Mother of Stones#

As fate aligns, chance plays its part, Yet misfortune leaves an empty heart. Judge not a hero by skill alone, But by the fortune that they have shown.

Long ago in the Yellow Wind Ridge there lived two mountain deities. By the grace of a wise one, they came into possession of a great yaoguai's inner pill.

They split and consumed it, gaining great powers from within. Thenceforth, they bore the shape and heart of humans. In gratitude, they bent their newfound strength to make the mountain's wilds thrive for the wise one.

The Keeper of the mountain, however, received no share of this boon. Envy wormed its way into his heart upon learning that the deities could conjure rock guais at will. He schemed to wrest this power for himself.

Little did he know, their conjurations drained deeply from their own Will. The mountain deities poured out their own power to birth rock guais, who shaped crag and stone, and nurtured green and bloom.

Day by day, the Keeper of the mountain sought to pilfer their practice and cultivation through low deceits. Then came a day when a great rock guai emerged, and the lesser guais bowed to him as their Vanguard. Still, the Keeper, heedless of his peril, provoked strife as he had done before. Blow after blow, the Stone Vanguard rained upon him until he lay pummeled in the dirt. Even then, he did not cease hurling curses.

Alas, those who are bent on wickedness find few obstacles in their path, while those who pursue virtue encounter many hardships, often set by those with ill intentions.