Chapter 1: Arcane

Lei ran through the streets of Shujun laughing with his friends. He was a tall youth around 16 years of age with dark black hair that fell to his shoulders. Lei glanced at his best friend Wei as they ran. Lei and Wei had been best friends since they had been just small youths. They were running to their first lesson to become cultivators of the Jin Kingdom. A large arena suddenly entered into their line of sight. Wei and Lei slowed down as they entered its large gates as it was seen as disrespectful. They walked through a long passage into a large open space surrounded by grandstands. 

Four men stood in the middle of the arena glaring sternly at the throng of milling youths that surrounded them. "Silence!" one shouted. He wore blue robes which signified that he was a water essence cultivator. The youths suddenly quieted down and looked down sheepishly. The elders stood silently for a few moments before an Elder wearing a green robe stepped forward. "Greetings soon to be cultivators!" The children bowed and shouted in rehearsed unison a greeting that had been drilled into them from a young age, "Greetings Elder Kai!" The elder surveyed the rows of eager faces before him. "Today you will take your first steps into cultivation!" Rows of eager faces blinked back at him, "As many of you will know there are 5 types of cultivation any of you could step into. This is based on your affinity to certain aspects of Qi and our world. 

The first and often referred to as the least combat oriented path is the path of nature. If you have this affinity you will be able to control the trees and plants around you. These cultivators are often hired by the royal family to tend the royal gardens and farms. Most of the food you eat will probably be grown by one of these cultivators. This kind of cultivator is the most common in our wonderful kingdom. I am one of these cultivators which is why I wear green robes. The next three cultivation types are generally regarded as the combat oriented types. Water cultivators can shoot water from their palms at tremendous speeds and can control water even when they are not in contact with it. At higher cultivation bases they can even fill the lungs of their enemies with water. The next is the fire cultivator they can create fireballs and creatures known as familiars. These creatures are controlled by the cultivator and often take the shapes of animals around us just in the form of flames. The final combat oriented class is the Earth cultivator. Cultivators of this type can control the earth to form barriers. A group of these cultivators working together on the battlefield can wreak havoc against enemy forces. Those are the main cultivation types. Any questions?" 

A couple of hands rose. Elder Kai pointed at a boy in the front who asked, "Elder, you said you wear green robes because you are a nature cultivator, what colour robes do the other cultivators wear." "A very good question, water cultivators wear blue robes, fire cultivators wear orange robes and earth cultivators wear brown robes." Elder Kai pointed at the next hand, "Elder, I thought you said there were five types of cultivators but you only mentioned four. What is the fifth type?" Elder Kai smiled at the boy and said, "We don't usually talk about the fifth type of cultivator because they are extremely rare and there is only one living cultivator of this type. He is the ruler of the Ye Kingdom. These cultivators are known as arcane cultivators. No one is entirely sure what element they control or what abilities they have. Now that all the questions we have time for right now. Since today is your first day we will be testing your affinity. Each of you will step up to one of four rocks. You will then place your right hand on the stone. An elder will then grasp your left hand and send a burst of Qi through your body. It will travel through your meridians and out your hand and into the rock. While the Qi travels through your meridians your body changes its affinity to your specific affinity. The rock will change colour depending on your affinity. The darker the colour the rock turns the more attuned to your affinity you are. Can you all please form five lines in front of any of the four rocks."

Elder Kai walked to one of the rocks and stood behind it as the youths formed five neat lines in front of each rock. Lei and Wei stood at the back of one of the end rocks. They looked at each other nervously. Both hoped to have the fire affinity like their fathers had. Many considered the fire affinity the most powerful combat affinity. Lei realised it would be some time before he would get to the front.

After three hours in line the girl in front of Lei had completed her test. Her rock had turned a deep blue. This meant she was a water cultivator with a powerful affinity towards water. Lei stepped onto the slightly raised platform in front of the platform. A tired looking elder with grey hair greeted him wearily. Lei returned the greeting nervously and bowed towards the elder. He set his hand on the rock and the elder grasped his other hand. Lei felt a burning sensation that soon spread to his whole body. He gritted his teeth in pain and soon his body couldn't contain all the energy. Lei felt his body explode with power. The rock in his hand crumbled as he squeezed down on it to try and negate the pain. When it felt like the pain was eventually subsiding it would start up again. Lei eventually realised that he was hovering and that flashes of purple lightning were crackling behind him. Eventually the pain fully receded and he slowly levitated back down to the floor. 

Lei looked around at the destruction he had caused and saw the Elder who had administered his test cowering behind a piece of wall that had somehow survived the onslaught of power. He saw his peers cowering behind rubble and saw many of them lying on the rubble injured. He saw Elder Kai striding towards him with a worried look on his face. Elder Kai reached Lei and said, "Are you okay? Yes? You need to come with me." 

The elder turned around and strode towards the exit. Lei followed him out of the arena. As he exited the arena he saw the city guard already crowding the arena. The guards tried to approach Elder Kai but he waved them away as he carried on walking. Elder Kai led Lei to the city lord's mansion. As they approached the gates, one of the mansion's guards approached him and asked, "Elder, is everything alright?" Elder Kai shook his head and said, "Take me to the city leader immediately." Seeing the look of urgency on Elder Kai's face, the guard led them into the mansion and to the lord's office. As they entered the office a balding man looked up. He was the most powerful man in the city and was at the liquid qi stage of the authoritarian realm. 

"Elder Kai, is this the young man that destroyed my arena?" Elder Kai looked shocked at how quickly the news had reached the city lord's ears. The city lord chuckled and said, "You must remember that this is my city, Elder Kai, and in my city news travels fast. So tell me Elder Kai how did a young man who has never cultivated destroyed my arena?' Elder Kai looked worried and said to the city lord, "Lord, I think it will be better if we are all sitting down for this." The city lord gestured for Lei and Elder Kai to sit down. Lei and Elder Kai settled themselves into their chairs. Elder Kai then began speaking again, "City Lord, if you remember ten years ago we all received a communication from the ruler of the Ye Kingdom that outlined the way an Arcane cultivator would present themselves at testing?" The city lord nodded and then his eyes widened as he realised what the Elder was implying, "You don't mean to say that this young man here is an arcane cultivator." On hearing this Lei broke out the shocked state he had been in since he had destroyed the arena, "Me, an arcane cultivator? That's impossible!" Elder Kai looked at him and said, "Young man, the way you exploded with power and the purple lightning proves that you are an arcane cultivator." The city lord looked at Lei and said, "Young man you never mentioned your name." "My name is Lei city lord." The city lord nodded and said, "Lei your life is about to change forever. That correspondence from the Ye kingdom also said if an arcane cultivator is found we must inform our king immediately and then our king will inform the Ye kingdom ruler. The Ye kingdom ruler has had problems finding another arcane cultivator and he wishes to train another arcane cultivator before he dies." Lei sat in shock as he realised that he was going to be sent away to learn from the ruler of the most powerful kingdom in Chuxun. Lei's excitement suddenly died as he realised that he would probably have to leave his mother and father behind. Lei mentioned his concerns to the city lord but the city lord assured him that everything would be sorted out. "Lei, I need you to go home now. Tell no one what you are the Ye kingdom's enemies would love to kill if they found out what you were. Don't even tell your family. Tell them that you are in danger but Elder Kai will watch over you. Tomorrow morning Elder Kai will escort you and your family to my mansion. Hopefully I would have been in contact with the King tonight. I'm hoping he will answer my spirit stone message. (A spirit stone is a construct used to send audio messages to those with stones with the right energy signature.)" Lei nodded and exited the mansion. Elder Kai started to escort him home.