The Unconquered Son (a Exalted/worm OC fanfanfiction)

[Leektheratking]

The Unconquered Son​

Chapter one: The day I dreamed I was queen.​

​

"Sifu, the enemy approaches, the traitor dragons march with an army of five hundred of their finest and scores of auxiliaries follow, what should we do?" The soft whisper of Qin Hsu came forth, the young student said, black hair bobbing slowly in the breeze as he looked forward to his master.



For all her practice and composure, Liu Jùn Jié stood still as she looked to the boy in front of her face, her young student a youth no older than his first century and a half, yet to truly face the horrors of the world. Now stuck with this fate. It was unfair.



"Savern, come forth. I have need of you" Liu Jùn Jié spoke, as calmly as her boiling blood allowed her to, in an instant the aged Dragon-blood appeared, in his regal robes he had always wore.



"you called, ma'am?" the older man spoke, bowing slightly as he faced the fury of the solar exalted before him, his face the unbreakable steel plate of determination it always had been, even in the ancient years when he had first met his master upon the battlefield.



"Your kin march upon us as a horde, you have done your final duty to me as my servant and evacuated the citizens and for that I thank you" Liu Jùn Jié nodded down to the man, himself on the unspoken order between the two, rose following the unspoken command before continuing.



"now I ask you, as my friend, do you stand with me. With my student, even if it would mean death, your name struck from the record of history as a traitor as mine certainly will"



"I am insulted ma'am," the elderly dragon-blooded's voice was near a hiss as he spoke. "that you would compare me to such filth. I have served you for three hundred years dutifully, and I will serve you unto eternity, if you would let me stand by your side" he finished. Voice levelling out to the familiar mirth and kindness she had known from him, in response to his speech, Liu Jùn Jié found her hand raising simply to her compatriot.



"I am no quicksilver falcon, no mediator, my hands have known no peace but the thrum of battle, I accept, Savern. I hope you die as well as you fight" Liu Jùn Jié said cheerfully, as her partner clasped her hand tightly, the dragon-blood, despite the centuries parting their age, looking with respect to each other for the long moments between them, a trickle of something more flashing for an instant before they were interrupted.



"You told me once Sifu, that the two greatest times in a person's life are their birth and..." Qin Hsu started, the young man cut off slowly as Liu turned to face him.



"And their death. I cannot ask this of someone so young, there is still time for you to leave, take of my personal reserves as much as you wish and flee" Liu Jùn Jié spoke, a soft melancholy rising in her voice as she looked to her student. Truly, to her he was too young. Barely a child forced into this horrible situation, she had known of his dalliances with the servant girl Yena, and that even if he himself did not know, she was with his child.



"Sifu, with all the respect I can give. I refuse, young I may be, but an exalt I still am, I would not live with myself if I was to abandon you now. I will fight." the finality in his voice spoke to a resolve that had not been there for near a century, no longer was he the crippled child Liu has bought from the farmer for a pittance, the withered arm by his side no longer the hindrance it once was.



"I turn away for a moment and you grow up, if you were my son I would strike you for the insolence to defy my expectations so utterly." she laughed, a hollow laugh that seemed to only exist to hide the tears that threatened to fall.



"Instead, I feel only pride, to have raised such a worthy man, take up your weapon then, Savern the black fist, Qin the dragon slayer. I do not know your feelings to matter, but I feel today shall be great" Liu laughed a mirthful laugh, raucous and proud as she reached out, feeling through the connection to her essence as her wrackstaff flew to her hand. Catching it swiftly.



It was the familiar rod she had used for the generations past; A solid rod of jade, fourteen feet long. Capped in the most auspicious and strong bronze that could be made in any land known, the fantastic and alien carvings that indented the near unbreakable jade staff were that of a swirling clouds in storm along the length of the weapon, gaps along various portions filled with red cinnabar that contrasted nicely with the milk coloured jade.



Looking to her side, Liu felt once more the swelling pride as she saw the happiness in the eyes of her companions as they readied, Savern donning his direchain in his familiar fashion, wrapped tightly around a single arm like the beads of prayer used by monks and Qin holding his longfang tightly, the tiniest presence of a shudder in the weapons length showing his apprehension.



Yet just as Liu felt she should order the boy at once to leave, to flee, to find a better life for himself then a sorry death for the old woman, she saw his hand steel to the shaking, lips drawn to a thin line as he rested the weapon for a second, placing his helmet atop his head, shaped like whorls of a sheep's wool carved into marble the cloud of the helmet matched to the armour, glimmering in his white and gold and browns of his lamellar, he contrasted sharply with Liu. herself dressing in her own armour, which, having been honed in a thousand battles, had drifted greatly from its first construction, intricate plates of interlocking metals, cycling between the golds of orichalcum and the silvers of moon metals, to the bronzes and iron blacks, her armour was a total peerless panoply. A shimmering beacon of excellency that marched forward to death with companions in tow.



The march had been swift, nary an ant had been left within the woman's grand keep, let alone horses or other creatures to ride, so the three marched. Crossing the great desert that had once a thousand years ago and would soon again been a coastline until the three found themselves barely a half kilometre from the enemy, a full army of dragon-blooded and their auxiliaries, just as had been told, from the simplest farmer wearing borrowed armour and wielding cheap weapons, to the great generals that stood at the front of the army, bedecked in the finest plate that Liu had seen, aside from the set she had beheld in the mirror before battle.



"you come here now; I will make offer this once. Leave, and there will be no blood, your sons and daughters will see you return. But if you stay, and truly I hope you do, I can only offer you death, quick and painful" Liu Jùn Jié roared, her voice carrying across the winds by her will, that even over the great distance she was heard clearly.



Stepping forward however, Liu Jùn Jié saw as a giant of a man, clearly dragon-blooded based on the gargantuan Grand Daiklaive that rested over his shoulder and scraped the ground with its tip. The man was dressed ostentatiously in draconic-themed armour. A great flaring kabuto-style helmet topping over intricate squared plates of metals and iron wood.



"The time of the celestial is done; this is nothing more than the transition of power. It falls to those of the earth to rule the earth, to retreat is to shame all that we hope to achieve" the man spoke, almost quietly as he looked to the twin figures of Liu Jùn Jié and Qin Hsu, yet the wave of power that emitted from the giant as he reached to lift the sword at his back the provocation all the duo needed as they charged forward with a shockwave of force behind them.



first into the fray.



Last to die.



And that is when he awoke as always.



--- ---- ---



The dreams had been bothering Will for a while now.



Always the same dream, the betrayal and preparations to die, always the same woman that he became in that dreamscape that came effortlessly through the dream smoke, though he tried not to think heavily on the confused feelings it left him waking up with.



Opening his eyes in the morning, the darkness that permeated through the shutters left him stunned as he looked to the clock by his bed.



'4:00 AM' it read in simple block letters, even for the early morning, Will almost cried out.



The first day of school of the year and he was awake so early, his strange and awful dreams giving him not even the joy of sleeping in, as always, despite his best attempts, he could not bring himself back into the sandman's embrace, so he sluggishly rose, ready to shower and start his day, no matter how horribly early it was.

 

[Leektheratking]

Arc 1: Second Breath​

Chapter 2: those who hold the light, point the way.​

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Standing up from bed as the slow creeping of dawn approached, Will thought back to the strange dream that had haunted him for the past months, the scene sometimes different, yet always the same subjects.



Reaching under his bed, he felt around in the dark until he felt what he wanted, a heavy pair of boxers, pulling them out. He unfolded the clothes to find the small notebook hidden within, its ruled pages filled with numerous drawn descriptions and anecdotes that he could remember from his dreams.



From the blazing figure of elder sister Huang Jie, her gigantic frame tucked snugly in her armour, ringlets of mail woven into a shirt as fine as silk and of material beyond Will´s explanation, at the back of the drawing of the woman, her goremaul grasped tightly in her hand. All the way to the weaving, serpentine grace of Dvimth the fang.



Yet, scrambling through the drawings of weapons, places, and people, one stood out, the subject of every dream.



Liu Jùn Jié. A strangely bewitching woman standing nearly seven feet tall herself, with a whip of black hair that covered her back and drowned her face in a way that almost hid her yellow almond eyes. Will had been conflicted while looking at the rendition of the woman from his dreams, something had felt wrong. Like the pencil on the paper, Will failed to capture something from the harsh glint in her eye.



Rubbing an eraser against the paper, the drawing began to tear under the pressure, the numerous redrawings and erasing of the artwork of the woman having finally worn through the paper it was on.



"Shit" Will whispered, trying desperately to save what remained of the artwork, the tiny intricate details having bore him much pain to get correct. From the beads of lapis and cinnabar that wove themselves through the woman's numerous piercings to the little scrap wood tiger face she wore on her wrist, the one gift of the many she'd been gifted by her student that she'd accepted. At least that he knew.



"I'll redo it later" Will finally spoke, a sense of finality as he heard steps rapidly approaching his door, rushing like a man possessed. He wrapped the book and drawing tools back into the boxers before throwing them back into their spot under the bed. Standing up as he heard the first jiggle of the door handle as it met the resistance of the lock, as always. Seconds later, the click of the lock rung out as the door opened.



"Oh, you're awake, Willy" Will heard the surprised sound of his mother as she entered, having woken up early as always.



"It's not good for you to be up this early, silly, You don't want to get sick, come on to bed" Will heard her insistence as she spoke, moving forward and patting the bed, yet Wills mind was elsewhere, as he saw for a moment, the visible edge of the boxers under his bed. He stepped back even as he felt his mother's hand tighten on his shoulder. He began to speak, measuring his voice as much as he could manage.



"It's the first day of school, mom. I think I was too excited, I don't need to go back to bed, can I take a shower instead?" he asked pleadingly, looking down for a second as his eye caught the book once more, yet thankfully his mother turned to face him, her stern and taciturn body language giving nothing away as he stared hopefully down at her with the best puppy dog eyes.



"well…if you insist then Willy, want mommy to help?" she asked nonchalantly as she had since he first put his foot down, a shaking of his head eliciting a response from the woman.



"oh c'mon, I don't know what happened two years ago, but for all that time I made sure you cleaned your ears and I scrubbed the shampoo into your hair, you don't do it right. I'm still your mother." she began, yet the withering look between the two quickly dissolved as the once jovial tone of her voice faltered, replaced with what Will would call sadness.



"Fine, I'll go make you some breakfast, maybe some bacon and toast, growing boys need their energy." She let out a little hollow laugh, lightly poking the boy in the stomach peeking from under his shirt and walking out of the room. Will felt his hands push slightly against his mother's arm, the woman taking a step back and having a strange look come over her face, yet the red faced Will failed to notice the look as he ran to collect the items for today, his mother looking down with confusion as she saw the edge of the boxers under her foot.

---x---x---x---x---

​

Having finally showered and gotten dressed in the clothes he had chosen for school. a neutral mix of flannel and denim, Will walked quietly down the stairs at the cusp of five o'clock. Coming down to the wonderful smell of breakfast. Finding his mother in the kitchen cooking numerous portions of bacon, toast and eggs.



With seemingly supernatural accuracy, Will heard his mother calling him to the kitchen as he descended the steps, finding himself being lead to the dinner table as a plate stacked high with delicious foods dripping with savoury oil were placed in front of him, yet something caught Will off guard as he sat.



A notebook, sitting plainly on the table, its pages open to the final torn one.



"While you're here sweetie, I wanted to talk to you, because I know you said you wanted to do this stuff, but I've made it clear that it doesn't go anywhere, I can't watch you waste your life practicing these doodles," Will heard his mother say as she sat next to him, a concerned hand pressing tightly to his shoulder again as she looked at him with worry.



Yet Will didn't hear her, his eyes focused and unfocused. Staring at the book laying on the table, a blackening edge around his vision threatening to strangle him as he sat.



"See, its hurting you to study this silly obsession of yours. I know you think it can help others. But you need to remember that others should help first, you're not…" his mother began once again, heedless of if he was truly hearing her.



"I know I let you enter Winslow for this obsession, that somehow they have scholarships for that stupid art college, but as your mother I can't let you ruin your life like this. You'll be entering Arcadia next year, I can pull some strings and get you into a nice music track like me. Then I'll know you're safe sweety, you will not end up like your father." She spoke, but was not heard, as her hand reached forward to grab the book, Will's mother was startled to see the almost lightning flash of her son's hand grabbing the notebook's edge, yet she was undeterred. Weaselling her hand around the boy's own, peeling his fingers from the edge of the book.



"I'm taking this, perhaps you will be able to focus on more important things after its gone, William." A strange, small strangling sound was all that could come from Wills throat as she walked away.



By the time she returned, locking the book and the tools in a secure place, Will was already gone, having left for school despite the time.



"He's got to learn, I'm only doing what's best for him, he doesn't know anything." she bitterly spoke as she looked to the table where the mountain of cooked food remained. She packed it into containers cheerfully, for Will to have later. He would eventually forgive her and even appreciate what she did for him, loving and forgiving boy that he was.



The food on the plate regardless, remained abandoned on the table.

---x---x---x---x---

​

The run had been exhausting for the boy, having sprinted out the majority of the bus route early, Will found himself approaching the gates quickly, subconsciously checking the time, the boy 's eyes widened in surprise to see that he had been running for nearly two hours. Yet didn't feel nearly as tired as that would imply.



Waiting by the gate, time seemed to move a crawl as Will simply sat there staring at the concrete under his feet, listlessly trying to think of some rebuttal or argument to get his drawing notebook back, the invaluable memories etched within it still burnt within his mind, the memories only seeming to leave even for a moment when put to paper.



Yet he couldn't, he knew his mother wouldn't acquiesce, so he stood there motionless even as people started to filter in after him, his mind drifted to the memory of the dreams, the strange steps and movements of the martial arts of the warrior queen, the swinging of her staff in mountain, crushing blows and soul shattering sweeps taking on hordes of enemies at once.



Finally, however, he came back to reality, as a shoulder bump from a skinhead senior shocked him out of his trance. The boy spitting on the ground as he passed Will. Moving with the crowd, Will found himself quickly at his locker.



Placing his items within, he began to draw the books he needed out before a scream rang down the bustling halls, like the shrill cry of a cat in danger, it kept echoing in his mind.



Preparing to move, to see if he could help in some way, the words of his mother reaped through his fickle confidence like a scythe.



'Others should help first'.



'I need to, what if someone's in danger!' his mind roared at him.



'Others should help first'.



'I…I' his thoughts choked once more as he began to see others moving towards the sound, concern and confusion on their numerous faces, silently and shamefully, Will felt thankful to see others concerned and going before him.



The classes went by quickly enough for Will, even as he felt some hollow comfort as the screaming stopped, until the final of the day, a blinking flashing of red and blue lights that pulled up to the school, seemingly within what felt like hours but was probably closer to minutes as the ambulance pulled up to the school.



Freezing in his chair as he saw the EMT's moving into the school, he saw almost in the same held breath as the covered form of a young woman was taken from the school, dripping in filth and detritus into the ambulance.



'Others should help first'.



Staring at the woman, he recognised her, a punching bag from another class.



'Others should help first'.



Who else could others mean but himself.



In that moment, the rage turned to something more solid.



Will felt himself breathe in for a moment, hitching at its height as the school day ended, rage twisting firm and rippling outwards into something new.



---x---x---x---x---

AN: hope y'all enjoyed this new chapter, this was Beta'd by my friend on discord PatchedTogetherMess

 

[Daddycool101]

I'm excited for this fic. Usually worm exalted fics give the exaltation to a canon character so it's nice to see an OC get it.

 

[Daddycool101]

The mom seems to be a stereotypical asian tiger mom.