At the beginning, there was nothing but the vast sea of empty void. Yet, from this nothingness, a longing desire arose, giving birth to the Heart of Origin. This primal heart pulsed, vibrating all things into their shape, transforming emptiness into form, and zero into one. From one into two, then four, then eight, expanding infinitely. All things multiple and diminish by this original desire. When reach their limit, things will reduce back into nothingness.
When Sky and Earth took form, their hearts were also born. When Sky and Earth meet, things flourish. When Sky and Earth depart, things demise. With their own desires, the hearts of all things began to take shape. But because things can multiply and diminish by desire, Death and Immortality also came into existence. This is how deities and other supernatural beings were born, from the desire of ourselves and others. And this cycle of change is known by humans as Time.
Now is a time of change, change itself floats in the air and moving with the wind. The Huna, who were forced to leave the Loop and fight the Eastern Confederation, came back victorious, and assimilating most of the Eastern Tribes into the Huna Confederation.
My revenge still has to wait, but we can't waste Atashan's life time. It's my fault that he has to help me seek revenge first. But as the firstborn son of Azhdar, he is next in line and must produce next generation of leaders for the Zaravani. So one day, I summoned him to speak frankly on this topic.
"Due to an agreement with my two allies, I can't take revenge right now. I mean, we have to wait ten, twenty, or thirty years…" I paused before continuing. "Do you have anyone you like or someone that your father has already chosen for you? I can arrange a marriage for you."
"Great Sky Wolf, I am grateful for your concern, but I must refuse." He spoke softly, yet his words carried the weight of a firm decision. "My duty is to the Zaravani and to you, my focus must be entirely on your mission. I cannot be distracted by this matter, for to do so would weaken our cause."
"And what of your own desire?" I pressed, leaning forward. "Is there no one who holds a place in your heart? Your duty is to the Zaravani, but your happiness is not a thing to be dismissed."
"My desire is to atone for my mistake," Atashan replied, his eyes reflecting a deep resolve. "Everything else can wait. My focus must be on becoming the person you and my father expect me to be. I am not ready to be a husband or a father, and I will not bring another into my life until our future is secure."
"Five years," I spoke, my voice firm. "In five years, you must choose your bride, no matter what is happening. Now, with the Huna assimilating the Eastern Tribes, their forces are equal to the Yuezhi. They may not have an all-out war with us, but some of their clans might raid us. I will appoint you as the Leader of the Guardians of the Sacred Mountain. Prove yourself by fulfilling this duty, and I will reward you by allowing you to pick any woman who has not yet been taken. I will personally propose this marriage for you."
"Thank you, Great Sky Wolf!" he spoke, dropping to his knees.
I pulled out one of my iron whips before announcing, "Take this weapon as a symbol and become our protector, Leader of the Guardians!"
This will solve all the troubles with the Zaravani, bringing them closer and uniting us. I also taught the Iron Method to Atashan, the Guardians, and other Northern Alliance Tribes. While, I continued to teach the Maidens Method to the Moon Maidens. Erik also taught them Shadow Cloak, a skill that wraps users in the essence of the night, allowing them to stay hidden in darkness. So the Sacred Mountain has become some kind of martial arts school to them right now.
I also learned a lot during this time. In fact, I just recently learned about my Divine Instrument. Simplicity is truly important for deities, because simple ideas stick deepest inside human minds. This is why we deities only associate with one single idea, regardless of color or profession. Erik, who used to be a Hunter, has a raven cloak, hunter's clothes, and a hunting spear. While, Cynthia, who was a Shaman, has white fur clothes with deer horns and a shamanic drum set. As a Steppe Warrior, my Divine Instrument is my entire warrior set.
The Divine Instruments help deities fully wield their own powers in the particular way each instrument is meant for, but all of my instruments were built only for battle. They are too many for me to use alone, and as a Sky God, not many can actually fight me.
So, I gave one Iron Whip, which was imbued with the power of the Sun to Atashan, and gave the one with the power of the Moon to Kara Yulduz. Their true forms changed into gold and silver, reflecting the Golden Sun and the Silver Moon. I also gave Aycecek's bow and arrows which represent the Whispering Wind, to Asena as a memento of her mother. However, I still kept the Armor of Floating Cloud, the Needles of Falling Rain, Frozen Strom Shield and Thundering Sword with me.
All of these Divine Instruments represent a part of the power of the Sky. The full extent of my power is truly revealed only when every pieces is brought together. This might seem overpowered, but believe me Divine Instruments of the Death Lord and Mother Earth are even more fearsome. The Gungnir of Wotan always hits its target, any men Erik wants dead will be dead. Meanwhile, the rhythm of Sihirtia's Ivory Drum can both sway people's minds and shake the very foundations of the Earth.
After we questioned Asena, she shifted into a giant blue wolf and showed us her silver claws and fangs. It seems she has only acquired power from her Mama Blue for now. Cynthia thinks she might receive another power when she fully awakens her Night Sky aspects in the future.
Cynthia also helped Kara Yulduz re-engineer her two falcons to have a distinctly darker tone, while Erik blessed them with his power, allowing them to see through darkness and blend in with the shadows. With my blessing, they became her Divine Beasts.
Now, Kara Yulduz and Atashan have the ability to defend themselves and help Midnight Blue protect Asena from other supernatural entities. I also named the Water Spirit of the Sacred Spring with the name Tagh Boru gave her, calling her "the Spirit of Flowing Water" and asked her to protect them.
After seeing that the mysterious being had decided to stay quiet for a year, and with all our preparations complete, the new spring finally came, and we decided it was time to start our new journey. The three of us chose to travel by horse and pass through the high mountain passages to the Great Lake.
Cynthia and Erik showed me how to absorb natural energy from many sacred spots like mountains and lakes, and reminded me how to receive the power of sunlight and moonlight while we traveled. As I slowly guided them past the rough terrain of the high mountains, Erik led the hunt, taking life and containing the soul while finding fresh meat for us. Meanwhile, Cynthia would sat at the center of the campfire, preparing our meal while telling tales from the ancient times. We traveled without using any Divine Power, blending in with nature as if we were mortal beings.
Sometimes, Cynthia would summon her Divine Reindeers and ride them to rest her horse. So I asked her about their names, while worrying that it might be like the time Erik introduced his ravens. But she giggled and told me, "I would like to name them Rudolph too but I have two of them, so I named them after Thor's two goats, 'Tanngrisnir' and 'Tanngnjostr.' So please don't worry, I am not Santa Claus!"
She also adjusted our horses, including Barsa and Qara Salqi, making them become majestic golden shiny horses in their true form whenever we pour a little Divine Energy into them.
Their true form looked very familiar to me, but I couldn't remember the name of the modern breed. So I asked Cynthia. She told me she had based them on a modern Turkmen breed known as the Akhal-Teke, which nicknamed "the Golden Horses" because of their shiny metallic coats.
Not long after that, we reached our first destination, the Ancient Mountain of the Tagh Boru. I greeted the local Guardians of this mountain and introduced my two companions as Sihirtia and Erlik. They let us stay in the Ancient Mountain like last time, while the chiefs of the elder clans who lived close by paid us a visit from time to time. We took our time fishing in the Great Lake, and hunting and harvesting with them. We then continued our journey eastward, reaching the Burkhan Khaldun in late autumn.
Erik set up our camp close to the lake, south of the Burkhan Khaldun. We left the horses and other unnecessary supplies there and continued east, beginning to climb the mountain from its eastern side. We reached the peak not long after the first snow fell and planned to stay there all winter. We explored the snowy peak by day while sleeping in the White Room at night. I was a little worried about the horses but with our blessings, they would be fine.
I truly realized by then that we were no longer human. The word for Immortal "Xian" in Taoism tradition is a compound character made from the radicals for "person" and "mountain," which literally means the mountain man. After ascending to immortality, a person is likely to remain in the mountains to stay away from mortal mandate and the changing of time. Languages, cultures, religions, regimes, and dynasties will all constantly change.
After we marked the Burkhan Khaldun's peak on midwinter night under the Cold Moon, some energy-sensitive shamans had gathered and were waiting for us at the foot of the mountain. Cynthia felt this, so we left early to meet them. We summoned our Divine Beasts to demonstrate our powers and secretly revealed our identities to the Moon Maidens among them.
One of the Maidens reported that Qin dynasty was finally on the brink of collapse and the conflict between Chu and Han would begin anytime. The direction of the wind was changing, and we would use this brief period of peace to slip into the Zhongnan Mountains, at the very center of this change.