《Path of Blood.》Chapter 2 - Insights.
Advertisement
The cold winds of morning blew by as the sun rose.
“Zilan! Wake up.” whispered Solmo as he nudged Zilan awake.
“Wha... is it!” murmured Zilan as he slapped Solmo’s hand away.
Solmo then stood up and opened the curtains of the room, allowing the bright sunlight in.
“I need a favour.”
“Fine! I’ll do it but please, leave me be.” Barked Zilan as he threw his blanket over his head, quickly drifting into a deep sleep.
Sighing in relief, Solmo then placed a note by Zilan’s bed before heading back to bed.
A few hours later.
Zilan’s eyes slowly opened when suddenly he heard a *krr* sound. He looked to his side and raised his hand, only to find a crushed small note under it.
Before picking up the note, Zilan first sat up straight and began stretching. He then stood up and walked out of the room.
The Dual Winged Sparrow only opened in the late evenings therefore currently it was both empty and deathly quiet. A huge contrast to the bustling atmosphere of last night.
After the time it would take one to finish a light meal, Zilan entered the room once again. His hair wet, and a small towel around his waist.
He grabbed the note on the bed and gave it a glance. However what he saw caused him to burst into laughter.
Dear cousin, Uncle has hidden all the wine in the house and he already contacted all the merchants in the market telling them not to sell me any.
Please do me this favour and I promise I’ll repay you in the future.
“It looks like Uncle was extremely angry with Solmo’s playing around yesterday!” thought Zilan as he threw the note aside and continued to dry and bind his long hair that almost reached his knees. What Zilan didn’t know was that the true reason his Uncle did this was because he had happened to overhear Solmo’s words yesterday.
Once Zilan was done grooming, he proceeded to dress himself in a light blue robe that made him appear more like a scholar than a restaurant manager.
“Time to get to work!”
Zilan grabbed the notebook and headed out of the restaurant, calmly strolling about as he basked in the warm embrace of the morning sun.
Morning Dew City wasn’t really that big, therefore almost everybody took to footing including high ranking officials. Only those wishing to stand out travelled in carriages.
The reason for this was because almost eighty percent of Morning Dew City was part of the Flaming Shade Sect’s territory. The remaining twenty percent was owned by the Governor and was divided into three parts.
The governor’s mansion which was the largest.
The people’s Market which was completely run by the Governor’s mansion and the Flaming Market which was shared between the governor and the Flaming shade sect.
Advertisement
Morning Dew City was actually at one point in time part of the Flaming Shade Sect. However, various internal power strife led to a massive battle and in the end, the Kingdom had no choice but to intervene. They appointed a Governor and gave him land which was to be governed by him but owned by the Kingdom. In return for the land and the peace, the Flaming Shade Sect was honoured with the title,Middle Ruby.
What this meant was that the Flaming Shade Sect would be given a higher ranking in the Kingdom’s Jewel system.
The Jewel system was introduced thousands of years ago, by the founder of the Penlai Kingdom. Basically all sects, military forces, and institutions were ranked based on their contributions, value and loyalty to the kingdom.
There were five levels in the jewel system.
First level – Diamond (Which is also divided into sub-groups)
Second level – Emerald (Also divided into sub groups)
Third Level – Ruby. (Also divided in Sub-groups)
Fourth level – Sapphire.
Fifth level – Quartz.
Although being a Middle Ruby might sound bad but in actuality that was quite an accomplishment. In fact, in the entire Penlai Kingdom there is only one Diamond level jewel and three Emerald. As for Ruby there are only five of them, commonly referred to as the Five Gates.
This simply represented the fact that it was one of the Five Jewels that surrounded the Capital of Thirot. In order to enter the capital, one had to pass through one of the Five Gates which meant that the markets of Morning Dew City although not comparable to that of Thirot, still had a lot of rare gems waiting to be discovered.
In fact, Zilan had discovered quite a few of them in his time here. Purchasing them for a shockingly cheap price and since he had no need for them, there were obviously no hard feelings when it came to putting them up for auction where they sold for a stupid amount of money.
........
After a short walk, Zilan had finally arrived at his destination. Before him stood a fairly large spear shaped tower that gave of an air of ancientness.However, despite that, it still stood upright without any cracks on its exterior. Probably the only thing visible to the naked eye that made it seem old, was the thousands of vines and other vegetation that surrounded it, almost as if it were inside a giant green shell.
Two imposing guards stood at the entrance, guarding the tower from intruders. However, as soon as they spotted Zilan, smiles of pure joy bloomed on their faces.
“Zilan, you’re rather early today!” chuckled the older of the two guards.
“Ha! That’s probably because he’s going to meet up with Miss Hula later.” teased the other who looked quite a bit younger.”
“Enough of that talk, Seniors please accept this as a token of gratitude for your continuous help.”
Advertisement
Zilan suddenly grabbed the hand of the older guard and forcefully shoved something into it. Before the two guards had a chance to react, he had already passed them by and without looking back, he headed into the tower.
“What did he give you?” asked the other guard.
The older guard stretched out his palm and as soon as he saw the contents, his eyes widened and his hands began trembling.
*Ting*
A single purple coin fell on the floor spiralling around.
The younger guard quickly stepped on the coin. His head moved around in every direction possible, making sure that no one else was watching.
“Kros, quickly pick up the coin!” whispered the younger guard.
Kros instantly woke up from his trance. He threw down a piece of metal and while pretending to pick it up, he grabbed the coin from under the other guard’s foot.
He then stuffed into his pouch before grabbing it and placing it inside his chest plate.
“Guil, it looks like I can finally retire.” said Kros, his face turning completely red.
“Hmph! Don’t forget my share.” chuckled Guil as he threw his arm around Kros’s shoulder.
The two stared at each other for a few minutes before finally breaking into loud, hearty laughter. If it were not for the fact that they were on duty, then they would have probably ran into a nearby brothel to celebrate.
The small purple coin Zilan had given them could be said to be the greatest treasure the two guards had ever come across in their entire lives.
An amethyst coin.
In the Kingdom of Penlai, the currency used was mostly,
Copper.
Silver - worth 100 Copper coins.
Gold – worth 1000 Silver coins.
Amethyst – worth 10,000 Gold coins.
In the Kingdom an average family would need at most five hundred silver coins to cater for all their needs for an entire year.
................
Inside the spear tower, at the very top of a long flight of stairs stood a giant jade stacker door.
Zilan calmly pushed the door open and proceeded to enter. Inside, lay a fairly large chamber that was filled with clutter.
Tens of tattered, worn out books were spread out on the floor, various contraption and metals were hung on the wall. All of which seemed rather ancient.
In a practiced manner,Zilan made his way through a small carved out path that passed safely through mountains of books and paper without coming into contact with any of them.
He then made his way to the one spot in the room that seemed like it had come straight out of a painting.
In a corner of the chamber was a small stained glass window, the only place from which sunlight could enter the room. Rays of light passed through it making out an image of a man with a lion standing behind him.
If one looked close enough, they’d find that the glass wasn’t actually painted but was instead embedded with thousands of tiny multi-coloured priceless jewels.
Zilan unblinkingly stared at the window for a while, almost as if he were admiring it. However, once the clouds covered the sun and its rays grew dim, Zilan nodded in satisfaction and quickly opened the window.
Four tiny blue stars appeared in his eyes.
He then took out the book from his chest pocket and began writing at a frighteningly quick speed. The peculiar part of it was that he didn’t look at the book even once, his eyes glued to the market place in the distance.
Just as Zilan was caught up in writing, the edge of the sun began to creep out from the clouds’ shadow. Noticing this, he suddenly closed his book and shut the window tightly. His forehead covered in beads of sweat.
He moved away from the window and took a seat on old dusty arm chair, his chest rapidly rising and falling.
Zilan raised the book up onto his head and began shifting through pages when suddenly he stopped on the very first page of the book.
The Life of Zilan Year 998 of the Slem Regime – Written by Zilan.
Today I asked Mama and Father, why some people can’t cultivate?
They laughed and asked me what I thought?
Of course, me being the Great Zilan who will become the greatest cultivator in the world answered them to the best of my capability.
“I have seen that many people in the world aren’t able to cultivate but then I wondered why?
So I looked at the Town guard, Jivu who’s at the 50th level, or so he says.”
They laughed at this part.
But I continued.
“The spiritual power was being accumulated around his body however I noticed that whenever he breathes, slowly but surely the spiritual power is absorbed.”
Father slightly frowned, and his face became pale when he heard me say this but I thought he was just shocked at my ingenuity so I continued.
“I then began examining the farmers in the fields outside of town, and what I saw was surprisingly almost the same exact thing, spiritual power accumulating around their bodies.
The only difference being that none of it was being absorbed thus they couldn’t become cultivators. However, I didn’t stop there, I continued examining all the people in the town until I found out that the older non-cultivating people, although slightly, had still been able to make a certain part of them absorb spiritual power.
That’s what gives them that air of wisdom.”
.................
Zilan suddenly closed the book, throwing it far away. He covered his eyes with his palms, a single tear escaping through a tiny gap.
Advertisement
Law Of Karma
Yu Xiang had the good fortune of being reborn in this new world into a strong Sect. Now a fledgling Cultivator of his own, he seeks to go as far as his legs and soul will take him, hopefully causing the least amount of pain and misery possible to his fellow cultivators and mortal people alike. After all, with flying swords, reality-bending masters, and giant spiritual beasts running around, who knew if Karma was a thing here? Better to hedge his bets and be on his best behavior. If only it were that easy... ______________________________ Updates on Sundays. English isn't my first language so feel free to point out any weird sentences, or errors.
8 155Contact Through Voided Lenses
[participant in the Royal Road Writathon challenge] Edit: Fixed some inaccuracies in the synopsis. The void is a vast unexplored ocean filled with various wonders and dangers all waiting to be explored by those brave enough to travel and record. Many souls do find themselves brave enough to face the vast distances, the various risks to personal safety and do the hundreds of task required on a craft. However, at times the void itself can be boring with absolutely nothing to do but as time pass and more and better technology is reached, things got better. The various trips got faster, communications became faster than light and you can be home to see your loved ones after only months now. Through the various planets whether rocky or gaseous, the various stars whether small or giant, the various systems both eerily similar or completely alien. As part of an expeditionary scientific exploratory survey craft, one could see that the void offers no reprieve from all the discoveries and wonders. At times, it can feel empty and silent where no soul can hear you scream and at others it can be overwhelming with sudden phenomenon that can overwhelm the brightest of minds. The void itself is a truly fascinating ocean where one must chart the various islands or drown in its deadly tidal waves. But the question still remained no matter how you try to hide it in of itself… is there truly other intelligent life out there? Are we alone in this ocean? Those very questions still haunt the minds of those on the crafts themselves as they brace for every jump ready for the unknown and the known. Many would try to explain that yes there is other intelligent life out there whilst other still say no after 2 centuries of continuous flight out of the home system. Still, those are questions that bury deep in the minds of the crew and those at home as the voidcraft jumps to a system with a single yellow star orbited by 8 other planets with one crowning blue jewel being the 3rd closest with its 5 oceans and 7 continents, a planet called Dirt which is inhabited by a primitive species called Humanity. Hello, author here and this is my newest dive into writing particularly for the Writathon currently in progress being my first one. I hope you give me story a try but in case you still want more information on what you’re getting into, below are some pointers about the story itself. First Contact: CTVL is a story about a first contact scenario between an advanced alien civilization and a slightly more advanced modern day humanity on their planet called Dirt. Characters: The story will take place mainly on the perspective of the alien visitors themselves though there will be human POV characters who will show how the rest of humanity react through media and forums. Action: It won’t be an actual alien invasion but you have to see for yourself how well first contact went. Sci-Fi: I will be very forward here, I WILL bend the rules of physics in order to add in parts of the plot and there WILL be parts that makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. Theme: It will be a brooding story talking about the futility of pe… Just kidding, it’s mostly wholesome stuff to be honest here. Alien: The aliens themselves will… actually why should I tell you, you have to go and read it to find out what the aliens are though I will draw a few things here and there to aid in the process. Extra tidbit: If you are a grammar nazi or someone who really wants a realistic scifi story... this story is probably not for you at all. Anyways, that’s pretty much all I can say before I spoil something major of the plot itself, the story is slice of life so make sure that type of story is what you like because I am terrible with anything else as I found out, anyways, have a good time everyone and good luck to the other Writathon participants.
8 1580.1.0
An open-source sci-fi novel by Wrannaman. Learn more at https://wrannaman.comFollow Kaiya Hikaya in this action packed, post apocalyptic journey set thousands of years after the singularity.Kaiya is chosen as the conduit to reunite the sentient AI that destroyed humanity. Watch her fight to save her friends from the Wrannaman-killing Sikkas and find out what happened to her mother.Seriously though, I wrote this to be a purely fun read. You'll enjoy this if you liked:- The Hunger Games- The Maze Runner- The Road- The Kingkiller Chronicles- The Amber Chronicles- Mistborn TrilogyWhat kind of world is this?- No Dragons / Wizards / etc.- It's set in the future, but not one in which technology progressed much further than where it is today.- There are guns, planes, helicopters
8 195White Rose - A Peter Pan Fanfiction
"Do you know what a white rose symbolizes?" Felix said, my eyes staring directly into Pan's. "No," I simply said, the clogs in my head pausing as I focused on the rose and his eyes. "Purity and innocence." Baffled, I pulled my gaze from Pan's and met Felix's. "And what's that supposed to mean?" I asked, a tad too harshly than I expected. Felix just chuckled, tapping my chest. "He sees you as the light in his world of darkness." --- Serena wakes up on the mysterious island of Neverland without any memories and is instantly drawn towards the devilish Peter Pan. With his heart of blackness and hers of light, will love find a way or will it be destroyed by fate? A Once Upon A Time love story between Peter Pan (Robbie Kay) and Serena, an OC character I've cherished for years but only now bringing to the public surface :) I hope you all enjoy this as much as I have loved writing it!!
8 172Lancastre Academy
Parker Gray leads a normal, home-schooled life. Or so he thinks. He begins noticing some odd things happening around the house and then hears his parents talking about him behind his back. Before he knows it, he's being shipped off to a boarding school he's never heard of and won't be able to come home for six years. Right as he starts to accept this, his parents drop him off at an abandoned subway station that is supposed to take him to this new school. The next thing he knows, Parker is being led into a world he didn't know even existed right alongside him. He learns amazing new things about himself and that someone he doesn't know has been keeping an eye on him. I am still in the process of writing book 4 and doing some editing. It will begin posting in the near future.
8 105Samragni- The Empress
The story of a woman who is born princess and turned as a great ruler. Samragni, means Empress. Her sword is the answer to enemies. Her eyes reflect the kindness. She is the good student of a great teacher.. A lover to her heartShe is friend to a friend, Enemy to the enemy...For the people she love she is the 'SAMRAGNI'
8 139