An auspicious childhood

Heavens-Weep-In-Joy was born in the most dramatic fashion, as the storm that had blighted the Old Capital for a long and miserable week cleared away to reveal blue skies and rainbows. Their happy parents declared the occasion an auspicious one in relief at the luminous conclusion, spiting the family elders who had doomsayed about the pregnancy's inauspicious signs and the worrying patterns in the storm. Clouds and thunder aren't unknown to the nascent clan and its cultivation traditions, from births to tribulations, but the luminous way they parted surprised and shook the cultivators gathered to witness the birth, doing little to reconcile its older members with the child. Indeed, despite the stormy birth, it's quite obvious the young family's thunder affinity isn't what defines its youngest member.

The baby grew into a child of sunny disposition, running through the estate with a smile on their lips, dodging caretakers and teachers alike to bug their elder brother and sister or find another playmate. Their carefree behavior only seemed to offend their elders further, but their parents indulged them from a distance, happy to watch them flourish after their unlikely birth. Parental support came with social opportunities better suited to the child's gregarious nature, as they ensured their siblings or children of other rising families would be around to keep their attention and deliver lessons indirectly, even if their responsibilities limited their interactions.

Meet the following characters

• Thunder-Clouds-Callers clan, a nascent but extremely wealthy cultivator family with a flair for storm related techniques.
• Gathering-Storm-Darkens-The-Horizon, Looming-Shadow-Among-The-Peaks, Heavens-Weep-In-Joy's mother, the inheritor of the clan head position and a cultivator of the family's storm arts.
• Heavens-Parting-White-Lightning-Strikes-Twice, Heavens-Weep-In-Joy's father, a lightning cultivator prodigy who married into the family after impressing his future wife in a competition.
• Clever-Thunderbolt-Finds-A-Path, Heavens-Weep-In-Joy's eldest brother, a bit of a maverick with a lot of promise as an innovative cultivator but a distinct lack of proclivity for learning the business of the family.
• Lies-Piercing-Eye-Of-The-Storm, Heavens-Weep-In-Joy's elder sister, who takes after their mother both in personality and in responsibilities, being prepared to shoulder the burden of leading the family in the future.

As Heavens-Weep-In-Joy grows up, they find their footing and passion when one of their playdate acquaintances invites them to an art exhibit and they discover the world of theatrical performance. The Radiant College of the Arts is an acceptably high class establishment by their family's standards, and the pursuit of the arts is an old tradition of cultivator clans the post revolution new elites have imitated. While theater is not the most conformist choice among those, their parents are open enough to grant them their wish.

Getting on stage feels liberating to them, giving them a space where they aren't looked down upon for their expressivity. They take to the art with dedication, spending the long hours stuck on the estate wandering while practicing their lines at baffled family members. As soon as they get to the College, they throw themselves into discussions of stage setting, costumes and details of the play.

Quickly, their list of acquaintances outside the family fill with other theater kids and assorted young artists. Even their family organized playdates tend towards bringing back children who at least indulge their passion, those disdainful of it failing to make it into their confidence. As they practiced their art, their character bled into it, their performance taking a very personal allure. As it did, their theater friends seized upon the show to give them a fitting shortening of their childhood name.

Childhood nickname

[][NICKNAME] Heavens

A great ability to inspire belief through confident and self assured speaking, no matter what you think about the subject yourself.

• Gain Radiant Belief Shaping Confidence art

[][NICKNAME] Weep

An unmatched skill at imparting emotional states through empathy with your own, at the cost of very obvious emoting.

• Gain Flowing Tears Sympathetic Empathy art

[][NICKNAME] Joy

A peerless talent for lifting up the spirits of those surrounding you… And even yourself.

• Gain Cheerfulness Inducing Display art

Author note

I am very sorry for leaving you all hanging for so long, and for this update being much shorter and less substantial than I envisioned. I wanted this to get you into the party training, but I think it's more important to keep posting going than to have it all at once when the quest is already dead so have this shorter update to tide you over and flesh out our protagonist a little instead.

Life has been kicking my butt for no reason whatsoever. I have the time but not the mental impulse to do anything constructive and I hate it. I can't even say I'm working on it so I can't promise much about timelines for the next update, but I'm not dropping this entirely.