@saberwielder || starter call
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Lan Wangji did not remember when the clouds parted and he fell from his heavenly bed into the arms of a black storm. A night weighed down by mischief stilled beneath a firm sheet of fog. Stars skittered away like startled rodents, taking with them gasps of lit lanterns. The Cloud Recess was asleep, following their schedule with edge-cutting precision. Each hallway of the residential hall was drenched in a lonely eclipse passing gently over a glint of forehead ribbons backlit by a lonely moon. A crooked shadow passed over slumbering faces, twisting and turning like a worm stretched on the face of a mirror. And yet, not a single junior's eyelid fluttered from an intruder imposing upon their quiet. It was not until a loud crash through a pavilion's roof that the entire population of patient disciplines ignited with fear and confusion. They were allowed to run for the first time, skidding across the polished wooden floors as if they were made of ice.
The young students gathered before a screen door, afraid to touch a pried edge and further slide it aside. There was an odd silence beyond the obscured sight. Hushed whispers called for the elders, reporting that something crashed and crumbled just beyond the thin walls. They asked if the sect leader was available to investigate but before the juniors were able to stick their curious noses into the secret business, Qingheng-Jun announced a punishment for anyone who dared to linger a while longer. As the hallway cleared with whispered complaints, the sect elder stood before the door, waiting for any rogue movement beyond while keeping his hand on his sword. A while passed and as he was joined by other senior cultivators, Qingheng-Jun finally nodded his head, ordering to proceed.
The door slid open and an audible gasp seized the Gusu Lan heads in their place. Beyond the cracked wood and roof debris, a scaled body writhed in torn pages and unveiled manuscripts. Spilled ink splattered across a face as white as first winter snow, irritating an otherwise flawless expression of pure pain. A golden eye with a single black slit stared through the snapped brushes, appearing somehow apologetic. Qingheng-Jun compelled himself to take a step forward as the seniors behind him stiffened, prepared to attack. He raised his hand, inviting them to remain calm as the large silhouette in front of them moved again, protectively coiling around itself. Upon closer inspection, as the dust settled upon the ruined floor, the cultivators introduced their bulging eyes to the sight of a pearl-white dragon no bigger than a stallion. Its body was littered with the broken objects it collided with and a couple leaves falling into the room through the caved roof. The dragon was a mere baby as its tiny horns hadn't grown the branches of an ancient crown. Its white mane wore splatters of ink and crimson. Qingheng-Jun thought it was blood as his eyes carefully scanned the creature's body. As he thought, right there on its belly, a beguiled gash, bright as a lily, stretched across while purging the dragon's vitality. Nodding, Qingheng-Jun signaled for the seniors to call for his brother.
"Get water and sandalwood incense. Now." He demanded.
Lan Wangji became the best of them. A true representative of the Gusu Lan Clan. He memorized the lectures to uphold the strict code and accepted punishment even if it were for others. His sense of responsibility made him human but his commitment to cultivation was obviously more ancient than he presented himself as. Wearing a face he learned from his family, Lan Wangji accepted Qingheng-Jun fatherhood while calling Lan Xichen his brother. It was an honor no one questioned. At times, those of the Lan clan who knew Lan Zhan's true identity wondered if that night was a dream of some sort for the young cultivator was flawless in the execution of his human obligations. However, during nights when the moon was blue and the sky lost its glittering stars, the dream became a reality. A pair of stag antlers, as white as a precious pearl, would erupt from Lan Wangji's head as he gritted his teeth in agony and merely creased his brow. His nature demanded to bathe in the moonlight of the divinity he was born from but as a man who accepted the gift of humanity, Lan Wangji stubbornly rejected the silver scales that framed his face and the gilded lanterns hidden beneath his eyelids. He pierced his tongue with the tip of his fangs, swallowing his blood to steady himself. He meditated the entire night, apologizing for breaking routine the next morning when his tail was gone and not a sign of a signal breach touched his fair face. The dragon who shattered the Cloud Recess roof left without a trace.
Until a rumor passed through the Wen Clan like a breeze. The Cloud Recess burned that night. Wen Chao leisurely walked through the pavilion, treading dirt from the soles of his shoes as he demanded for the dragon to come forth. Lan Wangji stood in his way, denying him entry into the Library that held his secrets, and for that his leg was stomped on until it gave way and collapsed Wangji upon the floor. Such cruelty gave Wen Chao exactly what he wanted: a pair of ignited eyes glared up at his satisfied grin but before he could purge Lan Zhan's blood from the never of his divine veins, the dragon erupted from within and took to the air.
Lan Wangji did not recall how long he twisted through the low-hanging clouds, whipping his face against the tops of the trees and tangling his catfish whiskers in the branches. But before he realized it, he was falling again just like the first time. He crashed into a bed of golden leaves as a growl seeped through his bloodied fangs. With the last bits of his consciousness, he forced his human form to overtake him, gnawing the inside of his cheek from the excruciating pain of a shattered limb. Unable to stand, Lan Wangji crawled underneath the bedding of the leaves to hide his white robes now splattered with blood and soot. And so he lay there, still except for his heart that raced inside his chest as his lungs tightened from the nightmare of an exterminated clan.
