(Author: Hello! As I can't preview the first submission, I didn't expect the first chapter to be so short. Multiple chapter release today! Oh well. Regis finds an ancient comet burning with a strange dark purple fire. He absorbs it and sheds his skin and develops his crimson wings early, but it was expected to happen sooner or later. The only other affect he notices is that his glowing cerulean eyes glow the same color as comet fire. By the time he returns, there is only one night left before the night of his application test. Just what is the application test? What must he prepare himself to do? Enjoy.)

-------Chapter 2: The Moon Spirits----------

Regis quickly slithered back home, knowing his mother would be very angry this time as he didn't come back before sunset. Not that he could tell time below the tunnels, but it was irrefutable that he was gone too long. As expected, Regis found his mother staring at him at the exit, mad with rage.

While Regis had a snake body three feet long, his mother had a snake body as long as thirty feet. However, she prefers using her human form of a human tongue and two legs as she ventures out the mountain to trade with some of the villages many miles to the south away from the cold region they lived in. She stared at him in a mix of relief, anger, and surprise as Regis sprouted his crimson wings upon leaving the tunnel.

"Hi mom! Sorry I'm late. I was shedding my skin while I was in the tunnels. I didn't expect it to happen so soon," Regis smiled, telling only half the truth as he concealed the fact about the comet and the dark purple fire. It wasn't that he wanted to hide it out of distrust, but because he would be in even more trouble for doing something stupid like touching it.

"Regis," his mother said. "I'm glad you're alright. In light of coming back late, there is no denying that shedding your skin would take days and there is the ritual to prepare for. I know not why your eyes changed color, but I am glad you finally have your wings. You're one step closer to becoming a dragon and ascending. Your scales are still only black on the top. The pattern should be appearing soon. You might undergo more changes, but you won't grow any longer or taller as that is the immediate effect of shedding."

"What is Elder Sister Beatrice up to?" he asked.

"Your sister is still in isolation for leaving the mountain and killing some humans," Isabelle answered. "Ever since Caius left after reaching advanced level spirit energy cultivation and developing human legs, no one is there to look after your sister. Your eldest brother, Isaac, is always out fighting with the demon army against the humans to the west, your  father is busy contending with the matters of the main and sub branch families of the clan, and I am busy in charge of anonymous trading with human caravans and towns to the south. I'm glad you're not as uncontrollable as she is."

"I've always heard that being a shaman is powerful, but what exactly is a shaman?" Regis asked.

"Tomorrow night is the ritual. You will learn about what it means to be a shaman there. For now, you must rest. Your scales should change color soon. Just because you shed your skin, doesn't mean the body has finished adjusting. It is forbidden to tell you more. What I can tell you is that your life will change. You will live amongst others now. Your temperament will also change. There are people who will be jealous of you as you are a member of the main branch, my son and the grandson of the pillar of the clan no less. Your sister's punishment should end tomorrow morning. You'll see her then. Good night Regis," his mother said and left him to handle clan affairs.

"Finally home," Regis said as he slithered onto a stone block with half of it covered in soft cloths for his human half of his body. His snake half curled while he laid on the bed. It did not take long before he fell asleep. As he lay asleep, his abyssal black scales changed color, forming a crescent moon shaped pattern atop the abyssal black scales with two tiny dots on either end of the point of the crescent moon. The pattern was the color of gold, but the snake body did not elongate as it did when Regis shed his skin.

Meanwhile, the energy of the comet was changing him. A frost colored energy swirled inside Regis. The bones of his body began transforming and became as transparent as ice, yet indestructible. On the lower half of his arms sprouted three blades the color of jade. They were curve shaped blades with the point of the blade facing back towards the elbow with the middle blade being the longest and thickest of the three blades on each arm.

His black hair elongated past his shoulders and his body became leaner. He had developed blades on his arms as his grandfather did, a trait rarely found among the descendants of the Star Dragon. His wings also changed color to gold as if matching the colors of his patterned scales. When Regis awoke, he found that his clothes had been shredded and was shocked at his transformation.

"Little Regis? Is that you?" a feminine voice asked as a blonde haired girl with the lower body of a snake with azure scales and golden wings on her back arrived in the house. "You! You look different than mother described! What happened?"

"I don't know, but I feel great," Regis said, scratching the stone walls with the blades on the dorsal side of his forearm. "Whoa! Did I do that?"

"You have dual bladed forearms like grandpa!" Beatrice gasped. "Uh oh! Learning weapons will be hard with those on your arms. Are you ready for the ritual?"

"Mom didn't tell me anything about it that seemed important," Regis sighed.

"Well I can tell you a secret," Beatrice grinned. "Think about what shamans are. They cultivate spiritual energy right? The ritual awakens the spiritual energy within you. Our clan is special as we immediately make a contract with a spirit when we awaken our spiritual energy. People struggle for who knows to what length to become a member of the branch family. Even they get a chance to contract with a spirit. Be wary of branch members. Most protect the main branch and are satisfied with all the benefits, but some believe themselves superior and might challenge you. Also, be careful of some of the mutant branch members."

"Mutant branch members?" Regis asked. "Is that some kind of mutation like mine?"

"Yes and no. Yours is a rare but valued mutation in the main branch. The mutant branch members I'm talking about are different. You know that all members of the main branch of the Star Clan have a human upper half and snake lower half no matter what they marry right? The branch do not have as high a purity as ours. Sometimes, they inherit the physical traits of the outsider who married into the clan. Sometimes, it is an amazing mutation that could land them great opportunities from the main branch. They are called variant branch members. However, there are some too monstrous or unnatural. Only the known is safe. Their mutations are dangerous. Be careful of them Regis. They usually resent and blame our Star Dragon lineage for their monstrous transformation. What can you do?" Beatrice sighed. "Mom already has me engaged to one of the more powerful variants from the branch family and he is pretty awesome and not a total dick. He even beat Caius in a one-on-one duel, something I could never hope to do. Caius was pissed enough to travel the world and get stronger."

"Awesome! He beat Caius. I thought he was invincible," Regis praised.

"Dad and grandfather are the invincible ones. My fiancé couldn't beat Isaac though. They're both fighting on the frontlines with the demon army against the humans to the west. I could have joined them if I didn't kill some human travelers who ventured nearby. Mom has to deal with any possible connections those humans might have had and send our elite forces to secretly put them down," Beatrice said.

"Makes sense. Kill them all before they become a problem for the clan," Regis said. "Being merciful shows weakness. Weakness gets a snake killed. You can never hope to be a dragon if you act like a snake in front of an eagle."

"One of the many famous phrases of the clan," Beatrice laughed as she rolled her eyes. "I don't know if you're cold blooded like a snake or cold hearted as the clan wants us to be. Anyway, the ritual is very important as it will reveal your elemental affinities. Our ancestor was actually gifted in seven elements! SEVEN! Even grandfather and Isaac are gifted with only five and that already makes them a genius among geniuses! We, of the main branch, are born geniuses with three elemental affinities. It's also another reason the branch is jealous of us, but we don't choose our parents you know. Take a bath and try to wear a white robe......uh....good luck with those blades on your arms. I believe they are retractable too but will be painful when they come out. At least our wings are like a bird and not a demon or dragon. I'd keep them out all them time if they were. Dad will be pleased with the gold wings. As for mom, at least your scales are mostly abyssal black like hers."

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Regis felt shivers down his arm as the blades sunk into his body. Like the wings, he had no idea how they could fit in his body or where they went. His forked tongue smacked his lips as he went to the dining hall a few yards away and ate his breakfast. Regis then took a bath and changed into a white robe before slithering to the Inner Sanctum of the main branch where his grandfather lived. Many of the guards addressed him as Ancestor as they were members of the branch family.

While the main branch struggled to have children, the same could not be said for the branch families. Countless generations passed before Isabelle, his mother, was born. No one knew how old the pillar of the clan was save that he was the youngest of nine sons of the Star Dragon himself. He was also the only one of his brothers who chose not to go to the Immortal Realms. It was a choice, but only nine star magical beasts or above to a total of eleven could choose to ascend. They were classified by stars instead of ranks by humans countless ages ago through what humans called, adventurer guilds. They classified magical beasts by stars and rated missions from F to A backwards, alphabetically, with the exception of S, SS, and SSS which were above rank a missions.

None of the main or sub branch families knew what star rating the pillar had save for that he could blow up an entire mountain with a flick of his wrist. Many nations, empires, and kingdoms, never dared to take over the land of the Star Clan or its territories because of the pillar. No one outside of the main branch knew what he looked like and only heard his voice as focused on his training instead of Mortal Affairs. Only Beatrice, Regis, Isaac, Caius, and their mother, Isabelle, were allowed to visit him in person as they were his direct descendants. The sub branch were descendants of the pillar's cousins, uncles, and aunts.

Everyone called the pillar of the clan Vizog the Undying as he had no equal on their planet. Only the main branch were permitted to use his name as everyone else would call him Undying One. Even though the sub branches of the clans might harbor some resentment to the main branch they never harbored such feelings to Vizog the Undying as his presence alone kept their people from becoming persecuted or enslaved like other demi-human and monster races. They also respected Isabelle as she was the member of the main branch who interacted with them the most.

The guards were all in their true, half-snake, forms and clad in golden armor with jade runes as they saluted Regis. Regis was the one descendant that didn't fear Vizog and often told his grandfather about his travels in the tunnels. Regis wanted to visit his grandfather and ask for some hints about the ritual. They smiled as Regis waved at them as he slithered into a massive black stone door and seemed to phase through it by magic. Regis grimaced in pain as he sprouted the blades on his forearms and wings on his back, making several holes in his robe in the process.

The entire Inner Sanctum was empty save for a hundred feet long body of black and jade scales as thick as fifteen feet coiled against the walls with an elderly looking man sleeping in the center of the room with his human half resting against part of his snake body. It seemed as if he was sleeping, but a faint red glow emanated from his body that reeked of pure power. He had snow white hair, a muscular build with golden wings and gold colored blades similar to Regis save for being even larger than his. Vizog the Undying opened his eyes and the energy seemed to disappear as he looked down on his visitor, his snake body transforming into human legs. The pure white robe he wore was open like a jacket and white silk pants appeared out of thin air to cover the lower half of his body as he appeared in a sitting position with his legs crossed.

"Regis? You! You're....like me," Vizog laughed as he saw Regis's dual bladed forearms. "The color is different but you have dual blades, three blades on each side of the dorsal forearm! HAHAHA! Fantastic! You are my grandson. I will call you Little Freak as my older brothers called me that too long ago. HAHAHA! Come and give grandpa a hug."

"Grandpa!" Regis laughed and hugged his muscular grandpa before he sat down ten feet in front of him. "I entered the tunnel I told you about. I encountered a ball of ice, a comet, like the stories. It was covered in a dark purple fire. I touched it and I absorbed all of it. It made me shed earlier than I expected."

"It must also have stimulated your genes," Vizog noted. "There used to be countless comets long ago. My ancestors used them to evolve sooner. I also developed blades like you did. You will also be...different in many ways. The effects of the comet are different, but one of your elements will be ice and darkness. The first darkness of the main branch since me. Your mother's younger siblings, their descendants, and the descendants outside the main branch do not have the darkness affinity like you or I. You will also have...light affinity! Impossible! An Abominable Soul? Conflicting elements!"

"Is that bad? How do you know?" Regis asked, afraid.

"Abominable Souls are creatures whose souls had mutated and could wield conflicting elements. Light and darkness....well. It should to be most amusing. Most humans consider humans who use the light element as heroes. It should serve you well in the future. Is it perhaps the dark purple fire? Could it have been heavenly flames? Then why did the comet not melt? Why did you not burn upon touching it, or the mountain for that matter?" Vizog said. "I will teach you personally after the ritual and preside over it myself. No one can know of this. Do you understand Regis?"

"Yes grandpa," Regis said, nodding his head vigorously. "Speaking of which, I came to ask about the ritual. What is it? How do I prepare for it?"

"You will contract with a Moon Spirit. It will enter your Spirit Realm and guide you as you walk the path of the shaman to immortality. We have immortal lifespans, but not the prowess of one. Well, the rest of you anyway. People will believe that you will have two elements, light and ice. Only you, me, and your spirit will know otherwise. When you evolve and develop human legs, never use your wings or dual blades. Don't even use your true form in front of others. I will only train you in ice and darkness as they are my own elements of the five I wield. When you evolve, you will look like a fifteen year old human. Once you do, I will send you far away to one of the holy knight academies. There, you will learn their ways. I will also give you a transmission bead. With it, you and I can talk. Holy knights are the greatest threats to demons who are our allies. You will be our spy there. Again, you may use only your ice and light magic among humans in your human form."

"I, I understand," Regis said nervously.

"It's okay my Little Freak," Vizog smiled. "You will become like me: a survivor. You have the biggest chance to live among humans. Our race is unique as no one, or magical artifact or spell, could the monster blood inside us. That is how your mother and the sub branch can live on the foot of the mountain and explore and trade in the human lands. It is a lot to take in. I know, but this is your future now. Once your mother becomes ten star magical beasts like your father, and you attain a human form; I will finally ascend and search for my father and brothers at last. Little Freak, before you leave when you evolve, I will give you your inheritance as it will be the last time we meet. I will make you strong. I will make you heartless to your enemies and kind to others. Go now, to the mountain where the ritual will take place. You will wear a gold mask and keep your hood on. Sub branch members wear black robes with silver masks. You will live alone now with me. Only your mother and sister will see you without your mask as your brothers and father will be too busy with their own affairs. No one must know your face when you attain a human form. The world is not as pure as you think. Nor are the people as kind and trustworthy as they are now. When you leave, the outside world will persecute you and you will never be safe there. Go now. I will be there soon."

"Yes grandpa. Thank you," Regis said and hugged his grandfather before donning a gold mask on his face. He realized his dual bladed-forearms were special and hid them and his wings before he left the Inner Sanctum.

As he left, Vizog the Undying stared at the ceiling and said, "Father. My brothers. How I miss you so. Soon, I will find you. Soon, I will be with you once more and be called Little Freak once again. Do you know, one of my grandsons is also a Little Freak. HAHAHA! I'll tell you all about him when we meet as well as my precious daughter and other grandchildren. I wonder what stories you'll tell me and all the experiences you've been through past these few million years. I'm a million years magical beast."