The Legend of Khan'av
Book 1: The New Dawn
Chapter 1: A place to see and a place to be
An older man was walking in the forest. It seemed odd for a man as ancient as him to be walking deep in the hustle and bustle of the woods, but the man had a sunny smile on his face and hummed his way forward. The man had a place to see and, if it counted for anything, maybe also a place to be.
Khan'av was on his way to confirm the last location for the new city that would be born into existence. He had already checked quite a few places. And all these places underwent rigorous inspection, thorough examination, and strict scrutiny.
They had to. It was a necessity. Khan'av couldn't allow the slightest carelessness to destroy years of hard work that would begin to come to fruition.
This ordeal would be demanding in a bid to change the convoluted cultivation world.
It had been a long four thousand years and even he was surprised at his patience. Or maybe extreme patience was the need of the hour, correction, millennia. Though, he was fortunate enough to have been able to reach this point. He had been steady in his pace and disproportionately cautious in his actions. He had never drawn attention to himself, always one with the crowd. None knew him or of him. All they knew were the identities he had assumed. Even to this date, he was the same and would continue to do so. His hopes would finally break the ground now. Bearing fruit was still a long way off.
He was neither delusional in his change nor was he arrogant. Arrogance would not make him stay his hand for four thousand years. He was only confident in the data he had collected. These so-called immortal cultivators were once also mortals. But sadly, they forgot their roots, from where they came. Power could change many things, and the effect was even more pronounced here, where personal power was almighty. Besides, most weren't even genuinely immortal, just a little more long-lived.
Furthermore, these cultivators hadn't done anything to boot with their extra years, except for more crimes and killings. It was indeed a wonder the sky was not cracked and the lands not broken already. But then again, the same was the case with his previous world. The situation only magnified prodigiously here.
Power was always the rule, never the exception.
Society could have long progressed with all the means these cultivators had at their disposal. Alas, they were far too busy killing, looting, hoarding, and oppressing anyone and anything out there. Cultivators were walking disasters that could erupt anytime. Already there were many disasters like wild beasts, monsters, diseases, illnesses, and more that killed. Villages wiped aplenty, and none in the know or cared. Yet, the cultivators only added to that sadness.
Their glory was built on the blood of many, as is always the case with rulers. The new cultivation age would be built on their kind, for if the new order required blood to be spilled, Khan'av would do it. While he was not one bit the fan of killing, in fact, far away from it, the new place of hopes, dreams, and progress in both values and life that he was going to build and set the foundations of had to be safe and secure. He wouldn't go looking for blood. He planned to develop the city for a thousand more years and amass enough collective power to protect and keep the change going. He was powerful, but one person was only one after all. He could defend his people today but not forever. So he would bide his time and make them strong enough to venture into lands beyond the city.
Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.
There was a lot to do, and first, in the order of things came the land and location they would choose to build upon. Land was given prime importance by many for a reason. And in a world as vast and mystical as this, it was even more so. All kinds of beautiful lives abound, below the earth and water or up in the sky and clouds. Beings on the surface was only scratching the surface.
Having ruminated enough, Khan'av asked Zero about the remaining distance. He could use the many methods to travel faster and arrive earlier, but he had learned to be patient.
Estimated time to arrival, 4 hours and 36 minutes.
Having a soul-bound AI in Zero was an extraordinary twist of fate for which he couldn't be more grateful. Who knew death in one world would be the start of life in another?
The ability to record, analyze, and simulate, among other things, was more than just a simple boon.
Soon, he would reach the valley. It was deep in a forest, far away from any community or society. Be that the surface kind, subterranean kind, the underwater kind, or the above cloud kind. It would take eons even to reach this place. Not having any of them nearby was a prerequisite for a place to be even considered. What would become of a city that had them coming to fight for anything and everything? Not like you needed to give those cultivators a reason to fight. They came to blows fast and hard, for anything to nothing. Maybe it was the water?
Jokes aside, it was a serious problem that needed dealing with. Khan'av didn't think of himself as some protagonist who would have various incidents follow him as he journeyed. No, he was an ordinary man with ordinary looks and talent. There were multiple reasons for him reaching how far he had, but one thing he did was not fight for the so-called heavenly treasures or other such stuff with cultivators. They would only become research material on his desk even if he got them. He did get some, and they did become research materials. But he mostly only went for those that didn't give any worldly phenomenon or something.
The last four thousand years were spent traveling and collecting data. The beginnings were slow, but the pace picked up as Khan'av went further on his path. He still remembered how he spent twenty years in the first sect he joined. He did simple and non-dangerous quests—no use picking up missions that would either get him killed or attention. The formations around the scripture halls were a deterrent in the beginning. But as he swept more and more data on cultivation techniques, battle arts, concocting and alchemy, formations, arrays and talismans, enchanting and engraving, etcetera, he became more and more proficient in coming and going like the wind. Traceless and not leaving a stir in his wake. He was exceedingly patient in his methods and ways. He left if he couldn't get something and would come and check it out later. He had done that numerous times over the years. He had become an abyss of information and would forever be. Forced into joining sects and whatnot due to a lack of access to knowledge, he made the most of it and left without arousing any interest once deemed unworthy. The more data he obtained, the more refined he became. The more refined his approaches and practices became. It was truly aging like fine wine.
Even now, he would send his clones to scour for the unknown.
Focusing on the now, he looked at the valley ahead. Hidden in a forest, had lakes and rivers nearby. Mountains and the ocean not too far off. And how could he forget the chasm, the ollow'khine to the northern direction? The northern ollow'khine was not some all-devouring deep black abyss. No. It was an area with mountains, forests, rivers, lakes, and waterfalls like any other, just that it was like a donut's hole going down, one whose end and circumference couldn't be taken in with the eye. He had even ventured into it and seen some fantastical species and races, but even after a hundred years with his speed, he didn't reach the end. So, he came back. There were a few of his clones venturing forth inside.
This world was incredibly vast. Even after four thousand years of a wandering odyssey, he couldn't go around the world or to its ends. World travel would be a prospect far into the future, it seemed. There were more pressing needs now.
Khan'av spent time investigating the valley and compared it to the other locations he had marked. Making a decision such as this had to be done gingerly, right?
Finally, after a long breath and a heaving sigh, he had his answer. The city would be based here. Their growing needs could be accommodated with easy expansion. The place was peaceful, pleasant and he could not stress enough, properly concealed. It would be even more so after he was done with it.
Today was a good day to lay the foundation stone of a city.
The change, comes, oh so great cultivators
Unknown it is
Fear it will bring, as it will even more joy and excitement
To survive
You can only follow
Or be a forgotten tale of the morrow.