Over 5,000 years ago, the first emperor of China, Emperor Qin was faced with attacks from nomadic tribes along the northern border. His advisers suggested building a great wall and taking a defensive position. Emperor Qin went against his advisers and drew up plans to expand China's territories. All citizens were encouraged to contribute to the expansion effort and were compensated handsomely.

An ever increasing need for manpower led to sweeping reform policies regarding immigration and the poor. Immigrants were given full citizenship in exchange for ten years service. Those that couldn't pay their taxes were offered debt forgiveness in exchange for five years of service. Both groups, as well as those that volunteered for service, were offered a plot of land in the newly obtained territories in addition to wages earned. Even those not fit for service as soldiers were accepted, they would be trained as engineers, medics, and farmers, however their term of service would be extended. These policies proved to be very popular, even among the Confucian Scholars, who originally opposed Emperor Qin's rule.

As the years passed Emperor Qin became obsessed with avoiding death. He sought the counsel of the Confucian Scholars, who told him that the path to immortality could be found through virtue and self-reflective meditation. Emperor Qin took to meditation quite enthusiastically, he even became interested in the meditative practices found along the empire's new borders.

Emperor Qin lived a long life, but couldn't put off death forever. The title of Emperor was passed to his heir, but the greatest inheritance passed down to his children was his collection of meditative scriptures and his personal notes on how they could be combined. Over the generations the empire expanded and his descendants continued to add to his collection, incorporating new meditative practices and martial arts with mystical doctrines.

On the 888th anniversary of the empire's founding, Emperor Qin Chen created the current system of cultivation, circulating chi through the dantian to nourish the soul, with progress denoted by eight large realms, each consisting of eleven smaller realms, for a total of eighty-eight realms. That year, he explored the empire from the coast of Phiom Enhah[1], to the beaches across from the Celtic Isles, skirted the Siberian Tundra, and boated around a few small islands with Japan on the horizon. During his trip, Emperor Qin Chen spread his teachings on cultivation throughout the empire and sired eight children.

After touring the empire, Emperor Qin Chen was aware that the needs of his people varied greatly from one region to the next. With so many eights appearing at once, the emperor took it as a sign of great luck and providence, as such he decreed that the empire would be divided into eight provinces. Each of his children would be crowned regent of a province upon reaching adulthood, while Emperor Qin Chen would step down from his position.

After taking up their positions, the eight siblings came together to swear a blood oath with their father as their witness. The oath was simple, they and their decedents would work together to ensure the prosperity of the eight provinces. For the next 4,000 years the oath held true and the people of China lived peaceful lives.

The Academic and The Contender, two visitors from beyond the stars, landed in the Xing Province, the western most province of the empire. They had never cultivated before, but made quick progress and became the first to reach the eighty-eighth realm, known as the mortal limit. They claimed that the knowledge from their world, which they called science, was compatible with cultivation and was the key to their rapid progress. They offered to share this knowledge and built the Gaian Academy in the Xing Province.

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However, the regent of the Wang Province was jealous of the close relationship between the visitors and the Xing Province. The Wang Regent attended a lecture at Gaian Academy, but couldn't understand the content. He accused the academy of spouting nonsense and the Xing Province of hoarding the knowledge for themselves. Eventually the eight provinces took sides and a civil war erupted.

During the war the Gaian Academy was destroyed and the two otherworldly beings were lost along with all their knowledge. From the ashes of the academy rose Ku Pa, the direct disciple of the visitors. Ku Pa led a bloody campaign that lasted more than a thousand years, but he eventually toppled the regents of all eight provinces and crowned himself the new emperor, renaming the empire the Gaian Empire in honor of his teachers. After quelling a few domestic uprisings, Ku Pa turned his gaze outward and began a campaign to further expand the empire's borders with the intention of uniting the whole world under his rule.

*** *** *** ***

“...ei...”

“...”

“Ku Wei! Are you even listening to me!?”

“Huh?” A pair of inquisitive red eyes unwillingly left the pages of the book they'd been reading only to meet a pair of piercing blue eyes. Unperturbed, Ku Wei casually glanced at his twin before standing to give a formal salute and a small bow. As he sat back down his eyes began drifting back toward the page he'd been reading as he asked, “Did you need something Crown Prince Ku Xue?”

Ku Xue quickly snatched the book away from Ku Wei, knowing that he'd lose his attention the second he was allowed to look at it. Frowning, Ku Xue sighed, “Bah... Do you have to be so formal brother? We're still young and I haven't inherited Father's position yet. Can't you be more friendly?”

Now it was Ku Wei's turn to frown. “Our honorable father, Imperial Prince Ku Fu, has made it clear that I, Prince Ku Wei, as the second born twin, am lucky to be alive. Politically, things would have been easier if I were executed at birth. Therefore, in exchange for my life, I have been ordered to always show Crown Prince Ku Xue the respect he deserves.”

Ku Xue couldn't recall how many times he'd heard his brother recite those words, but they always stung, because Ku Xue knew better than anyone that all he'd done to 'deserve respect' was be born a little sooner.

After a moment of silence had passed between them, Ku Wei asked, “Crown Prince Ku Xue, may I have my book back? The Imperial tutor is going to quiz me on the history of the Gaian Empire when he arrives.”

“You're always so studious, sometimes I think Father got our names mixed up.”[2] Ku Xue smiled as he put the book back on its shelf before continuing, “No need to worry about the tutor, he has been instructed to give you the day off. Even The Academic didn't study everyday and it is our birthday after all. In fact I'm here to fetch you. It's finally time to get you out of this damned dungeon!”

Obviously, the tower that Prince Ku Wei lived in was a far cry from a dungeon, but he had been confined there for the last eight years. When he and Ku Xue had turned five their father decided it was best to limit Ku Wei's strength and influence, in order to prevent any potential future infighting. The palace's eastern tower became Ku Wei's whole world after that. Ku Xue and Ku Wei's mother died giving birth to them and their father was rarely free due to national affairs. Therefore, Ku Wei's only regular visitors were his tutor, his twin brother Ku Xue, and their younger half-brother Ku Shen.

Author's Notes:

[1] Phiom Enhah is the Coptic (sub-dialect of Ancient Egyptian) name for the Red Sea

[2] Xue means to learn or study, while Wei means great or extraordinary