Torsten Hewson
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AU: The Original Idea for Gramps
🕑 Added 2022-02-23 18:28:09 +0000 UTCThis would have been part of the original epilouge to Vol 1. However, why this was changed should be pretty obvious.
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Two men sat together upon the deck of a ship. One was an older man, with a well trimmed beard, and wearing simple blue robes. He radiated with an aura of profound calm, as he sipped his tea. The other appeared slightly younger, wearing crimson armour. A horned helm was set on the deck beside him, as he sat upon his knees.
Their faces were full of serene calm, even as the deck roiled and pitched, thunder splitting the sky, and the seven colours of the rainbow swirling all around them.
Shen Yu sipped his tea, as the ship heaved, not a hair out of place. He tasted it, and considered it, before he delivered his judgement. “This is excellent tea.” The man in the simple robe declared. His voice was rough and husky.
The man in red armour inclined his head. “‘Tis a pleasant experience, that one shares an appreciation for well brewed tea, Shen Yu-dono.”
The strange suffix swirled across Shen Yu’s mind, imparting the knowledge of it. Polite and respectful as always, this “Samurai”. But out of all of them, he supposed excessive politeness for one so strong was a bearable quirk.
“Indeed. I would ask for a measure, when this business is done, Choujiro no Minamoto.” Shen Yu replied.
It was mostly a formality. Gifts from other worlds were an interesting curiosity.
The ship suddenly pitched, swinging so far sideways that it was nearly perpendicular to the water below.
The two men didn’t react, and yet not a drop of tea spilled. A booming laugh echoed from the helm of the ship. A man, three meters tall stood, fighting with the rudder. He had an impossibly bushy beard, and long, flowing hair. His chest was bare and full of hair, and his bulging arms, filled with muscle, were covered in tattoos. He looked more beast than man. An unstable brute, built only to crush and destroy.
It still smarted that the man had repeatedly won the poetry contests they held once a week. “Nuada! Your eyes are slipping!” The man boomed with good nature. Olaf Jotunblod. Einherjar. One time warrior, the whispered words informed him. A befuddling name, for an equally befuddling man. What sort of cultivator declared that their greatest goal in life was to die?
The woman sitting next to him rolled her eyes, yet there was a tiny smile upon her face. Their navigator. She guided the massive men with light taps through the Sea Between Worlds, most of her effort upon plotting a course. Her eyes burned with visionary power, and the only reason why they were not all dead was because of her ability. She had been the oddest for Shen Yu to get used to. Her skin… it was not the pure white beauty, instead, as black as obsidian, so dark it seemed to drink in the light. It was appealing in its own way, and it was mildly disappointing that she was married.
“That was the smallest swell.” The woman stated calmly. “The others would have dashed the ship to pieces.”
Shen Yu gazed around the deck of the ship. The Blue-Skinned and four-armed Ishir wrestled with the philosopher Leander, challenging each other to feats of strength. They were ringed by a crowd of others, smirking, or cheering on the combatants.
A woman, ethereally white in colouration, stood at the top of the mast. Hae-song maintained the barrier above them, the Murim Warrior’s eyes fixed on what could charitably be called a horizon in this place.
It was all so strange. He had never expected this, when the Emperor called upon him. At first he had been furious.. But in the need, it would all be worth it. Hopefully.
Shen Yu returned to his tea. Though it was mildly flattering that the Emperor and all his advisors considered him the first choice in a coalition that had the strongest representatives from a hundred worlds all brought together.
Or perhaps he was the only one that could be trusted not to cause an incident unless sufficiently provoked? His face slapping days were long behind him, after all.
For an eternity, and yet an instant, the ship traveled through the Sea Between Worlds.
“It is time.” Lady Nuada declared, and suddenly, the sea calmed. The sea calmed, but their ship began to accelerate.
Olaf Jotunblod stood. He locked the rudder into position.
“Can you hear it? Can you hear it? Can you hear how the horn blows?” He asked, his boisterous face calm.
A warning bell sounded upon the deck.
“Can you hear it? Can you hear it? Can you hear how the drum thunders?” he asked, his voice lifting into the air, and his power filling the deck.
Enough power that even Shen Yu had to respect it.
“Can you hear it? Can you hear it? Can you hear how your Soul howls?” He demanded.
Shen Yu and Choujirou-no-Minato rose to their feet. The wrestling stopped.
“Can you hear it? Can you hear it? Can you hear it? CAN YOU HEAR IT?!”
A thousand words for their power began to rise, filling the ship’s deck. Qi. Ki. Prana, Mana, Od, Pneuma. A hundred different cultivation styles. All turned their focus to the front of the ship, and the rainbow waters ahead of them.
They stared at the massive wall that surged up, directly in their path.
“Can you hear it?” Olaf whispered.
The massive ram prow on the ship slammed into the prismatic barrier, coursing with light. The dragon’s head, crafted out of the rarest and most powerful of metals, strained.
And then was through. The barrier shattered, as they punched from the Sea into the sky of a world.
It was filled with twisting madness and corrupted Qi.
The warning bell sounded again. The world screamed, as the demons noticed their intrusion into their world. The Heavens shook. The earth below them heaved.
And demons spilled out.
“Valhalla Calls!” Olaf roared, and leapt from the ship, his eyes burning with madness as jumped. His leap carried him towards a mountain that had stood up, its eyes burning with poison Qi. Olaf’s massive axe fell.
The demon died, a mountain, sundered in two.
That was all that the others needed. The world broke as the rest of the cultivators upon the ship unleashed their might.
The world froze and burned. Arrows shattered mountains. Swords split the sea.
And Shen Yu commanded the very heavens to fall, engulfing everything before him.
AS the world was lost to Qi and Battle, Shen Yu spared one last thought.
He wondered how Little Rou was doing.
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Originally, Gramps was effectively part of the Cultivation Argonauts, taking the fight to the Demons in the Sea between Worlds. I’m very glad I changed this to what we have today. Some ideas are good, but this just wouldn't work as the story I wanted to tell. too big, too much stuff to keep track of. However, the precursor to BOC, before I found the prompt “the Cultivator Fucks off and becomes a farmer” was called Einherjar—Viking cultivators. I’ve still got my notes on that, so maybe one day it’ll see the light.
Comments
STORRM
would love to read that one day even if its only a short story
Demian Buckle
Would be an interesting story. I don't see Vikings meditating to cultivate, I imagine a demonic style where they cultivate from either killing or blood ki. Maybe more of a Body Cultivation style where they fight and as they do they absorb the world energy. Regardless it is an interesting concept and would be interested in reading it.
Will mILLER
Would love it if you did a story on Vikings. For all the bad shit they did, and the good shit, Vikings are just badass.
Olaf and Choujirou feel like they'd be excellent stories for later. So much Xianxia is Wulin and Murim I'd love to see some Samurai
Homeless One
Cultivating Vikings God what a story
RJKY
That is the Greek word for Breath, just as Spiritus is the Latin, Qi is the Mandarin, and Prana the Sanskrit.
RJKY
Einherjar & Virtuous Sons, imagine...
J Klugh
Neat to see behind the scenes, would love to read a Viking/cultivator story, but an glad that this is not that story because I really like this one!
Chris
This is alright, but it's not a chapter ...
I really like the idea but I am glad it wasn’t included in BOC, feel like it doesn’t fit the message of the story and I’d be afraid of a randidly ghosthound situation
twentytoo
i like really like the inclusion of other races and cultures.
Yshua
That’s crazy, I also have notes for a Viking cultivation book.
Calico C
This would be a perfect fit into the world of Virtuous Sons, I think. Not so much with the current Beware of Chicken lore. Really cool concept none the less.
DayWalker
True True
Hans
I think the current version is better, insofar, that there is lots of irony and a rather laid back main character which sets it apart from other cultivation storys, with lots of murder, bloodshed and an inhumanly driven protagonist.
Dallas Meck
That would be a cool story on its own. Doesn't need to tie in with this one. You could but it would derail the slice of life/mystery you currently have.
Nicholas Grey
I would so read about Viking cultivators…
Trenton Robinson
I for one would absolutely love to read a Viking Cultivators story. Something I’ve wanted to read since I 1st found the genre. Your take on it would be highly entertaining
AEgamer1
Agreed that BOC's better as it is now but I kinda wanna see Viking Cultivators now. Everyone's courting death!
Carl Mason
I do like this excerpt, and I would love to see more in this story, but it doesn't quite fit the rest of "Beware of Chicken".
Elijah Overland
Lol yeah it's probably for the best this got cut. That and the waifu harem seem kind of anathema to what the story became.
Den_Ai_D
Oh wow, this would've totally made me rethink reading further had it been canon. Makes you really appreciate how important revisions are!
Ben Allen
I'm very glad that you changed it
Nick
Well that would have been different, but still awesome.
David Bean
I would love to read this. Hope you write it one day.
Bonifacio Mario Peña Jr.
Pneuma.... I see you are a fan of Virtuous Sons as well as my current favorite Cultivation author ^_^.
Oskatat
Well, that was... different
Demian Buckle
Thank you for the Chapter.
Sebastian Rubin
As somebody who plays a not!viking in the fantasy not!China/Japan of Rokugan, I would love to see your take on Viking Cultivators! I've seen one or two stories with the theme, but they tend to die off as so many good stories do, before they really get going...
Jarrik32
I agree that it really wouldn't fit in the story but it would be cool if it ended up as part of his backstory with a few vague allusions to it. "...and then I lost a poetry contest to some brutish barbarian, It was most aggravating. Still I bested more demons in the end so overall I'd call it a win"
Anzer'ke
The idea has incredible potential, especially as a way to tie various cultivation type stories together. Still, I for one am glad you didn't keep it in play for this story. Though perhaps some more Many Paths type cultivation antics in a future story? One more reason to stay subbed to this patreon methinks.
Josh
Epic and definitely cool, but I do prefer the more humanized gramps in BoC, laughing about a letter full of horse shit.
Chad Hagner
This was so Epic, the way my mind conjures up the scenes written is what a crave in a good book! I hope this is canon and what gramps was up to while away. Can’t wait for him to find Rou and see what he’s been up to.
TheOne320
Would still be interesting as a small spin-off.
Kara Nina
So, first it was supposed to be viking cultivators, with a merry band of unlikely companions, then a harem story and then Jin showed up, took a turn left in his first romance and both readers and Jin were so smitten with MeiMei the harem part got tossed out, too.
Alex Flint
It could be great if you write (or even co write) a multiverse with loosely connected stories Cosmer style. It won't be humanly possible alone but if you can come up with basic magic a world building principles (on the level of E= mc² in physics, that is) and hand some of the other worlds tp other people and then connect everything it would be absolutely EPIC.
Nigel Franklin
I realize that this story thread got shelved but is the base concept still cannon for this story? Is this to be considered a multi-verse with various loosely-related-to-earth cultural & literary mythos as different Mythical universes of which this east asian influence cultivation world is only one part?
Deadpan29
If Gramps has a Gramps of his own, this might be what he’s doing.
Luke Preston
sounds awesome
Martin
Although this version looks interesting, I am happy with one you have chosen at the end. Wonder where Jin would fit within such an exalted group. Tigu or Xianghua would immediately challenge that big guy. Nevertheless it makes a great prompt for another story!
Kioras
It sounds like the type of thing where it would only fit loosely in the story if Gramps merely bumped into them while he fought to close the gate. Otherwise it is too much happening. Or if it is rumors or hidden objects lightly hidden at.
Produx :}
Nerf Olaf, true damage too op
Manofonezerg
Fascinating premise. Shame we didn’t get to see more of it but like someone else said, it would have drawn attention away from the main story.
Jack Trowell
I think you made the correct decision, this would have put the main story in competition with this other part, plus made the MC having memories from another world less exceptional.
Zygardegodslayer
I actually recall reading a viking cultivator thing on QQ. It initially had great promise but floundered for a moment or two before dying completely. I'd absolutely love a second go at the idea and the setting, particularly from someone as skilled as casualfarmer.
Arnon Parenti
This can be woven into when Jin goes to visit turtle senpai to thank him for the peach tree.
Mudcrab with a knife
It sounds great
Matamosca
I would love to read Viking cultivators, that sounds fantastic
