The inside of our home was comfortable and cozy. Unlike the yard and gardens that had been maximized for efficiency and profit, planted to grow herbs that could be used in the business, our home was a sanctuary of home and hearth. Soothing colors; mostly creams and yellows for the broader canvas with accents of white and brown trim adorned walls, window frames, and doors. Soft furniture you could get lost in as you sank into the depths of plush lushness.

Of course, the house had areas dedicated to plants, but aesthetics trumped necessity in this space, other than an herb window box, the rest of the foliage had been placed and chosen for color or shape. Most of the plants served no purpose other than to add color or fragrance to a room.

Electricity, entertainment, and communications existed, but it was more a product of Dharmic spells and arrays. Household devices were powered to run on enchantments, the entire house connected to a central grid that was powered by a beast core. The low-level cores that powered arrays, was contained in our version of a utility room. Each core had a shelf-life of about a month before it needed to be replaced. My father used cores he harvested from beasts he encountered when he roamed the nearby forest for rare herbs and mushrooms.

The enchantments and cores powered appliances that made the kitchen and laundry room both efficient and convenient. The work to prepare meals or clean cloths required mortal intervention, there were no AI bots that were programmed to automate the process.

Two rooms stood out as my favorite. The study where even my decidedly middle-class family had a potpourri of jade slips, each jade had a specific function, storing movies or programming that were used for entertainment purposes, or catalogs of books that could be projected and read at leisure. The abundance of jade was deceptive, the pieces collected from thrift or secondhand shops.

My parents weren't frugal, not exactly, but their priority when it came to discretionary funds were different from most people. They had spared no expense in educating me and my siblings, foregoing the latest fad, clothing, or luxury item for tutors and supplies. Once living expenses had been deducted, the only 'extras' they allowed themselves to spend money on had to deal with my education.

Even if my Spirit Root had been considered a trash tier, they were adamant that I would have a profession to fall back on. Jade slips on alchemy, array formations, and rune-script were prolific, they may be used, some were earlier editions, but they maintained pride of place in our study.

They had also acquired a ranked selection of gems, most people would have waited until after the Spirit Root and elemental affinities had been established before purchasing the protection gems, but not my parents. They had already purchased an assortment, placed in a display case, they had the full range of tiered gems. Dozens of gems that I would never use, I could only select one to create a matrix that would protect my Soul domain and Dantian.

Dantians, once formed, were synchronized and fused with a gem, the crystal matrix of the gem that most resonated with the cultivator was copied into a barrier of protection. These gems were embedded in the forehead and allowed the cultivator to channel and filter higher quantities of Qi and World energy. As they became capable of storing vast amounts of soul energy and compressing those energies, the gem matrix acted as both fortification and support.

Cultivators, over time, had learned that by creating a crystalline matrix that matched the shape and quality of higher tier gems that Dantians became more robust. The most important finding of gem fusion was the discovery that Qi deviation became impossible. Even if a crystallized structure that had been synchronized with the cultivator was somehow shattered, the stored soul energies would repair and restore the structure, occasionally increasing the tier of the copied matrix in the process. It had led, temporarily, to cultivators shattering their gem matrixes on purpose in the pursuit of more power and higher tier.

Just as there were seven tiers of Spirit roots that coincided with metals, there was seven tiers of gemstones that made for the most efficient and powerful Dantian and Soul ocean crystal matrixes. Symbiotic formations that protected the metaphysical anomalies that allowed for cultivation. Starting with Agate, the gems that were found to be the most effective were Amber, Beryl, Citrine, Ruby, Emerald, and Diamond.

Although hardness and density of the gem was important, color, clarity, and cut were also important. The fewer imperfections, the more uniform and precise the jeweler was when cutting and polishing the gem, the better the crystalline matrix that could be reproduced. Gem selection would result in drastic differences even across tier-level.

A badly cut diamond that was shoddy, full of imperfections, cloudy, and riddled with fractures would not be as effective as a ruby that was clear, had a depth of color, the red clear and even, and was cut and polished by a skilled craftsman. It wasn't smart to con cultivators and sell inferior gems that had been cracked or cut badly, but it did happen. And when it did, the results were expensive for the Cultivator.

They would need to shatter their Dantian and Soul Ocean and rebuild their matrix with new gems to repair the flaws. Guilds helped monitor tradesmen, and Sects were meticulous about appraising stones that were going to be used by their members. But for some, cultivators that could not find a Sect, or were so poor they risked buying a stone from someone that did not display guild affiliation, imperfections proliferated.

It was idiotic to trust something so important on the vagaries of fate. Better to wait, hunt the outskirts of the forests for herbs and lower level beasts until enough funds were saved to purchase a high-quality agate.

My parents had been smart about gathering a collection of gems. They visited many jewelers, different guildsmen, and the occasional auction, building a collection over time. Their obsession only intensifying when my brother and sister were tested and found to have Silver Spirit root potential. They had been investing in these gems since the moment of my birth. There were duplicates, but I had two siblings and my parents were planning for their futures too. They would awaken and make use of the stones.

They could always sell those that weren't used, but considering the frugality of my parents, they would probably store those gems that hadn't been selected for the next time they decided to breed. In a hundred years when they thought it time to add to our family, the stones would once again be needed.

My other favorite room was the bathroom attached to my bedroom. Elves were sensualists it seemed, and this room was decadent. More Spa than anything, there was a rain shower, a deep soaking tub, and a communal hot tub that was shared between connecting baths. The bathing rooms in the house had been strategically placed so that they intersected. The corners for each opening up so that the family could relax together in the hot tub.

Elves weren't exactly nudists, but they weren't body shy either. Clothing was designed and worn for practical reasons. Fashion existed, and the wealthier the more expensive fabric could be purchased. But people weren't ashamed or embarrassed to be seen naked. Sexuality was more a component of emotional bonding, not breast or penis size.

My parent's boisterous celebration at the sight of my sect token was soon overshadowed by the arrival of my younger brother and sister. The elf gestation period was an entire year. I think most of the extra time was spent aligning meridians and creating a Qi network so that Dharma spells and Qi skills were possible. My parents had spaced out births exactly six years apart. I was eighteen, my brother was twelve, and the youngest was six. Geon, my brother, and Syha, my sister.

Both adorable.

Geon mimicking father in all things, he wouldn't enter puberty until eighteen, still strutted around like a proud peacock. Entering puberty was the reason awakenings were held when a child turned eighteen.

Syha was lovely, dragging a doll by one arm, hair in a top knot, she snuggled into my side as soon as she saw me. She was still in that phase of hero-worship where anything I did or said was gospel and met with her full-throated approval.

Naming conventions for Elven children was based on ancestors and resulted in a child being gifted with the first letter of a grandparent's name, switching between paternal and maternal ancestors. I had been named after Jules, my grandfather. Geon had been named after Gruev our mother's father. And Syha had been named after Sele our father's mother.

Names and rituals were serious, and auguries and charts were exhaustively researched before birth. A child's name day was very similar to a baptism. The ceremony blessing and bestowing a name done as soon after childbirth as feasibly possible. As soon as the mother is capable of rising and leaving the birthing chamber. She would be greeted by generations of family celebrating her success and a life filled with potential.

The ceremony itself was conducted by the oldest member of the family. A blessing to the elements. A prayer for strength and ability. And the gifting of a name, chosen after months of consideration.

The naming ceremony at heart was filled with superstition, done for protection. A child was considered vulnerable to evil spirits and dead ancestors who have refused to settle and hope to possess a new body. Until they have been sealed with a name, elves believe the child susceptible. The name having a real effect by establishing identity.

Our names connected us. Established an unending link between the present and the past. They protected us. And superstition or not. Evil spirits did exist in this world and could possess the unwary and unprotected.