Phoenix

Chapter 11*Revised*

               Wei Wuxian didn't sleep that night. He spent the night reading the books Lan Junjie and Wei Li gave him to study. It had been a good idea to get the rune book from Lan Junjie since some of the arrays and rituals from his phoenix heritage had a lot of forgotten runes. The book that took most of his attention was the history of the Phoenix Wen clan. 

               In history, 5 kings ruled the country. A dragon king for the north that stood for righteousness and music. It was said that so long as there was a king on the throne the North would always find the righteous path in any matter. The music from the north would travel the land, filling everyone with peace and clarity. They could cleanse any land or soul with just a few notes.

 The tiger king for the South represented power and Justice. They were said to have taught humans how to defend themselves in battle with their core. It was said they were charged with protecting the continent from any attacks from within. The humans were under their protection against any of the races who tried to overpower them. They were the first real cultivators.  

               A human immortal was king to the east who stood for perseverance and Wisdom. The man was a scholar who cultivated to immortality through the mind. He gave the people politics to calm the chaos that reigned over the land. This king was the link between humanity and the many shifters. They had a calming aura and understanding that made many come to him for council.

                At the center was the Vampire king who was known for darkness and balance. He was the one who made sure that outside forces couldn't get into the country to cause harm. They were innovators of arrays, rituals, barriers, talismans, and inventions. Nothing was off limits to their experimentation so long as the country was safe from harm. They also made sure the number of dark beings in the country never surpassed that of light beings.

            Lastly, the king of the West was a phoenix known for Passion and healing. The phoenix king taught the world medicine. It shared the passion to strive towards a goal with every being it encountered. Also known as the king of the sky by everyone. They were also the king who never sat still. This king would go all over the country to aid others with healing or in any way they were able. 

             All 5 kings worked well together and treated each other as family understanding the need for each other. This all came to an end with Wen Mao the founder of the Wen clan. Wen Mao married a raven. To gain power and influence he killed the phoenix king who was his brother and sealed his soul in an array below his castle. 

             The other kings tried to act against Wen Mao but without the Phoenix king, the power was unbalanced making the humans suffer the consequences. To save the people all the kings except the Vampire king sealed themselves in the array weakening it so they would eventually be reborn. As his price for remaining behind the Vampire king vowed to not get involved with the world so as to not cause damage to the balance of life. 

           Wen Mao then hunted down and killed most phoenixes using their own magic against them. The few children that survived were sold as slaves with a seal that made them unable to resurrect like normal. It was well known each phoenix faced a challenge at the stage of adulthood that they had to overcome and be reborn from. Every 20 years a phoenix must face a challenge to reach a new stage in power and be reborn. Only the king was forced to go through a challenge every 5 years without dying to reach a new power plateau. 

           As punishment from the kings, none of Wen Mao's children were born phoenixes. This was to show that this new Wen Sect was not the true ruler of the West and had no chance at the throne. Since then many sects were born out of necessity to stabilize the world without its higher powers. The dragons created the Lan sect to try and abide by their king's teachings. The Jins and Jiangs were created by the children of the immortal focusing on different aspects of their teachings. The Nie sect was made by the tigers to still uphold the justice they held dear.