Cultivation Arts

Summary

It's not strictly clear where the first cultivation arts arose, though dragonkind historians generally consider Nerzin and Aerthen the most reliable continents for historical research. As it goes, many mortal peoples grew discontent as they lived alongside the immortal peoples, such as dragons and jiuweihu.
Why was death an inevitably for some, but not others? Why did some live forever, but others did not? What part of this was just? What of it was fair, or equal? Is there nothing that can be done about it, or are mortal people doomed to die simply because they were born?
The answers to these questions often, and invariably, lead one to the many cultivation arts.
Created from a mixture of mortal rage, insatiable intellectual and spiritual curiosity, and a burning need to become even more than what they were, cultivation arts sought to forge a destiny of one's own making. One that would break any barrier, any presumed 'natural order', anything at all that would dare to say they deserved to die.
Yet, creating that very destiny would be unimaginably difficult to do.
For some, magical arts alone sufficed to achieve immortality and/or transcendence. Bizarre and esoteric powers allowed a genius mind to, essentially, circumvent the ways of the world entirely on their own. Few could hope to emulate such success, and indeed, for some that tried, other alternatives ensued. It's theorized that liches may have come about as a result of misshapen cultivation–or worse, deliberate intent.
For many others, countless problems arose due to simple physical, magical, and mental differences. What methods did work left so many behind, and many would-be immortals couldn't abide by such a thing. They threw their entire lives into their research, desperately looking for something all people could use somehow. In time, the missing key to their plans came in the form of alchemy itself.
By carefully refining alchemical medicines, the body and soul could be provided direct resources, healing, or enhancement to further one's cultivation. If a cultivator lacked one side of the equation, they could ask others to help compensate. Through mutual aide, any deficiency that might exist could be answered. The reliability of such a method completely changed cultivation arts across the world, creating an intertwining of magical ability and alchemical invention into one. A distinction that would, historically, later separate cultivators from the ways of mages, who focus almost exclusively on magical arts alone.
In time, armed with their esoteric knowledge and incredible means, the cultivators across Veltrona built their legacies. Though identifible by common themes, such as pursuing immortality, their philosophical differences led to very different methods. Some chose seclusion and internal contemplation, carefully considering the world as it was, and what it could be. Others, covetous of more resources and materials, plundered the lands to fuel their exponentially expensive needs.
These war-like, materialistic cultivators rapidly became existential threats to all others. By harvesting literally everything of value from the lands and its peoples, they could radically accelerate their cultivation prowess. Many of them did not care about the consequences of their actions, or the long term effects it would have. One either devoured, or was devoured in turn. This binary, and often insane, view point became a polarizing one. Even the most peaceful cultivators had to learn how to survive against such dangerous foes.
Numerous conflicts and large-scale wars erupted because of the war cultivators, souring perceptions of cultivation arts greatly. To many civilizations, cultivators became selfish and horribly destructive people, concerned only with their abhorrent greed for eternal life. As the wars spread, all others visited retribution upon the cultivators, eradicating their sects. Those that survived either hid, or massively reformed themselves into something their neighbors would allow to exist. Others still, having never adopted the ways of war, refactored their identities to distance from the notions of 'cultivation', even as they continued the practices.
Still, the suspicions around cultivators have never truly gone away.
Over time, legends and tales passed down would distort and mutate. Other powerful forces, not wanting to allow such arts to proliferate, would work hard on suppressing any future cultivators. For better or worse, the cultivation arts ended up dying out in some lands as they prospered in others. It's a particularly thorny problem as cultivators, while perhaps not truly immortal most of the time, have such long lives they persist for hundreds or thousands of years. Despite efforts to stamp them out, clever cultivators who survived simply continued to refine and pass down their arts.
Even then, where there are mortals who yearn for eternal life, there will inevitably be the rebirth of cultivation arts yet again.

The Modern Cultivator

The generally agreed-upon delineation between the 'ancient cultivators' and 'modern cultivators' is the advent of the Infinite Growth Sect. A lauraume-centric sect founded some 7,000 years ago, their home was situated in the Rolling Plains, where the later Barrier Sea would form.
A peaceful and reclusive sect, the Infinite Growth's founder, Evergreen, was a lauraume who spent most of her life as a hermit. She journeyed across much of Veltrona, though old age wore her down by the time she reached Sa-kemet. In returning home to the Rolling Plains, the elderly Evergreen realized her heart's calling for her own immortal path, and she started her cultivation well into her eighties.
Evergreen's unique cultivation method transformed her body into that of a tree. Unlike many other cultivation arts, she sought slow, continual and methodical growth over explosive spurts or fortuitous opportunities. In doing so, Evergreen compiled her life's experiences, and the vast amount of wisdom she accumulated on her journeys. Then, she carved from her own bark-flesh a book that contained her distilled and refined knowledge. In passing it along to her closest confidants and friends, the Infinite Growth Sect was born.
Seeking to spread Evergreen's wisdom, the Infinite Growth Sect grew prosperous by their constant and unwavering aid to all others. Their helpfulness, timely aid, and unshakeable reliability made them immensely popular throughout the many decades and centuries of the sect's lifetime. Evergreen's teachings, all the while, sent shockwaves throughout the cultivation world. The Infinite Growth Sect's core philosophy, the Thousand Step Path, thoroughly detailed methods toward an immortal destiny.
The slow and continual growth that Evergreen favored shaped the entirety of the Thousand Step Path. In emphasizing reliability over everything else, people could pursue cultivation in far greater safety than any other artform. And, shocking to many, Evergreen found answers to many of the physical and spiritual roadblocks most cultivators encountered. The profound knowledge of the Thousand Step Path caused a revolution in cultivation philosophy that eventually reached every corner of Veltrona. Indeed, Evergreen herself had glimpsed a universal truth, and the barest sliver of its profound meaning passed on through her teachings.
The proverbial feeding frenzy that followed caused centuries of unrest and turmoil among cultivators. Old and pre-established traditionalists refused to adjust their core tenets, for they feared it would cause irreparable harm to their own identities. Newer cultivators, or those more interested in success over anything else, quickly adapted Evergreen's teachings to their own purposes. For whatever could be said of spiritual and philosophical meaning, the tangible material benefit of the new cultivation methods rapidly eclipsed almost all others.
Many established sects soon found themselves endangered by these upstarts, and wars once again sparked to life. Unlike those of the old days, the cultivators focused on keeping themselves relatively isolated and away from other powers. Fearful of attracting unwanted attention, many soon adopted bizarre and hyper-specific rituals in order to facilitate their aggression. Organized warfare took on the form of coordinated war zones, elaborate duels, and social machinations. At least, in this sense, the warring cultivators' damage would be constrained.
Some, of course, snubbed this asinine form of ritualized warfare, but they usually ended up destroyed by everyone else uniting against them. In the end, a common consensus for mutual survival bound the many sects together even as they tried devouring one another for dominance. It's quite paradoxical to look at from the outside, but rather sensible from their internal view point.
Incidentally, the Infinite Growth Sect survived and prospered for thousands of years. It was ultimately destroyed when the Imperium arose, with much of their branch offices across Veltrona wiped out by Imperious. Evergreen, and the homeland of the sect, were obliterated when the World Gate exploded. The sect laid right in the path of Hau-Joren's ambitious plans for a continental barrier–what would become the Barrier Sea.
Despite possessing all the means to leave, Evergreen refused, and cast out all her disciples and sect members. It remains a complete mystery as to why such a powerful cultivator would, ultimately, accept dying in such a way.

Pursuing Cultivation

To pursue cultivation is to undertake one of the most arduous journeys on Veltrona. It is rife with physical, spiritual, and intellectual danger, hardship, and unforgiving callousness. To undergo it is to venture alone into the unknown, the strange, and the incomprehensible, without any certainty of ever coming home again. Those who can brave these dangers and overcome them, however, may not only achieve immortality, but an existence far beyond comprehension itself.
Generally speaking, there isn't any one singular ingredient toward becoming a cultivator. For some, it is a spiritual path, intertwining philosophy and personal experience together to achieve an enlightened mind. Others focus on the material reality, such as acquiring vast amounts of mana-rich resources, then refining their own bodies and souls to incorporate said resources. Every cultivator, as a whole, usually falls between these two extremes.
Knowledge and perspective are two things that powerfully influence magical arts. For cultivators, who use magic to refine and transform themselves, this has an even more literal impact. If one envisions themself becoming goddess-like, they will develop in that direction. If they envision themself as a warrior unmatched, a crafter without equal, an infallible guardian, and so on, they will develop in that direction. It is those who are possessed of such vision, and the drive to realize it, that truly embark upon the path of cultivation.
However, every journey begins somewhere.

The Tree of the Heavens

One of the core aspects of the Infinite Growth Sect that proliferated to the cultivation world at large was that of the Tree of the Heavens. It is a philosophical construct that establishes a sensible order to the growth of one's own cultivation. However, almost everyone else found the meticulous detailing of the Thousand Step Path too burdensome to comprehend fully. Through intense debate, consideration, and/or sheer pragmatism, the Tree of the Heavens would be refined into a more summarized and compact form.
It would be this version that spread the furthest, and hence is the most well-known. It can be described as the following:

1. Foundational Roots
2. Trunk Growing
3. Core Shaping
4. Heavenly Core
5. Immortal Body
6. Transcendent Soul

Foundational Roots

The beginner's stage of cultivation, and the proving grounds upon which most people either succeed or fail. For cultivators, the ability to refine their own bodies and souls is a critical tool they must become mistresses over. Utilizing magic, alchemical medicines, and other useful tools or reagents, they can fundamentally improve, alter, or even change their very existences. It is a definitive magic that truly indicates one's self as a cultivator, rather than something like an 'improved mage'. However, their refinement magic is unfathomably dangerous and any number of complications when using it can permanently maim, if not outright kill, the cultivator.
Regardless of any specific paths, laws, or other philosophies a cultivator pursues, the beginning of their journey is learning how to perform this foundational refining. Or, in other words, growing their roots to form a strong, capable foundation that supports their future growth. Generally speaking, a better foundation leads to better cultivation later on, but not all cultivation arts follow this idea.
Just as people are as diverse and different from each other, cultivation arts too have their distinctions. Many were envisioned and adapted toward specific circumstances, making them less useful to those outside of those particular needs. For the majority of sects, the willingness and spirit to pursue cultivation is the key ingredient they look for. Mental, physical, or magical disabilities/hardships or otherwise are all barriers cultivators have learned to surmount. Even if the way forward one must take is different from others, there is nonetheless a way forward.
However, no amount of wealth nor help will make a difference if the one it's used for doesn't have the spirit to continue.

Trunk Growing

The second stage, typically when one has established a partially refined existence of some description. Most people consider this the starting point of a proper cultivator, as they've survived the Foundational Roots stage. Physical health often reaches an exemplary level, if not going further beyond. The formulation of magical arts stabilizes, allowing for more types of magic, especially those close to what the cultivator practices.
Both Foundational Roots and Trunk Growing are something of a 'invest now, receive later' arrangement. While the Roots benefit the most from proper preparations, the Trunk can benefit from other methods the Roots couldn't use. More powerful magics, or dangerous alchemical ingredients, can be much safer at this stage. A lot of sects or other organized cultivator groups focus on nurturing their disciples at this stage in particular as a result.
Despite being the most numerous type of cultivator, the hardships one faces only increases from here on out. The need for resources, education, and time are paramount to cultivators throughout their existences. The further they wish to go, the more they must consume to centralize into their beings. This pressure is what motivates many to scour the world in search of resources.
While martial cultivators may accelerate the 'fastest' thanks to their rapacious appetites, peaceful routes allow for steady growth as well. How one wishes to cultivate, what goals they have, and the support they have around them, are all dramatic influences on this process. Patience is a valuable trait and precious tool to utilize when one wishes to live forever.

Core Shaping

The third stage, and the period in which a cultivator has established a formidable existence. It is here the exponential growth of cultivators becomes more apparent, as the strengths of the Foundational Roots and Trunk Growing begin to bear fruit in Core Shaping. It is also, however, where the exponential difficulties faced by cultivation reveals itself. These cultivators form the bulk of a sect's membership, and can be considered the main body typically.
Core Shaping cultivators carefully nurture their nascent Heavenly Core, a quasi-organ within the body that accumulates enormous amounts of mana. The actual shape of the core varies as it's usually influenced by the cultivator's perception, or any philosophy they strongly believe in. Some appear like marbles, others an actual heart, a piece of crystal similar to crysium, etc.
Because of its importance, the destruction of the nascent Heavenly Core specifically can completely ruin a cultivator's work. It's also possible it may irreparably damage their cultivation, forcing them to pursue methods of erasing their progress and starting over again. For most, even if they survive, the loss of the nascent Heavenly Core is no different from a death sentence. That said, some have managed to survive and come back despite losing their own.
In order to form the Heavenly Core, Core Shaping cultivators collect vast amounts of mana-rich resources and study ritualistic forms of core creation. The competition at this stage is incredibly fierce, and many cultivators ultimately spend a long time as a shaper. Some also remain here due to fear of the final step required to begin creating their Heavenly Core: self-annihilation.

Heavenly Core

As the nascent Heavenly Core grows within the cultivator, a reckoning will come to face them. To fully shed off their mortal existence (or, at least, reconfigure their body and soul in its entirety), they must complete their Heavenly Core. No matter the cultivator, however, this is an extraordinarily dangerous prospect. In order to do so, they must undergo self-annihilation, the penultimate form of refining. Everything they are will be refined, and not a trace of them left untouched by the process.
It is a profound test of mental character, sheer willpower, and physical/magical capability to manage the refining and fully construct their new body. No amount of riches or wealth can aide in this process: only the worth of the person in their entirety matters. Even the most courageous and proven peoples have failed self-annihilation, while the weak and meager overcome it successfully.
Failure means their complete destruction, but success brings them into the realm of immortality. Those who succeed formulate a new body, complete with a functional Heavenly Core. It is here the influence of the Infinite Growth Sect becomes apparent. Their envisioning of the Heavenly Core creates a stable, powerful magical 'organ' that centralizes the cultivator's existence. It is akin to a heart, brain, and every other organ all combined together. They do have those other organs, but their destruction isn't necessarily lethal. Unlike Core Shapers, the destruction of the Heavenly Core immediately kills them.
That said, this stage of cultivation offers unbelievable capabilities scarcely imaginable before. For some, Heavenly Core cultivators are already goddess-like in their existences.

Immortal Body

What is immortality, precisely? To age and never die, or to be deathless such that even total destruction will not stop someone? Dragons are natural immortals, yet they can be killed–they can starve, wither, and die. A goddess once killed may yet return, spurred on by faith or heavenly forces. Why does death only come so selectively, then?
It is this nature of things that Heavenly Cores come to question in their pursuit of immortality. Whether to escape from time, or death in its entirety, mortal and immortal-alike challenge this status quo. All of them, invariably, soon come to meet the beings who preside over death itself.
There are many of them, for every culture of some manner has something who tends to the dead. Often enough they are death goddesses, such as Fyghumat, whose role is to tend to the afterlives of their people. In a sense, death goddesses are guardians of the orderly life cycle of the universe itself. If one wishes to break that order, they must be contended with.
How this resolves itself depends on the death goddesses involved as much as the cultivators. There are those that staunchly refuse to allow mortals to leave the natural order, violently opposing the cultivators with their heavenly prowess. More often, death goddesses arrange formidable trials or tests, demanding their completion to prove one's worthiness to leave. The ultimate reality of this 'conflict' is where Heavenly Cores venture forth, for the first time, into the realms of divinity.
There are those, however, who encounter a very different being in their attempts. A death goddess-apparent, but one of such age and stature as to be without peers. Kirichiki, a name worshiped by the vampyr of Toi'drinn, is a seeming omnipresent being, unbound by land or culture. Her shadow stretches across the entire world, though she never comes into conflict with local death goddesses. Indeed, they refer to her as something of a senior to themselves, if they dare acknowledge a relationship at all.
Cultivators who encounter her have never succeeded in defeating her with martial force. Even the most disagreeable sort are bent to her whim, and like all others, given a trial. There's little records of Kirichiki's trials compared to other death goddesses, but circumstantial speculation points at them being rather profound. It is as if the cultivators encountered a life changing experience, something that fundamentally altered them.
In the end, the death goddesses' trials are generally summarized as a kind of 'Heavenly Tribulation', given the direct involvement of divine beings.
Regardless of who among death issues the trials, cultivators who succeed them can refine into the Immortal Body stage. This process is much less about riches, wealth, or even personal character; it is about changing one's relationship with death itself. Perhaps, in a way, it is leaving one world behind and entering a new one. Are the death goddesses then not unlike parents, trying to educate their children? It is a whimsical thought, but for many cultivators, their relationship to death after the trials is not at all an adversarial one.
That said, having achieved partial divinity, Immortal Body cultivators can no longer die through mundane methods. The Heavenly Core has merged throughout the body, becoming indistinguishable from the rest of their existence. There is no universal 'weak point' as in the earlier stages. Within the Thousand Step Path, this stage is usually seen as a type of 'hatching', where upon the former existence is shrugged off entirely. It is then that one's divine existence begins, and can grow further and further throughout the Heavens.

Transcendent Soul

Freed of death, but what is left then? To live forever as one is, or to go even further beyond? To continue to rise to new heights that one couldn't even imagine a lifetime before?
For many Immortal Body cultivators, the path forward for them is one of personal purpose and meaning. They, who have already become so very different from the life they once were, now have their own destiny in their hands. To decide upon what they would become, the life they would live, and the legacy they would leave behind for others.
It is a deeply personal and challenging prospect, and something that is not answered easily.
The vast Heavens that stretch across the sky and throughout the universe are boundless and unfathomable. A realm of being so far beyond veltron-bound life that only now, at the precipice of eternity, can a cultivator glimpse it. The prospect of a new journey so far from home, is it exciting or terrifying? If one leaves behind all they were, and becomes something new, are they still the same person?
To transcend one's existence fully, what does that entail, exactly?
How do you do it, if you even wanted to?
At such a step, cultivation truly goes beyond anything what written record can hope to detail. To capture the splendor of such an existence is as impossible as holding light in one's hands.
Evergreen considered this general stage as the final veltron-bound existence a person may have. Unbound from the mortal world, and now immersed within the divine world fully, they may yet leave to pursue even greater heights. She believed it necessary, however, that such cultivators leave behind the trappings of their old growth. By doing so, a so called 'divine forest' of many other ascending cultivators may arise. As the forest grows, mortality immersed within it may find ascension easier and easier.
In a sense, once enough people have transcended, the divine forest left behind may enlighten all of Veltrona itself. While many others considered this mere wishful thinking, or perhaps a delusional ambition, Evergreen remained steadfast in her conviction. In her words, "we are all moving toward our Heavenly destiny, some are simply faster than others".

Paths and Laws of Inheritance

For cultivators, any sort of knowledge related to their philosophy, magics, alchemy, or otherwise is extremely precious. Successful cultivators who pass down their learnings are trailblazers upon which others may follow far more safely. Still, the decision to follow after another, or ford one's own path forward, is an important one.
In this respect, Paths are general and vaguely defined philosophies pertaining to one topic or another. The freedom of thought, and encouragement toward self-contemplation, make them wildly divergent from even each other. It is, however, the unity of purpose of that Path that binds these otherwise individualistic cultivators together. Rather than subscribe to a monolithic Law or orthodoxy, they essentially build their own personal library of comprehension.
Laws of Inheritance, or simply Law(s), by contrast, are typically specialized creations centering around one cultivator's, or group of cultivators', understanding of their cultivation art. A Law is a powerful instruction manual that conveys and shapes the totality of a cultivator's future work, perspective, and understanding of the world. Law-bound cultivators live, learn, and advance in accordance to the prospective design of their chosen Law. The advantage in doing so is an extreme deal of safety and guaranteed progress that other methods of cultivation do not always provide.
However, the limitations of a Law and the future problems it brings can be a constant thorn in one's side. Sometimes they are apparent, other times they do not reveal themselves until one runs into it like a brick wall. Not all Laws are created equal, and there are definitely 'better' and 'worse' ones to choose from. Sometimes it is necessary to adopt an early, useful Law, and then attempt to migrate onto a complimentary one later down the cultivation road. This, however, is not simple to do, and can present an entirely new danger to the cultivator in the process.
Technically speaking, there is a third possible method in the form of Wild Cultivation, which forgoes the totality of a Path or Law. These cultivators are almost always unique, one-of-a-kind beings who have comprehended an extremely personal form of cultivation. In fact, their understanding is so specific it usually cannot even be properly conveyed to others. However, sometimes unique and useful innovations not found elsewhere can arise from their bizarre methods. This way of cultivating is closer to the ancient cultivation style, which existed without much unifying foundations or common methodologies as what exists in the modern world.
In the end, none of the three are inherently better or worse than their peers. They have benefits and disadvantages, and each pose unique challenges to consider.

Divine Judgement

The myriad natures of divine beings is a curious and puzzling topic unto itself. In some ways a reflection of our world, in others a glimpse into the alien and unknown, the divine are ever around somewhere on Veltrona. Certain lands, like Nerzin, Fauverngarz, and Etzli Cuauhtla, often encounter divine beings more than others. Aerthen and Dorvar are particularly notable in the exceptional rarity of divine presences, quite possibly a lingering effect from the World Gate explosion.
For cultivators, colliding with the divine is almost an inevitability. Whereas many others exist and live within the framework of the natural world, cultivators often seek to break it. Such is required to achieve the immortality they long for, after all. This ends up angering, if not outright endangering, the many divine beings across that very same world. Hence, the more one tries to break the order of things, the angrier many divinities become.
In simpler words, there are virtuous ways to cultivate, and evil ways that offend the Heavens. The more one offends the Heavens, the ever increasing likelihood of divine interference in their efforts. For example, a virtuous cultivator who exhibits harmonious qualities may have a peaceful breakthrough into being a Heavenly Core. Well, as peaceful as undergoing self-annihilation can be. An evil cultivator, on the other hand, may find no end of divine beings deliberately sabotaging their efforts.
What constitutes 'virtuous' or 'evil', however, is a very subjective point.
Divine beings who embody the ways of war will, rather than condemn such actions, praise a cultivator for succeeding in war, violence, and bloodshed. Conversely, those who believe in the unbreakable sanctity of sworn vows will bring forth unbridled hatred upon an oathbreaker. Every land and its inhabitants, mundane or divine alike, have their own ways to things. It's extremely important to know who and what one's neighbors are, lest they make enemies out of those they rather shouldn't be.
To live in the world is to always be someone's neighbor somewhere, after all. If one is going to change or threaten that world, others will have opinions on the matter.
Some cultivators do try to 'cheat' around this world-sharing relationship. By migrating to a far away land they've never been to, they hope to achieve breakthroughs without earning divine attention in the process. While that does work sometimes, many divine beings now consider unknown cultivators breaking through as 'inherently dangerous', and so cast judgement on such people by default. It is very much a case of 'safe than sorry', and it heavily punishes those who attempt to escape the consequences of their actions.
It should be stated that this relationship behavior is generally true for everyone on Veltrona. Cultivators, however, by their very nature end up dealing with divine beings and the Heavens far more often than others. It's not unheard of for ones like mages or necromancers to have regular dealings with them either. Necromancers, perhaps specifically so, due to their work with the dead and those who dwell within death.

Conclusion

Cultivation is a vast topic and a complex one at that, easily deserving of hundreds of tomes worth of research. Its effects on the broader world around it are, in themselves, history-shaping in ways even the current day historians can struggle to understand. Few things in life exist in isolation from one another, after all. Mages making use of cultivation concepts as much as cultivators use mage ones is, itself, a quagmire of cause-and-effect that could drive one mad figuring out. The concept of magical self-improvement is also not solely privy to cultivators, either.
How much of these things informed cultivation? How much did cultivation change everything else?
It is a curious thing to consider.
Throughout the ages, cultivation has risen and fallen all the same. In the modern day, it is mostly on the decline, with only lands like Nerzin and Nemma holding onto a strong population of cultivators. Nerzin, in particular, has traditionally been a sort of sacred land that many cultivators live within for many centuries and millennia at a time. Its steadfast stability for cultivation arts is an attractive prospect, especially when faced with the turmoil of other lands.
Aerthen once held a great deal of cultivators as well, but many were killed by the Imperium, and the rest died off when the World Gate exploded. Whoever might've survived fled eastward toward Nerzin, or westward toward Immensio. In the thousands of years since the Great Darkness, few cultivators have returned to Aerthen. Something of a useful hiding location as a result, it seems.