《Aestia Valley》


 Aestia Valley 1

    Your mother screams as you enter the world, and you scream with her. The clan''s midwife, Zhuchansa, holds you tenderly. She swiftly wipes off your face so you can breath freely. As she cleans the goo of birth from your tiny limbs, she inspects you for deformities. Finding none, she tests the range of motion of your limbs. Finally, she pricks your heel with a needle. Reflexively you thrash your leg in an uncoordinated but instinctive attempt to defend yourself. Satisfied that you are whole and healthy, Zhuchansa presents you to your father. "Congratulations Guarnicio, of no family! You are now the proud father of a baby girl."


    Though you do not know it yet, you are his first child. Your father looks at the midwife with an expression of confused panic before reluctantly reaching out to hold you. His hands are so huge that just one of them can wrap almost all the way around your body, leaving your legs dangling beneath you. The midwife supports your head while she instructs your novice father in the need to always support his daughter¡¯s head until you are old enough to do so yourself. Properly instructed, your father supports your head with one hand and with the other lifts you up to get a closer look at you.


    You stop crying as this strange giant looks you in the eyes. You move your limbs randomly, accidentally kicking your father in the chin. His expression does not change one iota, and he gives no indication of having even felt your weak strike. You, however, do react.


    Your father¡¯s beard is as hard as steel wool and the ends are as sharp as needles. Several of the points of his beard hair penetrate the tender baby skin on the top of your foot; causing you to wail with pain. At this your father frowns in disappointment. Midwife Zhuchansa clucks disapprovingly and wraps your wounded foot in clean leather bandages with a practiced hand. The Matriarch of your clan is present for your birth, as she is present for the birth of every child born into the Silver Bear clan. She says: ¡°Your daughter has your fire, but not yet your skill. Bears make poor kick-boxers. You will have to train her how to fight as well as you do, Guarnicio.¡± Your father grins at the thought of teaching his child how to fight. His grin, as well as the tender touch of the midwife, causes you to gurgle happily. The sound of your cheerful gurgles stretches your father¡¯s grin even wider.


    The Matriarch is the oldest woman in the clan, but she looks only ten winters older than your young and strikingly beautiful mother. The Matriarch takes you from your father and places you on a pile of furs beside a bear cub no larger than you. Too young even to roll over, you still manage to rock your head to the side and look at this strange creature. Unlike you, he already has a full head of hair and is covered in soft light brown fur. His paws are tipped with cute little claws, and his mouth under his snout is curved in a smile. Like you, he was just born, but he is already sleeping.Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Your clan Matriarch settles into lotus position at the foot of your bedding, facing you. She holds one of her hands over you, and the other over the snoring bear cub beside you. You flail your limbs in an uncoordinated effort to touch her, but her hand is just out of your reach. You quickly tire; being born was exhausting. The Matriarch sits still and silent, breathing rhythmically. Your motions still and your eyelids grow heavy as you slide towards slumberland. You are just about to fall asleep when she moves. She places her thumb on your forehead, right between your eyes. Her pinkie on the same hand touches the bear cub beside you, also on his forehead, right between his eyes. Suddenly, you hear a sleepy voice in your head: ¡°Hello?¡±


    You think back ¡°Hello! Friend?¡±


    The voice in your head replies happily: ¡°Friend.¡±


    The Matriarch rolls you and the bear cub over to face each other. The bear cub blinks sleepily at you then licks your face. You gurgle happily. The Matriarch smiles then speaks firmly to you, ¡°Child of man, this spirit animal is your sibling and your partner now. You will feed him fresh red meat and honey, gather vital essence for him, shelter him from the elements, and lend him your strength for all of your days. If you are wise, you will also offer him your friendship.¡± After lecturing you, she turns her attention to the bear cub beside you. ¡°Spirit child, this human is your sibling and your partner now. You will protect her, lend her your strength and share your madra with her for all of your days. If you are wise, you will also offer her your friendship.¡±


    The Matriarch gestured and the midwife came forward to pick you up. While Zhuchansa picked you up and placed you in your mother¡¯s lap, the Matriarch picked up your new sibling and placed him next to you. You bury your face in the soft, warm fur of your friend and brother. Your exhausted mother cradles you both as you drift off to slumberland together. A sapphire butterfly and two giant bears solemnly observe from the edges of the cave.


    Above, outside the cave complex that the Silver Bear clan lives in, the sun shines brightly on Aestia Valley and all five of the clans that compete over its wealth.

 Aestia Valley 2: First Steps

    You sleep more often and for longer than most babies. Wotjeo, your bear cub brother, sleeps even more than you do. When you wake, your beautiful mother is always already up and ready to feed both you and your brother¡¯s ravenous hunger. Soon after eating, you go back to sleep in a pile of animal furs.


    Time passes, and your baby teeth come in. It is painful for you, but you sleep through the worst of it. Much to your parents'' relief, you soon learn how to eat solid foods, mostly fruits, and boiled vegetables. Very rarely, your father feeds you fish or red meat. Sometimes you see Mama frowning behind Papa''s back while he feeds you meat, but she is always quick to hide her expression before he turns around and does not otherwise object.


    More time passes, and you learn how to crawl. Your brother, Wotjeo, starts crawling before you do. When you do start crawling, he is faster than you. You try to imitate the way he walks, but your feet don¡¯t bend the same way your bear cub brother¡¯s do.


    Shortly, you learn how to control your bladder much to your parent¡¯s relief, and the cave mouth you live in starts to smell better. You still sleep most of the time and have a hard time telling the difference between sleeping and waking. Often you¡¯ll dream that one of the toy sticks you and your brother play with was moved by your parents and when you wake up it is where you imagined it was moved to.


    You begin to recognize the people in your life. Your bear cub brother, Wotjeo, is and has always been, the most important person in your life. Right now, his fur is a rich, earthy brown, but he told you that it will change color when he is bigger, and he will be a silver bear in truth as well as name. Wotjeo is always warm, friendly, and nice to sleep next to. He is also very lazy. He sleeps all the time, only waking up to eat or go outside to void his bowels. You often play together in your dreams.


    Mama is often gone while the sun shines. When she is home, she cleans you and feeds you your second favorite food, soft sweet fruits. She also feeds you tasteless vegetables. Mama is so pretty, even the light of the sun clings to her as if it can¡¯t bear to be away from her.


    Mama¡¯s sister is a crystal butterfly and lives with you. She never talks to you and won¡¯t let you touch her. She is magnificent and shiny, so you often chase after her. Trying to catch her was a large part of what motivated Wotjeo and then you to learn how to crawl.


    Papa is huge. A huge giant! He is the largest person you know. He is much taller than Mama and even taller than his silver bear sister, Arely. Not only is he tall, but he is also bulging with muscles. His muscles have muscles. Like Wotjeo, Papa¡¯s sister is very furry, so it is hard to tell, but you think Papa is almost as broad across the shoulders as his silver bear sister. Papa has a thick, shaggy mat of robust dull-black hair covering not just his head, but almost his whole body. Even though individual hairs on Papa¡¯s body are thinner and less frequent than Arely¡¯s, his hair is so sturdy you can¡¯t bend it unless you pick out an individual strand to play with. He is the only person in your family who feeds you meat. It tastes really good, even better than fruit.


    Papa¡¯s spirit sister is a silver bear like your brother. Although she is warm and gentle, Arely is huge like Papa; not small like you and your brother. You see her watching over you in your dreams. When nightmares try to scare you, she chases them away. Her fur is a thicker version of Papa¡¯s hair. Dull-black and very strong. The tips of her fur are almost as piercing as your father¡¯s bone sewing needles. When you were first learning to crawl, she often had to stop you from hurting yourself on her fur by interposing one of her huge, soft paws. Wotjeo tells you that Arely has the same mother as him and so she is your sister too. Young as you are, you accept this without question.


    Your second winter begins at about the same time you start learning how to speak to your parents. Speaking with Mama and Papa is much more difficult than chatting with your brother, Wotjeo. They have all sorts of confusing rules, and the meanings of words change sometimes. You can still only communicate with them in short phrases, and often resort to wordless screams or tears.


    When winter ends, your father starts teaching you how to meditate. It comes to you quickly and easily. It is not much different from your dreams. You can walk now, as long as you have something to hold onto, but it is still slower than crawling. Despite this, every morning your father insists that you walk with him down a tunnel at the back of your home leading through a complex of connected tunnels and caves. He is always patient and walks only as fast as you can keep up. Your destination is a cave large enough to hold the entire clan you and your family are members of. By the time you arrive, the rest of the clan, except for Mama, is already there and meditating on their dreams like Papa taught you. You join them for however long is left after your late arrival and then return home.


    These morning trips are almost the only time you see Papa awake. He sleeps most of the time, when the sun is up. He goes to bed right after morning meditation and only wakes up to make you dinner before you go to bed. Mama says Papa has a very important job. He guards not only you but also the whole clan from people who might try to come in the cave mouth at night; when there is no light because the sun is hidden. You know it is true because Arely protects you from nightmares and when you wake up in the middle of the night and crawl out of bed you see Papa, sitting in the cave mouth and sewing all night long to make the clothes you, and he, wear.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    The year continues to turn, and one day, Wotjeo shares a dream with you of a liquid as sweet as fruit made by small flying things with single strands of pointy hair coming out of their butts. Then he shares a dream of the two of you going to get some of the sweet liquid from a neaby place outside the cave mouth where it is being made by the flying things. Wotjeo thinks the flying things are smaller than Mama¡¯s spirit sister, and she always runs away from the two of you so they probably will too. Wotjeo and you wake up from your midmorning nap. Papa is asleep as he usually is and, unusually, so is his spirit sister Arely. Mama is gone too.


    Wotjeo is the most important person in your life, so it doesn¡¯t take much convincing to get you to follow him. The pair of you crawl out of the cave mouth. You follow Wotjeo, and the path you take is familiar to you from the dream Wotjeo shared with you. One of your bed furs is still clinging to your back. It makes you feel as if you have fur, just like your silver bear brother, so you make every effort to keep it from falling off.


    Your bear cub brother is very excited and keeps prancing ahead of you, then scurrying back impatiently when he notices you fell behind. You try to keep up, but he¡¯s better at crawling than you. Despite your best efforts, the bed fur slips off your back several times. Whenever this happens, Wotjeo comes back and helps you get it on your back again, where it belongs. Frustrated, you wriggle under the bed fur so it is draped across your back for the... manyth time (you¡¯re not good at counting) and seize part of the bed fur in your teeth. Finally, the thing stays on, and you growl in triumph as the two of you crawl into the forest outside your cave mouth home.


    You know you are getting close to the sweet liquid place when you start seeing flying things. One of them flies past you and lands on a flower. You charge towards it as fast as you can crawl. Unlike Mama¡¯s sister, it isn¡¯t scared of you and does not fly away. You catch it between your hands *squish* *ow!*


    Its tiny body falls motionless from between your hands, but it leaves part of itself behind. The single sharp hair on its behind that is like sister Arely¡¯s hair, but shorter is stuck in your palm. *ow!* You start crying and Wotjeo comes over. He pulls the hair out with this teeth and then licks your face. You stop crying and hug him. Wotjeo sends you another image of the sweet liquid, then hurries onward.


    You crawl after him as fast as you can, but the bed fur slips off your back again because you stopped holding it in your teeth when you were crying. Wotjeo trundles back over to you with an annoyed grunt and helps you get it back in position. You bite down on a corner of the bed fur again. You¡¯re not going to let go this time, no matter what! Wotjeo hums in approval and the two of you crawl towards the home of flying things which is where they store the sweet liquid.


    The flying things are coming out of the ground nearby, and you hear a soft droning noise as you approach. Wotjeo rushes forward filled with excitement and gets there ahead of you. His claws quickly digging up the ground and tearing open the sweet liquid storage place. The droning sound increases to a furious buzz, and many, many lots of manys of flying things burst out of their home. Many lots of them swarm around him. So many of them land on him that it looks like he has yellow streaks in his fur.


    The yellow and brown flying things sting him with their sharp hairs! They sting him many lots of times, and he whines in pain. You charge forward to rescue him. You growl furiously as you swat at the flying things as they buzz around him. Ow! Their single sharp hairs sting your hands when you hit them sometimes, but you keep swinging. You knock them out of the air by the baby-sized handful. There are so many of them flying around now that you kill several with every furious swing. You have to protect your brother!


    Wotjeo rolls over, crushing the ones on him but there are still many, many lots of the flying things everywhere! More of them settle on him and on you! Most of their sharp hairs are blocked by the bed fur on your back, but some land on areas that aren¡¯t protected by it. Ow! Ow! Ow! It hurts! You want Mama or Papa! Where are they! You start crying with pain, but your earlier failures with the bed fur taught you well. Even while you sob in pain, you keep your teeth clamped down on the bed fur, so you don¡¯t lose its protection.


    Your wails are muffled by the bed fur. Mama doesn¡¯t show up to save you. Wotjeo is just as hurt as you are, and can¡¯t save you either.


    The two of you keep fighting desperately against the furious swarm of flying things. Slowly the cloud of flying things thins out; the tiny bodies of your implacable foes carpets the forest floor all around you. In some places, they are stacked up higher than Wotjeo¡¯s knees! A small cloud of flying things bursts out of the sweet liquid place and buzzes up and away. Most of the remaining defenders fly off with them, leaving only a few behind to continue fighting you. At last, you collapse, panting with exhaustion and crying. The field is yours, but you hurt too much to care. Ow! Ow! Ow!


    Wotjoe stabs his baby bear paws into the sweet liquid maker¡¯s home. When he pulls it back, it is coated in the sweet liquid. He licks it happily. After dipping his paws in again, he thrusts one of his sweet liquid covered paws into your mouth. Yummy! You stop crying and follow his example. You dip your baby hands into the hive, pulling out gooey handfuls of sweet liquid and settle in to eat your fill. Mama finds you there; surrounded by the corpses of your enemies. You are covered in sting marks, your face is streaked with tears, snot, and sweet golden liquid. Your belly looks swollen because you¡¯ve eaten so much, but there¡¯s still lots of the sweet liquid left.


    Mama gasps in horror and scoops both of her young daredevils into her arms before running back home. You wail in frustration because she¡¯s carrying you away from your prize. Mama doesn¡¯t stop, no matter how loudly you scream. It¡¯s not fair! You earned that sweet liquid! You want more and more and more!


    When she gets home, Mama puts you down on a stone shelf carved into the side of the cave, and you try to crawl away when she turns her back to get the water jug. Mama sees you before you can crawl off the edge though, and invisible hands hold you in place. She tenderly cleans your many stings which only makes you cry louder. It hurts when she pulls the pointy hairs out! Despite her efforts, every part of your body swells up to twice its usual size. A fever seizes hold of you, and you drift seamlessly in and out of wakefulness.

 Aestia Valley 3: Fever Dreams

    The fever burns like a fire through your tiny limbs. Even more than your body, it burns in your mind. Your young brain is no match for the confused jumble the fever makes of your senses and you lose all track of when or where you are as you fight to survive. You slip in and out of wakefulness, completely unable to tell which is which. False visions distract you from your torment.


    In the first fever dream, your head floated off your body like a cloud lifting off a mountain. So did Wotjeo¡¯s head! Your heads switched places, but you kept talking to each other just like always. Him with a bear cub body and a human girl head; you with a baby girl body and a friendly baby bear head. Then everyone¡¯s heads floated off their bodies and swung around, so you had Papa¡¯s head; Papa had Mama¡¯s head, Wotjeo had Mama¡¯s sisters tiny head. That looked really funny, a tiny crystal head on Wotjeo¡¯s furry body and you laughed. The heads kept floating off and switching places until you got dizzy and threw up and Mama washed you again. Her hands gently cleaning you are the last thing you remember before the rest of the memory is consumed by the fever.


    In the second fever dream, Mama and Papa are shouting at each other. They never yell at each other. Papa is mad that he slept through his daughter¡¯s first fight. He¡¯s even madder that his daughter might die because he hasn¡¯t had time to train her or hunt food for her. He¡¯s angriest that he doesn¡¯t get to spend much time with Mama. Papa wants to move deeper into the caves so he can sleep at night and stay up during the day with his family. Mama wants to stay here. She doesn¡¯t like the smell of the caves, and she craves the light and the wind outside. They argue for a long time until Mama leads Papa to bed. Afterwards, they don¡¯t argue anymore, and Mama promises to start taking you with her during the day. You are sure this dream is as false as the other two because Papa and Mama never argue or shout at each other.


    In the third fever dream, you are floating outside the cave. You recognize this place, it is near where you fought the sweet liquid makers. The grass and trees are burning. Everything is burning. Lightning stabs down from the sky, piercing the clouds of smoke. The lightning briefly blasts rents in the clouds of smoke, and you can see the sky is full of huge flying things. They look like the flying things you fought, but these flying things are as big as the cave. Some have people on their backs. The lightning is coming from the people. You look back at the cave mouth. In the way of dreams, you can see through the clouds of smoke and the burning trees to tell that the cave mouth has collapsed. Looking back up at the flying things, they still look like giant versions of the sweet liquid makers. Banded yellow and brown with thick round bodies and a single huge, sharp hair stick out of their behinds. They see you looking at them! They swoop down at you! Closer! Closer! Lightning flies from the hands of the people on their back towards you... then suddenly Wotjeo is there licking your face and the scene changes. You remember no more.


    Your fever lasted a week. Mama and Papa were worried about you the whole time. At least one of them watched over you through the entire ordeal. Even though you know the visions the fever showed you are not real, you cling to them like a drowning man clinging to a life preserver. Your memories of the visions are false, but they are all that connects you to your memories from before the fever.


    After your fever breaks, Mama takes you with her when she goes out every day. You lost a lot of weight and strength to the fever, as well as your memories. Mama watches over you closely, and you are never out of her sight. You enjoy spending time with her. She¡¯s prettyand smells nice. You hope you grow up to be just like her.


    Most days are spent gathering various strong smelling grasses Mama calls herbs. Whenever you try to get too far away from her, she''s always there to scoop you and your brother up and carry you closer to where she is gathering herbs. Mama seems to have eyes everywhere, and always knows when you are straying. Under her guidance, you slowly learn to tell the difference between the herbs Mama wants and useless grass.


    The seasons change and now Mama shows you how to dig up vegetables and harvest early fruits. As the seasons continue turning there are more and more fruits. When the wind turns cold there''s even fruit on the trees! The winter fruits are bright red and the trees they grow on have verdant green leaves. You don¡¯t eat the fruits though, only the yummy, juicy seeds inside.


    Learning how to climb to get the fruits is easier than learning how to walk. Wotjeo is good at it and helps show you how to climb. Mama lets you climb the shorter trees while she watches you from below, but she never climbs herself. When she gathers fruit from trees taller than she lets you climb, Mama¡¯s sister, Azuria, flies up to the fruits and cuts them loose with the sharp edges of her crystal wings. The fruits always fall right into Mama¡¯s hands, or sometimes into the metal pail if there¡¯s already other fruit in there.


    When you try to climb trees Mama says are too tall, invisible hands pin you to the tree trunk until Mama scoops you up. You are very good at climbing and Mama brings you out to climb after fruit even in the coldest depths of winter, but never for very long. During winter, It is so cold that the sky water freezes into powder Mama says is called snow. Even when there isn¡¯t snow on the ground it is still very cold and you can''t stay out for long, even with the clothes Papa makes for you. You and Mama spend a lot of time by the fire during winter. There is less to eat during winter because Mama has to spend so much time watching over you by the fire or gathering wood instead of food. Sometimes when you wake up there are black burning rocks in a pail by the fireplace. When this happens, Mama and you spend more time finding food and less gathering wood, but the burning rocks never last more than a few days.


    After a long, hungry stretch of days. Mama sets you down next to Papa, who is sleeping, and looks you in the face very seriously. She says "Growllita, I need you to stay here so I can collect more food for us. Be a good girl and take a long nap and I will bring you back something sweet. Can you do that for me?"


    You tell her you can, ¡°Yes, Mama.¡±


    She hugs you and then looks at you consideringly. "Do you promise?"


    Instead of promising; you ask: "Mama, if I sleep now can I stay up with Papa?"


    Mama looks surprised. "That''s a great idea, my tough little bear cub. That is exactly what we are going to do. Go to sleep now, growllita." Mama tucks you and Wotjeo into bed. She pulls your favorite bed fur, the one you wore when fighting the sweet liquid makers, up to your chin and then tucks it under you, snug and warm. Just incidentally, your favorite bed fur is also tightly wrapped around you and not easy to wriggle out of. Mama¡¯s soft, loving lullabies carry you off to sleep. You wake up twice. Mama is still sitting next to you, so you quickly go back to sleep, confident you are safe and loved.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    The third time you wake up, it is to Papa''s huge face looking down at you. "Time to train!" He booms excitedly.


    Beside you, Mama''s head is visible above the bed furs. Her hair is wildly disarrayed. Mama snaps at Papa "Not so loud! I''m trying to sleep! You really wore me out."


    Papa looks both pleased and embarrassed, and he answers her in a whisper: "Yes, light of my life." He scoops you up and then tiptoes through the winding passage connecting the sleeping cave to the main one, to the extent a man larger than most bears can tiptoe.


    Placing you down by the fire near the cave mouth he enthusiastically whispers to you: "Time to train, daughter!"


    You shiver in the cold winter night air. The fire is lower than it usually is when Mama is awake. Papa adds one branch to the fire, but his hand hesitates when he reaches for a second branch. He pulls his hand back and turns to face you. "We¡¯ll stay warm by exercising. When I was younger than you, my father started training me. The first thing he ever taught me was that before I could walk, I first had to learn to crawl. Getting your foundation right is the most important thing. You have to build your muscles before I can show you how to use them. I did these exercises every day and look how big, and strong I got." Papa flexes his arm, and his biceps leap up like mountains rising from the valley bottom. "If you want to be big and strong like me, you have to exercise every day, my brave little girl." Papa demonstrates each exercise for you by doing it himself and then guiding you through the motions.


    Wotjeo watches you and Papa and then asks you how to do them too. You try to show him the first one, a push-up. At the sight of a baby bear cub trying to do push-ups while a girl of 3 winters corrects the bear cub¡¯s form, Papa''s booming laughter fills the cave mouth. Only for a second though, before he claps his hands over his mouth and glances guiltily towards the side cave where Mama is sleeping. He breathes a loud sigh of relief after a few seconds of silence then beckons his silver bear sister, Arely, over. Between them, they work out variations of the exercises Wotjeo can do too.


    You spend the rest of the winter sleeping during the day and exercising with Papa at night. Papa is very happy to spend time with you and he grins constantly, except when his booming voice echoes too loudly and he worries about accidentally waking Mama.


    The first night is spent learning the basics of lots of exercises. Every night after that he has you and Wotjeo repeat an exercise several times then take a short rest before he has you move on to a different one. As the weeks pass, he has you do more repetitions. You can''t spend all night exercising though, and Papa makes you take lots of breaks.


    Even so, you are too tired to continue exercising long before daybreak and Papa wraps up the night¡¯s exercises. There¡¯s not much to do, and you don¡¯t have the energy to play with your toy sticks, so you decide to try to meditate the way you usually do in the mornings with the rest of the clan. First you sit down with both your legs stretched out in front of you. Then you fold your left leg so that your left foot is resting on your right knee. Next comes the tricky bit; you have to twist and fold your right leg around so it snakes up inside your left leg to place your right foot over your left knee. When your done, your legs are crossed in front of you with both your feet resting on the opposite knee and your back straight. Your hands rest lightly in your lap, with the right hand cupping the left. You close your eyes and focus on the rhythm of your breathing.


    In through the nose,


    out through the mouth.


    In through the nose,


    out through the mouth.


    Wotjeo, your brother,  your best and only friend, mimics you as best he can. His baby bear legs stretched out in front of him and his short baby bear arms pressed into his legs to keep him upright and his back straight. He is sitting so close beside you that you can feel his fur tickling your skin.


    You open your eyes again when you hear Papa sitting down in front of you. He''s smiling approvingly. "Good girl. I''m going to teach you something that will help you get the most out of your exercises. Focus your attention in the middle of your forehead. Now, without moving your body, try to feel the connection between you and your brother Wotjeo. The connection is right there, from your forehead to his. It''s been there ever since you were born; an unbreakable bond bridging your madra and his. Meditate on that bond and when you can really feel it let me now. Don''t rush it though. It took me a month to feel it." You try to feel what your Papa is talking about but you don''t feel any bridge. Just your own forehead.


    While you are sleeping the next day you see Wotjeo in your dreams. He presses his forehead against yours and you feel wisps of dreamstuff flowing from him into you. For a moment you see through his eyes. Your beloved littlest sister fills your vision. Her soft round checks and strangely hairless skin only a centimeter away as you press your forehead against her. Littlest sister? You focus on that thought and glimpse a broad but flat family bush with dozens and dozens of older siblings and many nieces and nephews before the dream shifts and you remember no more.


    The next night it only takes you a few minutes after starting to meditate to feel the bridge between your forehead and Wotjeo''s. ¡°Papa! I did it! I can feel the connection!¡±


    Papa peers suspiciously at you then places his palm on your forehead. He gasps then sweeps you up into a crushing bear hug. "You are so talented, daughter! You learned that so quickly." He places you back on the floor far below his huge height. "Let me know when you can feel the bridge again and I will teach you the next step."


    Papa broke your concentration when he picked you up and it takes you several frustrating minutes to feel the bridge again. Finally you tell him you''re ready.


    Papa¡¯s voice still bubbles with excitement as he says: "There should be tiny tendrils of metal and wispy clouds. Try to suck them into your forehead and hold them there for a second then push them back out of your forehead and across the bridge."


    It takes you the rest of the night before you can manage even one full cycle. The tiny tendrils of metal are very fragile and break when you try to touch them with your spirit. The clouds are almost worse, slippery and evasive they slide out of your grasp and reform. Eventually, with Wotjeo pushing from the other side, you manage to draw a few pieces in and push them back out. Over the following nights your father guides you through pulling the tendrils in and circulating them all through your body. When they pass through areas you''ve been exercising they merge into your body, washing away the soreness from your muscles. Most nights there''s not much to send back across the bridge to Wotjeo when you''re done.


    Under your father''s enthusiastic but gentle guidance your nightly exercise regimen breaks down the weakest fibers in your muscles. When you meditate the broken fibers are knitted together by the wisps of what Papa tells you are madra from Wotjeo. The madra infused muscle fibers are stronger and more flexible than muscles made solely from protein. As yet, madra makes up only the tiniest fraction of your muscles, but Papa assures you that ¡°You will be as strong as me one day, daughter! Only if you keep exercising and cycling madra afterwards, though, so don¡¯t slack off!¡±

 Aestia Valley 4: Trial

    The seasons continue to turn. When the weather warms up enough for you to stay outside for more than an hour at a time, you start spending more time with Mama. All the humans in your family are now on a different schedule. Papa is awake at night so he can protect you while you are sleeping. Sister Arely is awake during the day so she can protect the cave mouth while Papa sleeps. Mama and Azuria are awake during the day so they can find food. Your daily routine is the most complicated. Papa wakes you up in the middle of the night and feeds you breakfast when he has lunch. Afterward, he helps you exercise until it is time to join the tribe for meditation. When you return from morning meditation, Papa sleeps and you go out with Mama.


    Some of your meals with Papa have meat, but never with Mama. Mama never eats meat. She goes out of her way to avoid hurting the animals you see on your travels and sometimes talks with them. They glare at Wotjeo and you suspiciously while they talk to Mama and whisper to her so you can''t hear them. If you try to get close enough to eavesdrop, they run away faster than you or Wotjeo can follow.


    You ask Mama why she never eats meat and she tells you "All life is precious my little growllita. We should not kill unless that is the only way to survive. Sometimes we must fight and kill when we are attacked. That happens more often than it should becuase the neighboring tribes are both greedy and foolishly aggressive, but I will not kill just to eat. Your father and the rest of the our clan think that eating meat helps them grow strong. I am a guest in their lands so I do not try to stop them, but I do not join them either."


    You ask Papa why he eats meat. He picks you up and then pumps you in the air like one of his weights when he does overhead presses. Your three winter old body is smaller than one side of the weights he usually uses and he lifts you effortlessly. You giggle with delight. Papa often lifts you like you¡¯re a training weight, a game you both enjoy. "Eating meat is how you get big and strong like your Papa. Everyone knows that meat from stronger animals helps you get stronger too. Meat from weaker animals doesn''t help as much but still tastes good. The Silver Bear clan has the best hunters which is why we are the strongest clan. I used to be the best hunter in the whole clan, which meant I was the best hunter in the Valley. That''s how I got so strong. So make sure to eat everything we give you so you can be big and strong too."


    You and Wotjeo nod your heads in enthusiastic agreement. You are both always hungry and always eat all of your food.


    You think about what Mama told you. You really like the taste of the sweet liquid, and you had to kill lots of the tiny flying creatures to get it. You definitely want more of the sweet liquid, so you guess you''re not as gentle as Mama. You also want to get big and strong like Papa. A part of you feels sad that you are different from Mama, but if you stopped eating meat then you¡¯d be different from Papa. You feel like any answer would have left you disappointed.


    Ultimately, the most significant part of your decision to continue eating meat is that your ever-present brother Wotjeo the silver bear cub eats whatever he wants. Since you are a bear just like him, you too will eat whatever you want. If it fights back first, all the better to help you get stronger. Mama doesn''t seem upset by your decision and continues to take you with her to gather food from the nearby forest.


    Mama teaches Wotjeo and you about the plants and fruits you gather as you help her. The plants are still really hard to tell apart. Your brother bear cub Wotjeo¡¯s superior sense of smell makes it easier for him to find the right herbs. Together, you learn a bit about the common edible fruits of Aestia Valley. Pomegranates grow on trees and are good to eat starting a little bit after it gets cold until the flowers start blooming. Pomegranates are fun to eat because they have lots of little juicy pods that you pick out individually and eat. It makes the meals feel longer which helps quiet the hunger in your belly for at least a little while. Apricots grow on smaller trees than Pomegranates and are available during the warm days of summer. After apricot season, the sweetest fruit, grapes, can be gathered from vines that mostly grow along the river banks. With only half a day to spend with Mama, you never get far from the caves, but Mama warns you: "Don''t follow the river or go chasing after grapes so far that you lose sight of me. If you ever follow the river and realize you can''t see the mountainside our cave is in anymore, come back right away. This is very important growllita. The Water Leopards own most of the river from the lake and waterfall where the river begins to the East of us all the way to the sea in the West. Water Leopards are very good at hiding in water. Even if you think you are alone, there may be an enemy hiding in the river. You must always be careful near the river, or any other body of water."


    ***


    Time passes in the warm and loving embrace of your family. In the middle of your fourth winter, Papa wakes you up late. Instead of training you, he bathes you and gives you a brand new dress made from soft rabbit fur. Mama braids your hair and then holds you in her lap. She hugs you tightly as Papa crouches in front of you, a serious expression on his usually boisterous face: "You are going to meet the Matriarch today. She is the strongest woman in the clan. Even stronger than me. Be very polite to her. If she tells you to do something, do it immediately and without arguing." Mama hugs you even tighter, and Papa says to her: "It is time, we have to go now." Mama''s hug gets even tighter for a second, and she kisses the top of your head before relaxing her hold on you.


    Papa holds your hand and leads you deeper into the cave.


    "Be strong growllita!" You turn to look back at Mama when you hear her voice. She smiles strangely at you. She looks like she did when she found you after you fought the sweet liquid makers, except she''s also smiling. You''ve never seen her look like that before. It¡¯s kind of scary. Wotjeo nuzzles you to reassure you and you hug him with the hand Papa isn¡¯t holding.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The tunnel at the back of your cave seems darker and scary today. You are aware of the whole mountain above you pressing down on the tiny tunnel and how small you are. Papa usually lets you walk at your own pace, but today he is jittery and impatient. He keeps urging you to walk faster. Several times he walks so quickly your short legs can''t keep up, and he pulls painfully on your arm. He grimaces then scoops you up in his arms and jogs down the tunnel. He sets you down just short of the last bend to the main cavern then straightens your dress. "Remember my strong daughter, you must be brave and do exactly what the Matriarch tells you. Come on."


    Taking you by the hand again Papa leads you into the main cavern where the clan usually meets to meditate together. As usual, the whole clan is here, but the atmosphere is hushed and expectant. At the front of the clan is a woman even bigger than Papa. You''ve never seen anyone as big as Papa before, but this woman is even bigger. Her hair is pure silver and gleams metallically in the firelight. Not only that, but she doesn¡¯t have a silver bear spirit companion. It is as shocking to see someone without their spirit companion as it would be to see someone without a head. It¡¯s not natural. You shiver even though the cave is not cold. To her left are five boys and five silver bear cubs.


    Papa leads you out of the tunnel. Your usual place during meditation is in the third row from the front, but Papa leads you past that and up to the stage to stand with the other children. The other kids look to be about your age, but you don''t have long to examine them because Papa is whispering instructions in your ear: "Stand here and look straight ahead until you are called. Make me proud." Papa then leaves you on the stage and walks to his usual meditation spot without you. Your knees feel wobbly, and you want to run after him. This is all strange. You are surrounded by strangers, and the whole clan is looking at you. You are the only girl on the stage which doesn¡¯t seem fair. You firmly remind yourself that you beat the sweet liquid makers and you can do this too. Wotjeo is beside you. You are not alone.


    You realize the woman bigger than Papa has been speaking and you start listening to what she is saying. "... our newest cubs become members of the clan this day. They have each survived four turnings of the Egg. They have each felt the bite of winter¡¯s bitter cold four times and lived. Now they will demonstrate their metal to the clan so that we may begin to trust them to help us fight against our many enemies."


    The giant woman gestures, and suddenly there is a multi-colored pyramid in front of her. Each layer is a massive slab of solid metal as tall as you are. The woman leaps to the top of the pyramid in a single bound then turns to look at you. "The first cub to join us is the daughter of Guarnicio of no family." She is pointing at you and Wotjeo. "Come, children, join me."


    You exchange hesitant looks with Wotjeo. Together you walk up to the base of the pyramid. Nobody stops either of you, so you guess you''re doing what she wants. The bottom slab of the pyramid is stone with streaks and splotches of many different colors. Unlike the other slabs, the surface of the bottom one is rough and uneven. It is easy to climb it, and even Wotjeo finds a place where he can scramble up.


    The second slab is white as a cloud. You lift yourself up onto it. When you kneel down to help Wotjeo up, you can see imprints your hands made in the second slab when you pulled yourself up. Wotjeo''s claws leave deep scratches in it as he kicks and you pull him up.


    The third slab is dull grey. It is almost as easy to damage as the second level.


    The fourth level is orangish brown. You can feel the strain in your arms from lifting first yourself and then Wotjeo but Papa''s training shows it worth now. You¡¯ve felt this burn before and now you can push yourself further. You approach the next level with confidence.


    The fifth level is the same flat black color as Papa''s hair and Arely''s fur. It is hard and cold. Wotjeo''s claws can''t find any purchase, and you do almost all the work of lifting him up. You are panting as you approach the next level. You look up. Only two more. You can do this.


    The sixth level is a rich yellowish-brown and warm as a summer day. Again, you kneel down to lift Wotjeo up. This time he jumps. You catch him halfway up and with a single explosive heave, haul him the rest of the way up. The effort nearly exhausts you, so you lean against the next slab and catch your breath for a moment before standing up again.


    The last level is the exact same silver shade as the giant woman''s, the Matriarch''s(?) hair. You wonder again where her companion is before focusing your attention on the slab. It is taller than all the other slabs. Almost too tall for you to reach the top without jumping. You are glad you rested before attempting it. The surface feels slick and slippery, and it is a struggle to pull yourself up without losing your grip. Finally, you reach the top. You and the Matriarch aren''t alone up here, there''s some sort of metal frame up here too, but you''re too focused on helping Wotjeo up next to worry about it yet. Your arms are trembling from the effort it took just to get you up here. You know you can do this, but you really don''t want to - it is going to take everything you have to lift Wotjeo so high. You kneel down to help Wotjeo up, but he can''t jump high enough for you to reach. You lay down on your belly. The top of the pyramid where you are is so small that even your short legs get tangled up in the metal frame. It''s hot! Have to do this fast! Wotjeo jumps as high as he can, and you catch him. You try to haul him up but laying down like this everything is working against you. His weight pulls you down, and you start sliding off the edge of the slab. Fortunately, your feet get caught in the metal frame, and you stop sliding. Slowly and carefully, you drag both of you back up; every muscle in your body screaming from effort in the unusual position.


    The silver-haired Matriarch waits until your breathing evens out before commanding: "Stand beside me children." You obey. Standing beside her you can see that the metal frame is holding a silver bowl filled with burning black rocks. You can feel the heat on your face as the fires consume them hungrily. "Now, human-child. Stick your hand into the flames and hold it there." You stuck your hand in the firepit once when Mama was cooking. It hurt a lot. Papa paddled you until your behind was as red as the fire for doing it. Papa also told you to do what the Matriarch said. You aren''t sure which order to follow. You look up at the Matriarch, and she repeats her command: "Prove your worth to the clan, man-child. Place your hand in the fire and show us your metal." You look back at the bowl full of burning black rocks and fire. You take a deep breath, and the heat from the fire sucks all the moisture out of your mouth. You thrust your hand into the flame and fire goes wild. The flames double in size and continue growing rapidly. If fire keeps growing it will escape the bowl and envelop you. The flames show no sign of stopping before they consume you.

 Aestia Valley 5: Welcome to the Clan

    The fire in the silver brazier in front of you roars hungrily. Flames swirl around your fist and curl up your arms seeking to consume you as well. The sound of your wildly beating heart drowns out almost every other noise but you are vaguely aware of shouting from the assembled clan.


    What was once a small fire is now so big and so bright that you can''t see the clan through it anymore.


    It is very loud. You can hear adults shouting with fear and surprise. The fire is roaring hungrily. Your ears hurt.


    It is very bright. You are looking right into a rapidly expanding fire. Your eyes hurt.


    It is scorching. You are standing right next to a giant fire that is rapidly expanding. You can feel the heat from the fire beating against your face. Your face is not in the fire yet, but you are sure it will hurt a lot when the fire reaches you because it is very hot.


    Wotjeo pads up beside you and stands up so you can hold his tiny bear cub paw in your soft baby hand. In solidarity with you, your silver bear brother thrusts his free front paw into the flames as well. The fire explodes outward. The colors rapidly shifting through every color in the rainbow. Around the side of the fire, you can see Papa flinging people aside as he rushes towards you. The roaring of the flames fills your ears. Fire is all around you now, and the heat is overwhelming. The flames flash brilliant green as something tugs at the spot in the center of your forehead. You collapse like a doll with its strings cut.


    You wake, still holding Wotjeo''s hand. You are in the sky above Aestia Valley, but Wotjeo and you are not alone. Fires in silver bowls burn all around you. Fortunately, they are not aware of you. You know the flames all around you are not aware of you because they hurl fireballs at anything that moves in the valley. Even the rabbits cannot escape their notice or the all-consuming fireballs they attack with. Beneath you, the valley you live in burns.


    The inferno below rages out of control. The trees of the forest near your cave mouth are blackened, lifeless husks. The grass is ash. Even the smaller rocks are blackend and cracked open by the heat. Still the fire rages. Hungry flames march steadily into the cave mouth you call home. Nothing inside could possibly survive. Mama is surely dead. Even Papa could not have survived.


    Then things get worse.


    The hairs on the back of your neck lift. Someone is looking at you. The flying flames have seen you! They swoop towards you, hurling massive balls of flame at you. Silently, you watch your doom approach. Just before the fireball hits you, you thrust your fist at it in a vain act of defiance.


    When your fist connects, you wake up.


    You are staring into the black eyes of the Matriarch. Your hand feels like you just hit a wall and is still pressed against the Matriarch''s shoulder. You just hit the Matriarch! You try to stammer out an apology, but you can''t make your tongue work right.


    The Matriarch shushes you. "I''m glad to see you followed my instructions to teach her how to fight like a silver bear, Guarnicio; but I''d expected you to have taught her better. Her punch was weak and her will unfocused. We shall see if young Minaro does any better."


    You hear Mama gasp and quickly ask "Does this mean..."


    The Matriarch cuts her off and turns to face her. "The Elders have decided that the oddity in the trial was caused by the influence of your bloodline. I can see no signs of lasting damage done to either of our children. However, your daughter will be the lowest rated cub for this year until she can prove otherwise. Lessons begin tomorrow."Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.


    The hand you punched the Matriarch with hurts. A lot. The skin over the knuckles has been torn off, and your hand is starting to bleed. You blink back tears and stifle a sob. You defeated the sweet liquid makers. You did not flee from the flames or scream in fear. You will not cry from a hurt hand. Concentrating on not crying you miss the rest of what the adults are saying until the Matriarch turns back to you. "As for you, young girl. You have earned yourself a name. You are now known as P¨±mi¨¨. Welcome to the clan. Continue taking care of your brother. I will be watching you."


    The Matriarch looks back at Mama. "You know I am in favor of your marriage, Rica, even though most are not. You should consider how you can help your daughter. You''ll be seeing your old family again soon, won''t you?"


    Still shaken from your nightmare(?) you ask the Matriarch, ¡°Flying flames attacked me. Where did they go?¡±


    The Matriarch blinks in confusion. ¡°Flying flames? Have you been dreaming? You must have been scared.¡± She places her warm, padded palm on your forehead. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about them just yet. They won¡¯t trouble you for many more winters. For now, study hard and help your brother get stronger. The rest of this season will be challenging, but will have many opportunities for growth.¡±


    You have only survived four winters and the Matriarch¡¯s answer confuses you, but somehow you know you won¡¯t dream of flying flames again.


    Wotjeo has been romping around the Matriarch¡¯s feet, and he only returns to you after she leaves. Her departure leaves you confused and curious. You don¡¯t know how to ask what you really want to know. Instead, you find yourself asking Papa all sorts of questions. You start by asking ¡°Why is your hair sharp, but Wotjeo¡¯s, Mama¡¯s, and mine isn¡¯t?¡±


    Papa points at his silver bear companion. "It''s a blessing from sharing my spirit with your aunt Arely."


    You hear Wotjeo''s voice in your mind correcting him: "Arely is our sister, not our aunt."


    Papa continues speaking as if he couldn''t hear Wotjeo. Papa never responds when Wotjeo talks in your mind. "All animals naturally accumulate vital essences and convert them into madra. The vital essences of the metal in our caves gathers in Arely¡¯s fur and my hair when we cultivate. Elder Minaro will explain better than a retired hunter like your Papa can. You''ll start taking lessons from him tomorrow. Lessons from an Elder are very valuable, so pay attention and learn everything you can. Mama¡¯s spirit companion Azuria cultivates different vital essences so she doesn¡¯t have metal hair."


    You ask Papa if you can strengthen your bones the same way his hair is strengthened. Papa laughs: "That''s what the meditation exercises you''ve been doing while exercising are for. Keep doing them and you''ll get big and strong like me." Papa flexes a biceps bigger than your four winters old head.¡±


    You ask Papa about weapons made from madra. Papa grimaces: "Some of the other tribes in the valley do something like that. Silver Bears like us focus on developing our natural strength as well as the armor and weapons we make." Papa has a suit of armor made out of many lots of rings that he usually leaves on its shelf but you''ve seen him wearing several times. When he puts on the armor he usually goes outside and makes lots of loud noises before coming back.


    Talking with Papa and Mama like this makes you feel safe and secure. You finally feel comfortable enough to ask what you really wanted to. You tell Mama and Papa about your dream and the flying fires.


    Papa reassures you. ¡°That sounds like it was a scary dream, but don''t be afraid. Your trial to join the tribe is over. You won''t have to stick your hand in the fire ever again. Your papa and mama will be around to help protect you for many years yet. I''m proud of you for trying to punch the fire. Silver Bears should be tough and aggressive, just the way you are. Run along with Mama now, Papa''s been up too long today. I need my sleep.¡±


    Mama takes you outside to forage, but she says less than usual and stays extra close to you.


    ***


    Morning meditation the next day is the same as always. Papa leads you through the warren of interconnected tunnels, not pausing or looking down any of the tunnels that branch off your path. The multi-colored step pyramid you climbed is gone again. Several tribe members shoot odd glances at you as you take your seat next to Papa in the third row from the front. Wotjeo sits beside you, mimicing your upright posture as best his silver bear cub body allows.


    After morning meditation, Papa hands you a bag with 2 pomegranates in it. You don¡¯t need a knife to open them because Wotjeo¡¯s teeth are strong enough to bite the thick-skinned fruits open so you both can get at the edible seeds inside. Papa tells you "This is for breakfast if Elder Minario gives you a chance to eat. Lessons from Elders are valuable, pay close attention. Mama will ask you about your lessons when you get home."


    Papa points at one of the many tunnels leading off from the main cave. ¡°I took lessons from Elder Minaro when I was your age. Elders give children your age lessons in a cave down that tunnel. Take the first left and the second right. Which turn is the second one?" You hold up three fingers. Papa gently bends one of your fingers down and then holds up two fingers. "This many is two. Second means two. Take the first tunnel to the left, then not the next right tunnel but the one after that. Follow the other children if you get lost."


    Wotjeo sighs beside you and mentally grumbles. ¡°Why can¡¯t Papa just send us an image of the path? It¡¯s easy!¡±


    You send back an image of yourself shrugging. You don¡¯t know. Adults do lots of things you don¡¯t understand. Papa never speaks in your mind like Wotjeo does.


    Papa points to a group of children walking towards the same tunnel. "Go, have fun and listen to the Elder, P¨±mi¨¨." Papa watches as you run after the other kids, then tiredly heads back upstairs. He usually goes to sleep right after meditating and has been too worried about you to sleep much since you put your fist in the fire during the trial to join the clan.


    You follow the kids into the tunnel. When you turn the corner into the first tunnel to the left they''re waiting in a crowd for you. The boy closest to you is also the largest and has brown hair cut very short. On both sides of him are boys smaller than him who are still bigger than you. The one on the left has red hair. He sneers at you and is accompanied by the biggest silver bear cub you''ve ever seen. The boy on the right has yellow hair. Behind the trio is a small boy, even smaller than you.


    The large, brown-haired boy in the middle pushes you and you stumble backwards. "Stupid butterfly! You screwed up our trial."


    The boys on either side of him start chanting "Butterfly! Butterfly!"


    Wotjeo growls at them, upset that they¡¯re being mean to you, his sister.


    The red-haired boy shouts: "Show her Bato!"


    Brown hair/Bato glares at his red-haired companion "Shut up Decavo. I''m huntmaster today." He turns his glare on you: "You owe us, butterfly. Give me your bag or else!" He shakes his large fist at you.

 Aestia Valley 6: Verbal Combat

    You size up the four children facing you. The only one you are bigger than is the boy hanging back. The other three are all larger than you and look stronger. The silver bears that accompany them are all larger than Wotjeo. Papa hasn''t taught you how to fight yet, and you''ve never been hunting. You have been exercising with Papa, but your muscles are not as big as the muscles on any of the three boys in front.


    You could try to fight them, but you think you¡¯d probably lose. Maybe there¡¯s another way though. Mama is much smaller than Papa, but Papa always does what she wants. You¡¯ve only seen her raise her voice once and that was in a dream. Instead of shouting to get her way, she has as many tones of voice as there are shades of green in the forest and she uses them to expertly control Papa¡¯s emotions. You think back to one of the few times Mama chided Papa. Mama came home with her hands covered in scratches and Papa wouldn¡¯t stop hovering protectively. You do your best to infuse your voice with the same elegantly dismissive tone she used as you address the middle boy: ¡°You can''t be huntmaster, Bato. Your face looks like hunt-bait. Now leave me alone.¡±


    The stunned expressions on all four of the boy¡¯s faces are hugely satisfying. You sweep past them with Wotjeo beside you and hurry towards what you hope will be the safety of the Elder¡¯s lesson cave while they gape at you in shock.


    Standing beside Bato, the yellow-haired boy¡¯s shock transitions into laughter. He laughs so hard he bends at the waist.


    Brown-haired Bato turns on him and savagely shouts ¡°Shut up Chuno! My mom says I have a handsome face! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!¡±


    This only makes the yellow-haired boy laugh even harder.


    You can still hear the other children squabbling when you arrive at the cave Papa told you about. The walls are pockmarked with some sort of soft-white rock. The Elder looks old to your young eyes and has a thick bushy beard. Both his beard and hair are a bright yellowish-brown. Beside him, a large bear with bright yellowish-brown fur sleeps soundly.


    Elder Minaro growls as you enter the room: ¡°The first day and already you arrive late. I will not tolerate such insolence! Give me thirty pushups at once. No, not there, over there!¡± The Elder points to the part of the cave furthest from where he is sitting with his legs crossed and feet resting on his knees.


    You move to the far side of the cave and are half done with your pushups by the time the boys arrive. The Elder growls at them too. ¡°The first day and already you arrive late. I expect no better from the butterfly girl, but you should know better than to keep an Elder waiting. Five pushups from each of you before the lesson begins, and another five to atone for the shame of allowing yourselves to be shown up by a useless butterfly.¡±


    Only ten pushups for them when you got here first and have to do thirty! Papa never made you do thirty pushups at a time. You complain about the unfairness, but Minaro¡¯s cold glare silences you.


    The boys finish before you do and the Elder¡¯s eyes gleam with malice. ¡°No point in waiting for a butterfly like you if you let the others finish before you even with a headstart. Ten more pushups for being so slow, P¨±mi¨¨. You may join us when you finish.¡±


    Elder Minaro beckons the other children close to him and whispers so that you have you to strain to hear him. ¡°As new Silver Bear members, I will be instructing you in the basic elements of cultivation for the next three months; as I instructed your older siblings and parents. Pay close attention. A solid foundation determines everything about how far you will progress. To ensure you are properly motivated; whoever makes the most progress during the first season of lessons will receive an additional season of instruction from me.¡±


    You finish your initial 30 pushups and start on your ten additional. Your slender arms quiver with the effort of supporting even your slight body weight. Every time your nose touches the stone floor of the cave, you want to give up and just lie there, but you force yourself to keep going. You¡¯re going to prove you¡¯re just as strong as the other Silver Bears even though your Mama has a different spirit companion.


    The Elder continues, ¡°Young as you are, you do not yet realize how valuable instruction from an Elder such as myself is. Your lack of understanding forces me to explain even such basic concepts to you. We Elders take students rarely, and of your families, only Chuno¡¯s mother has ever qualified for additional training from me.¡± Elder Minaro boasted. ¡°It was under my instruction that she advanced from Copper to Iron when she was thirty-eight winters old. She is a talented woman, and fortunate to be joined with the exceptional Silver Bear, Junio, but even so, she is unlikely to ever advance to the next rank to become an Elder. I doubt any of you will reach even that high so I will waste no more of my time discussing such matters. There are seven levels of cultivation, Ore, Tin, Lead, Copper, Iron, Bronze, and finally Silver.¡±


    You finish your pushups. Even though your arms quiver with exhaustion and you are panting for breath after your unprecedented exertion, you tiredly jog the length of the cave to join the others. Judging by the elder¡¯s cold gaze, jogging was a good choice. ¡°You, young sluggards that you are, have not even reached Ore level yet, but the trial demonstrated that you all have at least the potential to reach that level soon. If you have not done so by the end of our lessons, I will consider it an insult to my teaching abilities. You do not want to insult me.¡±


    The Elder pauses a moment to let that sink in before continuing. ¡°Your first step along the path of cultivation will be learning to locate vital essences so that you can help your spirit companions absorb them. Vital essence rains down from the sun, which some superstitious folk call the World Yolk, and slowly accumulates in inanimate objects and plants. Animals naturally convert the vital essence in the things they eat into madra. As they age and gather more madra, an animal''s intelligence and strength increases. After a few decades, most animals learn how to draw vital essences out of even the things they can¡¯t eat and convert it into madra. This is why all the tribes in the valley have spirit companions. With the help of the other half of our souls, we can learn to access the madra that they have converted and use it to strengthen ourselves in a variety of ways.¡± The other children murmur excitedly as they speculate on all the incredible things madra might let them do.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Elder Minaro only gives them a few moments before silencing them. ¡°Madra manipulation is for a future lesson. First, you will learn how to sense nearby vital essences. You lazy layabouts are fortunate to have been born Silver Bears. There are only a few places with strong vital essence left in Aestia Valley. In most places, an animal will draw it out and consume it as soon as even a little begins to accumulate. We, however, live in these wonderful caves.¡±


    Elder Minaro pats one of the white outcroppings with the closest thing you¡¯ve seen him display to affection so far. ¡°Our cave complex is riddled with veins of metal that draw upon endless reserves of vital essence deep underground. These outcroppings are tin veins suitable for training young children like yourself. Pick a tin outcropping to meditate under, and I will walk you through the process of sensing the vital essence. Some of your families may have already started teaching you this, Bato. If so, wait for my instruction. If I catch you experimenting, I will throw you out. If you do it a second time, I will aim for the wall.¡±


    Decavo, the red-haired boy, rushes forward before Elder Minaro finishes speaking and claims the tin outcropping Elder Minaro had been petting. Having been forced to listen to the Elder¡¯s lecture from behind the boys proves to have its advantages. It means you are the closest to the other tin outcroppings and the second to claim a spot. Not trusting the Elder after your unfair treatment on first entering the cave, you listen closely to the instructions he gives the red-haired boy. Decavo is too impatient to wait and follow Elder¡¯s Minaro¡¯s instructions. Decavo keeps incorrectly guessing at what the next step is and rushing ahead to try it. After the third time, true to his word to punish experimentation, Elder Minaro grabs the boy and effortlessly flings him out of the cave.


    Even though you are closer to him, Elder Minaro turns the other way and instructs Bato, the largest boy, next. Anger and relief war for control in your heart. You are angry that the Elder treats you so unfairly, but you are relieved he didn¡¯t turn towards you. Would he have thrown you out of the classroom too if he¡¯d noticed you weren¡¯t meditating? You decide it is best not to risk it, and pretend to meditate while really listening with your eyes closed.


    The instructions he gives black-haired Bato are similar, but not identical to those given to Decavo. Does Elder Minaro tailor his teachings to each student? You¡¯ve only ever been taught by Papa and Mama, so you don¡¯t have any reference point to tell if this is unusual or not. The Elder turns to yellow-haired Chuno next. The smallest boy would have had that spot, but Chuno had pushed him out of it, the Elder either not noticing or not caring about the casual violence.


    You decide you¡¯ve eavesdropped enough to be able to attempt the lesson even if the Elder doesn¡¯t instruct you, but remembering what happened to Decavo you decide to wait and see if he''ll instruct you before trying on your own. Turning your attention away from him, you try to meditate. It is difficult to let go of the roiling ball of conflicting emotions. Anger at the unfairness of it all, shame at being seen as less than a Silver Bear, pride at having put the boys in their place with a few sharp words, eagerness to learn the real secrets of the tribe. The Elder is halfway through his instructions to Chuno, the second-largest boy before you feel your emotions calming. Elder Minaro¡¯s voice fades to an incomprehensible buzz, and you let his half-heard instructions to the other children flow through you without affecting you. Your mind floats in serene but isolated balance, aware only of your body and Wotjeo beside you.


    Elder Minaro¡¯s hectoring voice sounds from right beside you: ¡°At least you can do this much. No thanks to your witch of a mother.¡± You are so startled to hear Elder Minaro¡¯s voice beside you that you nearly lose your meditative state. He growls grumpily: ¡°Calm yourself girl.¡± With unexpected patience, he waits silently until your thoughts are once again serenely balanced.


    The next time he speaks, you are prepared for it. ¡°Relax your body and think about the tin outcropping above you. Remember how it looked when you sat beneath it. It is a rough surface splashed with patches of black and white. Got it? No? I didn¡¯t expect you to yet girl. Keep trying and don¡¯t even think of lying and saying you can see it in your mind¡¯s eye before you do.¡± It takes a few tries with Elder Minaro endlessly describing the outcropping before you have a clear mental picture of it. He¡¯d done the same thing for Decavo and then Bato, although more politely in your opinion.


    You tell him you¡¯ve got it, and he replies ¡°Good. At least your father taught you not to try to lie to me. Now pick out one of the white splotches. Both the black and white spots are tin ore but focus on just one white splotch today. Focus on that one splotch until it fills your spirit¡¯s eye." This part is a little different from what he''d told the boys, but your father repeatedly told you to follow the Elder''s instructions so you follow them exactly instead of trying to do what he told the others. "Yes, now keep focusing and move your spirit''s eye closer and closer and closer.¡± You make your mental image of the splotch larger and larger until it completely fills your field of vision. You can¡¯t imagine how to get any closer, but you keep looking at your mental image as Elder Minaro continues to urge you to get closer to the splotch and make it bigger. How could something possibly be bigger than everything?


    ¡°Enough.¡± Elder Minaro snaps his fingers by your ears, snatching away your mental balance. The transition from mentally focusing on a vast white spot to seeing the whole cave is as jarring as trying to take a step up that isn¡¯t there, and you are disoriented for several moments as he urges the other students to their feet. It seems he instructed you last, giving the other students additional time to practice his instructions.


    Elder Minaro ushers you all out and you nearly trip over Decavo. The red-haired boy is asleep; sprawled out across the entrance to the cave and sucking on his thumb. Minaro growls louder than you have heard him do so yet. ¡°Stupid boy. He should have known better than to try to get back into my class after I threw him out. The Matriarch is too soft, if she¡¯d permit me to use nightmares he wouldn¡¯t try that again and neither would any of you other idiot children after word got around. You, Bato! You are his friend. Take him home and tell Aracato the boy will wake just after dinner so your father can punish him for not listening too.¡±


    Bato gets Chuno to help him, and the two boys carry the third off.


    The last, smallest boy turns to you and introduces himself: ¡°It was amazing the way you stood up to Bato! Nobody does that. I¡¯m Felero, and I¡¯m going to tell everyone what you said to him. See you tomorrow!¡± The small boy scampers off quickly.

 Aestia Valley Interlude 1: Origin of the World

    Mama and Papa told you many stories of the Silver Bear clan and the spirits that live in Aestia Valley. Papa¡¯s stories are always short and direct. They usually have lots of short, sharp fights described in great detail. Mama¡¯s stories teach most of the same lessons, but hers are longer and use more words you don¡¯t understand. Mama¡¯s stories often feature elements of cleverness or negotiation. This is Papa¡¯s retelling of how the world came to be:


    In the beginning, there was nothing. Only an endless void. There was no land. There was no water; no rivers, no lakes, no ponds. There was neither day nor night. There were no spirit beasts.


    Only the great spirits existed, and they hardly knew it. They forged their way through the void by pure will but did not know each other. The great spirits did not even know themselves. In the void, all was one, and the other could not be distinguished from the self.


    The great spirits existed in this way for a very long time. No one knows exactly how long, but it was for even longer than humans have lived in Aestia Valley.


    Then the great spirits discovered a bright light in the void. The light poured forth endlessly and pressed against the great spirits like a tidal wave. The light streamed out from its origin and on into the void in a river of power. It carried anything in its path along with it.


    The great spirits were pushed back by the light until they could barely see the origin. Mustering up their will, they forced their way back to the light, for it showed them a great treasure.


    With the light, the great spirits could see themselves and each other. There was much rejoicing; for each had thought themselves alone; but now, they had each other.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Celebrating the discovery of each other, the great spirits came together and agreed on a common language so they could talk to each other. Afterward, the great spirits created smaller versions of themselves to carry messages to each other using their new language. They called these smaller versions of themselves children. These first children were born with wills far weaker than those the great spirits had cultivated in the journey through the void. Lacking the will to resist the light, the children were swiftly swept into the void. Many of the great spirits sought to catch up to their children. If any did, none returned to tell the tale. Most of the first children and the great spirits who pursued them wander lost in the void still, unable to find the light once more. Sometimes they return, twisted and terrible by their long isolation and the great spirits must join together to drive them away before they destroy all that is.


    The great spirits who stayed learned from the loss of their children and the disappearance of the great spirits who left the light to find them. Joining their wills together they surrounded the light with an eggshell.


    The great spirits celebrated the success of their creation with a party that lasted for seven summers and seven winters. In their celebration, they danced and sang and played. As they did, the inner surface of the World Shell they had created was crushed in some places. Water gathered there and became seas. In other places their vigorous celebration pinched the land between their toes, raising it up into mountains. Afterward, the great spirits again created smaller versions of themselves. These second children the great spirits placed lovingly within the shell. Along with their children, the great spirits also placed within the eggshell everything their children would need to grow strong and then withdrew. They saw that their celebrations had deformed the land and created the seas, and all agreed to touch the world and the children inside the World Shell only lightly, lest they crack it open and lose their children once more.

 Aestia Valley 7: Physical Combat

    Your first day of lessons with Elder Minaro finally ends, and you return to the main cave. The main cave is where everyone meditates while the sun emerges from the night. Papa, tired from guarding the cave mouth you live in, always led you back home immediately after meditating so this is your first time down here during the day. You are astonished by how many people are still here. Adults stride steadily across the open area while teenagers rush around, weaving between the adults. Wotjeo¡¯s head swivels back and forth trying to take it all in.


    One of the adults stops Bato and Chuno as they carry their snoring companion. You walk close enough to listen as they explain an Elder put their friend to sleep. The adult frowns at the boys and sends them on their way, not offering any help. The boys head down one of the many tunnels leading out and deeper underground from the main cave.


    Two of the rushing teenagers bump into each other. Shouting quickly escalates into punching. The rest of the people pay no attention other than to curve around the fight.


    You decide to explore a little and walk around the outer edge of the meditation cave. There are lots of tunnels leading away from the main cave. Only three of the tunnels lead up, which is a good thing because you still get two and three mixed up and thinking about higher numbers make your head hurt. All the rest of the tunnels slopes downwards, there are lots of them; but not many lots you think. You already know one of the tunnels leading up goes to your home, where do the others go? Drawn by the sound of people shouting you follow one of the tunnels leading up until you arrive at a series of interconnected caves.


    You are overwhelmed by what you see. Members of the Silver Bear clan of every age and cultivation level are exercising here, along with their spirit companions. Human and silver bear clan members alike are pumping iron, doing crunches, and lifting themselves into the air by the strength of their arms alone, as well as pounding sand-filled leather bags with fists and knees.


    You recognize a few of the exercises from your lessons with Papa, but there are many more you haven''t seen before. Some clan members are exercising together. A few of the caves have a sandy floor, and two pairs of clan members and their spirit companions are fighting in one of them. Several other clan members are standing around watching them and cheering. Nobody around the edge is doing anything to stop the fight here either. Captivated, you watch until one of the fighters pounds his fist into the sand three times and the woman holding him down helps him back to his feet, and they shake hands. Another pair of fighters move onto the sandy area. They meet in the middle to hug ritually, clasp wrists, and finally, start attacking each other.


    You wander over to the next cave with wide-open eyes. You swivel your head constantly from side to side, not wanting to miss anything. Wotjeo directs your attention to a yellow-haired girl punching a big bag hanging from the ceiling. It''s shaped kind of like a tree trunk but must be softer because you see her knuckles sinking into it. You watch open-mouthed until she''s done, and then you walk up and try to repeat her motions. It''s tougher than it looks! The bag is made from animal skin, not wood, but it''s not soft at all. Your punches don''t sink your knuckles into it at all! Instead, your knuckles hurt. You glare at the bag while sucking on your hurt knuckles than try punching it again. Nope. Still not working.


    You hear someone clapping behind you and turn to look at them. You find yourself staring at their knees. You look up. And up. And up. The woman clapping is so tall you think she must be almost as big as Papa. Her hair is the same flat black color as Papa''s too. She crouches down, but still towers over you. "You must be P¨±mi¨¨, Guarnicio''s girl. You''ve got his spirit all right; even though he clearly hasn''t made time to teach you how to punch. Would you like to learn how to fight properly?" You agree enthusiastically. "Well, get your father''s permission, and I''ll teach you. I haven''t seen him down here in years, I bet he doesn''t know you''re here does he?"


    You shake your head no.


    The woman smiles kindly. "Don¡¯t worry. You¡¯re not in trouble. Not with me anyways. It''s your first day with Elder Minaro, right? Your father is probably worried about you. Run home now. When you get there, you can tell Guarnicio that Mina offered to teach you how to fight. I appreciate him guarding that cave mouth all these years. Least popular job in the whole Guard that used to be."


    ***


    Papa and Mama are both there when you get back. Mama was sitting on Papa''s lap but leaps up when you arrive. Mama welcomes you home with a tender hug. How was your first day of lessons with the Elder, my little growllita?"


    You have so much to tell them about! You want to tell them about the fights you saw and the exercise cave and Mina and the Elder.


    The words get all tangled up until Papa scoops you up and crushes you against his ridiculously muscled chest in a bear hug. "Settle down, P¨±mi¨¨. Your papa can''t understand you when you try to tell him a dozen stories at once. Especially after staying up so long." Papa looks at Mama ¡°Can you take her, love of my life? I need to get some sleep. Just in case.¡±


    Mama rubs your back affectionately. ¡°Of course, Guarnicio. I don¡¯t get to spend enough time with our lovely daughter. Come along growllita. We¡¯re going to be looking for more pomegranates today. Do you think you can climb up and get them for me?¡±


    ¡°Yeah!¡± You say, Wotjeo¡¯s excited voice echoing in your mind. He likes fruit almost as much as you do and is an even better climber.


    ***This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    That night you tell Papa about the exercise cave and meeting Mina while he''s holding you upside down by your ankles and you do situps. "Mina?" He lets go of one of your ankles to rub his chin in thought and you scream as that side of your body drops towards the floor. "Oops! He grabs hold of your ankle again and holds you back up. Sorry, P¨±mi¨¨. I guess your Papa is a little absentminded today because I did not much sleep yesterday. I lost count, you''ll have to start over. You were saying about Mina?" You grumble about having to do extra hanging situps but tell him about how you met Mina again. "That''s my girl. She''s a good person to know. Not as strong as me, but close. I''ll wait for you in the meditation cave and we''ll go see her after your lesson with Elder Minaro. She''s probably asleep now. Papa yawns as he lowers you down so you can move to the next exercise.


    You continue exercising and cycling Wotjeo¡¯s madra through your body until it''s time to meditate with the rest of the tribe. Papa hugs you goodbye and hands you a breakfast bag with two pomegranates and a handful of hard-shelled nuts. You look back as you head towards your lesson and see him walking back to your home for a short nap while you take your lesson.


    In the same spot as yesterday, you see Bato, Decavo, and Chuno again. At least Felero isn''t with them this time. Wotjeo growls as soon as he sees them. Bato blocks your way: "Where do you think you''re going, butterfly? You made me look stupid yesterday."


    Bato pushes you. "Nobody makes me look stupid and gets away with it."


    Chuno chimes in: "Yeah, we beat up lots of people who make us look stupid!"


    Bato grimaces and looks at Chuno, "Shut up Chuno, don¡¯t say lots of people make us look stupid. It makes us sound stupid."


    Bato turns back to you. "Give us your breakfast and your shoes to apologize for yesterday or we''ll pound your face in." Your shoes are brand new and made of very soft fox fur. They''re the nicest pair of shoes you''ve ever had and Papa warned you not to lose them because he won''t be able to get such nice fur again for several winters.


    You look around the cave tunnel and consider your options. There''s a tripod with some burning rocks providing light beside you. You feel a little braver after Papa''s talk about being safe from fire and think you might be able to tip it over onto the boys. You also remember how to get to Mina from here. Maybe she would help if you can run that far, but you''re pretty slow. Even Wotjeo is faster than you, so running to Mina is probably a bad idea. The pomegranates and the nuts Papa gave you for breakfast are both pretty hard. They''d probably hurt if you threw them, and you consider doing just that.


    You¡¯re pretty upset about being in this position again the very next day. Don¡¯t they realize the Elder is going to be mad at all of you no matter what happens?


    You size up the three bullies again. Bato is significantly larger than all of you, large enough that he could easily be mistaken for someone a year older. His spirit companion isn¡¯t as massive, but he¡¯s still bigger than you. Decavo, to his right and slightly behind, is only a little bigger than you, but his spirit companion is significantly bigger than Wotjeo. Between them in size and to Bato''s left is Chuno. Chuno''s spirit companion is larger than Bato¡¯s but smaller than Decavos. Add it all up, and you are out-massed about 4:1 and Wotjeo is out-massed at least 5:1. Only briefly do you consider your options before making your decision. Fighting is obviously hopeless. Throwing fruit and nuts at them will only upset them. Running away just means getting exhausted and then beaten up. There¡¯s really only one choice.


    You sigh and look down at your feet. "Okay Bato, you win."


    You hold your breakfast bag out.


    Bato looks surprised at first. Then his face lights up with cruel joy. He reaches for it, and your raise your head, revealing the smile you were hiding. You shout "You want my breakfast? Come and get it!"


    He freezes mid-reach as you swing the heavy bag back and Wotjeo roars.


    You swing the bag forward. It slams into Bato''s shocked face.


    All three of the boys are stunned. Nobody has ever stood up to them before, and they don''t know how to react.


    You swing again. This time there''s a wet thunk as you whipyour bagged pomegranatesagainst his head.


    Bato collapses bonelessly. Each pomegranate is the size of an adult''s fist. More than twice the size of your toddler''s fists and you swung it with all the strength a year of nightly exercise has granted you.


    Wotjeo attacked at the same time you did, but Bato''s spirit companion is half again as big as yours, so Wotjeo isn''t doing nearly as well. When Wotjeo charged forward, he literally bounced off the bigger bear cub despite having completely surprised her. He quickly scrambled back up. Thankfully he was back on his paws before the shock of your initial attack wore off and lashed out with his front paw. His young claws aren''t long or sharp enough to cut through the other''s thick fur and he did little more than annoy the bigger silver bear.


    You swing your breakfast bag back, getting ready to help Wotjeo but are tackled by a screaming, red-haired blur. Untrained in fighting, you awkwardly swing your bag at Decavo, but he''s got his arms wrapped around your chest with his head tucked in tight, and the only thing you can hit is his legs. Which just seems to make him angrier. You get in one halfway decent punch with your off-hand before Chuno joins in.


    After that, it''s all over but the screaming. Of which there''s a lot. You and Wotjeo provide all the pained screams but the others provide plenty of furious shouts to add to the noise. Elder Minaro must hear the fight. Does he not care?


    Neither Decavo nor Chuno is old enough to have any self-control. It doesn''t even occur to them to hold back to avoid crippling a fellow tribe member. They hit you as hard as they can. Their untutored strikes pound into you relentlessly. You can hear and feel Wotjeo getting viciously clawed and knocked around by the boy¡¯s spirit companions. They don''t know enough to hit you in places where it would hurt but not knock you unconscious, so mercifully, you pass out quickly and miss the worst of it.


    You wake up some time later. You hurt all over and can feel ugly bruises forming all over your face. You drag yourself over to Wotjeo. The only good news is that the boys¡¯ spirit companions¡¯ claws are as undeveloped as Wotjeo''s and there are only a handful of superficial scratches in addition to bruises similar to the beating you took.


    Wotjeo whined at the pain as you checked him for serious injuries but licks your face affectionately afterward. "At least you got Bato, sister. Sorry I didn''t do as well. I''ll have to train harder."


    You curse the three bigger boys for what they did to Wotjeo, and for what they did to you.


    You look around. There''s no sign of the boys, and you don''t know how long you''ve been unconscious. You spot your breakfast bag and snagging one of the leather drawstrings you drag it to you and open it. One of the pomegranates has been cracked open, and several of the nuts are smashed, but your breakfast is otherwise intact.


    You don''t think Wotjeo is seriously injured, but he Papa told you that sometimes people get injured inside where you can¡¯t see. You also might have missed something. This is only your second fight, and you have no medical training. Your heart races with concern for your adorable brother who always helps you and is always by your side.


    For that matter, your insides might be injured. They sure hurt a lot. You''re not sure you can even stand. Just thinking about how much it''d hurt to try makes you groan.

 Aestia Valley 8: Getting Back Up

    You hurt all over, but you still have all your stuff. Both Wotjeo and you survived despite being horribly outnumbered by bigger and stronger opponents. Best of all, the memory of Bato collapsing bonelessly after you hit him gives you a fierce sense of satisfaction. The bigger boy has already paid for this fight, but you didn''t manage to hurt the other two. You barely touched Decavo and you think Chuno probably did more damage to his hands punching you than you did to him. Chuno and Decavo, they¡¯re the ones who hurt you. Who hurt your brother Wotjeo. You make a mental list of each injury done to you, stacking them one upon the other like an altar made of pain and swear an oath of vengeance on it. You promise yourself that the two bigger boys will pay for what they did to you. They''ll both pay, but not today.


    Today, the first step on your road to revenge is going to be showing them up by getting to class despite their best efforts to stop you. You don¡¯t feel like anything inside you is broken. You¡¯ll be okay, right? Wotjeo agrees that nothing inside him feels broken, but like you, he is in a lot of pain.. You¡¯re going to minimize the danger to your brother by carrying him anyways. At least, that¡¯s the plan if you are strong enough. Right now, you¡¯re not even sure you can stand up. You¡¯ve never been hurt like this before.


    Okay, step one. Push your face up off the floor. You push and the bruises on your arms burn with unfamiliar pain but you force yourself to ignore it. You get your knees under you and pause to let the throbbing pain subside. It lessens but does not go away. Okay¡­ you guess that¡¯s as good as you can hope for. You¡¯d been hoping that the pain would just go away like it does when Mama kisses it better. You want to cry, but if you do, you don¡¯t think you¡¯ll be able to take care of your bear brother so you choke back your sobs.


    Now for the tricky bit. You cradle Wotjeo in your dominant left arm and lean against the right tunnel wall for support. You push yourself up, handspan by handspan until you are standing. Success!


    You are still in intense pain, almost as bad as after the fight for the sweet liquid, but now you¡¯re standing. Ha, ha! Take that, bullies! Nothing can keep you down!


    Every shuffling step forward yanks a sob of pain from you. By the time you make it to the first opening in the wall your face is wet with tears. The prospect of walking across the open area without anything to lean on is almost overwhelming. After everything that happened today, your mental fortitude is exhausted, and you break down. Your legs give out from under you You collapse to your knees sobbing. You barely have the presence of mind to avoid crushing Wotjeo under you by landing on your elbows and forearms so that your chest doesn¡¯t crush him against the tunnel floor.


    A few moments later a young woman comes out of the connecting tunnel that you are crying next to and, not realizing how badly you were beaten, she tries to comfort you instead of rushing you to a Healer. ¡°There. There. It¡¯ll be alright. I¡¯m Tunica.¡±


    Tunica tries to pick you up, but you wipe your tears away and stifle your sobs to insist you can walk. An older, more confident woman likely would have ignored your insistence, but Tunica is still young enough to be unsure of herself, so she indulges you. She gently takes Wotjeo from you:


    She puts your arm over her spirit companion''s back ¡°This is Valo. He''s very gentle. Give him a big hug to introduce yourself. We''re going to walk the rest of the way with you, you can lean on him for support if you want."


    Just the presence of the kind young woman and her gentle bear brother after dealing with all those brutal boys and a mean man is reassuring. You hug Valo as best you can and lean heavily on him. As the four of you slowly make your way forward, Vala awkwardly tries to fill the silence with chatter. "Elder Minaro''s classes right? He''s, well, he''s still awful once you get to know him, but he''s really smart too. Just pay attention, and you''ll do all right. He won''t let fights get out of hand or disrupt his class."


    "Oh, we''re here." The young woman, Tunica, fidgets while you dry your eyes. She hands Wotjeo back when you reach for him. He licks your face comfortingly, despite the pain of his own injuries.


    Tunica whispers "good luck," and then continues on her way.


    The pain is still horrible, but you manage to stagger into the classroom without leaning on anything. Elder Minaro and Felero are the only people in the room.


    The Elder''s usually sour expression softens when he takes in your injuries. He strides over without seeming to hurry and lifts Wotjeo out of your arms, casually overpowering your attempt to hold onto him.


    Elder Minaro covers Wotjeo''s forehead with his right palm while he holds your bear brother with his left hand: "Nothing a few days rest and good food won''t cure."


    He puts down Wotjeo and places his right palm on your forehead. You feel a pulse of warmth travel down from your forehead to your toes and back up. "Your ribs are bruised, but nothing is broken. Try to avoid breathing heavily until they heal."


    He grunts sourly. "I suppose congratulations on winning your first fight are in order since you are here and three of my idiot students are not. Perhaps the Matriarch was right about you being worth teaching. The worst part is she won''t act smug about it like a decent person." His gaze sharpens: "You did not hear that last sentence, and you certainly won''t repeat it. Go sit down under one of the tin outcrops. You''ve already missed half the lesson, don''t waste any more time. Felero''s been benefiting from my concentrated attention since he was the only one who managed to show up on time. He needs a break, which means it is your turn."


    After the lesson, Wotjeo and you walk back to the common area to meet Papa. He scoops both you and Wotjeo up in one arm each and cradles you both against his broad chest. "P¨±mi¨¨! Wotjeo! You look like you''ve been in a war! Tell me all about it."This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    You cry again as the story of how the band of bigger boys tried to bully you comes tumbling out.


    Papa can¡¯t resist smiling hugely, "That''s my girl! You were very brave to fight all of them. Papa is proud of you." He starts to hug you but sheepishly stops when you protest at the pain as he squeezes your bruises. "You were very clever, using your breakfast like that. Next time, don''t focus on just one opponent though. You have to switch between them, or they''ll attack when you''re not paying attention like they did this time. Mina will want to hear this."


    Papa¡¯s long legs carry him surely if not swiftly through the cave complex your clan lives in. His strong arms cradle you and cushion you so thoroughly from the impacts of his feet on the ground that it feels like you are floating on a cloud.


    ***


    Papa was right, Mina did want to hear about the fight. Her laughter filled the training cave complex when you described knocking Bato out. "Hah, I can''t wait to mention this the next time Aracato starts bragging about how strong his boy is. That ought to shut the loudmouth Hunter up."


    After she stopped laughing she walked you through each step of the fight and suggested things you could do differently next time. You are a bit disappointed that you don''t get to train today, but Mina assured you that she''d start training you as soon as you''d healed.


    ***


    That night you dream. As is often the case, Wotjeo is beside you in your dream and together you frolick in a pit of mud. In the dream, your bruises and wounded pride seem far away. When you wake, the pain radiating from your bruises returns, but it is not nearly as bas as it was yesterday.


    When you arrive at Elder Minaro''s lesson cave after morning meditation; Chuno and Decavo are already there, but Bato isn¡¯t. Mercifully, the Elder doesn¡¯t make you do pushups for being late, and Bato never makes an appearance. Just like the past two days, Elder Minaro has you all sit down under the tin outcroppings and meditate. You quickly move through the visualization exercises as before. The previous two days of instruction, you¡¯d been stuck at the same spot in your lessons. The mental image of one spot of tin ore completely filling your mind and impossible to get any closer to. Before you¡¯d tried to pull the spot closer to you and you try the same again today. Again you fail.


    The pain of your bruises and the mounting frustration shatters what little self-control you have left after the trying events of the past days and you wail: ¡°The spot is as big as everything! How can I pull it closer?¡±


    Elder Minaro grunts: ¡°If you can¡¯t bring it to you, you have to go to it. Hold the image in your mind and keep your body¡¯s hands still in your lap. Now reach out and touch the spot.¡±


    You visualize reaching out to touch the tin ore, and suddenly you are inside it. All around you is a disorganized lattice of white. The lattice looks like it wants to be a cube with another node at the center, but some of the nodes have been replaced by patches of different colors distorting the shape of the lattice. You reach out your hand and touch one of the nodes. It¡¯s vibrating! With your eyes, you follow the rod leading from the node you¡¯re touching to its neighbor. The rod leading to the next node is a little thicker, as is the rod leading to the next node, and the next lattice cube after that and ¡°Stop girl!¡±


    Suddenly you¡¯re looking at the cave and Elder Minaro. He mutters so quietly you can hear him only because his head is right next to yours. ¡°That woman is going to be insufferable after this.¡± Standing and facing the rest of the class he announces: ¡°P¨±mi¨¨ is the first of your class to be able to sense vital essence.¡± Felero claps for you but Red-haired Decavo and Yellow-haired Chuno glare daggers. You glare right back at them, remembering your promise to get revenge on them.


    Elder Minaro continues: ¡°I expect the rest of you sluggards to work hard to catch up to her.¡±


    He looks back down at you. ¡°As for you, resume the position! You still have a lot to learn so don¡¯t slack off!¡± He works you hard for the rest of the lesson, having you repeat the mental exercise over and over again but not letting you touch the nodes or lattice. Finally, he moves on to the next student when you no longer feel like you''re being drawn to look deeper and deeper into the lattice.


    ***


    After class Felero comes up and congratulates you on being able to sense vital essence. You¡¯re glad he¡¯s not hanging out with the boys who are trying to bully you anymore and you let him walk back to the main cave with you. You chat with him while you walk and you learn that his mama is named Suena. She is one of the clan¡¯s Dreamkeepers. As a Dreamkeeper, Suena holds the memories of every Dreamkeeper and clan member before her and shares their memories as a dream with Silver Bear clan members when they need to remember the past. Felero is very proud of her and wants to be one too.


    When you get to the main cavern you see Chuno and Decavo splitting up and going their own ways. This is the perfect chance to make good on your oath of vengeance, you can¡¯t be sure you¡¯ll get another opportunity to fight them one-on-one. You¡¯re still bruised and sore, but the throbbing pain of your wounds drives you onwards, but which one should you go after? You think for a moment. Decavo was the one who actually tackled you in the last fight, so you want to hurt him more. Besides, Chuno laughs when you insult Bato. That last thought makes up your mind for you, maybe Chuno isn¡¯t that bad but Decavo definitely is. Decavo is going down.


    You turn to Felero and say: "I want to challenge Decavo to fight. Want in?"


    Felero nods eagerly: "Let''s go! As a future Dreamkeeper, it is my duty to remember the results of all challenges!"


    You hurry towards Decavo with your new, (maybe?) friend beside you. Is Felero your friend? You''re not sure, you''ve never had a friend before. He seems to like you, but maybe he just likes you more than Bato and the others? Do you even like Felero? You''re not sure, he talks funny, but unlike the other boys, he¡¯s nice and seems willing to give you a chance. You wonder how he ended up with them that first day. You push those concerns aside, you need to focus on catching up to your target.


    Weaving around the legs of confidently striding adults and rushing teenagers you just barely manage to catch up to Decavo before he leaves the busy main cavern. "Decavo! I want a rematch! Are you Silver Bear enough to fight me without your friends to help?"


    Decavo wheels towards you and snarls, his hands curling into tiny fists. "Always eager to kick your butterfly behind. Let''s go!"


    Decavo stomps towards you but Felero rushes in between both of you. "That''s not how you''re supposed to answer! She challenged you to a duel so you have to pick the weapon and then she gets to OOF!"


    Felero''s speech is interrupted by Decavo swatting him aside. Felero is the smallest child in your age group, even smaller than you. The larger boy''s backhand smashes into Felero¡¯s mouth and knocks him to the ground.


    Felero''s spirit companion stands guard in front of him while Felero holds his jaw and mutters "ow ow ow ow."


    Seeing Felero taken out with one hit, it occurs to you that this may not have been your best idea ever. A thought reinforced by the pain you still feel from your last fight.

 Aestia Valley 9: Sweet Dreams

    Decavo sneers at Felero as he stomps past the smaller boy he so easily dealt with. Decavo¡¯s spirit companion, Zelencia, growls at Wotjeo as the pair advance. Although Decavo is only a little bigger than you, Zelencia is head and shoulders taller than your loyal companion, Wotjeo. You need to win this as fast as possible so you can help your bear brother.


    You hear Wotjeo''s voice in your mind: "Don''t worry about me, take care of yourself. You''re still hurt from yesterday!"


    You''re tempted to argue, but there''s no more time for discussion. You lift your hands in front of you like you saw the fighters in Mina¡¯s sparring cave do yesterday. It feels right to you, but you must have done something wrong because it doesn¡¯t slow Decavo down at all. With a terrifying shout, he dives under your upraised arms and tackles you to the ground.


    When you hit the ground, all of your bruises wake up and start pulsing with pain as if to remind you of how badly Decavo thrashed you yesterday. So far this is going the same way as your first fight with him. If you don¡¯t want to get beaten unconscious again, you need to do something. Fast.


    Decavo sits up and draws back his arm to start punching. His face twisted in a terrible smile.


    You desperately force your bruised muscles into action; shoving against the cave floor and trying to roll you to the left. Because Decavo is sitting on top of you, you roll him over too when you move. Now you¡¯re on top and the red-haired boy is on the bottom. Copying the stronger boy, you push yourself up with your right hand so you can punch him with your left; but now that all your weight is to your right, Decavo easily rolls both of you in that direction.


    So it goes. The two of you roll around on the ground, ineffectually flailing away. Both of you are too close in to put any force behind your blows and whenever one of you tries to pull back far enough to land a solid hit, the other rolls both of you over again.


    Around you, a handful of teenagers have gathered to watch the fight. You catch snippets of their conversation as you grapple with Decavo. ¡°Look at him go. He¡¯s really ferocious.¡± ¡°Look at her, all beat up and still fighting.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a real bear. Takes a lickin¡¯ and keeps on swingin''¡±


    The adults, men and women alike, avoid your fight like they avoid all other fights, glancing indifferently at your desperate struggles as they pass by.


    Wotjeo isn¡¯t doing nearly as well as you are. You can hear him yelping with pain. You have to do something soon or Wotjeo is going to lose! Wotjeo is the most important person in the whole world to you. He is your brother, your only friend, and your constant companion. You can¡¯t let Decavo¡¯s spirit companion, Zelencia. beat him up!


    This time when you roll Decavo over, you keep rolling away from him. As soon as you¡¯ve broken free from the stronger boy, you scramble to your feet and charge toward where Wotjeo is fighting.


    You can hear Decavo panting as he chases after you. Desperately you dive forward and belly flop onto his spirit companion. You¡¯re still small, but so is the bear. The impact drives Zelencia to the ground.


    Wotjeo, with such magnificent timing an onlooker might also have thought you¡¯d planned this, switches targets and rams into Decavo¡¯s ankles, tripping the boy as he runs after you. The impact knocks Wotjeo down too, but it buys you a few seconds to sit up and land the first good punch of the fight. You hammer your fist into the bear cub pinned beneath you.


    Only a moment later Decavo grabs your ankle and yanks you away. Decavo drags himself up your body and grabs your hair. You try to throw him off but he hasn¡¯t pulled back very far and your battered body is too weak to lift both his and your weight at the same time without the leverage advantage he¡¯d been handing you by sitting up earlier. He slams your face into the stone floor of the cave.


    Twice.


    Thrice.


    Wotjeo is the first spirit companion to recover and he leaps on the boy''s back. Wotjeo places his teeth against the red-haired boy¡¯s neck, but not biting. Yet. Decavo, displaying absolutely no instinct for self-preservation, starts thrashing. His motions drive Wotjeo¡¯s teeth through his skin and one of the passing adults who¡¯d seemingly been paying little attention to your battle snatches Wotjeo away before Decavo can finish committing suicide by bear bite. ¡°Enough. The girl wins.¡±


    Adults congregate faster than you¡¯d thought possible, wading in and trying to pull you and the other fighters away from each other. The one holding Decavo says, ¡°Fighting is good preparation for dealing with the other tribes, but you should acknowledge defeat with dignity.¡±


    You and Wotjeo let the adults pull you away, but you keep a suspicious eye on Decavo. It¡¯s a good thing you did; the fierce red-haired boy tries to kick you despite being held. You just barely manage to pull your legs out of the way as the adults yank both of you further away from each other. Decavo keeps roaring and swinging wildly.


    The adult holding Decavo lifts him up to eye level and roars in his face ¡°Stop!¡±


    The adult¡¯s shout is so loud your ears hurt. That finally pierces Decavo¡¯s rage, and he allows himself to be led away. The fight over, the adults and other observers disperse. You spot another adult releasing Chuno and allowing him to join Decavo but don¡¯t pay much attention because they¡¯re both heading away.


    You have a splitting headache, probably from having your face repeatedly smashed into the unyielding stone floor of the cave. There¡¯s something wet and sticky dripping down your face. You wipe it away from your eyes and look down to see your hand smeared with a red liquid. Something about that disturbs you, but you¡¯re having a hard time focusing. You shake your head and push it out of your mind, you need to check on your bear brother. Wotjeo had a worse time of it than you did for most of the fight.


    The sticky liquid is still slowly running down into your eyes, making it hard to see. You wipe it away again. You¡¯re more concerned about your brother. Wotjeo really took a beating for you. The second in as many days. You hug him gently and cradle him in your arms like a baby. He¡¯s small enough to be mistaken for one if he wasn¡¯t so furry. He affectionately licks your face. You look him over, and fortunately, he does not seem to have any serious injuries. When you feel under his fur you find many scratches. Wotjeo lets out a pained whuff when you touch them, but when you part his fur to get a better look, they seem small and few are still bleeding. The rest look like they will clot over soon. You nuzzle your bear brother¡¯s belly and wipe the red liquid away from your eyes. Why won¡¯t it stop? It¡¯s so annoying. Where is it coming from anyways?


    Felero comes up to you. ¡°You are so tough! It¡¯s amazing. I think I¡¯d be crying up a storm if I was bleeding as much as you are.¡± He takes his shirt off and rubs your forehead clean then wraps it around your head. The liquid finally stops dripping. Was the liquid blood? You look at your hand for the first time and realize it is smeared with blood you¡¯ve been wiping off your forehead. Weird, you didn¡¯t feel like you were bleeding but your head does really hurt. That was probably bad. Good thing Felero took care of it. You feel like you should thank him. Both of him.


    Both Feleros tell you, their voices seeming to echo each other, ¡°Maaaaybe you should learn how to punch before picking another fight. And feed up Wotjeo, so he¡¯s not so small and scrawny. The two of you really got the snot kicked out of you today. Anyways, I¡¯ll see you tomorrow. I have to share my memory of the fight with my mother while it is still fresh.¡±


    Both Felero¡¯s hurry away, each with a spirit companion trotting beside him.


    You don¡¯t remember how you got to the training cave, but you do remember the shocked expression on Mina¡¯s face when you got there.


    You try to walk towards her but all of a sudden your feet don¡¯t want to work right. When you try to take a step it feels like you¡¯re feet are all tangled together and you fall forwards. Her strong arms catching you is the last thing you are aware of before everything fades to black.


    ***


    The next thing you remember is being in the sky above the valley again, but for the first time, the valley looks the same as it does when you are awake. It does not feel like a dream. Your body is whole and healthy. This is not at all surprising. Wotjeo rubs his furry head against your hand, so you scratch him behind the ears the way he likes. You tell him that you think all the boys in your class are lame, except maybe Felero, and you want to see what else is out there.


    Wotjeo points his cute little bear cub paw towards the direction night advances from. "Last one there is a rotten egg."


    Laughing you leap to your feet. You are surprised by a sudden wave of dizziness and for a second the whole scene is tinted red as if seen through a curtain of blood. You check yourself, but you are whole and healthy. Your head does not hurt. This is not surprising.


    Wotjeo and you race across the sky, chasing the sun. After a long time, you come to a narrow place. Almost all the valley between the mountains to the North and South is filled by the river, broader and slower now than you''ve ever seen it. The river pours out into a vast body of water. You can''t tell how vast though; because a massive storm fills the horizon. Bright flashes of lightning blast from cloud to cloud. Even from the shore, you can hear the horrific howling of the wind. A drop of red falls through your line of vision. You aren''t sure you saw it at first, but then it turns into a trickle. You reach your hand up to your forehead and feel a long cut. Blood starts pouring out. Wotjeo leaps towards you and you remember no more.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    ***


    You wake up and know you are dreaming. Turning your head you can see the mouth of the cave where Mama and Papa live. All is peaceful and quiet.


    Wotjeo comes bounding back from the forest with an apricot in his mouth. You sit up to hug him in welcome and he shares the tasty fruit with you. The two of you take turns biting into it, with you holding it for him when it¡¯s his turn. Whenever you finish an apricot, Wotjeo dashes off and returns with another one. Suddenly your head hurts.


    Wotjeo leaps onto your chest, and you lay back. He licks your forehead, and the pain fades. He keeps licking, and you giggle because his tongue tickles. You close your eyes and fall back into a dream.


    ***


    When you wake this time, you are back in your bed furs for real with Mama sleeping beside you. Papa comes in, and when he sees you, he rushes over. "You''re awake!" He shouts then quickly covers his mouth, looking embarrassed. "Ssshhh, your mother is sleeping."


    Papa scoops you up in his strong arms and carries you over to the fire then tenderly holds a bag of water to your lips until you drink. He cuts up several fruits and starts cooking a big piece of meat. "I''m so glad you''re awake, P¨±mi¨¨. You''ve been sleeping for two days. We were worried you might never wake up. Head injuries are tricky that way."


    He peers closely at your face then brushes his fingers across your forehead. "There''s no scar! It''s a miracle! Bless the spirits. Your forehead was split so wide open I thought someone had tried to scalp you until Mina told me what happened. She got the story of your fight from a Guard woman who saw it and reported it to Mina. Congratulations on your victory! I¡¯m very proud of you for challenging one of the boys who hurt you. You¡¯re going to grow up into a tough strong Silver Bear just like me one day! Keep working hard and strike back against anyone who tries to hurt you. It¡¯s better to be friends if you can, but a Silver Bear doesn¡¯t let anyone get away with hurting her."


    You are ravenously hungry and eat everything prepared for you. There is never enough food to really satisfy you, so you are used to being hungry, but after not eating anything for two days because you were unconscious, both hunger and thirst are a demanding ache in your gut.


    Papa starts making seconds, a rare treat, and Wotjeo ambles over to join you, yawning. He looks even thinner than before. His skin hangs loosely in places as if he just lost a lot of weight. You scoop him into your lap, and you nuzzle each other. You share your second meal with him, feeding him a piece than a piece for you. He curls up and goes to sleep in your lap immediately after eating the last bit of meat.


    Papa hugs you and tells you how proud he is of you again. "No training tonight. You should rest as much as you can, P¨±mi¨¨. I''m proud of you for winning that fight, but it was luck as much as anything. You stay away from that boy until you learn how to fight better. Decavo might not be as big as Bato or Chuno, but people like Decavo don''t know when or how to stop and that makes them much more dangerous."


    ***


    When you return to class, all your fellow students are already there. Bato looks pretty much the same as the first day. However, Decavo has even more bruises than you do. He must have gotten in a fight with someone else. You certainly didn¡¯t hurt him that badly.


    Elder Minaro sarcastically greets you: ¡°So good of you to finally join us, little butterfly. Felero and Chuno have surpassed you while you were sleeping. You will have to work hard to catch up.¡±


    Elder Minaro spreads his glare out evenly across the classroom. His voice drills caustically into your ears: ¡°While I have no problems with you beating yourselves unconscious, the Matriarch has decreed that I must continue wasting my time teaching you mudbrains an additional day for each day your injuries prevent you from being here. I have no desire to lose any more time on you than I have to. I have many important tasks I cannot attend to while teaching cubs, so I have a decree of my own for you. There will be no more fighting until my lessons are complete. If one of you attacks the other, I will personally instruct you in the true meaning of strength by beating some sense into you.¡±


    Elder Minaro cracks his heavily scarred knuckles menacingly. Decavo and Bato both glare at you and you glare right back. This isn¡¯t over for any of you. Elder Minaro¡¯s voice lashes out like a whip, and you all look back at him: ¡°Do you understand?¡±


    The boys¡¯ shouts of ¡°Yes, Elder Minaro¡± mingle with your own.


    The Elder may be old, but he¡¯s still terrifying. Your plans for revenge will have to wait. Papa and Mama will be pleased, but you¡¯re a little disappointed. The adults may have said you won, but it was you, not Decavo, who spent the next two days unconscious. You know in your heart that was a draw at best and a lucky one. You still haven¡¯t paid him or Chuno back properly for beating you up. Felero will probably be pleased the fighting is over for now though. Probably Mina too. Come to think of it, pretty much everyone you know is fine with you getting revenge, but they all want you to give yourself time to get stronger first. This might be for the best, however much you want to teach those bully boys that being half butterfly and a girl doesn¡¯t make you any weaker than them.


    You find it hard to meditate after your head injury, and it takes you several tries to regain the clear mental image of the inside of the tin vein. Even when you do manage to reach the vision of the cube lattice with one internal node that you had before your fight with Decavo, your head throbs painfully and you quickly lose your focus. When you can hold it for as long as it takes two fingers thickness of a candle to melt Elder Minaro huffs out an impatient: ¡°Finally!¡±


    Elder Minaro hands you a silvery-white lump of not-rock. ¡°This is a piece of tin. Tin is a soft, malleable, ductile and highly crystalline silvery-white metal. When a bar of tin is bent, a crackling sound known as the ¡®tin cry¡¯ can be heard.¡±


    You bend the lump of tin, and it makes an entertaining crackling sound. You do it several more times, and surprisingly Elder Minaro waits patiently until you look back at him then continues in an unusually gentle tone. ¡°White tin, like the piece I gave you, is malleable at room temperature. The tin ore in these outcroppings is the same kind of tin, but less pure. The white parts of the lattice you see when you move into the ore are tin, the other colors are rocks. Stay away from them and don¡¯t follow the white too far either. These deposits run deep, and you can get lost in them if you stray too far.¡±


    You squeeze the lump in your hand. It takes some effort, but you can leave impressions of your fingers in the soft metal. It reminds you of the second tier of the pyramid during your trial to join the clan last winter.


    Elder Minaro almost sounds like a nice person when he resumes his explanation after you are done playing with the tin. ¡°As I told you last week, Tin is the second tier of cultivation. Our smiths melt it together with copper to create bronze. Bronze practitioners, like myself, are the second highest rank of cultivator. From such humble beginnings is strength formed. In theory, you too can reach such a high rank.¡±


    His voice resumes its usual harshness ¡°Before you can reach Tin, you must first reach Ore. Focus and work hard in my lessons and you will do so soon. Slack off or idle your days away outside my lessons and you will be mired in obscurity and weakness forever.¡±


    Behind his back Bato, Chuno, and Decavo all glare at you. You don¡¯t know what they¡¯re angry about, but you glare right back at them. Still facing you, Elder Minaro snaps: ¡°I told you to meditate, not glare. The next time you disobey me, I¡¯m going to throw you into the wall.¡±


    Frustration and anger burn inside you at the unfairness for a moment before Elder Minaro turns around and directs his displeasure at the glaring boys. The Elder¡¯s voice lashes out like a whip and drives them back to their practice. ¡°That goes for all of you, especially you Decavo. My lessons are not one of your childish games! You think being punched hurts? If you do this wrong, you will feel like you ran into a wall. A wall covered in spikes that pierce you in a million places until you bleed out and die. There is a reason we wait to teach you until after you¡¯ve passed the trial. There is a reason the time of an Elder is spent on little cubs who aren¡¯t yet worth anything to the tribe.¡± Decavo and Chuno look chastened and start meditating again. Bato arrogantly ignores the Elder and continues glaring angrily at you.


    Minaro¡¯s voice lashes out again. ¡°Your father will not protect you, boy. If I have to throw you into a wall to teach you obedience, your father will be the one apologizing to me for the trouble you caused, not the other way around.¡± That finally gets through to the leader of your bullies. He closes his eyes as if meditating, although as soon as Elder Minaro turns back to face you, Bato resumes glaring at you and trying to distract you.


    You do your best to ignore him and focus on the lesson. Elder Minaro¡¯s voice returns to his relatively patient personal instruction tone, as he talks you through the process of meditating on the tin outcropping until you once again seem to be standing inside the tin ore. All around you is a disorganized lattice of white. The lattice looks like it wants to be rows of cubes with another node at the center, but some of the nodes have been replaced by patches of different colors distorting the shape of the lattice.


    You hear Elder Minaro¡¯s voice: ¡°Move to the closest node but don¡¯t touch it yet. Inside this node are dozens of small lumps like the piece of Tin I gave you earlier. The surface of the node is like water, easily pushed through. Put your hand inside and pull out one of the lumps.¡±


    You reach out and rest your hand against the node. The node vibrates beneath against your palm, but the surface remains smooth. That¡¯s weird. Should the surface have ripples like a pond after you threw a rock in it? How can it stay smooth and vibrate at the same time? You push the questions aside and focus on Elder Minaro¡¯s instructions.


    You try to visualize the surface of the node as being like water. Slowly you get the hang of it and the opaque surface of the node turns translucent. Your hand sinks into the translucent orb as it would into a pit of mud. Inside of the node is a slow-moving sea of tin-white liquid. You scoop some of it up and when you pull your hand back out of the node the pool of fluid in your palm transforms into a solid lump.


    Elder Minaro¡¯s voice echoes in your head ¡°Good. Keep the eyes of your body closed and reverse the process that brought you here until you can see your spirit brother with the eyes of your spirit.¡±


    It¡¯s tricky trying to do everything backwards, and several times the lump of tin starts to transform back into a liquid and flow away. When it does you focus on visualizing it as a lump until it settles down. The effort is exhausting. Finally, you are back outside. Wotjeo leaps up and gobbles the tin out of your hand like any other treat.


    He tells you: ¡°Yummy! I want more! This is too slow! Visualize me following you, and we can skip the whole back and forth trip.¡±


    Elder Minaro, apparently unaware of the byplay grudgingly says: ¡°Not bad. Do it again.¡±


    Wotjeo is your beloved brother who always helps you. You instinctively want to do anything you can to help him.


    Elder Minaro is a mean old man who did nothing to help you when you fought nearby, but he is also an Elder and your teacher.


    You aren¡¯t sure which of them you should listen to.

 Aestia Valley 10: First Impressions

    You want to do what your beloved bear cub brother Wotjeo asked you to, but you also don¡¯t want to get thrown out of class, like Decavo did, so you decide to ask Elder Minaro about Wotjeo¡¯s plan. You look up at your old instructor wearing a simple robe made from the fur of a yellow leopard with black spots and ask, ¡°Wotjeo says I could bring him with my when I send my spirit into the tin vein. Would that be better?¡±


    Elder Minaro huffs angrily. ¡°Hmm, let''s see. On the one hand, you could follow the instructions of the best vital-essence manipulator in the whole valley. On the other hand, you could listen to the voices in your head. Let¡¯s, think. Should you do what the voices in your head are telling you to do?"


    Elder Minaro turns his hand''s palm up and moves them up and down like the sides of a seesaw. If you¡¯d ever seen a scale, you might have said it looked like that, but you have only barely survived just four winters and have never heard of such a thing as a scale. He drops one hand to the floor and raises the other over his head before roaring: "NO! YOU SHOULD LISTEN TO YOUR VERY OLD AND VERY EXPERIENCED TEACHER! NOW, REPEAT THE EXERCISE, CUB!"


    You, being a very young girl who has only survived four winters, scramble backward until you are plastered against the cave wall in an instinctive reaction to the threatening roar of a human, a predator, many times your size.


    Elder Minaro continues in a quieter but no less angry voice: "And don''t try to blame your foolishness on your brother again. There''s no way Wotjeo will be able to communicate that clearly for many winters yet. Even I couldn''t hear my sister until I reached Tin."


    You try to explain that you really can talk with Wotjeo, but the Elder coldly dismisses all your claims and insists you continue following the exercise. You wipe away the tears beading up in your eyes and sniffle before resuming your meditative pose and following the Elder''s instructions.


    With continued practice, it gets easier to keep the vital-essence in a solid shape while carrying it. By the end of the day''s lesson, you can almost keep it solid without having to stop ''walking'' but it requires constant focus, and you feel mentally exhausted. When the class ends, Elder Minaro instructs you to stay behind.


    Felero pats you sympathetically on the shoulder before leaving but isn¡¯t brave enough to stand up to the Elder enough to actually say anything.


    Bato and his cronies sing-song "P¨±mi¨¨''s in trouble. P¨±mi¨¨''s in trouble" as they leave, and Elder Minaro does not correct them.


    Elder Minaro beckons you up to the front of the class where his spirit sister sleeps. You don¡¯t know her name, but she is even larger than Papa¡¯s silver bear spirit sister, Arely.


    Your knees quiver with fear as you obey his gesture and walk towards him.


    Elder Minaro lifts his silver bear spirit sister¡¯s head into his lap and pets her tenderly. She growls contentedly in her sleep as he runs his fingers through her metallic yellowish-brown fur. You don''t think you''ve ever seen her awake. "Much as it upsets me to admit it, you''re making good progress girl. Be patient and learn how to walk before trying to run. Your concern for Wotjeo does you credit, despite your outrageous claim of being able to talk to him already. I will teach you faster techniques when you are ready and not before. Now run along. I have better things to do with my time than convince foolish little girls to give their elders the respect they earned before the little girl was even born."


    You run out of the classroom, eager to leave before Elder Minaro''s unusually pleasant mood changes. You briefly consider trying to experiment on your own. Not knowing of any other places to find vital-essence quickly puts an end to such thoughts and you continue on your way to meet with Mina.


    On your way to the training cave complex, you brood about Elder Minaro¡¯s dismissive attitude. You can so speak with Wotjeo! You¡¯ll show him! You¡¯ll show him by¡­ by¡­ by... Uh¡­ You¡¯ll show him by¡­. By telling Mama and Papa when you get home that you can talk with Wotjeo. They¡¯ll believe you!


    You arrive at the training cave complex, and it is quieter than usual. You look around a bit and discover that everyone has crowded into one of the caves to one side. It is one of the caves with a sandy floor in the center and a ring of benches carved into the walls that you¡¯ve started thing of as a fight cave. You¡¯re not even waist high on the adults, and you can¡¯t see past the thick crowd at all. Fortunately, one of the adults, not one you recognize, feels you trying to squirm past and lifts you onto his shoulder. From your new vantage point, you can see two people and their spirit companions facing each other in the center of the sandy cave.


    One of them is a vaguely familiar teenage female with bright yellow hair and a brown-furred bear. Facing her is a lanky adult male with orangish hair and a silver bear with fur the same orangish color. They bow respectfully to each other and move to opposite ends of the cave. The adult puts his hands to his head and draws out a sword and a shield. You could have sworn he wasn¡¯t carrying anything a second ago. It looked like they were inside his head and he pulled them out, even though they¡¯re clearly too large to fit even if his head was hollow.


    Across from him, the teenage girl points at his spirit companion and the bead bracelet she is wearing starts spinning. Suddenly the man¡¯s animal companion tumbles backward and grunts with pain. You blink, and in that brief instant when your eyes are closed the man moves to stand between the girl and the man¡¯s spirit companion. Something moving too fast for you to see whacks into his shield and he goes skidding backward. The girl has two fewer beads on her bracelet now. Is she shooting them at him somehow? How? You didn¡¯t see her arm move to throw them.


    The man whose shoulder you are sitting on says to his companion beside him, ¡°How is she throwing those without moving?¡±


    The woman beside him replies in a bored tone, ¡°All women can do that.¡±


    The man whose should you are sitting on jumps in shocked fear, jostling you. ¡°Really!? I¡¯ll make dinner tonight sweetheart. You don¡¯t have to worry about anything.¡±If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    While you were listening to the people near you, the man in the arena¡¯s spirit companion scrambled back to her feet.


    All four combatants charge each other. They¡¯re moving too fast for you to follow with your eyes. Even the sounds merge together into one continuous thump. When the combatants separate, the man¡¯s sword arm hangs limply at his side, and his spirit companion is slowly making her way out of the ring. The girl¡¯s top is disheveled as if she¡¯d been hit several times, but it hasn¡¯t been cut. She is helping the man¡¯s spirit companion out of the ring, but her¡¯s is cautiously circling him, always moving to his sword arm side. Suddenly the teenage bear charges forward, and the crowd collectively winces as a metallic thump rings out. The man holds his shield to his head, and it slides smoothly inside, even though that¡¯s impossible. Small lead beads zip through the air and join the handful remaining on the yellow-haired girl''s bead bracelet. One of your fellow audience members hurries into the ring. and helps the man carry the brown-furred teenage bear out of the cave. The crowd parts to let them out. They go right past you, and you can see both humans are smiling and congratulating each other.


    After that, the man holding you up lets you down: ¡°Down you come. I bet your parents are going to regret missing seeing that.¡±


    You thank him politely, the way Mama taught you, but he¡¯s already turning away. The crowd breaks up murmuring. You overhear someone say ¡°Not often you see a Lead last even two seconds against a Copper.¡±


    You have so many questions, but before you can ask any, Mina shows up. ¡°Good morning, P¨±mi¨¨. How are you doing?¡±


    You try to tell her you¡¯re feeling great, but she isn¡¯t paying much attention as she runs her hands over your forehead. ¡°Not even a scar on your forehead?¡±


    Mina looks amazed then shrugs it away. ¡°Guess you weren¡¯t hurt as bad as I thought. You really scared me; I wasn¡¯t sure I¡¯d see you up and walking again.¡±


    The fantastically fit and ripped woman pushes your sleeves up, revealing numerous dark bruises. ¡°Rest of your injuries still have a few days it seems. Rest up now; I already told you I won¡¯t train you until you¡¯re healed. You can stay and watch the rest of the spars if you want though.¡±


    You stay and watch a few more of the sparring matches. The people with orange hair move too fast for you to see. You can¡¯t really tell what the older fighters are doing either, but you can at least see their limbs moving. The crowd is never even half as big as the first fight, but they cheer and clap during the bouts. It¡¯s exciting and makes you feel like part of a group even though you don¡¯t really understand what is going on.


    ***


    When you get home Mama has you sit down on one of the rocks your family uses for chairs clustered around the currently banked cooking brazier. It¡¯s cold and you shiver, but Mama tells you that the family doesn¡¯t have enough firewood or burning rocks to keep the fire lit during the day. She begins combing your hair with a fishbone, a frequent ritual. Mama spends more time on her hair than anyone you know, but her hair is also the prettiest. She always looks neat and beautiful. You wish you were as pretty as her. Lately, Mama has spent a lot of time combing and brushing your hair, but it always gets messy and tangled soon afterward. Mama also insists you wash before and after eating.


    You tell Mama you can talk with Wotjeo and she just looks puzzled. Then she smiles at you and resumes brushing your hair. You can tell she¡¯s smiling even though she¡¯s behind you from the sound of her voice. ¡°That¡¯s very nice growllita. All spirit animals can talk. It is good that you are starting to learn how to hear them. I was worried you wouldn¡¯t be able to since your father is a Silver Bear.¡±


    Mama¡¯s comb pulls painfully on your hair as you twist to look at her. ¡°The teacher said I couldn¡¯t. When did you start talking with Azuria?¡±


    Mama turns you back around and quietly untangles her comb from your hair so she can resume grooming you before she answers. ¡°That¡¯s odd. I¡¯ve been able to talk to Azuria ever since we bonded. In the Crystal Butterfly tribe, we have to persuade a spirit animal to form a bond with us. If I¡¯d known the Matriarch was going to bond you so young, I would have objected, but what¡¯s done is done. You and Wotjeo seem to be good for each other. He¡¯s starting to look skinny though.¡±


    Mama sounds a little worried: ¡°I wonder how we can find more food for him to eat? It should warm up soon, that¡¯ll help. I hope that¡¯ll be enough.¡±


    Wotjeo reassures you that he¡¯s fine, but Mama doesn¡¯t hear him. No one but you ever does.


    ***


    When Papa wakes you up for training that night, you tell him you can talk with Wotjeo. He scoops you up and hugs you so tight it feels like he¡¯ll squeeze you in two. This is the way his hugs always feel so you¡¯re not worried. ¡°That¡¯s my clever P¨±mi¨¨! You¡¯re so like your mother.¡±


    He gets a dreamy look on his face at the mention of his pretty wife. ¡°Rica can talk to Azuria too. I¡¯m still not very good at talking with Arely. The other Hunter apprentices used to make fun of me for that. At least until I grew up.¡± He looks embarrassed and removes one arm from the hug to rub the back of his head. It doesn¡¯t seem to take any more effort for him to continue hugging you against his chest with your feet dangling in the open air with one arm than it did with two. Papa is really strong. ¡°We¡¯ve managed just fine though.¡± He rubs Arely¡¯s head, and she growls contentedly in her sleep.


    The mention of Hunters reminds you that Papa has several younger siblings that are still Hunter apprentices. Papa mentions human relatives infrequently but has never introduced you to them. You wonder why not. Except for very young children, like you, the tribe is organized first by tier and then by family groups during morning meditation. Papa''s and your spot is only three rows from the front where the Elder of the day leads the tribe through meditation. So you don''t even sit by your relatives then. He hasn¡¯t even pointed them out at morning meditation. You know some of the people you see then are related to you, but you don¡¯t know who, so you try to be extra polite in case one of them is your relative. Your aunts and uncles are mostly farmers or fishers. The only times Papa leaves the cave mouth you live in is to join the rest of the tribe to meditate. Except for that one time when he left the cave to meet Mina with you! He left Arely behind to keep guard though. It still made you feel special that Papa left home just for you and you hug him, eliciting a pleased smile from your giant hairy Papa.


    Wotjeo, on the other hand, is quick to point out his, and thus your, relationship to other Silver Bears. Most of them are your brother''s and sisters. The rest are nieces, nephews, cousins, and a couple of grand-nieces, grand-nephews, and grand-cousins. Everyone except Mama and the Matriarch meditate in the central cave in the morning, so you''ve probably seen everyone in the tribe, even though you haven''t been introduced to most of them. Come to think of it, you''ve never seen the Matriarch''s spirit companion.


    ***


    Although you were ahead of everyone in your vital essence manipulation lessons by two days before your fight with Decavo; the other boys have started catching up. Elder Minaro announces when each of them makes their first breakthrough to perceiving vital essence. While you had to struggle and stumble your way through every step after that, Bato, Chuno, and Decavo are all able to extract vital essence on their first try. Elder Minaro still has them repeat the process until he''s satisfied, but from what you can tell by listening to their lessons when you are supposed to be meditating; all three seemed to start with a much better understanding than you did, especially Bato.


    If Felero didn¡¯t have to work just as hard as you do, you¡¯d think the Elder was cheating and helping the boys. As it is, it justs seems unfair. It¡¯s bad enough that you¡¯re not just the only girl but also the only half Crystal Butterfly in the class, without most of the boys getting extra lessons from someone too. You resolve to work twice as hard to try to catch up.

 Aestia Valley 11: Bear Necessities

    The days pass quickly and you play with your bear brother Wotjeo every night in your dreams.


    Despite your determination to catch up to the other kids, your bruises are nearly healed before Elder Minaro grudgingly grumbles: "Good enough for now. Continue working on your vital essence gathering skills on your own time if you have access to a metal vein or other vital essence source. The more you practice, the quicker and easier it will become, allowing you to both gather vital essence for longer and gather more in the same amount of time.¡±


    Wotjeo and you celebrate with a hug and an affectionate nuzzle.


    Elder Minaro¡¯s habitually grumpy expression brightens a bit as he boasts. ¡°This is the finest Tin vital essence cave in the clan, but you can earn access to other, lesser, caves by performing tasks that help the tribe once you are older and have learned a useful skill.¡±


    You ask. ¡°What¡¯s a useful skill? Like cooking? Papa is a great cook!¡±


    Elder Minaro glares at you for interrupting and yells! ¡°Not like cooking! Do ten pushups for foolishly and ignorantly interrupting your instructor!¡±


    You quickly start doing pushups, making you exercise while he lectures at you is one of Elder Minaro¡¯s favorite punishments, for you at least. The boys hardly ever have to do them.


    You¡¯re used to listening to him while doing pushups by now and don¡¯t miss a word of his explanation. ¡°I mean useful specialist skills like Potion Brewing or Mining or Smithing. Much of the clan¡¯s wealth comes from the metal in these caves.The Miners who gather the metal ores and the Smiths who refine it into weapons are given food and access to caves rich in vital-essence in exchange for their contributions to the clan. Until you learn a useful skill like that, you can only leech off metal veins your parents or instructors have access to.¡±


    You finish your last pushup and situp to listen to the end of his lecture. ¡°Even for us Silver Bears, who can afford to spare a room like this to train new cubs who have not yet proved their worth, deposits of vital-essence are rare and valuable. Most of Aestia Valley has been picked clean of vital-essence by spirit animals. The greater spirits are always quick to drain any new deposits as soon as they form. Meanwhile, the least spirits constantly search for even the smallest speck of power that might feed them."


    While Elder Minaro¡¯s lessons are always instructive, he sometimes leaves out details he considers unimportant. In this case, he didn¡¯t tell you exactly what options were open to you. As soon as you get home you ask Papa about what vital essence sources you might be able to access. He tells you: "You''re so smart P¨±mi¨¨! It took me most of a season to get permission to practice on my own. Of course, I will take you with me to gather iron vital essence. I am allowed access to the richest deposits of iron vital essence three times a season. Two of the other Guards have agreed to protect our cave mouth for Papa while we¡¯re gone. I¡¯m afraid I don¡¯t know of any others that would be safe for you. I can¡¯t leave the cave unprotected to go hunting for you, and all the caves with vital-essence here are controlled by other clan members."


    You know from the lectures Elder Minaro peppers his lessons with that iron vital essence will take more effort for you to gather than the tin you have been practicing on, but it is better than nothing. You chatted with Felero briefly about it and learned that most of the caves that Silver Bears live in have metal veins with varying strengths of vital essence, so your classmates all probably have frequent access to vital-essence nodes to practice with if they want to.


    In desperation you ask Mama about vital essence deposits, and she explains, gently and pleasantly as always, that crystal butterflies like Azuria need light and wind vital essence; both of which she gathers from the sky every day. Not useful for you. Unfortunately, trying to feed Wotjeo on them would make him sick at his current stage of development. She promises to keep an eye out for tin vital essence while foraging, but doesn¡¯t expect to find any.


    You¡¯re tempted to sneak out of the cave to go looking for yourself some nights. Twice you even dream of doing exactly that and then celebrating with Wotjeo when you find a rock with bits of Tin vital essence in the forest. You never do it for real though. You know Mama would be upset if you got hurt again and you don¡¯t want to worry her.


    ***


    What you are learning from Elder Minaro starts to be more and more different from the other students as your lessons progress. Bato, Chuno, and Decavo are instructed to sit further and further away from the metal outcroppings each day. Meanwhile, you and Felero are slowly shifted to the side until your spirit companions are seated under the outcroppings and you are sitting next to them instead of the other way around. Elder Minaro doesn¡¯t bother explaining why.


    When you ask Felero about it after lessons one day he confides in you, ¡°He¡¯s preparing to teach us how to bring our spirit companions with us. That¡¯s what my mama told me when I asked her. I think he¡¯s teaching the others a different technique that will help them spot vital essence at a distance. Hunter¡¯s like Bato¡¯s papa, Aracato, are supposed to hunt vital essence deposits as well as animals. Mama says the Corazon Chamois and Crystal Butterflies, your mama¡¯s old clan, usually get to them before we do, though.¡±


    ***


    When your bruises start fading to a yellowish-brown color, Mina finally agrees you are healed enough to start learning how to fight and leads you to one of the fight caves. Instead of only a single pair of warriors sparring, lots but not many lots of pairs of kids, all older than you but younger than teenagers are fighting there today in pairs.


    Mina leads you towards a girl who looks two winters older than you and has bright yellow hair: "Wotjeo, P¨±mi¨¨, meet Beayro and Amiya."


    Amiya and her spirit companion, Beayro, rush forward to hug both of you tightly. You eagerly hug her back. It¡¯s so nice to finally meet someone kind, even if she is a little older than you.


    After introductions are complete, Mina address the bright yellow-haired girl, "Thank you for agreeing to help me teach them Amiya. Remember, this is their first lesson, so please be careful."


    Mina crouches down and scratches Beayro under the chin. Even crouching, the giant woman still towers over all of you. "Especially you Beayro, Wotjeo is a bit small for his size."


    Mina turns to look at your bear brother: "As for you Wotjeo, I heard about how you won your fight with Decavo. Going for the throat is an excellent instinct for a Guard. In a real fight we''ll be defending our homes and loved ones so we can''t afford to hold anything back or pull our punches; but until I tell you otherwise, try to avoid hurting your sparring partners. That means no biting and no clawing. Every injured tribe member makes the whole tribe weaker. I''m teaching you how to fight so you can protect yourselves and the tribe. Us Guards don''t go looking for fights like the Hunters do. Understood?¡±


    The huge woman waits for you to nod your heads ¡°Good. Now today, I''m going to teach you how to tackle an opponent and drag them down to the ground. On average, Silver Bear warriors are larger and stronger than the other clans so getting in close usually puts our opponents at a disadvantage. P¨±mi¨¨, Amiya is going to tackle you first so you can feel how it works. Watch her approach carefully, it''ll be your turn to tackle her next, and you should try to copy her. Amiya, you know what to do. Before you start, all of you hug to remind yourselves that while you''re training here you''re all friends and not trying to hurt each other."Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Amiya hugs you again, and you hug her back. Your bear siblings look very cute and awkward trying to hug each other.


    Amiya turns around and walks off a few steps. You brace yourself as best you can while she turns to face you. Even prepared, you are shocked by the speed with which she rushes at you.


    Amiya squats down at the last moment then leaps up at you. She wraps her arms around you as she slams her shoulder into your gut and knocks you on your back. It felt almost exactly the same as both times Decavo tackled you.


    Distracted by the memory, you hardly notice being slammed into the ground on your back. Has Decavo been getting fighting lessons too? If he has, he must have been getting them for a while because this is harder than it looks. When you try to do the same thing to Amiya your arms get tangled up between you and instead of knocking her over she just takes a step back, leaving you defenseless at her feet.


    Amiya gives you a hand getting back up: "Don''t worry, it took me a few tries too when my elder sister started teaching me. Try it again."


    Mina and Amiya give you pointers throughout what''s left of the morning, and by the end of it you''re able to knock her down as long as she doesn''t brace too much ahead of time, but your arms are still getting tangled up.


    Mina encourages you to keep practicing until you''re completely exhausted and can hardly push yourself back to your feet. Amiya brings you some water in a tin cup, and the two of you catch your breath and watch while Mina''s spirit companion, Pliso, supervises Wotjeo and Beayro through the silver bear equivalent of the same drill. Wotjeo has even more trouble with it than you do, he''s not even half as big as Beayro. The two of you obviously have a lot of work to do if you¡¯re ever going to be able to fight people who have survived as many winters as you.


    The next day, you ask Mina for advice on how to deal with Bato, Decavo, and Chuno.


    Mina was pounding her fists into a stone dummy in the shape of a leopard when you found her and she continues to do so while she answers your question "You''re never going to win *punch* as long as there''s six of them against the two of you *punch* *punch* and you''re all the same tier. *punch* If you want to win, *punch* you need to make some friends or leap at least a tier ahead of them. *punch* *punch* *punch* Two would be better. *punch* *punch* One of the most important lessons for a Guard to learn is that you don''t have to win, *punch* or even survive all your fights. *punch* *punch*Sometimes all you need to do is buy a little time or scare *punch* an attacker off *punch*. I can teach you how to do that. *punch* If you can hurt *punch* them enough, they¡¯ll probably leave you alone. *punch*"


    You¡¯re distracted from considering her answer by the realization that her hands aren¡¯t hurt at all by hitting the stone.


    ***


    By the end of the first moon of Elder Minaro''s lessons, he''s taught Wotjeo how to follow you to the vital-essence nodes when gathering which drastically increased how quickly you could feed him vital-essence.


    Felero learned how to do it before you did, though.


    Because the other new cubs have been getting increasingly different lessons, it is hard to tell how your progress compares to Bato, Chuno, or Decavo; As best you can make out Bato, and maybe Chuno, are ahead of you in gathering lessons as well as Felero.


    You''ve been listening to the other kids lessons when you were supposed to be practicing or meditating, and the way Bato, Chuno, and Decavo learn is weird. Sometimes they understand things immediately and only need help to refine their skills. Other times they stumble over even the most basic things that you and Felero learned quickly. You are increasingly convinced that someone else has been giving them lessons, and not just in gathering and cultivating, but probably in how to fight too.


    Elder Minaro has promised three extra moons of instruction to whoever makes the most progress. The additional moons of instruction with Elder Minaro would be especially valuable for you because it would provide daily access to vital essence nodes which you otherwise can only access only rarely with Papa; unlike your classmates. You''d have to really focus on it if you want to earn them though, and you''ve got another problem.


    When Elder Minaro''s lessons end, so too does his enforced peace. It is obvious that Decavo and Bato will come after you again as soon as they get a chance. You have to assume Chuno will tag along even if he doesn¡¯t seem as eager to attack you as the other two.


    Even if you focus on your fighting lessons with Mina, three on one odds is going to be very bad. The last time you fought all three of them you took out Bato right at the start so it was really only two on one and they still beat you unconscious. Counting on surprising Bato like that a second time would not be wise. Maybe spending most of your time with Mina and learning how to fight would be a good idea. On the other paw, if you spend more time with Felero, he might help you fight. Four versus six is a lot more even than two versus six, Mina even suggested that. You briefly consider trying to befriend Chuno too, but then remember you promised yourself to get revenge on him, so friendship isn''t an option there.


    Part of you has toyed with the idea of getting a second spirit companion. You don''t know how that would work, but if anyone does it is probably Mama. Or maybe the Matriarch, you''ve heard stories that she can turn into lots of animals, so maybe she would know, but you don''t even know where she lives. She''s just appeared and disappeared whenever it suited her whim so far.


    Before making any decision, you decide to ask Mama and Papa what you should do.


    Papa picks you up and tosses you from one hand to the other like a juggler: "Before I met your mama, I used to think I could solve all my problems by crushing them. She taught me a different way. Lessons from an Elder are a once in a lifetime opportunity, you should make the most of them. You''re very smart P¨±mi¨¨, I know you''ll make the right decision. Your Papa will always be proud of you. Even I don¡¯t win all my fights, what is important is that you never give up. When you go down, go down swinging and roaring your defiance! That¡¯s the Silver Bear way."


    Mama has very different ideas about proper behavior than Papa. She sits down for most of your talks for one thing. When you ask her what you should do today, she brushes your hair back out of your eyes: "It would be wonderful if you earned extra lessons with the Elder! That would show everyone else just how smart you are. I wish you¡¯d take better care of your hair, though. If you did they''d all see not just how talented you are, but also the beautiful girl I see when I look at you. It would help you make friends. Your life would be much easier if you had more friends."


    When Mama told you should make more friends it reminded you that you were hoping to bond a second spirit companion. Wotjeo is great, but if Papa is bonded with a silver bear and Mama is bonded to a crystal butterfly, you feel like you should have both. Plus, if you had two spirit companions, then it would be¡­ that number that comes after two.. What is it again seven? Yeah seven! Surely fighting seven against six would be better than two against six! ¡°Mama, you have a crystal butterfly sister. I want one too!¡±


    She rubs Wotjeo¡¯s head while she answers you, ¡°I¡¯m sorry growllita, but I don¡¯t think that¡¯s possible. Not only are the crystal butterfly nests the most guarded part of my previous clan''s territory, but I also don''t know how to bond a second spirit companion. Don''t you think Wotjeo might get a little jealous if you tried? He''s been an excellent companion to you so far. You need to make sure he knows you appreciate him. You should try to make new friends, but don¡¯t be in such a hurry to do so that you upset those you already have. Not everyone is so fortunate as to bonded to as friendly a silver bear as Wotjeo.¡±


    Mama gives you a pointed look until you hug your brother and apologize to him. Once you have she continues, ¡°That¡¯s my good growllita. It would make me very happy to teach you how to gather light and wind vital essence as a way to get closer to my estranged family, but learning that won¡¯t help Wotjeo. Silver bears can¡¯t cultivate wind or light vital essence into madra. Trying would only clog up his channels and make him sick. You should focus on your studies and making friends so you can protect yourself from the bullies who are jealous of how strong and gorgeous your Mama and Papa are.¡±


    Frustrated you cry, ¡°Why won¡¯t you and Papa just tell me what to do, Mama? I don¡¯t want to decide!¡±


    Wotjeo licks your face while mama strokes your head. She waits until you¡¯ve stopped crying and then dries your face. ¡°Both of our families tried to stop us from marrying. We had to fight very hard to be together. We don¡¯t want you to feel like you have to fight us. And we want you to be able to make your own mistakes so you can learn from them. We¡¯ll give you advice, but this world is not safe. You need to learn how to make decisions because we won¡¯t always be able to protect you.¡±


    Papa and Mama¡¯s advice is pretty clear, but ultimately, only you can decide the course of your life. Do you want to learn how to fight, make friends, or focus on the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of lessons with an Elder and probably get beaten up a lot.

 Aestia Valley 12: Not Broken

    You decide to do what Mama and Papa suggested and focus on trying to get the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity of lessons with an Elder Minaro. Hopefully, they¡¯ll be worth being too weak to defend yourself from Bato, Chuno, and Decavo. At least Wotjeo is excited by the idea of you spending more time gathering. He says tin vital-essence is ¡°yummy.¡±


    You pour all your passion and energy into your cultivations lessons. No longer do you allow your fear of being taught wrong to cause you to waste time listening in on the other student¡¯s lessons or idly meditating. Instead, you practice what you have already learned with every spare moment Elder Minaro allows you to.


    According to Elder Minaro, one-third of the group lessons with him are already over. You don¡¯t know how much a ¡°third¡± is, but you think you are behind most of your age mates and will have to work very hard to catch up. You are always the last person to receive personal instruction from the Elder. During the first part of the lessons, while he is teaching the other kids, you practice the previous day¡¯s lessons diligently. You only stop when he comes to talk you through your new exercise for the day. The Elder seems to have a magical ability to tell exactly where you are in your lesson and what you are having trouble with, so his assistance is always very helpful, but you get very little of it, and he seems to delight in forcing you to work through riddles and other meditative exercises on your own.


    All the extra effort you are putting in leaves you mentally and emotionally exhausted by the end of every lesson. It takes an extreme effort of will, and Elder Minaro¡¯s hectoring voice, to force yourself to your feet and shuffle to Mina¡¯s lessons after spending all morning practicing your gathering.


    Mina quickly notices how little energy you have and tells you: ¡°Meditate with your back against the wall until you¡¯re recovered enough to practice.¡±


    Most days you¡¯re so tired that your attempts to meditate quickly become impromptu naps where you endlessly review what you¡¯ve learned with Wotjeo in your dreams.


    Elder Minaro does not seem to take any notice of your new enthusiasm and dedication. Not one word of praise ever slips past his lips. If anything, he is spending less time with you. He only takes a few minutes to give you your new exercise before moving back around to provide more personal attention to the others. You are largely left to practice on your own most mornings and are beginning to fear that even if you win the extra lessons, he still won¡¯t help you much. You trust your Mama and Papa, though. When Elder Minaro does pay attention to you it is usually very helpful, so you continue to work hard and do the best you can.


    The days crawl past as you determinedly practice your lessons.


    One day Elder Minaro swirls his robes grandly as he paces in a circle, his gaze seeking out each of you in your usual seats under the tin outcroppings along the wall of the cave. He announces. ¡°Your free lessons with me are nearly at an end. Two-thirds of our time together is now complete.¡± You don¡¯t know how much two-thirds is, but it sounds like a lot, and you think you¡¯re still behind several of the other children.


    Elder Minaro gestures for Bato to stand in the middle of the cave. ¡°Take a good look, lazy children. This is what success looks like. Bato is the first of you to become an Ore member of the Silver Bear clan. His progress, swift as it is compared to yours, has been barely acceptable. The rest of you need to work harder to catch up! I don¡¯t know why the Matriarch is making me waste my time trying to instruct students as obviously untalented as you lot. You, yes, even you Bato, are collectively the dumbest group of cubs I¡¯ve ever had the displeasure of teaching. Come here Bato, your lessons have advanced to the next stage.¡±


    Elder Minaro seizes Bato¡¯s shoulder and drags him out of the cave. He does not return to give instructions to the rest of you until near the end of class. You are used to him ignoring you, but it is surprising to see him treat all the other children the same way.


    The next day Elder Minaro announces that Felero, the small black-haired boy who was with you when you fought Decavo, has also advanced to Ore-tier. Felero¡¯s companion used to be the smallest and weakest of all the spirit companions, but now he looks to be almost the same size as Decavo¡¯s. Elder Minaro pulls Felero out of the cave and doesn¡¯t come back to give instructions to the rest of you until near the end of class.


    ***


    Two days later, as you are walking down the tunnel leading away from the lesson cave, you suddenly hear a vaguely familiar crackling sound. You follow the sound into a nearby cave. Fortunately, the family that lives there is all out right now. While Wotjeo keeps an eye out to warn you if the family that lives in the cave is returning home, you pick your way through their belongings and over to a white outcropping on the back wall of the cave. You put your ear to the outcropping. This is where the sound is coming from!


    Wait¡­ How is a stone wall making a sound?


    You examine the outcrop more closely and decide it looks similar to the tin veins from Elder Minaro¡¯s lessons. Is it tin too? How could you check to be sure? A-hah, that¡¯s it.


    You beckon Wotjeo over and sit down underneath the outcropping. You meditate the way Elder Minaro taught you to and gather some of the vital essence from inside the outcrop. When you feed it to Wotjeo, he tells you it tastes almost the same as the tin in Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave.


    Now you recognize the sound that you can still hear; it is the tin cry Elder Minaro taught you about! Wait, you can hear tin? Isn¡¯t that a little odd? Papa never said anything about this!


    You rush back to the lesson room and clap your hands over your ears as you are assaulted by the crackling sound of the tin cry coming from the tin veins all around you. You look around for Elder Minaro, but he¡¯s not there! Annoyed, you back away from the room until the sound fades. Where could he have gone?


    Augh! You don¡¯t have time for this; Mina is expecting you for your lesson. You can try to figure it out again after your lesson.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.


    The cave complex is a lot noisier than usual as you make your way to Mina¡¯s training caves. After your lesson (mostly spent napping as usual) you return to the cave Elder Minaro gives his lessons from. He¡¯s still not there! That gives you an idea. You¡¯ll have to wait until tomorrow to try it though.


    You run back to your cave and wake Papa up to tell him you want to sleep in tonight. He grumbles at being woken up but affectionately agrees. Papa¡¯s strong arm pulls you in close for a hug before going back to sleep. You curl up close to him and are soon snoring along with him.


    Papa wakes you up closer to breakfast than usual and you get in only half as much exercise time with him as you usually do.


    During your next lesson, you ask Elder Minaro about the noise, and he glares suspiciously at you. ¡°Follow me.¡±


    The irritable Elder leads you out of the room and holds up a lump of tin. He puts both hands behind his back for a moment. When he shows you his hands again, they¡¯re both closed into fists: ¡°Which hand is the tin in?¡± he asks you.


    You can hear the tin very clearly from his left hand, and you touch that hand. He opens his fist to show you the tin lump, but his suspicious glare doesn¡¯t abate. ¡°Again.¡±


    He makes you tell him which hand the tin is in more times than you can count. Lots and lots of times at least. Twice he even had a different, dull gray metal lump in his hand. Instead of crackling like tin it made a very soft snoring sound. Elder Minaro frowns at you and shakes his head: ¡°Only you, butterfly. Only you would perceive vital essence as a sound. Follow me.¡±


    Before he can turn away you ask him ¡°How do you per.. perve.. sense vital essence?¡±


    Elder Minaro glares at you. ¡°The word I used is perceive. Say it with me.


    Per


    sieve¡±


    Elder Minaro groans at your stumbling attempt to repeat the difficult word. ¡°Close enough. As to your question, the point of half my lessons is to get you to see vital essences. All those visualization exercises I had you do are carefully crafted to teach you to interpret vital essences as glows. All wasted! Sight is the simplest and most reliable sense to use. This is all your mother''s fault! Stupid butterfly!¡±


    You interrupt the Elder and stomp your feet while glaring angrily at him. ¡°Mama is the best!¡±


    You shrink back a little from Elder Minaro¡¯s angry glare but press on, determined to defend your Mama. ¡°Please don''t call her stupid.¡±


    Elder Minaro doesn¡¯t respond to your request at all, but he also doesn¡¯t call your Mama stupid again for the whole rest of the day. A record of self-restraint for him.


    He continues his rant as if you¡¯d never interrupted him. ¡°Guarnicio should never have been allowed to marry her. It makes everything harder! Now I''m going to have to adapt all my usual lessons to deal with your stupid sound sense. Bato sees vital essences. Felero sees vital essences. Why couldn''t you?!"


    The unpleasant Elder continues to grumble as he turns to face the other children in the tunnel with you. Felero and Bato have been having lessons in the tunnel since they became Ore. He gestures at both of them ¡°You too, follow me, as well as little P¨±mi¨¨.¡±


    He leads all three of you into his lesson cave. Back in the cave, the tin cry is so loud it is almost painful and you have a hard time paying attention to anything else. Elder Minaro announces to everyone that you too are an Ore! Even with his words mostly drowned out by the horribly loud crackling cry of the tin all around you, it makes you feel good! Only two days behind Felero and one more behind Bato! Elder Minaro moves you out into the corridor with the other two Ores and spends most of the day working with you to turn down the volume on the sound from the vital essence.


    You are in high spirits after both making Ore and getting so much of the Elder¡¯s personal instruction for once. You skip all the way to Mina¡¯s cave complex.


    After your lesson with Mina that for once you were too excited to sleep through, you hurry back and find Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave empty again today. Exactly like you¡¯d hoped. You get as close to the cave as you can stand the sound and then sit down to practice your newest lesson on how to block out your vital essence hearing when you don¡¯t want it distracting you.


    From now on you resolve to spend only less of the night with Papa and with the extra time, you¡¯ll come here to practice your lessons from Elder Minaro. You wonder if the extra practice time will let you catch up to Bato and Felero? You can¡¯t count above three yet and don¡¯t know how much time you have left. You feel like you are nearly out of time though.


    ***


    Bato is the first to get enough control of his vital-essence sight to be able to move back into the tin cave without being overwhelmed. Felero joins him the same day. Chuno has been in the tunnel with you for many days now. Two days after Bato and Felero move back into the cave, Decavo finally joins you in the tunnel outside it.


    At the end of the lesson after that, you try moving back into the tin lesson cave yourself. The crackling cry of the tin roars incessantly in your ears, but it is a dull roar, and you can pick out most of Elder Minaro¡¯s instructions over it. Elder Minaro having to adapt his lessons to your unusual vital-essence sense has cost you a day, but you think you¡¯re finally ready for the next lesson.


    Elder Minaro disagrees and sends you back into the tunnel.


    Two days later Elder Minaro finally lets you back into the lesson cave after you convince him that you¡¯ve reduced the sound to the volume of a quiet whisper. ¡°Marginally adequate. I suppose I shouldn¡¯t expect anything better from a Butterfly.¡±


    He grumbles a bit more and you do your best to tune his insults out. ¡°Continue to work on it on your own time. A true madra manipulator should be able to detect vital-essences from at least half a day away as well as turn their senses on and off at will. A clever opponent could deafen you right now with nothing more sophisticated than an unfocused blast of madra.¡±


    For all your hard work, and cleverness in finding a way to practice on your own, you¡¯ve only fallen further behind. You love your mama, but a disloyal part of you can¡¯t help but wish you had the same vital essence senses as everyone else. If only you saw vital essence you wouldn¡¯t have lost so many days to Elder Minaro having to convert his lessons to your unusual vital essence hearing.


    You have a hard time falling asleep that afternoon, even with Papa¡¯s comforting bulk beside you. You¡¯ve hardly slept at all when Mama wakes both of you up for dinner.


    After dinner that night you ask Mama for advice on how to hear vital essence.


    Mama looks at you in surprise. ¡°I don¡¯t know growllita. I see vital essences as halos.¡±


    You ask ¡°What¡¯s a halo, Mama?¡±


    Mama thinks for a moment then cuts an apricot in half with one of the stone knives she carries everywhere. Inside the apricot is a large seed, with the flesh fruit surrounding it. Mama points to the yummy fruit part of the apricot. ¡°A halo is a ring of light around or over something. Kind of like how the flesh of the apricot makes a ring around the seed, but made of light. That¡¯s how I see vital essence, as spheres of light around the physical object the vital essence is in.¡±


    You ask ¡°Is that how all Crystal Butterflies see vital essence?¡±


    Mama slices a bite-sized piece off the apricot and feeds it to you. ¡°Yes, growllita. Most of them do. My old tribe doesn''t spend much time developing those abilities because our vital essences are always around us. The sun provides an endless stream of Light vital essence and the wind is never truly still. It is always in motion. Just like you."


    Mama rubs her nose against yours and smiles at you, then feeds you another slice of apricot.


    You¡¯re glad it isn¡¯t Mama¡¯s fault you have weird vital essence sense. But if Papa sees vital essence, and Mama sees vital essence how come you don¡¯t? You ask "Mama I hear vital essence but can''t see it. Does that mean I''m broken?"


    Mama hugs you close and kisses you many lots of times. ¡°No growllita. There¡¯s nothing wrong with you. You are a wonderful little girl.¡±


    Mama tickles you until you laugh so much you forget all about your worries.

 Aestia Valley 13: Abandoned

    When it¡¯s your turn for personal instruction the next day, Elder Minaro introduces the next stage of your lessons. ¡°Thus far I¡¯ve taught you only about metal vital-essence, but Silver Bear madra is a mix of metal and dreams. This is because metal vital-essence is one of the most stable. It is also one of the safest, as long as you don¡¯t try to follow a vein too deeply. There are dangers in the depths that you will unlikely ever be ready to face.¡±


    Elder Minaro gestures grandly, ¡°I can delve quite deeply, as can a few others, but there is rarely a reason too. All we need is provided by our Miners and the dreams of our fellow clan members. Your undeveloped senses likely didn¡¯t even notice, but Genialida -¡±


    He gestures at his spirit sister, the largest silver bear you¡¯ve ever seen. ¡°Genialida has been sleeping through all of your lessons. She has not been idle though, she has been giving dream vital essence to Wotjeo and the other spirit brothers and sisters while you were gathering to avoid unbalancing their spirits. Silver bears require both metal and dream vital-essence in roughly equal amounts. Too much of either and they will sicken and die.¡±


    Panic wells up in your heart and floods across your face. Have you been poisoning Wotjeo with all your extra gathering practice? Elder Minaro snorts and turns his back.


    When he faces you again, his expression is the usual severe scowl but there¡¯s something oddly gentle in his voice: ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Your extra practice hasn¡¯t hurt Wotjeo. Genialida noticed the additional metal madra in your brother¡¯s dantian right away and has been balancing it out by sending him additional dream vital-essence. She will continue to do so until our lessons are complete; so keep practicing wherever it is you¡¯ve found to do so.¡±


    His scowl deepens: ¡°Now if you have finished panicking, I would like to continue with the lesson. Silver Bears, and Silver Bear madra arts, use madra that is a blend of metals and dreams.¡±


    You interrupt Elder Minaro to ask ¡°What is a madra art?¡±


    Elder Minaro scowls at you. ¡°Don¡¯t interrupt your elders little girl. If your parents haven¡¯t taught you any yet, I¡¯m not going to waste my time teaching you about them either.¡±


    Elder Minaro pauses a beat to gather his thoughts. ¡°Where was I? Right, dream madra. For the remainder of our time together we will be repeating the same exercises as before but with dream vital-essence and Genialida¡¯s dreams serving as the replacement for the tin ore veins. Unlike metal vital-essence, dream vital-essence is extremely fragile and much more difficult to contain. All thinking creatures and even some spirit plants generate dream vital-essence while they sleep. This vital-essence lingers for about a fifth of a day afterward. You will not practice dream vital-essence gathering on your own until I give you permission. Do it wrong, and you can drive the person you are gathering from insane. The tainted vital-essence will drive Wotjeo and yourself insane too.¡±


    Elder Minaro glares right into your eyes, and you feel like he¡¯s staring into your soul. Wotjeo cowers beside you. His soft cub fur pressed warmly against your side. Elder Minaro continuous glaring until you and your bear brother nod agreement emphatically enough to satisfy him.


    Elder Minaro¡¯s expression softens into something less intimidating, ¡°Take a few moments to collect yourself and then we¡¯ll begin. One of the reasons you will practice on Genialida is that she¡¯s an adept enough practitioner to protect herself as well as Wotjeo and you from any mistakes you make. Be gentle, but decisive. Better to make a mistake quickly and learn from it than quiver with indecision and waste your lesson.¡±


    The lessons on gathering dream vital-essence go much easier than the metal ones for you. Whenever you have trouble with a technique, Wotjeo gives you a suggestion that makes it click for you. Elder Minaro glares at you suspiciously whenever this happens, but he doesn¡¯t say anything. Even better, Bato seems to be struggling. Felero is the first to get permission to gather dream vital-essence on his own outside lessons.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    Bato and you both get permission a day after Felero, which causes the larger boy to shake his fist threateningly at you behind Elder Minaro¡¯s back. You and Wotjeo stick your tongues out at him as soon as the Elder¡¯s back is turned. Wotjeo¡¯s tongue looks so cute and pink against his dark black fur that you scoop him into your lap and share a celebratory cuddle with him before getting back to working hard on the current lesson.


    After class is over, Felero congratulates you on your progress. He, at least, doesn¡¯t seem to envy your successes. ¡°You¡¯re doing great. My mother is helping me when I get stuck but you¡¯re still catching up to me. Your mother must be very smart!¡±


    Loyally you reply, ¡°Smart and pretty! That¡¯s Mama.¡±


    Wotjeo rams his head into the back of your knees, nearly knocking you over. You crouch down and hug him apologetically. ¡°Actually, Wotjeo¡¯s been the one helping me. Mama is a Crystal Butterfly. She doesn¡¯t know how to gather dream or metal vital-essence.¡±


    Felero crouches down beside you to look at Wotjeo. ¡°Wow! You must be really smart Wotjeo!¡±


    Wotjeo says to you. ¡°I like this one.¡±


    Felero doesn¡¯t react when Wotjeo talks. No one ever does. It¡¯s like you¡¯re the only one who can hear him. It is really weird. You can hear him and understand him a lot easier than everyone else, so it seems extra odd that they can¡¯t hear him.


    Felero¡¯s spirit sister rams her head into his side, and she does knock her spirit sibling over. Felero shouts in surprise as he falls over ¡°waaah!¡±


    When gets back up, he scratches the base of Poca¡¯s tail in apology. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Poca. You¡¯re amazing too. I couldn¡¯t do anything without you.¡±


    Poca lets out a pleased rumbling growl.


    ***


    Time continues to pass, with you spending as much time and energy on your lessons with Elder Minaro as you can.


    The biggest surprise of the whole time, even bigger than discovering that you would have poisoned Wotjeo if Genialida, Elder Minaro¡¯s spirit companion, hadn¡¯t saved him, is the morning when you come down to the central cave and are suddenly assaulted by the sound of the dreams of the whole tribe. You clap your hands to your ears and squeeze your eyes shut to try and block out the overwhelming clamor, but it doesn¡¯t help. Nothing helps! You fall to your knees. Strong arms scoop you up and you feel yourself carried out of the cavern. Slowly the terrible sound fades, and you blink your eyes.


    You are leaning back against a cave wall with Elder Minaro crouched in front of you.


    Your teacher hands you a metal goblet. His mouth moves, but you don¡¯t hear anything.


    Elder Minaro scowls and his mouth moves again as he forces the goblet against your lips until you drink.


    The liquid tastes really weird and even stranger, it makes your ears tingle.


    Elder Minaro¡¯s mouth moves again, and this time you hear him: ¡°I owe you an apology. I thought you had a few more days before your hearing expanded to dream vital-essence.¡±


    Your curiosity about how long a few days is; is washed away in the greater wonder of Elder Minaro apologizing. You were pretty sure he hated you and here he is apologizing?


    Your teacher scowls at you, and you realize your mouth is hanging open. ¡°Don¡¯t look at me like that. I¡¯m not actually going to give you an apology.¡±


    He glares at you. ¡°If you weren¡¯t so lazy and short-sighted you¡¯d have anticipated this and taken steps to protect yourself or at least turned down the volume of your vital-essence sense as I showed you before you blew out your eardrums.¡±


    Elder Minaro pauses for a moment, as if even he is stunned by the ridiculousness of his previous statement, but he quickly rallies and continues. ¡°If you think you can stop looking as dumb as a deer that ran itself into a tree, I¡¯ve prepared a test for you. It will help you gain control of your hearing without hurting yourself again. In one of the caves off of this tunnel, I''ve put a person to sleep. Follow the sound of their dreams to where they are sleeping; wake them up to ask their name; and then make your way back to class to tell it to me. I suggest you skip morning meditation and avoid the central cavern until you¡¯ve got control of your hearing again. I won¡¯t be healing your eardrums again.¡±


    Elder Minaro stands up, but leaves the goblet on the cave floor beside you. ¡°Good luck.¡±


    He walks off and just leaves you there. You''re so stunned you don''t try to run after him until he disappears around the corner. Leaping to your feet you try to race after him, but trip over the goblet he left behind. You scramble up again, but by the time you reach the corner he''s long gone.


    You look around and realize you''ve never been in this part of the cave system before.


    Great, you''re lost and all you''ve got is a pair of pomegranates in the bag Papa gave you. Oh, and it took you many lots of days to get your hearing under control last time and it didn''t start out as loud as it was just now either. You could be here many, many lots of days.

 Aestia Valley 14: Alone Together

    You take stock of your situation.


    You¡¯re lost in a part of the cave complex you haven¡¯t seen before.


    Wotjeo, and you are the only people around now that Elder Minaro has left.


    Part of you wants to chase after Elder Minaro. The old man is horrible, but you are scared of being alone in a strange place. Thinking for just a moment longer, you realize that Elder Minaro is horrible enough to just drag you back here even if you managed to catch up to him. The only way you are getting out of here is by learning to turn down the volume on your new ability to hear dream vital essence.


    You and Wotjeo sigh simultaneously.


    You both say ¡°jinx¡± simultaneously.


    Wotjeo¡¯s cute bear cub face smiles up at you, and you hug him. Your bear brother always makes you feel better.


    You scratch him behind his ears as the two of you explore the tunnel beyond the cave Elder Minaro left you in. Openings lead away from the tunnel, seemingly randomly spaced but you decide to ignore them for now. You don¡¯t want to get lost. Every few steps you stop and strain to hear the sounds of dreams. The sound in the main cavern was so overwhelming you didn¡¯t have a chance to process what you were hearing, so you don¡¯t know exactly what you are listening for. You wonder what dreams sound like. Will it sound like someone snoring? Will it be a crackling noise like the tin cry? Or maybe it will sound like Mama¡¯s voice as she sings lullabies? Oooh, maybe dream vital essence endlessly repeats the name of the dreaming person? That would be convenient. You wouldn¡¯t need to learn how to block out the sounds; you could race back and impress Elder Minaro right away!


    Instead of the dream sound, you were listening for, you hear Elder Minaro speaking. He¡¯s repeating the same two words over and over again, hardly pausing to take a breath: ¡°mero dudla¡±.


    Has Elder Minaro come to take you home already? You race forward, but soon the words are so loud it is painful. You clap your hands over your ears and push forward, but Wotjeo bites down on the back of your shirt and holds you back.


    You look over your shoulder at your bear brother and ask, ¡°What are you doing Wotjeo, can¡¯t you hear him?¡±


    Wotjeo tells you, ¡°I don¡¯t hear anyone but you.¡±


    You shout to be heard over the two endlessly repeated words: ¡®mero dudla¡¯. ¡°It¡¯s Elder Minaro! His voice is so loud it hurts, why can¡¯t you hear him?¡±


    Wotjeo shrugs, a complicated and unusual movement for a bear cub, ¡°I don¡¯t hear anyone, sister. I don¡¯t smell him either. His scent went the other way and isn¡¯t coming back. I can smell that he went this way too, but it is older. A few days old maybe? I¡¯m not sure. I don¡¯t think he¡¯s here. Weren¡¯t you supposed to be listening for the sound of someone dreaming?¡±


    After some more back and forth you realize that Wotjeo can¡¯t hear dream vital essence or metal vital essence like you can. Since only you can hear it, you decide that the voice you are hearing must be the sound of dream vital essence. That doesn¡¯t answer the question of why a random tribe member¡¯s dream sounds like Elder Minaro¡¯s voice, but what else could it be? That decided, you back down the tunnel a little way until the dream words no longer sound like they¡¯re being shouted and settle in to run through the exercises Elder Minaro taught you to quiet the noises of vital essence.


    A little while later, you get hungry. Exactly how much later, you aren¡¯t sure. There¡¯s no sun to tell time by, and the rocks in the braziers spaced just close enough to light up the tunnel dimly are still burning merrily. You have two pomegranates. You give one to Wotjeo and eat the other yourself. Hunger satisfied for the moment you return to your exercises.


    A while later, you get hungry again. Hungry and thirsty. A large part of you hopes that Papa or Mama will come find you and give you food; but you fight it down. This is part of your training to get strong like Papa. Papa doesn¡¯t depend on other people to feed him! He cooks his own food!


    You have to be strong like him and feed yourself. You¡¯ve already eaten all the food you brought with you, and have nothing to drink, so you decide to explore the tunnel exits you ignored earlier.


    The tunnel floor and walls here are much rougher than in the other parts of the cave complex you¡¯ve seen. The floor is relatively smooth compared to the walls which have frequent outcroppings and indentations causing the width of the tunnel to vary a lot, but the tunnel is always at least wide enough for someone as big as Papa to pass through easily. The tunnel walls are heavily textured, almost like a giant was digging through it. You look up at the low ceiling. A short giant nearly as tall as Papa? That doesn¡¯t make sense; maybe a normal sized person with giant super strong hands dug it! You shrug, and decide to think about it later, solving the mystery of why the tunnels here are different and less consistent than those you live in won¡¯t help you find food or water.The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.


    Moving on, most of the openings off of the tunnel lead to narrow, tunnels that wind back and forth. Usually they end quickly. Some of them open out into more cave-like spaces, but still with rough walls and floors rougher than the tunnel you¡¯ve been following. In one of these cave-like spaces, you find a bunch of metal barrels a little taller than you!


    You climb on top of them and lever off one of the lids. Inside is a liquid! You dunk your head in and drink excitedly, wondering what kind of awesome potion you¡¯ve found.


    It¡¯s just water. More water than you could drink in two lifetimes. At least you won¡¯t go thirsty. You lift Wotjeo up on top of the barrels so he can get a drink too. Afterward, you drag one of the barrels out into the tunnel so it will be easier to find the tunnel again. You wish you¡¯d brought the goblet Elder Minaro left behind with you. It would make getting a drink a lot easier. The barrels are taller than you and it¡¯s not easy to climb on top of them to get a drink. You and your brother continue on down the tunnel, looking for food.


    In another of the cave-like spaces, you find a big pile of crumbly black rocks. You toss one and Wotjeo runs after it. The two of you play catch until hunger drives you out, to continue looking for food.


    That¡¯s the only thing of interest you find until you get back to the cave-like space Elder Minaro healed your eardrums in. Like the other cave-like spaces here, but unlike your home cave, the walls and floor are very rough here. In this cave, you find a few sleeping furs, several leather bags full of water, the metal goblet Elder Minaro left behind, a crate of pomegranates, and two crates of dried meat!


    Two whole crates of meat just for you and Wotjeo! That¡¯s more meat than you¡¯ve ever seen in one place. More meat than you¡¯ve ever even heard of! You do a happy dance, and Wotjeo stands up on his short bear cub legs to dance with you. He¡¯s just as excited by all that meat as you are. Meat tastes great! You stuff yourself with meat until you feel sick, then you curl up in the bed furs with Wotjeo and drift off to sleep. Your last thought before you go to sleep is to wonder if Felero will come looking for you. He seems like a nice person for a boy.


    While you are asleep you dream. You dream of a bear tribe teenager filling braziers with black rocks. When the black rocks touch the burning rocks, they turn into burning rocks. The dream melts into another dream, and you snuggle deeper into the bed furs.


    When you wake, you use the restroom. There is no-one to tell you where to go, so you go where ever you want to. Time passes, and the caves begin to smell. You sacrifice one of your bed furs to clean up your waste and dump it at the end of the longest side-tunnel you¡¯ve found. You decide that from now on, this will be your bathroom to avoid stinking up everywhere else.


    Time passes. You practice lowering the volume of your dream vital essence hearing, you eat, you play with Wotjeo, you sleep, you practice some more. The fire in the braziers rarely fades and is always bright again when you wake. You make progress in blocking out the sound of dream vital essence until finally, you can stand to be in the same room as the sleeper. Now you can see that it is a teenage man.


    You spend one more day, practicing and stuffing yourselves full of all the meat you can eat. At last, you can lower the volume enough to cross the cave-like space the teenage man is sleeping in. The sound of his dream is half-way between a shout and Elder Minaro¡¯s normal speaking voice, endlessly repeating two words: ¡°mero dudla¡±.


    You shake him awake. He tells you his name is ¡°Sonadoro¡± and then leads you out of the tunnels. As you walk he explains to you that these are tunnels are left over from mining out an iron vein. All the iron ore is long gone now though, and the Miners have moved on to newer veins. The tunnels they left behind are still used to store stuff from time to time. He¡¯s going to be a Miner one day himself and tells you to find him later if you want to learn to be a Miner. Compared to most of the people you¡¯ve met so far, he¡¯s very nice.


    As you approach the lesson cave you hear a deep feminine voice muttering gibberish endlessly. It gets louder as you approach the cave. When you step inside Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave, you realize the sound is coming from Genialida, Elder Minaro¡¯s spirit companion. Genialida is sleeping as always.


    Elder Minaro claps slowly and sarcastically: ¡°Congratulations, butterfly. You finally made it back. Did you remember to ask his name?¡±


    You look around the cave and see that all the boys are sitting in the back of the lesson cave already and you feel your heart breaking. You worked so hard, and you are the last one to control your senses?


    Before you can answer, Felero scrambles to his feet: ¡°P¨±mi¨¨ is back? Hello P¨±mi¨¨!¡±


    Felero is facing the wall across from him and waving his hands. He looks pretty silly, so you giggle.


    At the sound of your giggles, he turns to face in your general direction ¡°Are you really back P¨±mi¨¨? I can¡¯t see you because I¡¯m still working on the last wrap of my blindfold. I wanted to go look for you, but Elder Minaro told me I might hurt you if I found you before you were ready.¡±


    You look closer at the boys. All of them are wearing blindfolds. Does that mean¡­


    You turn back to Elder Minaro, hope restored: ¡°So am I the first one to control my dream sense?¡±


    ¡°Not unless you know his name.¡± Snaps Minaro. ¡°And it¡¯s not dream sense; you can only hear dream vital-essence right now. I still have a lot to teach you.¡±

 Aestia Valley 15: Mero Dudla

    You stay behind after lessons end that day so you can ask Elder Minaro a question. ¡°What does ¡®Mero Dudla¡¯ mean?¡±


    Elder Minaro glares at you for wasting his time. ¡°Nothing. It sounds like complete gibberish, child. Where did you hear it? You better not have just made it up to waste my time, little butterfly.¡±


    You glare right back at the Elder. ¡°I did not make it up! It¡¯s what Sonadoro¡¯s dreams sounded like. I kept hearing your voice saying it over and over again.¡±


    Elder Minaro¡¯s glare softens and he hums in thought. After a few moments, he snorts and turns his back to you and coughs into his hand. When he turns back to face you his face is solemn and stern but he¡¯s not glaring anymore. ¡°You don¡¯t have any idea?¡±


    You look at him suspiciously. ¡°No. That¡¯s why I asked you. What does ¡®Mero Dudla¡¯ mean?¡±


    Instead of answering you, Elder Minaro point at Genialida, his always sleeping silver bear spirit companion. "What do Genialida¡¯s dreams sound like?"


    You listen for a few moments and then tell him the truth. ¡°It sounds like constantly shifting gibberish. Kind of like your voice but more feminine.¡±


    Elder Minaro covers his face with his hands and makes more coughing noises. "Curious. I¡¯ve been told that Genialida does sound like me, but I don¡¯t hear it myself. As far as I know, you¡¯ve never heard her speak before. Follow me."


    Without waiting or further explaining Elder Minaro strides swiftly out of the room and you have to jog to keep up with his longer strides.


    A loud yawn causes you to glance behind. Genialida is following you, blinking her black eyes sleepily.


    Elder Minaro leads you on a long walk, headed steadily downwards for so long you are starting to get tired from jogging to keep up. You follow him for a long time. Suddenly and without warning you, he swerves into an opening off of the tunnel you are in and leads you into a small cave where a woman and her silver bear spirit brother are sleeping.


    The woman and the silver bear both have their own pile of furs under them to cushion their sleeping bodies from the cold hard cave floor. You guess some people aren¡¯t as close as you and Wotjeo. Your bear brother and you sleep on the same pile of furs. Especially during winter when the cold winds howl in through the open cave mouth, you are grateful for his warmth.


    Your teacher points at the sleepers "What do their dreams sound like?"


    You tell him, ¡°Both of their dreams sound like constantly shifting gibberish.¡±


    He frowns at you. ¡°Can you tell the difference between their dreams?¡±


    You listen closely and realize that you can tell them apart. You tell him ¡°The woman¡¯s gibberish sounds feminine and the silver bear spirit companion¡¯s gibberish is much deeper and more masculine.¡±


    Elder Minaro graces you with a rare smile. ¡°Very good. What does that tell you?¡±


    You don¡¯t know but Elder Minaro is clearly getting impatient so you try to guess. ¡°I¡¯m hearing their voices?¡±


    Elder Minaro nods approvingly ¡°Yes, and?¡±


    You think about it as hard as you can, but you don¡¯t know. You look up at your teacher and shrug. ¡°I don¡¯t know. Please tell me.¡±


    Elder Minaro scowls at you. ¡°Bah, you¡¯re as slow-witted as your father. For all her faults, at least your mother isn¡¯t a fool. Try harder and follow me.¡±


    Your grumpy and denigrating teacher leads you out of the cave. You follow him into the next cave down the tunnel. The new cave is so small that it feels crowded by Elder Minaro and the woman inside along with three silver bears.


    In the center of the floor of the new cave is a large thick sheet of flat-black metal. There''s a handle near one edge that you could grab onto and try to drag it with. When you step on it, it sounds hollow, like there''s a hole under it.


    The woman snatches you off it and tells you ¡°Don¡¯t stand on the hatch. It¡¯s dangerous. The things that live down there could try to get out at any time.¡±


    Heavy chains of the same metal criss-cross the flat-black metal plate covering the hole. The chains are melted into the floor on one side. On the other side the chains wrap around robust arcs of metal melted into the floor and thick metal bars pass through both the links on the chain and the arc of metal melted into the ground so that the plate can''t be lifted without moving the chains and the chains can''t be moved without first pulling out the metal bars. If your world had bombs and you¡¯d ever seen a bomb shelter, you might think the hatch looks like a thick trap-door leading down to a bomb-shelter except that it is held down with way too many chains.


    The woman in the cave is wearing lots of dull gray armor. Her feet are encased in dull gray metal boots. Her legs are mostly covered by a skirt of strips of dull gray metal. Her chest is similarly covered in a shirt made of overlapping strips of dull gray metal. Her wrists and part of her arms are protected by bands of dull gray metal arm-bands. The only parts of her not covered in metal are her face and hands.


    She clanks when she moves to greet Elder Minaro. Surprise and respect tinged with concern is clear in her tone: "Elder! There have been no changes here since the last report. You should arm yourself if you want to enter the deep tunnels."


    Elder Minaro shakes his head dismissively, "I¡¯m not going in today. My student just needed to examine someone who woke up recently and most of the rest of the tribe has been awake for too long now."


    Your teacher points at the woman and her silver bear spirit companion. "Can you hear their dreams?"


    You can, and you tell him what you hear as best you can describe it. ¡°Their dreams are¡­ fading? Is that the right word? The dream vital essence sounds even more like gibberish. Some of the gibberish is just noise now instead of sounding like words I don¡¯t know.¡±


    Elder Minaro thanks the woman and then leads you back towards the lesson cave, walking less swiftly now. As he walks, he asks you ¡°What do you think you¡¯re hearing now?¡±


    You don¡¯t really know, but you know now that saying that is not what he wants to hear so you take a wild guess. ¡°I¡¯m hearing their dreams.¡±


    Elder Minaro shakes his head no vigorously, his long, untamed hair flying wildly around him. ¡°No. No. Obviously not. If you were hearing their dreams you wouldn¡¯t have heard anything from the two who were awake, but you did. I¡¯ll give you one more chance, though you¡¯ll likely disappoint me and waste it too.¡±If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it.


    You think hard while you jog to keep up with his long legs. Finally, you tentatively risk another guess. ¡°I¡¯m hearing memories of their dreams?¡±


    Elder Minaro stops and turns to glare at you. After a minute he groans and says ¡°You¡¯re just guessing now. Only a half-bear, half-butterfly like you could possibly be so wrong after so many hints. I can¡¯t tell if I¡¯m more astonished that you¡¯re getting closer or that you¡¯re still so very, very stupid despite my best efforts to teach you better.¡±


    He resumes walking and lectures you while he does so. "Everyone sees vital-essence and madra slightly differently. We''re not really seeing anything with our eyes but rather with our spirits. Our minds do everything they can to convert those spiritual perceptions into the senses we''re more familiar with but for most people its a crude approximation at best. Your vital-essence sense is further complicated by being hearing instead of sight or smell, which I have more experience with. Fortunately, you can learn to better understand vital-essence perception with practice and my guidance. I''d planned to have you work on that during our lessons anyways but now I think I will make that a higher priority.¡±


    It¡¯s a long walk back to the surface and he lectures you for most of it. ¡°As the Dreamkeepers are well aware, people don¡¯t dream coherently, and only rarely in words. I think the gibberish you¡¯re hearing is the imprint of key words from their dreams, but all jumbled up because dreams are intrinsically incoherent. The Dreamkeepers have several madra arts to help clarify and stabilize dreams. That¡¯s just my guess. The guess of an incredibly smart, talented, handsome, and wise teacher. So as guesses go, it¡¯s a pretty good one. Sadly, it¡¯s still just a guess and I have no more time to devote to this foolishness. If you want to know for sure what, if any, meaning what you hear near dream vital-essence is you will have to think on it further on your own time. I can no more solve this mystery for you with certainty than I can hear with your ears or teach you how to see vital-essence now that your troublesome Butterfly brain has decided to convert vital-essence perception into sound instead of sight. If you ever figure out what ¡®mero dudla¡¯ means let me know and I will reward you appropriately."


    Just before you get back to the lesson cave you ask Elder Minaro ¡°What are the deep tunnels?¡±


    Elder Minaro waves his hands dismissively, "Nothing you should concern yourself with unless you become a Guard or Miner, and then not for many years yet."


    ***


    The rest of your group lessons with Elder Minaro seem to pass all too slowly. He is constantly, rude, insulting, and demeaning. You are treated to the cruel side of his tongue by far the most frequently, but none of the children are spared his verbal abuse. Even so, the end of your lessons with him is approaching faster than you want. Every day you struggle to learn everything you can while doing your best to ignore his verbal abuse.


    As best you can judge, Felero is only a tiny bit behind you in your lessons. Not even a full day behind sometimes, but behind you think. The other boys slowly but surely fall further behind as Minaro teaches you and Felero how to sense not just vital essence but also madra, like that in the blindfolds the boys were wearing when you returned from being isolated. The blindfold bandannas were imbued with light madra by the Butterfly tribe to block vital-essence sight as a training aid. Vital essence sight is so common that the Silver Bear tribe always buys several during the septennial spiritual arts competition called the Luchamadra.


    ***


    At the start of the last day of classes Elder Minaro makes an announcement. ¡°Felero, your progress has been impressive. Please convey my compliments to your mother. Bato, your progress is...¡±


    Elder Minaro sneers ¡°adequate. You may tell your father, Aracato, I said so. As for you,¡±


    Elder Minaro glares at red-haired Decavo, ¡°If you don¡¯t learn to control your temper and start listening to your elders you¡¯re going to get yourself killed. The death of an ill-tempered fool like you is not much of a loss, but you¡¯ll take your spirit sister with you, and that I object to. I¡¯ll be keeping an eye on you when it is my turn to lead the morning meditation gatherings.¡±


    Elder Minaro sighs. ¡°Chuno, your progress is also adequate, but only just barely. If you are still set on pursuing your dreams, you¡¯ll have to work harder in the future, or you¡¯ll never make it.¡±


    Elder Minaro turns to you with a depressed frown on plastered on his face. ¡°Which just leaves you, girl. It pains me to say it, but you¡¯ve made the most progress. So I¡¯ll be stuck with you for another season. What a travesty, I¡¯m not looking forward to having to teach someone so slow-witted until the height of summer. If the spirits are kind next year¡¯s cubs will be better. Well, what are you lot waiting for? Get out of my sight already. Felero, girl, stay a moment.¡±


    Elder Minaro glares at Bato and his cronies until they¡¯ve left the room. He turns to address the only boy left in the room first ¡°Felero, I¡¯ve discussed your situation with the Matriarch. The tribe can always use more Dreamkeepers. We¡¯ve agreed that you can use this room to practice in until the tournament as long as I''m not using it. As I will be using it for most of the next season, you can practice in the hallway during that time as long as you don¡¯t distract me. Run along now.¡±


    Felero hurriedly waves goodbye to you and dashes out of the room.


    Elder Minaro glowers at you. ¡°Wait here.¡±


    He leaves the lesson cave and comes back a few minutes later carrying a metal goblet that looks very similar to the one he had you drink from when he abandoned you in the old mining tunnels. He hands the goblet to you with extreme care, not letting go until he¡¯s sure you have hold of it. It is full to the brim with a weird-looking orange liquid. ¡°Drink this.¡±


    You look at it suspiciously. He isn¡¯t going to abandon you again, is he?


    Wotjeo tells you, ¡°Even if he does, we know the way home from here. Drink, sister.¡±


    You take a sip. It tastes terrible, and you try to hand the goblet back.


    Elder Minaro glares at you. ¡°Drink all of it. Yes, it tastes terrible. It¡¯ll also expand your mind and help you make progress in your lessons. I brewed it myself, it¡¯s not as effective as the morning dew the Corazon Chamois make, but the ingredients are much easier for me to gather. The whole tribe together couldn¡¯t afford enough goblets of morning dew to last through your training. From now on, you¡¯ll be drinking one of these every day or some other potion I¡¯ve prepared. An advantage many in the tribe would be willing to cut their own arm off to have. You may thank me later, although most of my students don¡¯t do so until they¡¯re adults for some reason.¡±


    You glare at Elder Minaro for insulting you, but force yourself to drink all of the liquid. You gag several times while swallowing it. It tastes a lot like mud. Orange mud.


    Yuck!


    Elder Minaro snatches the goblet out of your hands when you¡¯ve nearly finished it. He sets it down in front of Wotjeo and tells him: ¡°Drink the rest and then lick it clean. Every drop counts. Sorry, I don¡¯t have enough for both of you, but it¡¯ll be your turn to get first taste soon enough.¡±


    Elder Minaro turns back to you and hands you a ring. It practically screams with dream and metal madra. If Elder Minaro hadn¡¯t put so much focus on teaching you to turn down the volume on your madra senses you wouldn¡¯t be able to bear being close to it.


    Your teacher impatiently tells you ¡°Stop looking at it and put it on; then stand still.¡±


    Elder Minaro paces a few steps away and then throws a rock at you. Frantically you dive out of the way.


    ¡°Disobedient girl!¡± Elder Minaro roars. ¡°Stand still! This won¡¯t hurt.¡±


    Reluctantly you stand back up and stay put. This time you close your eyes when he winds up to throw the rock at you. When nothing hits you, you peek out of one eye. The rock lies a pace in front of you. What happened?


    Elder Minaro growls at ¡°Stand still and keep your eyes open.¡±


    Curious now, you follow his instructions and this time when the rock comes hurtling towards you, you see a bronze wall roughly as tall and wide as you are flash into existence just long enough to block the rock and then fade away.


    Elder Minaro says reprovingly, ¡°I¡¯ve noticed the animosity you¡¯ve managed to engender in your classmates.¡±


    You open your mouth to object that they wouldn¡¯t hate you so much if he hadn¡¯t constantly been putting you down for who your mother.


    Before you can get two words out, Elder Minaro starts talking again, paying no attention to what you are saying. ¡°I can¡¯t very well teach you if you spend the entire time recovering from your injuries. This will help improve your odds of making it to my lessons intact, but it alone isn¡¯t enough to let you beat all three of them at once. Take the rest of the day, and the advantage of clearer thought than your muddled butterfly brain usually permits, to figure out how to shift the odds in your favor. Don¡¯t take this as a sign of special favor. I loan that ring to my best student every year, and you¡¯ll return it at the end of your lessons. Which start tomorrow. There will be no more half measures. From now on, you¡¯ll spend all your time with me from the end of morning meditation until dinner, and you will do your miserable best to learn what I learned through much hardship.¡±

 Aestia Valley 16: A Good Day

    Elder Minaro¡¯s announcements hardly took any time, so you still have most of the morning to figure out how to survive traveling from home to your private lessons with Elder Minaro. Bato and his friends, Chuno and Decavo, are sure to try to stop you just like they did the first few days of Elder Minaro¡¯s group lessons. You can skip Mina¡¯s lessons too if you need more time to think. You hope you don¡¯t need to though, you¡¯ve napped through too many already.


    You¡¯ve already seen what happens if you try to bull straight past Bato and his cronies to get to class, so you¡¯ll need to find a more clever solution. You really don¡¯t want to go through that again. One brutal beating was enough, thank you very much. Even if you did get to knock Bato out.


    Even though you learned a little about how to defend yourself from Mina, your focus was on Elder Minaro¡¯s lessons so you don¡¯t feel like you learned enough to win even a one-on-one fight with Bato, Chuno, or Decavo. They haven¡¯t been as focused on Elder Minaro¡¯s lessons as you, and, to your mind, there¡¯s only one other thing they could have been getting better at - learning how to beat up people like you.


    By the same reasoning, you decide that trying to get Felero to help you is a bad idea. He might help, but even if he does, you¡¯ll still be outnumbered, and too weak to win.


    It doesn¡¯t even occur to you to try to make friends with one of Bato¡¯s cronies so that you¡¯ll have the advantage. It would be the sane and reasonable thing to do, but you want your revenge. You can¡¯t get it immediately, but you swore an oath of vengeance and you will have it, someday. Who cares if befriending Decavo or Chuno would ensure your victory over Bato and allow you to safely and swiftly make it to Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave every day if it means giving up on satisfying your need for revenge?


    You only brief consider asking Papa to escort you but decide to save that for the last resort. Papa¡¯s stories have been very clear. A Silver Bear fights for themself. You think you¡¯d rather die than hide behind Papa. You might literally die from embarrassment if he helped you with this.


    That leaves only one option open to you. You can¡¯t outfight them and you can¡¯t out-charm them, so you¡¯ll have to outrun them. When Elder Minaro led you down to the Deep Tunnels, he did so without going through the main cave. Before that, you hadn¡¯t realized how large and connected the cave complex you live in was. Your entire world had been a few short tunnels all connected to the main cavern. You don¡¯t even know where Felero or Bato or Mina or anyone else lives.


    The cave complex suddenly seems vast and mysterious to you. It might be full of wonders like the caves full of meat and water you discovered during your isolation or mysterious dangers like the Deep Tunnels. Might there also be a way to reach the lesson cave without going through the tunnel Bato waited for you in, both times he stopped you?


    You might not need to fight your bullies at all. If you can find a way to reach the lesson cave that Bato doesn¡¯t know about, you can continue your lessons uninterrupted. This would be a very good thing, but you¡¯ll need to keep avoiding Bato and his friends afterward, too. While you are taking lessons from Elder Minaro, they¡¯ll be getting lessons on how to fight and do other things. It¡¯ll take you a long time to catch up with them.


    You push such gloomy thoughts out of your head and focus on your current problem. Finding a secret way to Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave. If you¡¯re really lucky, you¡¯ll find something exciting too, like the deep tunnels entrance or Mina¡¯s fight cave! With this exciting thought lifting your spirits you leave the lesson cave, and instead of turning left like you usually do, you go right. The tunnel is well lit by bowls of burning rocks supported by tripods at regular intervals. Smoke rises from the burning rocks and makes dark clouds that obscure the high ceilings of the tunnel. The floor is very smooth, and the tunnel walls are mostly smooth. The tunnel dips and falls irregularly, but trends generally downwards.


    Most stretches of this tunnel have at least two openings off of it in sight at the same time. You wander into the first couple you come across because no one has ever taught you that¡¯s it''s rude to go into other people¡¯s caves without being invited. They¡¯re all fairly large and often have several attached caves. Often you hear sounds coming from one of the attached caves and quickly leave. All the caves are rich in vital-essence, and not just tin either, but many different types. Elder Minaro taught you some of the names already. You recognize the sounds of copper, iron, and even patches of tin vital essence.


    When you find another tunnel leading off of this one you follow it. The first few times you do this you get lost in abandoned mining tunnels like the one you learned how to control your dream vital essence hearing in, and it takes you a long time to get out. Unlike that tunnel, these are all empty though.


    You take a break for lunch the next time you find an unoccupied cave with bed furs and a small copper barrel of water. The caves have been getting smaller recently. This one doesn¡¯t even have any other caves leading off of it. There¡¯s three separate piles of clothing in the cave, each with more sets of clothing than you own.


    You drink your fill from the barrel. Wotjeo is smaller than you, and you have to pick him up and hold him so he can lap up as much water as he wants. You eat one of the pomegranates Papa gave you this morning and feed the other to Wotjeo.


    You haven¡¯t had any meat since you learned how to turn down the volume on your dream vital essence hearing. You wish you could have some more of that dried meat and wonder if you could find your way back again. Unfortunately, you weren¡¯t paying attention when Sonadoro led you back. You don¡¯t even know where to start looking and Elder Minaro sounded like he plans to keep you too busy to do any exploring after today. Glumly you decide you probably won¡¯t be able to find the dried meat again any time soon.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.


    Wotjeo looks up at you and then rubs his furry face against your cheek. ¡°Don¡¯t worry sister. Fruit is yummy too.¡±


    It makes you feel better to know you can always count on your brother and you embrace him in a tight hug.


    Standing up, you brush the grit from the cave floor off your legs and head back out of the cave to continue exploring. The Silver Bears who live there will later be confused by the two empty pomegranate skins you leave behind in their cave.


    You find another abandoned mining tunnel, only this time it connects up to another smooth floor tunnel. When you step into the new tunnel, you spot Amiya walking down the new tunnel towards you. You call out, ¡°Hello Amiya!¡±


    The yellow-haired girl has survived two winters more than you and is both significantly taller and stronger. Her enthusiastic greeting hug squeezes the breath out of you. ¡°P¨±mi¨¨! I didn¡¯t see you at Mina¡¯s today. You should pay more attention during her lessons.¡±


    She gently scolds you ¡°I think Mina heard you snoring the last time you showed up.¡±


    You protest, ¡°I do not snore!¡±


    Amiya¡¯s mention of Mina reminds you. ¡°I need to tell Mina I can¡¯t come to lessons for a whole season. I earned extra lessons from Elder Minaro. He told me they¡¯d last until the middle of summer and he says they will be even harder than the other ones.¡±


    Amiya grabs your hands and cheerfully bounces and bounces up and down around you. ¡°Congratulations!¡±


    Caught up in her enthusiasm you jump up and down with her too.


    She stops bouncing and staggers dizzily. When she regains her balance she tells you, ¡°Come on, Let¡¯s go tell my mama! Our cave is just around the bend in this tunnel.¡±


    Amiya drags you along with her and takes you into a cave nearly as large as the cave mouth you live in.


    Amiya¡¯s mama, Vaquera, turns out to be an older looking woman, older looking than your mama at least. Broader too, but obviously heavily muscled with orangish-brown hair. Amiya¡¯s mama¡¯s face is creased with laugh lines where Mama¡¯s face is smooth and beautiful. Vaquera is busy cooking when Amiya dashes in. Your mouth waters when you see her adding delicious-looking chunks of fresh fish to the pot on the fire. ¡°Hello, mama! This is my friend P¨±mi¨¨! She got extra lessons from Elder Minaro just like Rubia!¡±


    Vaquera takes a short break to give you a welcoming hug ¡°Congratulations, dear.¡±


    She notices you staring at the pot of fish soup she¡¯s making. ¡°Would you like some?¡±


    You nod your head yes. Beside you, Wotjeo does too. His cute pink little tongue hangs out in anticipation of the yummy looking fish when he does. Remembering your manners you say. ¡°Yes, please! Who is Rubia?¡±


    Vaquera smiles approvingly at you. ¡°How polite, and at such a young age too! Rubia is my older daughter. She¡¯s very clever, just like you must be to have earned extra lessons from Elder Minaro. He took over teaching shortly after I joined the clan, but both my daughters said he¡¯s very strict.¡±


    Amiya interrupts. ¡°He¡¯s not strict. He¡¯s mean. I think he enjoys making fun of kids. He told me I was stupid every day.¡±


    Vaquera comforts Amiya by hugging her. ¡°Don¡¯t let his insults get to you, dear. We both know you aren¡¯t stupid.¡±


    Amiya pouts. ¡°Then why didn¡¯t I get extra lessons from him?¡±


    Vaquera sighs, and with the air of someone repeating something for the manyth time replies, ¡°Bonita¡¯s son was in your age group. Bonita is famous, it is no shame losing to her son, and Elder Minaro told me it was a very close thing.¡±


    Amiya brightens. ¡°Really? You never told me that before!¡±


    Vaquera says, ¡°Haven¡¯t I? I¡¯m sorry dear, I thought I had. Besides, Rubia taught you everything Elder Minaro taught her, so it isn¡¯t like you missed out. How¡¯s your new apprenticeship going?¡±


    Amiya frowns. ¡°It¡¯s okay, I guess. I know Rubia recommended him, but my sifu is kind of¡­ really into killing. He talks about how much fun it is to hunt and kill animals all the time.¡±


    Vaquera tastes the fish soup and then adds a few more dried leaves to it. ¡°Almost ready. What¡¯s wrong with that, dear? He is a Hunter. Killing animals is his Path. It¡¯s good that he enjoys it, right?¡±


    Amiya shrugs. ¡°I guess. He weirds me out though. I enjoy fighting, but he talks about death all the time like some sort of Marbled Polecat.¡±


    Vaquera hugs Amiya comfortingly, ¡°Well, you can change to a new sifu after next winter. Where did you and P¨±mi¨¨ meet?¡±


    Amiya seems happy to change the topic and says ¡°I met her at Mina¡¯s! She asked me to help teach P¨±mi¨¨! I like teaching you, P¨±mi¨¨, but you should pay more attention during lessons!¡±


    Vaquera tisks. "P¨±mi¨¨! You aren''t paying attention during your lessons? That''s rude! Your elders are spending their precious time on you, the least you could do is pay attention and show them the respect they deserve."


    You hastily defend yourself. "I''m sorry! I''ve just been practicing Elder Minaro''s lessons so much that I''m tired during Mina''s."


    Vaquera tisks again. "It''s good that you''re working hard, but even so, you should try to pay attention to Mina and Amiya too. Not only is it good manners, but Mina could be an Elder someday."


    Vaquera scoops out some of the soup into copper bowls and hands them out. ¡°Time to eat. If you like it there¡¯s plenty for seconds.¡±


    Oh boy, seconds! You never get seconds at home!


    You have a delicious second lunch with Amiya and her mama.


    Afterward, Vaquera fills three copper bowls with fish soup. She hands one to Amiya: ¡°Take this to your sister, dear. She forgot to come home and eat again.¡±


    Amiya stares at the bowl like she¡¯s afraid it will bite her ¡°Aww mama, do I have to?¡±


    Amiya¡¯s mom scowls at her rebellious daughter ¡°You know your sister must be starving after training all morning, and I¡¯m out of hands. I need to take your father his lunch too. The old fool must still be out fishing, and you¡¯re not old enough to go to the river by yourself yet.¡±


    Amiya sighs and reluctantly takes the copper bowl full of fish soup, ¡°Yes, mama.¡±


    Amiya turns to you with a smile. ¡°Come on, at least we can talk until we get to the main cave.¡±


    Not wanting a repeat of being unable to trace your steps back like when you followed Sonadoro, you pay close attention as Amiya leads you to the main cavern. She chattered happily the whole way and hugged you goodbye when you got there. Her hug was as energetic as ever and splashed some hot fish soup on the back of your leather shirt which Wotjeo enthusiastically licked up before it could warm up the leather enough to hurt.


    Stepping back, Amiya gestured to one of the many tunnels leading off the main cave. "I need to take Rubia her lunch, but I''ll see you at Mina''s soon. Go ahead and practice with someone else today if I''m not back in time."


    Not only did you find another way to the lesson cave, but you also got to eat some delicious fish soup and spend time with Amiya. You decide this was a good day.

 Aestia Valley 17: Run, P奴mi猫, Run

    The next day, you and Papa go to morning meditation like usual. Afterward, you see Bato, Chuno, and Decavo all head towards Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave even though they don¡¯t have lessons. You see Felero head that way too. Happily, you found another way to get there, and you skip towards it eagerly. You wonder how long Bato will wait around in the hallway for you.


    You walk all the way down to where the mine tunnel connects to this tunnel. Then you walk through the mine tunnel to the lesson cave tunnel, and all the way back up to the lesson cave. After how long that took, it is no surprise that Felero is already sitting in the corridor outside with his eyes closed. You wonder what he¡¯s doing. You and Felero never got lessons on how to cultivate from a distance the way the other boys did. He¡¯s not trying to figure it out on his own, is he? Elder Minaro said that was dangerous!


    Your concern for your friend can¡¯t dampen your good mood at out-smarting Bato. You greet Felero cheerily, and he scrambles to his feet when he notices you.


    Felero whispers, ¡°shh! Bato and the others are waiting for you just around the corner.¡±


    Felero points up the corridor to where it ends in a T-junction many paces away. ¡°Bato is in a nasty mood. He said he was going to beat you up for stealing his lessons and threatened to beat me up too if I didn¡¯t give him my lunch. I wanted to fight them, but Bato and Chuno have been getting lessons in how to fight from their parents while we were focusing on our cultivating lessons, so I didn¡¯t stand a chance by myself.¡±


    Papa packed you a lunch of two pomegranates, some nuts, and even a small piece of dried deer meat to celebrate your first day of private lessons. You open up your bag and give Felero one of the pomegranates and half the nuts. ¡°Here. I got past them with my lunch. We can share.¡±


    You look in the bag. The only thing you didn¡¯t give Felero half of is the meat. You don¡¯t get meat very often and you were really looking forward to eating it. On the other paw, out of all the people in your lessons with Elder Minaro, Felero has been the nicest to you by far. You sigh heavily and reach into the bag. Felero can have your half of the meat, it wouldn¡¯t be fair to give away some of Wotjeo¡¯s meat. He likes it even more than you do. You are not a strong little girl, and you struggle to tear the dried meat strip in two. Finally, with Wotjeo¡¯s help, you manage to rip it in half. You hand Felero the dry half. The other half is wet from where Wotjeo bit it to help you separate it.


    As you hand the piece of meat to him you tell him. ¡°Wait until Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson is over, and I¡¯ll show you how I got past Bato and his bully boys. That way we can both keep our lunches tomorrow.¡±


    It doesn¡¯t even occur to you at the time that Felero is such a weak fighter that Bato could beat Felero up to force him to reveal your secret path. Your thoughts are all on how to help your friend.


    Felero hugs you enthusiastically, and Poca, Felero¡¯s silver bear sister, hugs Wotjeo. Felero looks like he¡¯s going to say something, but then Elder Minaro¡¯s grating voice bellows from inside the cave. ¡°Whoever that is outside, stop yammering. My idiot student isn¡¯t here yet and I¡¯m trying to make good use of the peace and quiet before she arrives.¡±


    Guiltily, you scurry into the cave.


    Elder Minaro grunts grumpily when you enter the lesson cave. ¡°Congratulations on arriving intact girl. No doubt you¡¯re very impressed with yourself, but you¡¯re still late. Even though you are the only student now, I still expect you to arrive right after morning meditation and not dilly dally around. Our time together is too valuable for you to waste by lazing around like a toad on a log. No punishment today, but I expect you to do better tomorrow.¡±


    As soon as you sit down in front of him, Elder Minaro places a goblet like the one he had you drink from yesterday in front of Wotjeo. He tells you, ¡°Wotjeo is still small for his age. The amount of madra spirit companions provide is directly related to their size, and most of what I have to teach you requires you to be able to draw a lot of madra from him. Accordingly, Wotjeo will get the potions for this portion of our lessons and I will be turning the lessons over to Genialida to instruct him on how to cultivate vital-essence into madra more efficiently. The only thing I expect from you, girl, is to stay out of the way and not interrupt Wotjeo¡¯s lessons.¡±


    After completing his lecture, Elder Minaro swaps places with Genialda and goes to sleep.


    Genialda, Elder Minaro¡¯s silver bear companion, yawns and paces forward. Her fur is a pale yellowish-brown fading towards silver at the roots.


    Genialda speaks, not in the way Wotjeo does, but in the same language everyone else uses: ¡°Good morning children.¡±


    Her voice sounds a lot like Elder Minaro¡¯s but two octaves lower, and her pronunciation is slightly mangled as a result of coming from the mouth of a bear but still intelligible. Your jaw hits the floor in surprise, and so does Wotjeo¡¯s.


    Genialda rolls her eyes: ¡°Yes, I can talk. All spirits can speak your clumsy tongue by the time they reach Copper or Iron. I usually have better things to do with my time. Like sleep.¡±


    Genialda yawns again. ¡°Where was I? Right, P¨±mi¨¨, you can listen but don¡¯t interrupt. This lesson is for Wotjeo.¡±


    You pick your jaw up off the cave floor and listen attentively to the yellowish-brown-furred silver bear. ¡°My human already taught you how to follow your human while she is gathering. Right now, when you get vital-essence, you eat it and send it to your body the way my human taught you. Since you ate it, it is now in your stomach. Once there, your stomach breaks it down and it starts seeping outward, trying to escape. As it passes through you, your body absorbs it, but this is a slow process and vital-essence escapes quickly. Only a small amount of the vital-essence is absorbed into your body, and an even smaller portion is absorbed into your dantian.¡±


    Genialida taps her forehead with one large, furry bear paw. ¡°Your dantian is right here, between your eyes, and a lot of the vital-essence goes in a different direction and so is lost before it even gets there. Only once vital-essence reaches your dantian can you turn it into madra so that you and your human companion can use it. Since most of the vital-essence seeps out of our bodies, it ends up in the air around us. Proper breathing technique inhales this vital-essence rich air and recirculates it, allowing you to gain more madra from the same amount of gathering. This technique is especially effective in areas rich in vital-essence. Our cave complex is a particularly good location for this technique because with so many of our relatives leaking their vital-essence into the air the place is relatively saturated with it¡­¡±


    The lesson is long and boring for you since it is all about teaching Wotjeo how to breathe differently so he can cultivate better. Just like Wotjeo can¡¯t gather, you can¡¯t cultivate or join in on the lesson, but you do your best to pay attention so you can help Wotjeo with it later.


    When the boredom gets to be too much, you play around with the exercises Minaro already taught you to improve your vital-essence and madra hearing with only a short break for lunch.


    When you leave the cave after the lesson, Felero waves you over and gestures for you to be quiet. He whispers: ¡°Bato is still there. He¡¯s been waiting for you all day!¡±


    You grin back confidently, but not so confidently you forget to reply in a whisper ¡°Good thing we¡¯re not going that way. He, Chuno, and Decavo can sit there all day and rot for all the good it will do them. Come on, I¡¯ll show you how to avoid him from now on.¡±


    Felero wraps you in a grateful hug. "Great! Thank you so much! I was worried I''d be stuck here all night. Thank you for sharing your lunch with me too. You''re the best."


    Your face feels warm at the praise, and you quickly head down the corridor, curtly telling him to follow you in unconscious imitation of Elder Minaro.


    While you were talking with Felero, Elder Minaro came out of the lesson cave. The tunnel only goes in two directions, and he went in the opposite direction from the one towards the main cavern and Bato. You follow after him, but his longer legs soon leave you behind. In the winding tunnels you live in, it doesn¡¯t take long to lose sight of someone.


    As you walk with Wotjeo on one side and Felero a half pace behind you on the other side, your stomach grumbles loudly, reminding you that it is dinner time. You''re always a little hungry, but you''re extra hungry today because you shared your lunch with Felero. You laugh nervously and then worriedly glance behind you. Hopefully, you are far enough away that Bato didn¡¯t hear you.


    It seems you are in luck, Bato didn¡¯t hear you laughing. At least, no furious trio of bully boys comes chasing after you before you can duck into the safety of the abandoned mining tunnel.


    You lead Felero through the abandoned mining tunnel that connects Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave tunnel to the tunnel with Amiya¡¯s family''s cave. When you get to the main cavern, it is less busy than usual since most people have headed home by now. Felero spots an adult coming out of the lesson cave tunnel and asks him if Bato is still there. He is. The two of you giggle at the thought of Bato waiting all day and night in the other tunnel.Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.


    Before you part ways to go home, Felero hugs you goodbye and then he looks down at his feet. He glances back up shyly. ¡°Would you like to share our gathering, cultivation, and madra techniques with each other? I¡¯m not gettings lessons from an Elder like you or anything, but I think he taught each of us different things and I¡¯ve been getting lessons at home too.¡±


    You love Wotjeo more than anything and want to get good at gathering so you can take care of him. You''re tempted Felero¡¯s offer, despite being worn out from the long day of lessons but then our stomach loudly announces its hunger again.


    Felero quickly adds ¡°Not tonight, but sometime?¡±


    Wotjeo and you both nod your heads in agreement at the same time. You say "Sure!¡±


    Felero and Poca hug you both again and Felero says, ¡°I''ll think of some way to thank you! It''s good to have a friend like you."


    Your face feels warm at the praise, and you quickly head home.


    The next day, as morning meditation breaks up, you see a tired looking Bato and his cronies headed for the lesson cave again. You sprint down the other tunnel in an effort to get there quickly enough to avoid getting yelled at by Elder Minaro. Wotjeo''s baby bear legs are too short for him to keep up, so you scoop him up. Cradling your bear cub brother against your chest, you sprint through the tunnel, but halfway through the abandoned mineshaft you are exhausted and have to stop to catch your breath. As soon as you feel like you¡¯ve recovered, you scoop Wotjeo up and resume running. When you arrive at the lesson cave, you are sweaty, exhausted and disheveled. Elder Minaro face twists up like a rotten fruit.


    He yells at you: "You''re still late!"


    You protest that you tried your best and he snaps: "Your best is obviously not good enough."


    Elder Minaro moderates his voice to be merely as unyielding as bronze. "As your teacher, it is my responsibility to correct your failure, slow and weak butterfly that you are. Every day, while Wotjeo has his lesson you will run from here down to the deep tunnel guard post and back. Don''t think of slacking off just because I''m not awake. I''ll be asking the guard if you''re applying yourself."


    Disgruntled you scoop Wotjeo up to carry him the same way you did to get here and Elder Minaro snaps at you again. "Leave Wotjeo! He still has lessons."


    You put Wotjeo down and start sprinting out of the lesson cave.


    Elder Minaro snaps at you for the third time. "Jog! Don''t sprint!¡±


    Your barely developed self-control is completely overwhelmed by this and you turn to glare at him. Your angry stare has no effect on him at all.


    Elder Minaro brusquely instructs you, ¡°you''re just going to tire yourself out sprinting the whole way. Jog until you are about to collapse and then walk. No sitting around twiddling your thumbs. I expect you to be either jogging or walking the whole day."


    You jog out of the lesson cave fuming. You pass Felero just coming out of the abandoned mineshaft. He jerks back out of your way, and you wonder what your expression must look like. Jogging up and down the tunnel all morning is grueling. Long before lunchtime, you are exhausted and continuing only out of sheer determination.


    Genialida has to call your name twice before you realize she¡¯s trying to tell you to stop to eat lunch.


    Felero brought a huge lunch today, and he shares it with you. There are even bits of meat and vegetables on metal skewers. So delicious. Wotjeo¡¯s and your lunch seems pathetic compared to Felero¡¯s and Poca¡¯s, but you split it with them too.


    While you share their lunch and Felero explains, "I told my mother what happened yesterday, so she made extra food for you. Isn''t that great P¨±mi¨¨?"


    You''re not sure what a ''mother'' is. Maybe it is like Mama? In any case, you''re too busy stuffing your face to answer. Your cheeks are packed with food like a chipmunk''s when you nod your head in enthusiastic agreement. You''d agree with anything right now if it meant getting to eat more food like this.


    Days pass like that. Too many days. More than even many many days. Days spent jogging up and down the tunnels while Genialida teaches Wotjeo how to breathe back in some of the vital-essence he''s leaking into the air.


    You''re exhausted from jogging all day, and don¡¯t even get to hear Wotjeo¡¯s lessons. Still, you make a little time every evening after your lesson with Elder Minaro ends to repeat what Wotjeo tells you about his lessons to Poca and Felero. You don¡¯t see how Poca could be learning much from what little you have time to pass on, but she and her brother seem very grateful. Felero often offers to share what he¡¯s learning too, and while you don¡¯t really understand it, Wotjeo tells you it is helpful.


    Felero never brings as big of a lunch as he did that second day, but his lunch is usually bigger than yours, and he often shares part of it. Which is good. You''re not sure how you''d have kept up with Elder Minaro''s demands for ever more speed without the extra food.


    One day you can jog all the way to the lesson cave while carrying Wotjeo without stopping for a rest.


    Elder Minaro greets you: ¡°I see you¡¯re finally able to get here without panting like a half-dead leopard. If you were a hunter or a guard, you¡¯d be expected to be able to sprint the whole distance, but I suppose this will do for now. When we began your extra lessons, you had some questions about your hearing, and I said I would help you with that. Over the next few days, I will teach you some new exercises to help you get better control of your hearing. If your own interest isn¡¯t enough to motivate you to do your best, know that when I¡¯m satisfied you understand the rudiments of the new exercises I¡¯ll be hiding items that give off vital essence throughout the cave complex and you¡¯ll have to find them before the next day¡¯s lesson.¡±


    More days pass. According to Mama, two-thirds of your time with Elder Minaro has been spent with Wotjeo learning from Genialida most days. Meanwhile, you jog through what seems like every abandoned mining tunnel in the whole cave complex looking for lumps of unshaped metal full of metal vital-essence or weirdly shaped metal statues radiating dream madra. You can finally fully shut off your spirit hearing as well as pick out what metal something is made of.


    Intriguingly, the exercises have improved your normal hearing as well. You have a hard time not laughing when you hear Bato and his cronies grumbling about where you are most mornings. They seem to be losing interest in trying to ambush you, as they usually leave well before lunchtime now. You¡¯re still a little disappointed that none of the exercises have brought you any closer to figuring out what, if any, meaning ¡°mero dudla¡± has.


    Elder Minaro addresses you with grudging approval before sending you home: ¡°Your progress so far has been adequate, girl. Your most glaring faults, aside from your poor choice of parents, have been shored up now. I still know more than you¡¯re likely to learn in two lifetimes, so what would you like to learn?¡±


    You hadn¡¯t really thought about it before. You¡¯d just kind of assumed that he would make all the decisions for you. You sit quietly while you think about this strange new question.


    You are silent for too long for Elder Minaro apparently because he adds, ¡°Every other member of this clan knows exactly what they¡¯d learn from an Elder if they ever got the chance. Only an arrogant butterfly like you wouldn¡¯t have given it any thought. I suppose I¡¯ll have to give you some options then. The first problem facing you is that you still don¡¯t have access to vital essence sources aside from those available during morning meditation. Normally your parents would provide you at least some access, but your father already trades away most of his cultivation access. Genialida could continue Wotjeo¡¯s cultivation instructions to allow him to make the most of what vital-essence you can get him. I can also provide instruction both on how to gather faster, to make better use of morning meditation, or more deeply, which will be useful should you gain access to rich vital essence sources like those in this cave again.¡±


    Elder Minaro points at the ring he gave you and that you are now wearing. You remember he demonstrated that it creates a bronze wall in front of you when you are attacked. ¡°I had thought to teach you how to recharge madra using equipment like the ring I loaned you, but you haven¡¯t used it at all so that might not be the best use of your time. Still, it¡¯s a useful skill. While you can learn it from several other tribe members, none are as skilled as I; so I will happily teach you if you want.¡±


    Elder Minaro points to the empty goblet set out of the way against one of the cave walls. Every morning Elder Minaro gives either you or Wotjeo a potion to drink to help you learn faster. ¡°I brew the potions you drink every day and I can give you an introduction to potion brewing or creating madra equipment. We don¡¯t have enough time to cover more than the basics, but I can teach you one or two useful tricks in our remaining time, and it will provide a good foundation should you choose to pursue such skills further. Our tribe can always use more crafters. The Corazon Chamois make the best potions, but we make the best weapons.¡±


    Excited by the opportunity to boast of his many accomplishments, Elder Minaro leaps to his feet and starts pacing in front of you. Genialida grunts irritably in her sleep every time he steps near her but never fully wakes up. ¡°In a similar vein, you are now ready to learn a wide range of madra manipulation techniques. Whichever of our proud and valuable Paths is lucky enough to have you join, will no doubt teach you their own techniques, but I can give you a head start on any of them. Be it the Hunter techniques to guide metal weapons to their target or sharpen them; or Guard techniques to dull the edge of metal weapons or reinforce their own bodies with the power of metal or Miner techniques to reinforce their tools to prevent wear and tear or the more esoteric arts of the Dreamkeepers who can put our foes to sleep and cross great distances in the space of a thought like you do in a dream. No, don¡¯t say anything now. Think about it tonight and discuss it with your parents and let me know what you¡¯ve decided tomorrow morning. Not everyone gets even one such opportunity in their entire life. This decision deserves your thought and attention.¡±


    When you get home Mama and Papa ask you about your day, as they do every evening. When you tell them about the options Elder Minaro gave you, they both urge you to ask for lessons on different things.


    Mama, who is beautiful, wise, and charming, advises: ¡°Learn potion brewing or one of the Dreamkeeper techniques. Potion brewing is an elegant and valuable skill in all tribes. Skilled brewers stay young and pretty looking longer than almost anyone else. You would be valued and feted by the whole tribe so you would have no trouble finding a good husband even though you don¡¯t spend nearly enough time on your hair. It¡¯s just dreadful what all this running and sweating is doing to your lovely curls. The Dreamkeeper techniques are the ones my old tribe had the most trouble with. It¡¯s impossible to win a fight if you¡¯re asleep.¡±


    Papa, who is strong, loving, and hugely huge advises: ¡°Learn the miner techniques to reinforce metal.¡±


    Papa boasts ¡°I used to break my weapons at least once a month. I am so strong; our smiths couldn¡¯t make weapons tough enough to survive my attacks! It would have saved me a lot of trouble and scars if my weapons didn¡¯t keep breaking. You¡¯re my daughter, so you¡¯re sure to be super strong just like me!¡±


    You¡¯re not sure Papa¡¯s advice is the best. You¡¯re still smaller than all the boys except Felero and Amiya is a lot stronger than you. You know he means well though so you hug him and praise him for being strong which makes him smile.


    Later, while Mama is tucking you and Wotjeo into your shared bed furs in the sleeping cave, and Papa is out of earshot in the main cave mouth, Mama praises you for handling Papa so well. She tells you that Papa loves hearing how strong he is and how much you love him.

 Aestia Valley 18: Flattery Will Get You Everywhere

    After talking with Wotjeo, and Papa, and Mama you think long and hard about what lesson would benefit Wotjeo and you the most. You want to be able to take good care of Wotjeo and get him lots of vital essence, which makes the various lessons on cultivating and gathering Elder Minaro told you about very tempting.


    While you slept, you heard Mama¡¯s words over and over again. ¡°He likes to hear how strong he is.¡± When you wake up, you know exactly what to do. You are so eager to talk to Elder Minaro, you have a hard time focusing during morning meditation, even though you know that it is an important opportunity to gather the dream vital-essence that is strongest around sleeping people, or those who have just woken up.


    Afterwards, you make you jog to Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave the long way to avoid Bato. He still tries to ambush you every morning. He must be really mad about not getting private lessons with the Elder. Or maybe he¡¯s upset about that time you knocked him out by hitting him in the head with a bag of hard-skinned pomegranates. You think that was his fault though, you only hit him because he was trying to take your lunch! He also seems to be mad that Mama is a Crystal Butterfly. You guess he thinks he has lots of reasons to hurt you. You try not to think about it too much. It makes you sad and worried that someone can hate you that much.


    You jog into Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave and set Wotjeo down. Both of you bow humbly before the unpleasant man and stay bent over as you speak. ¡°Revered honorable Elder Minaro of the Silver Bear tribe. You know more than I could learn in two lifetimes. You know so much, but I do not even know what I do not know. Only you are wise enough to know what is best for me to learn. This one humbly requests her revered honorable Elder to teach her something that only so wise and powerful an Elder as you could.¡±


    Elder Minaro¡¯s voice is less grating than it usually is as he replies. ¡°Just so. It¡¯s about time one of you ignorant little cubs realized it. Something only I can teach, you say. Hmmm. For today, Genialda will continue Wotjeo¡¯s lessons. I will give you my answer tomorrow. Decisions should not be made in haste.¡±


    The next day you see something strange as you turn the corner into the lesson cave. There, sitting against the back wall is you! You are meditating under one of the tin crevices, and Elder Minaro is meditating beside you with Wotjeo curled up in your lap. But you haven¡¯t even entered the cave yet! You look down at Wotjeo in your arms then back up at Wotjeo sitting in your lap in the lesson cave. What¡¯s going on here?


    You hear Elder Minaro laughing, and the image of you in the cave shatters revealing the lesson cave, empty except for Elder Minaro and Genialida. ¡°You should have seen the expression on your face girl. What you just saw is a fantasy drawn forth from your mind and made visible by the Dream Mirror technique.¡±


    Elder Minaro hands you the potion goblet today as he continues speaking. ¡°Drink half today, then give the other half to your brother. The rest of our lessons will be for both of you. The secret behind the Dream Mirror is that people dream even while they are awake, but the dreams are quiet and often drowned out by their waking thoughts. In these waking dreams they envision what they hope will happen, what they fear will happen, or they obsess over past events. Judging from what the Dream Mirror showed you, you were dreaming of learning how to cultivate better so you could take care of your bear brother. Touching, but not what you need right now. What you need is a weapon, something to allow you to defend yourself even though the other cubs who joined the clan with you have been learning how to fight and you have not.¡±


    Elder Minaro gestures for you to carry the empty goblet and put it out of the way against the cave wall when Wotjeo finishes licking it clean. He waits for you to return and focus your attention on him before continuing. ¡°Fortunately for you, Dreamkeepers developed a technique for exactly the purpose, as they too rarely spend much time preparing to fight. One that allows them to confuse and confound our enemies long enough for help to arrive or even win if their opponent is foolish enough to get lost in it. The Dream Mirror technique uses metal and dream madra to create a mirror that catches your opponent¡¯s waking dream and reflects it back, so they see it instead of whatever is behind the dream. It has several weaknesses, the most important of which you just experienced. We don¡¯t control what the person we use the technique on sees. If they fear you, or fear being caught, they see their fear coming true. If they obsess over the past, they relive the event as they wished it had gone. If they dream of defeating you, they see you beaten. A powerful but unreliable technique. You should not count on it confusing an experienced opponent for more than a few seconds, but for many winters yet you will be facing children who will not be able to defend against it.¡±


    ***


    By the end of the month, you¡¯ve mastered the basics of the technique and can create a mirror large enough to completely fill a tunnel. Elder Minaro showed you several places you can cycle slightly differently while preparing the technique to give you good control over the shape and size of the Dream Mirror you make. If you make it just tall enough to hide you can stretch the width to cover a few paces more to either side.


    It is a very madra intensive technique though, completely draining Wotjeo of madra with each use. You spent as much time gathering so Wotjeo could cultivate vital-essence into madra as you did doing anything else. Elder Minaro grumbles that your progress has been ¡°barely adequate,¡± but his heart doesn¡¯t seem to be in complaining. Your frequent and shamelessly lavish flattery the past month has made the irritable man much less unpleasant.


    ***


    At the beginning of lessons one day, Elder Minaro beckons you over to where he¡¯s sitting beside Genialda. When Elder Minaro started teaching you the Dream Mirror technique, she went back to sleeping through your lessons. Today she isn¡¯t sleeping. Instead, her huge bear head fills the Elder¡¯s lap, and he¡¯s petting her back. Her growls of contentment fill the lesson cave. Elder Minaro gathers a fuzz of bronze underfur on his fingers as he pets her. Both her and Wotjeo have been shedding their underfur as summer¡¯s heat pushes out winter¡¯s chill.


    Elder Minaro holds up the fluffy mess of bronze wire Genialida shed and instructs you: ¡°Watch.¡±


    Without any further gestures from the Elder, his fluffy cloud of bronze wire fur collapses into itself forming a smooth sphere about the size of the Elder¡¯s eye.


    The sphere flattens into a thin platter like a small plate.


    The plate separates into three needles, complete with tiny ¡®eyes¡¯ to put thread through.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The needles merge back together into the sphere.


    Elder Minaro made no special gestures, only moving to pet his silver bear sister throughout the show. He says ¡°You asked to learn something no one else could teach you. I dare say no other Silver Bear has devoted as much time to unifying our techniques as I have. The metal guiding technique the Hunters use is only a small piece of a much more fundamental ability.¡±


    The sphere floats up from his palm and starts circling your head. Trying to keep track of it is making you dizzy and you try to avoid looking at it as Elder Minaro starts talking again. ¡°At its core, The Hunter¡¯s most famous technique is just the ability to move metal in accordance with their dreams. It is the same principle they use to sharpen the edges of their weapons, although they are hardly aware of it.¡±


    The sphere reshapes itself into a menacingly sharp-edged arrow and clips off a piece of your hair. It is so sharp you didn¡¯t feel any tug as it parted the strand of hair. ¡°The Guard¡¯s technique to dull the edges of weapons is also part of the same technique.¡±


    The arrowhead reforms into a thick wedge and this time when it impacts your hair it pushes the hair out of its path instead of cutting it. ¡°Finally, our smiths use yet another part of it to create our uniquely strong armor and blades by compressing the metal far more than mere muscle power would allow.¡±


    The wedge reforms into a much smaller sphere than before. Where before it was the size of an eyeball, now it is the size of a pupil. ¡°All parts of the same technique, and, when properly mastered, well suited to more decorative uses.¡±


    The bronze sphere momentarily forms into an earring, then a ring, and then a very thin bracelet. ¡°More detailed designs are possible as well.¡±


    The bracelet reforms into a miniature bear made out of bronze; then drops into your hands. You hold it up and squeal with delight. It¡¯s a perfect copy of Genialda in every respect, down to the tiniest detail, but no bigger than a human eye.


    When you¡¯ve calmed down and stopped gushing about how cute the bronze miniature bear is; Elder Minaro shows you two fist-sized lumps of tin. The first lump bubbles and then reforms into a perfect duplicate of Wotjeo. He tosses the second one to you. It¡¯s screaming with tin vital essence so loudly that you flinch back and have to virtually shut down your hearing to be able to stand to hold it.


    Elder Minaro waits for you to stop examining the lump and look back at him before continuing. ¡°That lump started as a rare piece of wildly rich tin vital-essence. Working with our Smiths, I further had it specially treated to be extra responsive to our metal manipulation techniques to assist with your training. Try to shape it the same way you do when you are gathering vital-essence, but without drawing the vital essence out.¡±


    You follow his instructions and try to shape it into a sphere, but nothing happens.


    As soon as you stop trying Elder Minaro resumes lecturing: ¡°Nothing is happening because you cannot make any changes in the world without using madra. Madra powers all of our techniques and humans are incapable of making madra. Only spirits are capable of converting vital essence into madra, so you must first take madra from your brother.¡±


    Elder Minaro walks you through the same process to get madra from the connection between you and Wotjeo that your father did, only instead of letting it diffuse into your body he has you cycle it until it is all gathered in your hands.


    Elder Minaro tells you, ¡°Now that you have some madra, try again, and this time, use your madra wrapped hands to shape the tin. Initially, it is easier to focus the technique on your hands. I¡¯ll tell you how to shape it with your mind too, but we don¡¯t have time for you to develop that skill.¡±


    When you touch the tin with your hands, it feels tacky, and your fingers sink into it like mud. You open your eyes to see if that really happened but when you do you lose control of your madra and the tin pushes your fingers away as it resumes its original shape.


    Elder Minaro snaps at you. ¡°Focus, girl! Focus! Try again.¡±


    You spend the rest of the day seemingly futily trying to do something that Elder Minaro did effortlessly. No matter what you do, the tin quickly pushes your fingers away and snaps back to its original shape.


    Completely disregarding that he¡¯s kept you so late today that you¡¯ve already missed dinner, he tells you, ¡°practice what we¡¯ve covered so far today in your spare time. We¡¯ll pick up where we left off in the morning. Take the bear miniatures with you. If you can duplicate the statuette of Wotjeo, you¡¯ll have earned additional lessons from me.¡±


    In the following days, unlike with your previous lessons with him, Elder Minaro mostly makes you repeat his lectures back to him and only rarely lets you even attempt one of the techniques he tells you about. It feels like he¡¯s trying to cram as much knowledge into you as possible.


    On the few occasions he does allow you to attempt a technique, you fail to do anything more than deform the lump, and it immediately reverts back to its default shape when you stop focusing on it. It is so much harder to do than it looked when he did it. Compared to the two bear miniatures which, somehow, still hold their shape hours later, you¡¯ve got a looooong way to go. Elder Minaro doesn¡¯t grumble more than usual; so you guess he¡¯s not disappointed with your slow pace of progress.


    Not ever having had any formal education in mathematics or even basic numeracy you¡¯re unable to count above three, and you¡¯re still fuzzy on how many three is. You know it is the number of fingers on your hand pointing up when you have one or two fingers pointing down, but you¡¯re not sure if it is one or two fingers down. Your grasp on any amount of time between a day and an entire season is equally fuzzy. Papa doesn¡¯t seem to be much better with numbers than you are, so it is Mama who first notices that your lessons with the Elder should be over by now.


    When she does, she asks you how much longer you are going to be taking lessons for and you shrug: ¡°When he tells me? More lessons are more better, right? I¡¯m not planning on bringing it up to him. He might stop teaching me!¡±


    As it turns out, your lessons last less than a handful more days before Elder Minaro dismisses you. ¡°Remember to practice the metal manipulation technique when you can, but don¡¯t make it your first priority. It will develop your madra control, but it won¡¯t keep you fed for many decades yet. In the unlikely case you ever do master it, you¡¯ll have earned some more lessons from me. Personally, I doubt you¡¯ll ever rise high enough for us to interact again. Off you go girl, if you remember what I taught you, you may just surprise me yet.¡±


    He takes the protective ring he gave you at the start of lessons back but gives you a small leather sack just large enough to hold your lump of tin. When you put the tin in, you can¡¯t hear the vital essence anymore. Elder Minaro tells you, ¡°keep your practice lump in there, so the noise from it doesn¡¯t prevent you from hearing other vital essences.¡±


    ***


    Your lessons with Elder Minaro spanned just over two seasons. There were a handful of makeup days from when Bato or you were too injured to attend lessons, and your flattery wheedled more extra lessons from the Elder, although your understanding of both counting and time is too poor for you to have a clear picture of how many extra lessons you got. Enough that Mama noticed at least. In that time, you learned a great deal from the unpleasant man, but far from everything, you will need to learn to make your way in the world. What you have learned so far is merely a foundation on which to build.


    You will have to build quickly. The largest gathering of tribes in the valley is the septennial Luchamadra festival. It begins on the winter solstice, a little less than two seasons from now, and the first event of the festival is a grand tournament of all ore-tier members from all five tribes in Aestia valley.


    You know you need to make a good showing at the festival. How you perform in the tournament reflects not only on your family but also on the whole Silver Bear clan. Many trade deals and territory agreements will be negotiated during the festival, and the tribe seen to have the strongest warriors and most promising young talents will have the upper hand in all of their negotiations.


    Part of you wonders if you do well enough in the tournament if you can earn the right to access vital-essence nodes of your own.

 Aestia Valley 19: Doubling Down

    With your lessons from Elder Minaro over, you decide you really need to learn how to fight. The Dream Mirror technique is powerful, but it doesn¡¯t do any damage, so you¡¯ll have to learn how to dish that out yourself. You don¡¯t want to let your family and your tribe down in the Luchamadra tournament.


    Papa told you that trapping someone with your Dream Mirror technique would get you a draw at best, not a win. You feel like you really need to win to get the clan to accept you. You probably can¡¯t avoid Bato and his cronies forever either. Most importantly, you promised yourself you¡¯d get even with Chuno someday. Thinking about it, you¡¯ve got a lot of reasons to learn how to fight. Why did you put it off so long again? Riiiight, because Elder Minaro is an incredibly demanding old man.


    Definitely not because you¡¯re a little afraid of getting in a real fight again after getting so badly hurt in all your previous fights that you passed out.


    To get to the part of Mina¡¯s cave complex where she teaches young cubs like you and Wotjeo how to fight, you have to pass through the cave where most Silver Bears work out. It is as busy as ever, and you pick your way around not only the equipment but also Silver Bear members of every age. You recognize a few of the exercises that the humans and spirit companion bears are doing from your nighttime workouts with Papa, but many manys of them are unfamiliar to you.


    Remembering how much it hurt the last time you fought for real isn¡¯t why your hands are shaking when you step into Mina¡¯s training cave again. Nope, you¡¯re just nervous about her reaction. You had been sleeping through a lot of her training even before Elder Minaro switched his lessons to take up the whole day. You haven¡¯t been here for more than a season.


    Mina is currently supervising a brawl between a handful of teenagers and the group of younger kids you usually train with. Amiya and a boy manage to tackle one of the teenagers. While they hold the teenager down another girl from your group lessons ¡°kills¡± him. The other teenagers do better. One of them catches both kids who try to tackle her and slams them into each other until Mina rules them dead and then tries to hold off Amiya and both of her allies. The last teenager was tackled successfully but managed to get back to their feet before being ¡°killed¡± and finishes off her attackers just in time to intercept Amiya before she can ¡°kill¡± the second teenager who¡¯d been tackled by the other two kids. That leaves just two of the kids to fight two teenagers, and the older girls quickly wipe the floor with Amiya¡¯s comrades.


    Mina tells everyone to gather around her. ¡°Good job today everyone. Amiya, your group did a really good job of tackling your opponent. Most of the other tribes can¡¯t make full use of their strength when they¡¯re pinned. That¡¯s why the first thing we teach you is how to tackle an opponent. It plays to our strengths, counters theirs, and allows even our youngest fighters a chance at taking out their strongest. It¡¯s a risky move and can backfire if you try it on someone bigger and stronger than you, though, like it did when Fuerte caught you two. Don¡¯t get cocky and don¡¯t ever try to tackle a Water Leopard. Those cats cheat. Fortunately, they seldom attack the caves, so that¡¯s more of a problem for the Hunters.¡±


    Mina has everyone hug it out and then thanks the teenagers for their help and tells everyone to sit down and meditate on the fight. "It''s important to review spars, lessons and real fights if there''s time afterward. You will progress faster if you take the time to learn from your mistakes and consider how you can do better in the future.


    She walks towards you and stares down at you with her fists planted on her hips. ¡°Hello, P¨±mi¨¨. I¡¯m surprised to see you here again. I thought you¡¯d forgotten about us.¡±


    You bow deeply and blurt out your apology in one breathless rush: ¡°This one apologizes to her honorable teacher for her disrespect. This one just finished lessons with the honorable and respectable Elder Minaro yesterday and humbly begs permission to resume this one¡¯s lessons.¡±


    To your surprise, Mina scoops you up in a warm embrace. Her hug is just as crushingly tight as Papa¡¯s. ¡°Welcome back, P¨±mi¨¨! Elder Minaro is usually a stickler about time and never gives anyone extra days of instruction. You must have impressed him. I thought your lessons were over days ago and you¡¯d decided to learn how to fight from the Hunters like your father instead of returning to us.¡±


    Your ribs are really starting to hurt now, and you¡¯re getting short on breath. ¡°You can resume your lessons, but I expect you to work hard and not fall asleep again! Drop that ¡®this one¡¯ nonsense, and show some self-respect too. Did that old... I mean did Elder Minaro teach you anything useful in a fight?¡±


    She finally stops hugging you, and you drop to the cave floor, sucking down huge lungfuls of sweet, sweet air.


    Still gasping for breath, you summarize your training. When you¡¯ve calmed down enough to do it, you demonstrate your Dream Mirror technique for her. She looks through it, right into your eyes. ¡°Not bad, but don¡¯t try to use that on anyone two tiers or more above you. If someone¡¯s spirit is that much stronger than you, even your best efforts will wash over them like water off the back of a duck. That¡¯s why I like fists. Much harder to ignore a fist in your face than fancy tricks.¡±


    She grins as she holds up her fist. Even though she¡¯s really nice, it¡¯s still kind of a scary expression.


    You resume lessons right where you left off, only Amiya is half one of your tiny hands taller than she used to be and you¡¯ve hardly grown at all, so you spend a lot more time on the ground. Either because she tackled you, or because she deflected your attempts to tackle her. Some days it feels like you¡¯re not even mussing her wild and beautiful blond hair, but Mina assures you that you are making progress. Wotjeo is doing a lot better than last time though. He¡¯s grown about as much as Amiya has and Bearyo, the blond-haired girl¡¯s spirit brother, didn¡¯t grow as much as Wotjeo or Amiya did.


    After a full season of groaning on the ground, Amiya can still tackle you at will, but you manage to tackle her about a quarter of the time. On a particularly lucky day, you manage to tackle Amiya to the ground twice in a row.


    Mina walked by just then and said, ¡°it looks like you are truly taking my training seriously this time. It¡¯ll still be many winters yet before you''re ready to face any of the other tribe''s hunter''s one-on-one, much less a Marbled Polecat assassin, but you¡¯ve taken the first step on that path. I hope you¡¯re eager to take a second one; because it¡¯s time for me to teach you what to do once you¡¯ve got an enemy on the ground.¡±


    Mina starts having you alternate lessons, one day with herself and one day with Amiya. Mina teaches you how to perform several pins and armbars including the full nelson and only lets you start using them on Amiya when she¡¯s happy you know how to do them safely as well as how to bring the pain against the many enemies of the Silver Bear clan.


    Wotjeo gets similar lessons with Mina¡¯s familiar Chimenea. Of course, this means Amiya now gets to do the same things to you. Amiya not only tackles you a lot more than you tackle her, but she¡¯s a lot better at pinning you too. You acquire whole new sets of bruises. Papa is entirely unsympathetic to your pained groans when you return home. Instead, he praises every new injury as proof of his ¡°clever P¨±mi¨¨¡± getting tougher.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    Looking at how much bigger than you the other kids taking Mina¡¯s lesson are, you ask her, ¡°how can I fight and beat a stronger person.¡±


    Mina laughs. ¡°I like your ambition! Do what your father did and grow stronger! You are his daughter, so I¡¯m sure one day you¡¯ll be one of the largest and strongest people in the clan.¡±


    You gesture hopelessly at yourself. ¡°But I¡¯m so small!¡±


    Mina hugs you and ruffles your hair. ¡°Don¡¯t worry. Most of Elder Minaro¡¯s students are short for their age and they all go on to be champions of the clan if they survive long enough. If you''re worried about the tournament, don''t be. There¡¯ll be lots of kids smaller than you. Not everyone is lucky enough to be born a Silver Bear; once you get your growth you''ll be bigger and stronger than most people in the other clans. The only people you''re likely to meet as an adult who are larger than you are other Silver Bears. I''m teaching you how to defend the clan and yourself in that order. Not how to hurt our clan members. I''m no short-sighted Hunter to teach people how to make the tribe weaker by hurting each other."


    ***


    In addition to your wrestling practice under Mina¡¯s guidance in the afternoons, you arrange to meet with Felero in the mornings to swap gathering and cultivation lessons as you discussed. Ordinarily, Elder Minaro¡¯s lesson cave would be forbidden to you now that your lessons are over, but Felero got permission to use it until the tournament starts, so you agree to meet there.


    After hugging you hello the first morning, Felero nervously asks. ¡°Are you sure you want to swap lessons? What Elder Minaro taught you is surely more useful than what my mother taught me. I think I¡¯ll get a lot more out of swapping lessons and I feel like I¡¯m taking advantage of you.¡±


    You laugh with relief. ¡°I thought I was taking advantage of you! If we weren¡¯t meeting here, I wouldn¡¯t have had anywhere to gather vital-essence from at all!¡±


    Felero reassures you, ¡°It¡¯s no trouble, I am happy to be able to repay you in some small way. I checked with my mother to make sure letting you gather here wouldn¡¯t cause problems. She said it would be fine. As far as the tribe is concerned, once the Matriarch or an Elder has given someone permission to gather, they can give that permission to anyone else, or even trade it away like a pomegranate. Since Elder Minaro didn¡¯t place a limit on how much gathering I can do, I can share it with anyone I want, and it doesn¡¯t cost me anything, so please, help yourself. I only gather dream madra at morning meditation and then balance it out here. It¡¯s faster that way since the longer it has been since you dreamt, the weaker the dream vital essence around you is.¡±


    Felero¡¯s speech patterns are, as always, much more like an adult¡¯s than the other kids your age, or even Amiya¡¯s. It¡¯s kind of weird how smart a, but he¡¯s your friend, so you don¡¯t let it bother you. Maybe he talks like that because he¡¯s so smart? He is the smartest kid you know. He can even count above three!


    You both agree that it is good to have a friend like the other. When you tell Mama about your conversation later, she congratulates you. ¡°Very well done, growlitta. That¡¯s how all the best trades work. You want both parties to feel like they came out ahead.¡±


    ***


    One morning many days later you arrive at the cave to see Felero is already there. He doesn¡¯t look at all tired or sweaty! How¡¯d he get here before you? You thought you were faster than him. Thanks to all that jogging Elder Minaro made you do, you usually get here before him.


    As if reading your mind, Felero smiles and says ¡°I noticed Bato stopped setting ambushes four days ago. He must be furious at you to keep trying for as long as he did. Today I waited for him to leave and then walked down the shorter path we used to take. Ahh, I¡¯m so happy he finally gave up!¡±


    For the next many, many days you come and go through the shorter path, glad to be able to save the time having to go around would cost. Only your excellent hearing keeps this from turning into a disaster. As you approach the corner one morning, you hear Bato bragging to Decavo and Chuno about catching you now that you¡¯ve let down your guard like a stupid doe.


    Grateful to Elder Minaro for making you spend so long improving your hearing you stop Felero and the two of you return to taking the longer route you found. It costs some time every day, but it is not worth the risk of getting in another fight with them before you are ready.


    To start with, you try to teach Poca, Felero¡¯s black-furred spirit sister silver bear, the most valuable thing the Elder taught you, how to cultivate efficiently. Unfortunately, you don¡¯t actually know it. Wotjeo does. You were busy running up and down many of the abandoned mining tunnels while Elder Genialida was teaching Wotjeo how to cultivate more efficiently. Fortunately, Wotjeo can tell you what to say and then you can tell Poca.


    This game of telephone results in a long and tedious training process, but it is the only option. Wotjeo did try to teach Poca in dreams once, but it turns out you can¡¯t cultivate while dreaming, so a dream lesson on cultivation is less than successful. Summer turns to fall and winter approaches before Wotjeo think Poca has even the basics down, and even then you both think Wotjeo is better at it. You wonder how Elder Minaro & Genialida were able to see what their students were doing. You can only guess at whether Poca is following the spiritual and meditative parts of the technique right, and it¡¯s not easy to judge her breathing just from watching for the subtle signs visible on her torso. If you¡¯d been able to tell what mistakes Poca was making, the way the Elder and his spirit companion could, everything would have gone much smoother. Felero is overjoyed with the results though. Poca can¡¯t talk yet, not even with Felero as far as you can tell, but her incredibly cute baby bear hugs are a pretty good indication that she¡¯s happy too.


    It turns out that Felero has been learning the Dream Mirror technique too. With the Luchamadra rapidly approaching, you both agree to try and help each other get better at using it.


    You compare your lessons on the Dream Mirror technique with Felero¡¯s. He¡¯s made about as much progress in a whole season of instruction with his mother as you made in the small part of your lessons with Elder Minaro that were spent on it. Wotjeo and Poca, Felero¡¯s black-furred spirit sister, both only have enough madra to let you use the technique once and then need to spend time converting vital-essence into madra. Dream Mirror is so madra intensive a technique that you end up spending a lot more time gathering than you do working on the technique.


    Neither you, nor Felero, are any match for Elder Minaro when it comes to teaching, but practicing with Felero is a lot more fun, and you both make steady progress. Felero has a very different understanding of the technique than you do. Because he¡¯s good at parts that you struggle with and you are good at the parts he has trouble with, you both still learn a lot from discussing it and practicing the technique on each other even though you¡¯re both about as good at it. When the Luchamadra starts, Felero won¡¯t be allowed to use this cave anymore so you¡¯ll have to find another place to meet afterwards.


    By the time the Luchamadra arrives you¡¯ve already improved a lot, the images the target of your Dream Mirror see are much more realistic and cover a lot more area than when you started, extending out three more of your short paces to either side now (according to Felero, three is the number after two , which you still have a hard time remembering).


    All the extra vital essence and time spent cultivating has been good for Wotjeo too. He¡¯s gone through another growth spurt. Your little brother is up to your waist now and is getting to be a real armful when you need to sprint.


    You didn¡¯t spend all your time practicing. Felero also urges you to join his family for lunch once or twice a week. You still feel shy, but your grumbling stomach makes sure you never miss a chance to go since they always make a huge lunch. During lunch, you meet Felero¡¯s mama¡¯s papa, Abealo, who is a potion brewer. Felero says he¡¯ll be learning how to gather herbs from him in a winter or two. Dreamkeepers need lots of herbs to make special potions they use to help them share dreams. Abealo tells you that you¡¯d be welcome too.


    Abealo, eyes you speculatively, adding: ¡°I¡¯m searching for an apprentice I can train to take my place. I understand you won Elder Minaro¡¯s extra lessons this year. I¡¯m looking forward to seeing how you do in this year¡¯s tournament.¡±


    Felero helped you a lot by letting you gather in the Elder lesson cave. You wouldn¡¯t have been able to practice your Dream Mirror technique without the access to vital-essence he gave you. You¡¯re really happy to have a friend like him, and he and his family, seem to feel the same way about you. It¡¯s good to have a friend.