Day 5 of the Nhatz Calendar
You invited Pola and Kika to the temple gardens which was quickly becoming a favorite hangout spot near the Foo dog statues. You handed Pola your spare Inner Glow scroll, passing ownership of it since you had it memorized.
“This is too much of a gift,” Pola said, looking pleased and worried at the same time.
“What am I going to do with it? Hoard it and then bribe some new student?” you asked with a snort.
“Hayori, just train him in the squiggles or something. Fair for fair,” Kika said, her scroll over one shoulder and tangled around her leg as she tried to shake some secret tip out of the Inner Glow scroll it might be hiding from her.
“They’re not exactly squiggles. They’re defined paths of ancient paths of power that allow Qi to be stored and activated to perform truly magical-” Pola said nervously.
“Magic squiggles, got it,” Kika grunted.
Pola used some blank paper and ink to write down a basic exercise for you to do in your own time.
“This is the Qi Holding Inscription. It can only hold between Stone 1 or 2 worth of Qi before it releases it back into the air, but its a good beginner’s exercise!” Pola explained quickly. You had a feeling you knew why it was so little.
“Do the inscriptions simply stop working if you try to exceed or change their functions?” you asked and Pola bit her lip.
“That’s the best care scenario result,” she said finally.
Ominous.
Gained: Basic Qi Inscription Formation: Creates a very temporary talisman that sucks in tiny amounts of Qi then disperses it moments later. Used to aid newcomers into the art as the failure of such a talisman is harmless. Editing it is another case entirely. Can be used to gain 5 points of Inscription and 1 point of sea if under rank 1. Master 1 of 2.
Soon, you spend time practicing the Revealing Eyes technique, finding the art didn’t have any innate resistance now since you had that dream. The technique was a little painful as flowing light Qi to your eyes made them dry slightly and the world to distort as if looking through a glass bottle.
The scrolls near Kika and Pola glowed a pale color as did your own, telling you nothing more than the fact some form of Qi was flowing through them. You looked around, finding that every tree, plant, and some rocks had Qi flowing too but it was so subtle it was almost easily ignored, but you nearly went blind as you stared at the temple. The entire thing was blinding and you had to turn the technique off as your eyes pulsed.
“What the heck is that temple?” you muttered but Pola was close enough to hear your question.
“That’s one of the two barrier temples in this compound. Each one has a powerful barrier inscription that has a Qi anchor inside. Our class went to see it at a distance and it was beautiful! It covers us all in a barrier that not only stops beast attacks but also repels things like Qi phantoms and more demonic creatures,” Pola said brightly.
“If it's so important, why do they let it get so overgrown with moss?” you grumbled and Pola hid a giggle as Kika had a staring match with the Foo dogs.
“The higher your cultivation rank, the more it pushes down on you. Our teacher remained outside the temple when he showed us the anchor, he said it was like being too close to an open fire,” she said with a curious expression as if trying to feel that heat now.
“Wait, doesn’t that mean most higher rank cultivators don’t come to Emerald Ring because the barriers make them feel weird?” Kika asked and jabbed a thumb at the dogs.
“I don’t know but maybe they can suppress their powers? I think a strong body can seal off your ambient Qi...maybe?” Pola guessed with a shrug.
“You aren’t far off,” came a familiar voice and you turned to see the very old priest smiling at you.
“If a cultivator has a stronger body than their sea of dantain, they can safely operate within these barriers. Of course, a strong enough cultivator can just break a barrier if it bothers them,” he said with a nod.
“So, if a cultivator has a stronger dantian or sea...” you trailed off.
“They become limited by their own power. Such barriers are used in negotiations and ceasefires when two opposing forces meet. It helps moderate the stronger cultivators for a time,” he said then eyes the temples with a soft expression.
“But what if one has harmony with their aspects, sir?” Pola asked and the man thought about it.
“It isn’t as easy as you think as you grow to maintain such a balance, even the most studious of people will be a little unbalanced,” he decided to say.
“Why’s that, uh sir?” Kika added quickly.
“Does a tree grow its roots in equal length? Or does its roots grow in any direction that it can afford to go? When a path to growth presents itself, students, you must take it, even if it brings you unbalance,” he advised.
His words stayed with you for some time.
Light rank 1: 2>6 of 10
Body rank 1: 1>2 of 10
Revealing Eyes: Rank- Stone 6. Requires 1 Light, 1 Body, and at least stone-rank 5 to use safely. Training with this skill will grant 2 points of light up to rank 2 and 1 to the body up to rank 2. Mastery: 1 of 3.
---
As you went back to your hut to wash up, you saw an official letter had been delivered bearing the azure lotus symbol.
Students,
An opportunity to go on an expedition to a rank 1 danger zone is being offered in efforts to gather a selection of herbs and beast parts. To attend you must have a rank 1 in herbology, taming, Hunting, and/or Alchemy. This expedition will happen in 3 days and you have the morning of the third day to apply.
See me if you are interested.
-Instructor Kie Gayun.
That sounded interesting... that gave you two whole days to get ready.
You washed up, grabbing the scroll Pola had given you and headed to the Inscription class where it seemed they had a series of teachers on rotations due to the popularity of the class, being one of the sects known strengths.
Unlike other classes where a series of seats were set in a rising pattern in an orderly manner, Inscription class has circular tables around jutting cloudy-like stone rising out of the floor. The stone wasn’t crystal, but it wasn’t rock entirely either. As you drew near one to sit, you felt your Qi shift near it as if it weren’t inside your body, it might lazily drift towards the pillars.
As you watched the teacher enter, three older students also appeared to act as assistants.
“Hello, hello! Let’s not linger too much. As I have no way to check if you’ve been in my lessons beforehand, you can consider this class to be managed by myself and my top students. Simply inform myself or them where you stand in terms of learning and we shall guide you appropriately,” a balding man with small nose spectacles said and his eyes seemed to be constantly squinting as if he spent all his time examining very small things.
One of the students caught your attention and you saw it was the copper-ranked woman from the Taming class. Around you, students pulled out personal projects or books marked with the symbol of a lotus with a scroll through its center.
Not knowing what else to do, you pulled out Pola’s scroll and found supplies of paper and ink were located in a supply chest for students to use at their discretion
“Do you need help?” came a quiet voice and you turned to see the girl, her aura utterly suppressed and if Giro hadn’t told you, you would have never guessed she was Copper-Rank. She was almost invisible to your own sea.
You blinked at her and she looked around the others who were deep in drawing or researching stuff, only you and a few others looked like lost lambs.
“Please, this is my first lesson,” you said respectfully and she smiled.
“Trying new things is admirable, bear no shame,” she said and sat down next to you, her green and blue robes like mist as it glided over the seat.
Weirdly, the other students around you shifted away as if trying to put distance between themselves and the woman. She paid them no mind as if used to it.
“My name is Dei Nhatz, a new first year,” you introduced and she hummed as she spread out a fresh piece of paper.
“It is a pleasure to meet you, Student Dei. I am Eindis, I am a second year student,” she responded with a polite smile. She made three quick symbols with the ink brush.
“I shall explain Inscription before I leave you to study your scroll. If this pleases you?” she asked, shooting you a look with no clear emotion on her face.
“That would be immensely helpful,” you said quickly, wanting to know about the magic squiggles. As your father once said...
‘If a heavenly beauty speaks, you will suddenly become an expert in all the things they speak of’
“Inscriptions were born when cultivators sought to capture the wonders and curses of the natural world that were governed by Qi, the heaven, and the earth. Blood winds, living lightning, the holes of space, and the natural abilities of beasts,” Eindis began softly and she had a soothing lilt when she spoke. The first symbol she drew was a circle with three dots placed at equal distance.
“This is the symbol for Qi itself. It is a contained thing with the sea of consciousness, the body, and the dantian,” she explained and staring at the symbol made the air above it shift, the Qi acting a little excitedly before returning to normal.
The next was three flat lines drawn at a slight angle.
“This is the symbol of the earth, it resonates strongly with the physical side of the elements and has a rigid structure of the mortal people,” she went on, then drew a spiral moving almost impossibly inwards.
“And this is the heavens, ever reaching and ever narrowing with success. This covers the soul and the spirit of things,” Eindis said and when all three symbols were on one paper, it smoked and turned to ash.
“Only strong materials can bear the weight of all three symbols. This is the first, and most important, lesson I can give you, Student Dei,” Eindin turned to you with her long black hair shifted over her shoulder.
“Never attempted to edit these symbols, not now, in copper rank, in iron rank, or even all the way through the Beast or Spirit realms. You will die,” she said factually. There was no doubt in her voice.
You stared at her, trying to figure out if she was pulling your tail or...
“Can I ask why?” you said slowly and she nodded as if amused.
“We are in a classroom, no?” she said with a smile that transformed her whole face to a radiant kind thing.
“To edit these symbols is to inject your own will and meaning. Do you think your will can match all of the heavens or earth? Challenge every person within a hundred miles?” she asked and you knew it wasn’t really a question.
“The way to learn now would be to learn what symbols work in tandem and which to avoid. A good scroll I would suggest is ‘Inscription simple Symbols’, you can find it at the library and I can give you this,” Eindis said and handed you a strange flat disc with a copper engraving of a lotus.
You stared at it as if expecting it to do something and Eindis noticed your expression.
“It’s a Library token, they usually cost 10 merits but this one should cover the cost of the book I mention and one other. I can hand them out once a day,” she explained.
“The benefits of being a teacher in name only,” she smiled oddly, standing to leave.
“Good luck, Student Dei. Don’t ever stop wanting to be more and never stop liking what you have either,” she said and you weren’t sure how to do both at the same time just yet. You opened Pola’s exercise and attempted to get to work on it.
The basic idea was to use ink to draw what you now knew was the symbol for Qi surrounded by two odd symbols which according to Eindis were the symbol for Inwards. A symbol often used to cause a direction in inscriptions and used a lot in water and air creations.
Eindis even told you with a smile that if you simply drew the inwards symbol backwards you got the useful outwards symbol.
Such a method worked on very simple symbols, it wasn’t exactly editing nor was it unique symbols. Minutes later you stared at the rough paper that sucked in pitful amounts of Qi before expelling it. It continued to do so for a minute or two before the paper burned up.
Basic Qi Inscription Formation learned:
Symbols: Qi, Inwards.
Rank: Stone-Rank 3
Creates a very brief talisman that takes in a tiny amount of Qi and works for a short time before breaking
Masterty: 2/2! Can draw them without fail even under duress.
Inscription: 6 of 10.
Overflow: Symbol for Outward learned.
---
Herbology class was a little further out this time and Instructor Bright had a strangely big flask in her hand that had a thick dark red liquid inside. She smiled brightly at her smaller class.
“Oh no, we lost Snowflake,” she said and you blinked, seeing Kai wasn’t in the class anymore.
“His name is Kai Winters, Instructor-” some boy said and the instructor made a closing motion with her fingers.
“Weesh, shush now. I read the new year list by accident so I know who most of you are now. You’re Loarm Cassar, correct? Rank 4 of the new years?” she asked and the boy nodded slowly, looking wary.
“Your name is now Sunshine,” Bright said and the boy looked crestfallen.
“Now, today, I’m going to show you the most common threats from the world of plants you’ll find in this part of the forest. Gayum is taking you all out on a trip soon and I hope that you all, my little daisies, can avoid the threats I’m about to teach you,” she said with a self-pleased smile.
She went over to what looked like a bare patch of dirt between two bushes. She tipped the flask in her hands up and over, pouring the thick stuff inside out.
“That’s blood,” Sunshine muttered and you stared as it splattered across the soil.
“Goat’s blood, Don’t panic, no new years were harmed in the preparation for this lesson,” Bright promised then looked over her shoulder.
“I do take volunteers. 10 merits per liter of blood donated,” she said far too casually to be a joke.
“Why is she dumping blood on the ground-” a girl muttered before she let out a shriek as dozens of little mouths emerged from the soil in a flurry of activity, sending dirt clods and rocks flying as they went wild.
Each mouth was a little pink and green fold of two jagged petals while the insides had a dark purple color with sticky mucus. They all looked to be connected back to the same ‘root’ but each head fought one another for more of the blood.
“Little daisies, meet the Blood Snappers. Each one of them is a Stone-Rank 5 threat and can devour a normal human in minutes if he falls into a patch directly,” Bright said with a calm tone. She used her staff and heaved the plant out and the things let out a strange squeak as she dumped it hard on the surface next to her.
The core of the plant was a round little turnip thing that beat uncomfortably like a heart as the many heads tried to drag it back to the safety of the soil.
“While it can dish out punishment, it's slow and its core is pretty flabby. If you’re attacked, ignore the heads as best you can and attack the ground under them. Loose clothing can slow them down as they chew and dissolve flesh best, fabrics less so,” Bright, her voice all peppy and upbeat as she hauled the plant back to its hole and let it cover itself.
“You’re not going to kill it?” someone demanded.
“Why? The compound has plenty of Snapper heads and Core fluid. It hasn’t harmed anyone and it's just living here. If anything this was a beneficial transaction for the both of us. It got a massive meal and I got an easy learning tool,” Bright said, tilting her head in puzzlement.
“But it's a monster... it’s dangerous,” the girl from before said, voice faltering as Bright smiled at her.
“I’m dangerous, should you destroy me?” she asked and voice shifted and the next thing you could comprehend was that the forest went quiet and there was danger in front of you. A terrible pressing danger that your sea could only crumble under. The plant near Bright’s foot curled in and went still.
Then it was over.
“You can’t be mad at something because it’s trying to survive,” Bright said with a shrug and turned.
“If it overpopulates or mutates into dangerous strains, we will quell them. If they move out of their natural environment and cause havoc, we will quell them, and if we run desperately out of their materials, we will hunt them, but other than that. It’s just important to know how to deal with them,” she explained and you could barely stop shivering.
“Creatures that become threats to all life are the problem. Monsters that don’t seek to live or thrive, but to destroy are the ones we must focus our power at. Qi can raise us, but it can also birth real beasts,” Instructor Bright went on.
Then after, she led the class around, asking people to point out where more Blood Snapper were hiding.
You soon learned that bare patches were a big cause for alarm in this forest. In the case of Blood Snappers, they actively ate any competition on the surface soil layer, causing a patch of bare dirt. It was also possible to watch and spot the soil moving slightly as well as the heads never stopped shifting, even buried.
Bright dropped that the heads of such a plant could be chewed for a tiny boost to cultivating Body Rank 1 and could be used in a selection of alchemy potions.
In the end, you learned a lot and Sunshine got one of his fingers bit when he got cocky.
Gained x2 Blood Snapper heads: +1 to under rank 1 body rolls.
Blood Snapper learned: An ambush plant monster that is drawn to blood. Studying this plant more can give up to 4 Herbology points up to rank 1. Mastery 1 of 3.
---
You kept squatting as Giro sat on the ground between you and Kika.
“I might be going crazy,” Giro admitted as Kika foamed, the taste of the snapper in her mouth apparently incredibly bitter and iron-like.
“You’re not crazy! I just ate some random plant because Dei said it might help! I will be the strongest!” Kika said, pumping her legs to go faster.
“I keep seeing forms and techniques when I daydream or try to nap. Golden people doing moves that I can’t... I shouldn’t reveal, but I swear its real!” Giro said with a pitiful tone.
“Why don’t you do them?” you asked and Giro shook his head.
“They’re higher Stone-Ranked, I could injure myself doing them right now,” he explained and looked frustrated. He looked down at his hand, drawing in the dirt near the temple.
“They’re also an absolute style,” he admitted and Kika nearly fell over as she spun on her feet.
“Giro! That’s impossible,” she said wildly.
“What’s that?” you asked and Kika frowned then grinned at as she digested this..
“Something from martial arts class, Instructor Kie mentioned them when you went to herbology. They’re styles that stop you using common or other techniques, you need to devote yourself to them and hope you can continue to discover techniques related to them or a teacher. Instructor Kie said that they have harsh requirements but massive payoffs,” she said with excitement.
“I don’t think it needs me to devote myself right away but it gets harder to move up the more I don’t. These dreams are showing me amazing things but what if they stop?” Giro asked with worry.
“If you know the name you can research it before focusing on it,” you suggested and Giro brightened as if this hadn’t occurred to him.
“I know the name and I can even say it with no problem,” he said to you both as you finished squatting.
“Golden Lion Style.”
Giro has asked if you could help him find anyone who knows the style.
-Ask Kie Gayun
-Ask Instructor Bright.
-Ask Mayeso the element teacher.
These can be done while taking their class.
Stone Rank 1 Body exercise: Mountain Glutes: Mastered: Gained valuable assets. +1 body gained. Squatting is now done if stressed or upset.
Body Rank 1: 3 of 10.
Kika: 3>7
Kika passed on taking a second snapper for the moment. It was like she was put off by the thing or something.
---
Back in your hut, you and Pola studied the Guiding Wind together. It was easier to share the permission than you thought, but it would only last as long as you were around the scroll. They had some sort of built in anti-theft ability by bullying weaker people to hand over permissions of their scrolls.
You were familiar with it a little but Pola was blown away by the skill and seemed to really struggle with the idea of letting the air pass through her fingers.
“I think it's because I’m innately closest to earth,” she admitted sheepishly.
“Think of tall mountains with their strong breezes!” you suggested and Pola tried to do so. The wind around your fingers not only began to bend around your hand, but you could also feel the air more clearly and how it circled around your hut. It was almost like you were beginning to ‘feel’ invisible currents, where they hit walls and their sources.
Wind Guiding Technique: Stone-Rank 4: Allows the user to guide wind away or around their hand slightly. At higher masteries, this skill lets it user determine the strength and direction of the wind. This can be studied one more time for 2 points up to Rank 1. Mastery 2 of 3.
Pola made a massive understanding of the technique as well and you saw her doing something different than what you were doing, she was cupping her hand, letting bands of air flow in then curve to allow better control. She slowly let her fingers move in a weirdly familiar pattern.
“Like a brush, direct the ink but don’t press to hard or you’ll ruin the symbol,” she mumbled.
You eyed her then at your own hand.
Just like a brush.
Pola gains 6 out of 10 for wind element.
Her understanding boosted Dei’s own learning.
Dei: 3>9+1= 10.
The air came into a sharp relief to your sea of consciousness, an ethereal wind began to blow across your sea, allowing you to stand in sharp relief. There was awareness that wasn’t there before. Air moving in due to breathing, coming out different on the exhale. Currents diverted or shifted with every movement.
Wind was always moving.
Always.
Wind rank 1 obtained.
Your body, sea, and dantian shivered as if nearing some threshold but returned to being still a moment later.
You were getting close and you eyed Pola who was giggling as she played with the wind.
You were really enjoying being a cultivator. Something about it made you want to learn everything and share it all with people.
Even people like Kai and Sunshine.
---
Day 6 of the Nhatz Calendar
Pola stared at her hand as she tried to take in early morning sunshine. The day was a little overcast but enough light peeked through to let you both work as you worked on your own Revealing Eyes technique.
Around you, the lights of the compound became easier to tell apart and the strain on your eye was manageable for nearly continuous up to ten minutes. You did notice that some Qi had the tinges of elements, not colors, but mannerism. Earth magic moved in rigid patterns while the wind was dancing, the light qi from the sky moved down and up in unhurried motions, and in the darkness, darkness Qi slithered.
Dei Light rank 1: 6>8 of 10
Dei Body rank 1: 2>3 of 10
Revealing Eyes: Rank- Stone 6. Requires 1 Light, 1 Body, and at least stone-rank 5 to use safely. It can help the user see Qi and with some practise see traces of elements that tinge the Qi. Strange ‘oddities’ can rarely be spotted. Training with this skill will grant 2 points of light up to rank 2 and 1 to the body up to rank 2. Mastery: 2 of 3.
You looked over at Pola to see her progress. She was standing up, her body glowing and you saw with a surprise that she was nearly in tears as she reached up to the sky as if trying to grab the sun.
“It’s so beautiful,” she said with a thick voice.
Pola Light: rank 1 achieved.
You beamed at her as she achieved a breakthrough with ease. You could have felt envious but her joy and pride reflected back on you, like two sources of light feeding each other smiles. That was when she twitched and a sense of her power grew sharply before your senses.
She had just become Stone-Rank 6, like yourself.
You shook her in excitement and she let out a joyous laugh.
---
“Interesting bunch,” Frella Bright said as she stared down from the wall near the temple. At her side, Kie Gayun huffed.
“You just like the fact we don’t have another year of stuck-up scions and people are taking your class,” she said but couldn’t help her smile as she stared down at her favorite student of the new year, Pola.
“Give me ten Dei Nhatzs over one Kai Winters,” Frella said with a huff.
Kie shook her head with a sigh.
“You shouldn’t bully the child because his elder brother is your ex,” she said dryly and Frella glared at her.
“I bully him because he has a Beast-Rank metal bar up his ass,” she corrected. Kie touched her chin delicately.
“Copper-rank at most,” she said with a smile.
They wandered off to enjoy the time before classes started.
---
Pola declined to join you for a second session, citing she had to hurry to Instructor Kie’s class. Kika and Giro also seemed to be elsewhere for the moment. You sat down to continue to master the Revealing Eye technique. There was something left to glean from it and you were close to finishing it.
With practice, the understanding of the technique filled your mind and it was both repeated use and the core learning that made it usable to you. Simply repeating it over and over without ‘taking it’ would result in damage to your eyes or the technique being useless.
Soon, you saw something very interesting. In the hut, a faint rigid of earth Qi lingered in the chair where Pola had practiced. It was already quickly fading, but it stood enough to be noticeable.
Revealing Eyes: Rank- Stone 6. Requires 1 Light, 1 Body, and at least stone-rank 5 to use safely. It can help the user see Qi and with some practice see traces of elements that tinge the Qi. Strange ‘oddities’ can rarely be spotted. Due to mastery, specific unmasked trails of Qi can be followed and tracked if found within the hour of being left. Mastered.
As you stared, you paused as a stray beam of sunlight caught your attention and you stared at the light.
For a split moment, it was almost like tiny motes of light danced just out of sight and seemed to drink off the light but the image was gone seconds later.
Instead the world just seemed brighter, every color popping as if your eyes were new and unused. From the leaves of the tree to the rich earth, everything was more defined.
Light Rank 2 obtained! Able to sense powerful sources of Light Qi.
Body rank 1: 3>4 of 10
You had the strangest sense you could ‘feel’ when the sun was going to rise or set. It was like a new feeling...
---
Feeling the sun constantly as you walked was a bit distracting but you soon found directions to a class you hadn’t checked out yet.
The lesson to improve one’s sea of consciousness was held outside in a tranquil pagoda that was constructed over a very still pond near a secluded side of the compound. Between the trees and large statues of watching monks, the sounds from the other areas felt muffled.
The pagoda was large enough to hold plenty of people and there were soft cushions placed in equal distance from one another in place of chairs. Between the four pillars that supported the rising roof, four wind chimes moved gently.
A black one, a white one, a blue one, and a red one. Each chime had different tones and notes to it. They weren’t distracting but they were always chiming just out of sight.
On the largest pillow was a tiny crone-like woman whose hair was pulled back in a bun. Her elegant clothes were reflective of a prominent position and reminded you of the priest of the Dog temple.
“Come now, get comfortable,” she beckoned to the few students lingering near the walkway. You soon found a pillow and tried to get comfy, but the pillows seemed elevated in the middle rather than sunken...
“I am Priestess Hanoke, I am in charge of guiding you all through the gentle growth of your sea of consciousness. Some I’ve seen before, others are new but all are welcome,” she smiled and her face looked like a map of a life well lived.
“I am not a cultivator in the sense of most of you. I developed my skill over my own sea through years of meditation and strict faith. It was far too late for me to begin cultivating as I was very set in the earth as who I was. This will answer some of your questions as to why an elder such as I am teaching you. I am no one powerful, just a talented old lady,” she said kindly.
A few of the students did relax and you watched as she put her hands together.
“The Sea within us all is unique to each of us. Even twins, souls cut in two, will have differences in their seas,” she began with a voice that trembled sometimes.
“The sea is all we are and who we were. It’s cut and shaped by our experiences, our relationships, and our trials. Events you experience this very day can leave marks you can still see hundreds of years from now,” Hanoke said then eyed the pond around them.
“We call it a sea, but the self is not liquid or a gas. It is a constant churning of the ‘now’. You cannot harness this power, let alone master it, if you do not truly see and accept all you find in it. Some seas can be towering castles, some dead forests, and others a massive never-ending series of rooms. In each part of us lies things we may not want to admit, but you all must if you wish to grow,” she said with a sigh and shifted.
“But let us focus right now on teaching you how to connect to your sea more than you do now,” she said and clapped her hands, motioning for everyone to cross their legs.
You listened to Hanoke as she told you to inhale and exhale, to let your Qi just be, to let your body release its tensions. Each chime of the bells was another moment of peace, another splash of the pond was a promise of safety.
You didn’t notice when you stopped hearing Priestess Hanoke’s voice but when you did... things became weird. You walked through your family’s golden grain fields, pieces of your hut scattered about under a bright sky. You found your bed and sat on it, finding nothing strange about what you saw. The ground was undefined, but the grain was so strong that you could smell it as you watched wind and light dance through the stems.
The grains bent and occasionally they formed familiar patterns like the symbols of Qi or the heaven, or moving like the tree punching technique.
As you reached out, the vision burst as students got up around you, stretching and you blinked as the sun was an hour ahead of where it had been when you began.
Most of them complained about stiff backs or wasting an hour, but Priestess Hanoke beckoned you closer.
“This class won’t help you much,” she said gently and you blinked at her.
“Did I do something wrong?” you asked and she patted your hand reassuringly.
“No dear, you need something more stimulating. I usually need a week or three to get new students on the correct track but you’re already there. You’re very in touch with yourself,” she praised.
“How do I improve my sea then?” you frowned, not wanting to have a weak point.
“Harder classes will need you to be close to the end of Stone-rank, but there are a few things you can do until there. Inscription class is helpful, but also alchemy and healing. Each of these arts require your will and sense of the world compared to yourself,” she explained patiently.
Before you left, she passed you 10 merits.
“So you don’t have bad memories of my class,” she winked.
---
Having 45 merits made you a little curious about the store itself so you used the map to find a massive hexagon-shaped building that had a central desk where people climbed up and down stairs to some basement, carrying purchases to waiting cultivators. On every wall was a strange stone-like tablet inside a semi-private booth.
You hesitantly walked up to a tablet and on the wall above it, shoved a picture of a sleeve brushing the tablet. You mimicked the movement and the tablet lit up, showing glowing letters and lines floating in the air. It was only because you had a new rank in Light Qi could you even sense they were using the light element to make the letters. How they were doing it you had no clue.
It automatically removed options of selecting above Stone-Rank, leaving you the ability to sort through equipment, scrolls, drugs, materials, and passes.
Clicking the scrolls curiously, you saw a dozen options. You clicked on light as you began to feel overwhelmed.
‘Lightfly. Stone-Rank 5. Cost 10 Merits.’
‘Light Marking. Stone Rank 6. Cost 15 Merits’
‘Flashing Fist (Martial Techqinque based in Light). Stone Rank 6. Cost 20 Merits.’
‘
Getting curious now, you looked at equipment, eyeing the man subsections. Swords, spears, knives, throwing daggers, coiling sashes, rings, belts, and a dozen more.
Next you tried materials, spotting materials from a few beasts, one of which you knew.
‘Pack of 5 Blood Snapper Heads. Good for low rank body and alchemy. 3 Merits.’
‘Blood Snapper root: Useful for Sea and some earth techniques. 5 Merits.’
You could just walk outside and find a snapper to pluck in ten minutes... and they were charging 3 merits for 5?
You finally looked at the passes.
Stone rank 3-5 library pass: 5 merits.
Stone Rank 5-8 library pass: 10 merits.
Advance Cultivation room pass: Valid for 3 days. Cost 20 Merits.
Personal element instruction. 20 Merits.
Escort for material harvest. 15 Merits.
The passes went on and it was like you could pay anyone for anything if you wanted. Amused, you scrolled down in one big swoop, hitting the most expensive option you could get at your current rank.
Innocent Date with Instructor Bright: 5000 Merits.
You weren’t sure what was worse. The price or the fact there was a waiting list.
You eventually found a book on the Golden Forest and a collection of history and known facts. It was only 1 merit.
You bought it and a kind clerk handed you a signed copy.
The author went by the name ‘Hector Squeaks’. The blub on the first page said he was a ‘ever traveling soul in search of snacks and smiles’.
This would be your first actual belonging. You took it home and tried it on the empty shelf. It looked... lonely.
The Golden Forest:
The forest known to be home of the Azure Lotus was not always the goliath spread of nature it was today. Historical records and ancient cultivators mention how the forest was perhaps 1/5000 of its size in older times. What caused this change?
Very likely, what started the spread of the forest was the death of an unfathomably powerful creature. Some speculate a dragon, but in my opinion, I think it could have been a bear. When a powerful being of Qi perishes, its energies do not simply float off. In the case of beasts, they will alter the landscape or even birth a dozen new monsters. For people, they could leave behind a dozen treasures or a ghost, some even forming a natural dimensional tear.
Such a creature fell from either battle or a disaster and landed here many years ago, beginning the abundant release of Qi to the land. As Qi is formed in realms, the forest itself became ringed. Then the Azure Sect moved in and properly began to disperse the Qi to their liking.
At the center, a Qi Core so powerful is rumored to exist, but none have ever gotten close to confirming it.
What did this mean for the Golden Forest? Monsters, Beasts, and treasures. The land became rich with new kinds of beasts and resources never seen before. I find that the salads are to die for and as well as the peppered boar steaks. My kids love them when I brought back samples.
It could almost be a slice of heaven, but the risks of the forest cannot be denied. The ambient Qi has given the forest a sense of ‘will’. It can easily make travelers lost or create dens of monsters. In its monstrous growth over the land, it swallowed dozens of towns and ancient temples belonging to now forgotten sects. Some of these places move in and out of reach based on the stars, the time, the number of people in a group, if one has ever eaten meat, or if you spin in a circle five times while barking.
Each swallowed building could host a deadly series of inscriptions or relic-like guards. Some may even hold prisoners never meant to escape who still cultivate.
I, personally, found it much more enjoyable to pet the dog statues that seem to be all over the place. One of the silly things dropped a scroll so I put it back. I tried to book a hotel but they refused me when I said I wanted at least twenty rooms for my family.
So, I shall end this chapter with a lesson.
‘You can reveal the secrets of an ancient forest or have twenty or so children, but not both. There isn’t enough time in the day.’
This author was a weirdo.
---
As the sun began to sink, you returned to the area that Instructor Bright had taught at. You found the old Blood Snappers you saw during class had all moved around and left Conspicuous holes in their absence.
Still, giving what you learned, it didn’t take long to track one down.
You examined the plant in the fading light, seein it didn’t change speed or energy as the sun continued to sink. Given it seemed too eager to eat anything it found, maybe it didn’t need sunlight.
You watched as two snappers had buried close together, going on a frantic assault on each other. Heads were torn off and dark sap seemed to leak from the roots as they squirmed in pain. They didn’t eat the flesh they tore off, but they were clearly not happy with others in their space.
You learned a lot and with your Revealing Eyes, you even found out how they circulated their Qi somewhat. It was a bit useless to you as it was something you already mastered with the tree punching technique, but it was interesting all the same.
You continued to examine the plants a little more, feeling sure you were getting close to a basic understanding of their kind. Not enough to cultivate one in a controlled environment, but you definitely wouldn’t ever be ambushed by them unless something went horribly wrong.
In fact, the more you look around the more you understood how much life was packed into such a tiny clearing. So many species and types of plants, flowers, and herbs. A million questions filled your mind all at once.
Which grew better in the shade? Which cuttings could be grown safely and which made a poisonous root? Which felt ‘better’ than others to you as a person.
So much to learn.
Herbology Rank 1 Obtained!
Blood Snappers mastery 2 obtained: Cannot be ambushed by these in their natural environment outside of disaster events. You can now always get 5 snapper heads without fail when gathering. Mastery 2 of 3.
You have gained a Stone-Rank 4 body technique part ‘Snapping’. Incomplete technique.
You went back home, pondering life as you did so.
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