A lone mountain looms over an icy tundra, surrounded by blizzards and algific clouds swirling around its frigid majesty. Dark clouds menace over all the land, eclipsing the rays of the radiant sun.

  Emerging from a small cave near the peak of the mountain, a young boy with medium length snowy white hair and large, bright red eyes begins to walk toward a huge cavern, his elderly companion close by.

  Reaching his destination, the boy signals to the old man to his side, and, arm outstretched, the old man forms a small blue pentagram near his hand. Suddenly, azure blue lines of light emanate from beneath their feet, forming a huge magic circle, which, in a flash of light, causes the pair to disappear.

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  Back in Fendrel, at Oromius' mansion, Astraoth and his father` return after a three-week training exercise in Gastruo. Walking out of the center room of the house, the pair enters the north wing, moving to the kitchen for breakfast.

  Lounging on a wooden dining table, while eating a small bread roll topped with an odd pink cream, Astraoth turns to Oromius, saying,"Dad, not to be impatient, but...Isn't it my birthday today? Don't I deserve a gift?"

  Gesturing to Astraoth, Oromius makes his way outside, and, while staring at the pure white moon hanging in the sky, he sighs and solemnly replies,"Your birthday is coming, and will arrive in approximately one hour. Upon reaching this hour, your training will officially begin." Smiling with an alarming confidence, Oromius continues," In preparation for the...momentous occasion ahead, I will explain, in detail, over the next hour, cultivation.

  With a wave of Oromius' hand, the night is lit up by tens of small blue orbs, hovering around Oromius and Astraoth. Oromius sits down cross-legged, beside Astraoth. Pausing and taking a deep breath, Oromius begins his explanation,"Cultivation is the accumulation of energy in one's body and allows amazing feats to be performed. All around us are wisps and particles of Essence Energy, which is gentle and cannot be used for violence in its natural state. Using specific methods, called cultivation techniques, we can absorb and transform the energy into usable forms."

  Oromius pauses and Astraoth, listening intently, folds his hands, and waits for Oromius to continue. Oromius stretches his hand out slightly and forms a small magic circle above his hands. The azure blue pentagram glows softly, and Oromius resumes his explanation,"One form of energy that you can convert Essence Energy into is Mana, which can be woven into spells via magic circles, usually in the form of pentagrams. Magic spells created affect primarily the world around the Caster."

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  Retracting his hand, and dismissing the magic circle, Oromius halts his speech, and deeply breathes, continuing his explanation," Another form of energy is Qi, which is formed into martial skills. Martial skills primarily affect the User, strengthening them in some manner. Every person has an affinity towards at least one element, be it strong or weak. Your affinity decides what type of martial skills and magic spells you can use. I have affinities for wind and space, so my Mana is azure blue."

  Astraoth, curious, interrupts Oromius, asking,"So then the color of energy is determined by the affinity of the owner?"

  Oromius, smiling softly, answers,"Not necessarily, but most cultivation techniques are based on affinity. Anyway, Mana and Qi are by far the most common forms of derived energy. There are many other forms, but most are not as powerful. Besides, techniques that use other forms of energy are very rare. Back to the main topic, there are ten stages of "base" cultivation; after that, one ascends to a completely different level."

  "This is the basics of cultivation for all the races; however, each race has unique characteristics in their cultivation. Humans, for example, use the essence cores of strong beasts when breaking through; they, as a result of their low natural strength and weak bloodline, can use the essence of beasts to take on their characteristics. Eventually, when they ascend past the limits of "base" cultivation, they form a bloodline and create a spirit from the essences cores they have absorbed. The spirit could be a familiar; if they used wolf cores, they could form a wolf spirit. It could also be a weapon spirit, for their personal use. Regardless, as demons, we do not have that ability."

  Astraoth, trying to absorb all the information given, asks, confused,"If they can form a spirit, what can we do?"

  Oromius smiles disdainfully, and explains,"The humans' abilities are weak at best when compared to the natural gifts of the demon race. As a demon, when you cultivate past a stage and breakthrough, you gain a unique ability from your bloodline, which can be modified or improved if you use a beast's essence core when breaking through. In addition, we have much more powerful bodies, which, when combined with our natural abilities, allow us to easily surpass an ordinary human of the same level. You, as an S-Class demon, are especially strong when compared to humans."

  Astraoth, finally managing to calm down, even through the influx of new information, asks,"Exactly what type of demon am I? You never have told me or answered me when I ask."

  Oromius avoided the question, saying,"You have had enough to digest for one day. I will reveal everything in time. Regardless, your training is about to begin...." Astraoth just blankly stared back, disappointed. The sun finally dawning, Astraoth's fourth birthday finally began...