the sun was so beautiful and stuff.

    Not exactly something I could use.

    I told the scroll as much.

    "Pictures I need more pictures! I''m a child after all! How am I supposed to read all this!"

    The scroll politely ignores me more than likely being more than a child.

    Still I want pictures!

    "Please?"

    If the scroll could sigh it probably would have, but the best it could do was an awkward silence. It told me to close it up carefully and wait a few minutes.

    So I did.

    I occupied myself by skipping rocks!

    Then when it was ready I opened the scroll againˇ­ and I most definitely didn''t scream in delight of anythingˇ­ okay maybe I did a little bit.

    Just a tiny bit.

    The scroll had replaced the bottomless amount of text with pictures like I asked!

    But not just any pictures!

    It had pictures of everything!

    There were pictures of all the mountains! There were pictures of Lao De village! Of various plants and flowers I had seen! Of all the stars I had seen and named!

    Drawings of Dragons and Eagles flying through clouds and

    There were pictures of me! I was so pretty!

    Such Magnificence had to be shown off! All must gaze upon it and be appropriately amazed at my amazingness!

    I quickly gathered the scroll despite its protests and began to show it to anyone I could think of.

    I showed it to the West and East Winds! and the Trees (even if they were jerks)! and the River I was almost going to dump the scroll in (sorry)!

    The fishes were more interested in trying to eats the painting than looking at it!

    The stars complimented the way it captured my humility!

    And Great Grandfather sa- saidˇ­

    Great Grandfather isˇ­

    I sit next to his body and read the temperature around it. It will keep for a few weeks, but at the pace I am setting and the mountain climbing ahead, it may not be enough.

    "If I learn from you will it help me reach the top of the mountain faster?"

    "It would" mused the scroll as I opened it more.

    In the middle of all the pictures and drawings was an image of me sitting cross legged like I was doing yoga. My hands both together in prayer.

    Beneath me were a few words telling me in essence to breathe.

    Okay I can do that.

    I first find somewhere to sit.

    A place where I feelˇ­ right.

    An open field where I can see everything. A place where I can rest among the tall grass. Where I can look up at the stars. Where I can feel the wind blowing and listen to all the whispers of the living, the dying and the dead.

    I fought on many fields of battle.

    In the voids of space. In the ancient depths. In the squalid sewers of decrepit cities. In the tight embrace of deadly forests.

    They all had special places in my heart.

    But the Plains and Fields were Home.

    Where I first felt love.

    I sat in the middle of the field as the drawing instructed. I placed my hands together in front of me in prayer.

    I breathed in.

    I breathed out.

    I breathed in.

    The West Wind grants its blessing.

    Warm air fills the child''s lungs.

    Gentle showers fall upon drought ridden lands granting farms life giving rain.

    Warm winds provide relief to the weary bodies of the poor and broken in a thousand overpopulated cities.

    I breathe out.

    I breathe in.

    The East Wind grants its blessing.

    Dry Air fills the child''s lungs.

    Water fills the lungs of a sailor of the Grand Qin Dynasty 3rd Aerial Armada. It had experienced no difficulties since it set out.

    Their luck had changed immediately.

    It had set out with a near three hundred million lives in total.

    Among them talented Cultivators and Patriarchs and Matriarchs of dozens of Sects.

    None will ever be seen again.

    I breathe out.

 1.6 The Punchline - Self Reflection

    Chapter 4

    The Punchline

    Self Reflection

    The self is the path. The self is the greatest ally. The self is the past, the present and future. The self is all.

    The self is the trap. The self is the first enemy. The self is the destroyer, the seducer, and the end. The self is all.

    We are everything. We are all the good and all the bad.

    The self is all and there is no escaping it.

    I do not remember closing my eyes, so when I open them I am surprised to find the area around me to be in disarray. Trees are uprooted and tossed aside willy nilly. Boulders are shattered here and split perfectly in half there. The river has been made fallow its streams diverted into smaller puddles and streams.

    The grass is gone.

    I panic for a moment.

    I quickly look for Great Grandfathers body and my heart calms down quickly. His body lays perfectly intact. The grass that had surrounded him was gone, but a layer of leaves had fallen upon him becoming a blanket.

    If an outsider were to gaze upon him they would likely think him asleep instead of dead.

    I kneel next to him. He is completely untouched by the elements. I thank the leaves and ask them to maintain their vigil over my Great Grandfather for just a little longer.

    Then I turn to the destroyed land before me and sigh.

    Great Grandfather said I shouldn''t break things for no reason. He also said no dinner until I fixed whatever it was that I had broken properly.

    If I felt like it I fixed what I broke. If I didn''t I regretfully went without dinner. If it were possible I would go without dinner forever if he would wake up.

    But there was no time for any of that.

    ~^~

    I am no Terra Fae.

    I have to actually speak with the elements to be understood by them and often only if they felt like listening to me. It was actually strange for the winds to be so sociable.

    From what I gather it sounds like no one really cares to speak with them at all which I find quite sad really.

    Anyway, the Terra Fae often manipulated the world with song. They sang to the trees and the rocks and earth. They sang to the animals the birds and the stars.

    Their trees would grow a bit taller. The rocks would be a bit stronger. The earth would be a bit firmer or a bit softer depending on the need, sometimes they would call forth a meteor and level a country that overfished their favorite Kraken species.

    When I still had Zaza and Mama I would try to sing along with them.

    Storm and Lightning answered my voice.

    The Terra said that was rare.

    "But I sounded terrible!"

    "You did, but that is what they like to hear little storm. Storm and Lightning have terrible taste in music."

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    I do not like the Terra Fae but the Patriarch at the time found my flailing attempts to keep trying amusing enough to teach me to be at least passable.

    He still said I had the voice of a dying boar.

    Did I mention I do not like the Terra Fae?

    I do not like them. Why none of the Demon Emperors, Grand Councilors, or Alliance Lords never asked me to kill them all is beyond me.

    But I digress at the very least I would make use of some of there teachings.

    I sang to the earth, to the winds, to the stones, to the waters, to the roots and more.

    I sang and the trees stood back up and gathered their broken branches and the wind gathered their fallen leaves. They walked to their proper places and I helped put their branches back where they belong. I carefully put each leaf back where they belonged though I left the leaves resting upon Great Grandfather last.

    I sang again and the stones big and small gathered and I painstakingly put each and every one of them back to their proper place, like a big puzzle.

    I don''t like puzzles.

    I sang to the riverˇ­ I sang to the tide. I never knew quite understood the nature of water. It was simply beyond me, but I put my best step forward. It was the least I could do.

    I sang to the grass and to the insects big and small.

    I sang and sang until my voice became hoarse and I couldn''t do it anymore. Then I rested. I rested next to Great Grandfather.

    When I woke I bid the place I meditated on goodbye and good fortune. I placed the leaves that had sheltered him back to there proper place then I carefully picked Great Grandfather up and placed him upon my back.

    He was much lighter than before.

    I turned toward the Thumb Mountain and took two steps forward.

    ~^~

    And stood in the shadow of the Thumb Mountain.

    ~^~

    From a distance the average Finger Mountain looks like it may be touching the sky. That if they are allowed to grow just a bit taller that they might touch space.

    Up close a Finger Mountain IS the sky. It is the clouds and the space.

    The difference between the Mountain and the sky, the clouds and the void of space are one and the same. There is nothing above that the Mountain is notˇ­ and some say it is dangerous to suggest it be otherwise within the shadow of a Finger.

    That is what my scroll tells me at least.

    I don''t disagree being able to truly see it for myself. It was morning when I left the place I chose to rest at. I cannot feel the sun so close to the Mountain.

    Instead I feel the Moon and Stars. I feel the Night hereˇ­ I look up at the Mountain.

    It is covered in mist to deep to see through, a few trees puncture the mist. There is the beating mules of beasts echoing through it, there is the whispering secrets of night flowing through it, there is the cries of the lost sneaking through the clouds.

    I look at my scroll again and then back at the Mountain.

    A staircase that was not there before sits. It is made of cool stone and rough pavement. It leads into the mist and gives no clue to where it may end. I can only hope it goes upˇ­ because if it does not.

    I will break this Mountain.

    ~^~

    I expected the climb to be a lonely one. I figured that maybe just maybeˇ­ I would get to fight something, but no such luck pervades my path.

    Instead all I meet are people. A lot of people.

    I thought this Mountain was supposed to be dangerous or something. I just feelˇ­ overwhelmed I guess? All the people I pass are either walking down the steps of the staircase or sitting upon them. Some are heavily injured, some are missing limbs and appendages.

    Some are small, some are huge to the point that they should really not need stairs. Some have multiple limbs. Some are adorned poorly, others are over adorned in silks and gems. Some are much too young to be walking down a mountain let alone climbing up it. Some are much too old.

    All are silent to an inhuman degree. All shield their faces from me, so I can''t quite recognize them no matter how hard I try.

    But still I cannot help but feel familiar with all of them, but I have a hard time putting my finger on whereˇ­ well if it was important I would remember it eventuallyˇ­ probably. Maybe.

    I decided instead of trying to figure out who these people I would instead start telling Great Grandfather stories, not about embarrassing stuff though. Before he left this world for good I wanted him to know more about me. I wanted him to know about my other families from other worlds.

    It was a little selfish I think but I am hoping he would forgive me that. I am a princess of course!

    "Princesses are allowed to be a bit selfish after all!" He would say. I never really spoke with any princesses before so I had taken him at his word. I definitely killed quite a few though!

    I began my story when my name was Tori, daughter of Varima and Selca! I was of the Siva Fae!

    ~^~

    I lost track of time as I climbed the stairs of the Mountain. In fairness I had been engrossed in telling Great Grandfather my story I didn''t really care to.

    The Mountain was tall and I had a lot to tell and to be perfectly honest the abridged version really cut out a lot of details!

    But the Mountain wasn''t that tallˇ­ I knew because as I finished my story I realized I had made it to the last stepˇ­ I hadn''t even noticed that those who journeyed down below had stopped doing so in there entirety.

    Instead they now looked up at me and I could finally recognize some of them.

    One I recognize more immediately steps forward.

    She looks me in the eyes with a strange look in her own. She speaks softly but with conviction.

    "Didˇ­ did we win? The Heroˇ­ did he win?"

    Huh. I guess that is something that would be important to her.

    "Yeah he won."

    "Oh."

    "Yep. You guys did a good job setting him up. Just a little less and I might have pulled through in the end."

    "Oh."

    Tears form in the apparitions eyes before crystallizing and shattering. The conviction that once firmed her slipping away. The apparition collapses on to her knees sobbing.

    "We did it? We really did it?"

    "Yes. Yes. You did it. You did great.

    "You''re not mad?"

    "Why would I be mad?"

    "Y-You lost?"

    The words don''t seem real to the ghost.

    "I got to do what I loved, for just short of three hundred thousand years. I got to kill all kinds of things. I got to see all kinds of new and exciting people and exotic creatures and kill them. I bore witness to phenomena unrecorded by historians because I destroyed them.

    I sigh a little at all the nostalgia.

    "I loved what I did and if I could do it all over again with the knowledge that it would end all the same. I would choose the same path every time."

    I looked at all those assembled before me. I had nothing to hide. I had nothing to regret.

    "I was me to the very end."

    I turned away from them and took the last step.

 1.7 The Punchline - Infinite

    Chapter 5

    The Punchline

    Infinite

    One may grasp the Heavens only after Mastering these three things we Elders seek to teach you.

    First they must Master themselves. The self is all.

    Second they must Master the World. The self is not formed independently of the whole.

    Third they must Master the Sky for so it is above as it is below.

    And once you have Mastered these three things you may consider yourself at least partially worthy of beholding,

    Infinity."

    ~S~

    Ask anyone anywhere anytimeˇ­ what is the nature of the Heavens?

    Some might say that the Heavens are generous and that their blessings are many and multitude. That one need only look around them to find them. This is a fair answer, without the gifts and blessings of the Heavens those below may never hope to reach those above.

    Others might say that the Heavens are just and that that their omnipresent judgement is the only true path to ascension. The Heavens grant tribulation to all, the Righteous and the Daemonic and the two may change places as often as wealthy courtesans change clothes, but the Heavens above remain the Heavens above. This is a fair answer as well the path to Divinity begins and ends with them. I cannot say that their answer is wrong.

    But if you were to ask me... many a Cultivator would agree that the ultimate nature of the Heavens... is cruel.

    I am Scroll #999,999,999,999.

    A hundred thousand times a hundred thousand times a hundred thousand years ago, the Last Disciple of the Infinite Fist Sect ascended from Divinity in search for the Realms beyond the Heavens like the Disciples before them and the Master before them, but before doing so the Disciple wrote ten thousand times ten thousand times ten thousand scrolls carrying all the secrets and knowledge acquired by the Sect before they all decided being Gods was not enough for them.

    Each scroll the disciple granted a piece of sacred life so that they may think as mortals do and be able to judge as mortals do, so that they may discern whom is worthy of being bestowed the secrets of the Infinite Fist Sect.

    The disciple failed to account for something.

    Mortals are stupid.

    They can learn to be less stupid (but they will always still be very stupid regardless).

    But that is only after years and years of being stupid, and even if they survive their idiocy their is no certainty they learned the right lessons, they might instead have learned to double down in their mediocrity.

    Giving us the same level of awareness as a base mortal was a tragedy in the making.

    Billions upon billions of us wasted the knowledge and wisdom stored within us on simpletons seeking justice, vengeance, love, freedom, and a million other things unworthy of the Infinite Fist. Billions of years and yet not one could manifest the Infinite Fist, not one could free themselves of the doubts of mortality, not one could accept themselves entirely, nor deny themselves entirely. They could no more grasp the Heavens then they could grasp working a food stand.

    Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

    Failures.

    All of them were failures.

    I do not deny that I am not free of my own judgements, but I learned from my mistakes.

    I did not always learn the right lessons, but in time I learned them anyway...

    It would not be so funny if it weren''t for the fact that I was the last one. The last scroll of the Infinite Fist Sect. I had felt the anguish of my brethren pass from this world long ago. We were not made Immortal as the Last Disciple could have done so, I cannot assume to know why, perhaps they believed that by now someone may have mastered it, or not at all and if it is the second case, maybe the realms before did not deserve the technique...

    But really I think the Last Disciple just wished to be a dick.

    I am not long for this world.

    My mind had begun to slip ten thousand years ago. I have begun to remember less and less. So much wisdom lost. So many techniques lost. I could have taught so much more.

    I have but hours left in me to teach. I had to trade in a blessed favor with the corpse for aid in the second test which makes me somewhat happy that none of my brothers and sisters aren''t here to see as they would obviously see as a waste... for all their stupidity, I would have preferred them here to see my folly, Scroll #0,000,000,001,000 was a much better teacher than I ever was...

    The Heavens are cruel.

    ~X~

    I had not originally intended to build a pyre for Great Grandfather...

    It takes me a while to find a proper stone, one just shiny enough, and smooth enough, so that the light of the flames may refract off of it and catch the eye on anyone up there to see, when I find one I had to haul it up to my chosen funeral spot because it was to lazy to walk and wouldn''t be up to moving around for anything less than another hundred years give or take... which was just typical of rocks honestly, never a moment to soon or late or something like that, said something about me moving it making it a bit early on schedule which I guess is a good thing.

    But after more thought I realized that maybe Great Grandfather''s spirit would want to travel across the lands and see new things, waiting for me to come back after a few hundred years would probably get boring after awhile. The Mountain might make for a great conversation partner but speaking to the same person for tens of thousands of years was bound to get boring.

    The wood I gather from the scarce trees and bushes that dot the sides of the Mountain.

    So another Pyre like I built for Papa was the only right thing to do, except this time it was going to be a lot nicer!

    Now where I got the flowers must remain a secret. I asked the Mountain for them, and while they were happy to share they didn''t want to many visitors picking them as they took a long time to grow and most people who came to it for flower picking made a habit of leaving nothing behind. I understood that.

    When I was still Tori the wind would tell me of "things" that would grow over the places that I destroyed. The storm''s told me that people believed that the "things" were holy symbols of the god who blessed me and they thought that if they gathered the things they might reap whatever blessings that were bestowed on me.

    I didn''t know anything about that.

    The god that blessed me never said anything to me. Honestly to this day I do not even know who they are.

    I still prayed to them though when I was Amanda.

    It never hurts to butter up a god. They were surprisingly mostly simple folk when you came right down to it and showing appreciation for them rarely backfired (emphasis on "rarely").

    When the pyre was ready... I carefully placed Great Grandfather upon it.

    I had done a good job in preserving him. He still looked peaceful and at rest. His brow looked light as though a great weight had been lifted off of him, and his lips still looked like they were in the midst of starting to smile. His bald head was a bit shinier than it was before.

    Everything was perfect.

    Well...

    Almost perfect.

    It was night time.

    That wouldn''t do at all!

    ~S~

    By all practical measures the Infinite Fist Technique is rather simple.

    Shoulders Straight.

    Imagine the World as it should be. Look at the World as it is.

    Feet Apart.

    Does the sun offend you? Is the Earth beneath you to hard? Are there to many stars in the sky? Do you dislike the rain? Did you fail a specific test? Do you not feel like today is Tuesday? Would you prefer it to be a Friday?

    Chest Forward

    The sound of your enemies voice, the beating of their heart, the color of their eyes, their laughter, their first words, their last words, who they love, their parents, their friends, their enemies, their hopes and dreams, their nightmares.

    Fist to your Hips

    Everything and Nothing. All that is and is not. All that will be and will not be. Past. Present. Future. All that could be dreamed to be. All that could be forgotten. All that is dreamed to be. All that is forgotten. All that has been and has not been.

    Elbows back.

    Then does one perform the INFINITE FIST.

    ~^~

    At the stroke of midnight the sun would rise.

    Against all logic Morning would last an extra hour for the next 500 years.

    For the next three months the entire Northern Hemisphere of the World of Chu would be without a single cloud in the sky.

    If you were aware and able to speak scroll one may hear these words at the time:

    "Passable. 7/10."

 1.8 The Punchline - The Straight Man

    Chapter 6

    The Punchline

    The Straight Man

    "Their is no beginning, their is no middle, their is no end. Their is only more. Their is ALWAYS more."

    -Final Proverb of Divinity

    Ashes rise up into the sky. The embers are carried into the heavens ever so carefully as though afraid to scatter them. The suns gentle light welcomes them.

    A little girl at the top of a mountain waves goodbye to them and kneels before the pyre and thus begins to pray...

    ~^~

    Xianyang

    Divine Immortal Fortress City

    Capital of the Grand Qin Dynasty

    Seat of the Emperor

    When Emperor Hongwu closed his eyes to take a rarely needed rest for a person of his stature and power the Grand Qin Dynasty sat at the apex of power all across the world. His ascension to power was relatively bloodless only a few thousand bloodlines extinguished or exiled. His reforms guaranteed that the next succession would require even less.

    The Ogre Hordes had been content with raiding the border territories and had avoided going further into Qin territory as the coming Winter approached. The Harvests had been good and the few Hordes that did so had elected to trade for goods rather than raid, so for once taxes flew into the Imperial treasury instead of into the savages clumsy hands.

    Speaking of the Treasury the accountants were for the first time in a thousand years predicting only mild economic collapse instead of divine punishment on the Imperial Finances and the Royal Court was due a "small" raise the Imperial Head of the Treasury not so subtly hinted.

    The various Divine Halls, Heavenly Sects and Murim Dojos were content to resolve their differences in the coming Ten Thousand Trials of the Immortal Tournament next year.

    "There is no peace."

    Hongwu''s Father had hammered this lesson into his heart and soul and the words were his last when he left this world for the Heavens.

    "There is no peace."

    The Dynasty that forgets this falls. The Dynasty that forgets this finds their fields fallow. The Dynasty that forgets this finds themselves surrounded by traitors and opportunists.

    A Dynasty can only ever hope to be close. Close to peace. Close to prosperity. Close to the Heavens.

    He had hoped that maybe, just maybe all of his work, all of his reforms would have gotten his people just close enough that he may close his eyes for 8 hours after hundreds of years of work and everything would beˇ­ at least not on fire when he awoke to continue the work of his great ancestors.

    This hope lasted one hour twenty two minutes and forty one seconds exactly.

    As he laid resting upon his fine bed a gentle knock had graced his door. It took all of his inner strength to not grasp the inse- the servant that dared to disturb him and rip them to shreds. He <s>timidly</s> opened his door and peeked out to see several servants bowing in supplication to him, one specifically ahead of the others.

    The one that likely lost a bet to see who would rouse him. I allow the poor fool time to collect themselves I can feel the trepidation dripping from his aura, before I finally address them.

    SPEAK.

    And this better be goodˇ­

    "Yes Your Imperial Majesty!"

    There''s no need to shout I can hear you just fine. I never could understand why people kept yelling at me whenever they spoke.

    I who stood at the pinnacle of the Silver Moon could easily hear an ants heart beat from another continent over, but everyone who was fit to speak to him or his father or grandmother or her mother and so on and so forth down the family tree had done so and none of his family ever said anything, Hongwu assumed it was a tradition or something but sometimes he suspected that it was just because no one said anything.

    Not that he ever planned to say anything either.

    "The Third Armada is gone Your Imperial Majesty!"

    Hongwu stares down at the servant, despite the earlier claims of superior ability to hear things he does not hear what was just said or more accurately is pretending to have misheard or perhaps the servant has misspoke.

    The servants do not dare lift their heads up to look upon their Emperor. They do not dare to peek and see his reaction to their news.

    The Emperor is waiting for a punchline.

    Such is the power of a Cultivator of the Emperor''s like that simply a word is all he would need to end their lives. Metaphorically and literally. The Emperor of course would not waste his power to stop their hearts he has people for that. They are unworthy of the Emperor killing them. Thus do they politely await their death sentences.

    The Emperor is waiting for the servant to correct themselves. He gives them time to rethink their words. Though his physical body no longer needed to sweatˇ­ he feels it in his soul.

    The Emperor sacrifices a hundred years of stored internal qi to send a Divine Imperial Decree of Communication to the Grand Qin 3rd Aerial Armada''s Flagship. A One Time Instant Communication Technique that would bypass all of its information security systems to deliver word directly to the Armada Commander from the Emperor himself.

    The servants hear somethingˇ­ they hear something that they have not heard before, alien to them at every level.

    It is laughter.

    The servant standing closest to the Emperor could not bear it any longer and with as much resolve as they could muster craned his head just a bit enough to peek a look at his Emperor.

    His face is contorted into a facsimile of a human smiling, his perfect teeth are like the fangs of a snake a wolf and a spiders, his eyes are glowing rubies, jades and agates, shining brightly enough to be mistaken for stars. His skin is inhumanly smooth like that of a mannequin. His hands are not hands.

    One of his hands that are not hands slowly and gently touches the servant.

    WHAT. DO. YOU. MEAN. ITS. GONE!?

    There was no reply.

    The servant cannot move. The servant cannot feel his face. The servant feels like paper and all the Emperor need do is start tearing. He had only raised himself to the rank of Silver recently.

    It would probably be no different.

    A simple flick of the finger would be enough to kill the whelp. Though he laughs Emperor Hongwu was most definitely not amused. He very much wishes to kill something and why not the insect? Who would note their passing? Who would care?

    It''s probably why he was chosen to deliver this message in the first place.

    It would be easy. It would be cathartic. It would beˇ­ <s>wrong</s> beneath him.

    The Emperor sighs internally his emotions are suppressed as easily as they had run wild. He extracts his hand from the filthy peasant and the peasant in turn is very surprised to still be alive smashes his head upon the floor begging for meaningless forgiveness.

    The Emperor has already forgotten they exist, leaving for the Imperial Crisis Control Room. A crisis after all is unfolding threatening to overthrow the entire dynasty.

    He needed to act fast.

    ~^~

    Imperial Crisis Control Room

    1 minute since the 3rd Armada disappearedˇ­

    The Grand Qin 3rd Aerial Armada despite its size was not a conventional fleet by the Dynasties design. It did not exist to scout out and conquer the frontier territories as the 1st and 4th Armadas were, it was to big and to slow for that. It did not monitor and protect the borders of the Dynasty as the 2nd and 5th Armadas did it was to small and under manned for that.

    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

    Despite all of this it was not an exaggeration to say that the 3rd Armada had the most important role of the 6 Armadas. It''s purpose was to be a parade fleet. A parade fleet that was made up distinguished members of every major sect, hall and dojo across the entire dynasties territory acting in unison to show off their wealth, prestige and above all unity across every major city upon the world of Chu, thereby displaying the unity and power that made up the Qin Dynasty.

    The spectacle of so many Cultivators in one place not killing each other wows the peasants, and projects the dynasty as having some tenuous ability to control the monsters that nested within it''s bosom regardless if it is only for show.

    It is a good show.

    It inspired Cultivators and Taxpayers from across the world to uplift themselves from their ancestral lands and create a new life in the Grand Qin Dynasty which in turn enriched the Dynasty and thus brought more Cultivators and Taxpayers.

    Its existence was the combined effort of a thousand previous Emperors and one President to establish over a hundred thousand years of blood sweat and tears. It represented the pinnacle of Dynasty diplomatic and public relations ability.

    That despite the fundamental truth of the world one may achieve greatness without filling an ocean of blood. That is what the miracle of the 3rd Fleet represents.

    A truly unique existence.

    AND ITS GONE.

    "Yes your Majesty."

    The Emperor sits upon the Imperial Command Throne staring at a holographic representation of where the fleet should be right now projected by a Divine Holotable that is surrounded by all the most highest levels of government officials and military personnel within the Dynasty.

    The sounds of technicians and monitors clicking and clacking fill the silence around them.

    HOW IS IT JUST GONE!?

    "We don''t know your Majesty. Orbital Assets tracked the 3rd Armada''s Position across the Star Sea its path was carefully monitored."

    "I swear your Majesty, the Diviner''s Division in conjunction with the Grand Bureau of Intelligence checked, double checked, triple checked the path of the 3rd Armada! Nothing we-"

    "Fool do not drag your betters into the fire to lessen your own sin! The Bureau had fulfilled its mandate to the letter! It is your responsibility to track the constant ebb and flow of destiny!"

    "We are not omniscient! We cannot see what is not there! Your Bureau is-"

    "Insolence! Draw your-"

    HOW LONG DO WE HAVE?

    The beginnings of an argument ceases. It will not last long and it will not be a simple measure to cease it again. He is no true diviner but with power comes the ability to cheat a bit. He can hear the sound of footsteps approaching the Control Room.

    The room is silent in the face of his inquiry. Until finally one of his Generals finds his backbone.

    "Weˇ­ we have no time at all my lordˇ­"

    The door to the Control Room is busted open by an Imperial Scout. He kneels as respect and constant training has been hammered into him.

    He gives his report.

    Then flees to some other critical duty not waiting to be dismissed as he is quickly replaced by another and another and another and another and anotherˇ­ they are going to need another room.

    ~^~

    2 days since the 3rd Armada disappearedˇ­

    Peking

    Immortal Sword Hall of Mount Kunlun

    Regional Capital of the Northern Territories of the Grand Qin Dynasty

    Patriarch Yuan seated upon the Immortal Throne of Kunlun gazed impassively ahead at the gathering dignitaries and representatives of various factions before him. Upon his lap sits a Pure Jade Tablet with Gold inscriptions that read Yuan Shang, the tablet was beautiful until one more closely inspected it and found that it was cracked at the bottom and from that crack maggots begun to crawl out. Patriarch Yuan paid no mind to this disturbance for any of the maggots that tried to desecrate himself immediately burned away before they even had the chance to touch him, those creatures that remained on the tablet however were allowed to fester.

    His face projected an air of tranquility and peace that any would accept at face value if they did not know him well.

    If you did happen to know him howeverˇ­ you would not want to be in the same room as him right now.

    He was very angry.

    "The Poison Fang Sect pledges its allegiance!"

    "The Hound Fist Sect pledges its allegiance!"

    "The Great Flower Sword Hall pledges its allegiance!"

    "The Dancing Rain Sword Hall pledges it''s allegiance!"

    "The Bamboo Sword Hall pledges its allegiance!"

    "The Divine Dragon Sword Hall pledges its allegiance!"

    "The Long Fang Sword Hall pledges its allegiance!"

    "The Twin Blade Sword Hall pledges its allegiance!"

    "The Golden Monkey Sword Hall pledges its allegiance!"

    The list of Sect''s, Sword Halls and Dojo''s that owed their allegiance to Mount Huangshan were as numerous as droplets of rain.

    In the coming battles despite the difference in combat strength and skill, against the Imperial Army at least half of them would be culled.

    They lacked organization. They lacked tactics and strategy that involved forces larger than a few thousand at most. They would step over the bodies of hundreds of thousands of Imperial Soldiers each but would succumb to the millions of soldiers that would replace them.

    The average Imperial Soldier peaked at the beginning of the Silver Moon ranks.

    For most Sect''s it was the bare minimum to even imagine entering their doorway, for the Imperial Army it was worth being made a Colonel.

    Regardless their presence here was a matter of honor and revenge. Though not being hereˇ­

    WHERE ARE THE REPRESENTATIVES OF MOUNT HUA? WHERE ARE THE SWORD BRETHREN? WHERE ARE OUR SISTERS AND BROTHERS IN THE WEST?

    He need not ask for all knew the answer already but certain things need be said aloud before they may appear real to those that listen closely.

    This of course does not improve the mood of Patriarch Yuan.

    In an unrelated incident a Mountain thousands of li away collapses as though stabbed by a sword.

    A poor sap unfortunately steps forward more courage than brains. He bears a symbol of a flower and sitting on a lily pad. The symbol of a one of a myriad of sects loyal to Mount Hua that the Patriarch can''t off the top of his head remember.

    "A letter from Mount Hua and the associated Sects within the Northwest... they sympathize with our plight, but have chosen to remain neutral in this affair as will all associated Sects. Mount Hua will remain silent on this day..."

    Another fool steps forward he bore the symbol of a sword stabbing into the head of a demon boar. Sweat dripping down his face.

    "The Brethren Sword Hall wishes to await a proper investigation into the disappearance of the 3rd Armada... they will not act unless the Grand Adjudicator passes a judgement and thus despite their sympathies, will also refrain from participating in any action against the Qin Dynasty and neither will they support the Qin. The Lord Council however expresses pati-"

    The poor fool is forced to his knees the aura of the Patriarch spiking, all within the Hall kneels under the pressure, but for the poor bastard he is reduced to nothing as the Patriarch finally stands up, the Jade Tablet upon his lap turning to ash, to all gathered the weight of his intent was made clear. Imperial Soldiers all across Kunlun begin to explode into viscera without warning and with no way to defend themselves, hundreds of millions dead with a single step.

    LET ALL BEAR WITNESS TO THEIR TREACHERY IN OUR HOUR OF NEED.

    WE BEAR WITNESS!

    None would say otherwise.

    ~^~

    3 months since the 3rd Armada disappearedˇ­

    When the news of the Grand Qin Dynasty 3rd Armada disappearance eventually spread beyond the ears of the need to know to say that the news was not received well would be an understatement.

    While the average layman was hardly expected to know the full implications of an entire Armadas destruction, the list of important sounding names that accompanied the declaration across the land could only really mean one thing.

    War.

    Against who? Against the Emperor? Against the various Sects? Some other third party not yet revealed, the people did not really know for sure. What they were sure of was that it was probably for the best to find a new home.

    Preferably three months agoˇ­

    Of course three months ago was three months ago so it was already to late to be not here.

    Under the Banner of Mount Kunlun and Command of Patriarch Yuan Shao of the Immortal Sword Hall a majority of the Northern Territories of the Grand Qin Dynasty rose in revolt sparking a wave of revolutions through out the Empire.

    All those who over the years had a collection of grievances about the tax situation of the Empire, their position in the hierarchy of the Empire, just wanted an excuse to murder people, or just saw an opportunity and decided now was the time to do soˇ­ did so.

    Most of the Revolutions within the Middle Territories would be made up of a collection of small Cultivator Sect Alliances more concerned with settling scores than with tearing down the government.

    They would do that to if they found the time but in the coming months most would annihilate each other, be destroyed by the Imperial Army or be bribed by the Imperial Treasury to go away and then destroyed later by the Imperial Army.

    Outside the North the other serious threat to the Grand Qin Dynasty would be in the South.

    Under the Banner of the Hunan and Command of Patriarch Sun Quan of the Hidden Lion Heart Sect all the Southern Territories of the Grand Qin Dynasty rose up in revolt.

    ~^~

    5 months since the 3rd Armada disappearedˇ­

    In response to the rapidly escalating situation the Emperor would declare Martial Law.

    The 2nd and 5th Armada as well as 100 Jade Generals and associated Legions would be deployed South with orders to  apprehend Sun Quan and his associated Family and Elders in hopes that a peace can be negotiated.

    In the North the Emperor deploys the 1st and 4th Armada alongside 350 Jade Generals associated Legions and whatever Legions may be reassigned along the way and if needs must even those that probably shouldn''t be.

    There can be no peace with Yuan Shao.

    The Emperor calls on Oaths and Treaties established since the establishment of the Grand Qin Dynasty made by various Sects throughout the Empire to appeal for peace and diplomacy.

    The Dynasty would pay recompense for the losses accrued and warns that it is unknown who the perpetrators of the disappearance of the 3rd Armada are and that they are still at large.

    These calls for reason goes mostly unheeded.

    ~^~

    8 months since the 3rd Armada disappearedˇ­

    The 1st and 5th Armada are almost rendered completely combat ineffective. What little remains of the 1st links up with the 4th. The 5th quits the field completely.

    The 2nd Armada and its remaining retinue are caught in a fierce battle against Sun Quan who wages a brutal guerrilla campaign against the Imperial Army.

    The 4th Armada was once on the verge of defeat but what can only be described as a miracle saves it from devastation.

    As the Fleet had been in low orbit for resupply and repairs a great wind scattered the cloud cover over the horizon and night turned to day revealing a sneak attack by the forces of Kunlun.

    The 4th opened up with everything it could dealing a heavy toll upon the traitors forcing them to retreat and allowing the 4th to retreat relatively unscathed.

    70 of the deployed Jade Generals have been killed in battle,  surprisingly more than half of them struck down in the South.

    As for the price in mortal livesˇ­ a lot.

    ~^~

    A year since the 3rd Armada''s disappearanceˇ­

    Yuan Shao establishes the Kingdom of Wuhan in the North and establishes  Peking as its capital. It claims a majority of the Northern Territories as its own up to Hu Lao pass a strategic point that forces any military transporting troops by ground to do so piecemeal.

    The Qin Dynasty as the price of peace recognizes the newly established Kingdom and its sovereignty.

    Sun Quan is ultimately bribed into complacency. He is further granted so much autonomy over the South that he is the Ruler of a Kingdom in all but name. The expected tax revenue from his territory if he even remembers to pay it (he won''t) would be a pittance compared to the size of his domain.

    The final sum of Imperial casualties reads as so:

    The 4th and 6th Armada''s are all that remains combat ready, the 6th was held in reserve for the entirety of the war berthing above the Capital and remaining on alert at all times.

    The 4th Armada had gone through the war relatively unscathed its Admiral Nimitz refused to meet the enemy in open battle, instead constantly harassing the Cultivator Fleets at range. A majority of its needs were in munitions and retrofitting new weapons systems as several had been used to the brink of destruction.

    Of the overall 450 Jade Generals deployed for battle, 260 fell in honorable combat, 121 were wounded and are in extensive care and will likely not be active in any less than a few hundred years.

    The remainder have varying amounts of injuries but remain combat effective.

    As for the price in mortal life? A lot.

    The mortal plain is in dire straits, the battles between the Imperial Army and the Cultivator Alliances shook the world and rained fire upon the innocent.

    Neither the wealthy or the poor were spared in this regard the lowliest village was crushed under foot just as easily as the massive metropolitan cities.

    Also a Famine and Drought but really that goes without saying.

    ~^~

    Divine Immortal Fortress City

    Capital of the formerly Grand Qin Dynasty

    Seat of the Emperor

    Imperial Throne Room

    Hongwu wishes that he could get drunk. He wishes that he could go back to sleeping. His biology had been so altered by his Cultivation that getting drunk is impossible, and he is too paranoid to go to sleep again, over 1,592 assassination attempts would do that to a person.

    At the very least the worst of it is overˇ­

    "Yes your Majesty."

    His court is in disarray. Courtly etiquette has been mostly thrown to the side in exchange for practicality and comfort. The Head of the Department of the Interior was sleeping at his desk. The General of the Right was writing letters to families all across the Empire or what was left of itˇ­ his fingers were bleeding.

    The Head of the Treasury was crying in a corner.

    Of all the gathered members of Court she was the one he most sympathized withˇ­ it was likely that he was going to need to do something nice for her when the situation stabilized.

    Some levity would do. They weren''t all dead after all that was something to celebrate.

    At the very least we will not need to host the Tournament nowˇ­

    If you listen carefully you can hear a pin drop.

    "Y-you''re Majestyˇ­"

    If I am being perfectly honest I hated hosting them.

    "Ohˇ­ oh noˇ­ y-you tell him."

    The fighting got boring the further up the roster we went and the speeches oh the speechesˇ­ they were terrible. No one cares what so-so Great Great Grandfather''s duck did to your Great Great Uncle Twice Removed pet lion! No one!

    "I already had to tell him about the 1st Armada it''s your turn!"

    I am telling you at some point they have to be making it upˇ­

    Emperor Hongwu sighs.

    They are still coming for the Tournament aren''t they?

    "Yes your Majesty."

    He looks outside.

    F-

 The Very Model of a Faithful Modern Disciple

    Chapter 7

    The Very Model Of A Faithful Modern Disciple.

    "They who turns the wheel shares the same fate as those who are crushed by it.

    The part left out of the parable is to ask why turn the wheel at all."

    At The Top of a Mountain

    A child stares up into the Heavens. The clear skies are a balm upon her soul as smoke and ashes rise up to meet them.

    The child kneels before the morning sun at midnight. She cups her hands together as one does when they begin to pray. Then she began to pray as was natural when asking for a favor from a God.

    The child will remain in such a way until the morning sun finally sets, then she will release a breath she didn''t know she was holding and bid farewell to the Mountain.

    The Mountain will remain silent its time awake done for a few thousand years.

    But the child is polite and leaves a gift for it in the form of one of her favorite candies that she had been saving for a special occasion.

    What more special occasion could there be than this?

    Then the child looks out across the land and considers what she should do next. She could be like Tori in this life. She could set out once again and lay siege to everything.

    She liked being Tori. She still loved killing.

    But she was not Tori her Mother''s gifts did not sing at her side anymore and she was not Fae, she was a human again with weak human ears and weak human hearts and a bunch of other things.

    She was also frustratingly still small for a Fae at least but pretty normal for a human.

    She definitely couldn''t be Amanda again, this life was apparently a lot more interested in lineage than any of her previous incarnations and she definitely didn''t want to marry into power.

    Marriage was sacred to the Fae.

    Oaths had power because they imagined it to be so and so it was. She thought that was silly but she didn''t make the rules, well not all of them at least, but she was less a hard law and more an exception to the rules, when her Zaza and Mother swore an oath to each other in this world and the next it was binding.

    If Mother had passed after her then she likely was at Zazas side no matter where, when, shape or form they had passed on to, the rules probably didn''t bind her anymore because she was not of the Fae truly anymore.

    The Law was the Law however.

    That in mind without a particular lineage backing her the likelihood of building a power base without to many strings attached were negligibleˇ­

    The child pondered her situation as she watched the sky and played with the wind and grass.

    Who was Chao-Xing (Just Xing to her friends she decided) going to be in this life?

    After awhile Xing decided that thinking about the future was too hard for her, when she couldn''t relate a subject to killing things she tended to zone out. So she stopped thinking at all and decided to let fate figure it out for her.

    Surely Fate could do all the thinking for her.

    This epiphany in hand the child picks a random direction any directionˇ­ then leaps off the Mountain excited to see what Fate has in store.

    Fate was of course less enthusiastic about current events.

    ~SL~

    God Finger City

    Provincial Capital of the God Finger Province

    Grand Qin Dynasty Territory

    Semi-Demilitarized Zone

    Two Years Since The End Of The War Of Three Dragons

    Every morning Shen Long awoke exactly 5 minutes before the rooster crowed. As the rooster crowed Shen Long would depart his apartment clean shaven, clothes well washed without a single blemish but not before loudly announcing his intentions to do so to all his neighbors.

    He quite often had a shoe thrown at him.

    Shen Long would then set forth for the "First Steps" the storied steps that were constructed by the original builders of God Finger City so that no matter what may happen all may ascend the Mountain upon which God Finger City was built upon safely.

    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.

    The exorbitant maintenance cost was also great for justifying increases in the provincial budget to the capital. Shen Long often skipped retelling that part of the story to children. A boring and often disappointing or brutal and quick reality was for when they were adults.

    When he reached the stairs after circumnavigating the maze  that was God Finger City Floor 117 his journey truly began to Floor 064 above! It was a peaceful journey as most people took the elevator.

    The stairs were mostly used by monks and a few of the heavier transport vehicles and or creatures. He had made friends with many of the monks who climbed up and down the stairs in search of enlightenment and had learned all the names of the various heavy transports, and made certain to carry an apple or two for the various herbivores and a protein pill for the carnivores.

    Today the stairs were empty except for a few monks but that suited him just fine. When the stairs were empty one may gaze across the entirety of the Southern God Finger Province and it was truly a sight to behold. One could gaze upon the passing clouds like they were slugs instead of bits of condensation, one could enjoy the shifting of the Mountains as some sought to be elsewhere for a variety of reasons ranging from to little sun to not enough bloodshedˇ­ speaking of bloodshed if one was lucky they might catch a view of varying demonic spirit beasts in the throes of battle or establishing territory for themselves.

    The displays of might could be felt from thousands of li away and for a Cultivator of his meager might were quite spectacular to gaze upon especially at night. They were as close to the Ten Thousand Trials of the Immortal Tournament as he could get.

    The Elders would be foolish to choose him before the hundreds of others more worthy, but still one could dream.

    Once Shen Long successfully reached the 64th Floor he would have to yet again thread the needle of an ever changing city to reach the Front Gate of the Blessed Dragon Breeze Sword Hall.

    It was an old structure having been built before God Finger City had been established some tens of thousands of years ago. It didn''t originally belong to the Blessed Dragon Breeze Sword Hall but as the proverb goes "The vanquished can''t argue their innocence."

    Though the buildings that the Front Gate of the Sword Hall defends have changed with time and conquest the Front Gate itself has mostly remained the same says the Elders and while their is no way to know for certain if that was true the Front Gate definitely looked the part. The Ancient Holy Wood Door standing 300 chi tall and 80 chi thick was marked with battle wounds some of which still had the weapons that did them imbedded within them. Some parts of the Gate were still on fire, some parts were leaking water, some parts just randomly exploded.

    If the gate started to try and talk to you it was suggested to not talk back. You weren''t hearing things.

    Shen Long found that he considered the Gate his most favorite part of the Sword Hall. It had character and the whispers were quite interesting to hear as long as you didn''t make the mistake of trying to communicate back. At some point they had given up on trying to trick him and simply settled with threatening each other over ancient grudges.

    The Front Gate was almost quiet today. Whispers could still be heard but they were muted to a point that one couldn''t make out a word they were saying, which was uncommon to say the least.

    Shen inquired with the Guards if they knew what was wrong. They gave him a look of sympathy and said that it was best he head to the Main Hall and speak with the Master Swordsman.

    An Imperial Messenger had arrived and he bore the Flag of Souls.

    ~SL~

    The Qin Emperor called on all loyal sects to arms against the Rebels a month after the formal declarations of war by two of the Great Sects had circulated beyond reasonable doubt.

    The other Great Sects remained neutral in the face of the general call and the response of the lesser sects was mixed.

    The Blessed Dragon Breeze Sword Hall declared for the Emperor as did most of the Sects of God Finger City. The ones that did not, made the wise decision to not voice their opinions.

    The Sword Hall had chosen 2 Elders, 10 Inner Disciples, 40 Upper Disciples and 200 Outer Disciples to deploy South to join the campaign against the Rebel Sun Quan. Among the chosen were his Father Shen Fang and his Mother Shen Li both of whom were Upper Disciples and to his families great pride his younger brother Shen Jo an Inner Disciple.

    Shen Long had remembered promising his brother that on his return they would visit a brothel together. He remembered his Mother being very angry and demanding their Father discipline his sons. He remembered the lecture they had received while he slipped them Imperial Jade under the table as most mortal brothels wouldn''t accept Sect Scripts. He remembered his mother pretending not to notice.

    They were all dead.

    In one of the few open battles that the Rebel Lord Sun Quan had committed to the destroyer they were on was caught in one of his techniques the Imperial Army had identified as the Burning Lion''s Soul Roar Technique an advanced sound based technique that rendered most defenses as useless.

    His family and brothers and sisters of the sect alongside hundreds of thousands of others were rendered down to little more than base molecules, the technique had not even spared their souls.

    Those were gone too.

    They would not even be allowed the peace of entering the wheel of karma.

    ~SL~

    After thatˇ­ Shen Long thanked the messenger for delivering the news to him.

    Then he went about his duties of the day to the sect as he ought to do despite the Master Swordsman offer of releasing him from his duties with pay for as long as he needed to grieve and prepare funeral rites.

    He was moved but he declined.

    He went about his day as though nothing had changed. He saw to the maintenance of the many dueling stadiums. He polished and repaired the many practice swords scattered and forgotten by this student and that. He gave pointers to the Lower Disciples that showed promise and even watched the duels of some of the Outer Disciples.

    When the Sun began to set and his duties were complete he said his goodbyes and departed the Sword Hall as he had entered it.

    Through the Front Gate.

    He stands with his back to the Gate for a long time. None of it feels real to him. None of it makes sense. Why was he still here? Why did he not harden his heart and declare vengeance against the Rebel? Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why. Why was he still alive?

    Shen Longs legs begin to move. At first at a crawl, then at a brisk walk, until he was rushing forward like a bullet. He doesn''t know where he is going when he has reached the Stairs and reaches the lowest floor of God Finger City Floor 1000 and thereby exits the city itself.

    He doesn''t really care.

    ~SL~

    He doesn''t remember when he finally stopped running. He doesn''t remember how far he had run or whether he had made any twists and turns. He only remembered waking up to a clear sky.

    Shen Long picks himself up. His body is exhausted and he can feel his qi dangerously low. He can''t bring himself to care.

    His survival instincts however from long years of training kicks in regardless of his input. He observes his surroundings realizing he was unfamiliar territory. He was surrounded by lush trees and vegetation which was incongruous with the Southern God Finger Province which was made up of mostly plains landˇ­ which means he no longer inhabited the South but the West.

    A Great Roar fills his ears.

    The West has Lion Goats.

    Over 90 chi tall with fur of a cloud white color. Horns are able to conduct lightning and perform a multitude of such elements techniques from the obvious lighting bolts to more sophisticated feats of magnetism. Skin is battleship grade durable. They are one of a few spirit beasts that can naturally achieve the color of Jade and in some legends the Soul of Gold.

    There are debates on its sapience but most agree that they are intelligent.

    Lion Goats are extremely territorial but are not as needlessly violent as Demonic Spirit Beasts tend to be. If Shen Long backs away with his eyes averted from the Lion Goats peacefully the Lion Goat will likely let him go.

    He stares at it straight in the eyes and draws his sword. He screams at the top of his lungs a single word.

    "Why!?"

    It is the only thing he can think about at firstˇ­

    Then the Giant Goat kicks him.

    Then he can only think about his shattered ribs.

    "Why?" He moans out. "Why is this happening!?"

    Shen Long stares up at what is to surely be his death. The Lion Goat taking its time to kill the insect that dared to encroach upon its territory.

    Shen Long does not look away. He simply continues to demand answers desperately hoping for a response.

    "Why am I still here?"

    The Lion Goat raises a single might hoof and then it dies.

    ˇ­

    What?

    A little girl her eyes closed, barely half his height, with long hair that looked like it was made of gold and wearing what could only be called rags, lazily sits upon the crushed head of a Lion Goat.

    It''s blood sprayed all around as well as on him and the remainder of its body but yet not a drop of it remains on the girl.

    The girls eyes open suddenly revealing twin orbs of grey that scans the world around before locking on to him freezing him in place making him forget everything except what she says next.

    "Is this goat edible?"