Michael

I have stayed an entire ten-day in and around Jonah's cave, the contrast of a week here on Gaia. We all get to know each other better in all those hours if I'm not asleep or doing my own thing. I explore the mountainside with my keepers, learning the language is a very interesting and enlightening experience filled with many laughs as I try to pronounce with my mouth the words I'm learning in my mind.

I go on hunts with Jonah mostly around the side of the mountain. Those expeditions showing me just how wide this mountain is and how diverse the animal and plant life that can be found. The man himself teaching me mountain lore and helping me safely come to realise the vast difference in power between me and the wildlife at these altitudes on Mount Sinai.

First I couldn't draw his bow, a simple looking short now about 3 feet long made of smooth golden-brown wood and a thick black string. I've used a now before, short bows are designed to be easy to draw because the draw doesn't need to be as far back as on a longbow. But I still couldn't draw it, the first definite display of the difference in strength between us.

Then he let me hunt ahead and stalk an animal the size of a cat that blends in with the stone of the mountain, armed with a throwing dagger and my trusted glock 19 with a custom grip. I stalk the thing for a while, losing it a few times due to its camouflage but I eventually got close enough to throw the knife. The stupid knife skidded off its carapace to the light of sparks before the little rodent burrowed into the rocks.

After a belly-deep rumbling laugh at my expense, Jonah did the same thing, but with his throw ended up embedded deep into the rockdent. I know how to throw a knife, but the lesson was that I'm not strong enough to be able to throw one to any effect this high up the mountain. In frustration, I separated from Jonah to hunt bigger prey with softer skin with a round chambered in my firearm.

I followed the trails and came upon a white mountain goat the size of a horse with beautiful white and silver patterns on its coat. The thing looked right at me even as I attempted to be stealthy, taking me in before going back to eating the apparent either rich rockbuds that are only found at high altitudes.

‎ I take aim and prepare for my shot, the head of the majestic goat shooting up and looking at me suddenly but it's too late as I take my shot. A shot that doesn't even succeed as my gun misfires with an important click. Within four seconds and a single trot and jump the goat has closed the 50m distance between us and all I have time for is a sidestep while unsheathing the dagger before the thing rams into my side.

"Shit!" is all I manage to say as I go flying as though being pulled back on strings like a puppet. I land in a roll, getting up to a horned head to the chest. My ribs feel like a battering ram has just gone into my sternum as all the air is expelled from my lungs. I'm reminded of the time I got hit by a car, but thankfully I can feel all the glorious pain this time, a good sign in comparison to not feeling at all.

I fall several meters away in another roll and succeed in a sidestep this time and swing my dagger at its side with all my strength to protesting ribs. My stab ends up being a swipe as it slides off its coat like a knife trying to penetrate kevlar. The thing is nimble and its back legs miss my head by an inch as it kicks back almost faster than I can react, save from having my teeth kicked in by my new sixth sense.

I jump with all my strength onto its back and engulf it in a hug, stabbing furiously all the while to little effect. The thing bucks me off and straight into the waiting soft arms Jonah. The uncanny man catches me without even bracing himself or being pushed a step back.

"Mhm," he grunts still carrying me like I'm a child before placing me down. And looking at the goat strangely, like he's talking to it. It seems to nod its head before getting off at high speed in the opposite direction.

I try to catch my breath and groan loudly, my ribs are definitely fractured I realise trying to hug them close and take shallow breathes so I don't stretch them more than I need to. I spit out a glob of blood before attempting to speak, Jonah looking at the distance trying to hide his mirth at my expense.

"What... the fuck... Jonah." I manage to say between gasps, "I couldn't even cut into... that things akin! Why the... fuck have you been taking... me 'hunting' these things?"

He finally lets it out and laughs heartily, hitting his knee as he bends his head. Such an Earthly gesture when laughing, I think to myself even through the pain.

"That was entertaining, but I'd advise you not to do that again. Swisha will be sure to kill you next time." He says giving me a hand up and leading me to the cave.

It takes something like 20 minutes to get there, and I can't help thinking that's actually 40 Earth minutes. The side of the mountain is vast but here the slope isn't too steep or I'd probably have died today.

"What happened to you?" Mirabilis asks as she comes over and cuts off my ruined T-shirt since raising my arms would be too much effort to save an already threadbare t-shirt.

"He tried to face down an Awakened ram with his little boomstick and a dagger, almost admirable too if it wasn't such a stupid to do," Jonah says happily as Mirabilis feels my ribs with her delicate fingers.

"And he survived?" She asks seemingly surprised.

Shit, how close did I really come to dying? I ask myself as they have their conversation both out loud and broadcasting telepathically so I understand what they are saying.

"It is one of the kids that have o my recently Awakened to sentience, its Awakening accelerated by drinking from the transition pool up top." He says with a shrug.

"I didn't know the pool aided in Awakening..." Mirabilis says, seemingly satisfied with her probe of my ribs.

"Only the first drink, after that it has diminishing returns but yes, the pool does assist in accelerating the process. Their bodies being formed in there is one of the reasons these earthlings Awakened so quickly in comparison to what is normal. Those pools are the reasons the three mountains have old men like me serving as gate guards." He says, giving her a look. It's obvious what she is thinking to do with this new information.

"Really? And Rumeria though you were just a weird old man who enjoyed his solitude." She says in response eliciting a laugh and a grin from Jonah.

"I am that too. Come, boy, let's help you heal."

Jonah makes a mud paste and smears it onto my skin before binding my ribs with a bandage. The joke is on me the whole of the night as Jonah tells and retells the story of my facing off with an Awakened ram.

I apparently the think felt me coming a long way off but decided I wasn't a threat by the weak aura I project. When I was readying to shoot my bloodthirst apparently went up as well and the ram, Swisha, decided to teach me a lesson.

My meal is the largest, consisting of portions of something that looks like a potato, some grass, rockdent meat and water. The others eat mostly fruit or small portion just so they can have an excuse to join me at the table. None of them needs to eat as often as I do, and the waste of it all isn't lost to me as I shit seemingly 3 or 4 times a day to them.

Something that I do once every 24 Earth hours or so. It's embarrassing but not as embarrassing as my need for sleep. All of my current companions only need our or so hours of sleep out of the 100 hours in a day, the Awakened Jonah and Rumeria could go days without any sleep at all.

I, on the other hand, am the child that needs to nap every dozen hours or so, it's demeaning but necessary. Necessary for growth and refreshing myself, and I won't lie, sleep on Gaia is very good. Too good for description in fact, and if sleep is this good and food is this good even cooked by Jonah, I can only wonder what sex must feel like.

I've been having sex with both Alice and Candice with three of her friends she alternatively brought to our bed, but I might as well just been having foreplay. The whole thing was more mental than physical for me because it wasn't testosterone driven like most erections are.

It wasn't driven by that burning in the balls that drive men to be animals in bed, no. I haven't felt a thing down there since the accident and the sex was mainly for my partners more than it was for me. Not to say I didn't enjoy it...

Now though I can get it up, I haven't woken with a morning wood but it has swollen with blood a few times tempting me to stroke it. But of course there is no privacy in this cave and the fact that I was paralyzed hasn't come up in polite conversation yet. It's refreshing in a way interacting with people that never knew me when I was a cripple, I wouldn't wish that like on anyone. Well, maybe a few people but still.

Before I sleep every day, or every 12 Gaia hours I go through a meditation session with Estergon. The man is quiet and serious but a really good meditating guide. Listening to his drawl voice as he talks me through it helps me keep focus as I try to keep my chakra points clean, connected and flowing.

I don't know how I manage to excellent at this so quickly but I quite enjoy it now. Its just like doing yoga, the more you do it, the easier it is to get into those complicated poses, and the better they feel. And so at least 6 or 7 times a day we go through the meditation. Sometimes just us, but a lot of the time joined by Mirabilis.

When I finally reach my crown chakra it's always a little event, not as dramatic as the first time but still noteworthy. On the physical realm around us, nothing much seems to change except my eyes becoming pitch black creepy pools and black odourless smoke flowing off me like mist. At least that's what I'm told I look like since my focus is usually almost entirely on the other realm, I hesitate to call it the spirit realm because Jonah insists it isn't.

But I see things there, things that I doubt it's normal to see and it seems almost like I'm a radio antenna catching passing signals on concepts and things I have basic understanding off. Everything else flowing through me and taking knowledge and experiences from me and using them for whatever it is they use them for.

It is also only at this state that I have managed to sort of commune with whatever is within me through feelings and intentions. It's not yet comfortable, seemingly expressing that I've not yet expanded enough to fully accommodate it. A scary thought considering the pain I went through.

‎ This connection never seems to last long as my depleted chakra forces me out of this state. A strange phenomenon that should not be occurring at my level of chakra condensation. Chakra is a fascinating power as well and Mirabilis is adept at its use. That little magical display of zooming into something far away only a little parlour trip in comparison to the vast arsenal at her disposal.

I have much to learn from these people not just to better myself and live as wholesome a life as I can, but just so I can survive in this world. There are basically four stages of having full control of my chakra as Mirabilis does.

The first is balancing. This is the stage at which almost everyone on Earth that thinks they have open and flowing chakra through their body stop. On Eart,h it's a great accomplishment of many months or years to reach the full extent of the balancing stage,wheree the balance is just for emotional stability.

But after achieving balance there is flow. A stage in which the now healthy and balanced chakra points are allowed to flow into each other and thoroughly mix. If the chakra is wind each chakra point being a cyclone at which mixing occurs before the wind continues forward to the next point.

At least the chakra currents must be made as strong as possible in order to be most efficient and powerful. The long and the more thoroughly each step is done before moving forward the greater the power and potency of the chakra.

After balance and flow, there is condensation. A stage in which the currents of chakra are slowed down and controlled at the seven points within the spiritual body. The current is still a torrent but the chakra points become still chakra pools, or dams or lakes within each point.

Condensation is very important in determining the depth of a person's chakra pools. Resulting in some people having more chakra than others, but also each point within a person has a different dept.

Then the last stage after balance, flow, and condensation is release. The longer you stay in the condensation stage the greater your power of release will eventually become when you manage to get there. Some people apparently going centuries while relying on other weapons while condensing their chakra. A patience I don't think I have within me.

But release itself can be done in many different ways but the most powerful being the use of what is referred to as jutsu. A type of sign language that involves the entire body, the surroundings and the mind in the almost equal measure. The hands performing different mudras as the image of what you are communicating to the world firmly held within your mind without wavering.

When using jutsu one has to take into consideration the time of day, for some combinations only work during the day or during the night. The weather and general surroundings are taken into account as some jutsu combinations need rain, or clouds, or living plants, or a certain phase of the moon in order to be effective.

And then the mudra and combination of release seals themselves. Like a perfectly choreographed dance, everything has to be perfect and in line with the image you have in your mind. The image itself isn't of the moves but of the effect you expect to accomplish with the moves.

The release seals with images much more difficulty to learn that the beautiful musical language I'm being though every other time, Linguae. A language I am learning g to understand and write but I fail completely at speaking still. I should have taken singing lessons.

I open my eyes as I finish my meditation of the day, or at least of this part of the day. I sigh and look around, I'm alone. Everyone else out doing their own thing, for now, judging by the lighting in the cave I know its night outside.

The way people on Gaia treat night and day is just another reminder of how inefficiently we use our time on Earth. The night is not an excuse to lay day and relax on Gaia, it's no excuse to say the workday has ended. In fac,t some nocturnal creatures and plants make some businesses or hunting trips only thrive at night.

I stand and stretch nicely and wince as my ribs protest. I go to the latrines and take a leak before going to my cot for my nap. With a yaw,n I'm out almost as soon as I'm comfortable. I was a good day.