Because Iliuse was injecting the yolk that the Roc was currently relying on for sustenance, the method required more care than a simple transfusion using an IV. His hands began flashing, and each time he changed the configuration and position of his fingers, his hands pulsed with Dharmic vitality.

Every cultivator could use Dharmic magic, the spells were powered by the Qi energies that had been transformed and stored as spirit as part of the inner ocean. While it was true, that the most gifted Qi Cultivators made use of skills and techniques that drew solely on the Qi that had been stored in the Dantian, Dharmic practitioners could draw on both energy sources. Sometime in the future, I would concentrate on Dharmic spells, but my spirit ocean was not advanced enough now. If I drained the energy that was slowly accumulating there, practicing spells before I was ready, I might do long-lasting or permanent damage.

The spell Iliuse was using gathered the blood I was donating, he was able to ignore the egg's protective barrier, but he had a more elegant solution. He changed the relationship and composition between egg and blood, forcing a physiological process, very like osmosis, to occur. The egg absorbed the offering in an attempt to maintain balance and homeostasis.

After Iliuse had finished feeding the egg my vitality, a network of Qi and Dharmic energy formed creating a fragile bridge, a bridge linking us together. The smallest amount of the Roc's vitality and blood traveled back across that bridge, along a path that ignored and removed Iliuse from the equation and entered the one meridian of mine that Iliuse had selected as an anchor.

I extended my Qi perception along that bridge and within my body, watching as that smallest drop of foreign matter began to invade my DNA. The change was beautiful. A part of myself that I hadn't recognized, the reason we were instinctively compelled to propagate was subsumed in the process, as the part of me clung desperately to the part of the Roc that somehow fulfilled and dispelled the loneliness that I had spent a lifetime railing against.

Now that I was sure my body wasn't going to reject the Roc, I needed to begin forming the connections between my Spirit Root and the Roc's power points. Uncertain how or where to even begin, I first tried to identify the points of power that Iliuse had described. I searched methodically, looking for any hint or clue that might help facilitate bonding.

After a few moments with no reaction, I decided to extend the Qi contained within one of the meridian channels I had tempered with water. I continued to observe the Roc's reaction as I extended that metaphysical connection. It wasn't until the Qi strand entered the Roc's body that I noticed activity. A pulse of light, a bit of neural activity was triggered as synapses responded to my intrusion.

I guided my Qi strand to that increased activity until finally, a link was formed. A connection between spirit root and point of power snapped into place, Qi and electrical activity merging into a cohesive whole, that allowed me to begin to understand the Roc and her schema in better detail.

Once I understood the process, I began flinging out Qi strands, water, air, lightning, fog, and ice, every permutation, and nodes that I had already formed. Connecting and merging my seventy-eight meridian channels that had been linked with my spirit root to the Roc's sixty neural network clusters. With each connection, the bond between us grew, becoming more substantive, until finally, the process succeeded.

The concern over rejection ended as the Roc and I became a bonded pair. It, rather She, was my companion and I was hers. I had come to know her, understand her, as well as I did myself and my own body. She became an extension of my will, as much as I became a reflection of her needs and desires.

Communication was limited to emotion for now. It would take time and effort to teach her enough rudimentary language for words to take shape. For now, mental pictures would work as a method of communication, combined with her emotions this method of speaking to each other would suffice.

"Take a few deep breaths," Iliuse instructed me as my body reacted, sweating profusely while feeling clammy. It took a moment for me to regain my equilibrium. Seeing, hearing, smelling with two disparate reference points was nauseating. "Your mind will quickly adapt to the increased stimuli."

"This is the final test. Your body had passed the point where rejection may occur. But if you can't process the additional stimuli, your body will reject the bond," he said his voice soothing, helping me to achieve calmness.

"Close your eyes and focus only on the visual cues that the Roc is sharing. Then shut down those electrical stimuli. Once there is nothing for your mind to interpret change perspective and use your own eyes. Continue cycling. Hers, none, yours, none," he said guiding me in this last phase of the bonding process.

His words, the method of changing perspective, did help. Slowly the nausea and clammy feeling I'd been dealing with abated until I was able to accept and process the information I was receiving from both points of reference.

Sound and smell didn't seem to have the same effect as sight had. Although the Roc's sense of smell and ability to hear was much more evolved than mine, we were in an enclosed space where external stimulation was controlled. There simply wasn't anything to hear or smell that was beyond what I could already process.

The sense of completion was immediate as my entire body seemed to 'snap'. The lines between me and her faded until there was only us. It was a merging so complete that I understood why a cultivator could only have one paired bond. The sensation was simply too intense to sustain more than one connection.

With that 'snap' I also understood why a bonded companion would increase the power I could draw on for my realm. I didn't advance to the Qi Gathering stage as we joined, it was more a more taking a half step into the Qi Gathering Realm. The bond created a bio-feedback loop between us that included shared strengths. With the Roc and I firmly entrenched within each other's psyche, the feedback between us allowed me to take a small step forward on the path of cultivation.

I would be able to contend with a low leveled Qi Gathering cultivator. The gains were real, and as the Roc and I grew in power, those gains would continue to rise. The Roc had yet to form a beast core; it was too young, but once it had, that energy would allow my cultivation to outstrip the pace of advancement I'd enjoyed so far.

The gains would slow once I reached the Nascent Soul or Nihility Realm, but until then, finding a companion with sixty neural binding points was a boon so significant that only those Sect members that had strong connections and backgrounds would be able to outpace the progress I could make. All because of a Heavenly chance and a bit of luck.

"I think I will name you Storm," I decided, my green eyes gazing deeply into the trusting blue depths of the Rocs. A Roc that had hatched at some point in our bonding process and was in the process of fluffing feathers to remove the remnants of amniotic fluid before I gained her attention with a name.

"A fitting name," Iliuse replied reminding me that we weren't alone. "if a bit cliche.

"I do need to remind you that for the next two weeks you should feed Storm first-tier meat and bone. She is going to need all the protein and calcium she can stuff herself with before she attempts to form a core."

"How long before she can make the attempt?" I asked.

"I would guess three or four weeks. It's hard to tell until she finishes filling in her pin feathers. She will be able to form a core about the same time she is able to make her maiden flight. Her maiden flight using her physical body, not the soul construct that you will be able to project from your inner sea.

You might want to talk with Elder Tye about a potion that will help her with beast core formation," he suggested.

"Thank you, Elder Iliuse, for the gift of your time and talents," I said bowing deeply, showing him the greatest respect possible for those of our age. "This lowly Sect member will remember you with heartfelt sincerity. Storm is everything I have wanted, yearned for in a companion since I was young enough to understand. She is so much more than that nebulous ideal that I'd envisioned,"

His blush and stammer were refreshing and cute, I thought as I made welcome the Roc placing her within my soul ocean for the first time. She became a permanent resident on the island I had formed to hold the pillar for the [Dao of Movement]. And as she settled down to rest, my Dharmic soul approached her, offering lap and comfort for the exhausted animal.