The world was wild long before men learned to name it.
Endless forests stretched beyond the eye's courage, their canopies whispering secrets to the wind. Mountains, jagged and ancient, clawed at the heavens as if in defiance of the gods. Rivers sang through the land cold, misted veins of life that glimmered like living glass beneath the dawn.
Here, the balance of life was law. Every creature hunted, every leaf breathed, every death fed another beginning. There were no kings to rule, no empires to cage the earth — only tribes, born of instinct and bound by the bond between human and beast.
Each tribe had its ways. Some danced beneath moonlit groves, calling to their soul spirits. Others trained upon storm-bitten cliffs, carving strength into their bones.
Strength was not wealth, nor title.
It was the heartbeat shared with one's Soul Creature the beast that lived within the soul, a reflection of one's truest nature.
Those who mastered this bond could transform — flesh and spirit merging into fang and feather, scale and claw. Hunters, shamans, protectors… they were the guides of mankind, and the world followed the rhythm of their breath.
But peace here was not the stillness of calm waters. It was balance ... fragile, beautiful, and ever at risk of breaking.
When tribes clashed, so too did the beasts within them.
And yet, amid the vastness of this untamed world, there was one place that seemed untouched by the chaos of men ... Rivera Village.
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Nestled beside a great silver river, Rivera was small, almost forgotten. Its fields were green and patient, its soil so rich that even the laziest seed would sprout. The villagers lived simple lives ,fishing, farming, laughing beneath the rustling of willow trees.
It was not a village of warriors or shamans. No sacred groves. No Qi shrines.
Just people, living close to the earth.
Among them lived a boy named Vyvian.
He wasn't born of Rivera's blood. The villagers said he was found by the river when he was little — just a crying child in a reed basket, floating between worlds. The old couple who found him, gentle farmers with no child of their own, raised him like the river raised its reeds .....quietly, steadily, letting him grow with the flow of time.
Now, sixteen summers had passed.
And as dawn stretched its first light across the rippling water, Vyvian stood by the river's edge, staring at his reflection.
His eyes clear gray, the color of storm clouds over still water watched the ripples dance across his reflection. The world was quiet, but inside him something stirred.
Today was the day.
The day every youth sought their Qi.
The day they reached inward, beyond the flesh, to touch the soul that waited within.
For some, the journey ended in triumph the awakening of their Soul Creature, a bond so deep it could shake mountains. For others, it ended in silence… the failure to awaken, the shame of a dormant spirit.
Vyvian didn't know which awaited him. Only that he had to find out.
The river breeze shifted, carrying the scent of wet earth and lilies. Behind him, the village stirred....faint voices, the bleat of goats, the rhythm of a world still half-asleep.
He took a deep breath. The Qi within him was faint, like a heartbeat beneath water. But it was there, waiting.
He pressed his palm against his chest and whispered,
"Show me… what you are."
For a moment, the river fell silent. The mist held its breath.
Then a faint shimmer beneath his skin.
A pulse.
Like something ancient stirring from a long, patient slumber.
The mist lingered around Vyvian's feet as he stumbled back from the riverbank, his pulse racing with the rhythm of something newly awakened.
His skin still tingled from the strange warmth coursing inside him. Qi.
He had felt it.....truly felt it.
The life force whispered of in every tale , the bridge between man and beast.
"I did it… I actually did it!" he gasped, grinning wide, heart pounding with disbelief and pure joy.
Without waiting another second, Vyvian turned and sprinted toward the village. His sandals slapped against the wet earth as birds scattered overhead.
"Father! Mother!" he shouted, breathless.
The wooden door of their small cottage creaked open. His adoptive father — a broad man with a kind, weathered face and hands scarred from farming — looked up just as Vyvian crashed into his arms.
"I felt it!" Vyvian blurted, eyes shining. "The Qi… I finally felt my Qi!"
For a moment, his father said nothing. Then his eyes softened, and laughter — warm, proud, unrestrained — echoed through the home.
"By the spirits, you've grown so much," his father said, pulling him into a rough embrace. "Our boy's become a man."
Tears glimmered at the corners of his eyes — rare, honest tears that even the hardest men of Rivera seldom shed.
Vyvian laughed too, caught between pride and relief.
But when he turned toward his mother, he froze.
She wasn't smiling.
She stood by the fire, hands clasped tightly together, gaze lowered as if trying to hold something back.
"Mother…?" Vyvian asked softly. "Why do you look like that? Aren't you happy?"
Her voice trembled when she finally spoke.
"I am happy, Vyvian. So proud… but now that you've awakened your Qi, it means you must go. Into the forest. To train. To find your creature."
She bit her lip. "What if you get hurt out there? What if—"
"Pfft—!" His father broke into booming laughter, clapping a hand on her shoulder. "You worry too much, woman! He's not a baby anymore. The forest will toughen him up."
"Still—"
"Still nothing." He turned to Vyvian, smiling. "You'll be fine, lad. It's time you met the wild with your own eyes."
Vyvian looked between them the father's pride, the mother's fear and smiled softly.
"I'll be fine, Mother. You'll see. I'll come back stronger."
He hugged her gently, feeling her shoulders shake.
"Now… help me pack my things? I'm going on an adventure."
Before his mother could reply, a voice cut through the doorway.
"I'll go too!"
They all turned.
A girl stood there, sunlight spilling around her like a halo. Seventeen, with sharp amber eyes and a braid that swayed down her shoulder — Faye.
The headstrong daughter of the village's healer.
She folded her arms, chin lifted proudly. "He'll get himself eaten by the first beast he meets. Someone has to make sure he doesn't trip over his own feet."
Vyvian blinked, startled. "Faye? You— you can't just"
"I can," she said flatly. "You forget, I've already awakened my creature. You'll need me."
His father arched an eyebrow. "You? A girl? Out in the wild with this fool?"
But before he could finish, Vyvian's mother stepped forward with sudden enthusiasm. "That's a wonderful idea!"
Faye's eyes widened. "Wait—what?"
"Yes, yes!" she said quickly, already bustling to find a spare travel pack. "If you're with him, I'll worry less. You're strong, Faye, and sensible. Oh, your parents will understand!"
"My parents?"
But it was too late. Vyvian's mother was already halfway across the path, calling out to Faye's home.
Within minutes, both families were standing together — Faye's parents hesitant, Vyvian's mother overflowing with determination.
"Please, let her go," she said, waving her hands dramatically. "You know Vyvian's hopeless with directions! What if he eats something poisonous? What if he gets caught in a storm? At least Faye knows how to keep him alive!"
Her husband sighed, shaking his head. "Hopeless, both of them."
Faye's parents exchanged uncertain glances, then finally relented.
"All right," her father said. "But only a few days, understand? You return before the next full moon."
"Of course," Faye said quickly, trying to hide her grin.
And just like that, it was decided.
By the time the sun began to sink, Vyvian stood at the village's edge with a simple satchel slung across his shoulder. Faye adjusted her own pack beside him, her staff strapped to her back.
"You really didn't think this through, did you?" she said with a teasing smirk.
Vyvian scratched the back of his head. "Not really. I just… wanted to go."
Faye laughed softly. "Then let's see where your feet take you, river boy."
Behind them, their parents waved , some smiling, some worried, all proud.
The river shimmered in the distance, catching the dying light of dusk.
And as they stepped into the forest ... two souls on the brink of destiny, the mist rose once more, curling around them like a quiet blessing.
The world beyond the village awaited.
And with it, the wild call of Qi.