Ken grabbed his few things and followed his strange new guide deeper into the foothills and towards the mountains. Just as Ken had thought, they were less than a day''s travel away, and they soon could see a dark circle of birds flying in the distance. After crossing a particularly large rise Ken laid eyes on the “roost”.
Ken was familiar with trees of all kinds, and especially those that grew on the North American continent. The tree was a total anomaly. It also looked pretty dead. The massive scraggly brown tree had more crows on it than leaves. Ken surmised that growing straight out of a limestone tree would do that to a tree, except for the tree’s glaring, massive size. The tree was a colossal feature, housing at least two hundred oversized crows. On a second glance Ken spotted non-crow avians, most conspicuous of all: a six foot tall bald eagle, sitting near the top. He gulped at the sight of the bird, feeling a strange presence from it that gave him a distinct predatory vibe.
Gangster alighted next to him and pointed with a wing at a non-descript crack in the cliff face.
“There is the enclave of the elders. It is a special place. If you enter too slowly, you will never make it to the center. As you cannot fly, my suggestion would be to run as fast as you can.”
Ken glanced at the bird. He seemed completely serious. Sprinting as fast as he could into a dark cave sounded like the makings of a broken leg speedrun. However Ken had traveled with Gangster, and seen him with Insight, so he knew the crow was an honest and straightforward guy, despite the seemingly sketchy advice. Ken jogged down the steep hill towards the cave. Sketchy or not, having the help of a crow to cross the mountains was worth a lot, when the alternative was rolling the dice with random exploration.
When Ken entered the cave at a sprint, he felt like he’d passed through some kind of film. The qi density had almost doubled, and as he exited the short cave into a humongous cavern it continued to rise. At the center of the cavern was a leafless tree no higher than six feet. Its bark was golden, and had thick blue veins running through it. Blue cracks on the cavern floor spread to the base of the tree for hundreds of meters covering the entire base of the covering and crawling halfway up the walls.
The entire room was like an amphitheater pulsing with blue light. Ken ran down the sloped crater-like floor of the cavern towards the tree. He could feel the qi density increasing. When he was still two hundred yards away from the tree, the qi density had already passed the level of CCC. More than ten times the level of the land outside of the cave. It kept increasing until Ken stumbled and keeled over. He tried to crawl forward, but found himself unable to move.
Ken blacked out. But there was something leftover. The recent events that Ken had experienced flashed through him. He had met a crow named Gangster. He had laughed. He could not remember the last time he had laughed before that moment. His laughter had done something: to him, Sunny, Rain, Gangster. It had unleashed some part of him and it had connected to the world around him. He had made a sound. The sound had power. Sound is a vibration traveling through matter. Sound is energy, and energy is the Universe.
Ken became aware of his body again. He was lying stretched out on the stone floor, his face pressed against the ground. Qi was pouring into every cell in his body. It was forcing into every pore, and all his meridians and apertures. Ken felt as if his entire body was being crushed. As his meridians and channels became full, they started to stretch. Then the qi coming through his pores entered his qi network and Ken felt as if he had been lit on fire. Ken felt horrific pain, and at the same time a strange euphoria. He began to feel extremely strange sensations. One arm suddenly felt bigger than the other, and then his legs felt as if they had shrunk to half their normal size. He felt his head disconnect from his body as his neck disappeared. He felt bugs crawling underneath the scalp of his disconnected skull before they crawled into his eye sockets and devoured his eyes. Ken screamed and twitched on the floor.
The Law of Silence is a Law of Peace. Silence is to mute one''s expression on the Universe.
The Law of Sound is a Law of Dominance. Sound is to express one’s energy on the Universe.
The words seem to sooth Ken, and he felt the madness edging on his consciousness recede. He repeated the words over and over in his mind. The fire receded as well, and he realized he could feel his body. Ken stood up.
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He was standing ten meters away from the golden tree. Amongst its bare branches, twelve crows were sitting. Ken’s Insight was already feeding him information from the tree and the crows. The tree''s soul was like that of a newborn baby: pure and unformed. Its consciousness had not awakened and it had not begun its journey of cultivation, but he had no doubts that it would. The crows were old and powerful. The oldest among them had lived over three times his own twenty-four years of existence. The crows were dripping with qi. It was pouring off of them and into the tree, then flowing back into their apertures from the air.
Ken bowed, being as respectful as he could.
“I greet the Elders.” He didn’t know what else to say so he just waited, while observing with his qi sense.
“Hmmm. My offspring has found a human it seems.” One of the crows spoke.
“Indeed. Are you alright young human? The qi aura of the tree is a gift, but it must be acquired through trial. You should stabilize your cultivation before you do anything else.”
Ken turned his qi sense internal and was so stunned that he sat back down immediately. There was too much to take in.
His entire body was covered in qi channels. A complicated maze of channels ran through every muscle organ and bone in his body. Even his skin was laced with gentle blue, glowing channels. They were only barely visible to his eyes, but his entire body lit up like a Christmas tree in his qi sight.
The growth of these qi channels had put him through immense suffering. His body had been stressed by the pressure of the surrounding qi and the transformation of his qi network. However, now that his body had adapted, it was using the very qi that hurt it to recover, and the rate he was drawing qi had increased dramatically. He only realized how much his body had been trembling when it stopped. His heart rate and breathing slowed. Ken meditated for a while, and when he felt truly well once again he stood up. Then he had a thought and checked his status.
Personal Status: Ken Enderson
Level: 4 (Soul: 3->4 Mind: 3 Body: 3->4)
Race: Primordial Savage
Qi Domain : First - Drawing->Condensing Stage
Skills: Meditation-(Intermediate 1->3) Marksmanship-(Novice 3) Hunting- (Novice 2) Foraging-(Novice 1) Analyze (Novice 1)
Talents: Language
Gifts: Insight
Aura Marks: Third Eye of Insight, Perserverer, Preeminent
Personal Goal: Complete
Ken gazed up at the crows thanking Gangster in his heart. He had transformed. He had been given an incredible gift by the crows, and he would definitely remember this.
“Thank you for allowing me in this place, elders.” Ken said bowing once again.
“Our race has lived alongside Savages, Wanderers, and Pack Hunters since ancient times. The breakthrough of Earth is a boon to all races and great change should not see us forget the past. One of the young gangs will guide you through the mountains, and if they wish, follow you in search of your people. You should not linger here, as it would be harmful, but go in peace human.”
Ken bowed his head slightly once more and left the cavern. He could feel the truth of the elder crows words. His qi reserves had been empty and were now filling rapidly. He did not want to stress his channels again while they were still recovering. When he exited the cave, he felt relieved. While he was technically operable, he still felt incredibly weak.
He glanced around, and found Sunshine and Rain and a dozen crows sitting around a fire.
“Dad, you''re back! I missed you!” Sunny leaped onto Ken.
Ken hugged Sunny back.
“I missed you too buddy.”
“He was very worried about you. I’ve never seen someone spend such a long time in the enclave besides the elders.” Gangster spoke from the circle.
“I was only in there for like ten minutes though?” Ken said with a frown.
All the creatures around the fire looked at him with strange expressions. It was Rain that broke the silence.
“Silly servant. You were in there for months! Did you fall asleep?! If you’re going to sleep for so long, who will take care of me?”
Ken decided not to bring up Rain''s obvious ability to take care of herself.
“Wait months?!”