Jing Yuan can't help but be a little amused by Shang Qinghua's confusion, though it is totally justified. He dropped quite a bit of information on his head, after all. "An Aeon is something like a god, yes, and some say they were all mortal once. They embody a philosophy and walk the path of that philosophy no matter what. The Plagues Author - Yaoshi - cannot do anything but give out THEIR poisoned gifts, and the Reignbow Arbiter must hunt evil. Their followers attempt to follow their chosen Aeon's philosophy and if they tread that path closely enough they gain power from it."

He listens attentively to Shang Qinghua's description of his own world and gods, allowing his confusion to show on his face so Shang Qinghua doesn't feel quite so alone. "I'm familiar with the concept of cultivation - there are those who practice it here as part of their Pathstriding, including myself - but the rest of what you say is completely new. I've never heard of those locations... I'm happy to do a search in our archives to see if we can get you home, but I don't know what our chances of success will be."