Authors Note: For those who want more details on exactly HOW Heller is working to stabilize his cultivation, as well as exactly how things work, more details will be coming later on in the story.

I want to introduce those elements organically, ideally when Heller has a reason to explain them to someone else in the story, rather than simply putting a passive blob of text down. So a lot of things are being skipped over in order to keep things flowing, and give me a chance to reveal more details when they actually matter.

:boworpushups:

Master Jaduk’s class was in session when disaster struck. We were working on cartography, as well as methods to extrapolate enemy movement patterns based on patterns of tracks we had found. Basically using a map to more efficiently track large groups of Beasts moving across the land.

I was enjoying the lesson, as usual, because there was always something new to learn whenever I dealt with the Master of Earth or his staff. I was completely new to military-style tactics, and what few things I did know were completely different here than back on Earth. Maybe it would have seemed more familiar if I had grown up in Ancient Rome…

That isn’t to say that I didn’t like Master of Air’s lessons as well, of course, but they wouldn’t get truly interesting until we could actually leave Academy and practice in the field. The Master of Water nearly put me to sleep, but now I had my cultivation-book-writing project to keep me busy. No need to mention the Master of Fire… her classes would be great if she wasn’t such a beast.

I had finished our assigned task earlier than everyone else, also as usual, and I was humming to myself as I assigned my hundredth CP! As far as I could tell I was now managing to absorb about sixty CP per year, but the formation had stopped rotating after it’s (final?) evolution a few months ago just after my sixth birthday. The formation’s current form was infinitely detailed… somewhat like looking at a fractal pattern. Every time I tried to study it, going deeper and deeper into the geometric shapes that it was made of, it just got more and more complex until I became dizzy and everything started to blur together.

*DANGER*

What the beast! I jumped up off of my stool as an overwhelming sense of threat rapidly descended upon me. I could feel… something… building up all around me, almost like an electric charge… but not. It was way more dangerous than simple electricity, and I had no idea how I knew that. Something bad was going to happen to me, and it was going to happen soon.

I streaked out of the room towards the hall, ignoring the incredulous looks thrown my way. I didn’t want to be responsible for everyone else dying alongside me, especially not Wulfric and Tetra who were sharing my table.

I had just barely made it out into the hall when I all of a sudden knew I had run out of time. In fact, every time I moved I felt the danger increase, and somehow I knew that if I went any further my death would be assured. I covered myself (and the door leading back into the classroom) in a thick sheath of protective ice, making sure that my Ion Shield was at full power and deci…

*ZAP*

… everything is connected, we are all made of the same energy, it nurtures us, gives us life as we give it life it as it gives us life as we give it life, there is no beginning, there is no end, the cycle consumes and creates and consumes and creates, the wheel… …

...and then all was darkness.

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I woke up to a blinding pain, gasping as my attempt to sit up nearly caused me to lose consciousness again. My ears were ringing, muffling a faint sound that slowly came into focus. If I was back into that white room with the Celestial I was going to be so pissed. What the hell, that crap was completely unfair!

“Master Jaduk! Master Jaduk, he’s awake!”

Wait… oh-Thank-God-I’m-not-dead-again! Or thank Celestial, whatever, I don’t care. Relief swept through me.

As I lay there, eyes closed and trying to deal with the pain of breathing (everything hurt), I heard a familiar voice growing louder as he approached.

“Heller! Heller, can you hear me?!” Came Master Jaduk’s voice, containing a hint of… something… maybe worry? Panic?

I braced myself, knowing that any attempt to acknowledge his question was going to hurt. I tried just opening an eye, squinting against the bright light of the room.

“W… what happened.” I managed to mutter. Probably a stupid question, but at this point I didn’t care.

Master Jaduk nodded at me, his stern face doing a poor job of hiding his obvious relief. “One moment.” He said, his voice returning back to his typical calm and even tone as he turned around and ordered that everyone leave the room.

Turning back to me, he paused for a moment before he began speaking again, “What did you see? Heller, this is very important.” He was doing a good job of masking the urgency in his voice, but I could see it in his eyes.

Now wasn’t the time for lies, but speaking hurt. The short version then. “Cycle. Energy. Wheel.” If he knew what the deal was that should be enough, and if he didn’t it was a waste of time anyway.

Master Jaduk’s eyes widened and he took in a short breath of air, an incredibly atypical display of emotion for him. So he did know something… I waited, doing my best not to dwell on the fact that my whole body was on fire.

“So it’s true.” He muttered, his eyes looking far off into the distance before suddenly snapping back to me. “You have passed through the first stage of Cultivation, Heller.” The way he looked at me made it clear that this was not something normal.

“Stage?” I managed to force out.

Hesitating for a moment, Master Jaduk finally said, “I don’t know everything about cultivation, Heller, but I do have a secret,” he chuckled, “though not one nearly so interesting as yours.” He held up his hand and a small whirlwind formed on top of it. He continued speaking before I could react.

“In truth, I was once a minor noble of House Spiritwind, before I entered this self-imposed exile.” His gaze was unfocused, looking back into his mysterious past, before shaking his head slightly and smiling down at me. “But regardless of my personal history, I do know some few secrets that might aid you.”

I raised my eyebrows (which only hurt a little bit), hoping he would continue.

“Qi is an energy which comes from the Gods who slumber deep within the center of the earth.” He started, looking at me to see if I seemed to be following him.

Gods? Ummm… I was pretty certain that’s not actually the case, but now didn’t seem like a good time for a lengthy debate. I nodded anyway, only wincing slightly as my head and neck joined together to protest against further movement.

He nodded in return, lifting his gaze and settling into his practiced lecturing voice. “By praying through complex mantras, we appease these gods in their slumber.” He raised his hand, spreading his palm open wide, “And they repay us by gifting us a portion of their Qi.”

He straightened his back, holding up three fingers on his other hand. “And although there are many different prayers for many different gods, they can be divided into three separate levels.” He began ticking off the first finger as he started his list. “The third, and least, are the Low Prayers, also known as the Soldier Cultivation Techniques.” Tick went the next finger, “The second is the High Prayer, a more advanced and complete version of the Low Prayer. These are also known as Noble Cultivation Techniques.” Tick, the third finger was down, “The first, and the greatest of all, are the Grand Prayers. Named after each Great House, there are only four of these, and they as close to perfection as we can come…” His voice trailed off and he looked back down at me again. “Until now…”

There hadn’t actually been all that much new information there, but it was quite interesting to see how our people viewed cultivation as a whole. As far as I could tell, though, they had things more or less backasswards. Still, I forced myself to nod again.

“There are… well substantiated legends… that those who study the Grand Prayers can achieve a kind of enlightenment, but that it demands a terrible toll. A trial, if you will, a test given by the slumbering gods themselves. To pass allows one a glimpse of the great cycle and comes with a meteoric rise in power, to fail brings only death.” He paused again, looking back at me to make sure I was still following.

“Please… go… on.” I said.

He gave me another concerned look, reaching up to tap on one of his horns as he seemed to consider something. “The only thing I know for certain, however, is that upon reaching their sixtieth or seventieth year of life… members of the main branch of the Great Houses often enter a period of seclusion.” His tapping speed increased, and I could tell that he was conflicted in whether he should even be telling me any of this. I tried not to distract him or give him a reason to stop.

“And then, Heller… they are either seen again within a few weeks, suddenly looking as healthy and hale as men or women half their age… or, even more commonly, they are never seen or heard from again.” He shook his head, “But those who return,” He paused again, looking back at me, “as I think you have, are… different than before. Not quite… mortal… any more. From that point on they are nearly assured a happy and healthy life for at least another fifty or sixty years!” He leaned forward, not able to completely mask the agitation in his voice. “You must understand that our people almost never live past eighty years old, my boy, but these… these blessed cultivators are suddenly free from accidents or mishaps following their transformation, often remaining active for a good twenty or thirty years past their first century!”

Well… that WAS interesting. So had I just passed some kind of test? Was I going to live longer now or something. And what did he mean by ‘free from accidents or mishaps’? That sounded somehow ominous… like they weren’t quite part of the world anymore…

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I was up and moving around a few days later, although the pain had yet to completely fade.

“So, you went through some kind of test?” Asked Tetra. We had agreed not to talk about it until we were able to meet up in our secret training room again. Her brows were drawn together, causing a small ruffle of metallic silvery scales to stand up between her eyes, and she was leaning slightly towards me as if worried I might suddenly fall down.

Wulfric, on the other hand, looked more curious that worried. “Did you pass?” He asked, one eyebrow arched in confusion.

I chuckled, waving them further into the hallway as I locked the iron doorway behind us. “I think so?” I pointed at Wulfric. “Could you do me a favor? I want to try sparring with you, but this time don’t hold back.” I held his gaze for a moment, registering his surprised look. “I’m serious, what I am going to try won’t work if you hold back.”

Wulfric, who was more than twice my size, shared a look with Tetra, who gave him a nod after pausing to consider. I rolled my eyes, and then moved into the main training room, glancing over the thick beams I had installed to ensure that we would be safe in here. Being able to solidify (as ice) and remove the excess moisture in the room after we finished had gone a long way towards ensuring that rust wouldn’t be a problem anytime in the near future.

I looked at Wulfric, nodding and giving him a salute. He returned the salute (he hadn’t picked up my habit of nodding yet) and entered a typical brawlers’ stance.

Ever since my ‘trial’, or whatever the heck that was, I had developed some kind of… connection… with the world around me. The energy surrounding us wasn’t just a foreign object… it WAS us, and it would move or flow as we willed it to. I just had to figure out exactly what to do with my newfound knowledge.

As Wulfric suddenly charged my attention focused back on him, and all of a sudden time seemed to slow down… no, wait… it was me who had sped up! I danced backwards a few steps, actually managing to increase the distance between us even though he was charging full speed!

Not only that, but I could… feel… the energy coming off of his body, the force in his movements, somehow. I couldn’t reach inside him – that energy was merged with his very being – but I could sense the energy that he imparted into the floor with every step, and see a tiny Qi vortex around him as he gathered up power for a strike. I decided to move closer to him, keeping my guard up even though he seemed to be moving at half speed.

He lashed out with a solid looking punch aimed at my right shoulder (he was still holding back) and I moved to block it… and missed! My heart started pounding as I leaned backwards, just barely able to correct my mistake and parry his blow… but he was too strong.

So I took some of the energy surrounding me and channeled it into my own motion, while removing some of the energy he was releasing in his strike. All of a sudden he stumbled, thrown off balance as the power of his blow was completely negated! I raised my eyebrows as we momentarily locked gazes in suprise - his strike hadn't even rocked my arm backwards, as if he had hit someone as massive and powerful as Jaws! Holy crap...

I backed up a few steps, giving myself a moment to go over what had just happened. It seemed that my accuracy hadn’t increased, nor had my personal strength… but if I moved slower than my new maximum speed I could position myself with greater care, making up for my lack of coordination, and I could simply channel energy out of any attacks that made contact. And even then I would be moving at least as quickly as a normal person!

What the beast! This was so over powered I didn’t even know where to start… Here I was, half Wulfric’s size, a quarter of his strength, and I was now pretty certain that he wouldn’t be able to hurt me even if I didn’t use ANY of my cultivation powers.

Wait… was this what Master Jaduk had meant when he said ‘free from accidents or mishaps’?

I returned my attention to Wulfric, who was smiling at me even as he readied a spinning kick. Looks like he’s taking off the kid-gloves, finally. I smiled back at him. This was going to be fun!

Authors Note2: For the curious or confused - backasswards. Awesome word, completely underused. :D