#oc eval

Imma break it down into sections based on the panels from his progression ref for clarity

Pre-sect Days

- Eval doesnt remember his parents, and his earliest memories have always been from his time as an orphaned street rat

- he was always naturally quick and clever, unafraid to use others to his advantage even if it meant throwing them under the bus

- he was 9 when he was found by Aki, a huli jing who had founded their own sect around unorthodox cultivation methods, and by found i mean he was caught trying to pickpocket the old fox

- Aki made a deal with Eval that they would let him go free and keep the change purse if Eval could beat them in a game, otherwise he'd have to pay for his crime by becoming one of Aki's disciples. Eval agreed on the condition he could pick the game. Aki agreed, the game was played, and, of course, Eval lost (Aki was a better cheater than him)

-Per their deal, Aki dragged Eval kicking and screaming up the mountain they called home, and from then on Eval was now one of the Tian Hua sect's newest inner disciples

Early Disciple Days

- Eval was an absolute brat when he first arrived, constantly trying to escape or start fights with the other disciples

- Despite his poor personality, he still excelled in his lessons so there was little that could be said or done to keep him in check

- that is, until Aki decided it was time to domesticate their feral lik disciple

- Eval was assigned to shadow two older disciples: Philo, a bubbly extrovert who found Eval's snapping hilarious, and Azar, Tian Hua's current head disciple and resident peace keeper/disciplinarian

- the combined personalities of the two older disciples eventually wore down Eval enough for him to finally start behaving less like a feral dog and more like a respectable member of the sect, and the trio became nigh inseparable until Azar stepped down as head disciple

Head Disciple-Sect Leader Days

- After Azar stepped down to focus on his own cultivation and his new cultivation partner (Philo), Aki took great pleasure in assigning the role to Eval, who immediately threatened to leave the sect if they didnt pick someone else (they didnt)

- The reasoning behind his promotion was a mix of him being qualified (he was already doing most of the work for Azar before he stepped down so he could travel with Philo to provide aid and study the world in a way he couldnt as head disciple), and nepotism (most of the sect considered Eval to be Aki's son in all ways but blood)

- despite his initial displeasure at being promoted, Eval did well to fill the role

- his leadership style was definitely more strict than that of Aki (who adopted a very laissez faire approach) or Azar (who was more of a neutral but still gentle approach), but it added structure to the sect that it had lacked and allowed Tian Hua to further thrive

- He was given a very unexpected and even more unwanted promotion to sect leader when tragedy struck though: Aki had been jumped by a rival sect looking to expand their influence by overpowering 'smaller' sects into compliance, leading them to losing 8 of their 9 tails and forcing them into permanent seclusion to recover

- Without Aki, Azar, or Philo around, Eval inevitably began to close himself off emotionally and put all his focus on keeping the sect alive and thriving

- He used the skills he'd gained as a street rat, then refined as a disciple, to manipulate situations so that the odds would always be in his (and Tian Hua's) favor, which eventually led to his first ascension

First Ascension

- He ascends around age 30-35 as a martial god of Luck and Trickery due to his actions in life, and is immediately taken under the wing of an older god of Autumn and Hunters, Lorelei, who basically shows him the ropes: teaching him about the rules and his duties to his followers, as well as introducing him to the various other deities

- its during this period he also becomes rivals/worsties with another god by the name of Kestas, who presides over the domains of Sun and Victory for his pantheon, as well as friends (and eventual lovers) with Trevik, a god of War and Death for his pantheon

- as a god hes strict but forgiving, willing to grant favor to even those of low birth so long as he judges them to be dedicated and honest. Hes still petty however, and will readily curse misfortune upon the greedy and corrupt, no matter their station.

- he also likes to bend the rules and walk amongst mortals to play (usually) harmless pranks, or guide orphans and those looking for purpose towards Tian Hua for assistance

- his luck, as well as the luck of those closest to him, begins to take a turn for the worst however when a fallen god turned demon lord started enacting revenge upon the various deities, their followers methodically targeting and slaying any gods who refused to bend the knee to them

- amongst the slain were Kestas and Trevik, and Eval was forced to watch the life drain from them both in battle

- later he would learn that his mentor, Lorelei, was also slain alongside (most of) the mortal family she'd created

Second Ascension

- his second ascension is less that and more of a rebranding as he turned toward the more malevolent aspects of his domains: from trickery to war, from luck to misfortune

- he became waspish, paranoid, and vindictive (much like he'd been before his disciple days), and was unwilling to grant his favor to anyone but quick to curse others, both mortal and immortal, with misfortune for daring to bother him

- its during this time that he eventually come back into contact with Philo, now a powerful ghost king, and Azar, a newly ascended civil god of scholars and artisans

- much like before, the two latch onto Eval and help him to understand and manage with his grief and anger, supporting him even during his darkest days

- the final push in his recovery journey is actually the return of Aki, who'd managed to not only survive their debilitating attack but also regain all of the tails they'd once lost

Current Day

- with the support of his old sect mates, Eval manages to settle down and even take on two personal disciples who end up being the lost sons of his worstie and his mentor (Sidney, son of Kestas, and Leviathan, son of Lorelei)

- speaking of the worstie, he also ends up returning to Eval's side as a ghost king much to Eval's chagrin and everyone else's amusement

- he spends most of his time traveling the mortal realm as he once did, sometimes with others but usually on his own, taking in the sights and watching the world change and grow

- he prefers quieter pursuits now, and can always be found with a book of some kind in his hand, but still makes time to hang out with his friends and disciples (or rather, they drop in to see him by surprise and drag him along on whatever excursion they have planned lmao)