From Dusk til Dawn

The Nuptials

Mo Yuan awoke that morning with a splitting headache and no desire to rise even though he had been in bed awake for some time. Not even an elixir could dull the throb that was slowly creeping it's way up into the back of his head, because it wasn't illness that had brought it on. Today was his wedding day. To a woman he had never met and from what he had heard, she had no desire to wed him, and nor he her. But at 300,000 years of age, and with no hope of stilling it, or even going backwards, he needed an heir to carry his Mantle of War God and Master of Kunlun Mountain.

Their match had been made by not only her family, but also The Celestial Heavens Skylord, his twin brother Ye Hua, and Lord Pua, who oversaw not only punishment and Heavenly Trials, but also Celestial Marriages, of which he was a member, being the Son of the Heavenly Father and therefore 'quite a catch' according his friend Zhe Yan.

"She should be feeling like the luckiest girl alive, having been the one to finally snare The Great War God." he had said laughing, and though he had smiled politely, he couldn't help but wonder just what kind of marriage he could offer her.

Their worlds were just too different, and not just the age gap either. Because, though she lived a reclusive life among them, she lived a carefree one among the Mortals, preferring their easy manner and lack of strict rules and regulations that she had been raised on. So keeping her at his side would be difficult, his was a life of quiet and peaceful solitude as well as rules and regulations, and going by what her father had to say about the matter, she would not be easy to control.

From the little he knew of his wife to be, she was feisty, mischievous and an alcoholic and nor did she bow to the rules of others.  However she was also the Queen of Qing Qiu, the daughter of one of their worlds most revered High Gods who was also a close friend. She was also exceptionally powerful being a High God herself, and according to every whisper he had ever heard, she was also considered to be the most beautiful woman ever to walk the Realms.

The main problem, was their age difference. She was a mere 140, 000 years old, over half his age, and from what he had also heard, she had adamantly fought against the union, going so far as to disappearing into the Mortal Realm to live among them as an elderly male hermit to avoid their marriage. But eventually her brother Bai Zhen managed to track down her energy and drag her back to Qing Qiu.

"Shifu, it's time to prepare yourself." the voice of his second Disciple Chang Shan broke into his thoughts as he tried to force himself back to sleep. But he knew it was a useless endeavor, he rose at dawn every morning, and had done for centuries. Sleeping in, was not possible, so forcing himself up, he threw his long powerful legs over the side of the bed and allowed the boy to assist him.

Dressing him in a light robe, Chang Shan led him from his chamber where he was met by the rest of his Disciples to be taken for a oil scented bath, before he would be dressed in the traditional colors of matrimony. Though being the War God, a few changes had been made to his outfit, that being, his outer robe was Kunlun Mountains Royal Blue with Gold Trim, instead of the traditional vermilion, a color he had never liked. To Mo Yuan, the color was tacky and gaudy, one he likened to the cheap flower houses of the Mortal Realm which the ladies of the night wore to entice their clients. Instead, his undergarments were kept to the traditional color which he would likely burn once the day was done.

Though knowing that The Fox Clans Empress was one who stood on tradition, no doubt his bride would be wearing Vermilion, which was fine, it was only for that day and he would never have to see it again, completely dismissing the thought that perhaps it was a color she herself liked.

No sooner had he been bathed, oiled and dressed, than his Disciples took him back to the Grand Hall, where an alter had been erected for his Thanks Giving Ceremony where he bowed to his Parents, his Ancestors and his brother, who was there waiting for him being his only blood family he had.