1 Chapter 1: A Cry of Thunder

Peaks pierce the sky, poking holes in the clouds. A chain of mountains rise up from the ground leaving a long, winding mountain pass not unlike a trail left by a passing snake.

At the center of the chain stood one peculiar mountain. It's shape like the tail fin of a fish creating two peaks, one slightly taller than the other, which connect half way down the mountain forming a valley with a large basin of water in the center connecting two rivers running down opposite sides of the mountain. The rivers cleave through the dense, green forests on the mountain, branching off along the way to a form multiple smaller streams around the base of the mountain which run off into the distance.

Slightly above the base of the mountain, deep in the forest, a small brown bird happily prances along the banks of the river curiously tilting its head while keenly observing the fish as they follow the flow of the water. Suddenly, a fish leaps! The bird, seeing an opportunity, hastily extends its wings and darts towards the fish at surprising speeds, eventually managing to catch the tail of the fish in its beak before it can hit the water. However, the fish, unwilling to be taken away, fiercely struggles to break free causing the birds flight to waver and resulting in its head being submerged in the water. The bird, upon touching the water, lefts off a painful cry, letting go of the fish and flying off. If one were to look closely they would see part of the birds face had become slightly deformed, traces of blood leaking out.

The rapids of the river are fierce along the mountain, with the destructive force of the river only increasing as one travels up the mountain, resulting in all but the hardiest of creatures to avoid the banks.

A strange scene occurred only slight further down the stream, submerged in the rapids with only its head above the water was a colt. The coat of the colt was a deep brown-green color, similar to murky water, with a short black mane and tail which strangely glowed blue where the light would highlight the hair, and it's muzzle also had two long whiskers about 10 centimeters long and the same color as it's mane. The colt seemed calm as it lay within the rough waters, however the occasional whine which leaked out from its muzzle and the flashes of pain in its eyes betrayed its true feelings towards its situation. Each time pain showed in its eyes it would quickly shake its head and the look would be replaced with determination, it seemed to have some purpose in enduring the pain the river inflicts. Then from afar a call cries out, "Weizhe!"

Hearing the call the colt hastily steps out the river, revealing it's mangled body, covered in cuts and bruises; however, despite the poor state of its body the colt limps into the forest heading in the direction of the call. Seeing a black silhouette in the distance the foal picks up the pace eventually bursting through the brush and into a small plain where the silhouette awaits. Standing there is yet another beast, not too unlike the colt named Weizhe. The horse-like beast was slightly taller than Weizhe and the whiskers on its muzzle were far longer, bearing a resemblance to the whiskers on a Chinese dragon, however one glaring difference was the faint appearance of gills on the collar of its neck. It's build was also much stronger than Weizhe, with muscles bulging all over. It's eyes were a deep ocean blue, and seemed to contain a light and clearness in them that would likely be seen in the eyes of a newborn child. These deep blue eyes, upon seeing the state of Weizhe's body, contained disapproval along with a hint of disdain and opening its mouth a cold masculine voice sounded out speaking in a bizarre language.

"The Chief has sent me to retrieve you." Hearing this Weizhe could only stare and curiously tilt his head, seemingly not understanding what the man said. Sighing, the beast turned around and started trotting to the edge of the plain before stopping and turning its head as if telling him to follow along. Seeing this, Weizhe, now understanding what the man was trying to tell him, could only bitterly nod his head and follow.

The grass underneath eventually began to fade away, giving way to a dirt path leading into a small primitive village. The huts which were scattered about the small village had walls made of wood and dried mud, with roofs that were made of straw and twigs. Many, though not all, of the huts lacked doors, though the reason became very clear upon noticing the inhabitants of the village. Most of the "people" in the village were horse beasts similar to Weizhe and his escort, though occasionally there would be other types of beasts which wandered through the village, as well as human-like individuals. These humanoids generally had minor differences apparent which showed their beastly status in the form of animal ears or extra appendages. As the vast majority of the inhabitants were beasts, having no doors was necessary as it would be inconvenient to try to open a door without the opposable thumbs a humanoid form grants.

Stopping outside the village Weizhe's eyes flashed with the warmth of being home, however this was quickly taken over by hesitation along with a trace of sorrow; eventually, he pushed down his hesitation and with his head low he followed the escort into the village.

Walking along the dirt path into the village they headed straight to the heart of the village. For the most part the trip was normal, however occasionally when passerby's would look over and see Weizhe their eyes would contain unconcealed disdain, and some would even break out into small conversations while looking over. One beast, a brick-red coated ox with black horns, seeing the peculiar situation turned to his companion, another horse beast similar Weizhe.

"Say Fellow Daoist, is there something wrong with that child there?" Hearing the question from the ox, the horse turned to look in the direction the ox was before sneering and replying, "Ah, that would be the disgrace of our Murky Whip Horse tribe. The child was born incapable of cultivating." Shock appeared in the eyes of the ox as it once again looked at Weizhe before a hint of disdain appeared in his eyes as well. "A demon beast that incapable of cultivation is no demon beast at all, it's no wonder people hold such disgust towards the child." The Murky Whip Horse next to the ox nodded his head, "It's said when he was born a cry of thunder rang out and the heavens struck the child, taking away his ability to cultivate. Unable to cultivate he is incapable of using spiritual energy to manipulate his vocal cords and forcefully speak the Ancient Beast language, so he is mute, and his intelligence is only enough to where he can only barely understand what is told to him through emotions displayed and body language, though nowhere near a human-like intellect. However this alone would perhaps draw some pity from the softhearted, what truly makes him a disgrace is he dares to use human practices to increase his bodily cultivation." Having heard this explanation the hint of disdain in the ox's eyes burst into full on disgust, no longer willing to look at Weizhe he snorted and turned his head away.

Weizhe, while not necessarily understanding what they said but hearing talking nearby, looked over and, upon seeing some of the emotions he commonly received from the other village residents erupt in the eyes of the ox, could only dejectedly shake his head and continue on with his head low.