“None, Senior Brother. Since the Eidtang is next to celebrate their generation in Felman there’s been no particular call for us or Glaucen. My guess is they won’t bother sending a messenger for another two years.”
“Did the elves manage to take this into account? In any case, the oversight of those senior brothers is a heaven sent opportunity.”
“What do you mean by that Kencha?” His junior tried to keep a dignified look on his face, but Throsse still kept tilting his head to the side when curious. By age Throsse would be his elder, but since his ability to command the world’s essence was weak, he was slowed down by the Commanding foundation until Kencha joined his cohort.
“E, Heavens I am firm of will, conscious of myself and you—”
“Right, yes, I’ve memorized the verse, please explain to me, Senior Brother, and skip the lesson.”
“Junior Brother, you are my right hand. Your foundation is critical for this matter and everything else going forth. Since you’ve memorized it, recite it to me.” Throsse certainly groaned internally, being forced once again to recite the introductory text to fifth lesson. Nonetheless, the 11 lessons were just that, teachings that one could continue to meditate on even after entering the Qi Condensation stage.
“E, Heavens I am firm of will, conscious of myself and you,
The Heavens are venerable, not akin to the material.
In Assimilation, retain Awareness, it becomes a part of the self yet independent.
Two cun above the nose’s root, open the Mind Aperture
Gather the essence as Qi, it is mine to Command.
An Immortal does not tell the Tides to burn, nor Flames to cut.
An Immortal does not use his vitality to grow the Forest, or lead the waves forward.
An Immortal remains firm of mind and spirit.
An Immortal remains unmoved by the essence of the world.
E, Tias, I am illuminated.”
Throsse did his best to recite the text as quickly as possible while remaining respectful. Kencha rapped his hand, creating a hollow knocking sound on the wood while trying to think. He was definitely saying all this through repetition, was there really not a way to get it to sink in?
Cultivating the path to immortality ultimately could only be a personal endeavor. Kencha might encourage his junior, if he did eventually fall from usefulness it would be quite the shame. There was no more to it than that.
“Senior Brother? An opportunity?”
“Right. Let us walk to the deep storage as we talk. Now think, what is the primary goal of the seniors in Felman?”
“To rise through the ranks of the Church? To become a Vestment of the Rose?”
“Hahaha, is that naive or cynical of you? It’s true those with talent aren’t going to be disillusioned as a paladin would, but neither are they going to serve the Church for nothing. Better than any of those muddling Disciples here, they understand Tias as we do.”
“The Church is a work of Tias, but it is not equivalent to his teachings…”
Throsse spoke quietly as they walked through the halls, sensing the weak auras of local Disciples close by. Kencha of course already could feel their qi, simply paying them no mind. Even he would take ages to try and report directly back to Felman, much less those who had not yet stepped into the realm of Qi Condensation. And with a rebellion on the horizon, the ability for information to travel was ever more dubious.
“If not for the fact that higher-ups extort the lower ranks and there’s no way to defy them, it would be impossible for the Church to last this long, even on inertia. However just as they benefit from us, an establishment paves our own path forward, so long as we endure. So think again, what is the goal of those in Felman?”
“To develop their own skills— we’re irrelevant to them?” Throsse answered
“It may sound harsh, but how often do you consider the cupra in the pocket of the guards here?” Kencha pointed to some sod stuck with posturing near the doors. “What treasures do you think he has? Do you even recall his name? That’s our position. Of course they won’t turn down the resources in our pocket if it takes no effort, but they won’t overturn the stability of the system. We may need to clean up after the fact if he makes a mess, but there’s no obligation for us to go out of our way to save him if he’s in trouble.”
“I have been enlightened.” Throsse nodded, thinking deeply, gazing at the wooden steps they descended.
Terdri did not straddle the line of ancientness as Glaucen did, in fact it wasn’t even half as old as Medean either. A waterway for trade mattered only if the cities cared enough to trade with each other. Alas, at best it was a bridge for this river, with little of interest along the banks.
Still, it had a few hundred years of history, and the walls turned to stone with a glossy black varnish that gradually enhanced its stability. Perhaps a few hundred more, and it would be able to support excavation even further down.
Hopefully by that time he’d have advanced past living in this backwater though.
Reaching the first of the subterranean gates, he and Throsse each took hold of the mighty ironwood trunks that served as barrel bolts. The first entrance to the deep storage beneath any church was not so much a ‘lock’ as a test of strength. If disaster truly struck, many weaker disciples working together could heave open the doors to access the basic resources needed to keep things going.
Silently pushing the door open, a blast of refreshing air came out the narrow gap. While turbulent and mixed, the qi was much stronger inside. Some preservative methods were taken, but ultimately it wasn’t worth the expense for most of the items.
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Walking over to a jade bin with an open top, Throsse ran his hand through the piles of green and brown jewels that resembled slightly eccentric marbles.
“If only I could have made use of all these earlier… please don’t look at me like that Senior Brother, I’m just reminiscing out loud, I really don’t need another lecture.”
“Despite the fact that it may not be the most efficient in the long run, we do need to pick some of those still in the foundation building phase to elevate. We’re going to be isolated for a few years if the elven rebellion goes well. We’ll need a few extra hands that are willing to cling to our coattails.”
“Our numbers?”
“At least five, up to a dozen if you think you can monitor them properly. Even if they have a slightly unstable foundation, we aren’t trying to sabotage them. If it’s you, eight is probably your limit, and that’s assuming you convince Thelman to assist you.”
“Haha..ha…” Throsse laughed half-heartedly, seen through in an instant. “Well, I need to focus on my own meditations, like you’re always saying.”
Kencha sighed.
Not everyone could follow the teachings of Tias so rigorously. That’s what it means to be mortal, and remaining attached to mortal habits attaches you to mortality itself. Even those Disciples back in Felman couldn’t follow the teachings perfectly. It just so happened that their indiscretions of greed and ambition looked similar enough that their passions also pushed them up through the ranks. It was not without reason that the ranks of the Church grew so slowly despite how few of them would pass away.
Their number was always growing, slowly moving into previously uncivilized areas as he was doing. Trying to hold on to whatever value some unclaimed patch of land had to offer until they acquired the capital to leave it to a subordinate and take over an even higher position. Cultivating, unifying, coming to understand how all beings worked in tandem naturally. Building a foundation was not just a matter for personal strength, but also for the society they would live in.
Talentless they may be, the next generation needed to be present. If Kencha simply wanted to cultivate with no guidance or support of society, he could easily sprint into the forest, dig out a little abode and never be seen again. Even a common peasant had good odds of surviving outside of the established world.
“Throsse, you must focus during the next few years.”
“Understood Senior Brother.”
“For now, take 15 of the earth and water cores, nine dark cores, and three of the air, fire, and light. Two imbued tools, and four defensive talismans. I’ll mark it all down in the ledgers. After that, we shall return. Meditate for twelve hours, and we shall meet at midday. Clear your mind before considering who you will choose. Remember—”
“Yes, immerse myself in the path so I can clearly see who can follow. Let the Patriarch’s will be done.”
Neither of the two could tell which found the other more exasperating.
***
“Sir, there’s been a heavy disturbance in the center of town. The report says a registered mage is chasing down an armed man.”
“What injuries?” Kencha opened his eyes and rose to his feet. They wouldn’t dare interrupt his meditation without the situation escalating that much.
“Right arm broken, and fingers completely shattered. Compound fractures, but the involved mage, offered up Callus ointment.”
“A mage unwilling to cause trouble, and someone else willing to shatter a Disciple’s arm.” Kencha stood up and grabbed his sword. The reporting Disciple fell in line behind him as he quickly strode through the halls. “Reon, the Disciple’s life is not in danger, this means the threat level of his opponent is low. The assailant knows he’s weaker than the mage and is focused on fleeing. The most dangerous element is attempting to avoid conflict with us.”
Kencha received only a brief nod of affirmation.
“Which means you could have let him settle things, then commanded him to wait for an audience with me.”
“My apologies Senior!”
“You’ve already interrupted me. That mage is still an uncertain element. You have a basic grasp of qinggong?”
“Yes Senior!”
Thank the Patriarch for that. A beginner of Qi Condensation should have enough reserves to cross town. Hopefully Reon could keep up appearances upon arrival.
***
As a Disciple attempted to mask his heavy breathing, Kencha momentarily reconsidered his distribution of labor for the oncoming rebellion.
Comparing yourself to a genius is meaningless, but comparing others to himself caused another sort of pain. Throsse should be able to push further, however the reality of why, exactly, the Church ignored these parts of the world grew apparent. Before a city reached millions of inhabitants, finding someone suitably talented and driven looked impossible. Despite his efforts to intentionally cultivate good seedlings, they naturally reached their limits.
Yet despite this limitation, Kencha knew he couldn’t accomplish everything on his own, stuck in a damnable middle ground. Just capable enough to see outside the well, lacking the final bit of strength to lift himself out.
- Heavens, you can not resist me, yet you are not destroyed.
Lightly hopping off the roof, Kencha floated down to the two men on the dock(gesturing for Reon to take his time). At least Reon’s report had not been incorrect, the amicable mage seemed to easily be pinning down the other, although after a quick chant he recognized something amiss.
“He’s been fully suppressed.” It was unlikely the mage hadn’t noticed him in such a combat ready state, so Kencha took the initiative as he approached. “To an inelegant degree.”
“Why yes, such a waste of blood that might have been offered to the Patriarch!” Whipping up and around from kneeling upon the man’s back, the mage quickly rose up. Kencha briefly glimpsed an extraordinarily large posture before he shrunk back down in a deferential bow. However he lifted his head and made eye contact in an unyielding manner. “Alas, fists don’t have eyes. He’s not a very cooperative fellow, tried to murder a poor girl, it’s for the best he's no longer in top condition. There wouldn’t be much use trying to keep him around.”
Kencha looked at the body and then to Reon, who ran over to acquire their prisoner. The giant hardly spared a glance at the Disciple.
“First is the matter of your garb. For not displaying your status as a mage, your right to free movement should be suspended. Secondly, striking down even a criminal is to be punished by laboring for the Church.”
He wasn’t reacting much at all, still giving off a silly smile. Kencha hinted at some grounds for negotiation, but couldn’t approach from a point of weakness. Just a little bit of pressure—
“But more than that, using magic that endangers the public, exposing them to a way shunned by the Patriarch. As one shuttered off from the Path of Life, the dogma of the Church affords you no more protections than the monsters outside the walls.”
He couldn’t end with the actual threat. In polite servility the mage kept his head bowed. It was only for the sake of being polite, how many Junior and Senior Disciples around Kencha schemed and plotted? That glint in the eyes was experienced, and knew what this reprimand implied. If Kencha threatened explicitly they would either fight, or he would need to back down and lose face.
There were no benefits to fighting, not with so much left to be done. Since he was unable to properly gauge his opponent’s power, he would fold here.
“In light of your assistance to the wounded Disciple, providing assistance to the Church, you will merely be fined, and your arm scarred to alert future Disciples of your nature. Do not think you can repeat this incident brazenly.”
“Of course not. How many argent does the Church require in exchange?”
A price in argents? Then enough to make him bleed a little, but not so much this conversation would drag on.
“120.”
“It’s only just that the price is so steep.” Soundlessly, he grabbed a giant fistful of metal, gently rinsing it in water where Kencha caught the glint of at least two golden coins. Drying them before folding them up into another cloth to hand to Reon, the mage was imitating a verse Vara initiates used frequently. Overly formal, but beyond reproach.
Smug and arrogant. Much like those geniuses at the top in Felman. Willing to go along with dithering rituals, assured enough in success that wasteful actions wouldn’t affect the outcome.
Kencha hated that.
Yet he looked over to Reon.
“All is accounted for Senior!”
“Then bare your arm, mage.” Drawing his blade, and infusing it with his energy, at most the giant looked interested. If he was familiar enough with the scriptures, he was also likely well versed in law.
How? Did he have the support of someone higher up, and was playing pig? But Kencha couldn’t think of anyone who might reasonably be undermining his current position.
“Only the Heavens are eternal, Senior.”
“You!” It took a moment, but Reon noticed the quip and almost stepping forward. Kencha reacted faster, cutting two red lines into the mage’s arm. It frothed with suspicious vigor before disappearing under a bandage.
If he had a way to prevent the qi from scarring him, so be it. Kencha just wanted to silently cultivate.
“The Patriarch will not bless your path, make haste from my domain.”
“What a terrible shame, I won’t impose any further. I’ll be gone before tomorrow.”
Even after leaving their sight, Kencha didn’t immediately speak. Troubles and opportunity came hand in hand, but he could only deal with so many at a time. Stories of Tias gave the impression he stood above worldly matters. Kencha wasn’t a genius, so he’d like to keep cultivating diligently.
“Hand the prisoner off to the Varas. They can salvage him at their discretion, but he’s to be dead by the end of the year. The time grows closer, don’t waste any resources trying to maximize a small windfall.”
“Yes Senior.”
So why did it feel like he was spending so much effort managing others?
“Let us return.”