Author's note; A big thank you to claira232 for this awesome book cover. I haven't decided if I will use it, torn between this and my own creation... but I am sharing it here regardless. I'll happily accept offering for the other books though!

Within the Holy Lands, there have always been a small number of people that could be said to be blessed by the God. These people are recognised through the little gifts they are born with; an unshakable weather sense, an ability to read the stars, able to soothe even savage beasts with a song. The one who was found to have the greatest of gifts was believed to be host to the Living God.

When Hu Zhen Kang was a child, the priests came to look for the body of the Living God and his father had faith that it was his second son, Hu Zhelan who held the deity in his soul. Hu Zhelan was very gifted, able to find lost things and lost people, surely no other child was quite as special as he. Hu Jia was excited, fathers and sons already occupied the government as officials, to have their blood be upon the highest seat within the land would guarantee their fortunes for a lifetime.

However, the priests did not choose Hu Zhelan, another child was chosen, one who was said to have 'feelings of fate,' the odd ability to know where he or others or even items should be at the most opportune time. What feelings? Surely Hu Zhelan's gift was greater than these 'feelings.' But however opposed Hu Gengxin was (although he could not voice this for fear of angering the priests and the God), he was silenced when the large, pale eyed boy of just four years of age told him he should visit the river beside Hu Jia immediately. When he did, he pulled out Hu Zhelan, moments from death; his son had been looking for a cousin's lost bracelet. Hu Gengxin always held his tongue after this, yet Hu Jia still looked on feeling as if the pot of gold had been snatched from beneath their noses!

Having grown up in that ill wind, Hu Zhen Kang had become an official, like his father before him, but holding onto the belief that the seat of the Living God should belong to Hu Jia. Hu Zhelan was too old now to be considered, he held no bitterness and was in love and loved by his childhood sweetheart. They were due to wed soon. However the gifted often came to be in Hu Jia and his own son held promising early signs and his wife was pregnant again. Yet these children would be overlooked while the host of the Living God still breathed.

And then the Emperor of the Empire that surrounded them, sent a strange proposal to the Holy Lands; the Emperor wished to make the Living God his Empress. "He is aware that His Holiness is a man?" joked Official Quan.

"Perhaps his eyes are as poor as his Empire!" Official Sun quipped.

"Now, now, let us not anger the dragon nor belittle the tiger," said Official Xiao. "We will peacefully decline. The Living God cannot leave the Holy Lands just as the Emperor cannot leave the Empire. As such, even were the Living God a woman, would not make for a fruitful marriage."

The other Officials agreed with Xiao, he was an elder and widely respected, but still they mocked the Emperor behind closed doors.

Official Hu was allowed to pen the rejection, but unknown to others, he penned two; one for others to agree to, one to send. His harsh words had the reaction he desired and his spies sent word that thanks to pillow talk, General Jun was on the move.

The Living God made his scheme easier when he declared that he needed to travel south, to the Summer Temple in order to find the Guardian. The Officials were excited and pleased by his words, for had they all not been seeking the Guardian since the rebirth of their God? Official Hu was especially pleased and allowed this knowledge to leak into the hands of their enemies. And now all he had to do was sit back and wait...

****

It is said that for every Living God, there is a Guardian. Not all Guardians were said to have the capacity to protect the body of the Living God and not all Guardians were said to be able to care for the spirit of the Living God. It was thought that perhaps the Guardian was simply the host of the second Living God's beloved wife's spirit (the first had been an adult priest who kept his body pure). Unable to live without her, she was reborn as he was.

Lian Guan Ting, the priest dressed in white and his twin sister, Lian Xin Yue, the priestess dressed in black both glanced at each other. His Holiness believed that this person before them, this youth of the Empire, was the Guardian?

The twins had been chosen to serve the Living God when they were ten years old. Twins of opposite genders were always chosen to become the serving priests of the Living God as the deity could be a boy or could be a girl and usually did not identify with either. They were a part of the God's balance and would also be the last line of his defence should the worst happen. As it seemed it would, for the Empire had decided to attack the southern border and the Summer Temple without provocation! The walls that had protected them for a few days had fallen, the Temple Guards were defeated and all that remained would be the path to the spring.

The Living God had remained calm throughout as if he truly did not believe the time had come for him to die this lifetime. Actually, Lian Xin Yue had noticed that he was tapping his foot upon the ground quietly, a sure sign of his growing impatience. But there had been no fear and just a little sadness as their people died one by one. And all at once, his restlessness had ceased and he had looked up in anticipation as a beautiful young man had appeared before them.

"What took you so long?" His Holiness had mused aloud, stunning the beautiful man.

Lian Guan Ting had stepped forward and murmured in his ear; "My Lord, are you sure that he is the one you seek? He is of the enemy... and a man." If the Living God was a man, the Guardian was usually a woman. If the Living God was a woman, the Guardian was usually a man. It was practically unheard of for there to be any alternative in this.

"Yes," the God said, holding his palms together in excitement. "He is my Guardian."

"Guardian?" The youth questioned, with a slight frown. An almost unnoticeable glint of disappointment flickered in his eyes.

"My name is Xiang Ah Liû," his Holiness said, blessing the young man with his given name. "What is yours?"

The sound of running feet put pause to the man replying, but an answer came anyway. "Yu Long?" Came a voice with the steps. "Where did you disappear to, brother?"

"I'm here, brother," the young man called back.

"Yu Long," Ah Liû softly whispered, testing out the name and finding it to his liking as a handsome youth and several of the Empire's men came running in.

"Why did you run off like that?" The handsome young man asked of the other.

"I felt I had to come here," a frown creased the white forehead of Yu Long, his eyes meeting the Living God's once more.

Ah Liû grinned widely. "Of course, you are my Guardian," he stated. "You were seeking me. I came here to find you."

"I'm confused," the brother of Yu Long said. "What's a Guardian?"

"For every Living God, there is a Guardian," Yu Long quoted as if reading from written words. His brother's eyes roamed over Ah Liû, but he was too giddy to care.

"This is the Living God? The one who rejected becoming the Empress of our Empire?" The three Heartlanders turned their attention on the youth whose eyes were sparkling in mirth. Yu Long hit his brother about the head. "What was that for?"

"Rejection? Empress? What do you mean?" Xiang Ah Liû asked for it was now his turn to be confused.

"That doesn't matter," Yu Long said hastily.

"Of course it does or how else do we explain the mess those fools caused?" His brother said, testily. "The Emperor wished to marry you and make you his Empress, you were not aware of this?" Xiang Ah Liû and the twin priests shook their heads in denial. "Well on receiving a rejection, he spoke words of war in the heat of the moment, but no edict was made. No one thought there would be anyone to take these words seriously, but there is always one mule amongst the horses. My men came to stop them, but we were too late to save those who shed blood for empty purposes. Please accept our sincerest apologies on behalf of the Empire! We are prepared to make recompense."

He and his brother bowed their heads low and the other men knelt.

Embarrassed, Xiang Ah Liû had them rise. "Why would the Emperor seek to wed a man and make him Empress?" he asked.

"That is definitely does not matter," Yu Long stated, glaring at his brother, who simply shrugged. "But please, we are not of your country, would you explain what it means to be a Guardian? We have only the basic knowledge of your rites."

"Hmmm," Ah Liû wondered how to put it simply, tapping his finger to his lower lip and replied; "technically it would make you my husband?"

A devastating smile appeared upon the beautiful man's soft lips. "Alright."

Translations;

let us not anger the dragon nor belittle the tiger not official saying, means not stir up trouble.

there is always one mule amongst the horses also not real, but means there is always one ass!