Cultivation, is the act of transcending the limitations of the world and seeking divinity. The tales of cultivators are some of the oldest that humanity has to tell and yet we still find them enthralling. Let's try this again. There are 4 major categories of power that mark a qualitative separation between cultivators, called Realms. In order these are Mortal, Messenger, Harbinger, and Divine. After the death of the physical forms of the original gods, the art of cultivation had to be rediscovered from scratch. The Mortal Realm purges all impurities from the body and pushes one to the peak of human performance. The Messenger Realm transitions the mortal body into a semi-spiritual form, thus allowing the limitations of mortality to be shed. The Mystical, Siddhis, are unlocked in this realm. The Harbinger Realm is the journey from the Spiritual to the Truly Divine. In this Realm, the cultivator gains access to a divine form that is only perceptible by those in the peak of the Messenger Realm and above. Further, they gain access to Aesthetic Arms(more on this later). Not much is known about the Divine Realm, other than it is the peak of existence on the mortal plane. Each Realm has a lot of intricacies which will be detailed below.
As Cultivation branches in the Messenger Realm, and as two of those branches have to do with this system it deserves an explanation. Ambition is the Act of Shaping the energy of the divine present in the world into an attuned sound form or shape. The Sound or shape of the phenomena created is its true divine identity. The Name isn't a representation of the phenomena, it IS the phenomena. These names can only be learned directly through meditation. During such meditation the users soul ascends to the realm of the Divine Mantra for a moment to ask its true name. The Divine Mantra offers a task that must be completed for the name to be revealed to them. The greater the feat desired by the particular ambition, the greater the dedication and strain of the task required in exchange. A person may only have one of these tasks assigned to them at a time and cannot reject one they are working on. Additionally, the more expertise the requester has related to the phenomena they desire to control the lesser the burden of the task assigned. The combination of these two things results in a very deliberate and cautious selection of what to learn, as it is very possible to be assigned a task that cannot be accomplished and be forever locked out of seeking more ambition. Thankfully, once the name or sound form for the phenomenon is known, it remains the same to all. This makes knowledge of such names worth their discoverer's weight in gold. Short Ambition that only require a couple worlds or gestures to create a desired effect are known as Ambitious Actions, or just Acts for short. Ambition that require a longer incantation as well as separate mudra(Hand Gestures) are known as Mantra.
Mortal Realm
This Realm requires years of meditation while using special breathing techniques to channel the natural energy of the world through oneself. Having only part of a breathing technique, results in the ability to use prana(energy) but not cleanse the body. This results in near superhuman feats when using a technique, but vastly shortened lifespans.
Messenger Realm
This is the Realm in which most cultivators die. In this stage, the Cultivator must choose and create a Prana core, advance its integration into their body through the 7 stages of integration, and master one path of Prana manipulation.
Prana Core
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Head - Tends to have a weaker body than all others. Extremely enhanced thinking capacity. Ability to slow down time for processing of situations. Enhanced mystical abilities
Heart - Significantly increased instincts and durability. Enhanced physical prowess and cultivation of arts. Extreme difficulty with mystical abilities.
Navel - Net neutral. Not good at anything but also not bad at anything.
Throat - Little to no benefit until the command stage of growth at which point the names of all techniques and abilities when spoken will enhance their strength and decrease their prana consumption drastically.
Stages of Integration
1. Root(Bija) - The seed of a pranic core is born and is nourished until it has grown into a full core capable of bringing one fully into a state of meditation
2. Rivers(Nadi) - The prana in the core is used to carve the spiritual channels in the body that allow for the flow of prana throughout. Once all are connected, prana may be cycled in specific patterns for specific effects. This is where most will begin to develop their powers in the way.
3. Shine(Suraja) - The amount and refinement of the prana in the body must both be enhanced until they glow like the sun to spiritual sight. From this point forward all spiritual abilities will be overwhelmingly more powerful to lower ranks. Storm - The creation of a never-ending coat of prana that rages with power will grant them an aura.
4. Purify(Sudha) - The removal of impurities in form from the aura until it is a smooth cloak of power. This increases its power drastically.
5. Command(Hukama) - The names of abilities become etched into reality as they are spoken granting them more power. They also usually appear with an associated mandala and the letters to spell out the name. The prana is being physically projected into the world.
6. Seer(Dekho) - The heavens themselves are no longer beyond your gaze. The Divine eye opens allowing sight of divine beasts and beings who descend to this world.
7. Ponder(Vicara) - Enter the seat of the mind. The will of the soul and thoughts of the mind become one. Ascend.
Prana Manipulation Paths
The Way - Gather the Ambitions of others, bind them to your body, and become the living embodiment of an aspect of the world. The Aspects in order are: Malkuth, Yesod, Netzach, Hod, Tiferet, Chesed, Geburah, Binah, Chokmah, Keter. More on these later when they're relevant.
The Law - Rewrite the Laws of the world by creating your own ambition. The creation of Ambition without the Divine Mantra is difficult to say the least. The first thing needed is to hear the sound of your own soul. The methods of such a thing are held secret for a variety of reasons, but it can take anywhere from a single hour to multiple years. When this sound is understood and achieved, an intent is needed. That intent is then held onto while seeking the Divine Mantra's guidance through ritual. This will grant the user knowledge of the "type" of tasks that go into manifesting Ambitions akin to the task. From here the path is simple but strenuous. The user must, without fail, complete tasks of this type. The difficulty of the task must increase over time as the user ascends through a stage and collects more prana. When an the peak of the stage, the user must reach for the Divine Mantra once more and offer the name of their soul along with their intent. The Divine Mantra will then return several true names. The User must choose one that resonates with them and return to their mortal awareness to bind it to their soul, expanding their true name into a new mantra. This is done at each stage creating a truly unique Mantra Domain in which the laws of the World bend toward your Divinity.
The Art -