Andromeda Draconis Orion

I was blessed with a superior intelligence from birth. Probably a product of my bloodline but I don't know because I never knew my birth mother, I knew the love of many mothers and a father. Raised amongst many siblings in the house of an Awakened warrior I knew no hunger or hurt.

That is until the Romanæn empire came to conquer my homeland. We had plenty in Estria, our rivers overflowed with white gold plucked like cherries from the banks of the Benghazi with no need for mining.

My brothers and I joined the army, advancing quickly for we had learnt to fight at our father's knee as children. Not to get too much into my past, I learnt to deal death from the age of 16 till the age of 24. That is how long the war lasted. And after those 8 years I had nothing.

No family, no home, no friends. For we had lost the war but I had somehow stayed alive, even thriving throughout the conflict. At the age of 24 I was at the cusp of Awakening and a soldier without a country to fight for.

In my travels I found myself in a small kingdom known as Orientia in an odd part of the world. Surrounded by danger on all sides the small continent was an isle of peace and mild weather. There I learnt the ways of the Shinobi. There I learnt the power of chakra and the mind. At 34 I left Orientia having Awakened as a Warrior Chakra User.

Traveling the world and learning new things from different cultures, different peoples, different species. It is at a small nameless village on the continent of Terra controlled by the Monkey people that I got my first clear defeat and my life changed forever.

 

Raising children is an experiment on human behaviour, a very interesting experimental at that. If you devote all your attention on the rearing for her first 11 years, you can almost completely shape the type of person she will become.

I know this from experience, for the years following the birth of my daughter I had nothing better to do than raise her, and raise her well. Thus I discovered my two favourite pass times, making children and raising them.

After the age of 11 a child should feel stifled and rebel against the constant attention. Seeking independence of thought and the development of secrets. That of course is if you've raised them well enough to have their own mind and not be puppets. But some children develop this stage later or earlier than others.

From my experience of over 300 years of raising children and raising thousands of them, I can confidently say we are all half the product of our upbringing. The other half I am yet to be able to account for.

‎ All my children are trained in the ancient way. In the womb they are exposed to positive psionic energy and music therapy. Teachings and ideas that originated from the ancestors of the Nubian people.

A historican people led by matriarchs who dedicated their lives to raising and protecting children. The first people to develop soul powers to combat unseen spirits that plagued their young men.

From the moment my children are weaned their diet is implacably designed to achieve the greatest nutritional and magical growth for both mind and spirit. From the moment they learn to speak they are taught three additional languages that will broaden the mind and be the foundation of their spell craft. Languages that scholars sometimes take years to learn and decades to master.

By the time they can stand they go through obstacle courses specially designed to promote growth of all muscle groups. Originally designed for demi-human children who are usually born able to walk and defend themselves.

By the time a royal child of Celestia can grasp, a weapon and a quilt is placed into their hands. Taught the might of both the spear and the word, trained from then onwards to use both arms equally, being ambidextrous and flexible of thought.

By the age of seven or eight a royal child will have been surrounded by nothing but love, affection and encouragement their whole lives. Not even 100% sure who their birth parents are from the clatter of people ready and eager to show them love but still raised sternly enough not to be too spoilt or self important. Play well with others, learn to share, get a spanking for being naughty and learn to deal with the punishment without holding resentment.

By the age of nine or ten a royal child is to choose one speciality in magic, psionic power, wizardry, sorcery, and the martial way. Whether it be the magic element of air, the psionic power of telekinesis, wizardry of the laws of nature, sorcery of partnership with a spirit, or the martial way of the strategists.

At the age of 12 a royal child is expected to have balanced their chakra in preparation of learning release seals. The mudras necessary for the manifestation of the effects of chakra into the world. The sign language of the gods, the body language of the gods.

By the time a royal child of Celestia is 18 they know a life of nothing but hard work and the occasional leisure. Their leisure time allocated as something like four hours a day from the time they were seven years old. A time referred to as the time of the arts.

Arts like painting, music, dancing, building, smithing, philosophy, reading, writing, sex, swimming, gambling, extra lessons, sleep, hunting, carpentry and other pursuits. Four hours out of a hundred hours in a day where any pursuit is permissible within reason.

After each month, which is three ten-days they undergo what is referred to as a psychological evaluation and their training adjusted to better suit their needs. None are raised exactly the same but all are made to know hardship, pain, struggle, joy, love, consequences and success.

At the tender age of 19 or 20 royal children leave the Inner City to spend time within the confines of Orion under the lax supervision of an advisor. None of the citizens are to know who they are as they learn to interact with 'normal' people.

By the time they reach 21 they are expected to leave the city entirely and not return in less than three years. Most do return, very few don't by choice and a very small number dies. Two so far in the past 300 years.

After returning one now has a choice in how their lives are run, no longer going through evaluations or training if they so chose, controlling which regiment or path they want for themselves. Some choosing not to focus on any training but settling down and enjoying their lives, others taking on the administrative tasks of the empire. An empire that spans close to 20 000 square km in area.

Encompassing almost the entire continent of Spatium as it's sovereign terrify, encapsulating 28 other kingdoms under its banner. The vast empire of Celestia, built by one man from nothing. The immoral emperor, sometimes referred to as the godking by the Persians. A mysterious man whose likeness can be found on the coin with the least value in the empire.

A man who personally raises all his children from the age of six to the age of seven in a pocket dimension with time dilation allowing the year they spend in there to be only a month on Gaia. A trick commissioned from the fae.

As a man that has achieved so much and has sampled almost all that the world has to offer I have fallen into the trap of ennui and boredom. Even with all my children and their children to take up my time. Some years just flew by me in but a moment, others dragged along like gravity weights on my ankles.

I have taken up many pursuits while waiting and preparing for the fulfilment of the old man's prophesy. I no longer have human opposition anymore, no one of a caliber to be able to pit my strength against without restraint. I've conquered human opposition on Gaia and await my meaningless death and sometimes even tempted to Ascend despite the prophesy.

Having had reached the Imperium level of power more than 600 years ago, I should have Ascended a long time ago. But as I was about to Ascend I saw the same old man that gave me my first and only unredeemed defeat back in the land of Terra.

I had learnt much since then, having reached the height of power achievable on Gaia. The level of Imperial Chakra Awakened. A level of power so destructive that the world itself would eventually kick me out to protect itself, lest I became a danger to it. And I was beaten soundly by the thin old man with no shoes a second time.

After the trashing, when I lay bruised and bloody, slowly mending myself he told me of a prophesy. A prophesy of a calamity that would encampus the world, bringing the former Ascended descending onto Gaia.

A world not yet ready to accommodate beings of such power for extended periods of time. A prophesy of how they would eventually consume all within the seven worlds unless the worlds prepared to meet them strength for strength.

The coming of the fulfilment will be signified by the falling of the bodies of spirits from the sky. The dead or abandoned spiritual bodies of those in the spiritual realms will fall onto the seven worlds, and mortals will use their flesh as weapons and tools.

I had worried before that prophesy that I would never again have a worthy challenge on Gaia. That I would die never having had fought for a cause the soldier within me could believe in. And here was this old man telling me the secret yearning of my soul, a cause to call my own and to die in pursuit of it.

Die fighting an enemy worthy of me. Worthy of me giving my every ounce of power to try to defeat, how glorious it would be!

Many years previously I had researched my old foe and found he was known all over the world. Seemingly every people have a legend or stories about him. The 'Ancient of Days' they called him. A sad man who fathers a few children with different species but never stays more than ten years in one place. Cursed with knowledge and burdened with a heavy weight. Looking at his tired face I can almost see it, his long years of toil.

"Alright old man, I will stay on Gaia and help you prepare." I said, binding myself to his cause all those years ago.

 

All of my children have been raised to be ambitious without being greedy or covetous. None are slow or dumb witted, none are sycophantic, sociopathic or otherwise crippled. All are beautiful and talented beyond what is natural.

This has been achieved through the teachings of the old man. The old man taught me how to slowly temper my loins in preparation for a family. After following his wisdom and this path of celibacy for nearly a hundred years I had my first child. Beautiful Celeste whom I named my empire after in honour of her memory.

The old man taught me many secrets. One of which was how to remain on Gaia while being an Imperium of the 4th Tier. A very simple solution really, but one that would be alien to every person that has reached this point in their struggle to power. The biggest secret he taught me though was of the Second Awakening.

Something no one on Gaia has ever achieved due to leaving long before they can. Something not even whispered about let alone believed to be possible. The Second Awakening. A level of power we fear all Ascended will be at when they arrive. And I in all the world am the only one I know off to have achieved it.

But the old man is smart, he wouldn't put all his eggs in one basket. I'm sure there is another expert to rival me somewhere on Gaia. At least one in each of the seven worlds and the Sidhe live outside Gaian eyes for a reason.

The greatest ambition of my children is not to inherit my empire. For those that seek to rule I encourage to found their own kingdoms. Even some of my Queens rule far off kingdoms that have never even heard of Celestia while others rule queendoms within my empire.

There is more than enough space on Gaia for hundreds more kingdoms still. A world known to be still growing in size and power. No, the greatest ambition of many of my children is to face the Calamity with me. A calamity I have been training them for since before each is born. To pit themselves against worthy foes and let themselves loose.

I fear they may not be enough to stop the tide of what is coming.

I have raised and fostered an entire empire of secret societies and a subtle warrior culture. Using mental magic, talismans and the help of desperate spirits to mould an entire people into the weapon necessary to face what is coming. And now it is upon us. Finally.

‎I stand, my avatar body excusing itself from the bursary before collapsing into itself as the other ⅓ of my soul fully settles into my main body. Doubling my power and awareness.

"Tell me," I say to my granddaughter in my multitude of voices, sou ding grave thinking of the implications.

More than half of my people will die, I know this without a doubt. My empire will fall into ash and ruin. My cities, towns and villages sacked and burnt to the ground.

My name will either be forgotten or echo in the annals of history. I know not which nor do I care how I am remembered by strangers. The memory of how my descendants will know me secured by a contract I made with a spirit creature.

I look around at my children and many loved ones and my heart clenches for a moment. Insidious doubt permeating into my heart for those I love will die. Those I've raised from childhood with my own hands slaughtered in the coming of a new age.

I place a hand on my throne's armrest and project my affection throughout the inner city, a claimed territtory I have complete dominion over. Corvus falls back down and whimpers as he ejaculates again. This is why I don't like guests in the inner city limits.

"It is time we prepare for the Calamity." I project not only to the inner city this time but with the boost from my throne and channeling through my familiar, my sending reaches all the Kings and Queen within Celestia. Awakened Kings or Grandmaster Magicians all, for no one can rule a kingdom in Celestia without that minimum level of power.