《Paradigm Shift - New Beginnings》 Chapter 0 - Prologue On a planet somewhere outside the Milky Way, a massive battle was taking place between hundreds of thousands of people and creatures. The melee and wanton slaughter filled the air with the stench of death. At the center of the battle was a young woman looking not more than 25 years old, with golden hair and eyes. Her hair would be shoulder length if not for the ponytail it was held in. What little of her olive tanned skin was visible contrasted with the bluish silver armor she wore. The opponent she was fighting was a monster that was about 15 meters long and looked like a corrupted combination between a goat, a snake, and a human. Its snake like lower body was covered in black scales. Each scale had a blood red tint to it that only amplified its darkness. It had a human body and arms from the waist to the neck, and a goat head with curled horns similar to a ram¡¯s. As they continued to fight it roared its defiance. The heroine¡¯s nose crinkled in response and she focused even more as the fighting wore on. There were numerous cuts on the corrupted beast showing the ferocity of the fight. Each of these wounds leaked a blackish, putrid smelling, ichor. However, no matter how many times this heroine wounded the beast she just couldn¡¯t kill it. To make matters worse the wounds were healing at a visible rate. If one looked closely at the monster¡¯s eyes they would be able to see a mocking glint. As the battle raged on the heroine and her forces steadily pushed their enemy back. Even though the monster and his army were being pushed back it wasn¡¯t taking any serious damage, though it was still being wounded. It would retreat with the rest of it¡¯s forces to maintain a consistent front. The heroine would call down skills filled with the power of differen daos. Gravity, fire, earth, metal, and more types of magic assaulted the monster. However it was completely unphased by these. As the forces led by the blonde heroine pushed the monster and its forces further and further back, a fortress came into view. When this happened the excitement was palpable with the different god like beings that were watching. ¡°This champion is truly amazing. We have never been so close to pushing the chaos out from a planet.¡± said one of the beings. Right as it said that, a rift expanded inside the fortress. It grew rapidly to 30 meters in height and a red glow filled the air spreading as far as the eye could see. As soon as it reached it¡¯s peak, the monster let out a laugh. It was a cold and desolate laugh that chilled the heroine to her bones. Before she even had a second to process what was happening the monster moved. It seemed like it moved through multiple portals in different locations so that only flashes of it could be seen before it disappeared and then reappeared in another location. It took less than a second for the 15 meter monster to move through the heroines forces slaughtering them by the hundreds and thousands. Finally stopping behind the heroine and pinning her to the ground while crushing her body. ¡°You never had a chance of winning Ileshea.¡± It said. ¡°I only wanted to give the pretense of hope before crushing it so that in the future you would understand your position as my slave. Also those so called gods that you so desperately cling to. I wanted them to understand the futility of their actions. They cannot stop what is coming.¡± As the monster finished speaking another hulking beast came out of the portal. After it another and another. They came out in ones and twos and with them smaller beings flooded out as well. The proceeded to capture and brand each of the people that were caught. However, most of the people there were still slaughtered mercilessly. The god like beings that had pinned their hopes on this champion watched in horror as the monster picked up the heroine and started to carved a glyph into her neck that would enslave her mind for eternity. When this was happening a flash of light appeared and a spear materialized in Ileshea¡¯s back. At almost the same time that the spear appeared the monster lashed out his hand and caught the interloper by the throat. ¡°You know Gisirian that you as a transcended being are not allowed to directly interfere with what happens here. Yet you still showed up to save your darling champion from an eternity of slavery. I have to applaud your spirit, however, I will have my slave. And since you sent her soul directly to the great cycle outside of our control, she is no longer viable, so you shall take her place. Though it¡¯s a pity that the rules all you gods live by forcefully stripped you of your ascended powers when you interfere like this. It would have been truly amazing to make one of you with your full power my salve. Well it shouldn¡¯t be too much longer before I can fulfil this dream.¡± The man being held by the throat could say nothing as he dangled in the monster''s grip slowly choking. Laughing the monster proceeded to start carving a glyph right in the middle of Gisirian¡¯s forehead. When this happened many of the beings that were watching withdrew their attention not wanting to watch the coming atrocities that they had become all too familiar with. They could only look to the next champion and hope for the best. *~*~*~*~*~* It¡¯s a typical sunny day in St. Louis, Missouri USA. In an office building sits a man applying the finishing touches on the schematics for some small modification of the Boeing 737. The man is an average looking guy, approximately 5¡¯ 9¡± or roughly 1.75 meters tall. He has your typical american spare tire but he hasn¡¯t gone completely to fat. With brown hair and brown eyes the man appears average in just about every way.Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author. His name is Derrick Jones and he has been working this job for the past couple years. With a mechanical engineering bachelors and an electrical engineering masters he works on airplanes for Boeing during the day. However, this wasn¡¯t always what he did and in truth he never really imagined himself working a 9 to 5 job. Derrick was more of a jack of all trades kind of man. He had also gone to school for massage therapy, and then a year after that decided to try computer programming. He spent a brief time as a DJ when he was younger and even attempted to become an ameture motorcycle racer. He finally got sick of things and joined the Navy for a sting where he worked as an electrician. Finally after getting out of the Navy he opted to go back to college and get a mechanical engineering and electronics engineering degree. In his spare time he rebuilds and restores classic cars, trucks and sports bikes. Once a month he helps with habitat for humanity and once every 6 months he will disconnect and go live in the woods for a week to reconnect with nature. Literally living off the fat of the land for that week. Derrick was living the new American dream: crushing debt, great job that provides no satisfaction because of restrictions, over specialization, and micro-management. He is divorced with two boys and has to pay thousands in child support to an ex-wife who cheated on him and got full custody. He felt like there were only two things missing from a bad country song, his dog dying and his truck being stolen. Of course he didn¡¯t have a dog but that was besides the point. Today work had been pretty typical. Get to work accomplish a few minor things then spend half the day in meetings to debate the utility of said minor accomplishments and determine what needed to be done now. Shaking his head at the idiocy of the current systems, of¡­ well everything, Derrick headed home. Since he had just finished his last project of restoring a 1957 chevrolet corvette, he decided to take it for a quick spin. He briefly thought about taking the 2008 Honda CBR600RR but he was just going to do some shopping for dinner and taking a bike that had been in an accident before just seemed like bad ju-ju. So grabbing a ¡°For Sale¡± sign with his number on it he hopped in the classic corvette and headed to Wal-mart. Thirty minutes later he made it out of Wally-Hell. ¡°Seriously, I need to find a better store.¡± He said while talking to himself. Hopping in the car with his two bags of groceries he noticed a couple of pieces of paper on his window. ¡°Hello!! Do people seriously not look at the sign in the window.¡± Yanking the paper from under the windshield wiper and shaking his head he started to drive out of the parking lot. Ten minutes later he finally made it to the light to get back on the road. The level of frustration that Derrick was currently feeling was ridiculous. Now ranting to himself, ¡°There¡¯s like 5000 parking spots 100 rows for people to go up and down and it feels like the movie National Lampoon¡¯s European Vacation. ¡®Look kids, Big Ben, parliament.¡¯¡± As the light turned green he pressed hard on the gas just so he could get the hell out of this circus and back home. The screeching of tires as they lock up sounded followed by the honking of a horn. Not just any horn, no. The horn of an 18-wheeler. ¡°Oh SHII-¡± he said before the deafening sounds of metal meeting metal. ¡°-it¡­.. What the hell?¡± Derrick questioned as he looked back at the semi that had turned his newly restored car into a speed bump. He could also see some of the hamburger he had bought for dinner on the car and road. However, there was a little too much and then it hit him. ¡°Well, I guess that answers that question. So now what?¡± The shock of realizing that he was effectively dead hit him and he did like he always did in situations he had no choice but to accept. Which was to make a flippant quip and ignore any feelings he had while he processed. As he asked the last question he felt a small tug right around where his naval would be. Looking down incredulously to see what had happened, he felt something pull him like someone had tied a rope around his waist and attached it to a rocket going to the moon. The speed and pressure that he felt kept increasing, images were flying by like a bad willy wonka trip, though no smell of chocolate came to his senses. Finally whatever form of consciousness he had, went out. *~*~*~*~*~* ¡°Azmera, is this really okay to take a soul that has no concept of cultivation, mana, or well anything that would be helpful, and use him as our champion?¡± asked a rough baritone voice. ¡°Aysus, I have told you that just because they don¡¯t fight with magic or cultivate martial arts it doesn¡¯t mean that they have nothing to offer. Their science and understandings have revolutionized their lives. Not to mention Ileshea. She was the darling of the cultivation world and yet she still failed.¡± Azmera replied with a beautiful and melodic voice. ¡°DO NOT MENTION HER!!!!¡± Aysus yelled as Azmera poked at his sore point. ¡°Bah! Science. They are nothing more than a bunch of apes poking things with a stick and making fire. No concept of essence, or mana. Barely aware of psionics. How can such a barbaric species accomplish anything? At least choose someone who specializes in war. We need a true champion. I would even settle for one of those MMA guys.¡± ¡°Oh? Like your preferred martial arts and cultivators that sit like stones for decades on end. We have used mana and chi cultivators for the past 5000 years and look where it has gotten us.¡± Azmera replied. ¡°While he is in the womb he will be dreaming of his past life so that he can remember his science. I have everything stored and asked Mophina to supply them to him. He will effectively have all his past memories. You would know this if you would stop meditating on everything in the universe and come to one of the strategy meetings.¡± ¡°Both of you cease this bickering now. It serves no purpose. This most recent loss has confirmed that we need something different. The choice has been made the time of choosing at hand and his soul meets all of the requirements. Either he will leads our forces or he will fail like all of the others before him.¡± A stern voice, that sounded very gender neutral, said authoritatively. ¡°¡°Yes Kyarus.¡±¡± They both said respectfully. Chapter 1 - New Life ¡®What a fucking nightmare.¡¯ Derrick thought as he slowly regained consciousness. He stretched a little and blindly groped for his phone. When he couldn¡¯t feel it or even the nightstand he tried to open his eyes. However, all he saw was darkness. Before he even had a chance to freak out he felt a strong pressure pushing him from below. Derrick¡¯s mind was reeling from everything that had and is currently happening for a moment he froze up completely. Then after a couple of minutes he relaxed as he came to the only plausible explanation, ¡®I must still be dreaming. Though I have to say this is probably one of the most fucked up dreams I have ever had. I wonder what kind of issues this represents?¡¯ While coming to a ¡®reasonable¡¯ solution, he relaxed his body. As soon as he did another strong wave of pressure came and then he felt a little less pressure at least on his head. Another few seconds and all the pressure was gone. ¡®See acceptance is the only way. Relax and everything will work out right? Okay time to wake up now. Open the eyes and¡­ Nope! Close the eyes and try again. Okay count of three Derrick. Let¡¯s do this! 1¡­ 2¡­ 3!¡¯ Derrick¡¯s mind blanked again but he kept his eyes open. While he couldn¡¯t see that clearly he could still make out shapes. Even though the details were a little blurry it was kind of hard to miss the apparently 30 some-odd foot tall (9-10 meter) person wrapping him in something warm and soft. Derrick in his stupor let slip out a nice explicative or well attempted to. ¡°Ho-lee Fuuuck.¡± However, it was completely unintelligible more like ¡°buuubuuuububub.¡± Facing such an overwhelming juxtaposition of what was expected vs. what was experienced overloaded his mind to which he promptly lost consciousness again. *~*~*~*~*~* Josephine and her two daughters had been working as midwives and childbirth assistants for over 5 winters now. Today they were helping Allyce give birth to her and Davian¡¯s first child. Allyce was a fairly unatractive young woman by society¡¯s standards. She had a lean and athletic body with no extra fat and no excess muscles. Her hair was a deep red with starkly contrasting ice blue eyes. Everything had gone pretty much as expected, a somewhat long labor but typical for a first child. However, once the child was born he exhibited the strangest behaviour that Josephine had ever seen. Never in all the winters as being either an assistant or the midwife had she seen a child open it¡¯s eyes look at her and then shut them as tight as it could, only to open them a few moments later and then let out some baby talk and then go straight to sleep. While she was a professional at this, it still caused her to pause. ¡°Is there something wrong with my child.¡± Allyce asked with some worry evident through her exhaustion. ¡°Ah.. no. He is a very healthy baby. Good skin color, five fingers on each hand, and five toes on each foot. There looks to be nothing wrong with him Miss Allyce. He has already gone to sleep but you should still nurse him while we finish up.¡± Josephine told her while handing the sleeping child over to the new mother. Pausing to watch the face as Allyce saw her first child, it was the moment that Josephine enjoyed the most about being a midwife. Seeing her two daughters stop as well to enjoy this scene brought a smile to her face. She waited a few seconds to allow her youngest to appreciate this scene as well before saying ¡°Akeria, go and fetch Mr. Davian so he can see his first born son.¡± Akeria headed out promptly and brought in a strapping young man not more than 21 winters old. He had black hair with the tips ending in blue highlights. His steel grey eyes which contrasted sharpy with his hair, giving him a very striking appearance. When he came in there was worry and hope apparent on his face as he hurried to his wife¡¯s side. ¡°Take a look at our son Davian.¡± Allyce said with many emotions coloring her voice. Love, pride, happiness, satisfaction, and more that she couldn¡¯t even fully understand. Filled so much by them that even the exhaustion had taken a back seat. ¡°What should we name him?¡± Davian took a moment to look at his son after smiling at his wife. ¡°How about¡­ Endrian?¡± ¡°That sounds like a wonderful name, dear.¡± As they decided on a name Allyce started to feel how tired she was. Josephine noticing this said to Davian that his wife would be fine they would spend some time to help her recover and take care of the rest of the childbirth process. She also let him know that it was alright to send in the other wives and daughters so they could meet the newest addition to the family. He should go and get some food for her after that so that when she wakes she will have something to eat and drink to help replenish her energy. Davian nodded dumbly and hurried out of the room to take care of his tasks.Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author. *~*~*~*~* It¡¯s been about a couple of days since Endrian¡¯s/Derrick¡¯s birthday, at least as far as he can tell. After waking up the day after he was apparently born, he went through the five stages of acceptance. There was a lot of denial which included tons of reasons this couldn¡¯t be possible, even with the irrefutable evidence in front of him. Nothing like having a baby¡¯s body to force you to come to terms with being reborn. Then came the anger which was a mixture of his body¡¯s inability to do pretty much anything and the inability to control his life or even communicate. Next was a brief moment of grief for dying and losing his old life and family. This also created something of an existential crisis for him which lead to depression and questioning his reality. Finally after fighting with himself he came to accept the reality that was forced upon him. After all it could be worse, he could be burning in hell for all of eternity like his ex-wife would have wished for. This did, however, make him really start to question his views on life, reality, spirituality and more. As a scientist there was no proof of life existing after death, no proof of a god or gods. Nothing that was substantial enough to make him believe in religion. He was more of an agnostic than anything; not following any specific religion though he did kind of believe in karma and the possibility of reincarnation. But the dogma that was spouted at most churches that he ever went to or the happy horse crap that was spouted by most people that believed in it, that was something he didn¡¯t agree with. Now, however, he was literally living proof of it. This really brought his world view and concepts of reality into question. As a scientist and engineer his mind was intrigued but presently he could do nothing about it. Since he had finally accepted the fact that he was actually reborn, he resolved to make the most out of this new life that he could. He remembered all of his past regrets and vowed to do his best to not replicate them again in this life. With these thoughts in mind he decided to make a mental list of things to do.
  1. Work on Mobility
  2. Work on potty training
  3. Learn the local language
  4. Gather information
Those were the immediate goals. Though, even if he said it was immediate these goals should probably take about 2-3 years at minimum. After these goals were accomplished he would stop and reevaluate what he needed to do. While these goals were all well and good he couldn¡¯t even wipe his own ass yet. However, once a goal was set you should always try to make some progress towards that goal even if it is miniscule. So, Endrian worked his muscles in a tensing and relaxing manner to help strengthen them as soon as possible. He did this as often as he could while resting and eating the remaining time. Speaking of eating, while there was some initial awkwardness he got over it as quickly as he could since he didn¡¯t have a whole lot of choices. Over the course of the next few weeks Endrian dedicated himself to improving his body as quickly as he could. By the time he was one to two months old, at least as far as he could tell, he was able to roll over and start crawling around. While he knew that from his previous experience if the people of this planet, world, universe¡­ whatever, he didn¡¯t know or really care right now. If it followed the same logic as his last world then he would probably be viewed as abnormal. However, all parents feel that their children are amazing and he wanted to be mobile. Plus he didn¡¯t have a clue about the common sense of this reality that he was in so he figured he would do what he could and then tone it down if necessary. During this time when he was training he was carried around by his mother while she ran errands. He was taken in a swaddle that she carried on her back, kind of like a native american papoose, so he was able to observe some of his surroundings at least. What he found did not give him much hope for the future. The houses appeared to be made from either stone, dried mud, wood, or a combination thereof. There were no signs of electricity, like lights, outlets or any technology. There were glass windows on some of the houses that he saw, so they apparently knew how to make glass which at least attested to some level of civilization. On the front of many houses there were different types of awnings covering crude benches that were displaying different wares. Most of the houses that he was able to see had a door that used a latch and and rope to open. While he didn¡¯t know about other houses, inside his they had some kind of leather cloth hanging in the doorways. The clothes that he was wearing and that he could see others wearing were rough spun wool or animal hides. So as best as he could figure it, he was in some place that was as technologically advanced as the Roman empire. Maybe not even that much. He hasn¡¯t seen the whole town but it doesn¡¯t appear to be large. Possibly not even a town level, maybe just a village. While this was all intellectually interesting and somewhat depressing, goodbye 2000 years of advancements, there was something that did catch his attention on one of their excursions. That was when a bell started ringing. Endrian¡¯s mother took off towards their home at a pace similar to a car in a city. Also before they got to their house he was able to see what looked like the city guard rushing perpendicular to his mom¡¯s path. He only caught a glimpse of them but it was like some Naruto video. They were jumping from rooftop to rooftop crossing 10 meter gaps like they were hopping over a shallow creek. He just wished that his eyesight was a little better because all he could see were fast moving blurry shapes. It was amazing and exciting, at least until he heard a massive roar and a blue hazy shield appeared in the sky. At which point he figuratively and literally had the shit scared out of him. Ah the joys of not being able to control your own bowel. Chapter 2 - Growing up It¡¯s been about two years and Endrian has finally achieved his initial goals, well for the most part. He hasn¡¯t seen a lick of paper, parchment, or pretty much anything written on, but other than that he¡¯s doing good. He is now fully mobile and has been working on some basic coordination exercises and some body strengthening. Doing daily Tai Chi has become a routine and is great for balance, coordination, and body control. There was also some exercises that he recalled from his time in the military for helping tone his body. Which, based on the limited knowledge that he has gathered about this new world, is going to be very important. He has also gained a decent understanding of the local language at least the verbal portion. A lot of his diction and vocabulary were picked up by listening to his mothers while he played with his sisters. The fact that he had multiple mothers and all of his siblings were girls was quite the shock to the system for him. There are a lot of women in his family and, if his village is anything to go by, the ratio of men to women appears to be very skewed. Take for example his house, there are a grand total of two males here, Endrian and his father. On the other side of the equation there are nine women in the house 4 mothers and 5 daughters. The thought that ran through Endrian¡¯s mind when he figured out that piece of knowledge was ¡®I¡¯m not sure if I should be excited or terrified.¡¯ Today as Endrian woke up, the sky was just starting to change colors. He stretched and went to do his morning ablutions. Though these are now much different than what he was used to in his old life. ¡®Ah what I would give for running water or water element control.¡¯ Endrian thought with his daily complaint. ¡®You know, scratch that, I would give my weight in gold for freaking toilet paper. I¡¯ll never forget the scolding I got from mother when I tossed the moss like thing that I wiped my but with into the toilet. You¡¯d have thought I threw gold in there.¡¯ With a sigh and a shake of his head he completed his routine. At least they had soap so he could wash his hands somewhat properly. But don¡¯t even get him started on the smell. It was like a sewer pipe exploded in the house and then tossed a dead skunk on top. Though he felt that the way they got rid of the crap was rather amazing. He got to see that once when he came into the public bathroom that everyone uses, kind of like a living room except everyone drops trou to do their business, and his dad was there. The smell was particularly ripe, like chemical warfare ripe, when Davian finished up he decided to show Endrian how they got rid of everything. Davian raised his hand and the earth moved literally plowing the shit into the ground. He had to admit that the ease of cleanup, the eco-friendliness and the overall cool factor, at least from his point of view, was pretty nice. Who needs sewers when you can just think about it and auto fertilize the ground. After finishing up he came back and washed his hand and face thoroughly with the homemade soap. Then after changing into some clothes that were similar to shorts and a sleeveless shirt he walked into the courtyard at the center of the house and started his Tai Chi exercise. Focusing on his breathing as he moved through the different forms. Within moments of starting his biological mother, Allyce, came into the courtyard with a pair of swords. Whereupon she started practicing her own forms. After Endrian was about halfway through his routine he heard someone say ¡°I swear he is the strangest child I have ever seen. Most of the young ones just run around and play all day; and then there is Endrian. Who even taught him that little dance he¡¯s doing.¡± This was the voice of one of his other mothers. She was referred to as the head mother, also known as Vanya. She was apparently the oldest of the group of women that were living here. She had short cropped sky blue hair and eyes to match it. She was taller than Endrian¡¯s mom by a head of height. She also probably had a good 20-30 kilos on his mom in weight. Vanya was actually more typical of the women of this world at least as far as Endrian had found. Taller, stronger and in general more bulky than their male counterparts. This wound up with his mom being viewed as unattractive by most. Though by his previous life¡¯s ascetics she was a ten out of ten. With her striking features, her graceful and lithe body, her excellent complexion, she reminded Endrian of Jessica Hamby. In response to Vanya¡¯s question yet another voice sounded out from one of the doorways ¡°He apparently made it up on his own.¡± This was Shyael the third mother. She had longer hair just down to her shoulders that was pink in color. It was pulled back into a single braid that looked very celtic or reminiscent of vikings. Her forest green eyes had a very piercing look to them. She stood slightly taller than Vanya but did not have the bulk to her. ¡°I personally think it is very pretty. I bet if all boys could dance like that they would have great prospects and the girls would be just lining up to be with them.¡± Hearing this Endrian¡¯s mother said ¡°He¡¯s not even two yet and you two are already trying to line up suitors for him. At least let him be a child before you sell him off to another family or clan.¡± ¡°Well what else can we do with him other than pawn him off. No one has challenged us for the past few years, so we don¡¯t really need another male to protect our domestic interests. Also it¡¯s not like we can afford to send him to a school like Davian went to and get a good education so he can help support the family.¡± Vanya replied. ¡°Though I will give you the fact that he appears to be quite advanced for his age, it is still too early to assume that he will be as good as his father.¡± At this point Endrian had moved over to his mother and asked ¡°What¡¯s this school?¡± While he had a decent grasp of the language and had an idea based on the context it was used he wanted to verify. ¡°It a place where people go to learn things about the world, about themselves, and where they can gain skills for fighting and much more. It¡¯s also a good place to find your future family. However, it is far from here in the city of Ampleforth.¡± she replied. Endrian grew quiet as he processed this new information. His mind wandering through different possibilities. Books to be read, and learning reading and writing would be a huge help for him to get his bearings on this world. Not to mention figuring out where these powers, that his mothers, father and even some of his older sisters have, come from. It would definitely be nice knowing more about this world, so far all he¡¯s gotten is that he¡¯s in the middle of a big ass forest with ridiculous monsters in it, women apparently are the dominant sex, the sky is more purple than his old world and the storms here are no joke. Not to mention fighting techniques and information about the wildlife are sorely lacking right now. As Sun Tzu said ¡°If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.¡± As he arrived at this point he asked ¡°What would I need to do to go to school, and can I learn to fight like you, mom?¡± His mom froze for a second before starting her response, but was cut off by the guffawing laughter from the other two women. ¡°He want¡¯s to fight like a woman?!¡± Vanya asked with incredulity filling her voice. At the same time laughing like she had heard the most hilarious joke ever. It was so loud the rest of the family came out to see what was going on. As they got up to speed most of them had the same reaction as Vanya. Just as things were about to get out of hand Davian showed up. He walked up behind Endrian¡¯s mother gently putting his hands on her arms and whispering in her ear. The dark and vicious look in her eye faded out even though most still hadn¡¯t noticed Davian showing up. He then turned to look at Endrian and said ¡°If you want to fight like your mother you can. You are my son and you can do anything you want, but it would make me very happy if you chose to fight more like me.¡±Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit. Endrian watched the byplay between mother and father and while he didn¡¯t know what his dad said to his mom he could tell that it was some words of comfort or support. This gave Endrian a warm feeling of gratitude that welled up from his heart. He smiled and responded ¡°Can I learn both?¡± Davian¡¯s eyes widened in shock briefly and then he let out a deep and hearty laugh. ¡°If that¡¯s what you wish then so be it. But, not yet you have yet to develop enough physically to start this type of training. It would only be harmful for you. Let¡¯s wait until you are 7 years old before moving on to this type of training.¡± ¡°That answers half my question, so what do I need to do to go to school?¡± Endrian asked. Allyce saw the confusion in her husband¡¯s eyes and quickly and quietly gave a recounting of what happened and why what question was brought up. Once he understood Davian said ¡°This will also have to wait until you are 7 years old at the earliest.¡± This isn¡¯t the first or even the second time he¡¯s been told that he will have to wait until he is 7 to get more information. He had asked his mom about elemental control and body strengthening but she had told him that he had to wait until he was 7 years old that time as well. There must be something special about turning 7 on this world that makes everything okay. Endrian had asked a few times why he had to wait so long, but every time he was blown off or given some made up response. Unfortunately that was the downside of being a child again everyone looks at you like you can¡¯t understand anything. ¡®I remember that famous quote that youth is wasted on the young. Well it looks like it doesn¡¯t make a difference whether your young or not if you are given no chance to accomplish the things because everyone is keeping secrets ¡®for your own good¡¯ then youth is just wasted.¡¯ Endrian thought this in his head with some frustration. After the commotion died down Endrian¡¯s mom kept an eye on him. Watching his movements and planning in her head how she would train him with swords. She would have to test his dynamic vision and reflexes. As she watched him she kept making notes of things to test and to help him with. Over the course of the next few years not much changed for Endrian. He gained a few chores like cleaning his room, changing the water out in his wash bucket daily. Which he did three or four times per day. His family viewed hims as something of a clean freak. Though if they understood germs and microorganisms they too would be doing the same thing. He had also started adding to his workout routine. Working on front flips, back flips, aerials, handstands, and more. As the years progressed so did his body. At the age of 5 Endrian had asked his father to help him with a project that he had. He needed someone that could work with the earth element with some proficiency so that he could build a new obstacle course. Rather it was a layout for a parkour course so that he could start working endurance while he had some down time. When he had shown his dad the drawings in the dirt of half stairs and walls as well as pipe fencing and uneven bars and more he was asked what he needed all of this for. ¡°If I¡¯m going to be a fighter as great as mom and dad I need to start young and this will help me.¡± Endrian responded to his father¡¯s question. Nothing like a little flattery to help grease the wheels so to speak. After the round of flattery Davian decided to humor him and spent a day helping him build his new obstacle course. Some of the mothers and sisters were not happy with the changes, at least initially. However, after watching Endrian run the course a few times and seeing the level of control required to successfully navigate the course they realized how this could equate to times when they are in the jungle foraging for food or supplies. After a few runs and some modifications they quickly became fans. With the modifications that Vanya made with her earth element control it would allow older and younger people to run the course. Vanya and the other mothers quickly surpassed Endrian¡¯s level and speed when running the course. As Endrian and his mothers started to test themselves against this course they were able to get a new found respect for this crazy son of theirs. This would quickly turned into a family game/competition where the older girls would start to challenge their little brother through the course. Initially they were very confident thinking that he was just a boy and couldn¡¯t possibly be better than them. Especially after they watch their mothers run through the course. Endrian¡¯s eldest sister Elva was the first to challenge him. ¡°Endrian, this doesn¡¯t look that hard. I bet I could beat you even if I gave you a head start.¡± Elva said. Endrian looked over at the 10 year old girl. Sizing her up, she had blonde hair and blue eyes. Honestly she looked like a kid version of Elsa from Disney¡¯s movie Frozen. She even had ice control. He usually wasn¡¯t one for competitions especially with siblings but when he looked at his mothers he felt that this might be a worthwhile lesson for her and his other siblings. Not to mention the fact that if he wanted to ¡°fight like a woman¡± he would have to show his capabilities. ¡°No head start is needed I prefer fair fights, but what do you want to bet?¡± Endrian asked Elva innocently. ¡°I don¡¯t know.¡± she responded. Endrian thought for a second and said ¡°How about this. If I win you will make me or help make me another set of clothes for my workouts. I can offer to make you a set as well but as I¡¯m not old enough yet so you would have to wait since they won¡¯t let me do that so I will offer a favor that you can ask of me.¡± ¡°Deal, I¡¯ll take the favor.¡± Elva quickly responded. As they lined up at the start Endrian glanced at their mothers and saw a knowing gleam in their eyes. Vanya stepped forward and glanced at her daughter and then me, then said ¡°Ready¡­¡­. GO!!¡± Endrian and Elva both took off as fast as they could but Elva¡¯s larger body and longer stride allowed her to take the early lead. As she quickly out paced Endrian she glanced back with a supercilious smile just before arriving at the first obstacle, the pipe bars. Sliding over the top of the pipe bars and then reversing direction and going through the pipe bars then moving onto the wall climb which are two walls that are about a meter apart from each other and 3 meters high. After climbing to the top of the walls a short run on a path that leads to a barrier that 4 meters off the ground and across a 2 meter gap there is another barrier at 2 meters in height. Then a run across a flat with a few table like structures to a wall that has some divots and protrusions on it. Next to this wall is a pole that has 5 ropes and a bell attached to it at the top. Elva vaults over the top of the pipe bars, comes to a stop turns and jumps through them again. Then takes off running towards the wall climb. By the time Endrian gets to the pipe bars she is already halfway to the wall climb location. Endrian vaults over the top of the pipe bars and grabs it with one hand and in one continuous motion slides back through never touching the ground. With a well timed tap from his other hand to the middle bar he does a three quarter back flip and takes off for the wall climb.as he enters the wall climb location Elva is about three quarters of the way up the wall. Endrian never slows down and angles towards the wall taking a couple of steps on one side and then pushing off and landing on the other wall. Taking a few more steps and repeating as he scales it higher and higher. As his momentum diminishes he pushes off hard one last time and stretches out his small body grabbing the lip of the top of the wall. Elva is just reaching toward her first hand hold after spider climbing up the walls from the narrowest point. Endrian pulls himself over the top and takes off again just as Elva makes it up to the top as well. Running a short distance towards the next obstacle the 4 meter barrier which is only a meter tall after climbing up the walls earlier. As they sprint Elva starts to catch up again. However, that is only short lived. As she approaches the first barrier she slows down so she can handle getting from this side to the other over a 2 meter wide gap and 4 meter drop from her location. Endrian on the other hand literally dives over the barrier to plant a handstand on the 2 meter wall and then with a twist flips and twists his body to hit the ground feet first and go into a roll. At the same time Endrian dove over the wall a collective gasp could be heard from everyone watching. He somewhat leisurely finished off the rest of the course with Elva still working on crossing the split height barrier. In his mind singing Let it Go and making a mental note to try and teach her that song. If for no other reason than to just because it reminded him of his old world. Elva finally finished up the course about a minute after Endrian. As she rang the bell to signify her completion her mom walked over and said in a calm voice ¡°Let this be a lesson Elva. Be it wild animal, male, or female, anyone can beat you if you underestimate them or overestimate yourself.¡± Chapter 3 - Almost Time At the same time as Vanya chided Elva, Allyce finally recovered from her shock over the ridiculous display that her son had just put on. Walking up to check him over she asked ¡°Are you alright?¡± Endrian smiled at the superfluous question and responded ¡°Of course.¡± ¡°When did you learn to do all of that?¡± she asked. ¡°I practice my¡­¡± pausing with a somewhat sour look on his face, ¡°dance, everyday and I have been working on my acrobatic movements.¡± Endrian responded while thinking ¡®It¡¯s not like I have anything to distract me. No books, TV, internet, cell phones, or even school, and without having to follow mother around I have nothing but free time.¡¯ It also helped that Endrian had discovered he had perfect recall of all of his past life¡¯s memories and experiences. ¡°Honestly, I am amazed at your ability.¡± his mom praised him. ¡°So does this mean you will start teaching me body strengthening now?¡± Endrian asked with a hopeful expression. ¡°No. I¡¯m sorry Endrian, but like I¡¯ve told you before you will have to wait till you are at least seven winters old. However, I will start training you in the use of the swords.¡± Holding up a hand to keep Endrian calm. ¡°Only the basic stances or forms. We¡¯ll see where it goes from their.¡± Trying to suppress the excited grin on his face he quickly asked ¡°Can we start now?¡± Chuckling a little his mom flicked his forehead with her finger and said ¡°No, I have some supplies to purchase before we can start.¡± Allyce was actually rather pleased, as this was the first time she felt like her son was truly acting his age. Even though Endrian understood the severity of learning fighting skills, and had forty plus years to temper himself in his previous life where he had owned and used guns on a regular basis. It could not stop the child in him from coming out. There was just something about using swords to fight and not play around that made him feel like a five year old kid, which ironically he was. Realizing that he probably wasn¡¯t going to start training today he was able to bring his emotions under control. Once his emotions were stabilized he decided to go back to his routine. However, now that the competitive high and the excitement about starting sword practice had gone, Endrian started thinking about his run just now. In retrospect he realized that what he just did was, from a physics standpoint, impossible. He understood intellectually that physics should dictate that he fall on his face with the first transition of that wall run. Even though he knows that now, at the time he had the distinct impression that it would be easy. The more he thought about it the more confused he became. ¡®While I don¡¯t know what the measurement of gravity is on this planet, I am pretty sure that gravity is higher here at least based on the storms.¡¯ He would never forget the first hail storm he saw. There was hail as large as a volkswagon bug smashing against the village shield. ¡®I also don¡¯t know my weight or the amount of friction that can be generated by the walls and my feet. That being the case I have no way to validate it was possible or impossible. Still just based on the physics from home I would probably have to be traveling at close to 50km/h and not lose any momentum during the transition.¡¯ These were some of the thoughts going through Endrian¡¯s head as he was trying to puzzle this problem out. Realizing that it was futile to even try and ponder, Endrian gave up to pursue something more productive. Like possibly running the course again to see if he could duplicate it. At the same time as Endrian is puzzling over physics failing. His parents and the other mothers were having a rather quiet but heated discussion in Davian¡¯s office. ¡°Do you think this is something we should be worried about?¡± Davian asked to his wives. ¡°While I¡¯m not one hundred percent sure that little Ender used mana or some form of body strengthening. I am sure that there is a high probability he used it though I would wager it wasn¡¯t done consciously.¡± Vanya said. ¡°I am sure that I felt mana moving in his direction but I was more focused on Elva at the time. When I did pay attention I only felt a slight movement when he crossed the split level barrier.¡± Allyce chimed in at this time. ¡°I am sure that mana moved for him during the wall climb and then again at the split level barrier. I have been watching him and I am pretty sure he has been trying to feel mana. Every time before he goes to bed he will sit on his bedroll close his eyes and steady his breathing. Almost like he is sleeping, after some time he will open his eyes with a frustrated look and then go to sleep. I swear he is more curious than a baby kitten.¡± ¡°Why haven¡¯t you told us this before!¡± Ratrece exclaimed. She had short steel colored hair with yellow eyes. The sides of her hair had tight braids in them to keep them off her ears and out of the way in a fight. Her light mocha colored skin gave a strong contrast with her eyes and hair. She was also slightly larger than Vanya but tended to be more rash. That was why she was the second wife. ¡°I felt there was no need. I was never able to detect any movement of the mana around him and everyone knows that you can¡¯t be conscious of it until your awakening.¡± Allyce responded to Ratrece. ¡°So the question is what are we going to do about it?¡± Shyael asked interrupting Ratrece before she could get worked up. ¡°For now let¡¯s distract him. No more competitions with the girls until after awakening.¡± Davian said. ¡°If I know Endrian, he would not be easily persuaded to stop competing. So, in order to distract him like you said, I have told him that I will start teaching him my sword forms. Though it will be without mana just the proper positions and seeing how they work with his body. To do that I have to go out and make some purchases for training swords. Also some leathers for padding.¡± Allyce stated before looking at Davian and Vanya. With a sigh Vanya said ¡°Even though Endrian is just a boy I am sure that he will be able to find a good pride of women that would be able to help raise our families position, at least based on his current accomplishments. I¡¯m beginning to think that sending him to school would be a good idea. He could meet a noble pride of girls and that would help bond them to our family. However, he will need to stay alive until then and for that to happen we need to make sure he doesn¡¯t awaken before it is time.¡± When Vanya said this it caused a complicated expression to cross Davian¡¯s face. Shaking his head to get rid of the bad memories of noble daughters, he said ¡°Will that keep him occupied for the next two winters to his seventh birthday?¡± Shaking her head Allyce replied ¡°Probably not. Based on how he has progressed and what I have seen of his growth he will have mastered the basic sword forms and stances within one winter, six lunar conjunction cycles at the earliest.¡± ¡°Then buy a practice spear as well and I will teach him my spear art basic form and stances.¡± Davian stated. ¡°Based on our current funds and the orders we have we can afford this. However, if Endrian is going to go to school we are not making enough. We will need to increase our forays into the forest to secure more materials for our bow production. If we can produce 10 bows each lunar conjunction we should be able to save up enough to safely move to Ampleforth.¡± Shyael looked at Davian in surprise and then asked ¡°Are you okay with going back to your hometown?¡± Waving his hand like there was a bad smell in the air he said ¡°Let¡¯s not talk about that for now. I¡¯ll deal with it when the time comes.¡± ¡°Since we have decided what must be done, I will be going out to get the needed supplies. Davian if he¡¯s going to go to school you might as well start him on letters and numbers so he¡¯s not too far behind the other children at school. Plus that will keep him out of trouble while I¡¯m gone.¡± Allyce said. Davian nodded his head and moved towards the inner court yard. Allyce headed out to do her shopping and the other mothers headed to their respective areas to continue training their daughters or working. When Davian arrived at the courtyard a number of the girls were running the course or at least attempting to. He watched them as they tried to duplicate the wall running feat with some success. He noticed Endrian watching them intently as well and figure it would be best to distract him quickly before he asked too many questions or worse. ¡°Endrian come over here,¡± he said. Endrian turned his head when he heard his father¡¯s call and then quickly moved to Davian¡¯s side. After Endrian arrived Davian continued ¡°Go clean yourself up and change your clothes. Your mom should have made you a set of clothes for special occasions, yes?¡± Seeing Endrian nod in agreement he said ¡°Put those on and meet me in my office.¡± A worried look appeared briefly on Endrian¡¯s face as he thought ¡®Am I in trouble. Is it bad for a boy to beat a girl here?¡¯ These thoughts and similar ones ran through his head before asking ¡°Am I in trouble?¡±Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on. Shaking his head no, Endrian¡¯s father said ¡°No you¡¯re not in trouble but since you are thinking about going to school we thought it would be a good time for you to start learning your letters and numbers.¡± ¡°Seriously!¡± he exclaimed and then without waiting for a response he took off at his highest speed towards his room to clean up and change. After cleaning the dirt and getting rid of the sweaty smell from his body he changed and quickly returned to his dad¡¯s office. Knocking politely on the frame of the doorway he waited until he was told to come in before pushing open the wooden door. It was the only wooden door in the entire house other than the front door going outside. While this one didn¡¯t have a latch and pulley like the front door there is a small bar latch on the inside. When Endrian walked in he looked around as this was the only room in the entire house he hadn¡¯t been to. He could see a few books kept up high. This made Endrian both excited and frustrated. ¡®Five years of wasted time. Let them play, give them chores, but heaven forbid you give the freaking knowledge that will help them!¡¯ He couldn¡¯t help making this exclamation in his head and his heart. Davian took out a stone tablet and was etching some symbols on them. ¡°This is a list of the letters in our language.¡± He explained. ¡°This is called an alphabet. I will say the sounds that each letter makes and then I want you to memorize them and repeat them until you have the sound memorized and then you can try without the tablets.¡± He handed over the tablets to Endrian and then pointed to each character and made the sound associated with it then waited for Endrian to repeat the sound, helped make corrections and then moved on. As Davian was getting ready to get up so that he could go back to work Endrian stopped him by saying ¡°Dad I¡¯ve got it memorized now.¡± Surprised and thinking that Endrian was trying to show off he took the tablets and pointed to random characters on them. When Endrian properly said the characters he was some what flabbergasted. What Endrian did next completely blew his mind though. Endrian proceeded to point to letters and spelled out words that he knew based on the sounds alone. While Davian was thrown for a loop, Endrian was thinking ¡®This is so unfair in so many ways. The letters look like a cross between latin and greek but they aren¡¯t hard to figure out and the language is phonetic which makes things much simpler. On top of that I have an eidetic memory.¡¯ Davian turned around and grabbed a book off of one of the shelves and placed it in front of Endrian. After opening it to a random page he pointed to a sentence and asked Endrian to read it out loud. Endrian looked over the sentence and spent some time sounding out the words but after a few tries he was able to say each word. Davian¡¯s mind was going crazy and the overall thought was ¡®My son is an absolute prodigy. He just learned to read in less than a day.¡¯ ¡°Dad do we have, or is there a book that explains what words mean? Because I may be able to sound the words out and say them but that doesn¡¯t mean I understand what I am saying. Though some things I can probably guess what they mean by the words around it.¡± Endrian said. Davian absentmindedly looked at his son while thinking about his request. ¡°No we don¡¯t have anything like that. There may be something like that in the royal libraries or the bigger schools, but not here.¡± ¡°Well I¡¯ll just have to trouble someone to answer and questions I have then.¡± Endrian stated. ¡°Can you please show me numbers now?¡± Davian took one of the tablets, somewhat numbly, and cleared the letters on it replacing them with a list of numbers. There were 12 characters on the tablet. Davian explained the sound of each character and the number that it represented. The numbers were similar to the roman numeral system. On the table were the number 0 through 10. Davian again corrected Endrian on some slight mispronunciations then watched him with somewhat expectant eyes. Endrian didn¡¯t disappoint him either, after a short pause he asked ¡°So if I add 2 + 3 will I get 5?¡± After receiving a stunned nod of confirmation from his dad he asked ¡°What comes after 10?¡± In a very short period of time Davian covered the notation used for the different numbers all the way up to 1000. After everything was covered Endrian was feeling very confident in his math skills. As the number base was a decimal based system from all appearances then all his math knowledge from his previous world would easily apply. After learning this world¡¯s notation for math Endrian picked up the book that his dad had asked him to read from and opened it to the beginning. He started reading leaving his father in a shell shocked state. The book turned out to be about the wildlife and the flora and fauna in the nearby area. It also described different monsters and their tier of cultivation. Any words that he didn¡¯t know the meaning of, which at this point were a lot, he asked his dad to clarify. When Allyce finally returned she found Davian and Endrian sitting in Davian¡¯s office. Endrian was reading a book while Davian was staring off into space. Every now and then Endrian would ask a question without looking up and Davian would answer with a lifeless voice while he continued to stare off into space. Allyce was shocked speechless. She walked over to her husband and gently asked if he was okay. He turned and looked at her with lifeless eyes. Then when he realized it was someone other than Endrian asking a question he grabbed her and hugged her closely mumbling ¡°He¡¯s learned everything. My hard work¡­ why are the heavens so unfair?¡± Allyce was blown away again but realized that she needed to help her husband recover and having Endrian in here asking him questions would not help. ¡°Endrian, finish up and put the book on the table. Then go change into your workout clothes we will start your training for with remaining light.¡± After she had given him instructions and received his acknowledgement she then proceeded to comfort her husband so that he could get back to doing the tasks he needed to do. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Over the course of the next two years Endrian trained in the different forms for single sword, dual swords, sword and dagger and spear. That coupled with his usual routines and his new chores. Which included helping his dad with the receipts and ledgers and balancing their budget. This had shocked the other women to no end but after the initial shock wore off everyone was pleased. Endrian was happy because he was able to read and get a better feel for this world. He was also able to verify that math is math no matter the notation. This was a personal desire of his that he thought he would never be able to verify. He had understood it intellectually but to see it in action was very satisfying. He learned about the family business of making bows. Learned that the majority of his sisters actually helped with the construction or the securing of material. Getting materials consisted of forays into the forest to find special timber or to kill specific beasts that could be used to make the bowstring. He had also made a recommendation on the bow construction to Shyael, who was in charge of the bow construction, which was to recurve the ends of the bow. After a little testing they found that this added a lot of power to each shot. However it was less forgiving to those that were learning to shoot. For the experienced hunter this was a huge draw and it created a new line of products for our family to sell. Endrian made a note to himself that he should see about building a composite bow. This would be even better for the hunters. Everything moved along at a decent pace. There was no rush but the days were full. At last it was coming close to the fated time when he turned seven years old. He still had anywhere from three to six months, or lunar conjunctions, left before he would be seven but since he was so close Allyce decided it was best to inform him of what was to come and explain why all the secrecy. So one night she sat down with Endrian to talk. ¡°Son I want to apologize for keeping these secrets from you for so long. From past experience children are usually not so inquisitive about doing things so it has not been much of an issue. This makes you very special, but it was also frustrating, I know. However, the reason we keep these things a secret is because in the past long before some children tried to awaken early, or some became very scared because they witnessed something they weren¡¯t ready for. This caused them to draw more mana than their body could handle and they were crippled or in the worst but more common cases they died. At one point it was so bad roughly 3 out for ten children died or were crippled. So we have been watching you and trying to keep you from awakening early for your own safety.¡± Allyce said all of this in a rush like she was in a hurry for him to understand and to get the weight of this deception of her soul. Endrian sat there for a few moments digesting the information that his mother had given him. After thinking things through he asked ¡°Is this why you wouldn¡¯t teach me body strengthening?¡± ¡°Partially. To be able to practice body strengthening cultivation you have to be able to sense the mana around you. This is not possible until you awaken.¡± she replied to his question. ¡°You could have just told me that I couldn¡¯t sense mana until I awakened and I wouldn¡¯t awaken until I was seven.¡± He said with some frustration. Thinking about the years of time he spent in meditation and breathing techniques to try and feel mana around him. He had begun to think he was incapable of every controlling mana or whatever power was out there. ¡°For you, maybe. But it was not a risk we were willing to take. You might be male but you are still our family and we will not risk your life on maybes,¡± she said as she leaned in and gave him a hug. ¡°Okay, next question; Once I start cultivating can I change whenever I want?¡± he asked. ¡°While you are in the first two realms of Gathering and Condensing you will be able to change your cultivation methods. Once you¡¯ve reached the Earth level whatever cultivation method you used to transition from the Condensing stage to the Earth stage will be you cultivation path from that point on unless you destroy your cultivation completely and start over from Gathering again.¡± She stated this but gave him a strange look as this was not something a child would normally ask about. Then again what has Endrian ever done that would be considered normal for a child. ¡°Is that everything that I need to know?¡± Endrian asked somewhat frustrated still. ¡®Almost seven years of frustration answered in less than a minute of conversation.¡¯ ¡°No there are two more things. First, when your awakening starts it will not be pleasant. It will feel like you have been kicked in your stomach, and it will only get worse from there. When you feel this you must let us know immediately. There is a ritual circle that will reduce the amount of pain that you feel while awakening, even then it will be harrowing.¡± Endrian¡¯s mom said while take a bundle and passing it to him. ¡°You must also be naked when the awakening. What I have given you is the robe you will wear for this. It is the only garment of clothing you are allowed.¡± Many thoughts went through his head about why he would have to be naked but nothing really came to mind other than some sadistic deity somewhere getting his jollies of child porn in pain. So he asked the only thing he could come up with ¡°Why?¡± ¡°What I am about to show you is the other reason why we are so secretive about this. Remember that I am still me and that there is nothing to fear.¡± she said to him. He aso noticed that she was wearing a robe he assumed similar to what he was given. Taking a deep breath she looked at him and locked her eyes on his. Then she started to change. Chapter 4 - Awakening Endrian watched as his mom shifted into a new form right in front of him. The change was done in less than a second. It was much faster than he was expecting after watching all those werewolf movies. While expecting a slow and painful transformation and yet done before he could even blink. In hindsight he thought that there was a certain logic to being able to change quickly. He felt sure that in a life and death situation your opponent wasn¡¯t going to say ¡®Oh, you¡¯re changing. Sure! You just take your time I¡¯ll be right over here when you¡¯re done.¡¯ Smiling wryly as this thought went through his head he looked over the changes that occurred to his mother. Her feet were now digitigrade. There were black claws coming out of each of the three toes and he could see that her hands still had five fingers but they were all tipped with black claws as well. She had grown by about 15 to 20 cm. Her hair was still red but it had become thicker and looked similar to dreadlocks. It was a little longer than shoulder length and was bound with a leather wrap. The strangest thing about her hair was that it appeared to be banded similar to how the metal bands looked on Colossus¡¯ arms. The top of her hair and head was framed by by two horns that extended from her forehead and wrapped around the crown of her head. They were metallic in color with reddish tips. Her face had extended into a snout which was about 15 cm long. Her skin was covered in fine overlapping scales that were a dull steel color. On the upper part of her chest that was visible from the top of the robe up her neck there was a strip of scales that were colored a light sky blue. The sclera of her eyes was the same sky blue but the pupil wasn¡¯t verticle like he expected. They looked more like the eyes you would see on a hawk or some sort of bird of prey. She watched her son closely as her long thin tail lashed at the floor betraying her nervousness. Endrian didn¡¯t show much of a reaction other than a slight widening of his eyes. While she also couldn¡¯t smell any fear on him she also couldn¡¯t really get any kind of emotional read on him. This caused her a lot of worry because most children would show a reaction of some sort, jumping up, running away showing some signs of fear or excitement. Not Endrian; he just opens his eyes a little wider. As she was getting ready to say something to get a reaction out of him he stood up and started walking towards her. Feeling that this was a good sign she shut her mouth and waited to see what would happen. Endrian walked over and touched her arm and then placed his hand on her arm and started petting it. ¡°You scales feel so amazing,¡± he said and then as if that statement had opened the floodgates he asked ¡°Are you stronger in this form than your normal one? Is this your normal form and you have had to hide it from me for all this time? What does it feel like to change like that? Will I look like you? Oh! Look you have a tail! I wonder if it feels like your arm.¡± He rattled off some questions before being distracted by the sight of her tail. Being hit with all of the questions rapid fire while having her arm petted was both awkward and confusing making her blank out momentarily. Then because she was distracted when he reached for her tail she reacted instinctively and lashed her tail away and then back towards him. He reacted by jumping up and back while pushing his hands out to meet the incoming tail. When Allyce realized what she was doing she pulled back the power but couldn¡¯t stop it from hitting Endrian. Much to her amazement he took the hit by letting the power in her tail push him back with his momentum, cushioning the blow with his arms and then performing a flip before landing and then stumbling back until he hit the wall behind him. Rushing over to check him while apologizing she looked him over to make sure that everything was okay and nothing was hurt. ¡°I¡¯m so sorry son. I didn¡¯t mean to strike you like that. I just wasn¡¯t expecting you to try and grab my tail and reacted on reflex.¡± Shaking his head with a wry smile on his face ¡°It¡¯s not a problem mom. I let my excitement get the better of me and reached for your tail without thinking of the consequences. My bad for doing that.¡± He apologized and then followed up with ¡°Okay, so don¡¯t leave me hanging here I¡¯m dying to know what all of this is like.¡± He promptly set down on his bedroll with an expectant expression. In his excitement over the revelation that his mother and by extension he himself was not just human he forgot to coach his words in the local terms. Luckily he still spoke in the local language as that had become the habit now even though he practiced english at least once a night. ¡°I¡¯m sorry you are going to have to ask your questions again I was more worried that you would freak out and then was caught off guard when you started asking questions so I didn¡¯t hear any of them. Ask me one question at a time I will do my best to answer all of them.¡± She said as she transformed back into her human form and conveniently ignored his strange use of words as he didn¡¯t look like he was dying at all and he most assuredly wasn¡¯t hanging from anything. After about an hour of applying the 5th degree to interrogate his mother what he found was that the new form was generally stronger, faster and had better hearing, sight and smell. Though his sense of touch was greatly reduced except for certain areas like the pads on the feet. Also the sense of taste was greatly altered. She did say that the transformation did hurt but it got better as they became more accustomed to it. The first transformation is the worst and after he transformed he would have to stay out of sight of his younger sister who would not go through the transformation for another few winters. However, he should learn to control the change within a week at the latest after his initial transformation so he would only be in seclusion until he had proper control of his form. This was due to the fact that after the first transformation you would not revert and had to learn to control the change. He also learned that the transformation was viewed as primarily a form for combat and she refused to go into what other things the form was used for stating that they weren¡¯t necessary to know at this point. Society also viewed walking around in your fighting form all the time as very bad manners. It would be similar to walking around flipping the bird to everyone in his old world. As to whether he would look like her or like his father that was unknown. The change is different for each child and some look like their parents while other looked like their grandparents and there were some cases where they looked more like some ancestor from generations back. This was referred to as the bloodline awakening. Interestingly when the transformation takes place often then color of the child¡¯s hair and eyes would change to match the elemental affinity that he or she had. That discovery lead to another round of questioning about what elemental affinities there were and the colors associated with those elements. He got a small list of the different elements that his mother knew about and an explanation that there were often many elements that were unheard of. However the known ones were:
  1. Air - Purple or Blue
  2. Earth - Brown or Black or Copper
  3. Fire - Red or Pink or Orange
  4. Water - Teal or Sea Green
  5. Light - Blonde or White
  6. Dark - Black
  7. Lightning - Blue with White or Blue with Purple
  8. Wood - Brown with green
  9. Metal - Steel or Silver or Platinum
  10. Ice - White with light green
There were also very rare occasions where the awakening and transformation wouldn¡¯t change the color of their hair or eyes. This was often because their fighting form would have the colorations of their element and they were typically a single element user. Allyce pointed out that Elva was one of these types. They also weren¡¯t sure how the elements were chosen or what the racial traits of the child would be beyond the general subspecies. Typically each person would get two elemental affinities. Sometimes they would only get one where others would get three. From there understanding three elements was pretty rare and they had never heard of anyone having more than three affinities. After his mother left he let his imagination go wild over his options and what he would be able to accomplish with given affinities. He also pondered the impact that his meditation to feel mana had on him. He had never tried to actively draw in mana since he was busy trying to feel the different elements. Maybe if he tried to picture the mana or energy that was all around him entering into his body and cells he could speed up the process. Since he had thought of it he figured he would try it. What could it hurt, right? After he sat down and started to meditate he pictured the mana as a gas floating all around his room. After getting that concept in his head he then pictured that the gas was moving towards him. When it reached him it was absorbed by his body like a sponge absorbing water. After getting comfortable maintaining this mental image he then pictured the gasses being dispersed into all of the cells of his body strengthening and nourishing them. He pictured all of this in his mind and tried to project his imagination on reality. Not sure what would happen but looking forward to see if anything would happen. That was when something unexpected occurred. His curtain door was shoved aside and his mother barged in asking ¡°What the hell do you think you are doing?! Are you trying to kill yourself?!¡± Surprised by the sudden intrusion he lost his concentration on the mental image he had created. His mom stormed over to him and flicked his forehead. ¡°Whatever you were doing do not do it again until after you have gone through your awakening. You must promise me this.¡± She said this with both worry and determination. Giving his mother a somewhat bitter smile he said ¡°I promise not to do that again until after my awakening.¡± He was also thinking ¡®It¡¯s not like I felt anything anyway.¡¯ As that disgruntled thought went through his head he also suddenly had an epiphany. Maybe because they couldn¡¯t feel what was happening when they were bringing or attempting to bring mana into their bodies they would over saturate them and cause damage. Though this didn¡¯t make complete sense because if you were over saturating your body to the point of breakdown you would probably feel pain. So he determined that it was one of the following: either it was that without proper levels of understanding and awareness you could either seriously hurt, cripple or even kill yourself. Or, it was a silly superstition that people have because they have not tested and verified the costs and benefits of this. Or, it wasn¡¯t possible to control the mana, though the fact that his mother barged in and was aware of him doing something suggested that this was not the case. ¡®Hmmm, something to see about testing.¡¯ He thought to himself. Getting his promise, Allyce felt much better and went out of Endrian¡¯s room to let him get some sleep. She went back to her room but made sure to pay attention to the state that the free mana was in to make sure he didn¡¯t go back on his word or do something foolish. ¡®I will have to let Davian know so he can talk to Endrian about this if necessary and to make sure it doesn¡¯t occur when I¡¯m not around.¡¯ Over the next few days Endrian¡¯s routine was pretty normal. Nothing unexpected happened and he continued his weapons training even though he had mastered the basic forms with the different weapon combinations. He also continued helping Davian with the house finances. His day was filled with Tai Chi in the morning, then a parkour run through the obstacle course with no competition allowed, he would do a quick wash of his face and body then eat breakfast, after breakfast was weapons training for a few hours which involved forms, and sparring with his mom. Once done with weapons training he would take a bath and change and wash his dirty clothes. He would then go and help prepare lunch, then he would be helping his dad with the ledgers and store inventories and new request. After that change back into workout clothes and it would be hand to hand combat training, then more weapons training, finally he would clean himself one more time and then help with dinner preparations. After eating a hearty dinner then he would head to bed get a good night¡¯s sleep and start it all again the next day. He had hoped that he could get some more reading in but the other books in his father¡¯s office were either ledgers of sales and business accounts or they were cultivation techniques which he was not allowed to even touch until he had gone through his awakening.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. It was about three days after he had had his discussion with his mom about the awakening and everything. He had just finished lunch and the cleanup afterwards and was heading to his father¡¯s office when it happened. It started out as a slight discomfort in his stomach like he had a stitch in his side from running too hard or he ate something that didn¡¯t agree with him. However it quickly got worse by the time he arrived at his father¡¯s office it felt like someone had hit him in the stomach with a baseball bat. Stopping outside the door he bent over double and puked up all of his lunch. As he doubled over in pain his younger sister Ethese ran over to him. Being a little over 5 winters she had no knowledge of the awakening. She yelled for her dad and mom to let them know that something was wrong with Endrian. When Davian came over and checked Endrian he also asked Endrian what was wrong. Clenching his teeth and glancing at his little sister he waved for his father to come near him. He then whispered into Davians ear. ¡°It¡¯s starting.¡± Davian was confused at first as his son started to puke again. Then it dawned on him. He wanted to ask whether Endrian was sure but since Ethese was hovering around worried he asked her ¡°Ethese can you got let Allyce know that Endrian is not feeling well and to get his robe that she just made for him?¡± At this time Vanya arrived by them so Davian said to her in a low voice after Ethese was out of earshot ¡°Help me get him in the office, he said it¡¯s starting. I need to stay up here as I sent Ethese to get Allyce.¡± Nodding to him Vanya picked up Endrian and carried him into the office. She didn¡¯t fully understand what was going on but decided that it was better to just help than question since Endrian appeared to be sick. When Davian went inside in front of her, he headed to the bookcase where he moved it aside to reveal a set of stairs leading down. Vanya had a startled look when Davian moved the bookcase as realization dawned on her and said ¡°It¡¯s happening now?!¡± ¡°From what I can tell yes. He told me it¡¯s starting. I¡¯m not sure how he knows what to expect but I would assume that Allyce had the talk with him far earlier than we had expected. For right now can you take him down to the circle I will wait here for Ethese and Allyce. Once Allyce arrives I will send her down after distracting Ethese.¡± Davian said as he made some educated guesses. Vanya headed down the stairs with Endrain in a princess carry as she rushed down to the awakening room. Davian moved the bookshelf back to it¡¯s former location and waited for Allyce and Ethese to arrive. It didn¡¯t take long before Allyce came rushing in without even knocking. She had a wild look in her eyes that really told of the worry and fear that she was feeling. Davian rushed up to her and hugged her while whispering in her ear ¡°You need to calm down, there is a little one present.¡± Then looking over at Ethese ¡°I need you to go to Shyael and help her with her work for a little bit while we take care of Endrian.¡± Looking a little distraught ¡°Is there anything I can do?¡± she asked hopefully. Smiling and shaking his head no, Davian said ¡°No, he is just sick. Much like your sister got sick when you were little. He should be fine in a few days.¡± She was only 2 winters old when her big sister got sick but she was sick for a week where she couldn¡¯t see her or visit with her. She also had to spend her time with moma Shyael then because her birth mother had to help take care of big sister Elva. So she nodded her head obediently and headed for Shyael¡¯s workshop while promising in her heart to bring some food for Endrian. She couldn¡¯t help her big sister when she was sick but she was a big girl now and could help Endrian. Plus it was a woman¡¯s job to look after a man so she should practice with her brother. When Ethese left Davian couldn¡¯t stop Allyce from rushing to the bookcase to be with her son. She hurried down the stairs and around a corner before light started to diffuse throughout the passageway. Davian followed behind her but not before closing the bookcase cover. Hurrying through the passageway they arrived at a large circular room that was filled with light. In the room Vanya was moving around grabbing items from the shelves and placing them at certain points on a large circular formation drawn on the floor. In the center of the formation Endrian was sitting down cross legged and breathing in a controlled and rhythmic pattern. Allyce moved to where Endrian was and disturbed him from his meditation. Telling him that he needed to change. He opened his eyes with a wince of discomfort and then quickly started to disrobe. Allyce stood up and held the robe that she had brought or him open to shield his modesty as much as she could. Once he was changed she took his other clothes and exited the formation. By this time Vanya had left to go take care of her daughters and her other responsibilities. Not to much longer Davian and Allyce had finished placing the various different items at certain points on the formation. The formation itself was three concentric circles. The smallest was only a little larger than a meter in diameter. The next outer ring was roughly 3 meters in diameter and the final ring was about 9 meters in diameter. There were three smaller circles that were about 10 cm in diameter that were attached to the smallest inner ring in a triangular pattern. On the secondary ring there were 6 of these small circles attached to it. The final ring had 9 of the small circles attached to it. Each of these small circles had something in it. Some were crystals, some were different plants some were even bones. Endrian saw none of this. He was focused on what was happening in his body. His mind was consumed with the image that he had had those few nights ago when he had visualized mana as a cloud that was circulating around his body and then being absorbed by each and every cell. Strengthening it and helping it to grow stronger. While he wasn¡¯t to worried about how strong he became when he awakened doing these visualizations actually helped alleviate the pain his body was feeling. When he had entered the circles with Vanya there had been a slight difference and with each item she had added to the different circles it had reduced the load on his system. But when he had stopped his visualization to change his clothes the amount of discomfort he was in had risen dramatically. So he finished changing as quickly as he could and went back to focusing on his visualization. After sitting there for who knows how long Endrian was still doing his visualization when all of a sudden he felt full and realized that he couldn¡¯t absorb any more. Yet his body was still filling with the cloud which was no longer under his control. It filled his body completely, he could sense the mana in his body reaching a critical point. The pressure and pain built up in his body. Then it just stopped. Confused and surprised he thought ¡®Was that it?¡¯ Opening his eyes to look around he saw his mom and dad as well as some of the other mothers there. Shyael and Ratrece as well as their three daughters were there as well. Smiling and starting to stand he said ¡°That wasn¡¯t so bad.¡± However, there were no signs of happiness from the gathered group, and right as he was standing up it felt like he had been hit in the nuts by a baseball bat. Doubling over in pain he curled into a ball and laid on the ground. Panting as the pain only increased and spread from his groin to the rest of his body. He felt his muscles ripple, his bones grind and his organs shift. He watched his hands as they transformed. The fingernails turning into claws. He watched his skin split open and then shiny silver scales blossomed on his hands. The closest analogy he could come up with to how that felt was like someone had shoved his hands into a bucket of broken glass and then poured battery acid on them and then rubbed salt into them for good measure. An involuntary scream ripped from his mouth. ¡®I know she said it was painful, but what the FUCK!¡¯ As he thought this he felt his feet start to transform and he yelled in English ¡°OH FUUUuuck!¡± After his feet transformed it slowed like it was giving him time to breath. Then the next wave began. It was back to his arms again. Wave after wave of pain assaulted him; arms, legs, chest and back, groin and base of his spine, and finally his head. Everytime he was about to pass out from the excruciating pain the transformation would stop temporarily as if it knew the point where he could no longer stand it and it rode that knife¡¯s edge. After everything had transformed he fell to all four hand and feet again as pain ripped across his back. It felt like someone had taken a knife and sliced open his back on either side of his spine. It went from his shoulders all the way to his hips. He heard a ripping sound as his robe was shredded. After just a few more minutes it was finally done. Panting heavily at the memory of the pain and feeling joyful that it was finally over. He wasn¡¯t sure what he looked like but he was just happy that it was over. Finally! As he stared at his hands he heard his mom¡¯s voice as she said ¡°Endrian you need to prepare yourself. The next part of your awakening is the baptism of your elements.¡± ¡®OH. MY. GOD! Who in their fucking right mind came up with this ridiculous method of getting powers. Whoever it was needs to be drug into the street and shot and then run over with a steamroller.¡¯ He thought this as resolution flashed in his eyes. Nothing to be done but to suck it up and get this over with. Adjusting his emotions he prepared for whatever was about to happen. Some gallows humor appeared in his mind as he briefly wondered what the bleeding heart people from his old world would do about this. How would they denounce the gods and say that each awakening was unfair on torturous to children which left mental trauma. Darkly chuckling to himself the first influx of mana came. The mana in the air gathered and surged towards Endrian. Kneeling down in seiza position since he could no longer comfortable cross his legs he focused on the mana coursing through his body. As he was absorbing the mana there was a sudden influx of the mana. It felt like it was 100 times more dense than it was just a moment before. What he didn¡¯t know was that while he was focusing on the mana that was ravaging it¡¯s way through his body. He had just been hit by a lightning strike. It was so strong that it blasted the formation destroying the first ring. The blast wave and report were not heard by him as he was briefly stunned by the influx and then had to focus desperately on absorbing the suddenly increased mana. The next wave of mana that came made him feel like he was as strong as he had ever felt and he felt invincible. It was a highly addictive feeling and very distracting for him to be able to absorb the mana as he just wanted to bask in this invincible feeling. After the second wave of mana had been absorbed without the crazy influx like the first. He could feel a third wave building. As it rushed into his body it gave him a very weird feeling. Like he could feel gossamer strands floating all around him. They pulled in different directions as well. He also felt undercurrents that seemed very powerful pulling away from him primarily in one direction. After he had finished absorbing the third wave. He relaxed. Letting out a deep sigh he thought ¡®Finally over.¡¯ Yet as soon as he had that thought he felt another large wave of mana gathering. ¡®Please. Just make it stop.¡¯ He pleaded silently. He was so tired he just wanted to pass out. However, he knew that he couldn¡¯t stop. If he didn¡¯t properly absorb the mana it could wreck his body. As the mana crashed into his body he felt as light as a feather. Almost like he was floating. He struggled to absorb this last one like his body said ¡®Nope. All full here.¡¯ After an unknown amount of time he was finally able to absorb it all. Cracking an eye open to cautiously look around, in case there were more unexpected events, he was flabbergasted by what he saw. The room he was in was destroyed. It looked like a tornado had had it¡¯s way with the room. The formation circle and the ground underneath him was blackened and charred as well as cracked like someone had set off an explosive. The first ring and the items that were attached to it were gone. The shelves had fallen over and in many cases were broken and debris was strewn all over the room. His family was standing in the doorway looking in with eyes as wide as dinner plates. After a few more breaths of time and no more mana surged he smiled weakly at his family and then closed his eyes, promptly passing out. The strain of everything overtaking him. Chapter 5 - Aftermath In the heavens where the god like beings existed there were a number of them watching Endrian go through his awakening. Most were very excited about his awakening and could remember going through their own awakenings. However, there were a few naysayers as there always will be. Some who were jealous of the advantages that their chosen hero received compared to their own arduous journey through cultivation. One in particular was grumbling saying ¡°Sure. Just make him a dragon. Give him everything on a silver platter. He¡¯ll never appreciate having to work his way up. Even gave him wings!¡± Kayrus sighed and looked at Phunagiox, the god of misfortune, and said ¡°He¡¯s our final chance. If we cannot win this the universe will have a cascade failure of the laws that uphold the natural order. This would then allow the Chaos beings free reign to migrate and take over. So, why wouldn¡¯t we give him the best chance we can?¡± Azmera chimed in with ¡°Well we didn¡¯t really give him the winged platinum dragon bloodline. We just allowed him to be born into a family that had that potential. It was still his merit and strength that not only allowed him to awaken that bloodline but his constant pursuit of mana that helped him to evolve earlier than expected for this world as well as him awakening four different attributes.¡± Aysus glared at Phunagiox and said ¡°While I¡¯m not a fan of the mortals from Earth. I have to say that if he is going to be our last hope, then the more advantages he has the better. So far we have lost over 500 solar systems to these invaders. So woohoo for him he got a dragon bloodline and awakened four affinities. The die is cast and we can only pray for his success.¡± Phunagiox sighed ¡°I know he¡¯s our last chance but honestly you could have given him anything but a Dragon bloodline. Phoenix, Divine Lion, Void Whale, anything. Hell, make something up and help them interbreed. I don¡¯t care just Not dragons!¡± Kayrus said ¡°We all know your personal proclivities on this matter. We cannot help that your world was swallowed by a dragon just after you ascended. But you know that on this planet the extra defense will help him survive. He can¡¯t save the universe if he doesn¡¯t survive his childhood.¡± ¡°Fine, but then why did you have him out in the middle of nowhere? If he had been born in a major clan then he could have been cultivating from as young as two or three years of age. It would have given him an even more impressive jump start.¡± Phunagiox stated. At this Mophina decided to respond ¡°Honestly we would have rather allowed him to be born into a larger clan. The problem is that all of the major clans don¡¯t have a consistent dragon bloodline anymore. Most have intermixed with other subspecies and it would lead to an unknown variable in setting a solid foundation for him. Not to mention the politics and deals that go on in places like that, and technically his dad was from a major clan and new that cultivating before 7 years old would be okay with specific guidelines but he had always hated being forced to cultivate as a child and this was one of the secrets of nobility that could get them killed if it was found out he was spreading this information. On top of that-¡± ¡°Didn¡¯t the local planets gods give their followers a prophecy so that our chosen hero would have their support? This should have been in place from many years back before he even migrated to that world. Shouldn¡¯t this help him out so the people that like to play politics would leave him alone?¡± Phunagiox asked again interrupting Mophina. To many of the others deities he was starting to sound like a petulant child. ¡°First of all, do not interrupt people it is very rude. Second, just because he turns out to be a child of prophecy does not mean that he would be immune to the political machinations of the people around him. Finally, as I was about to say and in case you have forgotten, when the child of prophecy is awoken the chaos portal will open within 100km from the hero. So having him further from a densely populated area is the best option. This is one of the rules we had to accept to balance the power we used to help us in limiting the incursions from the realm of chaos. This was done to slow the incursions as well as allowing us to place a hero to fight against them. This also allowed the chosen one the opportunity to know where his enemy was positioned.¡± Mophina told him with a slightly irritated tone. Finally tired of the distraction Kyarus said ¡°We all know the many rules and both the pros and cons associated with them, at least those of us who listened when the chaos realm first started the incursions. Let¡¯s continue to watch while we can still enjoy it. This is our final shot if we are going to lose then we might as well enjoy the ride as much as possible before then. If we win then we should watch him closely so we can give better guidance for our future chosen heros.¡± Every one of the god like beings had eyes that turned grim at that statement, but all of them quieted down to watch their chosen hero and see how he develops. ~*~*~*~*~*~ As Endrian finished up his awakening outside of the family compound many people in the village were talking about the phenomenon in the sky. While they didn¡¯t know the caused such a spectacular display it was easily visible to all people in the village. The phenomenon was larger than their entire village. Clouds had spontaneously formed. They were surrounded by what looked like a ring a fire where the flames moved horizontally. At the center of the ring a vortex had briefly formed and as it was forming a bolt of lightning had been fired out of it and struck the ground. Inside Endrian¡¯s family compound. Everyone was freaking out to some degree or another. The bolt of lightning had struck the ground close to one of the corners of the inner courtyard. Fortunately no one had been out there when this happened but the clap of thunder had been both deafening and terrifying for everyone in the house. While the ones down in the awakening room were freaking out over the level of destruction that had occurred during Endrian¡¯s baptism of elements. They had never once seen the elements associated with a person¡¯s affinities have such a violent affect during their awakening. Hence why they had brought their children to view his awakening so they could gain experience. However, everyone gained a rather unexpected and rare experience themselves. The first person to realize that it was over and that Endrian had passed out was Allyce. She rushed over to him to check and make sure that he was still breathing. Once she verified that he was still alive she breathed out a sigh of relief. Looking at the rest of her family that were staring in stunned disbelief at the room and Endrian she said ¡°He seems to be okay just exhausted from his awakening.¡± When Allyce spoke to them, they started to wake up from their dazed state of mind. Davian was the first to respond as he looked around the room that had been ravished by the supernatural forces that tore through the room. Unconsciously he said ¡°Four elements. He has four elements.¡± While looking at his son. The robe that Endrian wore were in tatters only the sleeves on each arm were left intact. Turning around to the others who were still dazed he said ¡°Let move Endrian to my room until night comes then we can move him back to his room. Allyce you stay with him in case he wakes up before moving back to his room.¡± After saying this he bent down to carry Endrian to his bedroom which was attached to the office. Ratrece looked at her daughters and said ¡°I want you two to pick this place up. Recover the remaining totems and move them to a clean corner. When I come back I want all of the wood collected from the cabinet.¡± ¡°But mom that¡¯s not fair. Endrian should have to clean this up. It¡¯s his fault that it got destroyed anyway.¡± Etopha complained. She is Ratrece¡¯s eldest daughter and 9 winters old this season. She had shaved the sides of her head, the remaining hair is a little shorter than shoulder length. The center mohawk portion is braided so it is tight to the skull and is dark brown with green highlights. Her eyes are a vivid teal color. She also has the same mocha colored skin as her mother. ¡°We should be training so we can go out and help the family instead of cleaning up after a boy.¡± Lisyth spoke out in dissatisfaction. She is Ratrece¡¯s second daughter and was just over 7 winters this season and had gone through her awakening only a couple of lunar conjunctions ago. She had longer jet black hair which was pulled back into a ponytail that was tightly wrapped in leather. She had piercing red eyes. Her skin unlike her mothers had a very pale white complexion and had freckles sprinkled over the visible portions.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. Ratrece looked at her two daughters with some surprise and then gave them a smile that promised anything but good times. ¡°So you think you should be training. Fine then clean up this room. You are not allowed to use any tools and must use your element to control everything. Also do not pick up any of the debris with your hands. You both have complementing elements so work together. Though no fire element Lisyth. I will be back in an hour to check on your progress. Oh and make sure you rebuild the shelf to store the various totems and then anchor it to the wall so that this can¡¯t happen again.¡± After giving her daughters their orders she turned around and left. While she left she was thinking she may have to reevaluate her position on males. While she loves her husband it was mainly because of her pride sisters and the fact that she wanted her own children to guide. Also she had to admit that Davian was exceptional compared to all of the other males she had ever met. He at least pulled his weight whereas most of the others she had met were just pampered pretty boys. She never imagined that anyone would be blessed with four elemental affinities, much less a boy. At five he was already pulling his weight too, helping with the orders and even helping with the design of the bows. This made her feel the need to change her attitude and start working on correcting her daughters mindset now. If there were more men like these two she needed to make sure that her pride¡¯s daughters could snatch him up before others. Zukoya and her mom Shyael both went back to the shop to work on more bows and verify that there was no damage done to what they were working on or any of the materials in there. Otherwise it would be an heavy loss. Allyce and Davian arrived at Davians room. Davian placed him on the bedroll and covered him. Fortunately modesty wasn¡¯t much of an issue with in the fighting form but it still felt a little awkward with him not having any clothes. Allyce sat down next to the bedroll and gently stroked Endrian¡¯s forehead. Looking at him with the love only a mother knows. Without taking her eyes of Endrian she called out to Davian before he left. ¡°Husband, there is something I have been meaning to talk with you about but haven¡¯t had the chance yet.¡± Glancing up to make sure Davian was listening and to offer her gratitude for him being there. ¡°Three days ago I had the talk with little Ender. I was worried that he would do something or that something would happen so I decided to have the talk with him earlier than planned.¡± Pausing to take a breath and glance down at Endrian¡¯s sleeping form, she then looked back and continued. ¡°We talked for over an hour as he asked many questions about the fighting forms. I also explained a little about mana and affinities. Right after our talk I went back to my room and was keeping my senses on the free mana in his room. It was not long after I left that I felt a considerable movement in the mana. Running into the room I found that the mana had surged over to Endrian and he was absorbing it like he had been cultivating for years. Could this cause problems with his awakening?¡± ¡°Dear wife, there is nothing to be worried about. It is a tightly kept secret of the noble clans that you can start cultivating when you are as young as two. Though not everyone can do it and it has some rather stringent requirements. Like having someone at the Core formation stage at the minimum preferably someone at the Sun level. They should be there to monitor the child and make sure that there are not any problems during their cultivation. It also requires that the child have an excellent imagination or visualization capability. Other than that assuming they can call the mana with their visualization technique and they don¡¯t over do it then there would be no problems. Truthfully it brings nothing but benefits.¡± ¡°Why have you never told us this before!? You know that Endrian has been trying to get his affinities as early as possible. Why would you keep this from him and from us?¡± she asked with indignation clear in her voice. ¡°Honestly, I would have loved to tell you and the others. However there are a few problems doing this. First and foremost I am the only Core formation level practitioner in our family and my ability to sense elements is still not that great. I don¡¯t have the confidence to monitor the children properly. Second, this is not something that the Nobles clans want spread around. If they were to learn that a boy started his awakening more than an entire winter before he was supposed to it could have terrible repercussions for our family. As much as I love Endrian and know how much he hungers for the martial path I would never put the rest of my family in danger just for him. Third I do not have a good visualization technique, the only one I have is one half remembered from when I was a child and forced to cultivate by my family. To think he would figure one out on his own. This also shouldn¡¯t have been a one time event for him to speed up the change by a little over 5 lunar conjunctions.¡± Davian explained all of this to Allyce. Allyce was surprised by the information that Davian had given her but it also made a lot of sense that he would know this as his family had been one of the major noble clans prior to their fall. Sighing she looked back to Endrian¡¯s sleeping form and thought ¡®As long as he is safe and happy. That¡¯s all that matters to me.¡¯ At this time Vanya came in to Davians room. She looked at Allyce and Endrian then back to Davian. Speaking mainly to Davian but not excluding Allyce she said ¡°I¡¯m not sure if this is going to be a problem or not, but during Endrian¡¯s awakening there was a strange phenomenon that occurred in the sky. There was even a bolt of lightning that struck the inner courtyard. What in the world happened down there?¡± Vanya, Davian and Allyce all discussed the different things that occurred both in the sky and the awakening room. Vanya was blown away by all of the revelations. ¡°Do you think the phenomenon in the sky has anything to do with Endrian¡¯s awakening?¡± she asked. Davian responded with ¡°I don¡¯t see how it couldn¡¯t be related to his awakening. That being said I also don¡¯t think that it will be able to be traced back to him. The only evidence that we can¡¯t cover up is awakening circle was damaged during his awakening. If we wait for a little bit of time before calling over an array master to repair it. There should be no problems. The only little one that we have to worry about is going to be Ethese and she has at least two more winters before she will need the circle.¡± As Davian said this Allyce looked at him with a complicated look in her eyes. However, she opted to say nothing. As much as she thought it would really strengthen their family it was not her secret and she really didn¡¯t have a grasp on the consequences a child awakening early could bring to their family. After the discussion with Vanya, Davian went back to is duties. Allyce sat there practicing her cultivation technique. Periodically she would check on Endrian. Seeing no change she would go back to cultivating. This went on until dinner time. She went out to grab a plate of dinner before heading back to Davians bedroom. She also grabbed some dried meats incase Endrian woke up and wanted some food. The discussion at the table was lively as Ethese was gushing about the crazy events that occurred when Endrian got sick. Some of the mothers gave slightly worried looks as they all started to piece together the events that had occurred that day. While Ethese was talking animatedly about the phenomenon and the lightning strike she noticed Endrian¡¯s mom quietly coming to the table and getting a plate of food. Pausing she walked over to Allyce with her plate and gently tugged on Allyce¡¯s clothes. When she turned around and say Ethese holding a plate out to her she asked ¡°What is this for dear?¡± Ethese looked at Allyce and said ¡°I got excited about the things that happened and forgot about Endrian being sick. I wanted to help him so I thought I would share my dinner with him. I-Is that okay?¡± The look on her face was adorable. Most of the mothers had a tender look in their eyes as they watched the youngest daughter do something so sweet. Allyce squatted down so that she was eye level with Ethese and said ¡°I think that is very sweet of you. However, I¡¯m not sure if little Ender is going to wake up soon or even want anything to eat. So you should eat it first.¡± Shaking her head Ethese looked at Allyce with a firm determination in her eyes. ¡°No, you should take it for him. I was never able to help my sisters when they got sick because I was too young. I¡¯ll be sure to make him some food tomorrow. So that he can get better quicker. For now since I forgot this is what I think I should do.¡± Allyce smiled and patted Ethese¡¯s head. ¡°If that¡¯s what you want then I will be sure to bring it to him for you. I¡¯ll let him know that this food is specially from you.¡± Hearing this Ethese smiled brightly. Allyce returned to keep a watch over Endrian. She brought the food for both herself and the food for Endrian that Ethese had given her. Later that night when they knew that Ethese was asleep they moved Endrian back to his room. When they were moving him they noticed a strange reddish glow in the night sky to the west of the village. Endrian did not wake up that night, or even the next day. Ethese brought him some breakfast that morning and checked with Allyce how he was doing. Allyce kept her vigil of Endrian while sitting outside his door. All her chores temporarily waived while watching over her son. It was not until the evening on the day after his awakening that he woke up. Chapter 6 - Learning Control Groaning and grabbing his head. He thought ¡®That must have been one hell of a party for me to feel this shitty. I don¡¯t remember ever being this hung over.¡¯ At the same time Allyce heard him groan and rushed in quietly calling out to him. ¡°Endrian, how are you feeling?¡± Unfortunately with how Endrian was feeling coupled with his newly enhanced senses it sounded like someone was yelling directly into his ear. Attempting to squeeze his eyes shut tightly because of the pain his mom¡¯s question caused him, he felt something was off. He opened his eyes and looked around. What he saw took his breath away. It was his usual drab room but this time it was like someone was shining a blacklight in it. It wasn¡¯t like what he had seen when he went to a club with black lights on but it was more of an accent to the visible spectrum of colors. It would highlight and accentuate the colors that already existed like someone turned on technicolor to a grey world. He looked around in awe and looking over at his mom. Her eyes had a slight glow to them giving them an ethereal look. Yet he could still see the sky blue color but it was just more. Almost letting out a Keanu Reeves trademark ¡®Whoa¡¯ as he looked around. His mom saw him looking around in wonder and said ¡°Your new eyes see better. It takes a little getting used to but there are many benefits to them.¡± He wanted to get up and go look outside but as soon as he started moving again he was made acutely aware of the throbbing pain in his head. Groaning at the pain he asked ¡°How long have I been out?¡± ¡°Out? You haven¡¯t been out anywhere.¡± She said while looking at him strangely and wondering if there was some hidden damage that was done due to awakening early and with such a strong baptism. Slowly growing accustomed to the more acute sense of sound he said ¡°Ah, sorry I misspoke. How long was I asleep?¡± ¡°You¡¯ve been asleep for an entire day.¡± she replied feeling much more relieved when he asked the second question. She handed him a cup of water which he took thankfully. Though he had to be careful when accepting the cup so he didn¡¯t scratch her with his new claws. He awkwardly tried to drink the water but, much to his consternation, he got as much on him as in his stomach. The water helped even if he didn¡¯t get as much as he wanted. After slaking his thirst he realized that he was exceptionally hungry as well. Looking around to see if there was any food handy he saw a plate filled with some chopped up fruits and some dried meats. Grabbing some fruit and tossing it in his mouth he started to chew, but realized that chewing had a very strange sensation to it. As he got used to his new form many of the subtle movements and habits that he was accustomed to no longer applied. Still he was able to eat and drink even if he looked like a drunk monkey face fuck his food after having his mouth filled with novacane. ¡®It¡¯s a good thing they don¡¯t have YouTube here, otherwise this shit would go viral.¡¯ ¡°We are going to have to work on your ability to eat without making such a mess. Trust me what I say cleaning juices from between your scales is possibly one of the most irritating things you will every have to do. Also make sure you don¡¯t shift before you have cleaned such a mess otherwise whatever you haven¡¯t cleaned will be absorbed under your skin which can be¡­ uncomfortable.¡± Endrian¡¯s mom¡¯s eyes took on a slightly unfocused look when she said that last part. ¡°Thanks for the food mom. I feel much better now that I have something in my stomach and water to wash it down with.¡± Endrian said to his mom. ¡°Actually you will need to thank your little sister Ethese. She has brought food at every meal taking away what wasn¡¯t eaten and finishing it so it wouldn¡¯t go to waste. She has been very worried about you. She even went as far as to give up her food at dinner last night incase you woke up and were hungry.¡± Allyce said with a smile. A trace of a smile touched Endrian¡¯s face, well as much as he could smile while getting used to the new muscles and facial structure he had. It was very heartwarming and touching that she would even go so far as to give up her own food for him. ¡°She said she needed to practice taking care of her man so she should start with her brother first.¡± Allyce said. Aaand there goes those heartwarming feelings. ¡®Stupid society corrupting such a sweet and innocent little girl.¡¯ Endrian thought when he heard his mom. Sighing to himself he started to clean up the mess he made both on his face and the floor. After finishing cleaning up all the mess even from under his scales which had a very unique feeling to it. He decided that the next order of business was to see all of the changes. While he hadn¡¯t been too fussed with what he looked like as a human boy, he is dying to know what he looks like now. Looking at himself in a bucket of water had never appealed to him because you had to find the right lighting and a bucket with clean water then hopefully with no wind you might be able to see your face, maybe. Since he could see all his fingers and toes, everything worked and he had no problems with his little johnson he hadn¡¯t been terribly curious about his looks. Now though he needed a good mirror to see himself. Looking at his mom he asked if she had something for him to see what he looked like. Giving him a knowing smile she went over to a small table, which had been brought in for his convenience while getting used to his new form, and picked up a copper looking hand mirror. It wasn¡¯t the best mirror he had seen but he could finally get a decent picture of what he looked like at least in this new form. He took a look and he could see that his face was draconic looking. His snout didn¡¯t come to a sharp point more of an equine esque look to it. He had a strong jaw line, or at least it looked that way to him. His face was also more streamlined than a horses. The scales on his face were smaller than on his arms but were still the interlocking scales similar to a rattlesnake. His eyes looked similar to his mothers but he couldn¡¯t really tell the color due to the way the copper tinted everything in the reflection. He could also see some horns on his forehead which were small but looked like they would take the look of the stereotypical devil horns. He could make out his face and neck and he knew based on his own vision that his scales were a silver or platinum color. They were highly reflective and would actually make a better mirror if they were completely smooth than the piece of copper he was using. In the reflection he could also see a relatively small set of wings behind his back. As he focused on them and trying to feel them, while marveling at just how crazy it was to have wings. He tried to stretch out his wings to get a feel for them but it was similar to when he was a baby and trying to move his arms. Fine motor control was not something he had with them. As he attempted to stretch them he wound up flinging his right wing wide open too fast and it felt like he pulled something. Wincing a little in pain he decided to stop staring at himself before he became a narcissist and asked his mom ¡°So are you going to help my get used to my new form?¡± Nodding her head in agreement she said ¡°That and more. I will be imparting your first cultivation technique so that you can start gathering mana. This will be the first step towards body strengthening that you have always asked about.¡± Pausing to watch Endrian¡¯s reaction to this news she was disappointed to see that there was no real excitement there. Continuing on ¡°We will also go over your different mana affinities and offer some ways for you to improve your control over them. As well as provide some ideas on what you could use those affinities for. First though I would ask that you tell me your affinities in detail. I think I know all of them but one and I would rather be sure I am correct before assigning tasks for you to complete that will help you with your control and manipulation.¡± Endrian was going to protest that he didn¡¯t have a clue what affinities that he had, but after just a moment of thinking he could feel them and even more surprisingly identify them. After realizing he knew his affinities he listed them off for her. ¡°I have the following: Lightning, Metal, Magnetism, and Air.¡± He didn¡¯t know the word for electricity or even if they had that word but knew the one for lightning so used that as the closest approximation. He also didn¡¯t know the word for magnetics but after describing, to the best of his ability, what it was, she able to tell him the word for magnetics. ¡°Okay, so what I want you to do is read this cultivation technique for the Gathering stage.¡±she said while handing over a clay tablet. ¡°I want you to read, memorize and then practice this. This should help you advance in your cultivation. Once you reach level 1 of the Gathering stage you should be recovered and then we will work on transforming.¡± Endrian took the tablet and felt the excitement bubble up in him. He could remember all of the things that he had done in his previous world from from camping and surviving in the wild, to all his school learning up to calculus 2 and other useless information like computer programming to his time in the US Navy and so much more, but this was the first time he had truly come into contact with mystical cultivation techniques that could not only be proven but validated. There was a little disappointment that his first techniques was only one tablet but his excitement far outweighed his disappointment. At least until he read his cultivation technique. The instructions were coached in mystical language but the gist of it was breath deeply, in through your nose and out through your mouth. Feel the mana around you and call out to the mana with your affinity. Then become one with it by picturing it coming into your body¡­. And that¡¯s it.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. So get rid of all the crap language that makes it sound cool and you have two maybe three sentences of instructions that are about as helpful as pissing in the wind. After reading it again a small Endrian has a small tirade of thoughts in his head. ¡®No explanation on what to visualize. Nothing about why you should focus on the mana that matches your elemental affinity. Nothing about prioritizing which affinities to choose. I mean do you just focus on all of them and sense it and call it if you find it? What happens if you can¡¯t find mana with your affinity? Are you screwed or what?¡¯ Forcefully calming himself down he looks at the ¡°cultivation technique¡± and then to his mom and then back and forth a couple of times to make sure this wasn¡¯t a joke. Finally he asks ¡°Is this it?¡± Giving her son a strange look she said ¡°Of course. What more do you need?¡± Unsure whether to laugh or cry, he placed his face in his hands and slowly shook his head. After a few seconds of trying to fathom the absurdity of what he just read and what he was told, he promptly gave up and started asking questions. He started off with ¡°Okay first question. Assuming I have to focus on finding mana that matches my affinity how do I prioritize which to search for first?¡± A light of understanding went off in his mothers eyes. ¡°I tend to cycle through them. I start with my strongest affinity and then switch back and forth until I find a matching affinity. This will probably be difficult for you since you have four affinities that you have to search for.¡± Nodding his head but still maintaining his scepticism, he asked his next question ¡°Okay, then is there a reason that I have to ¡®find¡¯ mana with my affinities?¡± ¡°Of course. How would you become one with something you have no affinity with? I know this sounds hard but when you start practicing you will feel it and understand.¡± ¡®I don¡¯t want to feel it and understand I want to understand so I can feel it.¡¯ Endrian thought. However, because he had never cultivated before beyond his personal meditation in this world who was he to judge. Coming to this conclusion he decided to give it a shot instead of making assumptions. Closing his eyes he could feel his senses extend. It was hard to describe but the closest he could come was if you were in a room filled with gas, but the gas was a part of you and you could feel it and even control it. Picturing the room filled with a ¡®mana fog¡¯ he started to look for mana that had affinities in it. In his mental construct he felt like the majority of the fog was a whitish grey color and there were small pockets of different colors. Some of these colors would resonate with him so he would try to become one with these resonating pockets. Whatever that meant. Trying out different thought to try and cajole these resonating pockets to become one with him he started shouting anything that would come to mind hoping for some kind of reaction. ¡®Merge with me? Hmm, Marry me¡­? Guess not. Join me on the dark side, we have cookies. No? How about, I can make you feel warm and fuzzy if you come over here. Do you want some candy? Still no dice. Let¡¯s try¡­ Become one with me and we shall take over the universe!! Come on move. Maybe, Let¡¯s make a love child together?¡¯ Saying a bunch of random things in his head to become one with the mana after nothing seemed to work he decided to ask. ¡°Mom, what does it mean to become one with the mana?¡± ¡°For each person becoming one with the mana is different. It a very personal experience as it is the core of their cultivation. So I cannot and will not tell you how to become one with mana. You must feel it on your own. How well you can merge with the mana will decide how fast you can cultivate and what your future achievements will be.¡± She said this in a very serious manner. Deciding to take a mental step back, Endrian started to question everything he knew about cultivation. Which was decided very little. That being said, the cultivation technique he was given was obscure and unhelpful, so he disregarded it as being useful or helpful at the moment. It talked about feelings and personalized experiences deciding capabilities. To some extent he could understand that. Every person experiences things differently and has different abilities. Thinking even further back on his meditations on mana or whatever obscure power there was before he knew anything, he remembered just before his awakening visualizing the mana as a gas or cloud kind of similar to what he perceived when he was sensing it just now. He had visualized it flowing to him and then being absorbed by the skin but there was no feelings required in doing this just his mental visualization. Thinking to here, he decided to put thought into action. Spreading out his mana sense again he could picture his room filled with a cloud of whitish grey fog with bubbles or pockets that had different colors in them. Focusing on a pocket that resonated with him he visualized in his head the pocket moving towards him and then being absorbed by his body. When he did this the pocket that he focused on moved into his body. After being absorbed by his body he focused internally, again similar to what he had done before being able to sense mana, and he could tell that the amount absorbed was less than the initial pocket but not by that much. After a few seconds of picturing the mana being soaked up by the different cells in his body he opened his eyes. As soon as they opened his mother was clapping and saying ¡°Excellent job son. You were able to grasp it so quickly.¡± Endrian was not sure what to say or even how to react to this praise from his mother. ¡°Uh..thanks mom. Uhm, I¡¯m getting a little hungry and thirsty again can you bring me some food please?¡± He figured that if he asked her for some food he could get her out of his room long enough for him to quietly think about the things he had experienced and validated. After thinking everything over he realized that he had a choice to make. There were questions that needed answering and based on the current results of his questions to his mother she didn¡¯t have the answers that he wanted. So does he experiment on himself? This was obviously dangerous as he doesn¡¯t know if this could impact him in a negative way or not. Well he could perform one experiment and see the results if it didn¡¯t work then his train of thought would be pointless anyway. Closing his eyes Endrian released his mana sense again. Focusing on the connection that he felt to the mana. This time instead of looking for the pockets of resonating mana he grabbed all of the mana in the room. He then pictured it all moving towards him like he was at the bottom of a hill and the fog was rolling towards him. He also made sure that he wasn¡¯t trying to absorb anything, he just wanted to see if he could get more than just the resonating pockets to move. If he could then this would mean that potentially he could absorb more and different types of mana. If not then it was a moot point and he would go back to doing as he was told. As he got the picture in mind he started to ¡°pull¡± mentally. Feeling that the majority of the mana moved he was surprised. Interestingly when he pulled on all of the mana in the room not everything moved. There were pockets in his mana sense that refused to budge. One specifically that he found was a pocket of bright white and green mixed together that gave of a icy cold feeling. The grey cloud around it had moved but that pocket was like a rocking in the river with the grey flowing around it. There were some other pockets that were similar to the white and green pocket as well. Some moved but were sluggish like they were coming but really didn¡¯t want to. After just a few short breaths of doing this Endrian stopped what he was doing. His first question answered now he needed to know if they knew of any harmful effects of absorbing mana that didn¡¯t resonate. He suspected that his mom wouldn¡¯t have a clue but felt it was better to ask her and verify that no one knew what would happen rather than doing something that everyone knew was dangerous. After running a few more tests to verify that the majority of the mana moved when he visualized it moving his mom had finally returned. After thanking her for the food he sat down to eat and drink. Eating slowly so he wouldn¡¯t make a mess this time he focused on controlling the muscles in his face until he felt more comfortable with it. Even still he wound up drooling on himself some. After finishing his food and cleaning up some he decided to start asking his questions. ¡°I was wondering, mom, what would happen if I absorbed mana that wasn¡¯t attuned to my affinities or didn¡¯t resonate with me? Are there any negative effects I should be concerned about?¡± ¡°Why would you even do that?¡± She asked in response. Then paused and thought about it. ¡°As far as I know no one has ever done that. At least I have never heard about it.¡± ¡°Okay, well what about attributeless mana? Do you know what would happen if I try to absorb that?¡± he asked taking a slightly different tact. ¡°Honestly! What¡¯s going on in your head? The cultivation technique says to absorb mana that resonates with you. Why would you try to do something else?¡± she asked in perplexity. Feeling a little frustrated with his mother he said ¡°Why I am asking is besides the point, I want to know if there are any dangers I would need to be aware of like death, internal bleeding, becoming a cripple, unable to further cultivate, or things like that.¡± His mother also becoming frustrated with her overly curious child ¡°I don¡¯t know. Just do what the technique says and there will be no problems.¡± Thinking to himself ¡®Come on this is the basis of science here. Propose a theory or question. Set an experiment to validate or invalidate your theory. Observe the results. Rinse and repeat until you have a solid understanding of how it works.¡¯ Feeling more and more like he was talking to a wall he took a different approach with her ¡°Well I feel like I should be doing more but I am worried about possible problems and wanted to be sure there would be no issues if I did something that the cultivation techniques didn¡¯t say.¡± ¡°Oh, well I¡¯m not sure what would happen. We can ask your father and see if he has any ideas on this, but if you feel it is something you should do then you can just do it. There should be no problems.¡± She said feeling much better now that she knew it was a feeling her son had which caused him to ask such strange questions. Mentally throwing his hands in the air he gave up for now and decided he would talk to his father about it the first chance he got. However, since he was still stuck in his room until he could control the transformation he figured that would be the next thing to tackle. So he told his mom ¡°I¡¯m feeling a lot better now that I have had some food and water and didn¡¯t wear most of it. Can we start working on how to transform?¡± ¡°Sure. If you are feeling better then we can start working on it. I can tell that you have reached the first level of the Gathering stage already. So there should be no problems. It¡¯s actually not too different from cultivating. You just feel your natural body and then become your natural body. It¡¯s difficult to get a feel for at first, but once you grasp the feeling you will be able to do it very easily.¡± She said. Hearing her explanation Endrian felt like he just wanted to go hide in a corner and cry. ¡®Is NOTHING properly explained in this crazy world?!?! It¡¯s like a bunch of blind monkeys sticking their proverbial dick in any hole they can find. If it feels good you¡¯re doing it right, right? Don¡¯t try and see what you put it in or understand what you are doing just make it feel good. Okay Go! Seriously. What. The. Fuck!?!?!'' Chapter 7 - Science and Reality After recovering from his mini mental breakdown, Endrian decides to disregard anything his mom tells him for now. He loves his mom very dearly but she is not good at guiding him in his cultivation or figuring out how to control his transformation. So he closes his eyes and reviews what he knows. ¡®Okay so transforming is like cultivation so let¡¯s work with that. When I cultivate having a strong mental image and a good imagination are key. My mana sense and my consciousness supplement the things that I feel by enhancing my visualization. So if we take all these things to be true then maybe if I can visualize myself transforming from my current appearance back into a human appearance.¡¯ Thinking to there he decided to give it a shot. However after a few minutes of picturing his dragon face changing into a human face he couldn¡¯t tell if anything was happening. Opening his eyes and looking for the copper mirror after picking it up he was briefly astonished at how heavy it was like 2.5 to 3 kilos just for this little hand mirror. Putting aside his distracting thoughts he looked at his face but there was nothing changed. Okay so that didn¡¯t work. Of course he was just trying to change the face so maybe he should try visualizing the whole body shifting. Placing the mirror back on the table, he closed his eyes again and pictured his whole body or at least tried to. He realized that getting a mental picture of his whole body when he hadn¡¯t seen his whole body was very difficult. So he stopped and grabbed the mirror again and proceeded to hold it at different angles and then crane his neck to see his body from all sides as best he could. As he examined himself his mother watched him and much to her amusement when he found his tail she watched him chase it first right and then left. It was possibly the cutest thing she had seen. She couldn¡¯t stop from giggling while watching him. Hearing his mom giggle, Endrian stopped and looked at her with eyes widened. ¡°Don¡¯t! Just don¡¯t say it.¡± But how could she resist with a smile and a gleam in her eyes ¡°You are so cute.¡± This made Endrian feel vaguely depressed and a little offended. Until he heard what she said next. ¡°I don¡¯t get to enjoy these feelings often with you so let me savor this moment please.¡± Endrian smiled and walked over to his mom and gave her a hug. He may be mentally older than her, he may feel more mature than her in many ways, but no matter what she was still his mother. He felt as a father from his previous life that it was only appropriate to show respect to his mother. He could also appreciate the joy a parent takes when they watch their child do something harmless and adorable. After the hug he took a moment to get his emotions in order. Once he was back to the right mentality and a much better mental picture of what he currently looks like he tries again. Visualizing how he currently looks and imagining it shifting, like how he had seen in all those werewolf movies and tv shows. However, every time he tries to visualize the change it just doesn¡¯t work. He can force the image to change but it feels disconnected from him like it¡¯s fake. So he decides that this approach doesn¡¯t seem to be working for him. Okay so let¡¯s try this another way. Endrian can remember reading in a fantasy book that they had explained transforming by picturing yourself in both forms and then superimposing them over each other. Then whatever for you want will be the final form. Unfortunately he never really had a good picture of what he looked like as a human in this new life. He had seen his reflection in a bucket of water a couple of times but it was very indistinct. All he could get out of that was the outline of the face and that there was some hair on top of his head. It had never been a priority for him and taking the time to carry a bucket of water around to get the correct position of the sun to create a relatively decent reflection. It was more work than it was worth. Now his lack of care was kind of biting him in the butt. Well since he didn¡¯t have any other options and being stuck in his room for the rest of his life was not a viable option, as far as he was concerned, he decided to step outside of his comfort zone. He created a blank template of what a human looks like then he added hair and started changing the colors of the hair on this template until something felt right. He worked at this for a few hours with very little success. He adjusted the length shorter and longer and he got a feeling of rightness, he was unsure if that was the correct word but it was as close as he could get, when he set the length to about the middle of his back. This was longer than before but it felt right. However, he never got the color to feel right, nor the look of his facial features. So he could say that there was something to feeling things but it was so imprecise that it was ridiculous. It felt like he was playing with the blocks you give a child that have different shapes and then there is a table that has that shape cut out of it. Now all he had to do is match the shape to the hole. Problem is he¡¯s blindfolded in a room the size of a football stadium and there are thousands of block and not all fit. So while it is theoretically possible he can correctly guess all the combinations correctly but it would take forever. Feeling frustrated with his lack of progress he thought it might be a good time to get some more food. His mom was currently staying in his room, which was a little awkward to not have any real privacy. That¡¯s when he got a very bad feeling, or more accurately the food digested and it was time to take care of business. ¡°Um. Mom, I need to go to the bathroom.¡± He said this hoping his problem would be self evident. Allyce smiled and then pointed to a bucket in the corner. Endrian looked at where she was pointing, and then back to her, and then back to the bucket. Each iteration of him looking back and forth his eyes got wider. Dropping a deuce in a bucket while your mom watched. Oh HELL no. He then thought ¡®Well, let¡¯s just take a piss. That will reduce the pressure on my colon and I can hold it until I figure out this changing form thing.¡¯ Even though they had a public open bathroom Endrian would often hold it until the last second so that he could get in and out quickly. He would often not go in if there were others in there. So while he is aware that most people here didn¡¯t have a problem with doing their business in front of others it still made him uncomfortable. Not to mention his mom watching him just felt wrong. ¡°Can you at least turn around or close your eyes or something?¡± he asked her. She smiled and shook her head in amusement at his request but she at least left the room. So he walked over to the bucket and opened his pants so he could take a piss, and that¡¯s when he found a problem. He reached between his legs but didn¡¯t feel anything. Thinking that he was just imagining things he looked down to get a better visual so he grab and aim. When he looked though all he saw was the interlocking scales. His johnson, his beloved little derrick, was nowhere to be seen. His mouth dropped open. His eyes bulged. Mentally he was screaming ¡®No. NO. NOOO!!!!!¡¯ He started to hyperventilate a little. He knows it wasn¡¯t that spectacular of an appendage but he was 7 years old, it still had time to grow. But even if he could only please himself with it, it was still his. Now though it was gone. Then all of a sudden the fear and despair turned into anger. If he were just back to how he was before this wouldn¡¯t be a problem. ¡®Fuck this change. Fuck this world.¡¯ That was when something clicked. He wasn¡¯t sure what it was but it felt right like this is what he had to do to go back to how he was before. Without thinking, without fear he acted on his impulse or instinct. In the next second there was a brief flash of pain that was gone before he had even fully registered it was there. After the brief flash he could see his beloved family jewels again. Hell he didn¡¯t even need to go to the bathroom anymore he was just so happy to see little derrick again. After a few moment of rejoicing and taking in the beautiful and disgusting look of his junk he decided that he was going to go to the bathroom now. His emotions had settled and biological functions reasserted themselves. Buttoning up his pants and throwing on a shirt he walked to the door of his room. When he started to open the door his mom moved in a flash to stand in front of him and block him so that no one would see him. When she saw him though she was stunned by him yet again. ¡°What I have to go to the bathroom and I really don¡¯t want to use a bucket.¡± He said when he saw the way his mother looked at him. He slid around his stunned mother and headed to the bathroom. On his way there and even while he was taking care of business he was still trying to understand what happened. He knows intellectually that he successfully transformed or shifted forms, but how it happened and was it duplicatable. That was a question he didn¡¯t have an answer for at this time. However, this did lead him to the conclusion that there was more to this feeling stuff, that his mom talked about, than he really wanted to admit. After finishing up without any interruptions from others he realized that it was late enough that night had fallen. He went back to his room to ask his mom if it would be okay to talk to his dad even though it was so late. However, when he got back his mom was not there. So he went to where she normally slept but she was not there either. He decided to just go knock on his dad¡¯s door and see if he was still available to talk with or not. Walking out into the inner courtyard for the first time since his awakening he was surprised to see that there were some things that were glowing which weren¡¯t usually there. As he examined them he realized that these items were actually always here but he had never seen them glow before. It¡¯s looks like someone is shining a blacklight on them. He wasn¡¯t in his transformed state so he felt it was odd that he could still see things that he couldn¡¯t before. Once again another thing that scratches his curiosity and no way to test it. However, from his knowledge of his previous world he makes the assumption that he is seeing is some sort of bioluminescence where the plants are releasing photons in the ultraviolet spectrum. Shaking his head from the distraction he laughs if he let this world he would spend the rest of his life just studying all the little things and developing technology just to allow him to study it, but that wasn¡¯t what he wanted to do with his life. Moving on to his dad¡¯s office and still thinking about all of the interesting things that he has experienced here. Kind of makes him feel like the dog in the movie UP only it wasn¡¯t a squirrel that distracted him but things that were outside his experiences. Stepping up to the door he gets ready to knock and his attention is brought back to the present. However he freezes with his hand mid way to knocking on the door. He turns around and covers his ears to block the sounds of flesh slapping together coupled with soft moans. ¡®SO! Glad I didn¡¯t open the door. Okay next inventions, door locks and soundproof walls.¡¯ He starts thinking about how to properly soundproof walls and how to create better doors with locks so he doesn¡¯t accidentally traumatize himself. It has nothing to do with trying to keep his imagination from picturing what is going on behind the door. Nothing at all. His 10 year dry spell not helping him very much. The last 7 years weren¡¯t that much of a problem focused on training he was never really prone to wandering around late at night. Not like he is going to be getting any for the foreseeable future either. Making it back to his room he proceeded to cultivate by only drawing in mana that resonated with him. He did this for an hour or so before getting tired and going to sleep. Getting up the next day he realized that he had overslept, though it wasn¡¯t too surprising considering the change to his routine. The table was still in his room when he woke up and so was the copper mirror. Seeing these things he decided to take a close look at himself. He still had to figure out how to control the change back and forth properly. So he spent the next few minutes examining himself. He had longer hair that was down to the middle of his back. He couldn¡¯t tell the color of his hair from the mirror but fortunately it was long enough that he could see it quite easily. It was a midnight blue color that had purple highlights. He couldn¡¯t tell what color his eyes were but he could easily ask. His facial features were boyish which came as no surprise. His face had a good symmetry to it. He had a straight nose that was a little flat. He had good straight teeth. Fortunately they have a concept of dental hygiene here so he gets a toothbrush that¡¯s made from some type of tree root. Not quite the same as his electric toothbrush but he¡¯ll take what he can get. Getting a good concept of how he looks he creates the pictures in his head again. This time he gets and accurate representation of each form. It even feels correct. Apparently eye color doesn¡¯t matter that much. As he overlays one image on the other he starts to make the human image fade out so that there is only his beast form. Still this results in a failure. No change not even a twitch.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it. Finally at a loss of how to transform he starts to analyze the memory of when he successfully changed. There was not a whole lot of thought involved with that memory, but there was a lot of emotions and instinct, or doing without thinking. Also called stupidity. However, stupid apparently works where thought does not. While frustrating for him he knows that you can switch back and forth and that it is a key element of this society not to mention that he was internally geeking out of the cool factor. So he spends some time breaking down the memory. There was a distinct feeling of human for lack of a better way to describe it. There was also an act of willing himself to be that which he knows. So this should be duplicatable. He can remember the feeling of his body when he was in his fighting form. So all he should have to do is lock this feeling and will himself to that. When he says will himself it¡¯s more than just thinking ¡®be that¡¯ it¡¯s more like how you move your arm. You know what you want to do and you just do it. For example when you walk you don¡¯t tell each muscle in your leg what to do when you pick it up and swing it forward. You just do it. That being said he put his thoughts into action. Once again he felt a brief flash of pain and then he heard a ripping sound, and his shirt fell to the floor in pieces. ¡®Okay. Mental note. When changing remove shirt.¡¯ Fortunately the pants buttoned in the back and had a hole where his tail would be. He had often thought this was weird but not it made perfect sense instead of being someone¡¯s twisted way to look at peoples butt cracks. Thinking of this he wondered if they had special shirts for beastkin that had wings. Transforming back and getting his last workout shirt to put on he went out to start his morning workout. Halfway through his Tai Chi, Ethese came out and was very excited to see him. Running up and hugging him and badgering him with questions about how he was feeling and if there was anything she could do. Endrian smiled at her enthusiasm and thanked her for her care. Even saying that it was very helpful and that he was sure that she would be able to take good care of her man some day. This of course made her beam a bright smile at him. He then got back to his usual routine. After he had finished his morning workout his mom came out of his dad¡¯s office. Yawning with her hair a mess. When she saw Endrian was out in the courtyard she came over to him and said ¡°Your father wants you to speak with him as soon as possible.¡± When she came over he got a strong whiff of her. Apparently the enhanced senses carried over in this area as well. When he realized what he was smelling he decided to just stop breathing because it was awkward thinking of your mom like that. Hence the ridiculous mental barriers he had placed around the memory of his first day in this world. As she looked at him expectantly. He smiled and nodded but made no move to go to his dad¡¯s office. After a second or so she said ¡°Well what are you waiting for?¡± ¡°For him to take a bath.¡± He said it before he even had a chance to think it through. ¡®Great there goes my filter.¡¯ Giving his mom an awkward smile he took a couple of steps back and took a breath. At the same time Ethese came over to see what was going on and she looked at Allyce and said ¡°You smell funny.¡± Taking a step closer she started to sniff Endrian¡¯s mom. At this point Allyce realized what Endrian was talking about. Endrian came over to distract Ethese while his mom stuttered out a ¡°Um, yes, well we¡¯ll get right on that.¡± She said this as she blushed very deeply. Especially when she saw the helpless and somewhat weird look in Endrian¡¯s eyes. Then she promptly ran away back to Davian¡¯s office. To distract Ethese, Endrian had asked her if she wanted to practice with him this morning. So he wound up teaching her eight different forms from Tai Chi to get her started. After that he went back to his room cleaned up and changed into his last set of clean clothes. He then washed his workout clothes and headed to breakfast. After breakfast with everyone Endrian headed to his dad¡¯s office so he could sit down and have a chat about various things. Davia started off with ¡°So son, we need to talk about a few things.¡± Hearing this Endrian nodded. ¡°So what happened last night¡­¡± ¡°Aaand that¡¯s not one of them¡± Endrian said cutting his dad off. Continuing to guide the conversation into cleaner waters he started asking about absorbing different types of mana. He also asked about how his mom knew that he was at the first level of the Gathering stage and how he could tell the different levels. What he got was that some people had tried absorbing other types of mana and that there were no real dangers. It would typically slow down cultivation for those people because it was more difficult to gather and when absorbing there was a greater loss. Also knowing someone else''s cultivation level required that you are at that level or higher and when you sense the mana around them you can get a feel for their cultivation by comparing it to yours. He also learned that when you are baptized with an affinity you are generally immune to that type of element, and that using your mana directly against someone will not work. His dad explained this as something like a natural law but when someone uses mana like in Endrian¡¯s case to create a lightning bolt to attack someone, the most likely result is that it would redirect or fizzle. Now if he applied the lightning to his sword or spear and struck them with it the discharge would have an effect on an enemy. However, he would also have to maintain a conscious effort to not let it discharge before he struck his opponent. There were also special materials that could be found to enhance different affinities and these materials could be used to make weapons or armor. Finally he explained that body strengthening was actually converting free mana into personal or controlled power. At higher stages this could be used to directly attack other opponents but this would only at the Core Formation stage of cultivation, there was however, a caveat to this in that there was a finite amount of power or Qi that could be expended and if fully depleted either temporary debilitating weakness or passing out would occur. With all of the information that he had gathered from his father on cultivation, mana, and Qi he had a lot to think about. Well he really didn¡¯t have to worry about Qi at this point so there was that. However, absorbing mana would be what he needed to work on and experiment with the most. He needed to determine the loss ratio for mana that didn¡¯t have an affinity associated with it. Just doing the math if he gained more than ten percent it would be worth it. In a roughly 27 cubic meter room there was only about 1 cubic meter of mana that had affinities of those affinities less than ten percent of them resonate with Endrian. So just from a volume standpoint if he could use just ten percent of the remaining mana and successfully absorb that he would already be receiving double the amount of mana for his training. Over the course of the next week he spent his time practicing cultivation using his visualization technique. He had reached a bottleneck a day ago when he asked he was told that there was a bottleneck from the third level of a stage to the fourth level and there was another from the sixth to the seventh. So he gathered that he was at the peak of the third level and had to break through to the fourth to continue with his cultivation properly. He could still cultivate but it wasn¡¯t absorbed properly by his body and would often dissipate making his effort a waste of time. On top of this he found that he could absorb a number of different affinities outside the ones that he was baptized in. However the losses for these were always high to the point where he would only get one tenth of one percent on some. He was able to absorb a small amount of what he assumed to be water mana based on the coloration and feeling he got from the mana absorbed. However when he tried to utilize it to condense water from the moisture in the air he didn¡¯t see any results other than some sweat from his forehead which he was pretty sure didn¡¯t count. He was also able to successfully absorb some fire mana. The amount he was able to absorb was much more than the water element but even with this he could barely create a spark. After getting the fire mana he figured he would test to see if he gained the immunity of it as well since he hadn¡¯t been baptized by this mana. So when he was helping with cooking with his sisters he stuck his hand over the cooking fire. The first degree burns on his hand attested to the fact that he did not gain any immunities. Okay so sticking his hand in the fire wasn¡¯t the most brilliant of ways to determine immunity but it was effective and easy to determine the results. During this time he also would go out with one of his moms and go shopping for various supplies like food or supplies for clothing or other things. He noticed that they weren¡¯t buying as many supplies. The demand for the recurve bow had been met so the orders weren¡¯t as plentiful as before. Though their family had made a nice profit on this. On a few of the trips out during this week of practice, experimentation and testing. He had heard to city bell sound a few times. He was even out once when the bell went off and he saw the people, who he assumed were the village guards, running across the rooftops again. He got to see the village protective shield go up often as well. All of this was interesting but he was very focused on his various experiments in cultivation. He took breaks to help out because he felt it was appropriate to help where he could with his family and he had also found that stepping away from what you are focused on often led to breakthroughs in understanding. He was brought back to reality towards the end of the week. He was sitting at breakfast and he heard his mothers discussing the problems with animal attacks and how they had increased dramatically from what they usually were. They were also having a tough time justifying the dangers of going into the forest to forage versus spending money and being safe. Finally there was a strange reddish glow that would appear every now and again in the south west sky. They were discussing leaving for Ampleforth sooner than planned as they weren¡¯t making as much on the bows and the cost of living would increase if they couldn¡¯t supplement their supplies with good foraged from the forest. The supply ship would be arriving from Ampleforth today and they would be sending a shipment of their recurved bows back. What they were debating was whether it was time to book passage. The household funds would allow for them to purchase birthings for the entire family and they had enough to get started in Ampleforth to setup their business. It¡¯s just it would be tight and they would have to make trips into the uncultivated forest outside of Ampleforth to find the wood for the bows. As they were discussing this Endrian said that if they were worried about securing proper materials for the bows that it would be possible to supplement metals for wooden portions or entirely. In many ways a combat bow would be much better if it were made out of metal. The construction would be much more complicated though, Endrian explained. What he was talking about was the designs for a compound bow. When his mothers heard his idea they were sceptical. However, if it was anything like the recurve bow then it would be a very worthwhile addition to their bow products. They discussed this back and forth for a while and ultimately came up with once they were firmly established in Ampleforth they would start this line of bows after of course verifying the efficacy of said bows. If it came down to it and they couldn¡¯t get the materials for their current bows then they could switch to this new bow and sell it. After a long breakfast and a lot of discussion about what to do everyone decided that they would see what the cost of buying passage would be. So Endrian and Vanya went to meet the flying ship and it¡¯s captain. Vanya went as the head wife to perform the negotiations and see what they could get. She was also considered beautiful by society standards so they figured sending her would be for the best. Endrian went along because he understood the household finances, and after getting there and negotiating he was there to distract the female captain with his cuteness. Valid tactic if a little demeaning. After successfully securing birthings for the family they returned back. The cost was less in general for everyone except Ethese. Transporting underage children that had yet to go through their awakening was dangerous since there were sometimes battles that had to be fought. Vanya also had to agree not to hold the captain or the company she worked for responsible if Ethese has a problem during the trip and awakens early. Endrian could tell that it wasn¡¯t unheard of for people to transport children before the awakening but it was not done very often. In this case the only reason for it was that the household was breaking even with the current expenses and they were planning on moving anyway. With the increased attacks from the wild animals their expenses would increase as well as the danger. So it was justified to be for the good of the family. Vanya was not very happy about this and had fought hard to wait for another two years. But the realities of increasing costs and reduced income as well as planning on moving anyway coupled finally with the increased danger of the forest and the uncertain safety of the village she was overruled. Though mainly with the argument that if Vanya died to a wild beast in the jungle then what would happen to Ethese. The transportation of Ethese and the fact that she hadn¡¯t awakened had Endrian wondering how they handled these things. He was wondering how they were going to sell their house as well. However, he found that it was simpler than all of that. The house was left open for any family that decided to move here. There would be houses in Ampleforth that were empty waiting for others to move in as well. So that reduced a lot of problems that Endrian was worried about. When he was helping with the food for dinner he noticed that Vanya had put something in Ethese¡¯s food. He could only assume it was something to put her to sleep. Though he had no idea how they got the measurements correct. Honestly he didn¡¯t even want to think about them just putting in stuff until it felt right. That was just terrifying. After they got to the table to start eating the village warning bell started ringing. Only this time it didn¡¯t stop. Usually it would ring three times to warn the village guards. This time it kept on ringing. Being confused by this Endrian looked around at his family. He could see most of the children, even Elva, looked confused like him. However, the adults had all gone pale. Chapter 8 - Disaster All of the adults stood up from the table. Davian grabbed his bowl of soup and downed it in one gulp then grabbed a leg of food from the table and left. Endrian¡¯s mom and the other mothers did the same as Davian while Vanya started giving out instructions to everyone not moving already. ¡°Children I want each of you to down your soup and grab some food. Do this as quickly as possible.¡± She said this and then did the same, downing her soup and grabbing some of the meat off the table. Endrian drank his soup as quick as he could not asking any questions. His sisters did not pick up on the severity of the situation and were asking what was going on. ¡°Everyone needs to calm down and do as their told, we do not have time for questions. You will at the least down your soup.¡± Her tone was strong and carried a very authoritative tone which brooked no back talking. The girls were subdued and a little resentful but they did as they were told. The bell was still going off in the distance adding a harsh counterpoint to the sudden quiet at the dinner table. As the girls were finishing off their soup Vanya continued ¡°Elva go and grab the things that you have packed and grab your sisters as well. Everyone else go grab your things and meet back here as quickly as possible. There is no time to waste. Ethese wait here for a minute, I need to talk to you.¡± Endrian had finished before his sisters and grabbed some food. Then he hurried to his room to grab his pack and his weapons. Fortunately there wasn¡¯t a lot to pack. Two pairs of shorts, one pair of pants, two shirts, and his bedroll. This had already been put in a bundle that could easily be slung over his shoulder. The small bags straps were resting on his upper body from left shoulder to right hip with the bedroll lashed to the bag resting at the small of his back. He then ran to the inner court yard and grabbed his two training swords. They weren¡¯t much but it was better than nothing. He placed them in their scabbards and attached them to his waist with the belt the scabbards hung on. Once that was done he grabbed his spear and shield that he practiced with when his father was training him. Once done he ran back to the dining room. By the time he arrived back at the dining room the adults were back and they also had their weapons. Though their weapons were not the ones that he often saw in training. Each of them had a large bag that they were carrying as well. Looking over he noticed that Ethese was out cold on the table. Vanya and his sisters were still missing but everyone else was limbering up, checking straps. They were wearing some steel armor over vital areas like the chest and the groin. In the rush and hurry his mind was working in a need to know processing style. In other words if it didn¡¯t cause him impact then most of the details were relegated as lower priority. That was why he didn¡¯t notice that everyone was in their fighting form. At least not until his mom came over and started talking to him. ¡°Ender you need to be in your fighting form. The bell that¡¯s ringing means that there is a greater danger than the guards can deal with. Everyone is being called to arm themselves and defend or flee. We have some time since we have the village shield but this won¡¯t hold them off forever.¡± She said to him watching his eyes to see how he took the news. There was not much reaction from Endrian to the news other than him asking ¡°Do we know how much time we have?¡± ¡°Not yet. Shyael just left to see if she could get some news. She is the fastest of us so she should be back in just a few minutes. Vanya will be here as soon as she is done getting geared up to explain everything to you children. Listen to her closely and make sure you do what you are told.¡± She said very seriously. Before Endrian had a chance to ask any more questions Vanya and the other girls arrived. Vanya was in her fighting form as well she was also decked out with half plate armor. The armor protected the tops of her arms the front of her chest and the front of her legs. She was carrying a shield that was big enough to cover her from her thighs to her neck. In her other hand she had a bearded battle axe that had what looked like a hammerhead opposite the blade for counterbalance and he guessed to hammer an opponent when the blade wouldn¡¯t get through. She looked around at the group of people that had gathered and started talking. While she was talking Ratrece went over to her and checked her straps to make sure everything was tight and combat ready. ¡°The bell that is going off in the distance is a general call to arms for all individuals in the village. It is also a warning that we may need to abandon the village as well. Shyael went to find out what the status is. If they think that we can weather the attack then Davian and the children will stay here while the rest of us go and fight. If not then we will head to the flying ship as quickly as possible.¡± Everyone sat down at the table and ate some food and drank some water. Well the parents did. All of the children and even Endrian were too keyed up to eat properly now. Good thing they got some down earlier before getting worked up. Unfortunately waiting for the unknown tends to make people nervous. If someone looked closely they would see some of the girls were looking a little nauseous. To distract themselves Elva asked what happened to Ethese. To which Vanya said ¡°We were planning on taking the ship in the morning and traveling to Ampleforth. As you know Ethese hasn¡¯t gone through her awakening so we drugged her food. She should be asleep for the next two days.¡± It didn¡¯t take long for Shyael to return and she came back in a rush completely out of breath. It had only been about a minute or two but waiting like that is never easy. She took a second to catch her breath and then said ¡°We need to leave immediately. It seems like every beast in the forest is running from something. They even spotted a tier 5 beast out there. Fortunately it ran by our village but there are thousands upon thousands of beasts out there. Many of them are attacking the shields and it will only last a short while before breaking. At which point anyone not in a secure location or on a ship out of here will probably not survive.¡± Finishing her grave statement everyone was shocked. Then Endrian started to smell a really foul stench. No, no one crapped their pants. Rather it was the smell that a terrified animal would give off. His enhanced sense of smell had him gaging almost instantly. Rushing out of the room holding his nose. He was quickly followed by everyone else in the room. Allyce was carrying Ethese in a princess carry. Vanya said to the girls ¡°Go and grab your training gear in case we have to fight.¡± She left unsaid that it would be wasteful to leave it and if the children really had to fight then the problems were much worse than any of them expected. Once the girls had grabbed their gear she said ¡°Alright, standard formation. Elva I will need to you to carry your sister so that your mothers can all have free hands. Davian you take rear guard and watch over the children.¡± After saying this all the women moved. Elva took Ethese from Endrian¡¯s mom and walked towards the rear of the children. Vanya took point with Allyce and Ratrece flanking either side. Shyael was in the pocket between the other women. She had a recurve bow and two quivers on her hip. One arrow was loosely nocked on the string. Once they were in formation they started to move from the inner courtyard through the house and then outside. After exiting the house it was easy to see that others were moving in well formed groups. Everyone that they met that was moving was in their fighting form. Many were carrying children with them that were under age and Endrian assumed they hadn¡¯t gone through their awakening. ¡®So complicated to have to knock all of these children out. There should be a way to handle this without such drastic measures needing to be taken.¡¯ He could see some of the groups with older children carrying unconscious younger kids. Everyone was moving in a surprisingly calm manner. There was none of the panic that you would see from his old world. They all moved in different formation based on the number of fighters and children to protect. They came across four other groups just coming out of their houses. Endrian could only assume they had some protocol that must be followed to allow for information to be passed as quickly as possible. Endrian¡¯s family was moving at a quick and determined pace with weapons held ready and heads on a swivel. While there were no threats that Endrian could discern he wasn¡¯t one to complain about being cautious during a crisis. In his opinion more people hurt themselves and others by rushing and ignoring everything around them in their hurry to save their own lives. Where if they had just taken a few seconds more to pay careful attention to the terrain or their surroundings they would have survived. While the adults were moving at a deliberate and quick walking pace, due to their shorter legs, the children had to jog to keep up. Endrian glanced back to see how Elva was doing. He could see that she was struggling to carry her sister by now. Endrian couldn¡¯t tell how long it had been but holding a dead weight while moving even something that weighs 1 kilo or less when held out at arm¡¯s length would become impossible to hold after a short period of time. So he fell back to Elva and then looked at Davian and said ¡°We need to stop so Elva can get a better grasp on her sister or so she can swap out with someone else.¡± Davian looked at Endrian and then looked at Elva before calling out for a temporary halt. Endrian looked at Elva and asked if she wanted to let him carry their sister for a little bit so that she could recover. When she nodded he went to take Ethese in a fireman¡¯s carry however his wings got in the way in a most uncomfortable manner. So he shifted back to his human form since there wasn¡¯t any danger present at the moment and put Ethese on his shoulders. After adjusting Ethese¡¯s weight to sit comfortably on his shoulders he signaled that he was ready to move again. Bare chested and with a shield strapped to his arm his spear held in the hand that his shield was strapped to. Endrian¡¯s mother was going to protest but decided to hold her tongue for now as speed was of the essence. They started moving again they only had a few more blocks to go before they would be in sight of the ship. At this point they could see a number of other families streaming in quiet and combat ready formations towards the ship. As they rounded the final corner of housing that was blocking their view of the ship Endrian could finally see a huge ship floating in the air above an open area which was used as the town square. On the aft of the ship was a huge sail like fin that looked similar to a tuna fishes tail. On the rear quarter side there was a horizontal flap that looked kind of looked like some type of tree leaf which had a waxy appearance. On the side that Endrian could see there was one of these leaves that was in a half circle shape. He assumed there would be a matching one on the other side to control the pitch and roll of the ship. There was no masts for sails on the deck. As he looked over the ship he could see on the upper deck many people manning the railings. All of these people were wearing some form of armor and were carrying different types of bows. There were rope ladders hanging down from four different locations as people streamed up them.Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere. By Endrian¡¯s estimation it had only been about two or three minutes since they left their home. Fortunately the village shield was still holding. The others were moving quickly and efficiently up the ladders. Watching them as his family waited for their turn he could see all kinds of different beast subspecies present in the people like monkeys, panthers, wolves and racoons. He even saw something that looked suspiciously like a lemur. Interestingly unlike his family where everyone appeared to be the same subspecies the other families were mixed. Some wolves were with panther or raccoons. He saw what looked like a bear and turtle as well. They were all jumbled together but moved in groups much like his family. Making a mental note to ask about it later since it was just about time for them to start up the ladder to board the ship. ¡°Davian take Ethese and go up first. The rest of the children should follow. I and the others will come up last.¡± Vanya explained the order to make sure the non-combatants were safe and secured first. Davian came over and got Ethese from Endrian and gave him a pat on the shoulder saying ¡°Good job.¡± Vanya helped tie Ethese to Davian so that he could climb with both hands. With Ethese¡¯s arms and legs around him he was able to quickly scale up the ladder. Endrian was right behind him and he was quickly followed by the rest of his family. Being so high up Endrian wanted to take a look and see what was going on that was causing the whole village to flee. However, since there was no mast in the middle of the ship and the railings were already piled with people and he was still too short to see over others it was impossible for him to see from where he was at. Thinking to here he decided to see if he could get to the quarter deck and get a good look from there. Before he got a chance to wander off he was quickly grabbed by Davian. ¡°Don¡¯t wander off. Your mom would skin me alive if you went missing.¡± Davian said. Endrian realized that the false sense of security he got from them achieving their goal, of getting to the ship, made him forget himself and give in to curiosity. Nodding his head in acknowledgment he turned and watch the rest of his family make it over the sides. He had to admit the movie Zombieland had it right. Rules of survival, rule number one: Cardio. Endrian was very thankful that he practiced so diligently every day. Without proper cardio he wouldn¡¯t have been able to carry Ethese so far and still be able to climb a rope ladder that was more than 10 meters long. While he was contemplating this all of his sisters had finally made it aboard and were standing closely with Endrian and his dad. Shyael came over the railing next after she arrived she glanced at them and then headed for the forecastle of the ship. Quickly throwing over her shoulder ¡°I¡¯m going to see if I can be of help.¡± Next came Allyce. She climbed over the rails and moved towards Endrian¡¯s group. It was at this point that everyone heard and felt a sound. They heard a deep thump. Kind of like an implosion. It felt like being really close to a firework exploding, or any type of high explosive, the shock wave knocked many adults and children off their feet. As they looked around they could see that the shield was no longer visible. Endrian got to his feet and ran over to the ladder to see what was going on down below. Ratrece and Vanya were both still on the ladder thankfully. They had a somewhat dazed expression on their face. ¡°You need to move!!¡± Endrian yelled down to them. There were others on the ladder as well. All of them started to wake up with the shout. Endrian could see panic setting in for the people still on the ground. There weren¡¯t many left maybe 20 or 30 people total that weren¡¯t on the ladder already. Some were quickly lashing their unconscious children to their bodies and would quickly make for the ladders. He could also see that some were not so fortunate to be able to hold on when the shield failed. As he backed away from the edge he could see out easily and what he saw was terrifying. The village guards were running in the distance carrying some others that had passed out. Behind them was a horde of different animals. Some were just regular squirrels and birds. There were wolves and ferrets and pretty much any domestic animal you could think of. Running in these groups behind the guards were also much larger animals. In his quick glance he saw what looked like a chicken covered in flames that was at least a meter tall. He also saw a dog that looked like a mastiff except it was two meters tall at the shoulder and had what looked like granite scales all over its body There was even a spike on it¡¯s forehead. These animals were running through the streets and in some cases through the houses. The archers on the side that Endrian had looked out from all drew their bows and looked like they were getting ready to buy some time for the people below. Endrian had to admit that it was impressive that these people wouldn¡¯t just flee as soon as shit got real. The women at the rail fired a volley of arrows. Unfortunately Endrian couldn¡¯t see what effect it had on the horde of monsters and animals charging through their town. While this was going on more and more people streamed over the sides of the ship and quickly moved to whatever portions they could find that were unoccupied. ¡°Everyone that is not a combatant. We need you to move down into the hold. Having this many people on deck will prevent us from properly defending.¡± Some woman shouted this from the forecastle. She was pointing to a person standing closer to the quarterdeck who was waving their hands and said ¡°Move toward the person waving their hands. Please watch your step and move in an orderly fashion so that we can get as many people out of here as possible. There are crew members below that will guide you to the hold once we are safely away from here we will give further orders and see about accommodations.¡± As Endrian, his sisters, and his father were moving towards the person. Endrian saw in the sky another smaller ship. That looked kind of like a long boat or skiff, swoop down and throw a ladder over the side for what he assumed was to help more people escape the disaster. Just before he took his first steps down into the hold he saw that small skiff rising up and taking off at a high rate of speed. It was filled with the city guards and the people they were carrying. After that glimpse he couldn¡¯t see any more as he descended into the hold of the ship. Endrian, his sisters, and his father found a spot that was out of the way and sat down. Endrian moved behind his dad to help untie Ethese. As he sat down he could feel the ship start to move. It was a subtle movement at first but it was quickly picking up speed. People were still coming down into the hold. Often an adult male sometimes with an adult female and whatever children. If there were a number of children that were underage and unconscious then the whole family would arrive and set them down before the women would head back to see if they could be of help. One of the groups that brought down multiple sleeping children asked ¡°Does anyone have any spare Nightshade Lotus extract to spare? We had enough for two full doses but not for three. We just need one more does if anyone has it. We would be happy to pay. As long as we can get it.¡± Hearing this another male made a tsking sound but pulled his backpack around and grabbed a small vial. Handing it to them he said ¡°You know that you are supposed to have at least one dose for every child that has yet to go through an awakening.¡± ¡°We know, but one of the vials had leaked and we were unaware at the time.¡± She said contritely. Pulling out a gold coin she offered it to the man, but he shook his head and pushed her hand back. ¡°Keep your money. Just make sure you do it properly from now on! Only your kids will suffer from your lack of awareness.¡± He was gruff in his sayings but you could see the compassion in his eyes. She took the scolding and thanked him for his consideration and generosity. To which he gave a cold ¡°hmph¡± and moved back over to the children he was looking after. Everyone was settling in. More people were coming down from the deck. Most of these were women that were carrying melee weapons. They passed on that there was no immediate danger so they were only getting in the crew¡¯s way. Hearing this a lot of people sighed in relief and the tension level in the hold started dropping. Many of the women were quietly talking with their families. Endrian¡¯s mothers finally came back though Shyael wasn¡¯t there it was to be expected since she had a good bow and was primarily an archer of the group. They weren¡¯t totally out of danger yet but the most immediate threat had passed. The women sat down and pulled their children close to them. Offering words of encouragement and comfort. Endrian¡¯s mom came over and scooped him up. This made him feel a little awkward and he smiled, patted her hand and said ¡°I¡¯m fine mom. Why don¡¯t you go check on dad he seems to be a little left out.¡± Allyce smiled but instead went over to Zukoya. Her short silky purple hair was pulled back into a top knot and her baby blue eyes looking a little lost and scared. Allyce embraced her and comforted her telling her that her mother was fine. Vanya was holding Ethese in her lap with her head resting on her shoulder while Elva leaned against her mother¡¯s other shoulder for support. Even Ratrece and her two daughters were leaning against each other. As enjoyable as it was for them, it was only able to last just a short moment. One of the crew ran down and called for all fighters to come to the deck immediately. They also asked specifically for anyone at the core formation stage. Hearing this Davian¡¯s expression went grim and he stood up to leave. Vanya stood up as well and looked at Elva saying ¡°You¡¯re in command of the kids while we are busy.¡± A few moments later the ship shuddered. The sounds of yelling could be heard from above as well as a deep rumbling sound. For the next few moments the sounds of combat rang from above deck. Then a deep cracking sound rang throughout the ship. When Endrian heard that sound it was obvious to him that they were in trouble. That was because the sound came from the bottom of the ship and if there was something attacking from under the ship they were going to be screwed. Standing up he walked over and picked up Ethese and looked at the others and said ¡°I don¡¯t feel safe here let¡¯s move someplace safer.¡± Without giving them time to argue he headed to the space under the stairs carrying Ethese on his shoulders again. He put his shield on his arm, making sure it was tight, and then attached his spear to his backpack. Tightening up his belt he took the leather straps that they had used to tie Ethese to Davian and then proceeded to tie Ethese to his body while he wedged himself under the stairs. The other girls had come over with him and got under the stairs as well. Just as they got in the ship started to list hard to the starboard side which threw them into the wall. ¡°Shift back to your fighting form.¡± Endrian said. ¡°I¡¯m in charge!¡± Elva exclaimed. ¡°That¡¯s fine, but if you want your best chance at surviving then you should change.¡± As he said that he shifted. When he shifted it wedged him in a little tighter which could be a good thing or bad thing. He wasn¡¯t sure which yet but he figured being loose in the hold was just asking for something to get broken if they crashed. Then the ship leaned hard to the port side and started to tilt down. The girls were starting to freak out now and quickly shifted to their fighting forms without further argument. ¡°Gather as close as you can and duck your heads down. If we crash we¡¯ll try and reduce the impact to us by making it hard to move. Make sure you protect your head as best you can.¡± Endrian said in an authoritative tone. ¡°Will that really help us?¡± Zukoya asked. Endrian replied ¡°It will definitely help.¡± In reality he wasn¡¯t sure if it would help or not but based on the physics he understood as long as they weren¡¯t flying across the hold and didn¡¯t get ejected from the ship they stood a good chance of coming out of this relatively unscathed and protecting your head in this type of situation was always a good thing. But he figured they needed reassurance more than the truth right now. Bracing himself as much as possible along with his sisters he shifted his shield so that it was over the heads of the others. Right at this time they could hear someone yell ¡°Everyone hold on we are going to crash.¡± Then the ship tilted again. The bow raised up and body pitched to port but the downward momentum didn¡¯t change at all. He relaxed his body as much as possible and tightly held Ethese in his arms cradling her head. That¡¯s when the first jolt hit. It felt like they hit a tree. Then the ship started rolling. It pinned him and the girls against the hull next to the stairs. Endrian never felt the next hit because it struck like a hammer and he blacked out. Chapter 9 - Wrecked As the ship crashed Elva and her sisters were wedged into the space under the stairs because Ender had said he felt safer under there. The first hit that started the ship spinning freaked out all of the girls. The quickly transformed like Ender had suggested and ducked their heads down. Then they grabbed each other with their arms and tails. Zukoya and Etopha where were on the outside close to the open hold had even called some of the wood from the floor they were sitting on to grab around their back. When the second hit occurred it was like nothing Elva had ever felt. The world erupted around her sounds and sensations she had never felt overwhelmed her senses. Looking through the gaps of the girls around her she could see most of the left side of the ship had disappeared. The ground and trees were rushing by as the wind howled into the hold. Time slowed down for her, and she felt like she was going to die and there was nothing she could do about it. The sounds shut off and she closed her eyes to block out the horrors they were seeing. After waiting for an indeterminate amount of time she opened her eyes again. She saw that everything was still going by the hole on the outside. As she watched with a macabre and detached mind she saw a young child slip out of the hole in the side. The head of the child hit a boulder and splattered sending the body cartwheeling through the hold. Her emotions had turned off at that point though she was unaware of it. She just thought ¡®It¡¯s not over yet. Let¡¯s close my eyes until it¡¯s over.¡¯ as she closed her eyes again. She tightened her grip on her sisters again as they all rode out the wreck. On some level she was aware that there was screaming going on and that the ship had once again hit the ground and was sliding and grinding and spinning and rolling it¡¯s way to a stop. Ender¡¯s shield over their head had started to flop around so she reached up and pressed it against the bottom of the stairs. This kept if from hitting her and gave her leverage to hold her position when the ship rolled over every now and then. Opening her eyes again she looked around as best she could. Sticking her head out of the group that was meshed together and holding on for dear life. Her mind had started processing things differently. Looking for threats when she saw multiple bodies flying towards them only to smack into floor and rebound of in another direction. She noticed debris flying around but most of it was blocked by the stairs or the motions of the ship. Nothing that looked like a threat though so it was discarded. Finally the ship ground to a halt laying on the left side where, what looked like, the entire side of the ship was missing. A pile of bodies was laying towards the back of the ship where a small portion of the wall might still be intact. The mass of bodies was moving but their status was unknown. As this crossed her mind she turned and looked at the rest of her group of siblings to see if there were any problems. Zakoya and Etopha seemed to be fine but were moving slowly. They seemed dazed but alive. Lisyth was growling and reaching towards her side where a small trickle of blood could be seen. Yanking a splinter out of her side as she grunted. Seeing this Elva asked ¡°Are you alright Lisyth?¡± ¡°I¡¯m fine just a scratch.¡± she said. Looking over at the last two Ethese was still lashed to Ender she didn¡¯t look to be any worse for wear but since she was unconscious from the start so it was hard to tell. Ender on the other hand looked to be unconscious as well now. She looked up to see that she was still pinning the shield to the stairs while thinking ¡®That explains why I had to hold this.¡¯ ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here and see if we can find our parents. Zakoya if you could make some stairs for us so that we can get out of here without falling. Etopha can you create some hand holds for the rest of us so that when she we start moving we don¡¯t just go sliding. Also Ender is unconscious attach him to the stairs like you did with yourselves to the floor.¡± Elva started to give out instructions. The girls worked at disentangling themselves. Zakoya turned around to survey where she should start placing hand and foot holds. As she surveyed the area she could see There were other people moving. Some had done like she had and attached themselves to the floor of the ship and had even attached their children to the floor as well. There were many people that did not have the wood affinity and did not have the benefit of securing themselves. ¡®It was truly fortunate that Ender had wanted to move under the stairs. I can only imagine what would have happened otherwise.¡¯ She thought to herself. Looking around some more she could see streaks of blood across the deck as well as large spots where it looked like some fruit had smashed on the floor. She made a ledge to stand on and looked back at the others asking if they were ready. Elva said ¡°Let¡¯s see if we can wake Ender up first. It would be easier if we don¡¯t have two people to carry.¡± Lisyth who was on Ender left started to shake him and she yelled his name. Etopha who was on his right side positioned herself and clapped her hands right next to his ear. When the clap sounded Endrian jerked a little and then slowly opened his eyes. Looking around he saw these strange lizard like monsters that look as big as he was. He could see them moving their mouths but he wasn¡¯t hearing anything. ¡°Whoa, I am tripping balls so hard right now.¡± He said to whoever was listening in english. Lisyth watched him start to wake up. It looked like he was speaking but what he said made no sense what so ever. Trying to get him to response she shouted at him ¡°Ender!!¡± He blinked groggily and looked at her. Then he blinked his eyes a few more times and seemed to come back from wherever he was. ¡°Are you okay?¡± Both Lisyth and Elva asked. ¡°What¡­¡± Endrian said. Looking around his brain was trying to focus and process everything. He held up a hand and closed his eyes for a moment. Shaking his head gently. He started to become aware of his body again. He could tell that his thoughts were hazy and guessed that he had a concussion of some sort. He could feel pain in his body but nothing felt seriously out of place. Done assessing his physical condition he said ¡°As well as can be expected. What happened?¡± Lisyth gave him a strange look ¡°We crashed.¡± she stated. ¡°I know that.¡± He said exasperatedly. ¡°What happened after. Is everyone alright? How long have I been out, uh¡­ unconscious?¡± While Lisyth had an expression of enlightenment and then followed quickly by one of embarrassment Elva said ¡°I have no idea how long you were unconscious, but we just came to a stop a short while ago and we are trying to get out of the ship now. Are you in good enough condition to carry Ethese with you while we get down from here?¡± ¡°Right now I have no clue. As soon as we start moving I should know. If it¡¯s not too hard I should be fine.¡± Endrian made these statements but the girls were unsure which one was true. Ah the joys of head trauma. What little filter and control he had of what came out of his mouth was gone, at least for right now. As they started making their way down from their position Zakoya could be heard saying ¡°Seriously why would someone bring along such a big fruit?¡± Hearing this Endrian was curious what she was talking about. He saw the large splatter area and then quickly moved to the side and puked. He had seen dead bodies before but those were just the bodies at a hospital morgue, nothing as gruesome as what he just saw. The small bone fragments that were visibly embedded in the wooden deck surrounded by meat and gore was just overwhelming to the senses. After he puked the girls were yelling at him and complaining. Wondering if he was alright. After he caught his breath and had closed his eyes for a second he could talk again. He then proceeded to tell them ¡°That¡¯s not from a fruit exploding on the deck.¡± Zakoya scoffed and said ¡°What do you mean it¡¯s not a fruit? It looks just like the insides of the red seeded fruit of divine sweetness.¡± Endrian shook his head still with his eyes closed as he tried to keep his gorge in check. ¡°No. It¡¯s what¡¯s left of one of the passengers.¡± ¡°What?! That¡¯s not even poss¡­.¡± Zakoya started to protest as she looked at the spot and as she started to pick out the details in the light that was available. She realized what it truly was. As soon as that realization hit her she threw up as well. This was quickly followed by the other girls as they examined the spot. While the light wasn¡¯t great being in the hold of the ship, there were a few stones that were embedded in the walls and support beams that were shedding light inside allowing people to see. Endrian had just noticed them when he was looking around. He had wondered how they could see so well inside the hold when there were no windows he guessed that since it wasn¡¯t necessary for his survival at the time he didn¡¯t make note of them. ¡°We should probably try to get one of those glowing stones for each of us. It will help us search for survivors and avoid injuring ourselves.¡± As he watched Zakoya and Etopha recover and start to make more footholds and handholds. It finally clicked in his head causing him to curse out loud again ¡°Shit!!¡± Everyone looked at him but he just shook his head. If he would have thought about it he could have asked the girls and anyone in the hold with a wood affinity to strap everyone down. Hindsight was a bitch! Sighing in his heart he put away his recriminations so that he could focus on what was needed now. They worked their way down to the ground. Finally arriving they could see the pile of people and bodies strewn across the ground and across the bottom of the hold. There were a number of people that were attached to the deck in certain areas. The horrors that they could see were too much to describe. To Endrian it looked like someone had set off a bomb the only difference was that there were no scorch marks anywhere.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°Let¡¯s get out of here for now. We can find a good defensible place and assess our options.¡± Endrian said this as he started to prioritize the things that were needed and the things wanted and the future possibilities. ¡°We need to help these people. Didn¡¯t you just say we needed to look for survivors?¡± Elva said while looking at Endrian in disbelief. ¡°You¡¯re right we do need to help these people and we will look for survivors, but not right now. What we need to do right now is make sure we can help them and not move them from one problem into another. We do not know where the horde of animals and beasts are, we do not know where to get water, we don¡¯t even know if our parents are still alive. I don¡¯t know about you but I don¡¯t have a clue which direction Ampleforth is in. If we move these people who is going to help them get better? Do we have supplies that will heal others?¡± He let his barrage of questions hang in the air. Letting the weight of their situation settle on these, all too young, girls. ¡°What we need to do is get to a secure location that we can survive in. Once we do that we can see about searching for other survivors. If our parents haven¡¯t found us in a few days then we can try find them or other adults that know the area. We also need to thoroughly check each other over to make sure there are no hidden injuries. Once we have ourselves and our position secured then we can come and look for survivors here and move them to a location that will not attract monsters.¡± ¡°Everything has an order to it. I want to help as many people as we can but we need to do things in the proper order. Find a safe place to rest. Make sure there are no critical injuries to any of us. Make sure we have access to water. We can hunt for food or forage while we search for others. Speaking of injuries was anyone injured during the crash?¡± Endrian listed out some objectives and then asked everyone. Lisyth responded ¡°I was injured but it wasn¡¯t bad.¡± ¡°Did you have someone look you over?¡± Endrain asked her with worry. He remembered watching a guy who wrecked his motorcycle. The guy had torn an inch wide and inch deep and more than six inches long gouge from his ankle to his calf. He was walking around like there wasn¡¯t a problem. Endrian didn¡¯t want to overlook a potential problem because the girls couldn¡¯t feel it. When Lisyth heard the question she shook her head. Endrian grabbed one of the light stones that he could get and wrenched it out of the wall then brought it over to examine her. When she pointed to where the injury was he could see a small wound as he looked around the area he found another piece of wood sticking out of her back. It looked like the piece that she took out had actually penetrated all the way through her body and she had only removed a portion of it. Still it was mostly a flesh wound but something that could and would be debilitating in a fight or an emergency. Looking over at Etopha he said ¡°I¡¯m going to need your help.¡± She gave him a questioning look but came over to see what was needed. When she arrived he told her before showing her ¡°You need to not freak out- uh, you need to keep control of your emotions. There is a piece of wood in her side. It needs to come out but we need to get it all out of her. Do you think you can do this?¡± Looking over at her sister Etopha¡¯s eyes got very big but she managed to keep from saying anything or from gasping. She could see the piece of wood sticking out of her sister back. The problem was that it was inside her sister¡¯s field of resistance so she couldn¡¯t just grab the wood and manipulate it with her elemental control. Shaking her head she explained that she couldn¡¯t do anything like that because of the resistance of her sister. ¡®Either way this is going to have to come out. If we leave it in there it¡¯s just going to turn septic and she may die so let¡¯s try an experiment.¡¯ He thought and then he explained to her ¡°Okay we are going to try something. It may not work but if it does it will be a big help. Lisyth there is still a piece of wood in you-¡± ¡°What!!!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°Get it out!¡± ¡°I know but I would rather have your sister help with her wood affinity. If we leave even the smallest piece in you it could make you very sick or you could die.¡± As he said it he realized he was talking to a child and regretted not filtering his thoughts better. ¡°I need to you to listen to me. We are going to get this out of you so I want you to calm down. Focus on what I am saying. Do you trust your sister?¡± He asked her as he tried to regain control of the situation before emotions took over. ¡°Of course I do.¡± Lisyth responded. ¡°She would never try to hurt you intentionally, right?¡± Seeing Lisyth shake her head Endrian continued. ¡°I want you to think about how much you trust her. Focus on letting her do what is needed so that she can help you.¡± Keep concentrating on that until I tell you to stop. When he said that Lisyth was thinking about how their birth mother trained them as a team to work together and fight together and to always watch out for each other. Endrian then leaned over and started to whisper in Etopha¡¯s ear ¡°I want you to grab the wood and try and control it like you usually do. Try and feel for any wood inside the wound and once you have it pull it all out. Make sure you have control with your affinity and then reduce the size so that it comes out without hurting her any more than necessary.¡± Etopha looked at Endrian then looked at her sister and then she moved over and touched the wood with her fingers. Closing her eyes in concentration she tried to grab the wood like she would normally extending her thoughts and feelings so that she could touch the wood with her feelings. She was focused on this and her senses gradually started to get a hold of the wood and then she pulled telling the wood to thin out and become one piece. It slid out easily and cleanly. It was so smooth that Lisyth didn¡¯t even flinch. ¡°Lisyth you can stop thinking about how much you trust your sister now.¡± Endrian spoke out. ¡°That¡¯s it? Are you going to get the piece of wood out of me now?¡± She asked. ¡°It¡¯s already out.¡± He said with a smile and then turned to talk with Elva who was staring at the whole thing in surprise. ¡°We need to pair up and check each other out make sure there are no hidden injuries. You, me and Ethese can be one group Zakoya, Etopha and Lisyth can be the other. Look for any blood on their clothes and if they say someplace hurts check it out for any form of discoloration.¡± After he said that he was thinking about the rules of survival in zombieland again. Rule number 9 the buddy system. ¡°How do you know all of this?¡± Elva asked in both shock and awe. Endrian was a little stunned as he felt these things were common sense but then he realized that it was only common sense from his old world. Quickly thinking up something he blurted out ¡°I read it in a book. Look it doesn¡¯t matter where I know it from we just need to keep moving and get to safety.¡± While he was saying this he was ripping up his last remaining workout shirt to make a wrapping for Lisyth. The others quickly checked each other over and found that there were no other major issues. ¡°Okay let¡¯s get moving. We should get away from the crash site but keep it close enough that we can watch for others. We also need to find water.¡± ¡°Shouldn¡¯t we go look for our parents?¡± Etopha asked. Elva looked at Endrian to see what he was going to say. Taking his que from Elva he said ¡°No. Going to look for them while they look for us and we could both miss each other. The crash site is easy to find and they will surely come here to look for us.¡± He rounded out his statement with a thought that he managed to keep to himself which was, ¡®At least if they can.¡¯ ¡°So if we stay close we will see other survivors and if our parents come here we should be able to find them.¡± Endrian looked at Elva and said ¡°You have the most experience foraging in the forest. This probably isn¡¯t the same area where you normally go but we will have to rely on you to help guide us through here.¡± After saying this Elva seemed to swell with pride a little as she took over. ¡°Zakoya open a hole in the ship so we can get out of here then fall back into the pocket. Etopha, Lisyth, form up on me. Make sure to watch my sides and protect Zakoya.¡± Elva barked as she prepared to take the lead. While she didn¡¯t have the armor her mother had she did have a large shield and a smaller version of the bearded battle axe her mother had. Etopha and Lisyth were on Elva¡¯s left and right respectively. Lisyth had a sword that was two thirds as tall as she was and was as wide as her arm. It had a longer grip so that she could use it one handed or two handed. Etopha had a long spear that was actually taller than her at two meters in length. It had a little tassle just behind the spear head with a couple of feathers hanging from it. Zakoya touched the wood of the ship and a doorway opened in front of her. It was night but the forest was alight with different glowing patches. After looking around they could see no signs of any monsters or actually pretty much anything. They stepped out of cover and started walking for the tree line. Endrian took up the rear guard position but since he was in his transformed state he had to carry Ethese in front of him and it was much more difficult. He still had his shield strapped to his arm but both hands were holding Ethese. It¡¯s a good thing body strengthening was inherent to the absorption of mana. Otherwise he wouldn¡¯t be able to carry her at all. That said he still wouldn¡¯t last long. The moved their way into the forest, before they completely left the crash site they looked back to see the ship in all it¡¯s destroyed glory. The left side or port side of the ship was almost entirely gone. Either shattered or sanded down. Boulders and trees stuck out of the hull from all sides. The top of the ship, the main deck, was completely empty save for the spots of discoloration which Endrian assumed were blood. Whether it was the defenders or the attackers he couldn¡¯t tell. The railing was cracked or broken in many places. The steering wheel or helm on the quarterdeck was completely gone. The wings on the side were nowhere to be seen and the steering fin on the back was missing along with the side of the ship that it was attached to. Looking behind the ship a meandering swath of destruction could be seen cutting through the thick jungle foliage. On this path were shadowed lumps. Some were moving most were not. Be they bits of the ship or bits of people was unclear. It was very eerie in it¡¯s quiet. There were some muffled groans that could just barely be heard but Endrian chose to ignore them for now. Unsure of the mentality of the survivors and unwilling to risk his siblings on the chance that they don¡¯t go crazy from the loss or whatever they suffered. Turning away from the shadowed scene of destruction he followed behind the girls as they made their way into the forest to find a safe location where they could monitor the ship and watch for other survivors. Hopefully they would have the chance to help others soon. As Endrian thought about helping others he was forced to look at his own strength and at that time he truly understood that mercy and compassion, while given to the weak, were a luxury of the strong. With their current strength it would only take one person not in their right mind to kill one or all of them, at least if they weren¡¯t careful. To Endrian the lives of his sisters and himself were more important than the lives of others. His other concern that he hadn¡¯t voiced was what would happen if they take too long to rescue us. What will happen to Ethese when she wakes up in the wild, without her parents? Chapter 10 - Survivors Endrian and his sisters walked into the forest that was alight with different colors. It was beautiful and amazing. Endrian stared at the glowing colors on the leaves and bushes but he was not sure what spectrum the light was shining in. Based on his experience so far, probably somewhere outside the normal human range. He also noted that the night appeared to be much brighter on this world. On his old world at night when a full moon was out it was still very easy to see but it was nothing compared to what he was seeing now. However, this did make it much easier to see and this lined up better with his needs currently. It was also possible his eyes had improved to a much greater degree than he had realized after the awakening. This was his first chance that he has had to put them to the test outside so he did not have sufficient data to make a comparison. As he drank in his surroundings, the sounds of the forest started to permeate his ears. The smell of the lush wilderness wafted into his nose reminding him of times when he would go camping for a week or more on his previous world. There he would live off the land and surviving on his own. Those memories brought a smile to his face. However, although it was familiar there were also stark differences that contrasted with his memories. He could pick up the acrid smell of fear slightly coming from his siblings. The sounds were also unlike anything he had ever heard before. There could hear what sounded like different animals calling out to each other. Every now and then the sounds of crashing, like a limb falling off a tree, could be heard. It was often followed by some animal roaring. Deep thrumming rumbles and high pitched screeches crashed on his hearing, and the visuals. Violets and purples with some dark blues glowing and matte black or grey provided a contrast which allowed them a detailed view of the trees and shrubbery around them. Every now and again he could see movement and when he would look he could see some type of small life form. Many had the ability to bioluminesce, and the patterns that showed would allow them to blend into the surroundings. He had seen many things in his previous life and some crazy things in his new life, but this was the first time he could understand what the phrase ¡®awe inspiring¡¯ really meant. Unfortunately this experience for him was also a life and death situation and he wouldn¡¯t be able to take the time to study everything in detail. Sighing to himself at the dire nature of their current situation he focused back on the girls moving ahead of him. He tried to whistle at them, an old habit he had developed with his previous life¡¯s father. He was going to whistle to get the attention of his sisters but being in his fighting form meant he literally had lizard lips. Which made it hard to control and the sound that came out of his mouth was like the sound you would make when blowing out candles. The girls stopped and looked back at him incredulously. While he was slightly embarrassed at his inability to whistle it still got the job done. Shrugging to himself internally, he whispered to the girls ¡°Let¡¯s keep within 500 paces of the crash. I think that will keep us far away enough so that we have time to react to any situations that may come up but close enough that we can keep an eye out for our parents. If we can find shelter with water even better.¡± ¡°Why are you giving the orders? Elva¡¯s the one in charge.¡± Lisyth asked no keeping her voice quiet. ¡°Quietly¡± Elva whispered harshly to Lisyth. Then she turned and looked at Endrian again waiting for his answer. ¡°I¡¯m just stating what I think is in the best interest of everyone so that we can all survive. If anyone has a better idea I would be happy to hear it.¡± Endrian whispered back. Elva nodded and started moving again, this time angling so as to keep the crash site at a constant distance. She was the most clear on not being overly proud of her position. There were many times when she was out with her mothers and Shyael or Ratrece, even Allyce had taken command of the group. She had asked her mother about this when it happened and was told it was because they had a better understanding of the situation. Working in concert with the other women to support the group as a whole. Even though she had a lot of questions for little Ender she was still aware that now was not the time for it. It wasn¡¯t much longer after they adjusted their course that they came across a ravine that looked to be about three or four meters tall. The other side was at least five meters away and the sides were covered in a damp looking moss. There appeared to be no safe way for them to all get to the bottom, at least with the need for someone to carry Ethese. Standing close to the edge Endrian and Elva could hear the sounds of a creek flowing and both of them looked happy. Zakoya had an idea of what she was hearing, but it hadn¡¯t clicked yet. Ratrece¡¯s daughters on the other hand didn¡¯t have a clue. ¡°We are going to have to be more vigilant for the next portion of the trip.¡± Elva said this quietly cautioning the others. ¡°Let¡¯s head up the hill. There should be an area ahead where we can get down. Then we will be able to see about finding a place to make camp.¡± After a short hike and a few scares they were able to find an area that looked like they would be able to get down. It was an area that looked like the rain water from the hill they were on collected and ran off here. This had caused erosion of the soil creating a kind of steep, poorly planned, ramp. There were also large boulders strewn from the hill down the path of the water run off. Making their way down this ramp they were able to see a decent sized stream when they got to the bottom. It was clear and shallow and all of them took a short moment to get a quick drink. Elva kept things disciplined and had everyone take turns to get a drink while the others watched over them. This was also a much needed break from Endrian as he had been carrying Ethese for the past, what he guessed was, 30 minutes of hiking. While also having his nerves taut as the moved through unknown areas. Moving up the ravine they followed the stream back to it¡¯s source. Where they eventually came to a cave. The cave mouth was at least 10 meters tall but despite that was not easily visible. The way the stream meandered and cut back on itself coupled the amount of trees and bushes growing nearby made it impossible to be seen if they didn¡¯t follow the stream all the way to the entrance. When they saw the cave they all revealed happy expressions. Thinking they had found the end of their current journey. After entering the cave they could see the floor was covered by the flowing water that filled the stream. There was a semi-dry patch on either side of the stream inside the cave. The dry area was like a moist and wet clay making it difficult to walk easily. Before they walked very deep into the cave they could see a natural land bridge above them. It was about 2 to 3 meters off the ground. Seeing that it was dry and out of the way Elva decided that this area was going to be their place to rest and set up camp. After struggling to get Ethese up from the ground they were all exhausted. Taking a moment while everyone was laying out their bedrolls Evla spoke up ¡°We will need to have at least one person to keep watch, so we will go in shifts. Normally we would use the moons to tell when it was time to change shifts, but since we can¡¯t do that here then we two options. First option is to stay awake until you can¡¯t take it anymore and then wake up the next person. Second we can collect firewood and build a small fire to help keep us warm. We will switch every time the fire burns down.¡± It had been a long and exhausting as well as emotional night, so the girls overwhelmingly opted for the first choice. They just wanted to go to sleep. Endrian could sympathize with them but when he thought about the many times he had been camping and the few times that he had put off what needed to be done because he was exhausted or lazy and how much he hated it the next day he spoke up saying ¡°As bad as this sounds we should probably go collect firewood and build a fire. Putting off what needs to be done for later only leads to more troubles. We will need it in the morning to cook some food or at the very least boil some water.¡± ¡°While you may be right and we should go collect wood. I think all of us just want to sleep and deal with everything in the morning.¡± Elva said this to Endrian making her position clear. Endrian might be right but he was overruled by everyone else. ¡°We need to set the order so that the person on guard knows who to wake.¡± After some quick discussion the order was decided. Endrian took first watch, then Zakoya, next was Evla, then Etopha and finally Lisyth. With the watch order decided the girls settled in for the night. Fortunately Elva still had her sister¡¯s sleep roll so the issue of where Ethese would be sleeping never came up. Endrian pondered everything that happened in such a short amount of time. He hoped that his parents were able to survive the crash. Deciding that thinking about things he had no control over was a waste of time he started to cultivate. He kept a part of his awareness focused on sounds so as not to be neglectful in his duties. Visualizing the mana in the air he felt that there was a much larger portion of the mana that was earth based as well as water and air. Not too surprising considering where they were but it did answer one of the questions he had. Though it wasn¡¯t a true validation it did lend itself to his hypothesis that mana affinities tend to exist in areas that match said affinities. After an indeterminate amount of time Endrian was getting ready to finish up and go wake Zakoya when in his mana sense he found something moving. He looked at it and tried to visualize it stopping but that apparently had no effect on it. It was like an empty hole in the mana. Wondering what would have this effect on the ambient mana like that he opened his eyes and got up to go see if there was something moving in the direction he had sensed. At first he couldn¡¯t see anything. After he watched quietly for a few moments he noticed a shadow moving over the stone. Standing up he took a light stone from his pack in his shield hand and grabbed his spear while moving towards the area where he saw the shadow. When he got closer the shadow shifted and turned towards Endrian. Moving cautiously he held the light stone higher so that he would be able to see what it was. He found something he had never seen before. Even with all of the reading of the different animals that existed in the forest, at least close to his village, he hadn¡¯t even read about anything like this. It was small maybe the size of a freshly weaned kitten. From what he could see in the light it had grey fur with violet spots on it in various places. It had six legs four legs were at the front and the other two were at the rear. It¡¯s ears were shaped like a candle flame and swiveled back and forth listening to the sounds around it. On it¡¯s back were two wings that were folded up but were the length of it¡¯s entire back. While Endrian was observing this baby beast it squeak meowed at him.This tale has been unlawfully lifted without the author''s consent. Report any appearances on Amazon. Endrian¡¯s heart melted he thought this was possibly the cutest thing he had seen on this planet. Endrian loved most animals especially of the furry variety. He thought to himself ¡®Now if it doesn¡¯t try to eat my face I am so keeping it. It¡¯s always amusing how reason goes out the window in the face of beauty and cuteness.¡¯ Endrian squatted down and held out his hand to it to try and coax it closer and to see how it would react. When he squatted down it seemed to perk up. However, about a second later it laid its ears back and hissed. Then turned and ran away while periodically stopping and looking back. Endrian stood up feeling disappointed that he couldn¡¯t indulge in the cuteness he found but if he ever got the chance he would look for something like this again. He definitely wanted to know more about this animal and see if it was possible to domesticate it. As he started to turn around to head back to his sleep role and continue his watch a heavy weight hit his back and knocked him off his feet. It felt like a small boulder had hit him. As he was struck he shouted out in surprise. Unsure what was going on he was initially somewhat stunned until he felt some pressure on his neck area. Without thinking he flared his wings to push whatever was on him away. At the same time shouting ¡°WAKE!!¡± in case there were other things like this stalking the sleeping girls. He had been knocked to his hands and knees during the initial impact. Moving his head around he could see a long hairy and thin leg wrapped over his arm, and then he completely freaked out. Without any thought to the consequences he started trying to shake what he assumed was a ridiculously large spider off his back. After about a single second when it didn¡¯t come off he turned, ran, and jumped off the land bridge towards the stream. As he jumped off it had let go of him, but it was too late the momentum carried both Endrian and his attacker over the edge of the natural land bridge. They hit the water it was shockingly cold, it also wasn¡¯t very deep and it did very little to slow their momentum before they hit the bottom and bounced up. Endrian¡¯s head was briefly submerged and when he broke the surface again he turned to find where his attacker was. Unfortunately he had lost the light stone when he hit the bottom and couldn¡¯t see very well. Flexing his wings quickly there was a slight twinge in his right wing that felt like a bad bruise but other than that everything was fine. There was no resistance when he did that so it was safe to assume it wasn¡¯t on his back any more. Standing up in the thigh deep water he still had his shield and spear so he got into a defensive stance. Creeping his way out of the stream and looking around he moved back to the location they had climbed up before. At the same time he heard some of the girls shriek. Not seeing any threats where he was he quickly held his spear in his shield hand and one handedly climbed back up. When he got up there he found the girls had surrounded something up there as well. He couldn¡¯t get a good look at it until he got closer. What he saw was a spider like beast. It¡¯s body structure was remarkably similar to the brown recluse spider from his previous world except for the fact that it was a meter long from fangs to the end of it¡¯s abdomen. The girls had done well, one side of the legs and been hacked off. There were a couple of arrows that had pierced the upper part of the abdomen more than likely hitting it¡¯s heart. Endrian was thoroughly creeped out. He didn¡¯t have a phobia of spiders per say, but his feelings towards them was probably only a step or two away from full blown phobia. The girls seeing him come over asked what had happened. After explaining everything Elva went over and examined his neck but she couldn¡¯t find any puncture wounds so she felt relieved. Endrian knew from his reading that this beast was called a Parrena. These spiders were usually solitary and would only mate once a year for about a month at a time. So they just happened to have the bad luck to run into a Parrena nest during their mating season. Most animals knew to stay clear of these areas because the female would often live in a single location permanently with males coming and going as they would. Elva was slightly disappointed because the poison glands of these creatures could be sold for a good price. Unfortunately they didn¡¯t have anything to store the venom sacs with. The Parrena itself wasn¡¯t particularly dangerous but they were hard to find. They were also very crafty and would never show themselves when more dangerous groups came around their territory. These reasons were why the venom sacs were worth a good amount of money. Still they could sell the location to some hunter groups later and possibly make a few coins for the family. Other than this incident the rest of the night went by smoothly. Endrian, however, had a hard time sleeping and as soon as he would start to drop off he would wake up with a start. After a few times of just getting to sleep and then waking up, because he thought he felt a spider on him, made him give up on sleeping. So he decided to see if he could find that cat creature again. However, he never found the cat like creature again and couldn¡¯t even find any traces of it either, which was disappointing as well. Overall he had a crappy night. So the next morning he was grumpy and irritable. This also left the girls at a loss for how to deal with him. If they said something that was against what he wanted to do he would automatically twist it around on them asking if he was too inferior to do whatever task he was going to do. Etopha had said to him that it was a given that he was inferior. She said that one time and when she said this because of his irritable mood he snapped. Moving quickly he shoulder checked her while his tail wrapping around her ankle. Before she knew what hit her she was looking up at him from the flat of her back with a spear pressed against her throat. These were the same moves that Endrian had used in practice with the others. Etopha, though, had never seen him use it before because of she had been training with her mother for the past two years. She had rarely seen him during this time except when eating. While these moves weren¡¯t anything new to Elva or Zakoya it was the first time they had seen that level of ferocity. After that incident all the girls just left him alone. Endrian was also rather upset with himself for letting the situation and the taunting of a child goad him like this. This made him realize that there was a serious problem with his mentality right now. This made him decide to just stay in the cave and watch over Ethese while he figured things out. He decided to meditate and try to calm his surging emotions. As he started his meditation he was examining his responses and actions. Through this examination he realized that his emotions felt much more pronounced for some reason. Thinking to here he thought this was the first time he had stayed in the form for such a long time, and the last time he was in this form for any length of time he had freaked out then too. So that means that either his emotions run stronger or his higher brain functions don¡¯t work as well while in his fighting form. More instinct and emotion than thought and control. This then lead him to his next question which was: is it like this because he was young, male, or were there other factors. Unfortunately for him he didn¡¯t have enough information to even make a guess right now. When he had finally calmed himself down he went and apologized to the girls and specifically Etopha for letting his emotions get the better of him. The girls were just happy that he was back to his old self or at least closer to his old self. So they accepted his apology with little anger. After that they spent the day scouting the crash site. Setting some traps and collecting food, both foraged fruits and vegetables as well as some animals that they had hunted. Endrian and one of the girls had to always stay at the site to watch over Ethese. When they brought back things they would often show them to Endrian to make sure that they got something edible. If he didn¡¯t know what it was they discarded it. They had also successfully hunted a aplefrean. This was a deer like creature that had a coat that could change colors to blend in with the surroundings. It was a highly prized catch. When they brought it back Endrian helped them field dress it so that they could cook and store the meat. After lunch they finished cleaning the hide as best they could and then the girls set out once again to go scout the ship. They hadn¡¯t looked for any survivors yet but this trip they were going to go take a look in the ship and see if there was anyone they could save. They had food, shelter and a relatively secure location. It was time to help others if they could. Endrian and Zakoya stayed at camp this time while the rest went out. Elva and the other girls had made this trip multiple times just today as they scouted the area for dangerous or predatory animals. As well as to hunt for food and see if there was any movement at the ship. They hadn¡¯t seen any movement earlier and it had been eerily quiet every time they had come by. Coming to the edge of the treeline Elva signaled everyone to halt. They took a moment to look and listen. This was to make sure everything was safe before stepping out into the open. Elva couldn¡¯t hear anything so she looked at Lisyth and Etopha who both shook their heads no as well. Double checking her weapons, she made sure the others were ready as well and then started to move out. Trusting her sisters to watch over her. As they moved forward towards the wreck Elva realized that she actually preferred it when Ender was with them. He would make decisions that he had put thought and consideration into, it also made him responsible for the results and it was honestly easier to just follow along when someone made decisions which had so far turned out to be very helpful. Getting rid of the stray thoughts Elva focused as they picked up the pace and started jogging closer. There was still no sounds or movements that could be seen or heard. The arched doorway that Zakoya had made was still there. It was left because Endrian had said it would let others get out if they wished and couldn¡¯t manipulate wood. Drawing closer they slowed their pace and listened. There was still no sounds coming from inside. However, the stench that was in the air was enough for them to gag. Panting and then taking a deep breath Elva looked inside the hold. There were dead bodies that she didn¡¯t look at and there was gore splattered on the inside but there were no people that she could see. She did see that there were new hand and foot holds on the slanted floor other than the ones that were put there when they escaped. So she could assume that there were some people that got out. Realizing she was at the end of her breath she rushed out and started to pant heavily again. She was both happy and very worried. While she didn¡¯t feel like she had the ability to dig through the corpses to see if anyone had survived there and to perform a count of the dead she was pretty sure that every living person that was able to, had left. Unsure of what this meant she looked at the other two girls with her. They both had a worried expression on their face as well. Did they miss being rescued by running from the ship? Were they going to have to live out here on their own? Before they had a chance to really let their worries get the best of them Elva said ¡°Let¡¯s go back and talk with the others about this and see what they have to say.¡± They quickly made their way back to the others and told them what had happened. Endrian looked down and was thinking. Going through the different scenarios but there was too many options and not enough information to give a clear picture. So he asked if any of the girls were skilled in tracking. Zakoya said she was and Elva said that she had some training in it as well. Endrian was pretty good at it as well though he hadn¡¯t practiced it for a few years even before he came to this new life. Still he felt it best to go along to see, after all three sets of trained eyes are better than two or untrained eyes damaging what you¡¯re looking for. So the three of them made a trip back to the wrecked ship to have a look and see if there was anything that would let them know where the others had gone. Chapter 11 - Search and Rescue Endrian, Elva, and Zakoya arrived at the ship after just a few short minutes by Endrian¡¯s reckoning. As they looked around the area where they had made their escape there were obvious signs that other people had made it out and in some cases it looked like they were dragging others. Seeing the direction of the trail it looks like when the people came out they followed the same path as Endrian and his siblings from the night before. Now that they had a clear path to track Endrian decided to be thorough and do a sweep of the ship. So he moved to the entrance that Zakoya had created and yelled inside. ¡°Is there anyone here? Hello?¡± He waited for a few seconds but didn¡¯t hear any movement or any response. Taking a deep breath he moved inside. The stench of death and decay that lingered in the air were overwhelming. Even holding his breath he felt like the smell was saturating into his very pores. He looked over at the pile of bodies at the aft portion of the ship, well it wasn¡¯t really a pile of bodies more like ground meat. He had the thought of sorting through the dead to get a head count, see if there was anything salvageable that would help them survive, and then bury them. Every time he looked at the pile, however, he could feel his guts clench. Like it was rejecting what he was seeing. It felt like there was an absence of something that made it feel wrong. He thought that after seeing so much death and gore on TV shows and movies from his previous life he would be inured to this kind of feeling. He had even seen dead bodies in his previous life as well, but now that he was here and could look at everything calmly he realized that reality often times differed from expectations. He couldn¡¯t even take a step closer to the pile without his body feeling physically ill. Giving up on the thought of doing anything with the bodies he was able to start looking around. He moved through the hold taking a breath only when he absolutely had to. He found a few more bedrolls and personal belongings. He grabbed all of the packs and bedrolls that he could find. He also found a storage area where there were goods including a shipment of their families recurve bows. Unfortunately pretty much everything was damaged or destroyed. He was able to find some arrows that were still usable and actually found a bow that was still sound. There were some smoked meats that were still wrapped in their protective plant leafs. He grabbed those as well. Heading to the upper deck he had to be more careful how he moved about as there were a lot less places to get a hand or foot hold. He moved to the door under the quarterdeck which should lead to the captain¡¯s cabin. He figured their best chance at getting a map of the area would be here. There may also be some other goods in there that could be helpful to them now or in the future. He spent a few minutes searching and did find a map of the area. He also found a nice diamond about the size of his fist which he couldn¡¯t help but grab. If he and his siblings were orphaned this would go a long way in helping them. Before he got to do a more thorough search of the cabin he could hear Elva calling out to him. Coming out of the captain¡¯s cabin he said ¡°What¡¯s up?¡± Elva gave him a quizzical look before saying ¡°Do you feel the shaking?¡± Shaking his head no at first, Endrian then thought of something. He slid down the deck of the ship to the railing and then quickly hopped down from the ship. As soon as he landed he laid down and put his ear to the ground. When he did he could feel a slight tremor. On top of that he could hear a faint rumbling sound. A surge of fear and adrenaline went coursing through his body. Jumping up he said ¡°We need to leave. Now!¡± and without giving the girls a chance to ask any questions he took off. He wasn¡¯t sprinting but he was running at a fast pace. Surprised, the girls looked at each other and then took off after him. When they caught up Elva asked ¡°What¡¯s the matter with you?¡± Endrian glanced at them and said ¡°I¡¯m pretty sure the beast horde is here. I don¡¯t know how far we got from the village but it seems they have caught up with us. We need to hurry.¡± After saying this he focused on his breathing so that it matched his pace and then started to pick up speed. When the girls heard this they were both startled as well and hastened to keep up with Endrian. Even as fast as they were running the rumble in the distance continued to grow while the shaking increased. It felt like a continuous earthquake that just wouldn¡¯t stop. In a few moments they had made it back to the ravine. Moving quickly Endrian started to make precise jumps to move down the ramp area. Unfortunately he still wasn¡¯t as comfortable in his fighting form as in his human body, and coupled with the additional packs he was carrying he miscalculated where his foot would land causing him to slip and fall. He landed hard, all he could do was take the hit and roll with it. He felt his shield arm twist when he went down. As he attempted to roll with it he was able to finally get his feet back under him. He could tell that he had wrenched his arm pretty bad by the throbbing he felt in his shoulder. However, he didn¡¯t let it stop him. When given the choice of a hurt arm or being trampled to death by wild animals he would take the injured arm. The two girls caught up with him at the bottom of the ramp and were going to check him over but he just kept on running. They followed after him as quickly as they could and had just made it to the cave mouth when the first of the animals started to course through the trees around them. They hurried inside and moved to climb up to the bridge. Etopha and Lisyth both yelled at Endrian¡¯s group wondering what was going on. Endrian said nothing but Zakoya let them know shouting ¡°Beast Horde.¡± Endrian climbed up using one hand again not trusting his injured arm to hold him right now. A few wild animals were running into the cave under the trio. When they finally made it to the top Endrian told Etopha and Lisyth to bring Ethese with them and to gather at the ledge next to the wall of the cave. When everyone was gathered he moved the girls close to the wall and placed himself in front of them so that he could use his shield to protect them if necessary. Elva matched him and placed herself by his side with her shield to help protect everyone. There were a few flying birds that had flown into the cave and would have hit the group if not for Endrian and Evla blocking them. Fortunately the birds didn¡¯t really attack them rather after being deflected away they just kept on going. At this point with everyone huddled around the wall of the cave started to shift. A slab as tall as Endrian extended out for additional protection. Endrian was startled when this first happened but quickly realized that it was slow moving and not a threat. He then made the assumption that it was Lisyth trying to help protect everyone. He and Elva adjusted their positions to take advantage of the additional cover the new wall provided. After making the adjustments Endrian asked without looking back ¡°Can you block off the cave entrance?¡± Lisyth responded ¡°No. It is far too big. The most I can do is cover part of our group.¡± Nodding his head to acknowledge that he had heard her he continued to focus on the incoming beasts. So far most of them were just basic animals and there were not any Tier 1 or higher beasts mixed in. Looking out of the cave they could see that the majority of the animals that were running were avoiding the cave and streaming from right to left in front of the mouth. They spent the rest of the day fending off the stray beasts that would wander into the cave. Endrian was unsure why but the beasts that were running seemed to be much more dispersed than when he saw them from the ship. He could only guess that the distance from the source of their flight was far enough that they had started to spread out. Even though that was the case the stream of beasts didn¡¯t dissipate until the sun started to set and shadows had lengthened. Throughout the day Endrian and his sisters had seen some amazing animals. There were ones that were like monkeys swinging through the trees, there were wolf and dog like beasts that ran in groups. There were rabbits and raccoons and pretty much any type of animal you could think of. There were birds and bats and flying lizards and even flying snakes. One of the more exotic animals that Endrian had seen was a field mouse looking group of beasts that were swimming through the ground. They would launch up like they were dolphins and then dive under the ground and then come up again a few meters from their previous position. This was both beautiful and terrifying because it looked amazing but both Endrian and Zakoya took some pretty hard hits as these little beast suddenly appeared out of the wall right next to them. They must have been Tier 1 beasts because they sliced through Endrian¡¯s scales like a hot knife through butter. Zakoya had taking a large cut across her stomach fortunately she had been able to dodge the direct hit or she would have had a hole through her body. Endrian took his attack on the right shoulder and across his back even slicing at the anchor point for one of his wings. He would have loved to have killed it or even taken a swing at it, but it was moving so fast that by the time he registered it was there it was gone. They were all thankful that this was all that happened though. After that they had switched positions again with everyone adding space between them and the wall. Elva also moved positions to place herself between the group and the wall. This was because she had the largest shield and it would take her less time to react to incoming threats than Endrian. Not to mention that both of Endrian¡¯s arms were injured now and his reactions were slowing down. Lisyth worked at building up more of a stone defense between the group and the mouth of the cave. Endrian watched and covered for the rest moving to where he was most needed at the time. There was maybe an hour of light left when the torrent of animals finally died down. The destruction of the woods was breathtaking. The trees had been stripped and many of them uprooted. The grass and bushes were trampled into nothing leaving a large swath of barren land behind. The short ravine walls close to the cave were only about one meter tall originally but were beaten into an almost smooth ramp on both sides. Endrian and Zakoya had their wounds bandaged and everyone settled down to eat and relax. Pulling out some of the smoked meats Endrian made sure everyone got their fill. Opting to go without a fire tonight in case there were any dangerous stragglers to the horde that had just passed through. ¡°So what all did you find in your search of the ship?¡± Elva asked Endrian after everyone had eaten their fill. ¡°Not a whole lot. I found a number of bags and personal belongings such as bedrolls and clothes. I haven¡¯t gone through the packs at this point so I¡¯m not sure if there is more there. I was able to find a map so if it comes down to it we can hike our way back to civilization.¡± He said this and was going to continue but was interrupted by Elva. ¡°That¡¯s great!! Now we won¡¯t be lost forever!¡± She exclaimed excitedly. Zakoya was also visibly excited by this news. Reaching into his pack he also pulled out the diamond he had found. ¡°I also found this gem which we could probably sell for some money to help us recover. Everyone like precious gems right?¡± ¡°AH!! That¡¯s not a gem that¡¯s a communication crystal!!!¡± Elva yelled. ¡°We¡¯re saved!¡± Literally jumping up and down in her excitement. Endrian was shocked at first which quickly turned to excitement as well. Elva snatched it out of his hands and had a look of concentration on her face as she used her internal mana to turn the crystal on. It was just a short couple of seconds before they heard a voice in the air. ¡°Trade ship Blushing Volunteer, this is base controller number 2-3, please report your status.¡± ¡°Oh thank god. Please help us. We have crashed and are lost.¡± Elva started to talk excitedly relief and happiness filling her every word and action. ¡°What¡¯s this? Where¡¯s captain Suzu? Who are you? What¡¯s happened?¡± the person started to respond in a chaotic and demanding way. Endrian watched and could see that this made Elva flustered. Stepping up to his sister and placing a hand on her shoulder he asked her ¡°If I talk will they hear me?¡± Elva nodded at the same time as the person responded ¡°Of course we will hear you. What kind of dumb question is that?¡± Endrian smiled at Elva to reassure her and started talking ¡°My name is Endrian. I am the son of Davian and Allyce. We are from the village Landow. The village was overrun by a beast horde. Most of the villagers, if not all, were able to make it out on the merchant ship. However, on the journey the ship was attacked and crashed. I don¡¯t have the specifics of our location at this time but I should be able to find it shortly. There are currently six survivors of the crash that we know of. There may be others but we haven¡¯t found them yet. We were in the hold when the crash occurred so we aren¡¯t able to speak to what caused the crash but we can assume that all the crew and people topside were thrown off the ship when we hit something and started spinning. There is no sign of the crew or her captain or any of the adults who were fighting above the hold. We have been crashed for nearly a day at this point. We have also just passed through the beast horde that ravaged our village. It appears to have thinned out some but there are still a large amount of beasts running together. We have a couple of minor injuries in our group but nothing life threatening.¡± After saying all this he paused and waited for a response. For a few seconds there was silence on the other end. Just when Endrian was becoming concerned that the other person was no longer there he heard a different voice come through the communication crystal saying ¡°Thank you for giving us this information Endrian. We will pass this on to the appropriate people. Please keep this crystal on you at all times. Someone will contact you for further details. Try to have your location determined by the time they contact you.¡± Sighing Endrian felt a tension he didn¡¯t know he had suddenly leave him. Sitting down and then flopping back he twitched and jumped as his tail got in the way and then he scrapped the bandaged wounds. Giving up on expressing his relief physically he sat up happy and at the same time a little miffed. His sisters were visibly excited. Some sitting and smiling others crying and hugging each other. ¡°Alright before it gets too dark let¡¯s take the map and figure out where we are. We will need to look for landmarks so I can get my bearing.¡± Endrian reminded them. ¡°Here, give me the map and I¡¯ll take care of it. Plus you¡¯re injured so you need to rest.¡± Elva said. Endrian gave her a somewhat dubious look. ¡°Do you know how to read a map and how to find landmarks?¡± ¡°No but it can¡¯t be too hard. Just explain it to me.¡± She replied to him. Endrian sighed and shook his head. He could tell that she was excited and wanted to prove that she was capable of taking control and now that she felt it was safe she wanted to reassert herself. ¡°Elva I know that you are relieved that help will be on the way but until we arrive at Ampleforth we still need to survive here. If you don¡¯t know how to do something then let someone who does handle it.¡± ¡°You know how to read a map? That reminds me I have some questions for you. How-¡± she started to unleash her pent up questions but Endrian cut her off. ¡°We still need to hurry before we run out of light. The longer we take the longer it will take them to rescue us. Ethese only has a day left at most before she wakes.¡± Endrian reasoned with her. At the same time he pulled on his shield again and prepared for the journey.Find this and other great novels on the author''s preferred platform. Support original creators! Hearing what Endrian had said snapped her out of her good mood and also made her realize that they weren¡¯t saved yet. So she pushed down her questions and her feelings of irritation so that the could move forward. She did, however, say ¡°Okay Ender. You, me and Etopha will head out. Zakoya needs to rest and Lisyth is best suited to help defend here in the cave.¡± Nodding his head as he grabbed his pack that had the map and the light stones. He moved to make his way down to the floor. Etopha heard Elva and wiping her tears got ready so she could go out with them. Lisyth had so many emotions going on that she wasn¡¯t sure what to feel so she settled on blaming Ender for taking her sister away right now. When he got near the drop off he thought about asking Lisyth to make some easy hand holds, but when he looked back and saw the look she was giving him thought better of it. As he climbed down he thought ¡®We aren¡¯t out of this yet. We have to find information as quickly as possible so that we can give them accurate directions to us. We still need to see if there are other survivors. Since the shipping company didn¡¯t have any knowledge of the actions going on then the city or government of whatever probably doesn¡¯t have any news about Landow or the refugees.¡¯ He wasn¡¯t sure about the level of communication between different groups of people here but he assumed they should have been aware of a lot of ships departing in search for survivors and refugees. Of course that assumes they even have that many ships to send. While thinking about the different ramifications of letting people know versus saving as many as you can, the possible political backlash and the costs, he had reached the floor of the cave. Elva and Etopha were not far behind. So he moved to the mouth of the cave to get some better light and then pulled the map out to look for landmarks to watch out for. Moving his bag around to get the map he winced as he rubbed some of his new wounds unintentionally. Finally getting the map out he looked for the legend that he hoped it would have as well as marking for North. Finding what he needed and some landmarks to look for he moved around to the edge of what used to be the ravine wall so that he could get to some higher ground. Elva and Etopha arrived by his side as he was moving out and asked what he was doing. After explaining that he needed to get to higher ground so that he could find at least two and preferably three landmarks from a distance so that he could determine which way to hold the map. Then he would be able to triangulate their rough position he would then be able to give detailed descriptions of where the crash site was. They showed a somewhat blank expression as he was explaining but kept moving with him. Their lack of caution was due to a couple of factors. First they were feeling relieved that they would be rescued. Second the beast horde had already run through leaving massive destruction to the forest so they had clear line of sight for miles. Third the information that Endrian was trying to explain to them was nothing but words. They knew he was talking in the same language but nothing he said made any sense to them. They continued to climb up the hill eventually reaching a plateaued area. After they reached their initial destination Endrian started to look around. Interestingly he notice a copse of trees still standing. Thinking that they would provide a good vantage to get his bearings if he could climb up them. He made his way over to them while noting what the trees looked like. They were very interesting to look at, probably about 20 meters tall each with a very straight trunk. They had many branches radiating off of the trunk though most branches were pretty thin. They would still be plenty thick to support his child like weight though. The leaves on the tree looked like small ferns just grew out of the branches. He hadn¡¯t read about these trees before but they definitely looked unique. Shrugging off his need to analyze everything he moved to climb one of the trees. This would be his first time he would get to use his claws to climb and he was looking forward to how they performed. He stepped under the tree and the closest branch to him was about 5 meters above him. Taking off his shield and placing his spear next to it he prepared for the climb. Jumping up he extended his claws to dig in and grip the trunk of the tree. Contrary to his expectations as soon as his claws got close to the bark a blue shield appeared around the tree. His claws could find no purchase on the blue shield that had appeared about 10 centimeters from the bark, which lead him to flailing his arms and sliding down to face plant on the ground. When he hit the ground he just laid there. He wasn¡¯t really hurt but the damage to his pride was critical. He could already hear the girls giggling at him. Holding up a hand with one finger in the air he tried to get his sisters to quiet down but it had the opposite effect as they broke out in full blown guffaws. Accepting the defeat of his own making he rolled over and sat up. ¡°You could have warned me.¡± He accused the two of them. Elva was the first to be able to bring her laughter to heel and she responded with ¡°I didn¡¯t know, but I guarantee that if I did I wouldn¡¯t have said a word.¡± ¡°Thanks. I¡¯m really feeling the love now.¡± Endrian retorted sarcastically. Realizing he was going to have to give up on his current childish desire to climb a tree he grabbed his gear and started looking around. The hill he was on had a good line of sight, barring the copse of trees. So he started looking for the landmarks that he had noted when he looked at the map earlier. He quickly found a large bluff face to the north. To the south and east he could see cut in all the lower hills. It looked like a giant snake had cut a path through rock and dirt. ¡®God I hope a snake didn¡¯t actually make that path.¡¯ He thought while looking at it. The bluff face met up with the hill they were on so they couldn¡¯t really see any further north without climbing that bluff and that would take entirely too long. To the south, west and east there was a large swath of barren land. He could see off to the west there was still some forest standing. Shaking his head and focusing back on the task he looked east to see if he could find the massive tree that was marked on the map but it either wasn¡¯t visible or it was gone now. Now that he had a basic idea of the maps position and approximate distance from the two landmarks he should be able to properly guide them to the crash location. He packed up the map and picked up the rest of his gear. Looking at the girls he asked ¡°Are you girls up for a bit of a run?¡± Neither responded but Elva gave him a quizzical look. Taking that as his cue he said ¡°I saw the crash site and I think I saw something. It could be where the others from the ship stayed or are staying. We should go take a look and see if there is anyone that needs help.¡± Turning to look out they could see the ship from where they were. With the lack of trees or pretty much anything it was easy to see being only a few hundred meters, or maybe a thousand meters, from their current location. Endrian pointed a little to his right and the girls looked in the direction he indicated. They could see a pretty large mound of dirt to the right of the ship in the direction where they had initially taken off after the crash. They started to jog down the hill and head in a straight line towards the large mound of dirt. Before they had even got a few steps the communication crystal started to glow and vibrate in Elva¡¯s pack. She called out to Endrian when she caught the glow out of the corner of her eye. They quickly stopped and she pulled out the communication crystal and focused on it. Endrian tried to pay attention to what was happening this time. While he didn¡¯t sense any mana movement, he could see a sigil light up on the top of the crystal. After that they could hear a voice from the other side. ¡°Hello, my name is Rantak. I am to understand that you are survivors of the allegedly crashed ship the Blushing Volunteer. Is this correct?¡± Rantak requested with a deep voice as he verified his information. ¡°Sir I do not know the name of the ship and I do not know the meaning of the word allegedly. What I do know is that we are survivors of a merchant ship that crashed saving people from Landow village when we ran from a beast horde.¡± Elva said in a slightly confused tone. ¡°It¡¯s not sir it¡¯s ma¡¯am.¡± Rantak corrected her incorrect assumption. ¡°Good we will need information on your current location and exact numbers of the survivors to be rescued. If there is a requirement for healing staff to be present we will need a detailed description of the injured.¡± Endrian could see Elva was looking overwhelmed by Rantak¡¯s use of diction and barrage of questions. He stepped up and started to answer for her ¡°We are approximately 20 mul below of the Cassirick Bluff face. Sikandrial¡¯s path is approximately 50 mul to the below and to the right of our location. We do not have a defined point of reference to the right as the Heavenborn Night Tree is not visible or has been destroyed by the beast hoard. However, there is a large swath of destruction and if you come to the approximate location you should be able to see the ship easily from the air. As to the numbers of survivors we have two with minor injuries, one under age and three that are fit. There are no adults with us currently. We have also found what looks like a place where there may be other survivors but we have yet to determine if there are any or in what numbers they exist.¡± There was a pause on the other end and then ¡°Can you give us an approximate number of survivors assuming the place you are talking about has additional survivors?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have an accurate count of the dead so it would just be a guess but I would say at most there would be thirty survivors in total including the six known. Also I would request that you send at least one additional ship to search for addition survivors that were thrown from the ship during the battle before we crashed. We do not know if any adults or crew survived it is possible that they were thrown from the ship and survived the fall. Most of the people in the hold were children or unawakened children dosed with Nightshade Lotus extract. Finding one or more of the relatives would be very helpful for them or we may have more deaths after this. We are going to have to wrap this up night is coming and I don¡¯t want to be traveling around here at night.¡± Endrian wrapped up his conversation and turned to leave. ¡°Who am I currently talking with?¡± Rantak asked quickly. ¡°I am called Endrian.¡± He tossed back over his shoulder. ¡°We will be at the location as quickly as we can please pay attention we will make sure we signal in all directions with light stones or flares if we don¡¯t see you. We will wait long enough for the sun to travel a handspan across the sky before leaving. Thank you for helping us. I will be sure to look for you when you arrive.¡± Rantak finished off and then closed the connection. Endrian didn¡¯t bother waiting any longer and started moving as quickly as he felt safe with to get to the mound of dirt. The girls caught up with him quickly and they took up a proper formation as the moved forward. The quickly arrived at the large mound but there was no obvious entrance and the only person they had who could move earth easily was Lisyth. Not knowing what else to do Endrian yelled at it and kicked it. A moment later the side of the mound split open and an older person rushed out. She was in her fighting form and looked to be some type of raccoon subspecies. Seeing only the children there she looked around asking ¡°Where is everyone else? We need help for my sister immediately.¡± ¡°Ma¡¯am you need to calm down.¡± Endrian said. ¡°Help is on the way.¡± He then turned and looked at Elva and said ¡°Contact Rantak and let her know that we will definitely need the healing staff.¡± Turning back to the older woman he said ¡°Can you tell me your name and how many survivors you have in there?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t have time for that! Give me that communication crystal. I¡¯ll get us out of here.¡± she yelled at them. Endrian saw her making an aggressive move towards Elva who had just pulled the communication crystal out of her pack. He quickly stepped in front of her and moved his spear to intercept her path if she didn¡¯t stop. She briefly paused then swatted at the spear, but Endrian expected this move and quickly pulled the spear back to avid her. Then he stepped forward widening his stance and thrust the spear forward to hit her in the sternum. This spear was his training spear and was blunted for the most part so there was no worries about killing her. She did receive a sharp strike to her chest which forced her to stop her forward movement as well as piercing her skin slightly. He quickly recovered his spear while glaring at this woman. By this time Etopha had reacted and was moving to flank this woman in case of more problems. ¡°Back off.¡± Endrian said loudly with as stern a voice as he could muster. ¡°I know this is hard and you are worried but everything is moving as fast as it can. Now let¡¯s-¡± ¡°You are just a child and a boy you know nothing!¡± she cut him off and yelled at him. In the background he could hear Elva talking with Rantak. This was apparently driving her to a frenzy as she charged immediately after yelling at Endrian. Etopha was caught off guard as she didn¡¯t expect the lady to charge at Endrian after the warning strike he gave her. Endrian, on the other hand, responded quickly. He feinted with his spear by thrusting it at her face causing her to focus on it. As soon as she reacted he lowered his center of gravity moved the spear off to his right. This was a natural move as he pivoted to his right and slammed his shield into the inside of her left leg right at the knee joint. As she was falling Endrian recovered and reversed his pivot bringing his spear back to catch her in the head. With her hands out to break her fall her head was fully exposed and with his reverse pivot the side of the spear slammed into her head catching her temple as she turned her head away from the impact. This laid her out cold. Keeping his eyes on the fallen woman and spear pointed at her neck he said ¡°Etopha go take a look inside and see what¡¯s there.¡± Hearing Endrian¡¯s words Etopha woke from her shock and moved inside the mound to take a look around. She couldn¡¯t see too clearly as there was no light source. It was hot and the air was bad and the smell of feces and fear made a pungent aroma that was anything but pleasant. She came back out and said ¡°I can¡¯t see clearly let me get a light stone from you.¡± Endrian didn¡¯t move to get the stone but nodded and said ¡°Come over here and get it out of my pack I do not want to ease my watch on her until I know she is thinking right.¡± She grabbed the stone and then moved back into the mound. She could see a few hands full of people in there. While she wasn¡¯t as good as Endrian at counting she could still count up to twenty. What she found was that there were seventeen bodies inside. Five of them were obviously dead. Two children that she assumed were unawakened in the dead. Making her feel incredibly sad over the loss of ones so young and innocent. There were two teenagers in their fighting form that were dead as well as one older male adult. There was another adult female as well who was still alive but would be dead in a short while as she had a hole going her on her upper chest. It was amazing that she was even still alive as gruesome as the wound looked. The other eleven people were a mixture of teens in their fighting form and unawakened children that were still unconscious. The teenagers looked terrified and huddled together while watching Etopha. After getting the numbers in her head she went back out and told Ender what she had found. ¡°Okay according to Rantak we will have to wait half a day before they can get here. So we should move back to the cave. We can get them some food and water while we wait for the rescue ship.¡± Off in the distance he could see movement at the ship. He wasn¡¯t sure what it was but right now the priority was to move these people to safety. Endrian and his sisters spent a little bit of time coaxing the others out of the dirt mound. After making the arrangements four of the teens carried the unconscious woman that Endrian had knocked out. The others carried the unconscious unawakened children. Endrian showed them how to perform a fireman¡¯s carry so they could make good time. The last task he had was to go in and try to talk with the dying woman. ¡°We have a couple of options for you.¡± He said looking her in her eyes. ¡°First we can carry-¡± before even finishing she shook her head no. Nodding he continued ¡°We can leave you here, a rescue ship is coming there is the chance that the healing staff can save you.¡± She smiled but she couldn¡¯t talk. Instead she weakly grabbed his spear and lifted it towards her. This was not one of the options he was going to say. Honestly speaking it was absolutely something he didn¡¯t want to do. However, this was her life it was her¡¯s to decide. He looked at her and asked her if she was sure. She smiled and shifted to her human form. She was older with grey in her short and bright violet hair. There were wrinkles on her face and eyes. Happy crows feet had left an indelible mark on her face through time. She lifted up her head and placed the spear tip with much effort at her throat. Her eyes never left Endrian as she begged him with her eyes to end her suffering. Endrian¡¯s eyes filled with tears as he quickly thrust before he could stop himself. He looked into her eyes as the light faded and he thought he saw gratitude but with all the tears pouring out of his eyes he felt it was just something he made up to make himself feel better over doing something like that. Coming out of the mound still wiping the tears from his eyes. He got everyone moving. Elva seeing this started getting everyone moving before they had a chance to question what happened. Unfortunately Etopha didn¡¯t catch the hint and asked ¡°What about the other lady? Shouldn¡¯t we bring her as well?¡± Smiling bitterly Endrian forced himself to say ¡°She didn¡¯t make it.¡± Some of the other teenagers heard this and started crying again. Etopha realizing her blunder finally said ¡°Ah, sorry.¡± Fortunately the only one who seemed to see the blood on Endrian¡¯s spear was Elva and she wasn¡¯t going to say anything. They were all able to make it back to the cave without any further incidents occurring. After feeding the teenagers and tying up the older lady everyone settled in for the night. Endrian and his sisters still kept watch through the night. With nothing happening that night everyone got an early start excited to end their ordeal and get back. The only incident that happened was the lady had woke up and gone completely crazy so they had to knock her out again. The rescue ship arrived just after sunrise. Endrian and everyone were so relieved to put this behind them. Once they were all on the ship it turned and headed off. Endrian had seen two other small and fast boats searching the area. Hopefully they would find more survivors like his parents. However, that was for later. For now it was time to rest. Chapter 12 - Ampleforth All Endrian wanted was to rest as he had had a hard time sleeping last night. Apparently, though, that was too much to ask. Either his mind wouldn¡¯t let him rest or something would need his attention. While he was waiting on the healers to get a chance to look at him he had closed his eyes and once again his mind started churning over the memory of the lady in the mound. He knew intellectually that she was going to die anyway so he didn¡¯t really do anything that wasn¡¯t already going to happen. He also understood that he is on a new world and that any social beliefs or understandings he had from his previous world didn¡¯t necessarily apply anymore. Still he couldn¡¯t get the ladies face out of his head. He didn¡¯t even know her name. As his mind kept worrying these thoughts, like a dog to a bone, someone came over and started speaking to him. ¡°Are you Endrian?¡± the voice of Rantak sounded out. Opening his eyes and looked up to take a look at Rantak. As his head kept moving back he couldn¡¯t help exclaim in english ¡°Holy shit!¡± What he saw was a giant unholy cross between a mongoose and a werebear on steroids. Sitting on the deck of the ship his head came to the middle of her shin. Being only seven that wasn¡¯t too bad but even if he stood up he would barely be taller than her knee. He wasn¡¯t sure how tall she was but he guessed at least 2 meters if not 2 meters 30 centimeters. There was nothing small about her. He ballparked her weight at around 120 kilos or more. Her fighting form looked to be a mongoose, at least based on the shape of her head. Her arms were as thick as Endrian¡¯s entire body. The only real thing that softened her appearance, from being completely terrifying to Endrian, was her golden fur. ¡°Excuse me?¡± she said after hearing Endrian¡¯s exclamation. ¡°Ah, sorry. Yes, I am Endrian. I was shocked by your¡­ appearance.¡± he said feeling somewhat sheepish. ¡°Well,¡± she said with her deep voice ¡°I can say that your appearance is no less shocking.¡± An easy smile appeared on her face as she squatted down. ¡°Now let¡¯s talk about all that¡¯s happened. I need details of what happened at Landow and what happened after.¡± After hearing her statement many thoughts flash through his head. Why not ask the only surviving adult. Why not ask the other older children. Hell, baring the unawakened children he was probably one of the youngest here. ¡°Why ask me?¡± he asked her as he tried to wrap all of his thoughts into this simple question. ¡°I want your description because you seemed to be the only one to be able to keep your head during this incident. You gave detailed and usable information in a high stress environment, which is very admirable. So I am hoping that you have a good memory and can give me a better account than what I have gotten from the few others I have already questioned.¡± She said this and there was a look in her eye that Endrian couldn¡¯t quite place. Sighing in defeat of his token resistance to recalling the details, he started his narration. It took them about two or three hours before he was able to finish. This was due to some pointed questions that Rantak asked him to get more details that may have been missed or describing beast he had seen etc. She had also asked wanted more details on his reasons for leaving the ship instead of trying to save everyone. To which he had explained that there were multiple reasons the first of which was he didn¡¯t trust anyone else with the lives of his family. Secondly everyone in his family are children and who is going to listen to them during a crisis. Third he wasn¡¯t sure how far the beast horde was from them based on the fact that they were attacked and had crashed not long after leaving Landow. Finally he had been knocked out during the crash and it could have affected his thinking. After their long talk she said ¡°You are a very unique person Endrian. If you were older and had already gone through Chikran then I would definitely look to add you to my and my sisters¡¯ family.¡± With one last smile she turned and left. Endrian wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about this. By this worlds social standards Rantak was drop dead gorgeous. Big, strong, capable, and a little extra cushion for the pushin. She also probably worked for the government which most likely meant a noble background. Even though he understood this he was definitely not interested. He was so flustered he even forgot to ask what the word Chikran meant. Shaking his head, and fearing for his future romantic endeavors, he realized that there was no one being seen by the healers. He was both intrigued and afraid of the level of medical care they would be able to provide. They rinsed his wounds with water and removed the bandaging that had been applied. He explained where he was hurt though they didn¡¯t seem to interested. After they had cleaned him they stood on either side of him put their hands together like they were praying and after a brief moment started to rub their hands together. They did this for a few moments and then opened their hands towards him like they were offering a blessing or Moses parting the red sea. He hadn¡¯t watched the healers do their work prior because he had been trying to rest and then Rantak kept his full attention during her questioning. So when he saw them do this he couldn¡¯t help but feel a little dubious. He could hear them muttering ¡°Lord we ask that you heal this child so that he may feel your mercy.¡± He couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes. Fortunately they didn¡¯t see this because their eyes were closed in prayer and supplication. However, in just a moment his wounds started to feel better. Surprised he glanced over at his shoulder that had been torn open by that earth swimming mouse like thing. When he looked he could visibly see the wounds healing. The skin had closed and even his scales were being regrown. He thought ¡®Holy crap.¡¯ and then he was overcome by the sudden urge to do something truly idiotic. Before his mind had a chance to process it, and tell him not to do it, he jumped up and said, with 1980¡¯s televangelist voice, ¡°Hallelujah! I am healed! Praise the lord.¡± Everybody stopped whatever they were doing and turned to stare at Endrian. As he stood there for a moment, letting the awkwardness drag on, he realized that this was not his finest moment. ¡°Um.. thanks?¡± he said tentatively. When everyone just continued to stare at him he decided it was time to make a tactical retreat. He wasn¡¯t running away at all, nope. Moving towards his sisters, who were now doing their best to pretend that he didn¡¯t exist, he sat down and did his best impression of tree in a forest. He could hear scattered voices asking if he had suffered a head injury or if the trauma of what happened was too much and his mind had snapped. The more he heard the more he just wanted to crawl into a hole and hide. Unfortunately the boats that they were on right now did not have that luxury. Without looking at him Elva whispered ¡°What was that?!?¡± ¡°An overactive imagination?¡± he said looking to see if anyone bought it. Seeing no one was going to buy that he searched his memories for a plausible explanation. He remembered when he was younger he had heard his mother and Ratrece talking about him. Ratrece had said that he was very different and that his mom would have to watch out for a more intense male instability with him. Latching onto this thought he said ¡°Male instability?¡± Seeing their look of sudden understanding and relief his only thought was ¡®Seriously?!¡¯ What happened next really blew his mind. Elva looked around at the rest of the people on the ship and yelled out ¡°It¡¯s okay! It¡¯s just a case of male instability. He awakened seven days ago so this should be his first time.¡± He could hear murmurs of understanding and sympathy coming from all over the boat. ¡®What the hell. Is this like this world¡¯s version of PMS?¡¯ Endrian thought as people were saying that it was so unfortunate that he had to go through his first instability under these situations. In some ways it felt like a get out of jail free card and at the same time it was vaguely emasculating. He wasn¡¯t sure if he should be bitter, annoyed or happy. Mentally throwing his hands in the air he decided to ignore it as everyone seemed content with this explanation. Endrian decided to close his eyes and try to rest some more. On the bright side he now had an excuse to be eccentric. As he started to drift off he could here the song Creep by Radiohead playing in his head. Specifically the part about being a creep and a weirdo. Endrian was next awoken by someone shaking him gently. When he opened his eyes he could feel that the boat was starting to slow down. Looking around he could see that all of the kids, his sisters included, were hanging on the rails and staring over the sides and forward of the boat. He realized that it had been Zakoya that had shook him. Seeing that he was awake she lifted her chin to indicate that he should take a look. Standing he stood up and lifted himself high enough so that he could see of the rail. That¡¯s when he got his first look at Ampleforth. For a medieval city it was gorgeous. With the sun setting behind them and slightly to the left the sky had shifted colors and the town was painted by the setting sun. Oranges and reds, pinks and peach could be seen on the bluff face and the fields leading to a forest. Everything was sitting at the top of an escarpment that Endrian had a hard time judging the height of. From the edges of the forest area the top of the escarpment was covered with grass and what looked like fields of different types of grain or wheat. He could see a river meandering through the trees to cascade in a gorgeous glowing waterfall off the side of the escarpment. An unknown distance behind the forested area there was a huge mountain. It had multiple different snow capped peaks and it seemed to provide a natural defense that wrapped around the area where the forest of trees were. Endrian couldn¡¯t see very many buildings because there were too many trees covering everything. Only the fields that looked like they were grain producing were not covered by the trees. As they got closer he could finally make out some people moving in the fields and below and even in the trees. It was then that he realized that the forest was the city. Assuming the people he saw moving were roughly 2 meters tall then that would make the trees something like 100 meters tall. The width of the trees was at least 10 to 12 meters in diameter. He couldn¡¯t even comprehend what the root structure was like. There were road made from the interwoven limbs and vines. The leaves were a riot of colors containing blues, greens, reds, yellows and even some violet colors. Close to the middle of the city there was a large gap in the trees where a grouping of pearl colored spires could be seen. The boat turned slightly to the port side and Endrian lost most of his view of the city after that. They were heading to an area where there were a number of houses with courtyards made from earth and rock. There was also a tall structure that looked like a train platform 2 meters in the air. As they maneuvered the boat Endrian got a better look and the closest way he could describe it was a 2 meter tall shed with steps on one side and a bunch of earth or rock pylons on the other. Underneath was a spot that had a birth for a ship to rest on. On top there were some seats and a covered sheltered area for people to sit and wait. When they docked and secured the boat Rantak got out and yelled to get everyone¡¯s attention. When they were paying attention she started giving out directions. ¡°I want everyone to move with their families. We have some temporary housing that you can stay in for as long as you like. Please make sure you keep your unawakened siblings cared for. If you there are more unawakened then there are awakened please wait here and we will have some adults help you to a residence. If your parents are not back by the time that your siblings wake up the give them an excuse if they ask. You can say something like they are having a meeting or have gone out to get food. We understand that there will be some discrepancies in the homes just let them know that when your parents are back they will explain everything. Food has been provided and will continue to be provided until your parents do return. On that note we have two additional ships that are performing a detailed search of the area and will bring back everyone they can as quickly as possible. If you need anything there will be a healer stationed at each house all you will need to do is contact them and they will help you with anything you need.¡± After that everyone was organized and settled into their various houses to wait for whatever happened next. For us our parents did not arrive before Ethese woke up. When she woke she was initially a little worried but seeing that everyone was all there and that there was no one hurt she calmed down. Elva and the others told her that we had already moved and that our moms were out looking for a new house to living in permanently. The next day their parents still had not arrived this caused the other girls to start to worry. There was tension and forced smiles as they tried to hold everything together. Endrian for some reasons wasn¡¯t that worried. He loved his mom and dad in so far as they had watched over him and protected him for seven years. So he knew and felt the strong familial bond with them, but for some reason he just didn¡¯t feel concerned. He wasn¡¯t sure if it was his age and knowing that he had no control over the situation so relaxed or if it was stress from the incident or maybe it was the fact that he took over the lead for the most part and felt he needed to be the rock for others. One way or another he just didn¡¯t feel worried or concerned. So when Endrian saw that Ethese was getting distraught over her mom or the other mothers not showing up for so long he distracted her by taking her through his daily routine. That evening their parents returned. The girls freaked out but in a good way. Though Endrian felt a little bad for his dad as none of the girls seemed to worry or care about him. They all ran to their respective mothers crying and hugging as jumbled information was traded back and forth. After the initial happiness and emotions had passed everyone gathered around to talk about what had happened. Endrian had moved over to his mother to express his concern and worry for her seeing as she had some serious injuries. She had a bandage over one of her eyes and looked to be missing a few fingers. He was going to ask more about it to make sure that she was okay, but she held up a hand saying that they would discuss all of the options as a family so that there were no awkward questions later. It turned out that his mom had lost her eye as well as some fingers when she was driving a beast back that had caught Ratrece by surprise. Ratrece had actually lost her right arm just above her elbow. From the story they heard after the ship¡¯s flight array had been damaged and finally destroyed by Afroiffit, which was something like a griffin with two heads and a spear like flexible tail. After the array had been damaged the crew had very little control of the ship and anyone with air control was doing their best to guide the ship to a safe landing. Unfortunately as they had pitched the bow of the ship up due to the uncoordinated effort of the crew and the people they didn¡¯t see the large tree that they hit. After that they were all flung off the ship even the ones that had a hand or had used their wood element to anchor their feet. The force of the hit had broken the anchors which had been just strong enough to hold everyone against the wind and the pitch while they attempted to land.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. When they hit the tree and the ship started spinning everyone was eventually thrown off. Some even jumped off when they saw their family members fly out so that they could stay closer together. Allyce did this when she saw that Ratrece had been thrown over. She couldn¡¯t quite catch up to Ratrece though even with her Air control. After they had landed Ratrece hadn¡¯t really taken much damage but had been stunned due to impact. Her cultivation method and elements reinforcing her body so that she could withstand the impact of the fall. Allyce on the other hand was slightly more graceful but as she had jumped after Ratrece she had overshot Ratrece¡¯s location so had to backtrack to find her. When she did she found Ratrece being attacked by some beast that was eating her arm. It had the lower part of the arm in it¡¯s mouth and was trying to force Ratrece closer. Ratrece had lost her hammer and so was pounding on with her fist wrapped in a rock gauntlet. After they had killed the beast which was surprisingly difficult, they noticed that there seemed to be some type of black poison with red lines in it was moving up from her hand to her wrist and proceeded to move up her mangled arm. Since they had no healers and knew nothing of the beast they decided to cut it off so that the poison didn¡¯t spread. After everyone had met up again they started to move towards the crash site. They were not more than a day¡¯s travel from the ship but they had taken almost a day to find each other. After that they had to hide from the beast hoard on the ground that had caught up with the flyers finally. They also ran into one more of those strange corrupted beasts that looked like corrupted version of a normal animal with strange reddish veins all over it¡¯s body. Even the eyes of these beast were glowing red. It was also different from the one that ate Ratrece¡¯s arm. It was something very bizarre that the women had never seen before. After the stories about the bird beasts that had attacked the ship and the other beasts that had gone crazy and attacked them without fear for life or death. They also gave some explanations to the children about what was going to happen now. Etopha and Lisyth were both extremely worried for their mom, though they were very happy that she was back and alive. They both asked how long it would take for her to get healed. However, they found out that the chances of her recovering her arm were not very great. Ironically not because it wasn¡¯t possible but because the healer had to be at a certain level and would have to spend more than a month with her to do it. This was a privilege that even nobility had to buy for an exorbitant cost. When Endrian found out that Ratrece couldn¡¯t be healed easily he became more worried for his mother and asked about her eye and fingers. He learned that the eye wasn¡¯t missing so it could be easily repaired and the fingers usually only took a day to heal so she would be back to her old self in no time. This then made him curious about what would happen to Ratrece. If she couldn¡¯t get healed she wouldn¡¯t be able to fight any more which was really what she lived for. Thinking to here, he decided to ask ¡°Mother Ratrece couldn¡¯t you just create a fake arm with your element?¡± That one question set off a debate in which Endrian had to defend himself from all sides. Everyone had a knee jerk reaction where they said no, but then they thought about it and started to ask questions. ¡®Haha! I have finally corrupted them with knowledge. Or at least the concept of questioning established concepts.¡¯ Endrian thought when they started questioning if it were possible, either way he would take it. Finally after a full day¡¯s worth of discussing debating and arguing Ratrece had a temporary arm. Though she was very clumsy with it right now it was better than nothing. On top of that with practice she should have much better control. After the long debate over the use of a prosthetic arm for Ratrece the women started working on securing a new home. While this was going on Davian and Endrian had taken stock of the family assets. What they had managed to keep was the tools for making bows as well as various money that had been hidden on their person. The amount they had was 15 gold, 53 silver, and 89 copper coins. Interestingly, at least to Endrian, was that houses were free. You had to pay taxes on the house for a year in advance but you didn¡¯t have to purchase the house itself. You did have to furnish it though still it made things easier from a monetary standpoint. The different houses had different tax rates based on their location and they had found one close to the school that Endrian would eventually go to. Unfortunately the tax on this house was 5 gold coins a year as compared to the typical 1 gold coin a year for taxes. He also found out that tuition for him to go to the school was going to be 10 gold coins for the year. So they were going to have to earn 15 gold a year at minimum just for him to go to school and to keep their home. That wasn¡¯t including living expenses and other costs. Speaking of school Endrian also found out that it was required that he pass a preschool education course since he wasn¡¯t of noble birth. Fortunately this school was offered free to everyone that owned a home. So after some talks with the family they decided on the cost to produce recurve bows in their new location and what they would need to make. They were able to learn that the recurve bows that were supposed to be sold to the city defense. They learned about this was thanks to Rantak talking with his parents when she saw the recurve bow that Shyael and a number of the other villagers had. This also brought her back to Endrian once again when she learned that he was the one that ¡°invented¡± the recurve bow. After some discussions Endrian¡¯s family was able to secure an order for 5 recurve bows every lunar conjunction at a price of 65 silver per bow. In the past they were able to produce as many as 10 bows per month. If they could maintain that production rate they should be able to live pretty comfortably. Over the course of the next few weeks Endrian and his family settled into their new home. They established a workshop for Shyael and located a good source of wood to use for the bows. With the increased in the amount of money that they received from the sales they would even be able to afford to send the Endrian¡¯s sisters to school. There was an enrollment two weeks after they arrived but they were still in the process of getting settled in and there was also a requirement to pass a basic test on reading and writing before they could enter Ampleforth¡¯s academy. For Endrian this wasn¡¯t a problem, but his sisters had not been formally trained on letters and especially on numbers at this point. So they had to go to a prep school that gave them the basic knowledge for classes. There were many complaints from the girls when they found out that they were going to be going to school as well. Not understanding why they even needed to be able to read and do numbers. At least until Endrian gave Ethese a practical lesson on why knowing how to read and write were useful if for nothing else other than selling the family bows. He brought out a copy of the government written order for the bows they would purchase each year however he changed the number on them. When he showed them how easy it was to be taken advantage of if you couldn¡¯t read properly they then complained that it was the men¡¯s place to take care of these things. To which they were dismayed to learn that most men did not do this kind of work. Davian and Endrian were just freaks. Endrian also gave a valid demonstration on why understanding math was helpful as he used the conversion process to rip off the girls. Since 100 copper coins was the equivalent to 1 silver coin he pretended to buy a bow and offered 45 silver and 60 copper instead of the 65 silver and then just bluffed his way saying that he had run out of silver and that he was using copper to make the difference. He also did it the other way as well giving a gold coin and asking them to make change for him. This gave the girls a much better understanding of why they needed to understand these things. Other than that the only news of import was Endrian¡¯s advancement in cultivation. Within a week of awakening he had reached the 3rd level of the Gathering stage. After that he had been stuck for a few days where he had tried to understand what was required to progress. Eventually coming to the understanding that he needed to compress the mana that he had gathered in his body. This actually took a little bit of time because he had to picture the cells in his body filled with mana that he had gathered and then compress the mana in each cell. The mental image was somewhat overwhelming and difficult to process and this caused Endrian to stall for a few days. Once he finally broke through, however, his cultivation proceeded very quickly and the next bottleneck that most people experienced he sailed through. At the end of a two lunar conjunctions he was already at the 7th layer of gathering. His speed in cultivation was mind blowing for the rest of the family. To which he could only shrug. To him it was easy because he was absorbing so much more mana than everyone else would since he didn¡¯t limit himself to just mana that resonated with him. Interestingly when he compressed his mana in his cells the second time to break into the 7th layer all of the different types of mana seemed to merge together inside his cells. He had felt this was a significant change but so far hadn¡¯t found any real verification as to why. Shrugging mentally he continued on. Over the next 4 lunar conjunctions he had advanced his cultivation to the peak of the 9th layer of the Gathering stage and was just trying to break through to the next stage. He had a concept of what needed to be done but there were three issues. First the mental imagery for what he felt was necessary was really hard to hold in his head. Second wanted to see some of the cultivation methods that the school had so he could compare and possibly change how he cultivated. Currently he was using his own mental image cultivation technique and he was unsure how this compared to other techniques. He was also unsure if there were changes when moving from the Gathering stage to the Condensing stage or beyond. Third he was warned that if he was too outstanding it could bring him problems later so it was better to slow down for now. During this time he had registered for classes and was preparing for the entrance exam. The girls were still working hard at the basics which somewhat mollified Davian as all of his progeny weren¡¯t complete freaks like his son. They wouldn¡¯t be able to take the test until a year after Endrian had already entered the academy. This actually worked out for the best as it would allow Ethese to go with all her sisters at the same time as their pride. Interestingly while it cost 10 gold per year for Endrian it only cost 35 gold per year for each pride regardless of how many women were in the pride. Before Endrian knew it was going to be cheaper for the girls to come in as a pride he had been working on a new bow design for the family to help increase their revenue so the girls would be able to attend. The new bow design was what people from his old world would call a compound bow. He understood the math behind the bow strings and the pulley system the problem was that there were no standardized weights or measurements so it required some experimentation with a number of broken strings and bows not to mention a lot of personal injuries of his mothers. He had sold them on the idea with a small version that was child sized that worked for Endrian. However when he scaled it up the draw weights started to exceed the tensile strength of the bow strings. After a lot of trial and error they were able to find a suitable material for the bow string for the compound bows. They didn¡¯t have a measuring device to determine the fps of the fired arrow but when compared with the recurve there was an obvious gap between the sounds of the arrows hitting their target with the compound bow being significantly faster. He also showed how they could offer additional features such as a sound dampener for the string, a counter balance and string stopper etc. Even going so far as to paint the bow different colors. This opened a whole line of products for them to sell. Not long after they started to get the new line of bows being produced it was almost time for the entrance exam. Tomorrow was the big day where Endrian would enroll in Ampleforth¡¯s academy. It was going to be a long day as there were going to be many children from 7 years of age to 14 years old going to test. The testing included level of cultivation, level of elements, number of elements, element types as well as reading and writing comprehension and basic math comprehension. The first part of the day was the written portion where they were given a test for math and reading. After that an elder would test the age of a person by asking them and a known relative what their age is. Endrian thought that was a little sketchy but who was he to judge. Finally was a test for elemental affinities, the level of the affinity and then the level of cultivation. This would give them a concept of each person¡¯s ability to learn and cultivate effectively. It would also help the school understand what level of cultivation techniques they would be able to comprehend and how best to guide them. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Up in the heavens the god like beings were watching over this. Most of them were gratified with this champion¡¯s apparent ability to handle a rough situation. Though almost all of them laughed when the Parrena had jumped on his back and he had freaked out and jumped into the stream. To them he showed his ability to know when to step forward boldly and when to retreat. Still there was much for him to learn. They were also very surprised by his ability to kill the older woman. Based on their understanding of his old world he should have not done that and instead fought for her to live. This again made them feel even more gratified about their choice because if he didn¡¯t have the stomach to take a life then he would be a complete waste. Even Aysus had to admit that he was surprised at the champion¡¯s choice. It would have been second nature for most of them but for someone from his background it was an impressive choice in their opinion. Especially the fact that he didn¡¯t look away from her. That he watched her and was with her until the very end not shrinking from the responsibility of the act of mercy. After they had finally made it to the relative safety of Ampleforth there was a collective sigh of relief. As much as they wanted to test him and make sure he could handle the realities of his new world there was still the chance that he could die and if that happened it would be a terrible waste. After a few weeks of them living in Ampleforth and getting settled in Aysus was getting antsy. They had sent down a prophecy of the phenomenon so that members of the church could come and pick him up as well as guide him in cultivation so that he stood his best chance to deal with their enemy. However, after the few weeks there was no one that had come by. This caused Aysus to start getting impatient. He knew how important those early years of cultivation were especially in this case. Ileshea had had 50 years of time to step into the level of power she had which was already at the peak of the 7th stage of cultivation and she was by far the most gifted they had ever seen. She had over 7 different elemental affinities and her comprehension of different skills was beyond amazing. Yet in the end she still failed. Endrian on the other hand was only going to have 27 years of time or rather 20 years after his awakening. After a month of them living in Ampleforth and no sign of any of the churches or their people showing up, Aysus lost his patience. ¡°Azmera! Why haven¡¯t your people or Joslena¡¯s or anyone that worship the pantheon that you guy area part of, why haven¡¯t they shown up yet? He needs to get training and the sooner the better we can¡¯t just let him sit idle!¡± Azmera looked at Aysus and then to Joslena and Mophina. With a slightly gentle and tender atmosphere she said ¡°There are some complications.¡± she hoped he would let it go at this but he lived up to her expectations of not being tactful at all and bulled ahead. ¡°What complications can cause our champion, our last hope to languish in ignorance?!¡± he asked bluntly. Sighing she said ¡°Well apparently there is some infighting with our followers as they are trying to fight for the right to bring him in so they can rope him into their family. We have already done a sending to the prophets so that they can guide our followers and they are sending someone now but they won¡¯t arrive for at least a few months. We were also prevented by the celestial rules from sending a picture of him so even once they get to Ampleforth they will have to search for him. We were able to pass on that he had four elemental affinities though.¡± When he heard this he was a little more at ease. If things worked out in the worst case they should still be able to find him during the school entrance exam. Also Endrian was still cultivating so he wasn¡¯t really losing any progress. So Aysus contented himself to wait as patiently as he could. Unbeknownst to him Kyrus was of the same mind, he was just able to restrain himself better. Chapter 13 - Entrance Exam Endrian woke up this morning to Ethese bouncing on his chest. The sun was just starting to change the color of the sky. He could tell that she was super excited, though he was clueless as to why. ¡°Brother! Brother! It¡¯s time to get up.¡± She whisper shouted as she sat on his chest shaking him. ¡°What¡¯s got you so excited?¡± he asked her with a normal tone of voice. ¡°Shhh!! I overheard mama say that you are going to the academy and taking your entrance exam today, so I wanted to sneak in here early and wish you luck before anyone else.¡± she then paused for a second and then said loudly ¡°Good Luck!!¡± Reaching up and tickling her Endrian said ¡°Thanks. Now get out so brother can get ready.¡± He was unsure if she heard him though because she was busy squealing and laughing before running out the door. After she had escaped Endrian got up and ran through his morning ablutions. He then got dressed and started his morning routine. These past few months his routine had changed somewhat. He would get up and head to the training area. This area was an entire floor that was hollowed out in the tree. There he would perform his workout of Tai Chi however he no longer did any strengthening exercises as he found that he wasn¡¯t feeling the burn anymore and doubted it was giving any benefit. He also didn¡¯t really have a place to practice parkour anymore, so all he could do was go through his sword forms, and spear forms after Tai Chi. Then it was time for breakfast. After breakfast he would tutor Ethese on her letters and numbers so that she would be able to keep up with her sisters when they were ready to take the entrance exam. While she was studying he would work on his elemental manipulation. He had gotten pretty decent at adding an edge to metal which he referred to as honing. He could do some basic shaping but other than adding an edge his amount of manipulation control with metal was like a 2 year old with play-do. Electricity was easier for him, but that¡¯s because he had a deeper understanding of electricity and how it flowed. Though there were a few incidents of discharging directly into the ground before he got the hang of it. He was able to make lightning arc between his fingers and hands and was able to charge his practice sword with some before it discharged arcing to his shield when it got too close leaving a black scorch mark on both the sword and the shield. As far as his control of magnetic¡­ let¡¯s just say magneto he was not. If he invents a fridge then he can make a killing selling door magnets. As far as weaponizing it he was able to get a few small EMPs but in a world without electronics you were better off just farting in the wind. At least if it smelled bad enough they might run. The wind was kind of cool, he had figured out how to increase or decrease wind resistance. Though that seriously screwed him up when trying to do any complicated moves. It¡¯s amazing how things like wind resistance can with small changes have your body over compensating instantly. He was also able to get a mini tornado to form between his hands. He thought that was the coolest thing. When he was working on getting the tornado to stabilize between his hand Ethese had seen what he was doing. Think he could show off something cool he walked over while holding the moving air currents. He said to her with a somewhat supercilious look on his face ¡°So what do you think of big brother now?¡± ¡°So what¡¯s it do?¡± she asked. ¡°It looks cool. Right?¡± he responded. ¡°.... Sure. But what does it do?¡± she asked again. ¡°It doesn¡¯t do anything, it just looks cool.¡± he said now feeling slightly depressed. ¡°Why would you do that? You put in so much effort just to get something that looks good? That doesn¡¯t make any sense.¡± she said in confused tone. Ethese had been listening to Endrian long enough to get used to some of his colloquialisms. Now thoroughly dejected he sighed and told her ¡°Just get back to your studies, you don¡¯t want to be left behind by your sisters right?¡± After that he focused back on his manipulations again. Lunch time rolled around and Ethese and Endrian finished up with a quick test to see how well Ethese was progressing. After the test he would evaluate her as having close to a first grade reading level and maybe second grade math skills. She was still working on memorizing the numbers. Endrian wasn¡¯t sure how far his older sisters had progressed but he figured that getting Ethese to a 6th grade level of education would cover any problems. At lunch everyone ate somewhat quietly. There was a nervous tension filling the dinner table. There were only two people not really affected by the mood. One was Endrian who was wolfing down his food like normal. The other was Ethese who was looking around at everyone curiously. His mothers, father, and the rest of his sisters watched as he ate his food seemingly oblivious to the upcoming test that could change his life. Finally unable to take it any more Ethese asked ¡°Why is everyone acting so weird?¡± After a second of shifting around uncomfortably it was Endrian who responded first. ¡°They are probably just concerned or worried about how I will do in the Entrance Exam.¡± Seeing a few wry smiles around the table Endrian was pretty sure he had hit the mark. ¡°Why are they worried? It¡¯s not like they have any ability to change what happens, and they don¡¯t have to take it right?¡± Ethese innocently asked. Smiling Endrian nodded while thinking ¡®Out of the mouths of babes.¡¯ Davian was the next to speak and he said ¡°Ethese it¡¯s normal for people to be worried about this. Actually Endrian¡¯s lack of concern is rather abnormal. Only people with absolute confidence in, or that don¡¯t care about, the results are able to be worry free in a situation like this.¡± ¡°Big brother is the smartest and the bestest, he¡¯ll beat all those others and come in first.¡± she declared expressing her unwavering devotion to her brother. After changing into some new clothes that his mother had bought for this occasion Endrian was ready to go to the academy for his entrance exam. Only the examinee and one family member were allowed to go in to the academy for the test. Everyone wished him well except Ethese who was pouting that she wasn¡¯t able to go with Endrian. She had gotten it in her head that the whole family would go and watch and she had been looking forward to seeing her brother come in first. Not long after Endrian and his mother arrived at the gate to the academy. Endrian had registered over 4 months ago and only had to provide the parchment proving he had paid the exam fee. A middle aged woman who would could be considered gorgeous by most everyone took his entrance exam verification form looked it over and then looked at Endrian and his mother. When she looked over them her face didn¡¯t conceal her thoughts at all. The look of disgust as she looked at Endrian¡¯s mom and then absolute disregard for Endrian himself. She said ¡°Go to the main dining hall. Just follow the path and then take the path to the left at the first split.¡± Moving inside and heading toward the testing location Endrian took a moment to comfort his mom ¡°Just ignore them mom. I think you are a beautiful woman and you shouldn¡¯t let others make you feel inferior just because of how they see you.¡± ¡°I know. It¡¯s just¡­¡± she began but trailed off without the words to describe how she felt. ¡°It doesn¡¯t matter what others think of you mom. It only matters what your loved ones think of you. I think you are beautiful and strong and amazing. I know dad loves you very much despite what others say or think. Your sisters love you as well so who cares about anyone else?¡± he said to his mom. Smiling at her son Allyce stepped closer and hugged him saying ¡°Thanks.¡± It was at this point that another voice could be heard loudly calling out ¡°Ugh.. what a disgusting bag of bones. Who would let such an ugly person into such a prestigious location. It really ruins the whole occasion.¡± Hearing this Endrian turned around and saw a young boy probably the same age or maybe even younger than himself walking with a woman. The boy was dressed in the finest clothes, a black robe with purple trim that gave off a shimmer like silk as he walked with an insufferable attitude. His face and clothes gave him a somewhat scholarly look for one so young. He had black hair and black eyes with vibrant purple flecks and his skin was a pale contrast to them. What stood out more, though, is his personality which screamed arrogant, pampered, and self-centered. The woman next to him was dressing in clothes that were in no way inferior to the boys. A stunning purple and blue dress that had flecks of gold woven in giving the whole dress a surreal look in the sunlight. The dress hugged her figure showing off the ample curves that the woman had. Her hair was black with violet highlights at the ends. Her face would have had a refined and aristocratic look were it not for the excess fat. She actually was fairly handsome it just wasn¡¯t Endrian¡¯s cup of tea. Of course that was before you factored in her apparent personality. The way she carried herself made it appears as if everything in the world was beneath her. She looked over at Endrian and his mom and then said without taking her eyes off of them ¡°Truly. The school standards have fallen. Allowing anyone off the street to take the exam. We will have to talk to the dean and see about raising the price again to get rid of the common filth.¡± While Endrian was usually not one to get easily insulted, especially by a child, but these two were just plain rude. So he spoke out ¡°Hey! You two walking piles of shit-¡± before he could build up some proper steam his mother covered his mouth. Endrian struggled to remove his mothers hand but her strength far exceeded his own. She bowed slightly to the two who had turned around with surprise and rage. ¡°My apologies my lady for my son, he does not get out much.¡± ¡°Hmph! Come Xerael ignore them or you will become dumber just from the brief interaction.¡± the lady said this as she took Xerael¡¯s hand and walked off. Endrian could just barely hear their conversation as they walked away ¡°We should at least kill the boy. No one is allowed to offend house Naxxremis without dying.¡± ¡°While I agree with you, we are not allowed to do anything on academy grounds unless you want to be barred from entering.¡± she responded before walking out of range. When they had walked away from Endrian and his mother she finally relaxed her hold on him. ¡°You have to be careful what you say here Ender. There are noble families that wouldn¡¯t hesitate to end you and our family. Those two were from the Naxxramis family. They were the instrumental family that took down your father¡¯s family. We cannot afford to offend them, regardless of what they say.¡± ¡°Mom, I understand.¡± He said with conviction while in his heart he said ¡®I¡¯ll let it go for now but there will be a day when these debts will need to be settled.¡¯ While the incident with his mom offended him, the incident where this family destroyed his father¡¯s family that was a different and deeper matter. He may not care about his father¡¯s family but he does care about his dad. Allyce was both concerned and gratified by what he said as she understood that he wouldn¡¯t back down from someone insulting his family. Hopefully he would show restraint and wouldn¡¯t come into conflict with those prideful noble boys. If he just focuses on study he would probably lose himself in that without getting into fights with the other children. Thinking of his unusual dedication to information and how he likes to question everything she figured that it would be unlikely for problems to arise. That and him having four elements should be enough for the school to show him favor. The continued on with Endrian asking about the library that they had here and where it was. After a short walk they arrived at the main dining hall. It was a huge building it had large double doors that were visible from the path they were on. Based on the size of the doors it could be seen that the building was about 10 meters tall. Endrian could see a plume of smoke coming from the top of the building. There was a lingering smell of food and people lingering in the air as the got closer. Once inside the lowest level looked like it could hold 10¡¯s of thousands of people. Endrian had been in the old busch stadium in St. Louis in his previous life and he knew it seated roughly 60,000 people. This looked about the same. Except there was no playing field in the center instead it looked like there was a kitchen and buffet style line where the food was made and served. Even though this place looked like it could handle 60,000 people there were probably not more than 100 children here to take the tests.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. There were guides that were helping people to seating or directing them to different locations or facilities. Endrian and his mom were approached by a young woman dressed in a uniform asking for them to follow her. She took Endrian to a seat with other children roughly his own age. Afterwards she took Allyce to the second level viewing platform. Endrian was sitting with his eyes closed waiting for the test to start. There had been a few people that had stopped to talk with Endrian and he greeted them cordially but did not try to engage anyone in conversation. Though he did talk with a number of children that did try to strike up conversation either out of nervousness or boredom. He did see Xerael he was being swarmed by women who were equally dressed in outstanding clothes. About an hour after they had arrived the testing was about to start. Endrian could tell because the building got quiet all of a sudden and when he opened his eyes he could see a group of women entering. The leader had golden hair and was taller than everyone else in the group by her head and shoulders. The other women that were with her were all wearing different robes with symbols on them. He saw one that was wearing a robe similar to the one he saw on the boat that rescued them. Those were the followers of Joslena Goddess of Life and Healing. He didn¡¯t recognize any of the others but based on their clothes he assumed they were also people from the different churches. ¡°Hello everyone, I am Chiyo Arnman, the head of this academy.¡± Looks of respect and envy filled a lot of people¡¯s eyes. ¡°Please follow the following instructions while taking your exams. There will be 4 parts to this exam. First will be a reading and writing comprehension test math will be combined with this first test. The second test will measure your ability to comprehend a martial skill. The third test will be verifying your elemental affinities and their level of compatibility. Finally the last test will be testing your cultivation potential. For now the workers are handing out the tests¡± throwing her arm in the air a ball of light appeared above her head ¡°When the light goes out you may begin the test. If you attempt to start before the light goes out you will be disqualified and you exam fee forfeit. When the test is over put your writing utensil down and one of the assistants will come and pick it up.¡± As she was watching the different assistants walking around making sure everyone had a test she saw a little boy with his hand raised. One of the assistants had just walked over and the boy asked niether quietly or loudly ¡°What should we do if we finish the test early?¡± The assistant was stunned for a second and in that time all of the children within earshot of this little boy started to laugh. Before Chiyo had a chance to say anything another boy from his section turned and looked at him saying ¡°Idiot! No one has ever finished the test before the time was up. So some upstart commoner like you thinks he can complete the test when no one else can?¡± The boy, who looked similar to the boy her sister Rantak had described, looked over calmly and said ¡°Just because you can¡¯t doesn¡¯t mean no one can¡¯t. So if you don¡¯t know the answer to my question then don¡¯t go jumping around like a hopped up dog yapping for attention.¡± Silence. No one moved except for the boy as he looked back to the assistant. She on the other hand looked like a rabbit seeing a wolf. She froze and then looked for help without moving an inch. Chiyo chuckled to herself, if this is that boy he just offended one of the most powerful noble houses in all of Ampleforth. Before things got further out of hand Chiyo spoke up. ¡°If you do finish early put your writing utensil down and raise your hand someone will be by to take it. However you will have to stay the entire time of the test regardless.¡± ¡°Excellent, thank you Academy head Chiyo Arnman.¡± he responded politely as he looked at her with those abnormally calm eyes. No fawning or disrespect or arrogance just calmness. Chiyo nodded at him and then looked around asking ¡°Are there any more questions?¡± After a slight pause with no one speaking she continued ¡°No? Then begin.¡± and the light went out over her head. The test proceeded calmly with the rustling of parchment and quills. Endrian read the first question which went as follows: If you have a quiver of arrows with half of the arrows gone from it and you have a second quiver that is full. If the quivers hold 20 arrows each how many quivers do you have? At first he thought it was a joke question put to see if the reader was paying attention but after reading further he realized that it wasn¡¯t. The math wasn¡¯t much different either it started out with addition and subtraction then moved to division and multiplication. There were 125 questions on the test. Assuming only an hour was given that would give just under 30 seconds per question. Once Endrian was confident that the questions were really that simple he blazed through them. The most difficult question was the final question which was two people were 5000 mu apart, one party is moving towards the other at 200 mu per hour. The other party was moving at 50 mu per hour. How far will the first person have to travel before they meet and how long will it take. The questions did not have a multiple choice so all answers were written. Still even with all of that Endrian was done and had double checked his answers before time was up even made sure his name was on the paper as well. So he put his quill down and raised his hand. When he raised his hand no one noticed at first. An assistant moved up to his desk to take his test paper. It was at this point that others noticed. There was a gasp and then everyone in Endrian¡¯s section stopped and stared. When Chiyo saw this she said ¡°You may stop but time does not. If you are not finished with the test please continue.¡± This snapped them out of their surprise and they all hurried back to what they were working on. The assistant brought the test to Chiyo who had signaled her. She had written this test and knew just how difficult the test was for everyone, especially the last question, so she wanted to look over the answers as quickly as possible. When she received the paper she glanced at the name at the top and realized that it was the same name as the boy that her sister talked about so highly. When she came back from reading the test and answers on Endrian¡¯s paper one of the followers of Azmera coughed and pointed to the time. Realizing that she had allowed everyone to go past the initial time She created a flash of light and said with a voice that carried to all preset ¡°The test is over. Please put down your quill and wait for instructions on the next test.¡± After all the tests had been collected they handed out a new sheet of parchment to everyone. As they did this Chiyo said ¡°You will not turn this parchment over until I say so. On the parchment in front of you there is a martial skill. You will have one half hour to study the skill, then one half hour to practice. Finally you will perform a demonstration of the skill. This will show your ability to comprehend a martial skill.¡± The test proceeded smoothly this time. With everyone spending time to study the martial skill and memorize the movements. Endrian was able to easily memorize the skill. Only taking one glance at the skill and he knew all of the moves and basic stances. As he practiced though he couldn¡¯t seem to make his movements smooth. Every transition was rough, and which he got to each step in the stance there was no grace to his movements. Without an example to study and memorize his movements were mechanical and rough. At the end when he had to demonstrate the skill it was obvious that he had the basics of the skill but that there was no elegance or grace to his movements. This obviously cost him in his evaluation from the church follower. Seeing this Xerael could not resist the urge to taunt Endrian. ¡°Mr. know it all can¡¯t even seem to comprehend the essence of even a basic skill. Only a money counter at best.¡± The sneer of disdain obvious for everyone to see. Hearing this Endrian looked over but he didn¡¯t bother to rise to this bait. Someone insulting him and his capabilities had no effect on his mentality or mood. When Xerael saw that Endrian wasn¡¯t responding he was angered but had no way to vent his feelings so he just sneered ¡°Filthy commoner! I bet his affinities and potential are just as impressive as his comprehension.¡± There were a few other children that laughed at Endrian but he just rolled his eyes and waited for this test to complete so they could move on to the next. After everyone had completed this portion of the test the proctors brought out a few devices that looked like a crystallized lotus. Each crystal lotus had 9 rows of petals and in the center there was a crystal ball. At this point Chiyo started giving instructions again ¡°I want everyone to line up in front of the affinity measuring device. When it is your turn you will place your hand on the ball in the center. The various followers of the gods will start the array and it will measure your affinities and attunement. Do not remove your hand before the follower signals you.¡± As each child went up they would place their hand on the crystal and then the device would light up. It would show a color corresponding to their elemental affinity. The light would then spread from the center to the outer petals. Most of the people only made the first ring or two of the petals light up. There were some like Xerael that were able to make 7 rows of petals light up with his elemental affinity which looked to be void affinity. His second affinity was darkness and he was even able to make 4 rows light up with it. After his test he walked away with a smug and supercilious look on his face. Many of the proctors and assistants as well as those watching gasped in surprise when they saw his result. This also caused many of the girls and their prides to start paying attention to him. Endrian saw this and had to swallow hard. Most people thought he was afraid that he had offended someone he shouldn¡¯t have. However the reality was much different from their imagination. ¡®I think I just threw up in my mouth a little.¡¯ was the thought going through Endrian¡¯s mind. Now the only thought was how not to stand out because he definitely did not want that much attention. He just wanted to go through their library and collect information and maybe perform some experiments. When it was finally Endrian¡¯s turn he walked up and put his hand on the crystal. The first color to show up was the blue and purple. After just a second it had filled up all 9 rows of the crystal. The proctor that was sitting and watching hurriedly pressed their hands to the base that the crystal lotus was sitting on. After this was done the crystal switched to another color. The next color to appear for Endrian was silver. It also quickly spread to the rows of petals until it had come to the 8th row before slowing down. However, before it got to the 9th row Endrian pulled his hand back from the crystal. This was already more eye catching than he wanted to be. With a cramped look on his face he started to walk away. Unfortunately the proctor saw this and called out ¡°Hey we haven¡¯t finished this test yet!¡± ¡°Is there a need for more? I think this should be sufficient to pass, correct?¡± He said to her. ¡°No but we must record down each person¡¯s affinities and their levels so that the teachers know what type of curriculum to provide for the students and how best to guide them.¡± she said with a somewhat confused and flustered look. ¡°Ah well then just put down magnetics and air, let¡¯s say two rows each?¡± he said with a smile though he spoke softly so that others wouldn¡¯t overhear. ¡°I can¡¯t do that! It needs to be tested and verified¡­.¡± her sentence drifted off as what he said clicked ¡°Wait that would means you have 4 elements?!¡± she yelled. Endrian sighed and dropped his head into his hands. ¡®Well that was about as subtle as yelling bomb in an airport.¡¯ By now everyone was looking at him. Many had already been watching and had seen his first two elements and their level and were blown away. So when others started to watch the spectacle that was now taking place they were happy to gossip about the elements that he had shown already and that he had removed his hand before the testing was finished. Chiyo came over now and talked briefly with the proctor so that she knew what was going on. Upon hearing that he had 4 elemental affinities the followers of the various churches, who had been following her, were starting to get excited. At least they were but they quickly realized that only two affinities had been verified. All of the church followers started to converse in animated whispers with Chiyo as they glanced at Endrian like he was a home cooked meal and they hadn¡¯t eaten in weeks. Seeing their looks he decided it was time for another tactical retreat. When everyone was focused on their conversation and most people were watching Chiyo and the people from the churches Endrian quietly ducked down a little and moved to a different location. After that he made a few more moves after verifying that no one noticed. Finally escaping out of the dining hall and heading to the bathroom. ¡®This is entirely too troublesome.¡¯ he thought to himself. Before he made good his escape though his mom showed up asking ¡°Just what do you think you are doing?¡± ¡°That should be obvious. I¡¯m going to the bathroom and then after everything has quieted down, home.¡± he stated as if this was the most natural thing in the world. ¡°This is surprisingly short sighted of you.¡± she said to him. ¡°Not really. This is entirely too troublesome. I¡¯m not interested in joining myself to a pride, I most certainly am not interested in politics so don¡¯t want to deal with any nobles. Above all of that the church people looked like they wanted to take me home and keep me forever, and let me tell you I am definitely not interested in joining a church.¡± he stated his case as succinctly as possible. ¡°What so you¡¯re going to run?¡± she asked incredulously. ¡°This is not running away. This is a tactical retreat in the face of overwhelming numbers. Actually we can call this a learning experience.¡± he said this while inching further away from her. He realized that time was running out and if he hadn¡¯t made good his escape he was done for. ¡°And what do we tell the family?¡± she asked with some irritation. ¡°We tell them that the teachers were too scary and that I got scared and ran out.¡± he gave her a smile that a used car salesman would have given his life for. ¡°You know you are too smart for your own good.¡± she said this before grabbing him to keep him from fleeing. Inside the dining hall it was at this time that the conversation ended with the church asking to test him in private. Chiyo had agreed as long as she could be present as well. What had taken so long was that each of the followers wanted to test him first and bring him back to the church for further testing. Citing something about a prophecy. So after a long debate with them to decide what to do and how to do it fairly they turned around to let Endrian know what was going to happen. However, he was gone. Chapter 14 - Facing the Music Before Chiyo or any of the other women could process the fact that Endrian had disappeared from right under their noses, the door to the dining hall opened drawing everyone¡¯s attention. Endrian and his mother had just stepped back in and momentarily paused under the pressure of everyone¡¯s gaze. After the short pause Endrian started moving again while his mother waited at the door. He walked back up to Chiyo and the women of the church wearing a helpless smile on his face as he arrived. ¡°Why would you leave like that?¡± Chiyo asked him in bafflement. Endrian paused for a moment thinking about his response. There were a lot of reasons for him to disappear like that. First it was a way to take the initiative from them so that he controlled the flow of the conversation, though he couldn¡¯t say that to them as that would raise their guard against him. Second he wasn¡¯t needed here since everyone was busy discussing what should be done with him without talking to either himself or his mother, though, he couldn¡¯t bring that up either. Finally it¡¯s always amusing for the person that everyone is talking about to disappear without anyone noticing at least for person being discussed. In the end, though, he decided to go with ¡°I was just curious if I could vanish while you were all talking about me. Only my mom was aware which is a win as far as I¡¯m concerned.¡± Chiyo wasn¡¯t sure how to respond to this. There was no apology for embarrassing all of the women in charge of the school and testing. There was no apparent motive other than mischief. The arrogance that he projected with that statement was on par with most of the noble male children. This made her feel like she needed to reprimand him but at the same time his talent other than martial skill comprehension was beyond amazing. So much so that even the schools in the capital cities would fight to have him. If his cultivation potential was even halfway decent then he would be possibly the best student this academy had ever seen. So she just stood there somewhat at a loss for words. However, that didn¡¯t stop others from responding for her. ¡°What an arrogant, disrespectful and selfish child. I think Academy Head Chiyo should kick you out and ban you and your family from ever attending this prestigious academy.¡± A deep and overly cultured woman¡¯s voice sounded out from the observation platform. Turning to take a look at who was speaking out Endrian was not surprised to see Xerael¡¯s mother standing at the edge of the platform looking down at him with so much disdain. Endrian¡¯s lips couldn¡¯t help but curl into a sneer as he looked at her. ¡°If I should be kicked out on those merits then what should be done about your son?¡± ¡°What are you talking about you idiotic child? This has nothing to do with my son.¡± she responded. Endrian couldn¡¯t help but sneer even more as she responded as he had hoped and set him up perfectly. ¡°Let¡¯s see your precious son called me an idiot for asking about completing the test because no one had done it before. He mocked and disrespected me. Then during the martial skill comprehension he once again mocked and disrespected me because he saw that my performance wasn¡¯t outstanding. Then his pride and arrogance were on display for everyone to see when he completed the affinity testing. The only thing he hasn¡¯t shown to everyone is his selfishness. Though I¡¯m sure that¡¯s only a matter of time. So based on what you said that being arrogant, disrespectful and selfish he should also be kicked out and everyone from his family no longer allowed to attend the academy. Correct? Not to mention that if I am idiotic where does that place your son considering he couldn¡¯t finish the same test I did.¡± ¡°This is not about my son! This is about-¡± before she built up a towering rage she was interrupted. Chiyo decided to intervene and cut her off by saying ¡°Tyrina that¡¯s enough. I appreciate your opinion but this is not your home. Endrian if you and your mother would come with us we have some things to discuss with you.¡± Getting an acknowledgement from Endrian she continued on ¡°I and the priestesses of the churches shall take our leave and the assistants and church deacons will continue to proctor your tests. The results will be given in a week. Thank you all.¡± She moved forward and ushered Endrian to follow her while glancing over to make sure that his mother was going to come as well. Chiyo and the priestesses surrounded Endrian and his mother as they walked out of the dining hall and made their way across the campus.They came to a magnificent building that had multiple terraces. There were areas like parks on each of the terraces. Endrian could see other people walking around most of them were women and they were wearing robes of various colors however each of them had a silver cord acting as a belt. Unfortunately for Endrian no one bothered to explain anything as they walked briskly to a secluded room inside the first level. After entering the room he took a look around and didn¡¯t see much. There were a few chairs and there was one of those crystal lotuses sitting on a platform. Next to the crystal lotus there was a black pillar that was a meter tall. Other than that there were no windows just those glowing rocks embedded in the wall that illuminated the room. ¡°Let us get the introductions out of the way first so that we can all discuss things openly.¡± Chiyo said to everyone. When Endrian heard what she said he quickly looked at the other 6 people in the room besides Chiyo, his mother and himself. He could see different looks on their faces most had complicated or blank expressions which made them hard to read. Though he did see at least one look of impatience but that could have any number for different reasons. Endrian¡¯s mom steps forward and introduces herself first and says humbly ¡°My name is Allyce, fourth wife of Davian and mother of Endrian.¡± Chiyo nods and responds ¡°I believe my introductions have been taken care of earlier so allow me to introduce the priestesses with us. First we have Isahalne. She is the priestess of Azmera Goddess of Strategies.¡± Indicating a woman with long sea green hair with a few strands of grey mixed in as well. Her eyes were black and she was wearing a white robe with a symbol that looked like the silhouette of a raptor. She was overweight, and not the fighter type of overweight, but rather like someone who was complacent in their position and over indulged. Endrian wasn¡¯t sure if this was attractive in the aesthetics of his new society or not but she did have some enormous mammary glands which he couldn¡¯t help but stare at for a moment. Though his look wasn¡¯t lustfull at all it was more just being stunned by their sheer size. While he was no expert those things had to be like JJ sized. Chiyo¡¯s voice pulled him back from his thoughts as she introduced the next person ¡°Next we have Gisvae. Priestess of Joslena, Goddess of Life and Healing.¡± She was also an older lady with some grey in here sandy blond hair. She had hazel eyes and was fit but not toned. She was also easily the shortest woman here besides his mother. She wore a grey robe that was well made and looked like silk. The emblem on her chest was a Sun with 9 points spaced evenly around it kind of like a clock and there were 9 smaller points in between each of the larger ones. She also wore a kind smile on her face as she bowed her head in acknowledgement. ¡°Then we have Amelee. Priestess of Mophia, Goddess of Knowledge.¡± A lady with sky blue hair and violet eyes moved forward and smiled when she was called. She was heavy set but not obese about average height for the women Endrian had seen so far which put her at 1.8 meters in height. Her weight was also considered exceptionally attractive here. She wore a silver robe with white trim and a symbol of an open scroll. ¡°Aanys is the priestess of Ordises, God of Music and mate of the three previous goddesses.¡± She was a younger looking woman that had dark black hair with silver highlights. Her eyes were brown with shades of green mixed in. She had an average build and face nothing in particular standing out about her. Her robe was a light blue and had the symbol of a recorder or clarinette. ¡°Our final two are Esalana and Aubrin. Priestesses of Anos, God of Combat, and Emjir, God of the Forge, respectively.¡± Esalana was an imposing woman standing at 2.1 meters tall with red hair kept short. She had a scar on her face that went from her left temple to her left ear and looked like a bear had taken a swipe at her. This did not detract from her looks but rather added character to her stern face and made her black eyes stand out. The clothing she wore was not like the others instead of a robe she wore some type of dark red leather armor. There was some type of black clothing underneath her armor. She carried a sword on her hip and a shield on her back. The symbol she had was two swords crossed that were silver and looked embossed in the hard boiled leather chest piece. Aubrin was also an imposing figure but in a different way she was shorter but she was built like a brick shit house. Her arms are easily as big as her quads. Her chest must be 140cm in circumference. She had brown hair and red eyes. She also did not wear a robe but rather some leather pants that had burn marks on them and a tank top shirt that left very little to the imagination. On her arm was a scar brand in the shape of an Anvil. Continuing on Chiyo said ¡°Now that the formalities are out of the way there are a few things we need to go over with you. First of all we need to see what elemental affinities you have and the level of compatibility with each. Then we want to test you on the cultivation potential stone. One those are done the formalities of the entrance exam can be completed.¡± ¡°Before we start all of this what is it that all of you were discussing. I want to know what I am getting into before I do anything.¡± Endrian stated. ¡°Ender! Show some respect please you''re embarrassing your mother. They must think you were never taught proper manners.¡± Allyce said with some irritation and embarrassment. ¡°I¡¯m sorry mother but I will have to disagree with you this time. I know what I came here for and contrary to what most people think I am not here for the honor of our family, nor am I hear to meet a future bride or brides. What I want is the knowledge in the library and if that knowledge is going to cost me my freedom or the freedom of my family then I don¡¯t need it. If that means throwing away a gold coin and biding my time until I can gather the information another way; then so be it.¡± he said with authority showing that he was not someone who would be led around by his nose. Amelee decided to speak up at this point. ¡°Child you may be here for those reasons but I believe that you were brought here for reasons even we don¡¯t fully understand. So before we start fighting over detail which may not mean anything let me tell you a story first.¡± ¡°About 100 winters ago the priestesses of our god and goddesses each received a dream. This dream was a terrible dark dream that terrified those who had it. They ranted for many days and even many lunar conjunctions of time. Each one saying that the end of everything was coming. They spoke of beasts that were abominations. Things of great power, intelligence and evil. They watched the destruction of our world in this dream. After watching the fighting and destruction they could see our world filled with these abominations, and everything they knew and loved was either destroyed or defiled. After this they were given a message. A message which was the only hope for this dream to not become reality. In this message a champion was spoken of. A person of such talent that they could protect us from the abominations. There were three signs to watch for to find this chosen person. First would be a phenomenon in the sky this would signify that the awakening of the potential champion. Second would be the glowing red sky which would be the sign that the abominations were coming. This second sign indicated that the potential champion from the first sign was no longer a potential champion but the one and only champion of the gods. The third and final sign would be a talent that had at least 4 elemental affinities.¡± She paused for added effect and to gauge Endrian¡¯s response. Unfortunately there was no discernible reaction that she could see. She was slightly disappointed but continued on. ¡°This brings us to you child. First off you came from one of the towns that was overrun by the beast hoard. The town you came from had a phenomenon appear in the sky a week prior to the beast hoard. Second by all reports the day after the phenomenon occurred a strange red glow appeared to the west. This meant that the champion had been sent and the forces of evil had arrived. When we realized this we started questioning all of the survivors from your town and although we checked with all of the surviving people no one admitted that the phenomenon occurred when their child went through their awakening. We had checked the affinities of all the girls from your town because we thought that a champion would be a woman. None of them had more than three affinities. We feared that she was lost or killed and that we had already failed our divine task.¡± At this point she looked pointedly at Allyce. Understanding the implications Allyce said ¡°Well priestess, the followers did come by and ask about the awakening with the phenomenon. What they had asked was did any of our daughters go through an awakening when the phenomenon occurred. Which we of course answered truthfully.¡± Esalana spoke up at this saying forcefully ¡°You intentionally misguided us! You could have easily said that your son went through the awakening at this time. Do you have any idea what you have done?¡± Gisvae took this time to join the conversation ¡°Esalana, accusing them of misleading us or hiding information is not going to help anything. We also have not determined if he is actually the one of the prophecy.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting the original site for this novel and more. Chiyo once again stepped in as the voice of reason ¡°Endrian, as you can see this is very important so we would like to verify everything before we start making statements that cannot be unmade. If you would please step up to the testing devices so we can see the results.¡± Endrian didn¡¯t respond verbally but he did move towards the testing devices. He had a lot going on in his mind right now. First of all why should he worry about what some dream had dictated for him. It had nothing to do with him. At the same time he was having a conflicting thought that there is no free lunch so to speak. He knows that he was pulled from his previous world and life and sent here with full memories of his past which then leads to the logical conclusion that there is a higher power guiding him, be it a god or goddess or whatever. Then a thought pressed down on these thought saying that this would be very troublesome and he wouldn¡¯t be able to do what he wants with any freedom. Then there was the chance that what the dream said was true which would technically make him responsible for the life and death of who knows how many people. Not to mention those that had already died. While all of these confusing and conflicting thought were going through his head he had moved to the testing device and wasn¡¯t even paying attention as the device moved through his affinities. First was his lightning affinity which was showing 100% compatibility. Next his metal affinity which also shot up to 90% compatibility before moving to magnetism which was also 90% compatibility. Then his air affinity showed up at 70% compatibility. After air he showed fire, water, earth, light, gravity, wood, space, and a three other colors that they didn¡¯t recognize and didn¡¯t understand the feeling of. All of these showed up as 10-20% compatibility. Endrian was lost in his own thoughts and didn¡¯t pay attention to the results of the test. When the colors stopped flashing he removed his hand and proceeded to the next testing device. He was unaware of what was happening and just barely giving any attention to instructions at least until he felt a sharp pain in his finger. He tried to yank his hand away but something was holding it in place. ¡°What the hell!!¡± He exclaimed. Now that he was paying attention he could see Chiyo holding his hand in place over the black meter tall column. Less than a second later a drop of his blood fell onto the column and Chiyo released his hand. Cradling his hand he said ¡°You could have warned me!¡± ¡°We did.¡± she said bluntly ¡°All you did was grunt. So when we asked your mother she said that this often happens when you get focused on things and stop paying attention to everything around you. She told us to just go ahead.¡± While they were talking the column started to light up. Gisvae also came over and quickly healed his finger. Endrian didn¡¯t even notice his finger had stopped hurting because he was busy trying to decide if he was offended at them for slicing his finger without him knowing, offended at his mom giving consent for something like that or offended with himself for being clueless to it all. Looking over at the column that was lighting up. There were now 6 thick lines with 9 thin lines between each of the thick lines. As everyone continued to watch the lines continued to light up. Until there were 8 thick lines wrapped around the column with 9 thin lines between each of the thick lines. There were also 9 thin lines extending past the 8th thick line. Endrian was watching this very carefully and was interested in it until he realized that he had no idea what it meant. So he looked at Chiyo and said ¡°So what does this mean?¡± Without taking her eyes off the column she said ¡°This means that you are the most talented person, male or female, to ever come through this academy.¡± Right after she said that a 9th thick line started to become visible just before the column went dark. All of the women in the room were still staring at the column even though it was no longer showing anything. After a moment they all started talking at the same time. Some were taking to each other, others were talking to Endrian but none of it was understandable since they were all talking over each other. Though based on the looks of excitement visible in their eyes Endrian now knew what a piece of bloody meat would feel like in shark filled waters. ¡°Ladies! Let¡¯s get ourselves under control please!¡± Chiyo said loudly. She waited a brief moment for the other women to quiet down and then looked at Endrian. ¡°Endrian, while the answer should be obvious we should verify everything. You were the one that awakened when the phenomenon occurred over your village yes?¡± Endrian briefly thought about lying but realized that ultimately it would be pointless. So he nodded his head yes. He still wasn¡¯t sure how to feel about this. It was just too much to process. This was much bigger than he had thought it would be. He had understood he was not normal in many ways but he had no idea his level of abnormal had gone this far. He couldn¡¯t help but think of the movie The Matrix when cypher was talking with Neo and he said ¡®Je-sus. What a mind job.¡¯ There were things going on so fast in his head he wasn¡¯t even consciously processing them all. The next thing he heard was Isahalne talking ¡°...listening? Endrian you need to pay attention, time is critical. We¡¯ve talked with your mom and she agrees that you should come with us to the church and study and prepare for your destiny.¡± ¡°Whoa, whoa. First of all I¡¯m not going anywhere until I have more information. I do not work like ¡®Oh goody there¡¯s a prophecy about me! Do I get a sucker with that?¡¯ If there are some abominations invading then grab your experts before they get here and destroy whatever is letting them in. This is not hard people. Hell, you¡¯re the priestess of the Goddess of Strategies right? Here¡¯s a phrase for you ¡®The best defense is a good offense.¡¯ To elaborate find out where they are coming from and destroy them before they get established.¡± Endrian started spewing out little pearls of wisdom punctuated with sarcastic comments so he could push the responsibility off to someone else as quickly as possible. This way he wouldn¡¯t have to deal with the overwhelming possibilities. Off to the side Esalana could be heard saying ¡°Ooh, I like him.¡± Chiyo spoke up, after Endrian finished speaking, saying ¡°My sister has already sent a scout to determine the origin and potential cause of the beast horde. Assuming that the prophecy is valid we thought that the place where the beast horde originated from might contain clues as to who or what our enemy is and if nothing else give away their location. We have not heard back from them yet.¡± ¡°Okay then until we hear back from them we are going to pretend that those dreams never happened.¡± when Endrian said this every single woman in the room, his mom included, glared at him. Aubrin decided to finally join the conversation though what she said was short and sweet ¡°Pretending something didn¡¯t happen when it did is about as smart as going to war with a wooden training weapon and no armor.¡± ¡°But it¡¯s just a dream, there¡¯s no proof, no solid evidence¡­¡± before he could finish his statement the glares silenced him once again. Aubrin continued to hammer home her point. ¡°Every single high priest or priestess of the different gods had the same dream with in the span of a few days. It¡¯s possible if it was only 1 or 2 people having the same dream it could be thought of as coincidence. In this case there were 6 people in positions of high respect, located in different churches and in different parts of the world, all having the same dream with the same warnings. This is no longer just a dream but a divine prophecy.¡± He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about this prophecy but 6 people in different locations all in highly respected positions would not likely just up and start spouting nonsense. Still this was not a decision he was ready or even willing to make just based on such little evidence. If there was a problem then he could switch his footing and move forward. This would also give him time to stabilize a cultivation path, determine threats if any, and settle family matters. So he decided to take a step back for the sake of moving forward. ¡°Okay so the goal is to train me so that I am fully prepared to face this threat correct?¡± he waited until he received nods from the women present excluding his mom. ¡°Okay so then regardless of if the threat is real or not,¡± he pressed on despite the new wave of glares ¡°as long as I am training and increasing my cultivation then there should be no problem right? On top of that even if I did agree to train with you in the churches I would want my family moved with me or at the very least to a centralized location so that I can know they are as safe as possible. Which would require logistics and costs which means time. So here is what I would propose: I go to school here, I study with whatever instructors you recommend, no one knows about my supposed existence as the saviour, once we have information on the current threat then we can reevaluate what needs to be done. This is a win-win since I can start training immediately and there is no need to relocate my family again.¡± Esalana chuckled and said ¡°That works, it matters not where I beat you to a pulp.¡± she grinned at Endrian. ¡°Okay. New rule: she¡¯s not allowed to be an instructor.¡± Endrian deadpans while pointing at Esalana. At this Allyce couldn¡¯t help but giggle. Though it didn¡¯t last long as Isahalne started to get upset. ¡°This is not acceptable! There are resources and experts that have been set aside to guide our champion. We can¡¯t just throw all of our preparations away. You need to come with us.¡± Though Endrian felt it was obvious that she was only cared about him going with her. ¡°You follow the Goddess of Strategies correct?¡± Without waiting for a response he continued with a smile. ¡°Here¡¯s some more advice for you. No plan survives first contact the only thing that matters is how fast the person can adapt. I¡¯m not seeing much adaptability here.¡± ¡°You infuriating little child!¡± She yelled. ¡°This has to do with the survival of our world and all of our people. I will not let some foolish child risk everything because he doesn¡¯t want to follow orders.¡± Hearing this Endrian put on a serious face. ¡°Are you the saviour and champion Isahalne? If not then the decisions about what will happen to your champion do not fall to you. Until we have sufficient information to make a proper decision jumping to conclusions is always a bad choice.¡± Amelee couldn¡¯t help but smile at Endrian¡¯s last statement. It almost felt like the core beliefs of her religious order spoken in such a simple way. Chiyo, on the other hand, once again felt the need to step in as she could see there would not be a decent outcome if this continued on ¡°For now let us let him train here. We will all stay and notify the various people and factions behind us that we have found a person who may be the chosen champion of the gods. Bring whatever resources you feel are necessary so that we can help him advance while we determine all of the information.¡± ¡°There is nothing to determine or figure out. We have verified the signs that our gods have sent us. That is all the information and details that needs to be determined and anything else is just wasting time.¡± Isahalne said with religious fervor. It was obvious that the other priestesses agreed with this statement as well. ¡®See this is why I hate dealing with religious nut jobs. It wouldn¡¯t matter if the sky was blue and the trees were green if they were told that it was black and white then so be it the sky would be black and the trees white from then on.¡¯ Endrian thought while trying to figure out how to deal with people that didn¡¯t follow logic. It was like talking to a wall no matter what you said they wouldn¡¯t listen unless it matched up with what they decided was right. ¡°Okay let¡¯s meet halfway then. Let¡¯s say I am the chosen champion, yay me. That still doesn¡¯t change the fact that I have no intentions of leaving here at this point. Nor do I want others to know who I supposedly am because this would cause other irritating complications. Not to mention my own over inflated ego. That being said then that leaves us with the result of: if you want to help me then you will have to do so here. Anyone trying to force or manipulate me into doing something I do not want, can just expect to watch the world burn.¡± thinking for a second Endrian realized that this wasn¡¯t really meeting them halfway but giving a mental shrug he just let it go because he didn¡¯t really care about meeting them anyway. This left all the women stunned. Some were infuriated with his blasphemous tone and talk, others were thoughtful and others seemed to have no reaction at all. After letting the words sink in Endrian followed up with ¡°Now let¡¯s all take a step back and think about what benefits everyone the most.You all want me to be strong and powerful and lead the world to overcome the evil. I want to gather information and if possible remove the problem before it needs me to be powerful so. Let¡¯s gather the information while I train here for now. If it is proven that I am not progressing fast enough or that resources are not sufficient out here then after a year we can reevaluate where we stand. This allows time for my youngest sister to go through her awakening at which point moving is no longer an issue for me.¡± Chiyo latched onto this like a life preserver in a stormy ocean. ¡°I think we can agree to this. We can determine what needs to happen a year from now at the latest. This gives us time to start your training and gather information on the enemy. This also keeps the politics away from Endrian so that he can focus on becoming stronger. Can we all agree to this?¡± After she received nods from all of the women she continued ¡°Endrian the results of the entrance exam will be posted in a week. Your name will not be on there, though, I dare say that it should be obvious that you will still attend here for now. All school fees for you shall be waived. School fees for your sisters shall be waived as well but they will still need to pass the testing next year if you are still here. While school for everyone starts in one lunar conjunction you will start here the day after tomorrow. Do you have any questions?¡± she paused waiting for him or anyone to voice any concerns or problems. Hearing nothing she said ¡°Then let us adjourn here and we will meet with you the day after tomorrow, please get your affairs in order as you will be here most of the day and will have little time for personal affairs. Take this token and show it to the guards at the gate when you come back. I will expect to see you at the gate by sunrise.¡± She said this while escorting them out of the room. The priestesses following behind and moving off in different directions probably to notify their church and to start preparing a training course. On the way home both were quiet. Endrian thinking about the implications of the prophecy and put together with what he knows the probability of it being for him was exceptionally high. He wasn¡¯t dumb enough to ignore all of the facts in front of him pointing to this conclusions. That doesn¡¯t mean he wanted to accept it either. So he kept quiet and pondered the responsibility the work and the benefits versus the potential costs. Not to mention the implications of being reborn in this world with memories from his previous life. There had to be a reason for it beyond just being lucky. His mom on the other hand was more like the walking dead, at least from Endrian¡¯s point of view. How do you react to finding out your child is the saviour of your world. Pride, fear, excitement, disbelief, anger, joy it was like a tornado went through her emotions and different ones kept surfacing. Sometimes there would be a faint smile on her face other times she would grip Endrian¡¯s hand tightly. She just looked overwhelmed which probably explained why she didn¡¯t jump in during some of Endrian¡¯s more outrageous statements and arguments with the priestesses. After they arrived back at their new home they went inside. Ethese was the first to notice their return. Dropping what she was doing she ran over ¡°Big brother did you pass?¡± At this question Endrian could only smile. Chapter 15 - School Life Endrian couldn¡¯t help but tease Ethese some. ¡°Your big brother is the most amazing and bestest, right? So how do you think I did?¡± ¡°You just had to pass, I know it. I bet you did the best out of everyone.¡± she said as she clenched her firsts in excitement and trying to convince herself that she was right. After staring off into space as she pictured him winning something she then turned and watched Endrian very closely hoping for any sign of how he did, but he held his teasing smile in place. Allyce watched this and said ¡°Stop teasing your sister Ender. You know she is going to be intolerable until you tell her how well you did.¡± Hearing this Ethese squealed in excitement and ran over to him prancing around in front of him. She was flinging her hands back and forth like a overcharged version of jazz hands. He stepped forward and pulled her into a hug and said ¡°Let¡¯s just say I did really good. Now, let¡¯s get everyone else so I only have to tell it once.¡± When everyone was gathered and dinner prepared Endrian proceeded to tell them about how the test had progressed. He was able to tell most of the tale without interruptions but there were a few instances where someone asked questions like if he had intentionally tried to do bad on the martial skill portion since they knew how skilled he was at home. He told them that he didn¡¯t try too hard on that portion to offset his overwhelming performance on the written test but that he also didn¡¯t just get the different skills at least not in that short of a time. He could memorize the steps perfectly in seconds but making those steps his, even with roughly an hour of time, not so much. When it came to the affinity full test his mom had to elaborate as he wasn¡¯t paying attention at the time. When it came to the three colors he tried to describe them as best he could the first color was peach and it wasn¡¯t an element that was associated with it but more like a concept. In this case the concept was peace.The next was a transparent color it had made the crystal phase in and out of view when he was testing and this was a concept of time as far as he could discern. The final color was actually three colors mixed together which was blue, white and silver. The concept associated was order. After they had covered everything about the test they stopped there as they didn¡¯t want to divulge the prophecy to everyone at the table. So they amended the end of it to say that he did so well that the Academy head decided to let him take specially classes that would start the day after tomorrow. He was even able to get the cost of tuition covered by the academy head. This made everyone excited that didn¡¯t already know about it. Endrian¡¯s sisters all had heated gazes as they felt challenged by this little brother of theirs. From the what Endrian could tell from the look it was more like what a good elder sibling feels when their younger brother or sister exceeds them. Happiness for their sibling as well as a desire to improve to support him and to be able to stay relevant or to even protect them. Well except for Ethese and her look was more of a full on hero worship. After dinner and the stories were done Endrian¡¯s sisters went about their chores to help with prep the materials for their bow construction and work on their homework for the night. Endrian took some time to write out some test for Ethese to take since he was going to be gone. He didn¡¯t use any of the questions from the entrance exam but he did create questions that would duplicate the points that she would need to master to pass the exam. Before Endrian got too far creating some mock tests for Ethese, Allyce asked him to come and talk with his parents. There she had him tell them about the prophecy, she also told them about the conflict that Ender had had with Xerael and his mother Tyrina Naxxremis. When Davian and his other wives heard the name of the house they had a fairly pained expression on their faces which Endrian didn¡¯t miss. ¡°So what¡¯s the deal with these Naxxremis people?¡± Endrian asked. Davian sighed and with a complicated and sorrowful look he started talking. ¡°The noble house of Naxxremis is the same house that lead to the destruction of the noble house of Dhamon, my house of birth. This happened, oh, probably about 10 to 15 winters past. I was a bright and fairly gifted child of our family. I was the second son and despite, or perhaps because of, my talent for numbers and cultivation I was deemed to be an excellent sacrifice for my family to strengthen ties to the other noble families that supported our business. My family had set up a union between me and another noble house, the house of Cernif. They provided the food supplies for the city guards and my family provided the majority of the trained guards for the city.¡± He paused for a moment somewhat reliving the memories then he continued. ¡°Well, to make a long story short. I made the decision to abandon school and my home I bought passage on a ship leaving Ampleforth and then a few more ships after that. I thought I was leaving this city behind me forever. Afterwards I met your mothers and later found that I had been disowned by my family to reduce the impact of my leaving. There were, however, other houses that capitalized on the affront that I had created that eventually led to the destruction of my family. The only reason I know this is that there were people sent by my family to recover me but by the time they found me the family had been destroyed. They had received word that the Naxxremis had instigated the Cernif family to take action against us. Which led to the Naxxremis family replacing my Dhamon family for providing trained guards to the city.¡± This was said with a slightly heavy and sorrowful tone. ¡°Anyway this is not something I like to think about for very long, so let¡¯s leave it at this.¡± Endrian, seeing that his dad was upset by these talks walked over to him and patted his back. Then Vanya said ¡°So let¡¯s get back to this prophecy. What does this mean for our family, for Ender, and for our future plans?¡± Before Allyce had a chance to respond Ender, while still looking at and attempting to comfort his dad, said ¡°Well from how things worked out it appears that there are different factions in the church that want to get control of me. This could be for political benefits or for religious benefits, however, which it is is unclear right now. There is an obvious desire to foster me to the point of taking me from my family. Honestly were it not for me threatening them I probably would be on my way to some religious fortress or holy ground to be trained by experts. There are also probably some benefits for the academy head Chiyo as she kept subtly implying and helping me when I wanted to stay here. Again the underlying reasons for her help are not clear at this time, as there are too many possible reasons for her help. Beyond that we currently have roughly a year to stay here. This was gained with the stipulation that I advance at an acceptable pace. Also the city guards have been sent to determine the place where the beast horde started from and see if there is any validity to the prophecy and these abominations. If there is and they find the source of the ¡®evil¡¯ then hopefully they will eradicate the problem and then I will no longer be necessary to defend our world. Though, now that I think about it Ratrece you were attacked by a beast that could be said to be an abomination right?¡± His tone was somewhat demanding as he was not entirely focused on what he was talking about. ¡°Yes I was.¡± She responded as an almost automatic reaction to the tone, which irritated her when she caught it. Realizing that getting upset at this point wouldn¡¯t help anything she continued on anyway. ¡°It¡¯s what bit my hand and forced Allyce to sever my arm when we saw that after I was bitten there was some type of poison attacking my hand and traveling up my arm.¡± Ratrece finished. ¡°So then based on this information alone, we can assume that there is some weight to the prophecy of a great evil coming to destroy the world.¡± Endrian said. Davian spoke after hearing what Endrian just said saying ¡°How are you taking this so easily?¡± Various sounds of agreement coming from the women as well. ¡°Well there are a number of reasons. First I doubt that even if I am the champion of the gods, which I¡¯m still not sure if I want to believe, that a 7 winter old boy is going to make a difference any time soon. Not to mention my role as champion was not defined. I mean am I the war leader for the world, am I a pawn to be used as a key to close a door, or will the gods grant me special powers? Based on talent,¡± and he thought to himself without stopping ¡®and the fact that I have memories of my past life,¡¯ ¡°as well as the fact that the church people have set up resources and trainers I am to be fostered and given time to grow into my power. So even if everything is true it doesn¡¯t mean everything has to change immediately. Second, if there is a place where these abominations are coming from and we can find how they are getting here then if we send plenty of military people or guards they should be able to remove the threat without me doing anything. Finally I don¡¯t have enough information to accept that the fate of this world resides with me, however, whether I agree with it or not is not relevant so worrying or overreacting will just cause more issues anyway.¡± ¡°Now back to topic. As far as future plans for the family are concerned nothing has changed and more than likely nothing will for at least the next year. Beyond that when we have more information then we can reassess the situation. I¡¯ll do my best to avoid further conflicts with noble idiots in the future so as to not cause us any problems. This shouldn¡¯t be too difficult as I expect the church and the academy to be privately tutoring me though we will see how things turn out.¡± Endrian finished talking and looked around to see the faces of his family in various states of surprise or shock. Thinking for a second he realized that he was being much more forceful with his statements and taking charge without thinking about what he was saying. Maybe the thought of this prophecy was affecting him more than he wanted to admit. Lowering his head he said ¡°Ah sorry, those are just my thoughts on the matter. We can follow the plans that everyone finds to be best for us as a family.¡± Endrian had always tried to be respectful of his parents even when they were making decisions he didn¡¯t agree with because he felt that it was always best to try respect his parents for the sacrifices they made for him and his sisters. It¡¯s why he had offered to help when he learned his letters and numbers because he felt it was a way to give back to them for sheltering him and feeding him.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road. Davian reached down and ruffled Ender¡¯s hair and said while smiling at him ¡°We¡¯ll think about what you have said. Go on and do whatever you need to do to get ready for school.¡± Ender left and finished making up some practice tests for Ethese so that she had stuff to practice. He also made up some notes for whoever would be helping her in her studies. After that he realized that there really wasn¡¯t much that he needed to do to prepare for school. There was no easily accessible school supplies like in his previous world. He had no requirements given to him so he just went under the premise that if they want him to have something they would either provide it or tell him so he could acquire it later. The next day was fairly relaxed. No one came by with any demand or requirements for school. Endrian trained his main elemental affinities, helped Ethese study. Created some tests for his other sisters so that they could have a mock exam of the written and math portion of the test to verify they had a sufficient level to pass. He also wrapped up some of the financial stuff that he had responsibilities for and handed everything back over to his dad. The next day he got up early, went through his morning ablutions, got dressed and headed to the academy. The sun had yet to crest the horizon by the time he left the house, but the sky had started to lighten and change colors, so he easily made it to the academy gates before sunrise. When he arrived the guards came up to him asking him what he was doing. He introduced himself and explained that he was supposed to meet academy head Chiyo today and he presented the token she had given him. When they saw the token one of them pulled out a communication crystal and relayed that there was a child here by the name of Endrian that was told to meet with the academy head. Endrian could hear her voice over the communication crystal saying ¡°I¡¯ll be down in a moment to collect him, for now you can let him in the gate so he doesn¡¯t draw attention.¡± Chiyo arrived after a few minutes of waiting. Fortunately nothing unexpected happened and they quickly moved down the path. While they walked Chiyo chatted with him about his family and made sure that he had everything taken care of at home so that he could focus on his lessons. This prompted Endrian to ask about the lessons that he would be taking. To which she responded that there would be a martial skill instructor to help train endrian with weapons and to find a weapon that works best for his fighting style and physique. There would be an instructor that would guide Endrian in cultivation techniques he would be able to choose a technique from the different techniques provided if he couldn¡¯t find any that matched him then he was free to look through the cultivation manuals available at the academy. Isahalane would be providing a war strategist that should arrive within a week until then she would be personally tutoring him in the basics. Beyond that they had some courses in alchemy and arrays. If he is interested in studying metal forging and smithing Aubrin would be happy to work with him. Another activity that was offered was music which Endrian was surprised about and couldn¡¯t help but say ¡°Not that I¡¯m complaining but why would music be offered when it doesn¡¯t have any real combat value?¡± ¡°Who says it doesn¡¯t have combat value. There are many ways to use sound and music to attack an opponent. Though, these attacks tend to be omnidirectional which makes them incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to use in any type of group environment. Aside from that though we have also found that balance is key so arts such as painting, singing, musical instruments, and more ¡®recreational¡¯ studies are offered as a way of balancing out students.¡± Chiyo responded to him. After a fairly lengthy discussion about the possible different courses and times as well as required courses, Endrian¡¯s likes and dislikes, they arrived at the top of one of the coral looking spires. In front of them was a area what was surprisingly covered in grass. Standing on the grass beside a table that had multiple weapons on it was a woman that had a fairly intimidating demeanor. She had dark green hair with a lock of it that was a bright flame red. In contrast with her hair were steel colored eyes. She looked like she weighed 100 to 120 kilos and most of it was muscle. However even with that she wasn¡¯t cut she still maintained a layer of padding over the top that hid the definition of some impressive muscles. She was wearing a tight pair of shorts that were dark red color as well was a top that covered her chest and torso but left her arms bare. Her hair was pulled back and kept in a knot at the back of her head. Endrian couldn¡¯t help but feel that she looked like a christmas colored skunk. Chiyo introduced her as Kuuthyia and then left to go attend other things. Kuuthyia asked him about his current weapons experience and had him change into some clothes that were prepared based on the measurements he had provided the entrance exam verification. She then had him start going through the weapons forms that he knew. This took a few hours and the sun had fully risen by the time he had gone through all of his known forms. So they took a break to get some breakfast at the dining hall. Though break was kind of a stretch as she had him run the entire way to test his endurance after the lengthy time of practising his forms. He took a moment to go to the bathroom and at least wash his hands before getting his food and eating. He would have rather taken a shower or at least dumped a bucket of water on his head but unfortunately there was no place for this. After eating his food with Kuuthyia and being stared at by the other students in the dining hall they finished up and then she had Endrian run all the way back including up the stairs. He was forced to slow down lest he lose his breakfast and he had a feeling that he was going to need all the energy he could get. Fortunately with his current level at the 9th level of the Gathering rank and his training from earlier in life he was not without a good understanding of his body and when to push and when to back off. His training went on for the rest of the day with Kuuthyia. She showed him swords, bows, knives, axes, throwing axes, two handed spears, maces, and more. She ran him through drill after drill watching him and how his body responded and how easily he picked up the different forms. There would be periodic breaks where Chiyo or other instructors would come and talk with Endrian about different topics and then he would be back to the weapons training. By the end of the day he had gone through every weapon on the table. Some of the weapons he was patently not cut out for. Chained weapons were definitely a no for him. He wound up hitting himself more than anything he even amazingly wound up hitting Kuuthyia while going through one of his practice forms with something that looked like a pair of chakrams that were chained together. As the sun was going down and the open field was no longer usable Endrian sighed in relief. He turned and looked at Kuuthyia and asked ¡°Are we going to be doing this every day?¡± ¡°No. We went through all of this today so that I could optimize a routine for weapons that best fit your personality and style of combat. Tomorrow you will be working with a much reduced set in more complex forms to see which ones fit you the best. For now go get some rest, the assistant over there will take you to your room.¡± She said as she waved him away already falling into thought about the weapons she was going to choose and the forms she would have him practice. Wearily Endrian nodded agreement before his mind caught up to his reactions. ¡°Wait. What do you mean take me to my room.¡± Kuuthyia did not respond though. Turning he looked at the assistant and said ¡°What do they mean my room?¡± Looking a little perplexed the assistant said ¡°The church has reserved the top 10 floors of this spire just for your training sir.¡± ¡°Oh really.¡± Endrain deadpanned. ¡°You go ahead and lead the way to my room.¡± He wanted to see just what they had set up for him. After being led down two floors he was taken to a room down a long hallway. At the beginning of the hallway there were two guards standing in front. When he arrived at the room it opened to a large room. The room was lavish and the bed looked amazing. Like holy crap a real bed. There was even a bathroom with a tub and accoutrements for cleaning. A closet with clothes and a balcony overlooking the school. ¡®So much for them understanding that they don¡¯t get to control me.¡¯ He thought to himself. The first thing he did was take the token that was given to him by Chiyo and toss it on the bed. Then he took off his shirt and shifted to his combat form which amusingly they hadn¡¯t had him use all day. Tying the shirt around his leg he stepped to the balcony and took a deep breath. ¡®This is either going to be amazing or suck. Hopefully it doesn¡¯t suck amazingly.¡¯ then he spread his wings out and attempted to lock them in place. Then he reached out with his arms and held the edges and used his arms to reinforce them being locked in place. Finally taking another deep breath he ran forward and jumped. As he was falling it wasn¡¯t too bad. He was able to get his baland to some extent. He could feel the way the wind caught in the sails of his wings. When he started the fall he was in a locked position not moving his head and paying absolute attention to his body. He could feel the muscles in his wings flexing slightly as it caught the wind. The pull along his back as the wind dragged at him. Once he got comfortable, though, he started to relax some. The drag increased on his back but it was a steady increase and he was able to adjust to the pressure. He started to glide towards the gate area. With his current descent and forward momentum he wasn¡¯t going to make it outside the academy on a glide but he should be outside the area where he will get stopped. During his descent he could tell this was going to get addicting really quick. He turned his head to enjoy the scenery of the world at dusk, the sunset lighting up the sky, the wind whipping by. It was amazing and exhilarating, right up to the point where he turned his head, and then it was terrifying. That slight adjustment threw his whole aerodynamic off. He shifted back and forth, spun in a flat spin for a second. Wound up over correcting and losing any point of reference that he had. He knew he didn¡¯t have too much longer to figure this out as he had already been falling for a couple of seconds. He took a short moment to calm himself and then started to use his air affinity to correct. Listening to his body react after just a second he was able to find balance. He opened his eyes to get his bearing and realized the ground was almost right in front of him. Surprised he flung out his hands and air surged up at his body and down to the ground creating a cushion of air underneath him and a little upward lift just before impact. ¡°Well that was fucking dumb.¡± He said to himself. ¡°Amazing, awesome and really fucking dumb. Then again I¡¯ve had worse. Nothing like dumping your bike at 120 mph and hitting the tire wall on a track day. I¡¯m pretty sure I wasn¡¯t going over 100 this time but that sudden stop was rough.¡± He shook his head groggily and picked himself up off the ground. Standing up a little shaky he reversed his transformation and put on his shirt. Brushed the dirt off his body and clothes as best he could and looked around to get his bearing. He saw the gate not too far from where he was. It was a wonder that no one had come rushing over already. Trotting over to the gate he smiled to himself and said ¡°They can take our lives, but the can never take! OUR! FREEDOM!!!!! Yeah... I am soo not in my right mind after that. Going to have to make sure I stay awake for a while till I¡¯m not talking nonsense anymore. Hmmm, that may take the rest of my life.¡± With that he left the academy and made his way home. Most people none the wiser about his daring, semi-suicidal escape. Chapter 16 - The Day After The next morning in an room in the tallest spire of the academy there were a group of women who were, to put it nicely heatedly discussing what had happened to Endrian. ¡°How in all the gods and goddesses could you let him escape Chiyo!¡± Isahalane yelled. ¡°Let him escape?!?! He is not our prisoner! He is a student and a child in need of nurturing and instruction! And who gave you the right to decide the fate of anyone in My school?!!¡± she fire back. ¡°My goddess Azmera gave me the right. Without him we are all doomed!¡± she retorted. ¡°And where are we Now!! Are you trying to destroy any chance we have of getting him to Want to save us?!¡± Chiyo roared. Gisvae stepped between the two women ¡°You two need to take a step back as this will not solve the problem. We need to find where Endrian has gone.¡± Amelee nodded in agreement with Gisvae and said ¡°We have already questioned the guards that were stationed outside the room he was supposed to stay in. They never saw or heard anything after he entered the room. He came in after his training had completed for the day. No one entered or left at any time after that. We are currently getting the gate guards that were on duty last night. Once we have a chance to ask them what they saw if anything then we should know what to do. We also asked Kuuthyia what happened but she said that after they were one with their training for the day she had sent him to his room with an assistant. We even tracked down the assistant and verified what she had said to Endrian when she guided him back to his room.¡± Chiyo turned around, she was still incredibly angry with them for what they had attempted to do. ¡°It serves you right that he ran. He already showed that he was more than capable of disappearing from right under our noses and that was before you had tried to take control of him. Did you honestly expect that it would be different when you gave the appearance of exerting control over him? That was incredibly stupid.¡± sighing she was still worried about him though, if she lost such a prodigy, she couldn¡¯t even imagine how much damage that would cause the reputation of her school. Not to mention having a male with his level of talent able to compete in the tournaments that happened every spring. She could just imagine the support that they could get in a year or two from the royal house if Endrian was able to suppress the other schools in individual events. She just hoped her sister would be able to find him. ¡°Excuse me.¡± A melodic and tender voice spoke up. The voice wasn¡¯t loud but the timber caught everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°What we are doing does not sound right to me. I feel there are chords of dissent and fear mixed in these actions.¡± Aanys looked at the other women in question. ¡°Of course I am afraid.¡± Isahalane said. ¡°The entire fate of the world rests on the shoulders of a little boy. We do not know when he will be needed. We only know that if he is lost our world and everyone on it will be lost.¡± Others murmured their agreement in various forms as well. ¡°While I understand what you are saying I do not agree. To put it in terms that I can identify with, when there is fear in a song this can either add or detract from a melody. When fear controls the melody I have found that it causes discord in the notes this leads to the melody being less than what it could be.¡± Saying this she started plucking the strings of the instrument that she had in her hands. ¡°Music needs to flow naturally. It needs to express the feelings and let the story be told not be controlled by those feelings which destroys the melody.¡± Saying this the chords that she played were fast and sharp and became discordant and painful to the ears. The music stopped and she continued ¡°We need to work together and when we share and uphold each other the music will become more than the individual.¡± As she finished saying this she started to play again. This time a woodwind pipe started playing in harmony with the stringed instrument she was playing and the melody calmed and focused the women in the room. When the melody stopped the women had calmed down. As they come to the realization that there were two instruments play they looked over at Aanys and found that a pan pipes was attached to her arm. It was situated some 5 cm off her arm with a piece of wood wrapped around her bicep and attached to the pan pipes. As they watched the pan pipes shifted and returned to the form of a thick wooden bangle that could be found on both of her arms. ¡°Aanys, thank you. You maybe one of the youngest here but your perception brings clarity.¡± Isahalane said. ¡°I apologize. My actions were clouded by fear of what is to come. I will endeavor to not make this mistake again.¡± Gisvae spoke up at this time ¡°This is good to hear, but I want to ask; why do you seem so much more affected by the prophecy than the rest of us?¡± Isahalane gave a sad smile and said ¡°It was my direct mentor and teacher that had the divine vision. I saw the fear first hand.¡± Her eyes glistened with unshed tears as she remembered those times helping her teach to recover. ¡°It took many lunar conjunctions for my teacher to recover and for the first portion of the first lunar conjunction everyone thought that she had gone insane. The pain, the fear, the lack of support I remember them all vividly. Later when it was found out that it was more than a horrible dream or temporary insanity given as punishment by the goddess everything changed. When she recovered she constantly reminded me and told me the vision in great detail so that I could pass it on to my fostered initiate if it was needed. Even when she finally died and went to Azmera¡¯s home 5 winters past she had strongly reminded me about the divine vision.¡± ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Up in the heavens the various gods and goddesses who were watching focused their attention on Azmera. Kyarus even said ¡°I think you might have gone a little heavy on the end of the world and inducing fear in the dream.¡± Azmera responded ¡°I just showed her exactly what happened to a planet converted by these chaos realm people. I just changed the people in the dream to the people here and her mind added those that she cared about to it. I did not expect it to have this much of an impact. Especially in my order where they are taught to constantly guard against emotions taking control.¡± She had a somewhat embarrassed look when she said this. Phunagiox said ¡°Is there a reason we haven¡¯t given him a dream yet? I know we get to give the champion a dream so that they are prepared.¡± Ordises responded to this ¡°We would and now would be an ideal time. The keynote problem that we have is that he has not accepted any of us as a god in his life. With his solo performance we cannot share the melody of information.¡± ¡°Look I understand you are the god of music but can you please, PLEASE, stop with the musical term references. It is so ridiculous.¡± Phunagiox said. ¡°Yes we all know that without a person¡¯s conscious acceptance of a god or goddess in their life no transcended being may contact them through dreams.¡± Mophina paused and then looked at Phunagiox. ¡°Well, maybe you wouldn¡¯t¡­.¡± ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Back in the home of Endrian, in the workout room. Endrian is going through the different forms that his mother had taught him and then adding in the forms that he had learned yesterday from Kuuthyia. He was about halfway through his forms when Elva showed up. ¡°What brings you here Ender I thought you would be back at school already.¡± she stated. Without stopping his forms he responded ¡°There were some complications so I decided to stay home for now.¡± ¡°What do you mean ¡®you decided¡¯ you can¡¯t do that! That would be such a waste of your talent not to mention I thought this was what you wanted.¡± she said with some confusion. ¡°Oh I want to go to the school, they have information that I feel I desperately need. However, I will not allow them to treat me as a stupid child.¡± he said as he continued to step through his form. ¡°But you are an ignorant child. Aren¡¯t you just throwing a tantrum because they are making the decisions?¡± she asked. Sighing Endrian put away his swords that he was currently practicing with and then looked at Elva. ¡°No I¡¯m not throwing a tantrum. That would imply an emotional response that is not guided by logic. I may be an ignorant child but I am not a stupid one. These two words have different meanings. Ignorant means a lack of knowledge. Stupid means an inability to understand knowledge. Since I am not stupid I should have the right to make decisions about my future and it does not mean that I feel others should make decisions for me. Instead of removing my ability to make pertinent decisions, they should allow me to understand the information and make the decisions. I may well come to the same conclusions that they have, but by removing my ability to even have a say in how things progress, they are treating me as being stupid. At the very least it would mean that they don¡¯t expect me to be able to make good decisions. These actions are not acceptable to me and will not be conducive to me learning in a manner that I am comfortable with. More than anything what I want them to understand is that they cannot control me, if nothing else I have the ability to destroy my talent by doing nothing.¡± ¡°Isn¡¯t that just proving that you don¡¯t have the ability to make proper or good decisions?¡± she asked with a little irritation. ¡°No, it¡¯s not the same. I am not trying to destroy my talent. I am still practicing my forms, and if things go well I will finally be able to start cultivating again. I have been holding off because I want to see other cultivation techniques that are available. If I am correct it won¡¯t take a long time for me to break through to the condensing stage and I want to check other techniques before getting to the Earth stage. That being said I don¡¯t plan on stopping or even slowing down unless I am forced to do so. But a statement needs to be made that everyone understands so that my teachers and instructors will converse with me about the meaning behind the things they are teaching.¡± ¡®That and I need those priestesses to understand and treat my like an equal otherwise we will never make any progress, or at the very least not try to dictate my every move.¡¯ He thought after he finished explaining himself to Elva. ¡°Just be careful Ender. We all are proud of you and your talent is amazing. So make sure you keep moving forward so our family can have a better life.¡± She said. ¡°You know we aren¡¯t living poorly now.¡± He said with incredulity. ¡°Oh I know there are plenty of people that are worse off than us. But your talent and inventions have allowed us to take a step into a larger world. My dream has always been to try and get into the royal army and to earn my way through the strength of my arms. I thought I would never be more than a village guard until we moved here. Now I feel like I have the chance, so don¡¯t screw this up for me!¡± she said while giving him a fierce look. ¡°You know that reminds me I never did get all of my questions answered from when we moved here, or rather fled Landow village. So how did you know-¡± before she got a chance to finish a squeal of ¡°Big brother¡± sounded out and Endrian was tackled by a flying 6 year old. Smiling and catching Ethese, Endrian said ¡°Aren¡¯t you the lazy one when I¡¯m not here.¡± ¡°It¡¯s no fun when big brother isn¡¯t here.¡± she complained. Before he had a chance to say anything they heard Allyce speaking from the stairs to the training room ¡°Ender, why is the city guard at our house asking if you are here?¡± Endrian couldn¡¯t help but get a huge grin on his face, but it was more predatory than amused. When he started to walk towards the stairs without looking at his mom. She said ¡°Don¡¯t you walk away and you better wipe that look off your face.¡± she glared at Endrian to make sure he complied she wasn¡¯t going to play around when the city guards were looking for him. When he looked at her and his grin became more of a smile she continued ¡°Now, tell me what¡¯s going on.¡±This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon. ¡°To put it bluntly they decided I was their prisoner at school.¡± He dropped that bomb and just waited for her to process. He could see surprise, then confusion, and finally anger. ¡°Explain it clearly Ender.¡± She said and so he told her about his day yesterday and how they had reserved the floors and his room as well as the guards at the end of the hallway. ¡°Did you bother to find out if they were keeping you there?¡± Allyce asked after hearing the whole story. ¡°No. Why would I? That just gives them a heads up I¡¯m looking to leave and makes escaping more difficult.¡± he replied. His mom stepped over to him, hugged him and then flicked his head. ¡°Silly child there is no need to be so antagonistic. Ask about these things don¡¯t make assumptions about what someone is doing.¡± ¡°But this is what always happens in these types of situations.¡± he said with a hint of doubt in his voice. ¡°Who told you that?¡± Allyce asked while his sisters watched in confusion and interest. ¡°Uh¡­..¡± ¡®Crap I can¡¯t tell her about stories I read from my previous life that showed this situation and what always happens.¡¯ ¡°No one told me, I just felt like that¡¯s what it was about.¡± ¡®Hmm, maybe I was just over reacting?¡¯ ¡°Okay well let¡¯s go talk to Rantak and see if we can work this out.¡± she said as she started walking towards the stairs with Endrian in her embrace. Ethese and Elva both tagging along. ¡°Rantak?? What¡¯s she doing here?¡± he asked with surprise as they walked towards the entry room. ¡°Obviously she¡¯s here to check on you.¡± Allyce said while rolling her eyes. Chuckling Endrian always did appreciate his mom¡¯s humor it very much reminded him of his dad¡¯s from his previous world. ¡°Yes I know, Mrs. Obvious. But why her? Isn¡¯t she someone high up in the city government?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure I was a little more concerned about the guards looking for my son rather than why someone that we have met is the one looking for him.¡± Allyce said and at this time they had arrived at the room where Rantak was and where there were four more city guards. This wasn¡¯t the first time he had seen her not in her combat form but it was the first time he paid attention. She was still a tall woman. Easily standing a head taller than the others in the room. She had blonde hair similar colored to when she was in her combat form but it was shoulder length with a braid in the front to keep her hair out of her eyes. Her eyes were a ruby red color that contrasted with her blonde hair. She was still not very feminine at least to Endrian¡¯s eyes. She had a strong jaw and her body was covered in bulging muscles. These muscles were partially hidden because of her guard armor. However, this actually made them stand out even more. While endrian was looking her over she smile and said to him ¡°Well it¡¯s good to see you are in good health. My sister was quite worried about you.¡± Endrian had a vague idea of who her sister was so he asked to confirm ¡°Your sister is academy head Chiyo, right?¡± ¡°Yes she is. She has been very interested in you since I told her about you. You disappearing from school has them all concerned. Speaking of which I better let her know you are fine.¡± She said while pulling out a communication crystal. ¡°Chiyo, yes we found him. He is at his home safe and sound.¡± Chiyo¡¯s voice came over the crystal ¡°Would you please escort him back to the academy, and let him know that I am sorry for any confusion or problems that have happened, and that I hope we can work through this.¡± Rantak glanced at Endrian who nodded in response before she said ¡°He¡¯s got it. We¡¯ll be back shortly.¡± After which she put away the crystal. ¡°Just so you know, I do not appreciate being escorted anywhere without an understanding of why I need to be escorted or given a choice in the matter.¡± Endrian told whoever was willing to listen. ¡°You know a good little soldier follows orders without question.¡± She said while giving him an amused smile. ¡°What part of me is a little soldier? Well, little I will give you but I¡¯m pretty sure everyone is little compared to you.¡± He said while returning a playful smile back at her and winking. Both her eyebrows shot up. ¡°Did you just flirt with me?¡± ¡°Nope.¡± putting a look on his face as if this was an obvious statement. ¡®While I¡¯m not really attracted to her her personality just clicks with me. I almost can¡¯t help myself from teasing and flirting with her.¡¯ He thought to himself. At this point one of the other guards cleared their throat and when Endrian and Rantak looked around they could see everyone else in the room had rather awkward looks on their faces. Rantak was not one to be worried about these things but she did straighten up and say ¡°Yes. Well, I think there may have been a misunderstanding and my sister would like you to come back so everyone can talk things out.¡± ¡°Fair enough, but I will state for the record, that if they try to control or manipulate me there will be consequences.¡± He said. Rantak looked at him funny, ¡°What record are you talking about?¡± she asked. ¡°Ah, you know what, nevermind. If problems then consequences, lots of consequences.¡± he said frustrated. Allyce moved next to Rantak and said ¡°He has lots of nonsensical sayings, we usually just let him say what he wants and pick up the essence of his statement without questioning the details.¡± She gave Rantak a knowing look when she said that. ¡°Can we just go.¡± Endrian complained. Elva standing next to Ethese said ¡°You¡¯re such a weirdo Ender. Can¡¯t you be more normal.¡± Endrian rolled his eyes and Ethese got upset ¡°Big brother is not a weirdo, you¡¯re the weirdo.¡± She said and then stormed off. ¡°Look you¡¯ve even corrupted Ethese.¡± Elva said with a sour look. ¡°You know she doesn¡¯t get your sense of humor Elva. Just go after her and let her know you were just playing around.¡± Endrian said to her. ¡°Who said I was playing around.¡± she grumbled but she did turn and head after Ethese. After dealing with the family and letting them know that he wasn¡¯t in trouble Rantak and the guards escorted Endrian back to the academy. Even though it was a short walk from Endrian¡¯s new home to the academy, having a senior government official in uniform with four guards surrounding Endrian did tend to draw attention. With many people discussing what happened for the guards to capture a young boy and why it would require a high level official. Fortunately other than mutterings and gossip most people kept to themselves. After arriving back at the academy Rantak didn¡¯t stop at the gate to drop him off, though the other guards left and headed back to wherever they belonged. Rantak guided him to Chiyo¡¯s office which was irritatingly located in the highest room of one of the biggest spires on campus. No elevators makes for an irritating and time consuming climb, at least as far as Endrian was concerned. As they were climbing Rantak noticed the look on his face and asked ¡°What are the stairs too much for you? I could always carry you.¡± She said with a wink. ¡°No it¡¯s not that, it¡¯s just this is such a waste of time.¡± he said conveying his irritation. ¡°What would you have us do. Not everyone can be so blessed to be able to fly wherever they want you know.¡± She said back to him. ¡°No that wouldn¡¯t work for everyone, but we have flying ships right. They can hover and adjust their height without going moving forwards or back right. So why not hollow out the center of the spire and place whatever it is that allows the ship to go up and down in that center hole? Then it¡¯s a straight shot to wherever you need to go.¡± he said this as if it was the most natural thing while thinking about a good express elevator in a high rise. Rantak paused, and then stopped altogether. Endrian only realized Rantak wasn¡¯t with him when he was a good ten steps ahead of her. When he stopped he looked at her to see her just staring at him, open mouthed in shock. ¡°What it¡¯s not that far of a stretch, you should even have similar versions on the ships instead of having people climb rope ladders. It would be more efficient and allows the ship captain better control of the people when boarding or disembarking.¡± he said while waiting for her to catch up mentally. Not seeing her move except for her to look even more astounded he clapped his hands at her. ¡°I didn¡¯t break her did I?¡± he muttered to himself. Rushing up and picking him up in a hug she said ¡°You beautiful genius boy. Do you have any idea what you are talking about. What this could mean for troop deployment and just¡­ everything.¡± She kissed him on his head and almost crushed him with her hug. ¡°Can¡¯t¡­¡­ breath¡­. Rantak!!!¡± he squeezed out when she was crushing him in her embrace. ¡°Ah sorry. I was just too excited. Come let¡¯s hurry I need to report back as soon as possible to get people working on this.¡± She said this as she took off sprinting up the stairs without putting Endrian down. When she arrived she didn¡¯t slow down at all charging past the female sitting and working outside a set of doors. The poor lady didn¡¯t even have a chance to protest before Rantak had barged through the doors. Inside Chiyo and the priestesses were sitting and enjoying a drink when Rantak and Endrian showed up. All had various looks of surprise and a few had even jumped up in response to the abrupt intrusion. ¡°Chiyo you better take care of this amazing kid. I have to go talk to an array master!¡± she said before turning around and running back out of the room. Her speed several times faster than when she was carrying Endrian. ¡°Ran-¡± Chiyo started to say before realizing that her sister was already gone. Looking at Endrian she couldn¡¯t help ask ¡°What was that about?¡± ¡°It was about a new concept for troop deployment and possible defenses for important buildings.¡± He replied and when he saw the strange look on Chiyo¡¯s face he went ahead and elaborated. ¡°I was complaining about having to run up all the stairs as it¡¯s a huge waste of time. I thought since we have flying ships that can move up and down easily why not just hollow out a column and put whatever makes the ships go up and down in there allowing many people to travel up and down with less work required on their part. From a defensive standpoint of critical buildings this would allow much better control and security during attacks as there would be no direct way for them to climb up. Second I said that they could use this for their ships as well since it would give them more control for who boards the ship and who leaves it. In a combat ship if you had multiple of these devices then you could deploy everyone from a ship in seconds instead of jumping or climbing down a rope ladder. She seemed very excited about the possibilities.¡± The women were stunned. The implications of troop deployment, building security, smaller deployable ships carried by larger ships, high level deployment of troops that could launch from above the clouds without having to slow down or put the larger ship at risk, and these were just what people came up with off the top of their heads. ¡°I¡¯m curious what does this have to do with an array master?¡± Endrian asked. ¡°The ability for a ship to hover is created by an array master on the ships. So she wants to talk to one as soon as possible to see the feasibility of your proposal.¡± Isahalane said. ¡°Well, I suppose we should focus on the main topic, which is why I am here.¡± Endrian decided to refocus the discussion. Isahalane recovered quickly and started talking first. ¡°You are right, so let me start off by apologizing to you Endrian. My intent when we reserved those rooms was to keep you safe and make sure that we knew where you were at all times so that nothing happened to you. I realize that this came off as controlling or as imprisoning you and that was not what I wanted. Though the effect at the time would have been the same.¡± ¡°That¡¯s good to know and thank you for your apology. There is one point that I would like to clarify on this. You no longer intend to rent the building, have me stay there, and then use the cost of this ¡®nurturing¡¯ provided as an excuse to make me do what you want?¡± Endrian asked with a pointed gaze at Isahalane. She had a surprised look on her face for a second and then said ¡°Well I didn¡¯t expect you to see through all my plans.¡± Giving a wry smile she continued ¡°No. I will no longer pursue controlling you through any means, and I apologize for trying.¡± ¡°Excellent. As long as we can work within this framework I think we can have a good working relationship.¡± Endrian smiled. ¡°That being said I will apologize myself for not discussing things with everyone or talking to the others before making a decision without a full understanding of what¡¯s going on.¡± At this point Esalana could no longer contain herself and asked ¡°So you have to tell me how did you get out of the room without anyone seeing you leave?¡± ¡°I jumped off the balcony.¡± he said without holding anything back. The looked on stunned once again. Amelee said ¡°You jumped?! That¡¯s 7 floors! That¡¯s like 21 meters or more! How the hell did you survive? Why would you do that?!?¡± ¡°Well I do have wings you know.¡± He replied. ¡°Can you fly already?¡± Amelee asked once more surprised. ¡°Nope.¡± he said. Everyone was starting to become numb to all the shocks they were receiving from this little boy. Amelee couldn¡¯t contain her curiosity any more and asked ¡°Can you please explain it so I can understand what happened this is driving me crazy.¡± ¡°We it¡¯s pretty simple I transformed and spread my wings to what I felt was a locked position. Then I held onto them with my arms to reinforce them. Since I wasn¡¯t sure if they were strong enough to support me by themselves. Then I jumped and went into a controlled dive.¡± he said. Chiyo spoke up saying ¡°You mean you were falling, right?¡± ¡°Nope. It was a controlled dive. Well up until the end.¡± He said with a big grin. ¡°That was... yeah that part was falling.¡± he said with a chuckle. Esalana interjected saying ¡°Kid you are my kind of crazy.¡± ¡°Okay so now that we know that you are willing to risk death to escape, let¡¯s not do that again shall we?¡± Isahalane said with a pained smile. ¡°Fair enough.¡± he said. Then continued on with ¡°About my training schedule. While I enjoy working with weapons this is not what I want to focus on right now. The two areas that interest me most are cultivation techniques and arrays. So if we could spend some focus on them I would appreciate it.¡± ¡°Why would you need to worry about cultivation techniques already?¡± asked Aanys. ¡°The initial techniques should carry you until the peak of gathering before we need to worry about this, yes?¡± ¡°I have been at the peak of gathering for many lunar conjunctions already.¡± he responded. ¡°If my cultivation continues at this speed I will be locked in to this technique and it is of my own creation so that could be a problem.¡± Chiyo said ¡°I will have one of cultivation instructors bring over the manuals we have here and give you some pointers. The churches I don¡¯t think have had a chance to get their cultivation techniques here for you to look over yet.¡± ¡°That sounds fine.¡± he replied. They spent a good portion of the day discussing things back and forth about what they wanted and what he felt he was capable of. After eating lunch with everyone Endrian went back to his training. He met with Kuuthyia, who was none too happy about having her schedule changed. She had narrowed his weapons down to various swords, long spears, short spears, and daggers. They worked on the various forms for the rest of the day before he headed home with the promise that first thing tomorrow he would get to start looking over different cultivation techniques. Chapter 17 - Cultivation and Arrays Endrian woke up especially excited about today, because today he get¡¯s to really look into the new world of cultivation. He felt like a kid on christmas. He could hardly wait to get to school and he ran through his morning ablutions and was dressed in record time, not that anyone was keeping record. He grabbed some dried meat and ripped off a hunk of bread that would be used at breakfast then ran off. By the time he arrived at the gate the sky was still dark and hadn¡¯t even changed hues yet. He was stopped by the gate guards to verify who he was unfortunately he forgot to get the token back from Chiyo and they still hadn¡¯t issued a school uniform for him, well now that he thought about it it was probably in the closet in the room he was supposed to stay in. That being the case and the fact that the guards didn¡¯t recognize him he could only wait while they verified who he was. ¡®This would definitely be an advantage of staying here.¡¯ Endrian thought. ¡®I wonder if they still have that room? We never really talked about it because no one brought it up and I just didn¡¯t want to think about it. Hmm I¡¯ll have to ask about that for days when I won¡¯t want to leave here for whatever reason.¡¯ After his inner monolog and a bit of time someone showed up. She looked like an academy student based on her clothes. She was older than Endrian, probably around 16 or 17 years old. She had lavender colored hair and she looked like a complete bitch. Of course it could just be a really bad case of RBF, also known as resting bitch face. She also had that skin deep winter coat that almost everyone else in this world seemed to have. She opened her mouth and said in an arrogant and haughty tone ¡°We have no such person listed as a student of this academy. Stop pretending you are something more than you can be peasent.¡± ¡®Nope she¡¯s a bitch.¡¯ He thought and then said. ¡°I¡¯m sorry I didn¡¯t catch your name.¡± ¡°I never spoke my name let alone threw it for you to ¡®catch.¡¯¡± She said still maintaining her arrogant tone and look. ¡°Thank you for taking the time to verify for us senior Thoselia.¡± one of the two guards said and then turned around and said to Endrian ¡°You will need to leave now or we will be forced to detain you.¡± ¡°Before you detain me let me verify something.¡± Turning to look at Thoselia he asked ¡°Did you actually verify with academy head Chiyo, or any of the priestesses?¡± ¡°Why would I bother them at this time of day when there is no need.¡± she retorted. Right then two more guards walked over. One of them pointed at Endrian and yelled ¡°Oi, you! Do you know how much trouble we got in the other day?¡± Endrian paused for a moment and realized he had no idea what she was talking about. ¡°Night before last you left and then the whole academy went crazy looking for this little boy. After they found out that you left while we were on guard duty they docked us 7 days worth of merit points.¡± She angrily stormed up to Endrian and towered over him as he only stood about to her waist. Thoselia spoke up with surprise ¡°You know this peasant?¡± ¡°We don¡¯t know him, but we know that after he left Chiyo and all of the priestesses were pissed and we even heard that the city guard commander Rantak personally escorted him back.¡± the guard woman said. Hearing this Thoselia¡¯s had a look of surprise and then quickly what color she had drained out of her face as she turned to Endrian and said ¡°I¡¯m sorry for detaining you little brother. I hope you won¡¯t hold a grudge against me.¡± she said while forcing a smile on her face. The current guards didn¡¯t know how to react at first but when they thought about the fact that he had told them to ask academy head Chiyo about his identity, and that when he had gone missing the higher up people in the academy started searching for him that probably meant that offending him was like offending the academy head. Coming to this conclusion both of them looked at each other and then one quickly said ¡°Sir we apologize for not knowing who you were and hope that you can let us off with a warning.¡± ¡°You were just doing your job so no harm done.¡± Looking over at the other guards he could see a panicked look in their eyes as they started to catch up to what they may have just done to themselves. As they were reacting he continued on and said ¡°As for you two, again you were just doing your jobs and as long as there is no standing rule to keep people in I will talk to academy head Chiyo and see about helping you get your merit points back.¡± ¡®I¡¯ve never been a fan of blaming someone for doing their job. Arrogant people that think they are above doing their job, well that¡¯s another story.¡¯ He thought to himself. After getting the two guards names so he could see about helping them out he walked in to the academy without paying any further attention to Thoselia. ¡®Well that pretty much ruined the excitement I had for today. Ah well can¡¯t blame that on anyone but myself.¡¯ he thought as he walked towards to spire which the church had reserved for his training. Climbing up to the fifth floor he quickly found the room that was discussed yesterday and opened the door. While the instructor was not here yet there was a stack of books, probably about 15 or 20 of them, that could be found on the only table in the room. Grabbing one of the chairs that was scattered around the room he sat down at the table and started looking at the titles on the books. ¡°Celestial Heart, Divine Demon Eyes, 8000 Mysterious Steps, Titan Body¡­.¡± he read all of the titles out loud. He grabbed the Titan Body manual as that sounded pretty cool and was possibly defensive. Opening it up he started reading. ¡®To cultivate you must have a metal affinity. The first level of the Titan Body requires absorbing metal mana. You will need to find the best metal affinity mana and absorb only that. Then draw a pattern for a titan on your skin and pour the absorbed mana into the pattern. There was a diagram with a humanoid body on it that showed numbers in different locations with the feet, hands, lower arms, lower leg, upper arms, upper legs, groin, abdomen, chest, low back, upper back, and finally the head. Follow the order of reinforcement shown here.¡¯ There were more pages that had information on the next steps but Endrian was already frustrated. ¡°Oh, come on! Draw a pattern, great! With what??? Blood, ink, cut it into my skin with a knife. What pattern you could at least give a diagram of the pattern for me. What is the best metal affinity, is it one that resonates with me, one that has a specific color, one that I think is best?!? Gods! This is about as helpful as having an artist write a technical manual on a computer programming language when all they have done is play a computer game.¡± Endrian exclaimed in frustration. The last sentence was said in English as there were just too many terms that had no translation yet. Thinking, and hoping, that it might just be that specific manual he picked up another one and started reading. Unfortunately it was mostly the same. He looked at the stack in some despair and went through another three before throwing them away in frustration. ¡®This is just rude! This is almost as bad as being at the point of climax and hearing one of your kids crying during the best sex of your life! John Malkovich said it best in Rounders, ¡°I feel so unsatisfied.¡± with his fake russian accent.¡¯ Sighing and placing his elbows on the table and cupping his nose, mouth and chin, he stared at the cultivation books. While he was contemplating them the door opened behind him. However, Endrian was lost in contemplation and didn¡¯t pay attention to his surroundings while he was trying to figure out what to do. So when he heard a man¡¯s voice say ¡°I see you have found the techniques we are going to cover today.¡± Endrian jumped out of his chair and turned to face the person while getting into a fighting stance. Taking a second to realize that there is nothing to fight he said ¡°Holy shit, you scared hell out of me.¡± ¡°That¡¯s a decent reaction at least you didn¡¯t run away like a scared little boy.¡± the man said. Endrian looked at him with a little irritation ¡°Hi, I am Endrian-¡± he tried to smooth over the first meeting and bring things back to a more normal conversation bt he was interrupted. ¡°Yes I know who you are. You may call me Instructor Suseras. Now we have much to cover, tell me what you have learned from the manuals without any guidance.¡± he requested. Endrian looked the man over and what he saw was someone who looked to be in their 50¡¯s or 60¡¯s. He had salt and pepper hair which gave him a refined look. His yellow eyes were still very sharp and didn¡¯t look like they missed anything. He also had a neatly trimmed beard that had turned salt and pepper as well further adding to his refined look. Other than that he was a decent looking man with fairly symmetrical features. He was wearing a robe that was black and had golden trim on it with a silver cord that had 4 black stripes at the end near one of the tassels. It was hard to tell his body type under the robe but he did not look like he was overweight at all. Finally done with his cursory inspection Endrian replied ¡°Well there seems to be something about each manual that focuses on a specific element, from the books that I have read a pattern of some sort is used to enhance the cultivation, though the pattern is rarely described in detail. Other than that they seem to go in phases or step forward by enhancing the body one piece at a time.¡± Though he really wanted to say that they were worthless and that all they did was tease a person with the hope of something good without ever delivering it. However, he was able to restrain those thoughts and give what he felt was a somewhat decent analysis of the techniques he had looked over. With a slight look of surprise Suseras said ¡°That¡¯s a very competent break down of the cultivation techniques. So then, what was troubling you when I came in.¡± ¡°Well while I have a concept of the general principles there are no details. Often times it says use a pattern here but does not give a diagram of the pattern. Nor does it specify how to use the diagram. For example the Titan Body; in there it says to draw a pattern on the skin and infuse the best metal mana into that pattern. So how do I draw the pattern, do I use ink, do I cut it into my skin, do I use some animals blood, what? There¡¯s no substance. It feels like someone telling me to learn to fly by showing me a cliff and telling me to feel the wind. It¡¯s just frustrating and unsatisfying.¡± Ender finished his rant with more than a little frustration but it wasn¡¯t directed at Suseras. The instructor smiled and said ¡°I see, you¡¯re one of those.¡± Holding up a hand to placate Endrian he said ¡°You are a detail oriented person who values logic and structure. I¡¯ve seen a few like you in my time here. Actually we have a girl similar to you in the array department.¡± Pausing for a moment to gather his thoughts he said ¡°There are reasons that there are no details especially when it comes to cultivation. Let¡¯s go back to your Titan Body cultivation; there have been many people that have cultivated this what we found is that the pattern used to represent the titan was different from person to person. Sometimes so drastically so that there were no similarities. Also as to how to draw the pattern again it varied from person to person some did like you said and cut the pattern into their skin, others used ink and placed that ink under the surface of their skin making it a tapestry for their cultivation. So the reason for the lack of details is because there is no one correct way to cultivate a given technique.¡± Endrian¡¯s forehead and eyebrows were scrunched up as he frowned. ¡°Then what is the purpose of having these cultivation techniques at all?¡± ¡°Well most people don¡¯t try to analyse everything down to the last grain of sand. What they do is look for something that resonates with them. Then the read it and become inspired by the possibilities. Their imagination then helps them fill in the details. Honestly it¡¯s why I love to teach. The diversity that can be displayed by the mind and heart is truly stunning to behold, and children are the best at expressing such amazing things.¡± He said as he looked at Enderian with a passionate gaze. Then his eyes turned dull and he continued on ¡°And then there are people like you. You break down everything analyse it until there are no secrets and then you call it complete. When in reality all you have done is kill the techniques true potential.¡± Endrian felt pretty offended at this point but was unsure of how to respond without being a complete ass. Before he had time to figure it out Suseras continued ¡°I will give you this, though, detailed people do often have the ability to bring to light details that may have been missed that do add to the capabilities and detail oriented people do tend to excel when working with arrays so there is that. Now, back to task. What do you know about cultivation in general, the levels, rules, and requirements?¡± For the next hour or so they discussed cultivation and what Endrian knew which was some and Suseras supplemented Endrian¡¯s knowledge with his own. What Endrian determined was that the cultivation ranks were as follows Gathering > Condensing > Earth > Core > Sun > Heaven > Spiritual Body > Spiritual Mind > Immortal. Each rank has 9 levels in them. There are usually bottleneck or walls at the third to the fourth level and from the sixth to the seventh level. With a final wall or bottleneck when transitioning between ranks. The condensing level would be condensing the mana that you absorb into a location of power in your body. These locations correspond roughly to spots from the chakras from the previous world according to what his instructor said. At the Earth rank the condensed mana will solidify. At this point you have really stepped into the world of cultivation. Also most people are not able to go past the Earth stage. The core stage becomes like a core of a planet at this stage you start to generate your own mana that has affinities. At the sun stage the core and planet turn into a sun which continues to generate power at an exponential rate. It is also at this stage that the cultivation goes from a physical cultivation to a ethereal. The heaven realm is creating multiple suns in your ethereal cultivation realm. Beyond that are the spiritual body, spiritual mind and finally the immortal ranks. There were not many people in the history of the world that Suseras knew about that had reached these ranks. Due to this the only information he was able to gather was that the cultivation purified the body and then purified the mind to become immortal.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it. Endrian asked about why you wouldn¡¯t be able to change cultivation techniques after reaching the earth stage and he was told that he could, but he would destroy his current cultivation down to the peak of gathering. He would have to start condensing all over again. The reason that he was given was that when cultivating the mana flowed in a specific way and when you changed cultivation techniques the flow would change which would destroy your current cultivation. Suseras even said that when you go to the ethereal cultivation it would destroy the ethereal realm because the mana flow would be disruptive. Endrian felt that was kind of a stretch but at this point didn¡¯t have a better explanation so he had to roll with it for now. While all of this was interesting and exciting to Endrian it still did not help him with his cultivation. He understood intellectually that it was supposed to be more intuitive but he didn¡¯t have a switch to just shut off his brain from analyzing what he was doing and what he thought he was supposed to be doing. So he decided to read over the different cultivation techniques here and study them as much as he could and see if he could glean some type of hint. If that didn¡¯t work then he would just start studying one of them and attempting to cultivate based on what he could figure out. If all else failed then he could study all of the cultivation techniques he could get his hands on and compile them down into something usable with clear instructions that he would be able to follow. This did make him concerned for long term cultivation though. At the same time he made the logical conclusion that someone was able to figure this out on their own so they can¡¯t possibly be locked forever to a technique, or it could be a technique could be modified and extended to allow for growth. Unfortunately that was not something he could verify right now. After his long, interesting, and eye opening discussion with Suseras, Endrian left to get some food. He was pretty sure that he would be recognized there due to being marched through there last time with Kuuthyia. After lunch he headed back to the spire that he was now unintentionally referring to as his spire. Now was time for array studies. He arrived back at his spire and climbed to the fifth floor again. He went to a slightly different room than the cultivation room. There he saw a bunch of tables in the room in orderly lines and with clear spaces around them. Each slightly rectangular table had four chairs around it with a chair being on each side. One of the tables was currently being used by a young woman. As Endrian checked her out he was stunned. She had a beautiful face, the symmetry, the proportions, her long bright red hair that had dark brown highlights in it. She was probably between 14 and 16 years old, though as Endrian got older his ability to determine age at a glance has gotten worse. You could tell from her face that she was not overweight at all. She was wearing a robe that looked two or three sizes too large on her and was not flattering at all. It¡¯s drab grey color doing nothing for her. But if he was right she was definitely a 8 or 9 on his scale. Give her a few more years to fully mature and she may just break that scale. After thinking about this he then felt a little weird and complicated. She was very attractive but he felt a little, well a lot, pervy for checking out a girl that was probably as old as his youngest son from his previous life if the time was consistent. At the same time he was in this life younger than her so it was just awkward and weird and a little pervy to him. Sighing at the annoying complications in his life he decided to throw all those thoughts to the side and look around for the instructor. Moments later he found her, and she was watching him much like he had watched the girl working. He felt a little grossed out and weird at the same time from this. After being looked at like he was a tasty piece of meat Endrian decided not to stare and only noticed that her face was chubby and that she had purple hair that was at least down to her shoulders. In that glance he figured that she was probably in her 30¡¯s or 40¡¯s. But he got a definite creepy vibe from her so he focused back on the girl working at the table. Who was fully immersed in what she was doing. The older woman came up to Endrian and said ¡°My name is Arzhu, and I am the array master at this academy.¡± She casually placed her hand on his shoulder and started rubbing it. Before she could go any further Endrian shuddered and then said in a somewhat childish voice ¡°Teacher can I go to the bathroom, I forgot to when I got back from lunch.¡± In his head though he was saying ¡®What the ever loving fuck! Let¡¯s get the hell out of here and talk to Chiyo.¡¯ ¡°Sure-¡± she said and he bolted before she had a chance to finish. After tracking Chiyo down and informing her of what happened. Chiyo said ¡°Ah yes we knew she had a thing for young boys. Boys rarely if ever go through the array department so we didn¡¯t do anything about it and it was eventually forgotten. It¡¯s probably been 10 or more winters since we had a complaint about her. I apologize for that but she is the best instructor we have in arrays.¡± ¡°You can set me up with the second best or well anyone else as far as I am concerned. Also I don¡¯t think you should leave someone like that there. It¡¯s too easy for them to take advantage with their position and power and could be traumatizing for the boys. Not to mention it¡¯s just creepy and disgusting.¡± he said quickly. ¡°Tell you what I am going to go study in the library while you work out a new array instructor for me.¡± Endrian spent the rest of the day in the library studying. He read about arrays and finally found a decent dictionary to round out his vocabulary as much as possible. There were some abstract thoughts that he didn¡¯t know the words for and still had to describe them. Which was irritatingly cumbersome. He went home after it had turned dark and grabbed some leftover food. He checked on his sisters to see how they were doing. They had taken one of the mock exams today and he was looking forward to how they handled them. While he was going over them his mom came and found him. ¡°Ender I wanted to let you know that in about 5 days time we are going to face our first challenge. There was another weapons dealer here selling bows to the city guard and their family wanted to remove us from the competition. I thought you might be interested in watching your father in his first competition since you were born.¡± Allyce said. ¡°Wait. Back up. What do you mean challenge?¡± he asked completely confused. ¡°Ah I probably haven¡¯t told you about this as we were never challenged in Landow. So let me try to explain it clearly. When there are civil disputes between families the women will try to work things out, however if there is an irreconcilable problem or one of the parties does not want to compromise then a challenge will be issued. At which point the men will go to an arena and fight for their families rights. The terms of the challenge are written up by the two families. The winner has their terms validated.¡± ¡°So is dad going to be facing a fight to the death?¡± Endrian asked with some concern. ¡°Well death is a possibility but it is frowned upon. Generally the fight goes until one of the combatants surrenders or is incapable of fighting.¡± she said with a thoughtful expression. ¡°Okay, that¡¯s good at least. Then the terms of the fight are they restricted to what was discussed or disputed?¡± he asked trying to understand this system. ¡°The terms are generally kept within the terms of the dispute. However, that is up to the women of each family to decide.¡± she explained to him. ¡°Can we go watch?¡± Endrian asked. He wasn¡¯t sure how he felt about this as it seemed like a dangerous and in his opinion somewhat stupid system for settling disputes, but he was intrigued and he wanted to support his dad. ¡°Of course you have to come. It is expected that all awakened member of the family will be there. If there are unawakened then one of the mothers will stay behind to look after them. Often many other families will come and watch the match as well because these kinds of fights are pretty rare. Most families prefer not to endanger their husband without good reason, though it does happen.¡± Allyce said. ¡°One last question; what¡¯s to stop a powerful family from just taking everything?¡± this was what was really bugging him about this type of system. ¡°Well there are some rules in place that are regulated by the city to keep people from doing whatever they want. A family is only allowed to face 5 challenges per year and can only issue two challenges per year. This helps reduce families from trying to eliminate other families, though again it does happen. The nobles are particularly bad about doing this when someone offends them. Which is why I warned you about the Naxremmis family.¡± she said with a pointed look and with that she left and went back to her room. Edrian finished checking over the mock exams. All his sisters had done a decent job of answering the questions. There were some incorrect ones with Etopha doing the worst and Ethese doing the best. After he finished the papers he left some notes on the errors they made and what to watch for then he went to sleep. The next day he had instruction again with Kuuthyia which was starting to seem pretty interesting instead of just constant repetition and working the basics. Esalana was there as well to watch as he started to mix in some skills to use while fighting. There was an honest to goodness movement technique that relied on using the mana in your body to create explosive changes in direction. Imagine a professional athlete that fakes left, then right, and then goes left so quickly that a normal person would break their ankles from the impact of the movement. Then take that up a level. The essence of the skill was to make your opponent believe you are moving in that direction and to respond. So it was more than just moving the feet it was almost a whole body commitment and then add into that maintaining a proper form for using a given weapon. It was taxing but fulfilling. There were also mana reinforced attacks strengthened muscles at specific points to increase the speed or to change the movement. It was actually quite amazing. She had also narrowed his weapon choices to a double handed spear and two swords. Endrian¡¯s style was much too aggressive for use with a shield. By this we mean too aggressive what was meant was that he would lead more with his sword and would not rely on his shield when he should. When he did rely on the shield he would often lose sight of his opponent and not have a feel for where they were giving them a huge advantage. So the only option was to go without a shield or to go with a small shield and he would rather have more damage and visibility. So she had switched to weapons that allowed for flexibility and damage. She worked him for the entire morning and into the afternoon. Then released him for lunch on his own. After eating lunch Chiyo caught him and directed him to the array classroom again. She said that the array master was not going to be instructing him and after talking with Suseras she felt that one of the students might be the best to teach him. So he was introduced to the same young woman that was working at the table when he first arrived. Since he had gotten past her looks yesterday he didn¡¯t feel as awkward about interacting with her anymore, fortunately. ¡°Hello, my name is Lailah.¡± she said in a very demure tone. ¡°My name is Endrian. I look forward to working with you.¡± he responded. At this point Chiyo had left and Lailah started questioning him about what he knew of arrays. Which he explained that is was a pattern that could be used to interact with the ambient mana. Each pattern was fairly artistic and pretty and that for the desired use the pattern would change. Other than that he had found about 10 or 15 different patterns but no descriptions on how the pattern was determined or why that pattern specifically would create the result it does. ¡°Mm, that¡¯s a good basic understanding of arrays. Now most people look at arrays as something that is artistic and that by drawing some random patterns they can get some amazing results. Though they tend to stay within established patterns. They just tweak them to do something more than before. Some are even able to find additional patterns and use those to accomplish amazing things. The patterns that are most used can be found in nature. An example would be the city shields, these originally came from a tree called an Oophurwip. These trees grew in copses and had a natural shield. I have been working at understanding how the array itself works. I have the feeling that each part of it holds specific meaning and capabilities. I have even discovered the portions that are the storage part of the mana which is amazing because that means that at least in the array that I am studying that it stores mana to support its consumption when in use.¡± she effused. All she¡¯s really missing are glasses and she would completely have the nerdy fan girl look and attitude. Endrian couldn¡¯t help but smile at just how adorable she was. She was so geeking out over a magical array. It was both amusing and cute. ¡°Ah, I¡¯m sorry I got caught up in my own thoughts again.¡± She said while looking down. ¡°Don¡¯t worry about it. I understand exactly how that is.¡± he smiled at her when she looked up to encourage her. ¡°Okay so let¡¯s get to practicing. I will give you an array image and I want you to draw it at the table. Oh! Before that we need to go over safety.¡± She said excitedly. ¡°So we always use the tables when drawing any arrays because there is the chance for failure and if that occurs then the array may mess up and explode. This doesn¡¯t happen very often but can be very dangerous when it does so these tables have shield arrays on them that will trigger in case of an explosive failure. Now here is your ink and parchment. These are for training purposes when you get better at them we can upgrade to more difficult materials¡­¡± she continued going on and on about different topics all related to arrays or the tools to create them or the materials used. Finally giving him a pattern to draw out and get accustomed to. He spent the rest of the day trying to get that one array to be drawn correctly and get some type of response out of it. Sadly he was not able to succeed much to his consternation. Over the course of the next 4 days he varied between studying cultivation techniques, array patterns and martial skills. During some off time he would go and study at the library for more information about the planet. Where he learned that there were actually 4 continents and he was on the Appolonia continent. This was the primary home of the Daehe which were the beastkin. He found the reference to the Frak who from the description were the equivalent of mythical dwarves. There was also reference to the Aefua which were from what he could tell, elves. Though they did not match the typical look of elves being tall and thin with long three fingered hands and feet, though they did have the pointed ears. They had very long limbs while there body was thin and their head kind of smallish for their height. Endrian¡¯s best description is they looked like twig people. The last race he found reference to were the Ruobile. These things were typically a blue color had 8 limbs and had a weird crystalline body. After all of this time he had succeeded in forming an array which had made Lailah very excited as she was happy that he was making progress. Though his success really just meant that he had finally managed to copy the array perfectly. He still didn¡¯t have an understanding of how the arrays were designed. This didn¡¯t stop Lailah from giving him a few more patterns to practice with. She said that he needed to get decent with making arrays before he could break them down. Which seemed a little backwards to Endrian but without any other options he had to go with what he was told. Also he did manage to make a few of these blow up which was eye opening for him. Fortunately no one was hurt due to the safety measures in place. He had also started cultivating again after reading through a number of techniques with little to no enlightenment on their discrepancies. So he decided to go ahead with experimentation since he could change his techniques as long as he didn¡¯t reach the Earth rank. The cultivation technique he decided to experiment with was the Titan Body to see how things went. With this he moved smoothly into the Condensing rank of cultivation and was in the process of experiencing the differences with his current cultivation as compared to others. He had taken Suseras¡¯ advice and tried winging it, so to speak, to at least give this worlds concept of cultivation a chance. You shouldn¡¯t judge things unless you have tried them. The worst that could happen was having to start over, right? Anyway his breakthrough occurred the day before his father¡¯s challenge so he hasn¡¯t really had a chance to determine the ins and outs that have come with his improvement. Overall, the increases in his martial training, the minor advancements in array construction and his cultivation rank up were clear indications that he was starting to make progress again. Satisfied with what he was starting to accomplish he went home to get some rest. Tomorrow would be the challenge that his dad would have to fight for. He was both worried and excited to see what would happen. Chapter 18 - Family Challenge When Endrian arrived home it was already night and most of the family were already asleep. His mind had been thinking about the challenge and he had come up with a few more questions, so he went to his mother because he was hoping she was still waiting up for him like usual and could answer his questions. He found her in her room laying out a new outfit that looked like it was for him, based on the size. ¡°Mom, I have a few more questions in regards to this challenge, do you have a moment?¡± he asked her. ¡°Endrian there¡¯s really not much else you need to understand, all you need to know is to fight and win leave the rest of the stuff to the women. Look, you are required to go to this otherwise I would rather you stay here.¡± Endrian was a little disgruntled to hear his mom say something like that, it was very unlike her, but he decided to ignore it for now because she was probably stressed out. Instead he asked ¡°It¡¯s only a couple of questions, and then I will stop asking.¡± Sighing she stopped what she was doing and gave him the look. You know that look that only mother¡¯s can give when they are both annoyed and indulging their child. ¡°Fine but no more questions after tonight you will see it all tomorrow.¡± Smiling Endrian thanked his mom and then asked ¡°So why must we take this challenge anyway if this is for the rights to sell our bows to the city guard then, shouldn¡¯t our superior design be sufficient to just ignore the challenge right?¡± Allyce looked at him like he was some stranger in her house asking about the weather. ¡°Why would you even ask that? You would really sacrifice your family members¡¯ word? We have already agreed to the challenge. This is a matter of honor, though, it is equally also about what we can do legally in the city.¡± Endrian felt confused and asked ¡°I¡¯m not sure I understand what you mean. I understand the family honor is at stake, but really if that¡¯s all is it worth the risk to dad?¡± Smiling as she understood it wasn¡¯t a matter of just disregarding family honor but it was a matter of caring about the family she felt a little better. ¡°Endrian, I¡¯m not sure if you¡¯re old enough to understand this, but when you give your word it is law. This is not just for honor but this could even impact your cultivation. When you give your word to do something, then it creates a bond to you when you break that bond it causes your will to weaken it creates self doubt, even if you are unaware of it, and this can negatively affect your future in ways that are hard to understand. On top of that how would busines even be accomplished if you could not trust the other parties word?¡± She finished with an amused smile. Thinking of his old world made him feel kind of complicated about the last part of that statement. It made him think of the small mom and pop businesses in the mid 20th century who got screwed over by large companies because they expected people to honor their word. Though the cultivation impact seemed like an interesting way to enforce people were more honorable. Allyce continued on to say ¡°Oh well I suppose there is also the rules of the challenge that would prevent people from surrendering the fight. You see each family also writes up a list of demands in regards to the challenge. These lists are verified by the city official at the arena and the winner¡¯s list is accepted by the city and will be enforced by city law, in regards to the dispute.¡± ¡°So, can they put anything in their list of demands?¡± Endrian asked. ¡°Yes. Well, not anything. So I guess no. But they can put in anything that pertains to the dispute. No death or killing or there would just be all out fights between families. But from a business point of view they could kill or maim you. Like this Lochmond family, they will probable demand the designs for our bow and require that we never do business with the guards again. Though we can always challenge them to recover our rights to deal with the city guards and the design while forcing them to stop their dealings with the city guard so in the end it is fair to all people involved.¡± she explained. ¡°Have disputes always been handled like this?¡± Endrian asked. ¡°As far as I know, yes it has always been thus. Though, I do know they were not as civilized as now.¡± she paused and then looked at her son and shook her head and continued. ¡°I have not studied these things though and I never asked these questions of my mothers as I felt it served no purpose. It is and it has been so what more is there to know? Anyway you should get some rest, the challenge will take place before high sun tomorrow. Oh yes, have any of your instructors shown you how to use the mana in your body to enhance your vision?¡± ¡°Yes Esalana and Kuuthyia both explained how it works and I was able to reproduce it to some extent when we were practicing the different combat techniques.¡± he relied. ¡°That¡¯s good. Then tomorrow you will get to practice this more when you watch your father. Now, off to bed with you. You need to get better sleep to grow strong like your father, no need for more than one bag of bones in the family.¡± she said with some self deprecating humor. Smiling bitterly Endrian walked over and gave her a hug. He didn¡¯t say anything just hugged her. After returning the hug she said ¡°Go on, now. Go get some rest.¡± and as he left he could tell there were some tears in her eyes. The next day Endrian got up and got ready for the day. He went through some of his new forms and started practicing his movement and attack techniques. Afterwards he helped fix breakfast like usual, then he went to get cleaned up himself. Finished cleaning up he started to get dressed in the new clothes his mother had put out for him when he put on the shirt he noticed that the back had a pair of slits in it that were held together by something in the fabric. It felt kind of weird like he had two sticks shoved down the back of his shirt. He assumed it was for his wings. After he was ready he left his room to meet with everyone in the entryway to the house. Before he had made it two steps out of his room his mom called for him. Turning he saw her standing there with Ethese who was pouting. ¡°I thought you would like to say farewell to your sister before you went with everyone.¡± Allyce said with a weak smile. Ethese spoke up in a huff ¡°I don¡¯t see why I can¡¯t go with big brother.¡± Endrian couldn¡¯t help but smile as he listened to her. He vividly remembered how frustrating it was not being able to go out or do things with everyone. ¡°Don¡¯t worry just a little bit more and you will be able to do what you want.¡± He said to her comfortingly. She frowned and scrunched her eyebrows together in the most adorable pouting face Endrian had seen in a long time. Walking up to her to give her a hug he said ¡°Remember to take care of the house for me while I¡¯m gone and don¡¯t forget to study so that you can get into the academy later.¡± She didn¡¯t say anything but just pouted and turned into his chest and hid her face with her arms still crossed. After a moment Allyce said ¡°Okay Ethese it¡¯s time for your brother to go.¡± As soon as she said those words Ethese quickly uncrossed her arms and grabbed on to Endrian like she was going to lose him if she didn¡¯t keep a strong hold on him. Patting her head Endrian said ¡°Ethese I¡¯m sure that everything is going to be fine. I¡¯m sure we¡¯ll be back before you know it. Now I need to go, everyone is waiting for me.¡± She turned and ran into Allyce¡¯s arms and buried her face in her shoulder. His mom gave a sad smile and turned to head back to her room. Calling out he asked ¡°Are you not going either mother?¡± She stopped but did not turn around and said ¡°No. I chose to stay and watch over Ethese while everyone is busy.¡± She then continued into her carrying Ethese. After saying his goodbyes Endrian went down and met with everyone. He noticed that they all seemed to be wearing the same style of clothes that he was. Davian was carrying his shield and spear and had a focused look. He noticed other pieces of armor around the room placed next to the various people. When they saw endrian Vanya stood up and cleared her throat to get everyone¡¯s attention. ¡°Listen up young ones. I know none of you have gone through a challenge before so here is how things will work. The women will surround Davian and we will be carrying his armor for him. We will walk in silence and head to the arena. Girls you will line up in two columns behind Shyael. Elva on the Shyael¡¯s left and Zakoya on her right. Endrian you will be in the middle with Etopha and Lisyth following.¡± pausing for a moment to look all the children in the eyes and make sure they were paying attention she said ¡°You must maintain silence once we leave this house until we arrive at the arena. This is to show respect for all those that have fought and sacrificed so that we can have the order we have now. If you cannot do this then say so now.¡± After waiting a moment for them to say anything she finished her speech by saying ¡°When we leave here you do what we do. If we change, you change, if we stop you stop. Does everyone understand?¡± Receiving nods of acknowledgement she nodded and then picked up the chest armor and headed out of the door. As soon as they walked outside the house the adults all changed to their fighting form. Which surprised Endrian and the girls but no one said anything and they transformed as well. When Endrian transformed his wings poked through the slits in the back of his shirt and it was actually surprisingly comfortable to wear like this. The walk to the arena was uneventful if a little ritualistic but Endrian didn¡¯t mind. It was fascinating and he wanted to appreciate everything while at the same time his emotions were warring inside of him with concern, excitement, and curiosity. As they walked people would move out of their way and bow their heads briefly in a show of respect. When we arrived at the arena it was a little surprising for Endrian to see because all he could see was a wall. It wasn¡¯t that tall a little less than 3 meters in height. They walked up to a gate that had no other traffic near it. The gate keeper looked them over slightly pausing on Endrian or more specifically his wings, but he quickly recovered and waved them through. After they walked past the wall Endrian could see the arena which was not what he was expecting. Instead of this huge structure it was more like a crater. It looked almost like the waves of an ocean carved out of stone. The seating area was surprisingly not as massive as he would expect but the scale of it was mind boggling to him. Just at a glance you could probably fit three Busch stadiums in the ¡°playing¡± field. The seating was all stone benches and the waves were shelters to help block the weather from the attendee. The benches and seating sections were set up at a height that was probably about 20 meters in the air relative to the playing field. The playing field itself was a marvel. There was grass growing, and sandy area. There was a stream flowing across the field. Peppered around the field were pillars of different elements, he could see pillars of wood, of metal, of ice, of fire and water as well as lightning, light and dark. It was mind blowing and physics defying. There were various places that had rocky cover and forested areas. It was an impressively diverse field. While Endrian was taking this all in the family had continued to walk and were starting to descend down some stairs. These led to a large room at what he guessed was the same level as the playing field. At this point Vanya spoke up ¡°Okay children I want you to wait here while we go and help your father prepare.¡± and with that she, Ratrece, and Shyael walked in carrying the various pieces of Davian¡¯s armor. As they sat there Elva couldn¡¯t hold it in anymore ¡°This is so exciting!¡± she exclaimed. ¡°I can¡¯t wait to see my first challenge. I¡¯ve always been curious about it ever since I had heard about a family getting challenged in Landow. Mama wouldn¡¯t let me go back then though.¡± she said with a slight frown on her face.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. ¡°I¡¯m not sure I would call this exciting.¡± Zakoya said with a small frown. Etopha and Lisyth jumped in saying ¡°How is this Not exciting?! Dad is going to go out and fight and win and bring honor to our mothers!¡± Endrian smiled as he watched the interaction between his sisters but decided not to join in the conversation as he was afraid his own worries about this situation would affect the mood. Though it seemed that this simple desire was not going to be realize. Elva looked at Endrian and said strongly ¡°You need to watch dad carefully so that when it¡¯s your turn to fight for the honor of your family and your wives you will be able to do your best.¡± Endrian smiled at Elva, he had a wry feeling in his heart but tried to keep it off his face. He still nodded so that she would leave him alone. When she get¡¯s worked up she just doesn¡¯t stop pestering people until she get¡¯s what she wants. It¡¯s both amusing and annoying; amusing when directed at others and annoying when directed at you. Zakoya moved over to Endrian and said quietly ¡°You seem to be unusually quiet. You are usually asking questions about everything.¡± ¡°I talked with my mother last night about the challenge and got most of my questions answered. That and I¡¯m a little worried the mood on the way here was a little tense, and I¡¯m thinking about the ramifications of this challenge, what caused it and whether it will end here, win or lose.¡± He said in a suppressed tone. Elva, Etopha and Lisyth were all talking about what they would do with their husband and how they were looking forward to walking with him to do battle for the family. ¡°Don¡¯t worry so much little brother.¡± She said while wrapping her arm around his neck and dragging him closer to kiss his head. ¡°That¡¯s for our mothers to figure out.¡± Not long after Davian and their mothers came out. Davian was looking like a fantasy war god. He had his standard round shield with a polished steel finish strapped to his left arm. His spear was deadly looking in it¡¯s simplicity. He had dark black scales that had a blue tinge at the edges with his steel grey eyes. His metal chest piece covered his torso and had a chainmail skirt at the bottom and his shoulders. There was an additional shoulderpad on his right shoulder that had a metal arm guard that met with a metal bracer on his weapon arm. There were metal plates on his legs that looked insect like and they went down to his knee which was reinforced with additional metal and almost looked like a small target shield on each knee. His feet were covered with a steel covering but the bottom of his pad was exposed so that he had better feel of the ground. To round it off he had a steel helmet that looked both fierce and practical. Vanya spoke up to get the children¡¯s attention ¡°Okay we are going to meet the city official. While we can speak now without breaking any traditions it would be best if you children remained quiet while we finish things up. Then we will head to our seating and your father will take the field. If you have any questions,¡± and she looked pointedly at Endrian ¡°then hold them until we get to the seating. Okay? Let¡¯s go.¡± After meeting with the city official and handing over a list of their demands in regards to the dispute. They were informed that the match would start at high sun. The city official handed something to Vanya who in turn gave it to Davian. They then went off to the private seating area reserved for the fighters family while Davian headed down to the fighter¡¯s entrance. As they were waiting for the time to occur a knock came from to door. Vanya gave a strange look and opened the door. Where she saw Rantak standing there. ¡°May I help you guard commander Rantak?¡± Vanya asked. ¡°Ah, I just need to talk with Endrian. If you could send him out here?¡± she replied somewhat formally. ¡°Is he in trouble?¡± Vanya asked with a little worry in her voice. ¡°Oh no, he¡¯s not in trouble just some information I need to pass on to him. Thanks.¡± she said with a smile. Vanya turned and look at Endrian and moved out of his way so that he could go and talk with Rantak. He moved outside and Rantak turned and walked off with him. After walking for awhile she came to a room and opened the door. There was no one else in there. She let him in and closed the door behind her. ¡°So how are you doing? Are you excited?¡± Rantak asked with an expectant expression on her face. ¡°Really?¡± Endrian was shocked. She comes down grabs me from my family while my dad is putting his life on the line and she is expecting me to be excited? ¡°What don¡¯t tell me your afraid.¡± she responded. Giving her an exasperated look Endrian said ¡°Did you really come down here just to talk about my mental well being right now?¡± ¡°Your not being fun.¡± she said with a mock hurt look but then straightened up some and said ¡°No, not really, though I was interested in how you were handling this.¡± Endrian just stared at her. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that look, you¡¯re what 7 maybe 8. Gain some mass then come back and try again.¡± she said while ruffling his hair. ¡°Well I heard some news that there were some noble houses that were moving against you and your family. If this becomes and issue the church will step in on your behalf because we don¡¯t want problems occurring while you are training at the academy.¡± ¡°Why are you telling Me this? Shouldn¡¯t you be talking to my mothers about this?¡± Endrian asked confused. ¡°No, I wouldn¡¯t talk with them. I don¡¯t really care about them. But you¡¯re different, I¡¯m not sure what it is about you but you¡¯re easy to talk to. I find our conversations enjoyable instead of tiring.¡± ¡°Which brings us back to the point of me being 7.¡± He said looking at her strangely. ¡°Don¡¯t give me that.¡± she said while smacking him on the back of his head. ¡°It¡¯s more like an intelligent and nice younger brother instead of a self important, or arrogant dipshit of a younger brother.¡± ¡°Thanks?¡± he said trying to follow her train of thought. ¡°So how are you feeling, are you excited to watch your dad fight in this challenge?¡± she asked again with some expectation. ¡°Umm, not really excited. I¡¯m not sure how I feel, though, I can say that I would rather be the one out there than the one watching. I¡¯ve never been much of a spectator.¡± he replied with some ambivalence. ¡°Ha so you would rather fight for the honor of your family, commendable.¡± she said boisterously. To which Endrian couldn¡¯t help but roll his eyes. ¡°Well you go back and watch your dad they should be starting soon. Oh yeah one more thing. The scouts returned about a week ago. They had said that during a fight with some abominations that their communication crystal was lost. So they weren¡¯t able to report in and only got back three days ago. They said that they didn¡¯t find anything out there to be concerned about other than some abominations running around. They recommended that we increase the patrols in that area to hunt down these things when they show up.¡± ¡°Ah, that¡¯s good to know.¡± after a short pause to realize the ramifications of what she said he said under his breath ¡°and irritating.¡± Speaking in a regular tone he asked ¡°So have you informed the priestesses?¡± ¡°Yes we have. Though it was yesterday that they were notified because we had to questioned the entire scout crew and verify the report as best we could.¡± she said. Which translated into another round of being told he was the chosen one, due to lack of evidence and the fact that there were abominations running around. Sighing he could only deal with that when the time comes. Waving bye to Rantak he headed back to the seating box for the family. After arriving back there Vanya asked about what was going on and what Rantak had wanted. After letting her know about the possible nobles ganging up on them Vanya did not have a happy look on her face. However, when Endrian told her about the churches possibly stepping in she felt a lot more comfortable. Shortly after their conversation a loud announcement was heard. ¡°Ladies, allow me to welcome you to the challenge by house Lockmond against the house of Vanya. Davian will be representing the house of Vanya and Sulabar Lockmond will be representing house Lockmond. The dispute lists have been set and verified. The betting locations have been locked, Let the fight begin!¡± As soon as the word ¡°begin¡± rang out Endrian saw his dad take off. He could barely see his dad move and then he remembered that he had to enhance his eyes to be able to track this fight properly. He also noticed that the window seemed to change like it was tracking his dad. It didn¡¯t appear to be like video but more like the focus of the window tweaked and changed to keep Davian in focus or at least his location in focus. His arms and legs were moving at a speed that was difficult for the eyes to track without enhancement. He watched as he dad flashed past a metal pillar and was caught by surprise when he saw the pillar form 5 rings from it side as he flashed past. His spear moved through the rings and then they broke off from the pillar in a clean section. As he looked he saw that they molded around the spear so that as he was running they wouldn¡¯t slide off or go flying. He also didn¡¯t appear to be searching for his enemy but rather making as straight a line as he could. Within moments the two of them met each other, and unlike movies there was no slowing down for banter rather they immediately launched attacks at each others. Endrian first saw Sulabar as he came within attacking distance of his father. He looked like a large cat or panther, his hair was a dark navy blue color and had spots similar to a cheetah¡¯s that were a light blue creating a beautiful contrast between the colors. Physically he was slightly smaller than Davian but looked no less ferocious. His cat like ears twitching and swiveling to catch sounds or changes in the air. His red eyes glared at Davian as the fight began. As soon as they were within a hundred paces of each other Sulabar launched his first attack. This attack consisted of these dart like weapons which were attached to his shield. Without moving in the shield in a way to release them they flew out and launched towards Davian. At the same time Davian thrust his spear forward like he was attacking, even though they were more than 20 meters apart. Some of the metal that he had picked up slid free of the tip of the spear and changed into an arrowhead like dart that launched towards Sulabar. Davian then lifted his shield to intercept the first of his darts that were flying towards him. They had arced in a strange pattern where after the first one another would land from the opposite side, and then two more would come in from an angle that would be hard to see if he blocked the second. As the first dart impacted on his shield it just splatted and became a part of the shield with little to no impact or damage. As he took the first impact on his left side he raise his spear to intercept the next dart and it splashed and merged with his spear. While Davian was handling the darts his first projectile had arrived at Sulabar. He took the hit on his shield and deflected it away but the dart had bit into the shield and that caused an impact that shifted the shield back slightly. However, it was barely enough for Sulabar to register the change and he sneered at Davian thinking he would be easy. The next second Sulabar¡¯s eyes went wide and he lifted up both his feet and his body shifted to the right in the air which brought his shield back in line and caught the small metal needle that was flying behind the dart. This had caused him to lose some of his forward momentum which Davian took advantage of. Also with the slight surprise and lapse in concentration as Sulabar reacted to the surprise attack the three other darts had all shot off in a direction that would no longer impact Davian. Davian moved to capitalize on this slight advantage and when he planted his leg he was launched at an even greater speed and led with his shield hitting Sulabar shield to shield and because of his much greater momentum it launched Sulabar back as he still hadn¡¯t had a chance to firmly plant his legs to rebuff the incoming charge. As he was flying back he spun in the air and his hammer launched out and slammed into Davian¡¯s shield before coming to a stop at the end of its strap and then being pulled back into Sulabar¡¯s hand. Sulabar smiled as he floated backwards in a way that looked like a bad chinese wire fight scene. Behind Davian another dart was coming at him but it was glowing a cherry red and was on fire. It was perfectly in a blind spot and Davian smiled and then the dart hit him. It immediately splashed on him which caused him to yell out in pain and anger. The cherry red metal then launched off of his body as his chest piece shifted and scooped up what it could and threw it away. In the box Endrian was watching and was so overwhelmed by the speed of the events he wasn¡¯t sure how to respond. It had only been a few seconds from the time that they had made contact and yet so much had occurred. He watched with his fists clenched and he yelled out ¡°No¡± when he realized that his dad was going to get hit by the flaming dart. There were gasps around the room as well when this happened. Sulabar smiled gloatingly and stepped down to launch forward and press the advantage he had gained. However, as his foot hit the ground it crumbled underneath him and then he cried out as well as he stumbled and fell forward. Davian recovered and moved forward using the time given by his surprise attack that took his opponent down. However as he stepped forward his eyes grew wide as he moved his shield in front of him and his body pivoted without moving his feet. Seconds later an explosion of fire and air pressure washed over Davian. Gritting his teeth he took the hit and shoved his spear forward again and this time three metal balls launched off the end. They weren¡¯t carrying the speed of his first attack but they were larger and were all flying for Sulabar¡¯s head. Now Sulabar was just about to hit the ground when a small knob appeared right under his chin. His hands smacked the ground to break his fall but the his momentum was enough that his head still hit the ground. Endrian wasn¡¯t sure why he still wound up hitting the ground but he did see the knob that had appeared connected solidly with Sulabar¡¯s chin. As he hit the ground and the knob he was dazed and his foot came up out of the hole. The whole foot was covered in cuts and even some of it was dangling at a weird angle. A second later the three metal balls hit Sulabar in the head and temple knocking him out. Sighing Davian kneeled down and set his spear down then reached up to his neck and a small piece of metal slid out of a hole like a plant sprouting up from the soil and he plucked it out of his body with a wince. He did this a few more times and while he was doing that an announcement went out. ¡°Davian of the house of Vanya is the winner by rendering the opponent unconscious. The demands made by the house of Vanya will be approved. All bets need to be collected before tomorrow or they will be voided. Thank you for coming to Ampleforth¡¯s Arena.¡± said the woman¡¯s voice. Watching the fight Endrian really had a wake up call. What he pictured as fighting was downright child¡¯s play compared to what he saw. The brutality, the speed, the awareness of the battlefield. This was eye opening as nothing he had experienced so far. It also made him realize just how lucky he was during the crash. If this was the standard of fighting for adults he had a long, Long way to go. Chapter 19 - New Understandings After the announcement of Davian¡¯s win, Endrian and the rest of his family left the private room. Walking out of the room they were met by one of the arena officials who asked everyone to follow her. Endrian was still kind of dazed by the fight as the different moves and actions taken by both parties ran through his mind. Hence, he didn¡¯t notice that everyone had stopped until he bumped into Elva. ¡°Ender, pay attention,¡± Elva said in a harsh whisper. Looking around Endrian realized that everyone was looking at him. The official opened her mouth and said ¡°Boy, you can go down this hall and stay with your father, while the women take care of business.¡± Endrian rarely came face to face with the issues that most of society had for gender bias, his family was thankfully not too biased and the women he dealt with at the Academy generally focused on lessons rather than worrying about gender. However, hearing her tone Endrian felt annoyed and was going to say something but Elva stepped in front of him and gave him a half pleading, half demanding look. Realizing this was probably neither the time nor the place to get into a debate over equal rights, he said in a biting tone ¡°Fine.¡± Then he turned and left to go meet with his dad. As he was leaving he heard ¡°Touchy little thing, isn¡¯t he? You ladies should discipline him better so he knows his place.¡± Rolling his eyes and suppressing his irritation, Endrian continued to walk down the hall towards the only door he saw. Opening the door he found his dad sitting there with a stout woman working to heal his neck and shoulder area where the heated metal had splashed on him. Davian looked up from where he was sitting when the door opened. The woman standing next to him said ¡°Stop squirming around so I can finish my work.¡± Giving Endrian a wry smile he held still and waiting just a little more before the woman said ¡°There, all taken care of. I didn¡¯t bother healing the muscles as they were just superficially damaged but they will be a little sore for the next few days.¡± After thanking the woman for her work Davian looked at his son and saw the irritated look which prompted him to ask ¡°So, what¡¯s bothering you Ender?¡± ¡°Honestly, I¡¯m just a little frustrated by being judged just because of my gender.¡± He sighed. He was frustrating but there was nothing he could do at the moment. Davian smiled wryly and said ¡°Well, unfortunately, there is a reason for it. I have heard that you have already experienced male instability once. The first few are rather easy to deal with however once you are about 12 years old they will grow more intense until you hit full maturity at 18. Normally this is a talk we would have when you were older but you tend to do things faster than others. So, while we wait let me give you the main reason for a lot of the discrimination that we receive.¡± Pausing Davian gathered his thoughts together before continuing. ¡°Put simply, male instability is basically a period of time that all men deal with. It occurs once every three lunar cycles or so. No one is sure why this occurs but what happens is a loss of control. During these times desires and impulses control us, at least for the most part. If we are angry we rage, if we are happy we are manic, etc. This is also the time when we are the ah... most potent. Um we work very hard at making sons and daughters for the family.¡± At this point, Davian had a somewhat awkward and troubled expression on his face. Endrian realized that he was getting a rather interesting birds and bees talk and so decided to help him out. ¡°Oh, so the day after my awakening was one of those times for you.¡± At first, Davian was shocked then he just laughed and then he really laughed a fully bellied uproar. ¡°Ah ha ha ha. Endrian you are surely one of a kind, and yes that was one of my days.¡± Endrian couldn¡¯t help but smile wryly at that but was curious as well. ¡°So is that it? Do we lose all cognitive control and are just a bundle of emotions? Also, how long does this last?¡± ¡°Well we don¡¯t lose our minds completely but we tend to let our instincts and desire take control. This is different for different guys but in general, we are mostly along for the ride. When you are older your wives will take care of worrying about these types of things but until you are married you will have to be aware of when your emotions start taking control. This is also partly why we are discriminated against. We are a liability that in general is only looked at for handling civil disputes and making children. On the battlefield or hunting, we can lose control of ourselves. This is because when we become over stimulated we males tend to give in to our desires. This can make us stronger but at the same time, we can go berserk. Fortunately, this phase only lasts a day or two and only occurs once every three lunar cycles. Though there have been ones that have gone into their instability due to a heavy trauma.¡± Davian said. Endrian paused and thought about this and realized that this really was what his problem was when he had wrecked. He had become over stimulated and frustrated and worried and all of these things added to his stress when he blew up on his sister. Thinking about it, it would also make sense why men wouldn¡¯t be trusted with jobs that were considered critical or over stimulating. This also explained why men are viewed as arm candy and prizefighters. Man biology is a bitch. While Endrian was lost in thought the rest of his family arrived he only snapped out of it when he heard his dad say ¡°So what do I have to work with?¡± Endrian turned around and saw Vanya smiling as she replied to him ¡°We have gained rights to their only ore mine. We don¡¯t have any workers but the mine can only be worked by those that we approve. We will have to hire some workers to manage the site I¡¯ll leave it to you and Endrian how to manage that. Also, they had to pay us an additional 600 gold as compensation so they could keep their contract with the city guard. We have a couple of lunar cycles before anyone can challenge us again so we need to use some of these resources to get some precious plants and possibly get an array master to inscribe a mana gathering array so that we can get your cultivation advanced as quickly as possible. I doubt this will be the last challenge we receive. The nobles have seen your fighting style and know your cultivation level so the next challenge will be much more difficult. House Lockmond was a sacrifice to test us. Fortunately, they are going to be destitute for the next few years though I am pretty sure that they have other noble houses that they can depend on.¡± Vanya finished up her statements and then gathered everyone up so they could head home. Fortunately, they didn¡¯t have to walk in a parade like manner this time. On the walk home Endrian gleaned some information from the conversation and it appeared that anytime a house challenged another they would have to put up something of equal or greater worth. This would generally be determined by cost and profits. From what he could tell based on the costs and profits that the compound bow offered were worth more than the profits that were currently earned from the ore mine that house Lockmond controlled. Unless you factor in the city guard contracts for armor. Which is where the additional 600 gold came from as it was the profits for the next three years. At first Endrian was a little confused by the math and asked why they had earned so much and was told that since this was a new invention and had only tapped the market as well as it was their only source of income it was deemed that it would be looked at as a lifetime loss for them so the calculated the profits for 50 years to determine the value and made a basic growth assumption of 15% a year in demand for 50 years. These were the details that Vanya and the other wives had fought for so that it would be fair if they were to lose. This was a rather interesting take on the judicial system. Kind of like suing and counter-suing with a trial by combat as the jury. Endrian assumed that the rules of the fight were kept in order of fairness by the women of each family and the city. On the bright side at least there wasn¡¯t a need for lawyers, well at least when it came to a family dispute. Though it did allow intellectual property to be stolen, at least you had to put something up for it. New world, new people, new ways of dealing with stupid. As long as Endrian didn¡¯t have to deal with it too much then felt it was whatever. When they got back home Allyce was very happy to see Davian came back safe and sound. She rushed into his arms and proceeded to check him over and generally fuss over him. At the same time, Ethese had also run up to Endrian to bug him about everything. Unfortunately for her Endrian wasn¡¯t really sure how much he should say in these circumstances and so he had to tell her to go check with her mom if she wanted to know more details. This had the somewhat amusing effect of Ethese pouting and saying that if he started acting like that how were they everyone going to beat the grown-ups. After Allyce had reassured herself that Davian was fine she started to fix a large meal for everyone and took the other girls with her to the kitchen to help out as well. Endrian then spent some more time going over some of the details of the ore mine with Davian and how they should best utilize this resource. Endrian also pointed out that they could replace some of the wood with the ores from the mine on their compound bows. This should reduce the amount of time that the other women had to spend hunting for the wood for the bow and increase the profitability of the bows. This would also allow all the other wives to work on the bows as well so that it would take even less time for each bow to be produced. After dinner Endrian was in his room thinking about everything he had learned and experienced.There was a lot about this world that he couldn¡¯t understand. There were tons of things to explore and understand and it would probably take most of a lifetime for him to get a full grasp of the differences. He decided to dedicate himself even further to his studies and to expand his knowledge in other areas besides just cultivation, arrays and combat. *~*~*~*~*~*~* In another area of Ampleforth a different conversation was taking place. ¡°Mother, I thought you said we were going to destroy that family. How did that worthless family fail to kill that boy''s father?¡± Xerael complained. ¡°Silly child you must have patience. With the laws as they are we can¡¯t just destroy a household anymore. We must challenge them and make sure that they have no honor or fame. Once they have disappeared from the public eye or the city council¡¯s eyes then we can push them from the city. Once out of the city it¡¯s a simple matter to eliminate them.¡± Tyrina replied.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. ¡°That¡¯s stupid! If we are going to destroy them then we should just destroy them why dance about with all these silly games?¡± Xerael said in a frustrated tone. ¡°Ah you''re just a boy so I shouldn¡¯t expect understanding from you. These ¡®silly games,¡¯ as you put it, are what create civilized life. We must maintain the pretense of civility so that the unwashed masses do not reject our control. House Lockmond was just a pawn to test their cultivation so we can take everything back. Though it was outside of my calculations the expense of that new bow. Still it¡¯s just a matter of time. Now, there are just two weeks left before school starts. You should cultivate and be prepared, I have heard from your cousin that that arrogant child is already going to school.¡± his mother told him. ¡°WHAT!?!¡± Xerael exclaimed. ¡°But his name wasn¡¯t on the list!¡± ¡°Yes, I know dear, but he is there and has been for almost a lunar cycle, I am trying to see what makes this arrogant boy so special. Until we find out exactly what is going on with that family we need to be cautious or we could harm ourselves. So, until I say so you must leave him be.¡± Tyrina said while giving him a stern stare. ¡°He¡¯s nothing more than an upstart commoner. I can take care of him with ease.¡± Xerael proclaimed with great arrogance. Smacking him on the back of his head Tyrina said ¡°Don¡¯t go meddling in the affairs of women. You will do as I have told you. At least until you get married at which point you will do as your wives tell you. Am I clear?¡± ¡°Yes mother,¡± he said while looking down, but the anger in his eyes was even greater. *~*~*~*~*~*~* When he first arrived back a school he was sent to see Chiyo and the priestesses. Where he got a rather detailed rundown of what had happened with the scouts. It turned out that unlike what Rantak had implied they had been making regular reports for the past 6 lunar cycles and weren¡¯t the only scouts out there. However, they were the only ones to lose contact and this was due to an attack from one of the abominations. In general, there was no base specifically found and just some corrupted wildlife that was captured and killed for others to examine. The scout patrol that lost their communication device killed the abomination that had eaten it and when they tried to retrieve it, it was too damaged to work any more so they decided to return. Other than his meeting on the first day the next couple of weeks were business as usual. Endrian spent time at school working on his cultivation. He was making progress but everything felt unbalanced to him. He had made some headway in the cultivation of the Titan Body and the pattern. What he was learning about the pattern was that after experimenting, and trying to find a good pattern that worked for him, it was more about intent behind the pattern rather than anything fixed. In other words, the picture or pattern apparently made no difference whatsoever as long as it was a representation of what that person believed represented the intent behind the pattern. He had also tried to use a mana gathering array in his core but it didn¡¯t do anything for him, rather it just created an endless cycle of his mana moving which made it harder for him to control. On top of his loss of control and no mana gained he had to mentally maintain the array so it really did absolutely nothing for him other than waste his time. Still, even with the gains that he was making in cultivation, it was much slower than when he was just at the gathering stage. After he had gained another level at the condensing stage it did not offer a significant boost to his power and it made his body imbalanced. Towards the end of the two weeks, he had decided to ask his teacher about this feeling of imbalance as it had only been increasing and was finally becoming uncomfortable. ¡°Teacher I¡¯ve noticed recently when I am cultivating that I am getting a feeling of imbalance and I¡¯m not sure why. Do you have any guidance on this?¡± Endrian asked. Suseras responded by asking ¡°What elemental affinities did you infuse in your cells when you first started to cultivate?¡± Endrian¡¯s eyes got wide at the implications of that questions but he still answered ¡°All of them.¡± ¡°So you will have to find a technique or come up with a technique so that you can match all of your normal affinities. You could also use two or three different cultivation techniques so that you can get each of the different attributes that you have absorbed into your cells.¡± Suseras said with a somewhat complacent tone. ¡°No. Teacher you aren¡¯t understanding. I mean I pulled in everything not just my awakened affinities. But all mana attributes, even attributeless mana. Well, there were a few like ice that didn¡¯t respond but other than that I pulled in everything that responded.¡± Endrian stated gravely. Suseras looked at him utterly gobsmacked. ¡°I know you had a lot of affinities show up but didn¡¯t your mother tell you that you should only focus on pulling in mana that you wanted focus on?! Do you realize what you¡¯ve done?!¡± He then proceeded to mumble about finding cultivation manuals that fused different elements but there was never a moron that was stupid enough to pull in attributes that were not awakened. There were some mumblings about how the condensing stage needed to maintain the same basic mix of elemental affinity mana that is in the cells so that the power would be balanced and supported by the mana in the body. ¡°So what do I need to do?¡± Endrian interrupted Suseras¡¯ mumbling rant with some concern. ¡°¡®What do I need to do¡¯ he says,¡± Suseras repeated rhetorically. ¡°There¡¯s only one thing you can do. You will have to create your own cultivation technique. Otherwise, you would have to find a cultivation technique for every affinity you have and all the mana that you have absorbed in your cells to be able to balance it out. If you can¡¯t balance it properly you will never advance beyond Earth rank. This balance or failure to balance has destroyed a number of prodigies over the years. Fortunately, you only wasted a month. How could you be so reckless as to absorb so many different types of mana! How did they even respond?!¡± It was obvious Suseras was frustrated. After venting for a few minutes he finally calmed down and looked at Endrian. ¡°Okay, first you need to tell me which of the different elements are in your cells and approximately what amount of each is in them. Also, you will need to destroy your current cultivation back to peak gathering as what you have will only cause further problems for you. Even without cultivating further you are heading for a deviation, that¡¯s what that imbalanced feeling is telling you.¡± Suseras let out a sigh and held his head in his hands. ¡°I will have to report this to the priestesses.¡± Endrian sighed as he knew this was going to make them freak out. Not to mention that his future cultivation was now in question. So on that note, he went ahead and dispersed his current cultivation with the guidance of Suseras which was more along the lines of forcing the cultivation to disperse back to the world. It was actually kind of interesting from a scientific standpoint since he had expected to have to have someone stab him or punch him where his cultivation was stored at. As soon as he dispersed his cultivation he started to get the shakes and felt weak in the knees much like coming down from an adrenaline high. This really opened his eyes up to how cultivation truly affected him. It¡¯s kind of like when you first start working out you don¡¯t notice the gains until you stop and fall back into old habits. On the bright side, he had a better understanding of what cultivation did for him and why he should do it. Endrian then looked at Suseras and asked ¡°How am I supposed to tell you the different types and percentages that are stored in my cells?¡± ¡°Just like you would cultivate except picture the cells in your body and the mana filling them. Then explain to me the amount and type of affinity stored there. This will give me an idea of what needs to be done.¡± Suseras explained. Endrian followed the instructions and when he pictured the cells of his body and the mana filling them it was interesting. There was not a whole bunch of different colors that fit different parts of the cell but it was just one color that filled the whole cell. It was a glowing golden color. After he told Suseras this, his teacher was once again gobsmacked and at a complete loss for words. After a few moments pause, Suseras said anxiously ¡°Quick! Tell me, what affinities does this glowing golden color feel like?¡± ¡°Hmm¡­ Most of them I don¡¯t feel any rejection for any affinities that I can think of.¡± Endrian said. ¡°Check it for ice. You said that you couldn¡¯t pull in ice affinity mana right?¡± Suseras said. ¡°Ah! You¡¯re right I can¡¯t feel any ice affinity from it.¡± Endrian said with some surprise. ¡°So what does that mean?¡± ¡°Well, this means that there may be hope for you. We are going to be breaking new ground in cultivation or rather ground that has been theorized but no one has been stupid enough to test. Congratulations on being the first idiot.¡± Suseras said somewhat teasingly. ¡°On the bright side, this could be an amazing development if we are able to create a successful cultivation path.¡± At this point, he got a somewhat crazed look in his eye and started muttering to himself. Seeing the look on his cultivation instructors face he thought to himself ¡®Why do I suddenly feel like I am experiment #1 for this world¡¯s version of a mad scientist.¡¯ Besides his cultivation, Endrian was also working with the weapons trainers and he could start to see how they were training him for fighting with the use of mana. It wasn¡¯t the same as what he saw with his dad but he could see the foundations being laid with the explosive use of mana to enhance speed, balance, reflexes, and power. They were also working with him to have an elemental sense so that he could feel attacks coming from blind spots. Endrian had also progressed with his weapons training. His preferred weapon was something close to a naginata from his old world. He was learning more refined weapons forms for offense and defense. He was also not allowed to neglect other weapons as the priestesses were training him for a holy war and there was no telling what weapons he would have if any. His array classes were also showing some decent progress. He was starting to be able to build some different arrays consistently without blowing stuff up. There were now 5 different arrays that he could create. Each array was also getting more and more complex. This had allowed him to start to get a basic understanding of the different parts of each array. There was a container, a power source, a function, and an on and off switch. The functions of each array didn¡¯t seem to have any consistencies or rules that he could understand at this point. Still, he found that the container, power source, and on/off switch were all very similar if not identical. Another thing that was of interest was the materials used to lay the array affected the array. If special materials were used, that could enhance the effects of the array and it would work more efficiently or with more power. Though if materials that were counter to the effect were used then it could reduce the efficiency or power. Due to his growing knowledge and interest in arrays, Lailah and he had more and more interactions with each other. She would often be very shy talking with him at first, even though she understood he was both young and probably not interested in her. However, since her usual interactions with others were mostly demeaning this cordial interaction actually had her somewhat flustered which lead to her avoiding Endrian unless it was directly related to arrays. Regardless of her intentions, though, the more she interacted with Endrian the more interested she became because of the way his mind worked. His mind and attitude were sharp, inquisitive, and friendly. This provided an environment for her to somewhat come out of her shell. Ironically Endrian could see these subtle change but felt like she was way too young for him even though she was technically older than him in this life. Of course, it didn¡¯t hurt that he felt that she was amazingly beautiful, which led him to ignore the situation that was developing. Regardless of her beauty in his eyes, he also enjoys his talks with her, especially about arrays, as she was exceptionally intelligent and had a flexible and adaptive mind. Other than temporarily losing his cultivation at the end of two weeks there were two other things that were going to occur. First was that it had been a lunar cycle since the entrance exam and all the students that passed the tests would be starting school. Chiyo had demanded that Endrian goes to the school ceremonies for new students so that he could find or make new friends. This had started a minor fight with priestesses especially after they found out that he had to restart his cultivation, but Chiyo said this could be helpful for him. Second they day before the lunar conjunction was Ethese¡¯s seventh birthday. She would finally be going through her awakening. Chapter 20 - Awakening, Cultivation, New Students The evening before the new students started Endrian headed home. Fortunately, Ethese¡¯s awakening time was in the evening so Endrian didn¡¯t miss any school. Tonight was the night that Ethese was going to awaken and they could stop keeping secrets. When he arrived at the house everyone seemed to be excited. Ratrece went over to greet Endrian and saw the slightly surprised and confused face that he was making. This caused her to smile and say ¡°Do you want to know why we are excited this time?¡± she waited for Endrian to respond to her question before continuing on ¡°It¡¯s because we found out that Shyael is with child again.¡± ¡°Well, I wasn¡¯t expecting that. Congratulations,¡± he said surprised. ¡°When did you find out?¡± ¡°A few days ago but I had a healer confirm it today so everyone has been pretty excited. Well, except for Ethese. She doesn¡¯t understand what it means. Ah yes, speaking of her, she has also been asking about you. Ever since she had the talk with Vanya she¡¯s been waiting for you to get home.¡± Ratrece said with a smile. Endrian headed up to his little sister''s room and knocked on the door jam. After a moment Vanya came out with an irritated look on her face. Upon seeing Endrian she huffed a little and then jerked her thumb towards the room before walking off. Endrian was a little nonplussed seeing Vanya¡¯s attitude but walked in to see what was going on. As soon as he stepped through the door a little bundle of energy hit and hung on. ¡°Big brother is it true?! Can you change just like mama says? I wonder if I am going to be scary or fluffy. I think I would rather be fluffy.¡± Ethese was excited and didn¡¯t filter anything that popped into her head. Chuckling to himself Endrian said ¡°Hold up short stuff. You have to breathe and let the other person respond before moving on with your thoughts. So what do you want to ask first?¡± ¡°Can you change into a monster?¡± she asked with both excitement and a little fear. ¡°Nope, no monsters here,¡± Endrian replied. She looked crestfallen like someone had taken away her favorite toy. ¡°I can change but I¡¯m still me there¡¯s no monster here, silly girl.¡± Her face immediately lit up again. Endrian casually thought ¡®If this was anime there would be literal stars popping out of her eyes.¡¯ Jumping back and holding her fists tightly clenched she said ¡°Show me!¡± In a demanding tone of voice. Seeing how excited and eager she was Endrian just smiled and then started to take off his shirt. At the same time, the door opened and Vanya walked back in stopping Endrian from doing anything further with a shake of her head. Although Endrian wanted to say something he figured it was best to let the mother deal with her child. Looking back at Ethese the pout on her face was almost epic. Endrian tossed some parting words for her ¡°Don¡¯t worry little one, what first mother says is true. Soon enough you will see for yourself.¡± Not long after Endrian finished talking with Ethese they all went to the underground room, which Endrian didn¡¯t even know was there. ¡®Seriously do they put these things in everywhere?! This is so overly complicated and stupid.¡¯ However, he pushed his thoughts aside as he saw Ethese come in with her new robe. She seemed so excited and anxious and afraid. It wasn¡¯t long after she arrived that her first element started its awakening and her first transformation. It was difficult to watch Ethese go through the awakening. Seeing such a young and innocent girl suffer so much was painful, to say the least. Endrian got to see the elemental awakening for Ethese and she first awoke the light element, then the earth element. Her transformation when complete also drew some shock from Endrian¡¯s family as she turned out to be a golden dragon that also had wings. After everything was done Vanya wrapped the unconscious Ethese in the now torn robe and carried her to her room. Watching that and remembering his own experiences Endrian thought ¡®Seriously. Who the fuck would come up with such a sadistic idea. You know what, yep, fuck having kids. Just watching my little sister go through this is hard enough I can¡¯t even fathom doing this as a parent. If I ever get the chance to talk to who came up with this messed up idea I am going to smack the shit out of them.¡¯ While these thoughts were going through Endrian¡¯s mind everyone else appeared happy for her. There was a subtle mood of celebration from everyone except Endrian who was a little disgruntled at the moment. Realizing that he was the only one out of sorts Endrian sucked it up and put on a smile, had some dinner and chatted with everyone. It¡¯s not like there was anything he could do about it. It¡¯s the way this world worked, as depressing as that may seem. After dinner and a restless night, Endrian got up and went to school early in the morning. Arriving at the main gate he noticed there was an influx of people. Looking around he could see that there were probably a couple of hundred people. Some were parents seeing their children off for the first time. There were other students and some staff that were verifying the students'' identity and their name. Other staff were giving directions and in general, it was a cluster of activity. Seeing this made him think of a weird cross between his boys first days of school and his first day of college from his old world, it was a really weird combination. Shaking his head at those memories he made his way to the gate. As he joined the queue for entry, he noticed that there were a number of additional guards on duty and that none of them were the ones he usually saw. Smiling he thought ¡®Typical pageantry. Have to put on a show so that it looks good for the new people.¡¯ Then with a sigh, he realized that there was probably going to be a problem since he wasn¡¯t in any of the normal classes and didn¡¯t have a badge or anything as proof that he was a student. When he arrived at the guards he had a number of different statements depending on what they would do. Outside of his expectations, the main guard woman greeted him cordially ¡°Greetings junior brother Endrian. Please go on in.¡± Endrian was surprised and responded, ¡°You know me?¡± Smiling the guard woman said ¡°Of course I know you, we all know of junior brother Endrian. The boy who caused the commotion during the entrance exam, and then got two of our guard sisters in trouble the few days after. The boy who the priestesses fight over, and who was run all over the place even through the dining hall.¡± The more she talked the closer she moved towards him and the stronger the gleam in her eye got. Looking around he noticed that she wasn¡¯t the only one eyeing him. ¡°Uh..Okay.. Nice to meet you. Maybe I¡¯ll see you around.¡± He said while skirting around her and moving into the academy grounds. As he passed he saw a rather ambiguous smile on her face. He wasn¡¯t sure what she meant by that smile but decided to ignore it as he made a note to avoid her in the future. After entering the grounds he saw that everyone was streaming over to a part of the academy that he hadn¡¯t been to yet. After following the crowd he saw an open field inside a ring of the coral buildings. This area was about the size of a football field from his old world. Sighing to himself and feeling somewhat nostalgic due to the overlap between this world and his old. ¡®I guess school is pretty universal.¡¯ He thought to himself. Smiling Endrian started to play the winds of change by the Scorpions in his head as he entered the field. It was kind of funny considering he had been going to school for a month but only now was he really appreciating the correlation between this world and his old. Stepping to the side of the flow of people coming onto the field. Leaning against a wall and people watching. Something he hadn¡¯t done in a while. He could definitely see the differences between the nobles and the wealthy merchants. Most people forming into groups for socializing especially the parents. Teachers would travel between the groups talking to students and parents about various subjects and interests. Endrian watched from the back of the field and sighed in his heart as he felt that this was all rather pointless for him. Closing his eyes he just played the Wind of Change in his mind again and whistled along with it this time. After the song finished Endrian opened his eyes and was surprised to see a few girls standing in front of him. ¡°That was really pretty.¡± one of the girls said. ¡°Can you do another one?¡± another girl asked. Right at this time, another voice came from the entrance, ¡°I see you''re doing well. Though I have to wonder how you managed to sneak your way in here.¡± Xerael said with a sneer. Endrian sighed and shook his head but didn¡¯t say anything. He wasn¡¯t sure what it was but there was something about this kid that just rubbed him the wrong way. The first impression definitely made a large impact but it was just deeper than that. There are just some people that rub you the wrong way no matter their age. That¡¯s why he kept his mouth shut because he would probably say something that would just piss everyone off. Just as Xeraelopened his mouth to say something else his mother grabbed his arm and pulled him away towards the other people. Looking at the girls around him Endrian sighed and said ¡°I have some personal issues with that boy, Xerael Naxxremis. So, if you don¡¯t want to get on the wrong side of him then you should probably avoid me.¡±Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Two of the girls opened their eyes wide and departed. The third and last girl shuffled forward a little and asked ¡°How did you manage to get on his bad side?¡± Smiling ruefully Endrian said ¡°That little boy insulted my mother and so I called him and his mother walking piles of shit. Him for the insult and the mother for not correcting him.¡± The girl''s mouth opened so wide you could probably fit a goose¡¯s egg in it. After a few seconds, she then chuckled and said ¡°Well yes that would definitely put you on their bad side. My name is Oricia Blackward, a pleasure to meet you.¡± Endrian looked her over carefully. She was cute. She had somewhat chubby cheeks but she didn¡¯t have what Endrian would consider a manly face. Nor did she look overly heavy like some of the noble children. She had red hair that reminded him of the Black Widow¡¯s hair from Avengers. She had baby blue eyes with a button nose. She looked about 9 or 10 years old. ¡°Nice to meet you as well. My name is Endrian.¡± he finally said to her in a reserved tone. Right at this time, a group of teachers came through including academy head Chiyo. Endrian, seeing that she and a number of other teachers and the priestesses were here, he pointed at them to Oricia and said ¡°Things are probably about to start so we should head to the seating.¡± The teachers and staff that were there helped everyone get situated. Endrian was hoping to avoid conversing with most of the people because he honestly wasn¡¯t sure how to interact with most of them. Adults, not a problem, children¡­ It felt overly awkward talking with them as a peer and he felt like he would be condescending to them by viewing them as children. Well, he didn¡¯t feel like he was going to be condescending but he knew that¡¯s how others would take it. Unfortunately for him, Oricia seemed like she was interested in him and sat next to him in the seating. She leaned over to him and said ¡°You didn¡¯t say your house name when you greeted me earlier.¡± she whispered. At first, he wasn¡¯t sure how to respond and then he remembered the fight his dad participated in and how they introduced him, so he said ¡°House of Vanya.¡± ¡°Wait you aren¡¯t from a noble house, and you still said that to the matriarch of the Naxxremis house?¡± she whisper shouted. ¡°Look, no offense, but I could care less about nobles or commoners. If you are rude and disrespectful I¡¯ll treat you as such. If you treat me with cordiality then I will treat you the same.¡± Endrian said. ¡°Aren¡¯t you afraid that they will retaliate?¡± she asked with incredulity. At this point. the parents, teachers, and children had all been situated and Chiyo stood on the stage and pressed on a stone on her necklace that she was wearing and then cleared her throat. The sound of her clearing her throat echoed across the field and got everyone¡¯s attention. Oricia wasn¡¯t interested in what was going on at the stage and poked him in the side while saying in a hushed tone ¡°Hey I asked you if you were afraid that they would retaliate.¡± ¡°No I¡¯m not, and now is not the time to discuss these things,¡± he said with an authoritarian tone. ¡°Well look who turned into the goody, goody all of a sudden. I was just asking.¡± she replied snidely with a little pout at the end. Endrian closed his eyes briefly and then focused on Chiyo only to realize that it was a typical opening ceremony type speech. She talked about how hopeful she was for all of the students, how proud she was and the different courses that were available. She also explained that they would be put in classes where they could talk to their teacher in charge. They could talk with them for their required courses and their courses that they wanted to pursue. As she said that some other people who looked like older kids, probably student helpers, moved down the sides of the rows where the children were sitting passing out papers. It seemed a little extravagant but Endrian assumed it was more showing off for the upper class and nobles. He took his paper and passed on the rest but didn¡¯t bother looking at it since he already knew his courses and everything was laid out for him. However, in just a second he heard Oricia say in an excited whisper ¡°Ha! Me and you are going to the same class and guess who the teacher is. You¡¯ll never guess it. It¡¯s going to be Academy head Chiyo.¡± Chiyo waited until everyone had received their slip showing all the students names and the teacher who was going to be in charge of them. After everyone had quieted down she then proceeded to introduce the different teachers. They all stood up in turn and spoke a little about themselves and their qualifications. He read over the list and looked to find his name under Chiyo¡¯s as well as Oricia and Xareal. ¡®Great. So now I am going to be in a class with a bunch of stuck up nobles. That¡¯s just what I need.¡¯ Endrian thought with great sarcasm. He kept the thoughts to himself and smiled at Oricia so that he didn¡¯t offend, potentially, the only friend he would have in there. After he smiled at Oricia he kind of tuned her out as his mind was working on why Chiyo would put him in any of these classes. His mind was also working on some worse case scenarios for what could happen with the nobles and him in the class. Looking at the list again he counted 12 names including his. He decided to talk to Chiyo about it and see if there was a reason. If it was just socializing with his peers then he needed to get out of this class quick before he could burn any bridges. While Endrian¡¯s mind was trying to work on things Oricia hadn¡¯t stopped talking. However after a few seconds of being ignored as she asked him questions she smacked him on his shoulder to get his attention. ¡°Hey, I was talking to you. Where is your family I would love to meet them.¡± ¡°Huh? Oh, I didn¡¯t bring my family with me.¡± he said absently as his mind started to work on the problems in his head again. ¡°What?! Why wouldn¡¯t you bring your family during the opening ceremonies? It¡¯s only the best time to network with others students families, at least that¡¯s what my mom says. Well come on let¡¯s go, I guess I could let you visit with my family.¡± Oricia said. Looking around Endrian noticed everyone getting up and socializing with each other and heading out of the arena area. ¡°Where¡¯s everyone going?¡± he asked somewhat confused. ¡°Well at least you aren¡¯t just ignoring me. Academy head Chiyo said that there would be free food for everyone today in the dining hall. Come on I¡¯ll introduce you to my moms and sisters.¡± Oricia appeared excited and grabbed his hand and drug him along. Endrian helplessly followed along after he realized that there was no chance of talking with Chiyo about the classes. Oricia continued to chat about things and ask about different buildings, subjects, and his family. Endrian was a little irritated but decided to take her as his little sister''s friend. If he looked at her in that light it was much easier to talk to her about everything. He found out from Oricia that she had three sisters in the school already but they had entered at different times. This allowed them to enter different classes and interact with more people their age. He learned that most noble families did this as well and those commoner families usually joined as their pride to help protect them from bullying. It was actually a somewhat intriguing dynamic that went on at the school. Also, most of the families that were viewed as commoners were actually rich merchant families that had hopes of marrying into nobility or making important connections to expand their mercantile empire. They were often commoners that wound up interacting with nobles anyway and so needed to make connections and learn manners. After they had arrived at the dining hall Endrian was introduced to Oricia¡¯s sisters and mother. There was Rosedue who was the head mother of the family. She was tall and masculine with a very strong jaw. She had well-defined muscles but wasn¡¯t a body builder type. She had distinctive red hair just like Oricia and had silver eyes which were a really striking contrast. Oricia¡¯s sisters were Chelone who was the oldest at 15 years old, Ravannae was next at 13 and finally Baeye who was 11. All of them had red hair which appeared to be a Blackward trademark. Other than Oricia all of them were very masculine looking. They had strong bodies and strong features and were muscular similar to their mother. It was interesting too along with the smell of food that was in the dining hall there was a peculiar smell about the women. Like fresh herbs. It was similar to having a bag of potpourri sitting in the room when he was sitting with these women. After Endrian had been introduced and greeted everyone he looked around he found that he was getting a lot of jealous looks from the commoner section where the students were mixing around especially from the family with the boys. There were some condescending looks from the nobles as well as some jealous looks. When Endrian refocused on the table Rosedue took the chance to ask ¡°What pray tell has brought such an innocent young man to the attention of my youngest daughter?¡± Before Oricia could say anything Endrian responded ¡°My charming demeanor and my roguish good looks?¡± ¡°Roguish good look? You?¡± Rosedue responded with a chuckle. ¡°Yeah, you got me, but I¡¯m working on it.¡± He said with a wink and a smile. Endrian wasn¡¯t really flirting with Rosedue but he enjoyed witty banter and flirting especially with women who wouldn¡¯t take offense. Well, at least he hoped they wouldn¡¯t take offense. Rosedue gave him a somewhat discerning look and said ¡°I do believe you are.¡± After that, it devolved into conversations about what his parents did to earn money and what he hoped to gain from going to school. It was just idle banter that Endrian paid little attention to while responding. Interestingly the food was served to everyone by bringing around dishes to the different tables and letting the gest choose what they wanted. Finally after eating everyone went their separate ways with Endrian looking for Suseras to see what needed to be done about his cultivation. After leaving the Blackwards, Endrian spent a little bit of time trying to find Suseras to see if he was ready to start properly explaining cultivation. It was fortunate that school was only a half day so there were no requirements for Endrian after lunch and the long welcoming ceremony. Endrian decided to start his search where he usually met his cultivation instructor. Arriving at his classroom it was much like he had expected, Suseras was nowhere to be found. That being said there was a strange old man sitting where his teacher normally sat. The man appeared to be older with white/grey hair and a beard that was on par with Pai Mei. It was actually pretty impressive. While Endrian was looking at him trying to determine who he was, the old man opened his eyes and looked at Endrian. He didn¡¯t say anything or smile or really take any kind of action to acknowledge Endrian¡¯s existence other than to watch him with his eyes. ¡°I apologize if I interrupted you. I was just looking for my teacher.¡± Endrian said respectfully. ¡°You have found him.¡± the old man replied. When Endrian heard this he had a confused and quizzical look appear on his face. However, the person continued on saying ¡°I will be your new instructor for cultivation. Come and sit.¡± he said while pointing to a spot that was less than a meter from where he was sitting. Endrian was a little surprised but figured this was the result that Suseras had come up with after learning about his initial cultivation, so without further complaint, he moved and sat down in front of the old man. The old man then held out a hand palm up towards Endrian and appeared to be asking for him to place his hand there, which he did, still a little confused. As soon as he placed his hand in the old man¡¯s hand, the old man pulled and then both hands landed on his head. Endrian had just enough time to this ¡®Oh Shit¡¯ before he blacked out. Chapter 21 - Cultivation Round 2 Endrian came to some time later. He patted his body real quick making sure he still had clothes on, his hands were free and all the important parts were there. After a quick check between his legs, he let out a sigh of relief and said ¡°Well I¡¯m alive and everything is where it¡¯s supposed to be.¡± Looking around he wasn¡¯t sure if it was getting dark or getting light but he knew that it had been some hours since he interacted with that old man. Who, conveniently, was nowhere to be found. Endrian took a look at his surroundings and found that he was still in the cultivation classroom so there was that at least. This incident really made Endrian realize how weak he was. He never felt that the old man had any intentions of harming him but to be unable to react before being knocked out? That would mean he would be dead or worse if that person desired it. Thinking back on what happened Endrian he felt a weird memory. It was honestly hard to describe the feeling of a memory that he had no recollection of. It was both out of place and natural. As he probes this memory he ¡®recalled¡¯ the old man he had just met. However, when he recalled the old man the setting was of him sitting on top of a lily in the middle of a lake with a small waterfall in the background. He was surrounded by nature and Endrian was as well. So much so that he could even feel the cool mist from the waterfall spraying onto his face. The smell of nature and the sounds of the animals and the waterfall. It filled him with a sense of peace and nature much more profound than when he would try to escape for a week in his old life. While he was filled with wonder at this memory that was not his, the old man spoke. ¡°You may call me Immortal Hue, and I will be your cultivation instructor for the next week. Anytime you have a question about cultivation think of the time we met when I placed this comprehension in you. The knowledge you seek or need will appear in your consciousness.¡± After which he closed his eyes. At first, Endrian was wondering if he had lost his mind. He was born in a new world. He¡¯s no longer even human. There are magical powers. Finally, an old man accosts him and implants a memory in his head. If he looked at it from his old rational point of view he was clearly in a coma or in a mental ward staring out the window. That being said, everything about this world and his memories including his newly gained one appeared to be totally real. He could clearly remember the touch of the old man¡¯s hand when he placed his wrist on it. The speed that he moved at was beyond what Endrian''s brain even had time to process. ¡®Why is this even happening to me?¡¯ he thought As the thought came into Endrian¡¯s head the old man, Immortal Hue, opened his eyes and said ¡°The reasons these things are happening is because you are this worlds only hope and the last roadblock to a premature cyclic change in the universe. More specifically I am here to assure that your cultivation proceeds smoothly, which will give you the greatest chance to complete your task. Finally, to expound on the necessity for me to assure your smooth cultivation, I am sure you are aware that greed and power tend to lead people to do things that will assure their continued holding of power. The royalty of this world¡¯s different races have decided to disseminate subpar cultivation to maintain their power and control.¡± After hearing this it explained a lot about why the cultivation techniques had no foundation. They appeared to be pointlessly forcing people to grope in the darkness with one every now and again lucking themselves into a decent cultivation path. ¡®So how did this get so widely spread, and how will this affect my cultivation. Wait! I¡¯m this worlds only hope?!?!¡¯ ¡°It was widely spread because,¡± Endrian tried to interrupt and ask about being the only hope but Immortal Hue didn¡¯t pause in his talking which made Endrian miss part of what as said, ¡°-focused on their familial cultivation techniques there would be no problems for them and they would even be able to take advantage. As to the impact to your cultivation, honestly, it has none at this point. You have had a basic understanding of cultivation techniques here and are only lacking foundation in the underlying principles which I will give you.¡± Immortal Hue said while completely ignoring his question about being this world¡¯s only hope. ¡°Please explain what you mean by I am this world¡¯s only hope and what is this premature cyclic change?¡± Endrian asked with some urgency. ¡°This information is not necessary for your cultivation, it is sufficient that you know.¡± Immortal Hue responded. ¡°So you''re kind of like an AI that will be my mentor to guide me on my mystical journey of cultivation and that¡¯s it?¡± Endrian asked. ¡°While I cannot say for sure what an AI is, I can say that I will, to some extent, mentor you in your cultivation. I say to some extent because I will not be giving you cultivation techniques or be instructing you on which intents or concepts to use. Nor will I explain how to cycle your mana through your body or any patterns to use. What I will do is give you a deep understanding of the foundational principles of cultivation, what is needed for each level and what you can expect to have to overcome to go further. How you gather mana, circulate the mana and use it will be entirely up to you.¡± Immortal Hue paused for a moment and then continued on ¡°For example, you have pulled in multiple types of mana into your cells. Filling them with mana that you not only awakened but could feel in your surroundings. This mana was then condensed by the cells in your body into a single type of golden nature mana that encompassed all the mana. You even infused a concept of strength into each cell with your mana. What this did for you is not give you great strength but allowed all of your cells to become stronger and more effective at what they do.¡± ¡°This golden energy is symbolic of life. It represents the basic foundation of Earth, Air, Fire, Water, Metal, and Energy. Coupled with the neutral, non-attribute, mana that was brought in you gave your mana the same signature as nature. This is both a blessing and a curse. The blessing of this is that you will be more attuned to nature and because of this your body and your mind will be greatly enhanced. You will potentially develop a spiritual sense far before your peers. The curse of this is that your cultivation will be both quick and slow for the next level. You will be able to fill up your core with the natural wild mana quickly but you will then need to refine it to the golden nature mana which will be converted somewhere around a 10:1 ratio.¡± ¡°You were talking about concepts as well can you explain that further?¡± Endrian asked as he processed the revelations of his current cultivation and the potential impacts this would have on him. He had already placed this benefit in a box that he could understand and was now immersed in the desire to understand. ¡°Concepts are ideas or concepts that influence how something develops. Take for example how you infused your cells with the concept of strength. When infusing your cells with mana you had the concept that what you did would imbue strength in them. You could have chosen a different concept like regeneration, or speed, or any other concept, of which there are many. This would infuse the mana and its container with whatever concept is chosen. Something to note there are both virtuous and sinful concepts. Be careful which concepts you choose to infuse as they can and will cause unforeseen side effects.¡± Immortal Hue said. As Endrian was getting ready to ask more questions he was interrupted by someone shaking him. Opening his eyes outside of the memory he saw Chiyo standing there. ¡°What are you doing here?¡± she asked him. ¡°I was looking for Suseras so I could talk to him about a new cultivation. I¡¯m sure he has told you about what happened.¡± Endrian replied to her. With a slightly bitter smile, Chiyo gave an affirmative nod. Then she continued ¡°That still doesn¡¯t answer why you are here. It¡¯s almost dark and I figured you would have come looking for me about your new class.¡± Endrian not sure how much he could trust anyone that was either noble or a school instructor decided to offer up a semi-truthful lie. ¡°I was struck with some inspiration. While I was focusing on this I must have lost track of time.¡± Endrian decided that before he would talk to anyone about his experience he would do some research and see what he could find. ¡°I¡¯m glad to hear that you have had some inspiration in regards to your cultivation. I know the priestesses will be happy to hear something going well for your cultivation after this setback. You have no idea how much they wanted to pull you out of school and take you to their church in the capital.¡± Smiling, Endrian decided to broach another topic while he had Chiyo at his disposal. ¡°Academy head, you brought up the new class and I did indeed want to talk with you about this. Why did you put me in this class?¡± After he said this at least a small part of him was chanting ¡®Please don¡¯t say it was so I could interact with my peers.¡¯ ¡°I think you work to hard and you need to socialize with children your own age.¡± As soon as Endrian heard this he couldn¡¯t hear her anymore because his inner monolog was resounding in his head ¡®And there it is! Why are there always people that think they know what¡¯s best for others? Aand it¡¯s always with the best of intentions!¡¯ After Chiyo had stopped talking about the necessity for children to be able to interact with each other, Endrian figured he would try to make his case to get out of the class but first, he needed to verify ¡°So you just want me to interact with my peers? No other reason for adding me to the class?¡± ¡°No.¡± she said with a slightly questioning tone. ¡°Why would there need to be other reasons? You need to make connections with other children and these are some of the most influential children in the city¡­¡± Endrian again tuned her out. He understood it was rude to just ignore her like that but it was also naive and condescending to think that he would be able to get along with someone like Xerael. Not to mention if he really was the savior of this planet like Immortal Hue had said then he would need people that he could trust with his life, not people that were using him. After Chiyo had finished speaking Endrian decided to ask to be removed from the class before he had a chance to really cause some problems with the overly spoiled rich kids that would inevitably be apart of this group. ¡°Chiyo, I would like to be removed from this class.¡± Holding up a hand before she had a chance to reject he continued. ¡°Let me finish. You may or may not know this already but I have a fairly significant problem with at least one person in your class already. On top of that, I do not really consider them my peers. That¡¯s not to say that I look down on them but more that I have different understandings and experiences that lead me to think differently from other children my age. This would then lead to either being ostracized or fights. Both of which completely defeats the purpose of putting me in the class which leads me to the conclusion that being in the class is a waste of time for me.¡± As Endrian finished he felt like he had put forth a logical and sound reason for not being in the class that even a grown adult would have a hard time refuting. Further emphasizing the fact that he didn¡¯t think like other children.Love this novel? Read it on Royal Road to ensure the author gets credit. Chiyo was giving him a stern look and said ¡°I am well aware of your problems with the Naxxremis boy. This is precisely why I have placed you in the class with him. This way you two will be able to work out your differences and grow closer together. Not to mention that this would be an ideal way for you to find a good pride to join with. This is definitely in your best interest. I know you might not understand it now but you will thank me for it later I am sure.¡± Endrian couldn¡¯t help but chuckle a little in his heart. ¡®I guess it¡¯s only fair for her to ignore me when I ignore her.¡¯ Realizing the futility of trying to convince her he decided to thank her for coming to find him and head home for the evening. Plus he needed to talk with that Immortal Hue AI thing and he needed to check on Ethese and see how she was doing. So Endrian promptly said his goodbyes and headed home. After arriving home the first thing he decided to do was look in on Ethese and see how she was doing. Arriving at her room he knocked politely on the wall and waited for her to respond. Instead of hearing a come in or any other acknowledgment the curtain moved to the side and Vanya was looking to see who came. Endrian was a little surprised by this since there was no reason to keep Ethese in her room since there was no one to let the secret out to. ¡°What are you doing here Ender?¡± Vanya asked him. ¡°I just came to talk with Ethese and see how she was doing. Though, I have to say I am surprised to see you here,¡± he responded. ¡°We¡¯ve found that you must treat the youngest the same otherwise there are problems when she raises her children so she will get the same treatment so she can understand the importance of these traditions,¡± Vanya said. Endrian sighed in his heart at what he viewed as a seriously ignorant tradition, but understanding that he wasn¡¯t going to change anything as he was he moved on. ¡°So, is it alright if I visit with Ethese for a bit?¡± ¡°I¡¯m sorry no one but her direct mother is allowed to visit during this time. Besides, she is still sleeping. I will say that once she learns to change properly then she can visit with others again. Until then the best you can do is bring some food for her so she can recover quickly.¡± Nodding his head in acquiescence, Endrian headed to the kitchen area and grabbed a plate with some dried meat, and some fresh fruits as well as a glass of water. He could still remember how helpful it was after waking up to have those things, and it was the least he should do to repay Ethese for her help during this time. Understanding that he wouldn¡¯t be able to visit Ethese for a while he headed to his room to have a discussion about cultivation with a figment of his imagination. At least it¡¯s not a purple dragon. After arriving in his room he sat down and calmed his mind. Thinking about his encounter with Immortal Hue in the cultivation classroom he was once again brought into the memory. Endrian decided to start off with what he felt was the most pertinent question. ¡°So what do I need to do moving forward with my cultivation right now?¡± Immortal Hue smiled and said ¡°You need to gather mana and condense it. There are many ways to gather mana. The best are visualization techniques that incorporate breathing techniques. After you bring the mana into your core you will have to visualize the circulation of the mana throughout your body. This will allow your mana to be filtered and taught how it should work. This will help you condense the mana a second time to the golden nature mana.¡± ¡°Okay, so what type of breathing techniques or visualization techniques should I use?¡± Endrian asked hopefully. ¡°That is something that you will have to determine for yourself. The visualization techniques just needs to be able to be understood and have the effect of pulling mana to your core. As for the breathing techniques again that is something that you will have to determine. The purpose of the breathing technique is to help you calm your mind and increase your focus on your visualization technique.¡± Immortal Hue said with a placid demeanor. He continued on in a casual manner as he broke down the reasons for the occurrences. ¡°Remember, mana is not moved by the physical but by consciousness be it primary consciousness or secondary consciousness. This would be what you call sub-consciousness.¡± Endrian took a moment to digest this new information before asking another question. ¡°So, in the cultivation techniques that I studied at school, I found that they used patterns to create intent or concept when infusing mana. What is the purpose of this?¡± ¡°The purpose is like you said to infuse intent or concept in their mana and bodies. These patterns are used because it helps them to focus the intent in the different parts of their body as they do not have a detailed understanding of the body. This should not be necessary for you since you should be able to understand the intent or concept and directly infuse it in the area that you want. Again I caution you to be careful and fully think through the infusion of intent or concept as the infusion could have side effects. To give an example: If you infused the concept of imperviousness into your skin then your skin could potentially be impervious to poisons, pain, damage and more. However, the downside is that you will have changed the properties of your skin and it will no longer sweat, or even feel. This could mean overheating quickly during a fight or even dying from heat exhaustion due to an inability to regulate your body temperature properly. As with all things in life, there is a balance. So your best option would be to determine a path that is appropriate for you and follow that path while working to mitigate the negative features of that path. There is a benefit to specialization but don¡¯t overspecialize because that is just as limiting as overgeneralizing.¡± After Immortal Hue finished his speech about the current base of cultivation Endrian felt both awed and frustrated. It was so overwhelming the freedom to do and choose what he wanted. It was amazing that people could develop their own cultivation techniques like this and customize them to their life. At the same time, it was terrifying. Endrian was used to having something tested thoroughly validated and vetted by many people before implementing. At this point, something else resonated in his mind. Consciousness controls the outcome. What this meant to Endrian was that there was something intangible, and unmeasurable that had a direct impact on the world. This upended everything he understood in regards to science. It didn¡¯t invalidate everything he knew, but rather it changed the framework from which he understood. The best example of this was ironically the theory of quantum entanglement. So if photons were conscious of each other then they would always maintain that status quo. Science was still science the only difference was that Endrian would have to be aware that any preconceived notions that he had could impact the results. This could be both good and bad as he could influence a result towards something he desired. Again something he would definitely have to test and look into as best he could. Finally waking up from a shift in his understandings and things he took to be absolute. He realized that there were other greater implications to one being the only hope and also the cultivation of people that understood the foundations of cultivation. This meant that the only powerful cultivators would be the older nobles and the royalty. These people would also not be happy about someone else being in control or outside of their control that could threaten their power. So, his only option would be to raise people he could trust by sharing with them cultivation foundations. He could also not trust nobles. After coming to this conclusion he decided to ask Immortal Hue ¡°Would there be any problems with me sharing this understanding of cultivation with others?¡± ¡°As with everything, there is a balance.¡± Immortal Hue responded cryptically. ¡°Okay, so basically you are saying that if I share these understandings then there will be consequences for my actions?¡± Endrian enquired. ¡°Of course.¡± Immortal Hue said. ¡°Okay, so what do I need to be concerned about with each level of cultivation? What are the primary things that I need to understand?¡± Endrian decided to move on to something more productive as Immortal Hue did not seem inclined to explain what type of consequences there would be. ¡°What you need to know is that each level is a profound change to your mana. The first three levels are fairly easy to comprehend Gathering you have already accomplished and it is both the easiest and the only level of the martial path that can never be removed. This is because it has integrated so completely with your body that you would have to destroy your body to remove your cultivation. The second level is condensing. This is the level that starts to set you on your cultivation path. It will be the foundation from which your cultivation will grow. You can imagine it like gathering is the soil for you to plant your seed of cultivation. Condensing is the seed and as long as it has good roots it can grow even in the most atrocious conditions. However, having good soil or good growing conditions is always helpful. After the Condensing level is the Earth level. This is the level where you solidify your mana. At this point, your mana will replenish to whatever level it has grown but will not advance easily and the amount of mana that you have is limited to what is held in your core.¡± Immortal Hue paused so that Endrian could take time to mull over these statements if needed. However, seeing Endrian appear impatient he continued on quickly. ¡°The next level is Core Formation. To get into this level you have to form a core in your mana. You can look at this core like you would the core of a planet. It helps to draw in and purify mana independent of your visualization though it will be modified by your understanding and your visualization technique. Also of note for most people that step in the Core Formation level, they will start to develop a spiritual sense and can start to project mana outside of their bodies to the point of being able to manipulate mana and infringe on other people¡¯s personal domain. Also, the Core Formation turns external mana into mana generated by your core which is yours. This is why you can move it and control it outside of your personal space because it is an extension of your consciousness.¡± ¡°Following the Core Formation level is the Sun level. This level will transform your core that was formed into a sun. This is a more powerful version of the Core Formation and generates an exponential more amount of mana that is imprinted with your consciousness. Your spiritual sense will grow and you will be able to have a greater impact on other people¡¯s personal spheres.¡± ¡°The sixth level is the Heaven level. Much like the name you will create multiple stars like the heavens. Each star will be similar to a Sun level of cultivation. When you first create a new star you will be able to control its position. What this means is that you can create arrays or glyphs with the positioning of the stars. They can embody intent or profound meaning, laws, or even functions. This can have a huge impact on your future cultivation speed, power, understanding or capabilities. It is not required that you place the stars in any specific order but in my opinion not taking advantage of this is a huge waste of opportunity. As for the number of stars that you will have access to, each rank in the Heaven level represents a star.¡± ¡°After making out of the Heaven level you will advance to the spiritual body level. At this level, you will create multiple heavens. These heavens will also need to be set in motion. Again you will be able to create 9 heavens. Each heaven that you create that has 9 stars that are put in motion will enhance your physical body to a degree that you will be almost impossible to kill at least by anyone under the spiritual body level.¡± ¡°The eighth level of cultivation is the Spiritual Mind level. At this level, your cultivation is no longer dependent on creating more stars or heavens. You will now have to understand the profound truths of the universe. This includes laws, concepts, intents and determine how they interact with each other. This is an exercise in understanding the balance and the cycles that exist in the universe.¡± ¡°The ninth and final level for physical beings is the Immortal level. Advancing in this level requires deeper understandings of the universe such as that there are realms beyond realms. The physical universe is only most basic of the realities that exist. The final goal of the Immortal realm is to transcend your physical body. This will also have the effect of imposing more and more heavenly laws upon you. Or rather it¡¯s not so much that they are being imposed on you but you become aware of the laws and the implications of breaking them. I cannot help you beyond the Immortal level of cultivation as I do not know what comes next.¡± Immortal Hue finished up his dissertation on cultivation with a look of longing on his face. Endrian was quite frankly overwhelmed by the levels and the implications of the power and understanding that would be required for people to advance. It was both exciting and daunting. However, with this information, it would greatly help him be able to properly plan for what he wanted to accomplish and how to plan out his cultivation path. The first thing he would need to do is come up with a visualization technique. He could use his current one but if he could teach his mana core to use the visualization technique and there were no holds on how to visualize gathering the mana then he had some ideas on new visualization techniques. Leaving the memory of Immortal Hue, Endrian spent the next few hours recalling different breathing techniques and thinking about visualization techniques until he settled on one of each. Chapter 22 - New Class The breathing technique that he used was a yogic breathing technique designed to help focus the mind. You would focus on the breath, not controlling it, but observing it. This allowed you to focus to the exclusion of everything else. Because it helped focus the mind but required not actual work Endrian felt it was perfect. He thought about different ways to visualize the mana going into his core, actually one of the first was creating a whirlpool. However, he gained some inspiration from the concept of the different levels. If it was based on solar systems and galaxies then why not visualize a singularity or black hole at the center of his core. The only problem was he didn¡¯t really understand much about black holes or singularities other than they had a massive gravity that drew everything to them. Well from what he understood a singularity was just the center of a black hole and was theoretically what formed the black hole so for his purposes they should work interchangeably. Thinking to here he decided to go with a mana singularity that drew all mana in. This allowed him to get a three-dimensional draw from all mana and if his assumption was right then he could increase the range and the strength of his visualization beyond what most people could imagine. After deciding on these techniques he put them into action. For the first few minutes, it was hard to maintain focus on his breathing but everything eventually settled down and his mind relaxed. When he became relaxed he opened up his awareness to the mana around him. Then he started to visualize a single point deep in the core of where his condensed mana would be stored. He pictured the ridiculous gravity that would be generated and how it would draw any mana in its reach to it. He spent some time solidifying this visualization and after a few minutes, it took hold. It felt kind of like a click where it went from being pretend to being real. As soon as it became real his awareness of the mana showed that it was flooding over towards him. Initially, it was slow but as he reinforced the visualization the pull became faster and stronger. There was no requesting the mana to come to him, it was just drawn there inexorably. He focused on his core and found that it was filling up fast. He had already reached the second rank of the second level after just an hour of starting the visualization. Unfortunately, it was still a bunch of different mana and hadn¡¯t been condensed into the golden mana. So he stopped drawing in mana and visualized what he had in his core moving through his body. After he had developed a pattern that cycled the new mana through every part of his body it finally returned and it had been condensed to the golden mana. As soon as it hit his core from the circuit around his body it was like an explosion went off in his mind and his heart. The rightness of how it felt. How it merged with him and could effortlessly be controlled. Hell, the power he felt was on a completely different level from what he had experienced either time when he cultivated in the condensing level. It was like chocolate, caffeine, speed, and the best sex ever had all been rolled into one delicious ball and dropped in his body. As soon as he completed the cycle, his eye popped open and the breath that he had been holding burst out while he panted ¡°Holy shit!¡± After a few seconds, he regained some of his composure but he was still trying to wrap his mind around the differences. The way his core resonated with his body. How every cell in his body was singing for joy. It was truly mind-blowing. ¡°Fuck me sideways with a big black dildo. There is no comparison.¡± ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ In the heavens, all the gods were rolling. Azmera looked at the chosen champion and said ¡°This! This is why cultivators sit for thousands of years and do nothing.¡± Phunagiox responded to Azmera and said immediately after her ¡°Nope! This! This is how we get thousand-year-old virgins sitting in a cave saying ¡®Please sir, may I have another¡¯¡± this of course caused another round of hysteria with the other gods that were watching. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Endrian took a moment to look at his cultivation level and he could tell that he was already back to the beginning of the first rank of the second level after the refinement of his mana. He then spent the next hour or so working his breathing exercise just so he could calm down and regain his composure. Finally, he was able to calm down enough to get some rest. He was looking forward to tomorrow so that he could test out his new cultivation. Waking up the next day Endrian cleaned himself up and then started walking through the Tai Chi forms. He could instantly tell the differences in his body and had to spend some time on each form performing it slowly to assure his control becoming accustomed to his new strength. After he finished his forms he changed out of his workout clothes getting dressed and ready for school. In his excitement at his new cultivation and the effects it was having on him he had ignored the fact that he had a new class to go to. On the way to school, however, he had been thinking of what he needed to do first. This had inevitably made him think of his new class which made him cringe inside. He remembered on the page, the one with the teacher in charge and the student names, that was handed out yesterday there was a room and a rough time marked. He hadn¡¯t paid attention to it at the time, but the benefits of an eidetic memory were that he wasn¡¯t required to pay attention he just needed to see it once. So he knew that he needed to be in the classroom by what was termed early morning, which correlated to the sun being just above the horizon. Looking to the sky and based on the color of the sky Endrian sighed to himself and headed to the classroom. He was already going to be a little late so he didn¡¯t rush. Arriving at the room he found a curtain drawn across the doorway and he could hear Chiyo¡¯s voice coming from inside. Without pausing he moved aside the curtains and walked in only to have the room go quiet and everyone stare at him. He paused for a moment and then looked at Chiyo and said ¡°I apologize for my tardiness.¡± Then he found a seat that was empty that was at the back of the class glancing at Chiyo she made a gesture to the chair and proceeded with her lecture. ¡°As I was saying this class is not just for your edification. It will teach you about responsibility,¡± at this, she pointedly looked at Endrian, ¡° it will teach you about social graces and etiquette, and finally, it will help you determine a direction for your studies based on your skills and interests.¡± She glanced around the room and verified that all eyes were on her and paying attention. ¡°Something to be aware of is that for every winter that you are in this school there will be a competition between the schools from our empire. There are a total of 15 different schools in our Empire. The competition includes multiple different events including mana control, sparring, single combat vs. tiered beasts, group combat vs. tiered beasts and more.¡± Upon hearing this most of the kids were excited and looking at each other with a gleam in their eyes as they imagined glories and fame. Chiyo paused to allowed the excitement to build and then continued. ¡°So, everyone will need to do their best and work hard so that they can earn a spot in the competition.¡± After she said this, the students were excitedly chattering with people sitting by them. Well, everyone except for Endrian who had a rather bored and slightly annoyed look on his face which deterred anyone from approaching him. Oricia was in another part of the class chatting excitedly with some of the other girls in the class and every now and then she would cast a glance at Endrian. After a few breaths for everyone to make their exclamations and have delusions of grandeur, Chiyo continued on. ¡°Now that everyone is here let¡¯s go around and introduce yourselves to everyone. Tell them a little about your family and personal interests. Let''s start with you,¡± she said while pointing to a girl in the front of the class and all the way to Endrian¡¯s left. ¡°My name is Arianna Sleensild. I am¡­¡± at this point, Endrian tuned them out because honestly, everyone in this room was a noble and no matter how nice they were there would always be the doubt that they working an angle or would sabotage his efforts to develop people that he could trust with his life. He also knew himself well enough to know that he sucked at politics and unfortunately working with nobles would inherently involve politics. Now although he was tuning out what was said he wasn¡¯t completely ignoring things. He had figured out the two people he needed to pay attention to before he needed to introduce himself so he wouldn¡¯t be caught in the embarrassing situation of being clueless when it was his time. Endrian proceeded to plan out what he needed to do today besides his classes. He first wanted to go to the library and see if he could find any references to beings called Immortals. He assumed that Immortal Hue he met was an Immortal ranked cultivator but he wanted to try and understand what was driving him to place this AI thing in his head. So far the cultivation information seemed right on but best to make sure that these people weren¡¯t the type to play pranks for their own amusement. He also wanted to see about implanting another concept but he wasn¡¯t really sure what he wanted. He also needed to get some more information about these abominations. If what Immortal Hue said was to be believed and you couple that with the prophecy then information is going to be key. At this time one of the two people he had been paying attention to had just finished talking and he realized that he was next. ¡°Hi, my name is Endrian. I¡¯m a commoner, I like reading in the library.¡± There that should make me sufficiently boring and worthless for people to be interested in. If Chiyo want¡¯s to treat me like a child then I will act like one. Chiyo seeing Endrian being reticent decided to try and prompt him to bring out more information hoping that she could get him engaged with the class more. ¡°That¡¯s wonderful that you enjoy going to the library. So what do you like about the library?¡± She asked this hoping it would be reading stories about adventure or prides rescuing the noble male from a horrible monster, etc. ¡°I like reading the dictionary in there. Did you know that I was finally able to learn every proper curse word? It took for fucking ever to track it down but it was so worth it.¡± While wearing an innocent smile Endrian laughed to himself ¡®If nothing else it was worth it just for the priceless look of most of the people in the classroom.¡¯ After a second of shock, Chiyo said ¡°Endrian! We do not say those words here, and why would you waste time looking for that. No, you know what, see me after class.¡± At this, the class gave a collective ¡°Ooooh.¡± After this incident class continued on until mid-morning with Chiyo going over different classes that the school had available. There were classes on noble etiquette, dining etiquette, sparring etiquette, sewing, art, music, and dancing. There were classes for cultivation where if you showed your worth might warrant a personal instructor. There were some more interesting classes like alchemy, arrays, sparring, hunting, group combat tactics, wilderness survival, and flying ship navigation and management. Finally, there were classes for math, writing and grammar, herbology, wildlife studies, accounting, and merchant economics. As Chiyo described these classes and what they covered different people would perk up with interest in the classes. Overall the class was quite informative.Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. After class, all the kids funneled out and headed to their next course. These were courses that were assigned to all new students that were new. These courses were math, writing and grammar, and one of the following: sewing, art, music, or dancing. All the first years picked up their class schedules when they checked in during the opening ceremonies as well as got a map of the school and if needed accommodations were assigned. Endrian was not a part of this but he still knew where he needed to go. First, however, he had to have his talk with Chiyo. ¡°I would like for you to explain to me, Endrian, why you thought it pertinent to start cursing in my class?¡± she asked with a glare. ¡°Well, honestly, it wasn¡¯t my intention at first. I just wanted to give a basic boring introduction so that everyone would leave me alone. Unfortunately, you asked a follow-on question to which I reacted to and then embellished to make sure you didn¡¯t ask any more questions.¡± Endrian replied curtly. ¡°That was extremely disrespectful and rude not to mention disrupting the class what made you feel that this was okay?¡± she asked while feeling somewhat perplexed and irritated. ¡°Well, I tried to be courteous yesterday when I asked you take me out of the class. I was still courteous when I initially answered your question. However, neither worked as you didn¡¯t remove me from the class and didn¡¯t let me fall into obscurity so if courtesy doesn¡¯t work what¡¯s left?¡± Endrian said with some condescension. ¡°Look I am doing this for your own good. You need to interact with people your age, build relationships-¡± she started to get on her soapbox, however, Endrian cut her off. ¡°Stop. You may be right or you may not be, but the brilliance of what you are saying is that you don¡¯t have to live with the consequences of your good intentions. I Do.¡± Before he could continue Chiyo jumped in. ¡°You are too young to know what is good for you. That is why we, as adults, make these decisions for you.¡± Chiyo said with aggressively. Finally getting mad Endrian let loose his emotions ¡°No one makes decisions for me! You don¡¯t know what goes on in my head or what I have experienced! I have survived a beast attack, living in the wild, saving my sisters, Killing¡­.¡± he closed his eyes and was breathing hard trying to calm down as anger, regret and self-persecution filled him. A tear leaked out of one of his eyes. After a second or two he was able to take all that emotion and shove it in its box and then he continued. ¡°Listen, I like you Chiyo and I understand that you are doing what you think is best for me, but I don¡¯t work like that. You can discuss options with me and make recommendations but at the end of the day it is and always will be my decision. Nobody can ever take that from me. I will come to this class because I think there may be benefits from coming here. If nothing else the information today was very helpful. However, don¡¯t take that as me saying I will participate actively with the other kids and don¡¯t try and force me to or you will get a reaction similar to what you got in class earlier. If this upsets you and you feel you need to talk to my parents, I understand, but it will change nothing.¡± Endrian paused and looked her in her eyes with resolve so she would hopefully understand that he meant what he said. ¡°On that note, I do have another class to get to.¡± After which he turned and left leaving a stunned Chiyo staring at him walking away. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ As Chiyo stared at the small back that walked away from her wasn¡¯t sure if she was angry, confused, impressed, embarrassed or really what emotions she was feeling. She did, however, finally understand why her sister took such interest in him. He was both infuriating and intriguing. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Next was weapons practice. He debated about hiding the fact that he got his cultivation back but decided that hiding it was pointless. He figured that Kyuuthia would check him since she was anxious to get back to the schedule. It had only been a couple of days but she was chomping at the bit to expand his understanding and start sparring. Endrian was sure it also had nothing to do with Esalana harassing her every day so she could take over. So when he arrived and Kyuuthia let out an audible sigh of relief he knew that it was pointless. Smiling, Endrian said ¡°I had a bit of insight and was able to recover some of my cultivation so we should be able to move back to what we were working on. However, I would like to start slow to verify the differences between my mana now and where I was before.¡± Nodding her head and saying ¡°That¡¯s a good plan. Let¡¯s start off with some spear forms and then move on to movement technique and see how everything works. Then we¡¯ll cycle through all the weapons to make sure there are no major changes.¡± Hearing this Endrian sighed in defeat and then moved to take up the practice spear. They spent the rest of the time until lunch going through different forms and some movement techniques. He also had the inspiration to use his growing control of the metal element when he was using the chain weapon as he thought it could be really amazing if he used it like that. Unfortunately for Endrian as soon as he used his element to manipulate the trajectories of the chain he got smacked on the back of his head by Kyuuthia who said ¡°If you are going to learn a weapon you need to understand it before controlling it otherwise you waste mana and time.¡± Feeling dejected he went through the rest of the form for the chain weapon and managed not to beat himself up too much but still felt like he didn¡¯t like this form of weapon if he couldn¡¯t control it with his mind and he really didn¡¯t feel like putting in the effort for something that he didn¡¯t like. Other than the forms he went through his movement techniques, unarmed at first and then with the different weapons to make sure he could integrate the movement into a part of the forms. ¡®Okay,¡¯ he thought to himself ¡®let¡¯s use half the power I normally use and then we can ramp up from there if necessary.¡¯ He started the movement technique which used mana to enhance the muscles in his legs which allowed him to push off faster and with each step speed up and adjust directions. He would only be going in a straight line this time as he tested it out. With these movement techniques, he usually thought two steps ahead sometimes three so that he was ready to make adjustments in case something went wrong. He cycled half of the amount of mana that he normally used into both his legs and down to his feet. Pushing off his body accelerated forward at a speed he was unprepared for. This, in turn, caused him to face plant since he didn¡¯t generate enough friction with his foot to actually move forward. He looked at where he had stepped and he could see the grass and dirt were torn out. Standing up and wiping off the grass and dirt that was on his face and body he looked over to see Kyuuthia laughing at him. He next attempt he dropped the power down to a fifth of what he had used before he regained his cultivation and leaned forward while paying close attention to his footing. This turned out much better. The second step which used a fifth of the original power worked pretty well though he was a little off balance. Still, a marked improvement. Looking up to see where Kyuuthia was, all he saw was a hand larger than his head. ¡®Come on! That¡¯s not ri-¡¯ he never got the chance to finish the thought as he was smacked on his forehead by the hand. This caused his body to flip in the air three times, his mind completely stunned, before landing on his back and losing consciousness. He woke up to a shockingly large amount of cold water landing on his body. ¡°Remember to pay attention to where you¡¯re going. Movement without awareness is deadly.¡± Kyuuthia said without a shred of remorse. After a few more attempts and stopping after the first step so he was not in Kyuuthia¡¯s range, he got more comfortable with it. He realized that he needed to only use a tenth of the amount of mana that he had used previously and he would still have better results. That was a massive saving and would increase his ability to fight prolonged fights. Endrian spent the rest of the time practicing his movement technique with the different weapons and fending off an attack by Kyuuthia when he got in range. It was a helpful practice if painful. After his weapons training was lunch and then cultivation. When he arrived at the cultivation class he had some lingering fears about meeting Immortal Hue, so he was a little hesitant to enter the room. However, when he did there was no one there and just a message on the wall saying that he was free to study or self-practice or self-study. Since he had the time Endrian decided to work on a more efficient way to absorb the mana into the golden nature mana. Afterall moving up and down ranks would be irritating at best. This was more difficult for him to be able to work with as he had to maintain the visualization to absorb mana and at the same time operate the technique to circulate the mana through his body. Working on both techniques simultaneously was not working well for him. It did bring up a memory that always made him chuckle though. He was working for a company when he was just starting out and he used to brag about his ability to multitask. One of his co-workers was also pretty good at multitasking. When he talked to his co-worker about it the response he got was ¡°I don¡¯t multitask, I just switch back and forth between tasks very quickly.¡± The reason he thought of this was this is exactly what he was doing. Every time Endrian circulated his mana he would lose his visualization technique and every time he focused on the visualization technique he would lose his circulation. The first time he did this midway through a circulation when his mind switched back to the circulation all of the mana he had just absorbed was gone. He spent the rest of his class time working on these techniques. His last class today was his array class. Lailah was in the class and had drawn up some pictures of the different components of the arrays. These different components had similar functions to electronic components you would find on a circuit board. One was a power supply, one was a capacitor, there were resistors and shunts which helped control the amount of mana being used, he hadn¡¯t seen any logic devices like transistors or the different logic gates but then again most of the arrays he was working on we simplistic single use arrays. The functional aspects of the arrays were starting to become more clear. There were elemental components and output portions as well as safety valves in case of a failure. Honestly the more he learned the more intrigued he was about how the arrays were so logical. If they followed logical progressions then there should be logic gates and feedback sensors for arrays as well so that they can respond to stimuli. Thinking as such he decided to talk to Lialah about his assumptions. ¡°Lailah, I feel that I am making progress with these arrays. I haven¡¯t blown one up for a while now and am able to easily make arrays that can perform functions like creating a small fire, wind, light, and different elemental functions but all of these require being toggled on or off and require me to provide mana for the on and off function. I think there should be ways to make the array activate based on external stimulus. In other words, program a response based on outside factors. Do you know anything about this?¡± Endrian asked. ¡°Yes, there are these functions that you have mentioned. Honestly, they are supposed to be for second or third-year array students. Of course, most students don¡¯t take array classes until their second or third year anyway,¡± she said as she trailed off unsure of what to say. ¡°Are there books that cover these materials that I can research?¡± Endrian asked hopefully. ¡°Oh, yes. Yes, they can be found in the library they are surprisingly labeled intermediate array patterns and advanced array patterns,¡± she said with a smile. Then she started biting her lip she looked away and mumbled ¡°I¡¯m not sure if you are allowed to read those books though since you are so young. Hmm, maybe I can talk to academy head Chiyo and get permission for him.¡± Even though she was mumbling to herself Endrian was able to clearly hear it. He realized that if Chiyo heard about this she would probably try to use it to force him to do things that were ¡®in his best interest,¡¯ which would just piss him off. So, he decided to see if he could work something on Lailah. ¡°Lailah, I would prefer you didn¡¯t talk to Chiyo about this. She is currently trying to force me to do things I don¡¯t want to do and this would be just the kind of ammo she would need.¡± He said with an irritated look. When Lailah heard this her eyes got big and she seemed quite surprised and indignant. It took a second for Endrian to realize that he had said something quite ambiguous and he quickly clarified. ¡°Oh, no no no. Sorry no. Ha ha ha. What Chiyo is doing is forcing me to go to a class to interact with other kids my age. She also was kind enough to put me into a class filled with nothing but nobles hoping I could build some connections or something I guess.¡± Hearing this Lailah relaxed and gave Endrian an irritated look. ¡°Okay, but be more careful with your words. It¡¯s easy for people to misunderstand. As for the books, I will figure something out for you.¡± ¡°Thanks,¡± Endrian said with a sweet smile. Chapter 23 - Daily Grind and Changes That night Endrian went home and after cultivating some more he did a little self-reflection on the day. He realized that he had acted pretty childish with Chiyo. Unfortunately, he didn¡¯t know what to do about it. He had tried being civil and then tried to be ignored, but neither worked. It¡¯s not like he could say ¡®look I have close to 50 years of experience.¡¯ That would almost be the same as saying ¡®the pink elephants keep telling me everything¡¯s fine while they try to sneak around like ninjas.¡¯ In the end, it doesn¡¯t matter how old or young you are there is only so much a person can take before they snap. Still, Endrian felt he should have been able to handle that better than he did. Sighing to himself at his inability to deal with emotions he went to sleep. For the next few months that Endrian went to school, there were no earth-shattering changes. He went to Chiyo¡¯s class every other morning as scheduled. This class gave him an overview and a general concept of what the classes involved. He went to the math class once and then never went again as the math that they would cover was mostly basic math such as addition, multiplication, subtraction, division, and fractions. It seemed mostly geared towards creating a foundation for merchant children. Instead of math, he opted to take a music class. One of the things he really missed about his homeworld was the great variety of instruments. Electric guitars being one of the main ones. Unfortunately, he had never looked into how an electric guitar worked so he had no confidence in being able to produce it. They had instruments similar to guitars and pianos. There were drums and wind instruments. Interestingly there were no bow type instruments like violins or cellos. He had some basic knowledge of guitars as he had played with one in his previous life but he had always been fascinated with the violin especially after he had heard songs by Lindsey Stirling. Since that was the case he asked someone to make a violin based on his description of the instrument. It took some time but he got it and the bow made. He was honestly very excited and so were some of the other people in the music classes which included Aanys the priestess of Ordises the god of music. As interested as everyone was to hear the sound that this new instrument would make, Endrian was, unfortunately, a complete novice. This lead to an amazingly painful and atrocious sound. So much so that everyone had to make him stop. Nothing like enhanced senses to really appreciate how awful something is. He had a song in his head that he really wanted to play he might not be able to get the backbeats and supporting sounds but he loved this song and it was potentially something that he could hear in this world. This allowed him to focus on practicing the violin getting accustomed to the feel of it and the sounds, where to position his fingers, et cetera. It took him 5 months before he could start making real music with it. He still wasn¡¯t at the level where he wanted to be but he was very happy with his progress. Other than music his cultivation was taking off. The week while he had the AI thing to questions he spent time asking about obstacles he had come across and discussed different concepts that he had come up with. The possible pros and cons of the concept and what he wanted from it. He had had a lot of ideas about what to do unfortunately most of them were way over the top. Like, imbue the concept of Superman in his body. He thought if he could imbue a concept might as well go for invincible except for an irradiated fragment from his homeworld. This didn¡¯t pan out for Endrian though because there were multiple aspects that made up Superman. After a lot of discussions back and forth he determined that the closest he could get would be to strengthen his bones, muscles, and skin and he would have to constantly cycle through these as he progressed so that they could keep up with the changes to the amount of mana. Then there was the problem of actually getting the concept into the desired area. Endrian found that just because you want something and understand it¡¯s supposed to work a certain way does not always mean that it will. The best way to describe it was the quote from the matrix ¡°...there¡¯s a difference between knowing the path and walking the path.¡± As his cultivation proceeded he found that the minor breakthroughs weren¡¯t near as amazing as that first one. Endrian was also both interested and a little scared about what will happen when he breaks through to the Earth rank and beyond. He was able to advance to the 5th level of condensing after about 3 months. During this time Suseras had finally given up trying to get whatever he was looking for which made him irritated and depressed. However, after learning about Endrian¡¯s enlightenment and his successive breakthroughs he was ecstatic. Endrian had broken into the 7th level of condensing another 3 months after making it to the 5th level. This was also right before the mid-winter break. The speed at which Endrian was making breakthroughs was shocking. Endrian also felt that the density of his mana was just as shocking as his speed but he hadn¡¯t had a chance to confirm differences between other people at his stage of cultivation. With his cultivation becoming stable and advancing he was able to start sparring Kyuuthia and Esalana on a regular basis. He is making good progress with identifying attacks from mana as well as keeping track of the opponent. His movement techniques have improved with him starting to move at speeds which he felt were close to what an expert assassin from his homeworld would be at. That being said he still gets his ass handed to him on a daily basis by Kyuuthia and/or Esalana. Either one used to be able to beat him in seconds when they decided to put him in his place after getting an ego on his advancements. Now after 6 months he still gets beat down, but he is able to hold out for a little while when they step up their attacks. His longest record to date was being able to last for a handspan of time. Which he found out is when you use your hand to get a measure on how high the sun is from the horizon and the hand span is the width of a hand difference. He wasn¡¯t sure of the exact amount of time but with his hands, it was roughly 10 minutes and he knew that 4 of them composed an hour. However, this impressive achievement is only when he is fighting against one of them. As soon as he faces off against both of them it still only takes them seconds to create an opening. Even that though is improving. It only to one move from each of them to draw him out. Now he can take 4 or 5 moves from each before getting knocked on his ass. As far as his array studies, he was able to get the books on arrays that were restricted and his understanding of arrays progressed by leaps and bounds. Lailah had checked out the books and would share them with him during the class time. He could now see logic gates and input/output patterns. Coupled with his knowledge of when he was in the Navy he could start to lay out arrays that contained patterns that he hadn¡¯t seen the patterns for. In other words, he could logically deduce how to create a multi-functional variable output array. He spent time discussing the insights he had with Lailah and the advances that she made on arrays was actually more impressive than Endrian. This was mainly due to her being able to draw the patterns precisely because of her experience and familiarity with the patterns. Now he just needed to figure out the pattern for lightning and he will have hopefully created the first electrical power source on this planet. Unfortunately, most people in the arrays did not have lightning as their elements. Actually, it was more accurate to say they have never had a lightning mana controller take an interest in arrays. This lead to the fact that was causing Endrian so many headaches, which is that there are no known patterns that use lightning in the arrays. Finally, Endrian has been working hard on his mana manipulations. His metal manipulation is making good progress. He is able to mold and bend the metals easier which gives him flexibility with his weapons and can allow him to move his attacks but he loses the ability to control it once it enters another person¡¯s personal space. Which means that he can¡¯t make changes to the weapons within a 3-foot radius of the person he is attacking. He has gotten to the point where he can ¡°hone¡± his weapons he can even maintain this in the personal space but it is reduced by a significant margin. Still with this reinforcement using mana while attacking he can keep his weapons from chipping or getting damaged and allows him to put more force behind his attacks. Endrian¡¯s lightning manipulation is growing and he is now able to create a ball of electricity in his hand. This was actually both lightning and magnetics. Unfortunately, this was just a light display that looked cool and drained the crap out of his mana reserves. The problem with lightning is that it only becomes visible when excited or moving. Once it moves it has achieved its goal of balance and will disappear afterward. So having a sustained lightning ball in his hands looks really cool but wastes mana like a broken dam. He is able to positively charge his weapons which when he comes into contact or gets close enough causes a spark to discharge. The first time he did this he was fighting Kyuuthia and it had blown his spear and her sword out of the hands to embed themselves in the wall. Endrian was alright for the most part but Kyuuthia¡¯s hand and arm were numb for the rest of that class. Unfortunately, this got Esalana excited and she beat him into the ground so hard that he only woke up after class and lunch were over, and it only took her two moves. As for his magnetic control, other than the ability to create a magnetic field to hold the lightning in he had come up with some other applications as well. First was his ability to magnetize his weapons. This had led to some amusing spars. Since he was smaller and lighter and weaker than the people he was sparring with when he magnetized his weapon and they would clash it would often result in Endrian being pulled around or losing his weapon. The upside was that once the object was magnetized he didn¡¯t have to supply mana to it and it would still be magnetized. Which left his instructors trying to pull his weapon from theirs or having it stick to their armor. He did figure out how to set up a coilgun, kind of. He could shoot metal balls or spikes or really just about anything metal by setting up a staged magnetic field. The problem was that without something to guide it and to time the fields on and off it was less effective than throwing it with mana enhanced muscles. Still, the principle is there so theoretically if he can get used to the timing and set up some guides, like a tube on his arm or something he could, as he gets stronger, be able to shoot them with his magnetic control. This, of course, got him interested in the principles of a rail gun and is why he is working on creating an array using lightning. Endrian worked some of his other elemental controls but the downside of having a whole bunch of elemental affinities is that there are not enough hours in the day to be able to train them. This left him with the option of focusing heavily on a few and just cycling through the others. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ While Endrian was working hard at the academy Rantak had decided she was getting restless and felt like going out on patrol. Usually, she stayed in the city and oversaw everything that was going on but right now the restless feeling was making her twitchy. She had tried sparring but it just wasn¡¯t enough for her. So she went to talk with her sister and see if there was anything she needed to worry about before heading out for a few lunar conjunctions. ¡°Hey sis, how¡¯s it going?¡± Rantak said as she walked into Chiyo¡¯s office. Chiyo was bent over her desk reading some papers and scribbling on others. She paused what she was doing and looked up at Rantak while setting down her quill and saying ¡°It¡¯s¡­ frustrating, exciting and busy.¡± ¡°Well, you¡¯re always busy so what¡¯s the frustrating and exciting parts?¡± Rantak asked with a little surprise. ¡°At the start of school, I decided to personally take a class so I could keep an eye on a specific young boy. I put him in the best class and had hoped to watch and even help him make some connections with these nobles so that he had some backing when he starts to get to the bigger arenas. Not to mention he needs to learn how to socialize properly.¡± Chiyo said with some complaint obvious in her voice. Hearing this Rantak chuckled and said ¡°Two things Sis. First, I think he socializes just fine probably too well for someone so young. Second, think about me. How well did I get along with the people I was supposed to? Actually, let¡¯s take that another step. How well did I do when I was forced into something?¡± Hearing this Chiyo gave a wry smile and was obviously thinking back on some amusing memories. ¡°I remember when you beat Tyrina to a pulp after you found out that she was setting me up for cheating. Then you exposed her for what she did. I still don¡¯t think she has gotten over that.¡± Sighing wistfully Chiyo paused and then said ¡°Well you did straighten out when you went in the city guard.¡± Shrugging Rantak said ¡°That was my choice and I knew what I was getting into. I had already accepted the requirements before making the decision. If someone had forced me to go into the city guards when I didn¡¯t want to¡­ well, you know what kind of mess I make.¡± ¡°Yes, yes I do. You are quite the Afroiffit in a glass home.¡± She paused for a moment while thinking of the two-headed cat like flying beasts the size of a cow and the amount of damage it would do in a glass home. ¡°Still he is ruder than any other child I have ever dealt with.¡± ¡°I think that¡¯s part of his charm personally. I mean how many boys¡­ no, forget that. How many men are willing to talk back to the great and mighty Chiyo, or flirt with the barbaric Rantak? It¡¯s like he has eggs the size of Ampleforth.¡± Rantak said amusedly. ¡°There are plenty of men who flirt with you Rantak.¡± ¡°No. There are plenty of men who throw around that they have money or power or whatever and that me and my pride would be a good match. That¡¯s not flirting that¡¯s just greed. Plus I am pretty sure most of them are interested in me so that can get to you.¡± ¡°We are not having this conversation now and I still have work that needs to be done, so if there is nothing else,¡± Chiyo said slightly irritated. Her sister was beautiful probably one of the most beautiful women in the city well, next to the Blackward women but still way up there. Any man would be lucky to have her but she has refused every one. I don¡¯t know how many fights we have had over getting a man. Now she was in a bad mood again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry Chiyo I didn¡¯t mean to bring that sore topic up. Though I still say you should have gone with our other sisters and been happy. Anyway, the reason I came here is that I am getting a restless feeling. I¡¯ve tried to work it out but I¡¯m still feeling pent up so I wanted to see if there is anything you need me to do for the next few months. If not then I am going to leave Serra in charge and go on a patrol. Take a look at these abominations myself and see what¡¯s going on. Plus I just broke through to the 9th level of Core Formation and I want to get some real fighting in.¡± Rantak said to Chiyo.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more. Chiyo paused to think if there was anything that would be needed after a few seconds she said ¡°No I think everything is going good. Oh, I forgot to tell you the good news or exciting news. Endrian has already broken through to the 5th level of condensing. Just three months after having to remove his cultivation and start over from peak gathering. On top of that, he¡¯s made some pretty decent advances in personal combat and fighting multiple opponents. It¡¯s really exciting to see him advancing so quickly.¡± Smiling, Rantak looked at her sister and said ¡°I¡¯m glad you are excited to see him becoming stronger. I would just make one recommendation that might make it easier for you two to get along, and that¡¯s, try treating him like you would treat me.¡± ¡°But, he¡¯s a boy. Nothing more than a child,¡± she said confused. ¡°I know you see him as a boy and a child but I want to point something out. When everyone was fleeing from the towns. His escape vessel was the only one to crash. He took his sisters into the forest, helped them survive and keep their spirits up. He even helped rescue other people from the crash. Finally, he did kill one of the people that survived the crash. She had been wounded and was dying. It was a mercy killing and you know that in the wild fresh blood can attract other beasts. One of the first rules we are taught about hunting when we are old enough is that if someone is wounded fatally and there is no healer then you kill that person even if it¡¯s your sister so that everyone else doesn¡¯t die as well and then you move away from that location.¡± Rantak paused to let the information set in. ¡°How many people have killed just after they turned 7? It¡¯s a hard thing to do and it has consequences no matter your age, but even more so for a child. Yet Endrian was the one in charge and when that woman¡¯s sister couldn¡¯t do what she needed to, he did, at 7. Just something I think you should take into consideration.¡± Chiyo was a little surprised. She had been given a report about the search and rescue which included information about Endrian but she hadn¡¯t bothered to read it at the time. She only made a note about it because her sister had said something about him. ¡°He never talks about it though.¡± ¡°Death and killing are not entertainment. Of course, he doesn¡¯t talk about it in school or with you. If he did he wouldn¡¯t be the type of person I think he is. Okay, we have gotten off subject if you don¡¯t have anything for me I¡¯ll be heading out. Make sure you have your personal communication crystal on you while I¡¯m out.¡± ¡°I never understand why you are like that. You have a perfectly good communication crystal that goes straight to the city guard communication hub. Having a second one and forcing me to keep one on me when you are out is a waste of time,¡± Chiyo complained. ¡°I like to keep my options open. Never bet your life on only one plan. Don¡¯t forget to keep it on you.¡± ¡°I understand. I¡¯ll keep it on me please stop pestering me about it.¡± After she said that she pulled out the communication crystal that Rantak had specially given her and made a show of putting it in her pocket. After leaving Chiyo¡¯s office Rantak went back and geared up joining one of the patrols that was going deep to scout the abominations. Mentally reviewing the patrol reports she knew that so far there had been only a few problems. The number of abominations reported here and there was no different than keeping track of beasts. They only had sporadic sightings and a few incidents where one or two of the team lost their lives. Today she was going to go out with one of the advanced scouts a team of 5 women all of whom had worked with her for many years. Showing up as the ship was finishing up loading she heard someone call out to her. ¡°Hey, Commander, what brings you out here?¡± ¡°I decided to tag along with your sorry asses and make sure you guys don¡¯t screw stuff up too bad.¡± Rantak hollered back at the voice. ¡°Oy, you hear that ladies?! We gots ourselves a special VIP just to wipe our asses.¡± the voice exclaimed while looking over their shoulder. ¡°Who needs a momma to wipe their asses?!¡± another voice rang out. ¡°Is the special VIP cute? If so she can wipe my ass.¡± said a cute voice that Rantak knew was attached to a large body. ¡°Well, get up here commander before Deyone starts looking for the cute VIP,¡± the first voice said. Rantak climbed aboard and saw the squad leader Euandar going over the ship looking for anything loose or out of place. She was a somewhat shorter woman with a stout body with light blue hair and green/white eyes. The large woman with the cute voice was Deyone, the team healer. She had no attribute and was on the younger side. A massive woman that even dwarfed Rantak but she had a flirty and cute personality which was very much at odds with her physical presence. The other three on board were Aethra who was one of the main combatants, Klio who was the ship¡¯s navigator and also one of the main combatant, and Lotis who was the advance scout and ranged attacker. Seeing these women all going about getting ready brought out a sense of nostalgia to Rantak who hadn¡¯t been out on patrol for years. Smiling she hopped on board and stowed her gear. ~*~*~*~*~*~ It had been two months since Rantak went on patrol and it was just as boring and monotonous as she remembered. They had run across some wild beasts and been to the different villages that had been razed in the beast horde. However, there were no signs of the abominations that everyone was talking about. She couldn¡¯t even find very many signs of animals in the area. The land had started to recover from the devastation that the animals had wrought, but it would be years before the trees really recovered. Still, it made it easy to see, especially from the air, any signs of disturbances. It was today that Rantak finally spotted something out of the ordinary. They were coming up to another village that had been mostly destroyed. There were still some buildings left standing in this one though. When Rantak was looking at it in the distance she saw something move. What drew her attention besides the movement was that whatever moved, appeared to be a person. ¡°Hey Klio, take us over to that village I think I saw something and I want to check it out,¡± Rantak shouted to the navigator. The ship turned and Kilo yanked on a cord which was attached to a bell sounding the alarm. The bell sounded throughout the ship and alerted the others below deck that something was up. There were different bells that told the people on board what they needed to know. 1 bell was to say something was up and to get ready to investigate. 2 bells mean that there was someone or something approaching and to get ready quick. 3 bells or more meant immediate danger grab what would could and prepare. Klio only sounded 1 bell so people made their way out from below the deck to see what was going on while still getting their gear equipped. Even with one bell, everyone had already shifted to their combat form to prepare. Euandar was a dormouse type beastkin, Aethra was a jackal type of beastkin, Klio was a marmoset, Lotis was a civet and finally, Deyone was a chinchilla. As they came to hover close to the village Rantak hopped over the edge of the ship with Euandar and Aethra. After which the made their way towards the city while the ship moved higher and moved slowly to watch over them. Lotis had her bow ready and was keeping an eye out. Deyone was beside Lotis relaying instructions with hand signals to Klio so the ship would be in the best position to cover the ground troops. Rantak moved lightly and with no sound jumping from location to location that provided cover. Euandar moving similar to Rantak on her left and Aethra moving on the right. The proceeded to move through the city a tacit understanding of where everyone was supposed to be. Rantak could feel her blood starting to pump in excited anticipation. She slowed down as she could hear something moving up ahead. Making eye contact with Euandar and Aethra so that they knew there was a possible contact ahead. They slowed down and positioned themselves to be able to support each other effectively. Sitting on a chair in the middle of the remains of a building was a man. It was like no man that Rantak had ever seen though. His skin was a dull reddish color with black and purple veins and patterns all over his body. He was wearing a loose shirt with no sleeves a pair of pants that tucked into a pair of black boots that came up halfway to his knees. The clothes were a type of material that she had never seen and had many visible pockets on them. ¡°Welcome my dear commander. We weren¡¯t expecting you so early but we are happy that you have come,¡± the man said. Realizing that she had already been seen and hiding wouldn¡¯t help she stepped out a little so that she could easily look and talk to him as well as react quickly if something happened. ¡°The feeling is definitely not mutual. So who are you and who is this we?¡± As soon as she asked that she heard the distinct twang of a bow releasing an arrow. Which was quickly followed by a scream of pain. This caused her to drop into a fighting stance and look around to see where the enemy was. Much to her dismay, she couldn¡¯t find an enemy other than the man and when she looked around she found that the person shot was actually Euandar. Her left leg had been shot just above the knee. ¡°Well her adventuring days are finished.¡± the man said with a chuckle. Rantak was still trying to understand what happened when a second twang sounded. This time she felt the threat and knew that the arrow was aimed at her. Reacting with surprisingly fast reflexes she moved her gauntleted hand into the path of the arrow before it could do any damage. The man casually stood up and started walking towards Euandar while speaking. ¡°The we I am talking about is myself and my slaves.¡± As Rantak was keeping an eye on Lotis in the ship she felt another person attack. Instinctively defending her two gauntlets blocked Aethra¡¯s two swords and then she shifted her body to avoid another arrow that was fired at her. With growing dread, Rantak understood the situation. ¡°I have been tasked with the recruitment of fighters from this continent, and while I had no plans to capture you yet since you presented yourself so nicely I will not turn down such a gift.¡± While he was saying this he had moved to Euandar and rolled her onto her face. Placing his knee on her back he lifted her shirt and started to draw. Rantak was busy fending off Lotis¡¯ and Aethra¡¯s attacks which prevented her from stopping him from doing what he was to Euandar. Despite her struggles and screams, Euandar could do nothing to fight off the man. She had condensed ice spikes and shot them at him but he just ignored them and they shattered on his body. They didn¡¯t even damage his clothes. Nothing she did with either water or ice had any effect on him. He overpowered her easily as he drew a mark on her back. After a short amount of time, there was a red flash and Euandar stopped screaming and struggling. ¡°There, now that the first target has been captured let¡¯s get our bonus, shall we.¡± Rantak had been defending primarily because these were her friends. To be attacked by them and they show not an ounce of remorse was hard for her. She wasn¡¯t sure how these women had been captured by this man but she knew that holding back while fighting them was not going to let her survive. She wanted to save them and to understand what was happening but everything moved so quickly. Euandar was subdued within 20 seconds with this kind of power she felt no confidence in a direct confrontation with this person so she set her resolve to kill if needed. Moving quickly she positioned her opponents so that Aethra was behind her and Lotis was in front. This allowed her to setup Aethra to take a hit if Lotis shot. Rantak hoped that this would buy her a second or two one way or the other. She knew she needed to hurry as the strange man had started walking towards her. Hearing a twang she jumped and set off an explosion of fire to confuse Aethra. Rantak moved towards the ship. She wouldn¡¯t be able to outrun the ship so her only hope for escape was to take it back and run. As she moved closer to the ship she set off a light pulse above and on the opposite side of the ship. It was enough to cause Klio to flinch and this moved the ship suddenly which unbalanced Deyone causing her to fall. Lotis was also unbalanced but due to her smaller stature, she was able to shift her center of gravity and brace against the railing of the ship. However, she was unable to shoot her bow while this was happening. Rantak took this chance to jump up and use Deyone as a platform to launch herself back onto the ship. When Rantak stepped on Deyone she released another fire based explosion which launched her towards the ship and blasted Deyone into the ground. She wasn¡¯t sure if that was enough to kill Deyone but it was enough to incapacitate her for a time. Arriving at the side of the ship Rantak was able to grab onto Lotis and use her to pull herself onto the ship. This had the added benefit that if Lotis let go she would fall. Surprisingly, Lotis did just that. She stood up and fell from the ship trying to keep Rantak from getting on board. Rantak was a little surprised at first and then she smirked. With her hand still on Lotis, Rantak moved Lotis underneath her and then let off a double explosion which pushed Rantak up high enough to grab onto the railing of the ship that was starting to right itself. ¡°Damn it! Stop her!¡± the man yelled. Lotis twisted in the air and started to float some which allowed her to bring her bow to bear again. Firing a shot that Rantak couldn¡¯t avoid this time. Fortunately, the arrow did not score a direct hit and only sliced open a nasty gash on her calf before Rantak made it completely onto the ship. ¡°Crash the ship!¡± the man screamed. However, by the time he was able to scream this and Klio react Rantak had already arrived in front of her. She threw a heavy punch towards Klio with her right hand but it was blocked by the two-handed war hammer that Klio used to fight. Rantak¡¯s next attach looked like a missed punch and then she opened her hand as wide as she could. The movement caused Klio to look over out of reflex and Rantak created a burst of light blinding Klio for a few precious seconds. These few seconds were all Rantak needed to pick up Klio bodily and launch her off the ship. While she was throwing Klio off the ship Aethra and Lotis were both working on getting back on the ship. Lotis had fired arrows into the hull and created some handholds on her fall down. She wasn¡¯t strong enough to fly yet but she could control her fall and increase her jump with her wind element. Aethra had created some stone pillars to allow her to ascend and had grabbed onto the arrows that Lotis had fired into the hull. She channeled some fire mana into the hull through the arrows so that the ship would start to burn. Lotis had just started to run up the pillars of earth that Aethra had created when the ship lurched up rocketing up into the air. This ripped the arrows that Aethra was holding on out of the hull with her weight on it and Lotis wasn¡¯t close enough to get on the ship. Rantak was steering the ship she raised the height of the ship over what would be 1km in height. She then turned the ship and flew it at its maximum speed back towards Ampleforth. The implications of what she had just seen had rocked her mind. As soon as Rantak had the ship heading in the right direction she bandaged her leg. She wasn¡¯t sure how long she would be able to last as she had used a large portion of her mana escaping. Still, it was no time to slow down. Taking out her communication crystal She contacted the City Guard communication center. ¡°This is Rantak, guard commander of Ampleforth. Designation 35ZL2. This is a priority alert. All guards are to be on alert and be examined for a glyph or some type of drawing on their skin. Do you copy.¡± ¡°This is Silion on duty communications officer. Acknowledge your priority alert. Is there anything else?¡± Rantak paused for a second and realized this was not the response she would have expected. However, she was able to cover and say ¡°No. My ship is damaged and I will be crashing soon. Please send help. Please follow the coordinates of this communication crystal.¡± As soon as she ended the communication with the City Guards she opened them back up and contacted her sister. After a few seconds, Chiyo picked up and said ¡°Rantak? What¡¯s going on?¡± ¡°Sister I¡¯m not sure how much time you have. I was just attacked by my patrol and a strange man.¡± ¡°WHAT?!?¡± ¡°Just listen. I think people in the city guard are being controlled. I don¡¯t know how many people have been converted but I do know that the squad leader of this group had to be subdued before she was captured. They are using some kind of glyph or mark to take control. I think that this is some kind of mind control or something and doesn¡¯t change the person¡¯s loyalty just their ability to act. Otherwise getting away from this patrol and that man would have been impossible.¡± ¡°Oh, my goddess. Are you okay?¡± Chiyo asked with worry. ¡°I¡¯m fine but I¡¯m not sure who you can trust. I need to dump this communication crystal as soon as I am done talking with you to throw them off. You need to start getting people to safety. I¡¯m not sure if the mark is in the same place on every person nor do I know what it looks like but I saw a strange red skinned man putting a mark on Euandar on her low back. I haven¡¯t seen any marks on the people around me so I am guessing that the mark is placed in an area where it should be covered by clothes.¡± ¡°Okay, I know what to do. Where are you headed?¡± Chiyo asked. ¡°I am going to head to¡­¡± she stopped to think that if this communication was intercepted or if goddess forbid Chiyo was a slave. ¡°Uh, I¡¯ll find you. Do what you can. If it¡¯s too bad then we can only evacuate.¡± ¡°I understand sister. Be careful and hopefully I will see you soon.¡± Chiyo said and then ended the communication. Chapter 24 - Situation After Chiyo ended the communication she went deep into thought. The implications of this communication were overwhelming. Taking a few moments to come to terms with it she stepped out of her office and asked one of her assistants to ask the priestesses to meet her in her office. After a handspan of time, the different priestesses started to trickle in. They, of course, started asking questions about why they were being called, however, Chiyo asked everyone to wait so that all the priestesses were there before elaborating. After everyone had arrived Chiyo activated a small array that sealed her room from others listening in or entering. This caught the priestesses off guard and they weren¡¯t sure how to respond. Before they had a chance to come to a conclusion as to the changes that were going on Chiyo spoke. ¡°Ladies, there are a few things I need to tell you. First, my sister, Rantak was just attacked by some person and most of the patrol squad with her.¡± Pausing for effect so that the priestesses knew how serious this was she then continued on. ¡°Not much longer than a handspan of time has passed since I talked with my sister. She is under the impression that the city guard has been compromised. She doesn¡¯t know how bad it is but she did give us a way to determine who is a problem. She told me that the people are being controlled by some type of glyph or mark.¡± She paused again to look at each of the priestesses and watch their reactions. All of them had a similar reaction, well for the most part. Esalana looked more excited than worried, but she was a combat freak and hasn¡¯t had a chance to vent properly so of course, she would be more excited than worried. Seeing that everyone responded the same she moved on. ¡°So first I must as every one of you to strip so that we can verify that there are no glyphs on you,¡± Chiyo said. Isalahne the priestess of Azmera, Goddess of strategies, said, ¡°We will have to ask you to do the same. Nothing could be worse than the person giving orders being compromised.¡± Nodding her head Chiyo agreed and began taking off her clothes. She was just glad that instead of questioning her the believed her. Following her lead, all of the priestesses disrobed as well. After examining each other and finding no markings they all heaved a collective sigh of relief and got dressed. Chiyo had already thought about what she felt needed to happen so she spoke up first. ¡°Now that we have confirmed that none of us are working for the enemy, I think we need to understand what this warning means. For me, this means that the prophecy is most likely true and right now is the time. If Endrian is the child of prophecy then we need to make sure he is safe and then get him out of here.¡± The others all nodded except for Isalahne. She was looking down with her hand on her chin. After a moment all eyes were on her. Looking up she said, ¡°I agree we need to get Endrian out of here, but that is all we should do. Taking too many actions will cost more lives. We do not know the extent to which they have taken over our people. We don¡¯t know their capabilities or anything all we know is that your sister was attacked, that the guards are compromised and that they mean this world harm. Also, anyone we bring with us needs to be stripped and checked with us present. That way we can subdue them if there is a problem. However, it would be best if we don¡¯t find any until we have time to escape. Finally, it is probably safe to assume that the church leaders are safe as they haven¡¯t sent anyone to attack Endrian yet.¡± Chiyo nodded and realized that they needed to get Endrian in here as soon as possible so that they could keep him safe. So she lowered the shield in her office and asked for someone to go fetch Endrian for her. She figured that since Endrian and the priestesses had met multiple times as long as they treat it as a normal meeting there should be no one tipped off. At least that¡¯s what she hoped. Not long later Endrian came into her office to which she activated the shielding for the room again. ~*~*~*~*~*~ As Endrian arrived he passed by the guards and entered the room. As soon as he walked in and the door closed a blue shield was generated. When he saw this he stopped and looked around wondering what he did this time. Chiyo spoke first and said, ¡°Endrian before we start we need you to strip for us.¡± She looked dead serious as she said something completely unreasonable in a very reasonable and serious tone of voice. ¡°Uh¡­ I¡¯m not sure I¡¯m comfortable with that,¡± he said in a confused and worried way. Chiyo got a little irritated and said, ¡°Listen, we don¡¯t have time for arguments just do as you¡¯re told so we can move on.¡± Seeing Endrian hesitating Esalana said, ¡°You don¡¯t have to worry we know you are young and growing there is nothing to be embarrassed about.¡± Endrian took a second and realized that this wasn¡¯t some perverted ritual so he stopped and said ¡°Please explain why you need me to strip, please. IF it¡¯s reasonable the no problems.¡± Chiyo sighed exasperatedly but Amalee the priestess of Mophina, Goddess of knowledge, held up a hand and said ¡°We have just been informed that the city guard commander, Rantak, was just attacked by the people out with her on patrol and some strange man. They appeared to be working for this stranger and he had to subdue the squad leader by placing a glyph or symbol of some sort on her.¡± Hearing this Endrian¡¯s mind started churning. He had read about enslaving people with slave marks or whatnot from his previous world so he didn¡¯t hesitate to start disrobing. While he was taking off his clothes he said, ¡°I need at least one of you to strip to verify that they are okay and then have them vouch for the others that they aren¡¯t enslaved.¡± The women all looked at each other not sure what to do. Seeing this Endrian said ¡°Okay, I am going to strip and you guys are going to verify that I¡¯m not enslaved but I need to make sure I¡¯m not going with the enemy so as long as at least one of you can prove that you aren¡¯t enslaved and can vouch for the others then we are good.¡± All of them looked uncomfortable it was one thing for a child to disrobe or the women to check each other out but for a little boy to do it made them uncomfortable. As they were squirming Isalahne said. ¡°Well there are seven of us here and all of us stronger than you so we wouldn¡¯t need to go through all of this if we were enemies.¡± Endrian paused as the last article of clothing dropped to the floor he then held his arms out and turned around slowly for the women to verify. He wasn¡¯t really shy as he understood this was a safety precaution and not some old women ogling a child. After he heard what Isalahne said he nodded his head saying ¡°Ah, that makes sense. Sorry, I hadn¡¯t thought that far.¡± As they were inspecting him even though he was only 8 years old his body had matured more than most. Over the 6 months, or lunar conjunctions, the mana had helped his body develop at an incredible rate. He looked like he was about 12 or 13 from his old world. His muscles were toned and defined and he now stood at roughly 1.5 to 1.6 meters tall. He had midnight blue hair with purple highlights that he kept cut a little longer than shoulder length and pulled back in a simple ponytail. This kept his hair out of his eyes on off of his neck and ears when he was doing combat practice. His eyes had a light purple or violet sclera with a platinum iris. While the women were unintentionally checking him out and looking for any glyph or symbol the realized that even at such a young age he was an attractive boy. It was at this time that he moved his junk to the side so they could verify that there were no marks hidden in that sensitive area. This made a few of them blush including Chiyo to which Endrian said ¡°You know it was fine up until you guys got embarrassed, but now¡­¡± he left it hanging in the air as a blush tinted his skin and he reached for his clothes. With a cough and a slightly deeper blush, Chiyo said, ¡°Yes I think everyone is satisfied that he is fine, right?¡± To which everyone nodded. While Endrian was getting dressed he asked, ¡°So what do we know, and what¡¯s the plan?¡± Chiyo spoke up. ¡°We know very little at the moment. Here¡¯s what we do know. Rantak was attacked by a strange man and four of the five people from the patrol she was with. The squad leader wasn¡¯t one of them but was subdued by the strange man after he drew something on her. Rantak escaped from him and contacted the city guard communication to alert them but received a suspicious response which is why she contacted me. After that, I contacted the priestesses and we verified that none of us are controlled. After which we brought you here. You know the rest any questions?¡± ¡°Yes, lots.¡± Endrian paused to organize his thoughts and then asked, ¡°So first question, can we contact Rantak for more information and verify that she isn¡¯t controlled?¡± ¡°No we can¡¯t contact her she had to throw away her communication crystal, and why would we need to verify that she wasn¡¯t controlled?¡± Chiyo asked. Isalahne and Amalee both started to respond to which Amalee bowed out and Isalahne said ¡°Well with the limited information we have it would be nice to know more about the strange man, more about patrol she was with and why the response was suspicious. Also, we need to verify that she wasn¡¯t controlled because if she¡¯s telling us this to create a situation that the enemy can take advantage of we wouldn¡¯t want to do that.¡± Amalee spoke up and said, ¡°It would also be nice to know how long she was out on patrol.¡± ¡°She has been out for almost three months,¡± Chiyo responded. ¡°But why would you need to know that.¡± Endrian spoke up distractedly while his brain was working on the problems ¡°We need to know because she said she was attacked by people on the patrol. If she was living and working with them for 3 months then that means that there are probably not any indicators that the person is controlled which makes things more difficult. Also are the squads fixed or do they get rotated?¡±This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. ¡°Squads are fixed for the most part but they swap out people every now and then for births or time off or when one retires for whatever reason,¡± Chiyo said. She had the most knowledge of the city guard here because of her sister. Isalahne asked, ¡°Do we know the squad rotations and if there is anyone who hasn¡¯t gone out on patrol?¡± ¡°No, the only people that would know that are Rantak and her vice commander. There might be a few others in the city watch that would know but I don¡¯t think it would be a good idea to start asking around about that.¡± Chiyo said. Gisvae the priestess of Joslena, Goddess of life and healing, said, ¡°We are pretty sure that the heads and the higher-ups in the church are not compromised. Otherwise, they would have probably tried to kill you already.¡± ¡°That seems a bit of a stretch but it¡¯s not unrealistic,¡± Endrian said. ¡°I¡¯m assuming that you are bringing this up because you want me to go to wherever the churches wanted me to go when I first came here. In the meantime you guys can gather information on our enemy, right?¡± ¡°That¡¯s basically what we want, yes,¡± Chiyo said. Endrian nodded while he was thinking to himself. ¡®If this is really a part of the prophecy then this would be the second time for me having to run from the enemy. I know that I am only 8 years old on this planet, but it¡¯s still frustrating.¡¯ Chiyo started giving out instructions saying, ¡°Okay I am going to get a ship ready for us. Isalahne, if you could contact the churches and let them know that we are coming in. Don¡¯t say anything about the people being converted. Esalana and Gisvae if you two could stay with Endrian and protect him If there is anything else that you ladies think we need to do then let me know.¡± Aubrin the priestess of Emjir, god of the forge, said, ¡°I have some stuff that I need to pick up that I have been working on. Where are we meeting?¡± ¡°The ship will be docked at the top of this building. It should be here and ready to go in 4 handspans of time or so,¡± Chiyo replied. To which Aubrin nodded. Edrian spoke up and said, ¡°I¡¯m not leaving without my family. I understand the need for discretion but I won¡¯t sacrifice my family for this world. Also if possible I would like to save my array instructor Lailah.¡± He said the last part a little embarrassedly. The priestesses and Chiyo, hearing this, had expressions ranging from confused, knowing, and amused. Chiyo spoke up and said, ¡°Esalana, Gisvae, do you mind watching over Endrian as he goes and gets his family? Amalee can you go and verify that Lailah isn¡¯t converted and if she isn¡¯t then bring her to the ship. If she is converted then knock her out and bring her with us and we might be able to use her as a test subject to get information from. If that¡¯s it then let¡¯s meet back at the top of this building at the designated time.¡± After saying that she dropped the shield and they left the room. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Rantak was flying on the ship she had stolen. She had put the fire out on the ship and was moving as quickly as she could towards Ampleforth. As soon as the communication had ended she had thrown the communication crystal over the side of the ship. She had been flying towards the south side of Ampleforth and after she had dumped the crystal she headed for the east side of the city to keep from being detected by any patrols that might be coming towards her. She might be paranoid but she felt it was better to be overly paranoid than get captured or killed. At first, all she was hoping for was for Chiyo to get out of the city. Now that she had more time to think about it she realized there were more things she should have said. Like they should probably try to capture one of the converted people so that they could prove their statements. She hoped that they wouldn¡¯t contact any other cities for help. Who knows how long they have had control of the communications. She couldn¡¯t tell if any of the reports that she had received were valid. It was terrifying how much control they had already lost. She pulled out a pill that she rarely used that was designed for quickly restoring her mana and opening up her pores so that she could absorb as much natural mana as possible. It was very useful for helping sustain someone but the mana that wasn¡¯t specific to them could only be used and not stored so it was just a temporary boost and allowed them to sustain their body. After the use, anyone would have to spend about a week rebalancing their mana. After she took the pill she pushed harder and moved the ship outside the safe limits to hopefully get back quicker. It should only take a day to get back at her current speed without any rest. All she could do now was hurry and worry. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Not long after everyone had gone their separate ways Endrian was walking with Esalana and Gisvae. They had just left the school and were moving at a comfortable pace trying not to draw attention. It was when they were almost to Endrian¡¯s home that they heard an announcement throughout the city. ¡°People of Ampleforth, we have received an alert that an attack is imminent on the city. We ask that all people move to designated flying ships and then make your way towards the capital. There will be rescue ships on their way to help protect you. Please cooperate with any city guards to make the evacuation easier. Thank you.¡± Endrian looked at the Priestesses and asked, ¡°Who has the power to make city-wide announcements?¡± Esalana and Gisvae looked at each other with worried looks and Gisvae said, ¡°There are 4 people that have that power. Chiyo is one of them, Rantak is another, the city guard vice-commander, and the city governor. So either the vice-commander or the city governor has been converted.¡± Picking up speed Endrian started to jog and then broke into a run with the priestesses following close behind him. They quickly arrived at the home and everyone had already started packing. Allyce saw them come in and said gratefully, ¡°Oh I¡¯m so glad you¡¯re here Ender. We must hurry if we are going to get on an escape ship.¡± ¡°Mom, that¡¯s not the main issue right now. We-¡± Endrian was cut off by Esalana who said, ¡°First Endrian''s mother I need you to come with me and do everything I say please.¡± Endrian only took a second to catch up and nodded his head realizing that he was worried and wasn¡¯t thinking straight. ¡°Mom please do what she asks no matter how silly it sounds I am going to find dad.¡± After some awkward questions and some even more awkward moments they had checked everyone and verified that no one had a symbol or glyph on them. Unfortunately, it had taken an annoying amount of time and they were halfway to their deadline already. ¡°So to sum this up quickly there are people that are doing things against their will and they are trying to hurt everyone in this city. These people are city guards for the most part that we know of but there may be others.¡± Esalana said. Vanya asked with a confused tone, ¡°Why would they alert the city about an attack then?¡± ¡°I¡¯m not sure,¡± Esalana said. Endrian spoke up as his mind had been working on this ever since the announcement. ¡°There are a few possibilities. This is from best case to worst case that I can think of. One, they don¡¯t want civilians to be hurt during the conflict so they are sending them out. Two, they are gathering them in specific locations away from others so they can kill them easier and in smaller groups with better control of the situation. Three, they are sending everyone to the ships so they can be enslaved. Four, they have control of the ¡°rescue fleet¡± and have set trap for everyone that will give them a false sense of hope before killing them all, or killing most and enslaving others. Unfortunately, we don¡¯t know but almost everything that I can think of is bad and only gets worse the more I think about it. Either way, we can¡¯t stay here any longer.¡± Everyone¡¯s face had gone pale by the end of Endrian¡¯s guesses and they nodded their heads. To which Esalana said, ¡°Let¡¯s go, we have a ship that should be ready shortly.¡± All of Endrian¡¯s family sighed a collective sigh of relief hearing this and followed the priestesses and Endrian to the door. As they opened the door they saw a squad of guards approaching the house in their transformed state with weapons ready. ~*~*~*~*~*~ When Esalana opened the door and saw the squad of guards coming she immediately closed the door again and shifted to her combat form which looked like a wolf. She pulled her shield and sword and then looked back at the others saying ¡°We are going to have to fight prepare yourselves.¡± Gisvae nodded her head and transformed as well. Her combat form was similar to a gazelle. She also pulled out two maces that looked like knobkerries. Everyone else in the house transformed as well and Esalana could hear the mothers instructing their children but didn¡¯t pay much attention. Esalana verified that everyone was ready and said, ¡°Alright let¡¯s go!¡± It had only been a second or two so the squad should still be a bit of distance away and closing fast. While thinking this she burst through the door and extended her perception. She could feel Gisvae follow right behind her followed by Endrian¡¯s family with the mothers enclosing the children and the father. She also noted the guards had spread out and were moving forward in a crescent formation. It was a typical 5 person squad most likely the person in the middle was a mid-level core formation combatant similar to Esalana. The rest should be low-level core formation or high-level earth level combatants. The guard squad didn¡¯t even put on a show and just launched their attacks. The first person to make a move was the person to the right of the squad leader. She was a large woman that looked like her combat form was a wolverine and she was carrying a spear. She came at Esalana from her left side where her shield was. Darkness surrounded the spear obscuring where it was coming from but Esalana had enough experience to know how to sense the different elements and she specifically focused on metal sensing so that she would never be caught blind in a fight. She shifted her shield to deflect the incoming spear thrust and with her mana control lightened the gravity around her shield to affect the rebound and throw her off. She smiled at the thought of when she used this occasionally when sparring against Endrian and he still hadn¡¯t caught her at it. While she shifted her shield she also charged towards her opponent and into the darkness. This had the added effect of hiding her from the others temporarily. She lowered her center of gravity so that one knee was dragging on the ground and as soon as the spear made contact with her angled shield she used that as a counterforce to shift her form and use that force in her attack while planting her forward foot. She could feel the other guards moving making their own attacks towards her and the others but she only noted them as none of them were a danger to her. She lunged her sword forward into her opponent''s groin. She could feel it connect and hear the scream of pain. Her front foot planted in a proper stance and she stood up to slam the front of her shield into her opponent at the same time freeing her sword and moving it back to a ready position for the next attack sequence. The squad leader had arrived right after Esalana had knocked her first opponent out and attacked hoping to catch her before she had reset. The guard leader had even circulated a movement technique to increase her speed as she launched her two-handed battle ax at Esalana. The angle of the attack was set to make it difficult to get her shield in position to block and the ferocity of the attack was designed to prevent her one-handed sword from deflecting it properly. Esalana ducked under the swing and moved towards her opponent attacking the squad leader¡¯s knee with the side of her shield. She circulated her mana to increase the power behind her strike and heated the edge of her shield for even more damage. The knee buckled with a sickening crunch and the fur on her leg burned away as the edge dug in and seared the bones and tendons with a pop and a scream the squad leader collapsed with her leg laying at an angle where it was obvious that it was not attached properly. Before the squad leader could do anything other than scream, Esalana reversed direction and brought her sword in a sweeping motion that took the squad leaders head from her shoulders. Looking around, Esalana saw that the two guards that were on her right had obviously been dispatch by Gisvae since at least one appendage was shattered and their heads had been pulped. Looking over towards the remaining squad member Eslana was just in time to see Vanya set up a block that created a small opening and with a twang, an arrow shot perfectly into this gap and actually shot with so much power that it penetrated the armor and passed right through. The surprised look was etched on her face as Endrian¡¯s mom with speed and grace landing three hits on the guard while at the same time Vanya cleared the position. The teamwork was smooth and flawless. The guard was slashed through her stomach her wrist holding the weapon which severed the tendons and finally a slash through the throat. Smiling she said ¡°Let¡¯s keep moving we have little time and if they are sending guards for us they may be sending guards for the others or even at the ship. So let¡¯s hurry.¡± Chapter 25 - Chaos Endrian watched as the two priestesses decimated four of the city guards in the same time it took for his mothers to kill one. It was so fast that even with his enhanced eyesight it was hard to follow. Esalana killed the guard that looked like a wolverine as well as the squad leader that looked like a black bear. Gisvae killed the two on the right one looked like a squirrel and the other looked like an otter. She crushed whatever limb or attack came her way with those brutal mace weapons and then crushed their skulls. The one left most intact was the one that three of his mothers had killed that had looked like a snake. It was shocking and disturbing. He couldn¡¯t help but flinch at the wound Esalana gave the first guard. He heard Esalana say to keep moving and he heard some retching of gagging coming from one of his sisters. Looking at them he could see that they were all affected by what they had just seen. It made Endrian wonder why he didn¡¯t feel anything about those deaths. It was hard to understand and now was not the time to ponder it so he put it to the back of his mind and moved on. As they started to move out he picked up a spear from the fallen guard and then said, ¡°We should take that one,¡± pointing to the guard that was killed by his mothers. The others looked at where he was pointing and then looked at him like he was speaking a different language. ¡°If it¡¯s not a burden then bringing one along so we can see the mark and study it would be helpful,¡± he said. Esalana nodded her head and Ratrece went over and picked up the dead body with one hand. Interestingly the bodies of the dead weren¡¯t reverting back to their human form so Ratrece just grabbed its elongated neck and dragged it along. Which was another level of disturbing all on its own. After Ratrece had recovered the body they quickly started moving. At this time Esalana decided to make this into a lesson. ¡°Endrian, this is exactly why I always tell you to watch your stances. If I hadn¡¯t been set when the squad leader came at me with the angle of her attack at the best I would have been wounded and worst she would have cleaved me in half. Now tell me what was wrong with her attack?¡± ¡°Is this really the best time to be giving out lessons?¡± Endrian asked with a slightly petulant tone. ¡°Of course it is, it¡¯s the best time. Now, answer the question.¡± She responded firmly and with some joviality. Endrian went silent as he thought about it. It was so fat and she only made one attack and then she was dead. After thinking about it he said, ¡°The only thing I can think is that her timing was just slightly off.¡± Esalana didn¡¯t look back but you could hear the smile when she responded. ¡°Well that¡¯s true if she had been just a little quicker she might have caught me before I was set. But that wasn¡¯t the only problem. What she did was underestimate her opponent and not plan for a backup if the attack missed.¡± She paused to for a second and then continued. ¡°If it were me I would have had an elemental attack on my knee, or better yet bent my knees while attacking so I could respond faster. It would have lessened the power of the attack and wouldn¡¯t have been aimed at a fatal area but it would have been harder to avoid and I could have jumped if necessary. So, remember that when you attack don¡¯t assume that your attack will hit or that it will kill. Always leave yourself a way to retreat.¡± Endrian listened carefully and what she said made sense to him. As he looked around he could see some of the adults nodding their head as well. He noticed that his sisters seemed like they were in shock and weren¡¯t really comprehending anything but they were moving with the group. Sighing to himself he thought ¡®They are going to need some help coping with this. Hmm, I¡¯m probably not one to talk. Hell, I may even be worse off considering my lack of feelings.¡¯ By this time they had made it halfway to the academy and so far they hadn¡¯t run into any more guards. There were, however, lots of people moving through the streets. Some were carrying unconscious children others were in their combat forms and moving in tight groups heading to their destination as quickly as they could. Looking around he found that no matter where he looked he couldn¡¯t see any guards. Most people were rushing perpendicular to their path heading to what Endrian assumed was their designated flying ships. There was a lot more panic here than in his old village. He even saw what looked like a small child that was lying on the ground its body twisted as part of it had tried to transform but neither side could be determined as anything he had ever seen before. He assumed it was a child based on the size and what was left of the clothes. The look of excruciating pain would probably haunt his dreams for many years, if not the rest of his life. When he saw this he made sure to place his body between the corpse and Ethese so that she wouldn¡¯t be able to see it. It was the first time he had seen a failed transformation and he hoped it was the last time he ever saw it. The adults shook their heads. Fortunately, his sisters were still too dazed from their earlier experience to notice what everyone was looking at. After a little bit of time, they could finally see the academy. Unfortunately, there was another guard squad between them and the academy. Esalana hefted her weapons and said in an excited voice ¡°Endrian, pay attention and make sure you learn something this time. Everyone ready!¡± Without waiting for a response she moved forward slightly to give herself some room to maneuver with Gisvae and Vanya not far behind. The girls huddled around Davian who was like a rock in the center of the children. Endrian had moved in front to watch the fight because he knew that Esalana would make him regret it if he didn¡¯t pay attention. As soon as Esalana engaged the first guard who appeared to be the squad leader and looked like a lioness Davian shouted out, ¡°Ware!!!¡± At the same time, he moved his shield to protect Etopha and Lisyth. A moment after Davian shouted ¡®ware¡¯ Allyce shouted ¡°Ambush! Front-left upper tree!¡± Which was quickly followed by a staccato of metal ringing on metal coming from Davian¡¯s shield. When the sound of Davian¡¯s shield sounded out Shyael shouted ¡°Second, right-rear, ground.¡± a twang could be heard as she fired her bow. Endrian turned around and saw that she had launched 5 arrows at the squad so quickly that it sounded like one long twang coming from the bow. Less than a second later a wall of dirt about a foot thick and 2 meters high appeared in a semi-circle around the children covering the right rear. Moments after the wall appeared dull sounds could be heard from it indicating that something like arrows had just hit the wall. It was chaotic and hard for Endrian to keep up with everything. In just a couple of seconds, they had been attacked from three different directions. Endrian then heard his father say ¡°They¡¯re aiming for the children.¡± Esalana dispatched her opponent quickly and then moved back while shouting ¡°Retreat!¡± Allyce was supporting Vanya and moved so quickly that Endrian couldn¡¯t follow her at all. Vanya was defending and tying up their opponent when that person, who looked like a black panther, started having blood spurt out from many wounds on her body. After which Vanya and Allyce both withdrew and moved to cover the kids. Gisvae shattered the weapon of her opponent and then withdrew as well. Ratrece had her two-handed war-hammer on her shoulder and was supporting Shyael. Everyone was moving toward them and they were covering the right-rear of the group. The squad that was in the tree had three people drop down trying to land inside their group. Allyce saw this and called out, ¡°Shyael, three falling easy.¡± At Allyce¡¯s words, Shyael turned and fired her bow again. In less than a second 6 arrows were sent out to the three people that had just jumped out of the tree. One of the guards blocked an arrow to the heart but then took the second one in the eye. Another shifted in the air but the arrows shifted with her and it was so unexpected that she took an arrow in the heart and one in the throat. Endrian wasn¡¯t sure who moved the arrows but whoever did it, did it skillfully. The last guard managed to block one the arrows and then shifted at the last second only taking a graze to the shoulder. She looked like a red panda but her fur was brown and blue. Esalana and the others had made it back to the group and Esalana said, ¡°Let¡¯s move we can¡¯t fight them here there are too many sides to protect.¡± Everyone started moving as quickly as they could towards the rear-left away from the squads. Ratrece even managed to pick up the body of the slain guard that she had dropped for the fight. They had retreated about 100 meters with the other squads moving in and harassing them as they moved. Esalana and everyone was looking for a place where they could slow them down or block them. Unfortunately, the city was designed with an open layout with trees being homes and no real walls or alleys so even though they threw up some dirt walls it did nothing to slow them down. There were the tree homes around them but if they stayed in the one then that would give more time for additional guards to arrive and wouldn¡¯t let them escape like they needed. When Endrian realized that the guards were keeping up easily he understood that it was him and the other children who were slowing everyone down. Zakoya was the only one able to offer any kind of assistance to the adult at the moment because she could shoot her bow, but she couldn¡¯t generate the power that her mother could so the guards either dodged the arrow or batted it away easily. ¡°We need to separate,¡± Endrian said. ¡°No!¡± Both priestesses, Davian, and his mom¡¯s all said at the same time. ¡°I know, but they are targeting us and we are slowing you down. If we are the targets then you can hit them when they come for us, and if they are just using us then we have a chance to escape and you can fight unhindered.¡± Endrian tried to explain to them. Esalana spoke up after blocking another attack, ¡°It makes sense, and we can¡¯t keep this up forever.¡±The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Vanya blocked another attack and said, ¡°Fine, but Davian goes with you. You need someone to protect you and he is excellent on defense.¡± With that decision made Davian said, ¡°Alright, let¡¯s go.¡± Before anyone could make a move though he suddenly yelled ¡°Shit!¡± Raising his shield he caught the impact of a massive war-hammer on his shield that dropped him to a knee. At the same time, four more guard women landed in the middle of their group. Ratrece who hadn¡¯t been doing much fighting as she was leading the way turned and threw the guards body at the newly arrived enemies. She managed to catch two of them and knock them down. Shyael shot both of the ones that fell. Allyce turned and went after one that was still standing and making an attack at Elva. She moved as fast as she could but she couldn¡¯t make it in time. To Endrian it was like time went into slow motion. He could see that Elva looked dazed and was trying to figure out what was happening. At the same time, he could see the guard falling with her sword pointed right at Elva. Endrian wanted to move but he couldn¡¯t he wanted to shout but knew it was too late. He watched as the sword slid into her upper chest and down through her heart. He could see the shock in Elva¡¯s eyes as she started to register what had happened. It was a look he would never be able to forget no matter how much he tried. Dimly he heard screams of no and sorrow. A second later his mother was there and she hit the guard so hard and fast that it was like the guard''s body exploded. Vanya saw what happened and rushed to her daughter catching her before she hit the ground. The pain and anguish on Vanya¡¯s face was impossible to describe fully. Ratrece had engaged the last one standing in their midst before any more damage could be done. Still, it was too little too late. Endrian was shell-shocked. Ethese who had been holding his hand ran over to her older sister and mother. She was bawling as she ran towards her sister. In another part of Endrian¡¯s mind, he understood that the fight was still going on. There were now 12 guards that had caught up to them and we laying into Esalana and Gisvae, Davian was fighting another one inside their group and Ratrece was fighting the last one. He saw Elva raising her hand up to touch her mother, with sadness and pain and fear in her eyes. Then her hand fell and blood seeped out of her mouth. Vanya let out a pained scream as she cradled her daughter. While Ethese tugged on her sister''s hand saying her sister''s name. It was at this point that something snapped in him. All the pain, the sorrow, the helplessness that he felt he balled it up and turned it into anger and rage. A part of his mind was coldly analytical but what drove him was rage and wrath. He hefted the spear he had taken from the guards earlier and launched himself at the guard fighting his father. He didn¡¯t think about the steps that needed to occur just the result he wanted to see which was to kill the guard in front of him. He moved the cold part of his mind watching the movements of the guard and his father. As he moved the air resistance lessened, the ground shifted, the gravity increased, and his mana circulated quickly allowing him to use all of his power extremely efficiently. All of these little details were happening but Endrian was oblivious to it all as his mind focused exclusively on his goal. Unknowingly he started to emit a strong killing intent. He timed his attack to coincide with one of his father''s attacks. Coming from behind the guard he launched his attack it was aimed at the low back where a kidney would be. The guard couldn¡¯t look back but the metal armor on the guards back shifted slightly to reinforce the area that he was aiming towards. At this moment his dad shoved forward with his shield to force the guard off balance. Endrian took advantage of this and shifted his aim up so that the spear was at an almost 45-degree angle to the ground. It was able to slide right above the reinforced area and into the guard''s heart. Coupled with the shove from his father the guard toppled back towards Endrain who planted the butt of his spear and then slammed her as hard as he could into the ground. Breakin the guards head, neck, and her shoulder. ¡°Bitch!!¡± Endrian screamed in English as he slammed her down. After removing his spear, that had slightly bent from the force, he turned and looked at his dad not saying anything as he used metal mana to repair the spear in his hands. Davian had a pained and angry expression as he knew what happened but didn¡¯t have time to do anything. Ratrece and Shyael were able to take care of the last guard in their formation but the rest of the guards had already caught up. Esalana was being pressured and had multiple wounds on her. Gisvae was not doing much better. Vanya stood with her dead daughter in her hands. Sorrow etched across her face as she carried her to Davian. ¡°Take her and the children and go.¡± The loss that colored the tone of what she said was simply terrifying. Davian took Elva in the crook of his shield arm holding her like a baby despite her almost adult growth. He stretched out his hand and touched Vanya¡¯s face looking deep into her eye while saying ¡°Kill them all.¡± Her eyes turned hard and she nodded and turned running into the group of guards that were being held off by Shyaels arrows, and the impressive display of skill by Esalana and Gisvae. Allyce with a pale face turned and followed tightly behind Vanya with a hollow look in her eyes. Endrian was still filled with anger but he knew being reckless would just cause more suffering. He reached out his hand to Ethese who still had tears streaming down her face and held her hand. She was still crying but gripped his hand tightly. ¡°I know you¡¯re sad Ethese, but it¡¯s not over. You don¡¯t have to think just hold on to my hand and keep up.¡± Endrian said as he tried to comfort her a little but anger tinged his voice and it came out harsh even to his ears. Still, she nodded showing she was listening. Davian started to move and Endrian followed behind him at a trot with Zakoya, Etopha, and Lisyth trailing behind him. All of them had tears in their eyes and were gritting their teeth just trying to make it through. ¡°Dad I think we need to do something different. The guards know where we are going they have set one ambush and may have others. I think we need to get to a safer and more defensible location than the city.¡± Endrian said that but he wasn¡¯t sure where they could go. There was a cliff on one side and imposing mountains that stretched up so high you couldn¡¯t see the tops on the other sides. ¡°Let¡¯s head to the mountains on the east side of the city. Your mothers told me about some caves there when they were exploring the area for wood and animals to hunt and the trees and bushes are dense so we should be able to lose anyone that tries to follow us,¡± Davian said. Turning they started moving quickly towards the east side of the city as quickly as they could. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~ During the time that Endrian and his family were fighting their way through the city, Isahlane had arrived at her quarters and took out a blue communication crystal. This crystal was specifically attuned to a communication with the Prelate of the Church of Azmera. She thought to herself ¡®I can finally complete this task. I can¡¯t believe that I wasn¡¯t able to get that boy to go to the church prior to this. If it weren¡¯t for the fact that we have to please him and not alienate him I would have just taken him and been done with. But Noo. I have to play nursemaid to this spoiled and arrogant little boy.¡¯ Sighing to herself she activated the communication crystal. She only waited a brief moment before she heard a cold and imperious voice say ¡°Report.¡± ¡°Esteemed Prelate I have some good news and some bad news.¡± She quickly related the issues with the controlled guards and the plans that they had made on how to escape. The Prelate asked a few questions to get a general sense of the situation and how Endrian was viewing the church and the priestesses. After going over the details and her understanding the Prelate said, ¡°Excellent! Make sure you make no mistakes we cannot lose this important tool to help our churches regain our power. I will send some ships with some high priestesses and their guards to meet up with you on your way. If all goes well you will be greatly rewarded for this service.¡± Right at this moment, the citywide announcement sounded out. Isalahne quickly said, ¡°Prelate we may have a complication here. For some reason, a citywide announcement just went out saying that an attack will be coming and that everyone is supposed to head to their designated escape ships. This was not our plan. I¡¯m not sure what¡¯s going on.¡± Hearing this the Prelate responded ¡°I will contact some of our people in the royal guard and see what¡¯s going on. For now, proceed as you were and keep this communication crystal on you I will contact you with details.¡± After which the communication ended Smiling to herself she thought ¡®Goddess please help us out. I can¡¯t stand to be in this goddess forsaken backwater anymore. I need to get back to true civilization.¡¯ After her silent prayer, she gathered some things from her opulent room including weapons and her armor. Then she headed for the ship that Chiyo was getting ready. Not long after she left her room she arrived at the ship. She could see some of the academy staff and students working on the ship. They were loading various supplies such as some food, tents, and bedding as well as weapons. Isalahne found Chiyo. ¡°Chiyo,¡± she called out. When Chiyo turned and saw her, Isalahne asked ¡°I thought we weren¡¯t going to notify anyone before we escaped. What happened? Also, is it wise to bring so many people with us?¡± ¡°I am not the one that made the decision to announce an attack. Not to mention that I have no information about any attack only that we have a bunch of controlled people.¡± She responded tersely and quietly before continuing. ¡°I have also checked all of these people personally and found no mark on them that could be viewed as a symbol or glyph. Plus having these people with us will help if we run into problems.¡± Nodding her head, Isalahne gave her agreement about the extra people. It was at this time Aubrin arrived. She was decked out in some impressive looking armor with a shield and a wicked looking one-handed war-hammer. Strapped to her back was a pack with some of her things and an impressive looking spear. Aubrin quickly arrived next to them and asked ¡°What the hell happened? I thought this was supposed to be quick and quiet.¡± Chiyo gave a helpless smile and responded, ¡°I¡¯m not sure what happened I have been here checking the crew and getting the provisions for the ship ready so we could leave quickly.¡± Isalahne could see Amalee on the ship checking off items as they were brought on board. Aanys wasn¡¯t seen but was probably already on the ship. It wasn¡¯t long before the last of the supplies were brought on board. Isalahne was standing next to Chiyo watching everything that was going on. It was almost time to depart but Endrian and his family, as well as the two priestesses, were not back yet. Chiyo looked at Isalahne and asked, ¡°Can you think of a reason why there would be an announcement of an attack?¡± Isalahne had been standing next to Chiyo pondering that exact question. ¡°I can think of a few reasons but the end result doesn¡¯t make sense unless they think they can get a bunch of their controlled people into other cities in the confusion. However, even that is very short-sighted. The main reason I can think of is to create fear and chaos in the city but I¡¯m not sure to what end.¡± It was at this time that her communication crystal started buzzing. She quickly pulled it out and activated it. The voice of the Prelate sounded out ¡°Isalahne I have found out what¡¯s going on. The royal army has been dispatched to your location as well as the larger cities around you. They have received multiple reports from multiple cities about insurgents infiltrating the cities and causing chaos and starting a war against the royal family. I passed on the information you have given me but I¡¯m not sure if they will listen. They did give permission for us to send a couple of ships with the royal army through the space passage to retrieve you for questioning. However, you are going to have to comply with the royal army when they arrive. I will do what I can to press the information about Endrian which should give us some more leverage. For now, do not try to escape.¡± Isalahne gave a hollow ¡°I understand,¡± and then the communication crystal went silent. Chiyo had a horrified look on her face. ¡°Oh! My! Goddesses! This is so much bigger than I thought.¡± Isalahne had a shell-shocked look on her face and could only nod in agreement and horror. The fear of the unknown filling her. It was at this time that a large vessel appeared in the sky. A huge voice sounded out from the vessel saying ¡°All citizens and guards return to your homes and await further instructions. This city is under martial law. Anyone found trying to escape will be killed on site for the crime of treason against the queens.¡± Character List Endrian Age: 8 Background: Lived on Earth until he was 45 years old. Was a jack of all trades with his primary job being working for Boeing as a Mechanical/Electrical engineer. Died in a car accident and was reborn on a new world. Weapon of Choice: Two-Handed Heavy Spear, Trained in multiple weapons Allyce Age: Unknown Looks around 20 Looks: Flaming red hair and ice blue eyes. Thin and lithe body like a dancer. Background: MC¡¯s biological Mother and the 4th mother in the pride Weapon of Choice: Dual Swords Vanya Age: Unknown Looks around 30 Looks: sky blue hair and eyes. Thick muscled body with an extra layer of fat Background: Head mother and family head Weapon of Choice: Large Round Shield and Bearded Battle Axe Ratrece Age: Unknown Looks around 25 Looks: steel colored hair and yellow eyes. Light mocha skin color thick muscles with a layer of fat Background: Second Mother and CQC Damage Weapon of Choice: Two-Handed Warhammer with a spike on the top and bottom Shyael Age: Unknown Looks to be late 20¡¯s early 30¡¯s Looks: Longer pink colored hair with striking green eyes. Light complexion. Background: Third Mother and bow Crafter for the family Weapon of Choice: Compound Bow and Short sword if out of Arrows Elva Age: 14 Looks: Blonde hair and Blue eyes. Looks like Elsa from Frozen Background: Oldest sister and first daughter of Vanya Weapon of Choice: Shield and Battle Axe Ethese Age: 7 Looks: blond hair, blue eyes. Young and fit. Highly active and energetic. Background: youngest sister and daughter of Vanya Weapon of Choice: none Zukoya Age: 13 Looks: Dark purple hair that is short and silky. It is shaved all around her head and the top is longer but pulled back in a short ponytail. Baby blue eyes. Olive skin. Background: Second eldest sister and daughter of Shyael Weapon of Choice: shortbow and Shortsword Etopha Age: 11 Looks: Shaved sides of her head, Hair is a little shorter than shoulder length. The center is braided so it is tight to the skull and is brown with green highlights. Her eyes are a vivid teal color. Her skin is also the light mocha of her mother. Background: Third eldest sister and daughter of Ratrece Weapon of Choice: two-handed spear Lisyth Age: 9 Looks: black hair down to the middle of her back. Pulled back in a ponytail and bound in a leather wrap. Red eyes. Has pale skin and a freckled complexion. Background: Fourth eldest sister and daughter of Ratrece Weapon of Choice: two-handed sword Davian Age: Unknown Looks to be mid 30¡¯s Looks: Black hair with blue highlights. Steel grey eyes. Large and robust body Background: MC¡¯s biological father, helps with family accounting and business. Used to be from a noble family in Ampleforth. Ran away and was disowned. Weapon of Choice: Shield and Short Spear Rantak Arnman Age: Unknown Looks to be late 20¡¯s Looks: Blonde hair and red eyes. Unholy cross between a mongoose and a bear. A little over 2.3 meters tall. Roughly 150 kilos. More fit and muscled than fat but has a layer of padding that covers the strong muscles. Very strong masculine body but still somewhat feminine looks. Background: Ampleforth City Guard commander. Chiyo¡¯s younger sister Weapon of choice: Metal Gauntlets Chiyo Arnman Age: Unknown Looks to be late 20¡¯s Looks: Blonde hair and red eyes. About 2.1 meters tall. Large framed body and curves in the right places. Background: Ampleforth Academy Head. Rantak¡¯s oldest sister. Weapon of choice: Unknown Kuuthyia Age: Unknown Looks to be mid 30¡¯s Looks: Intimidating demeanor, Dark Green hair with a lock of hair that is bright red. She is physically about 2 meters in height. Roughly 100-120 kilos. Exceptionally muscular yet still has a layer of padding over the top of the massive muscles. Steel colored eyes. Background: Ampleforth¡¯s Academy Weapons instructor Weapon of Choice: bladed chain Suseras Age: Unknown Looks to be in his 50¡¯s or 60¡¯s Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.Looks: His hair is salt and pepper kept in a long ponytail that goes to his middle back. He has a neatly trimmed beard. Eyes that are yellow like a cat''s. Background: Ampleforth¡¯s Academy Cultivation Instructor Weapon of Choice: Unknown Arzhu Cernif Age: Unknown Looks to be mid 30¡¯s Looks: Has Purple hair and blue-green eyes. It¡¯s actually an attractive color, but she appears to be a pedophile. She is chubby and while having a nice overall look her eyes creep Endrian out. Background: Ampleforth¡¯s Academy Array Master Weapon of Choice: Unknown Lailah Age: 16 years old Looks: Slim figure that dresses in baggy clothes to hide her thin figure. She¡¯s actually well proportioned but doesn¡¯t like fighting so is soft and thin. Enjoys running and has a very high metabolism which has her eating a lot. Is a total geek for arrays. Background: Ampleforth¡¯s Academy Student. Array savant. Weapon of Choice: Unknown Oricia Blackward Age: 9 years old Looks: Cute chubby cheeks that dimple when she smiles. Not super muscular more lithe and not overweight at all. Background: Fellow student and classmate to MC. Youngest daughter of the Blackward girls. Has three sisters that enrolled earlier. Weapon of Choice: Unknown Chelone Blackward Age: 15 years old Looks: Very muscular, strong jaw a little extra padding, no bodybuilder but no lightweight either. Has dark red hair and light blue eyes. Background: Fellow student to MC. Eldest daughter of the Blackward family Weapon of Choice: Unknown Baeye Blackward Age: 11 years old Looks: Muscular and strong frame with very masculine features. Has dark red hair and brown eyes. Background: Fellow student to MC. Third daughter of the Blackward family Weapon of Choice: Unknown Ravannae Blackward Age: 13 years old Looks: Red hair and black eyes. Muscular and very masculine features. Background: Fellow student to MC. Second eldest daughter of the Blackward family Weapon of Choice: Unknown Rosedue Blackward Age: Look to be 30 years old. Looks: Has Red hair and black eyes. Muscular and very masculine features. Background: Head mother of the Blackward family. Mother of Ravenna and Oricia. Weapon of Choice: Unknown Xerael Naxxremis Age: 9 years old. Looks: Black hair with purple highlights, black eyes. Palish and soft skin. Background: Son of the head mother of the Naxxremis family. Weapon of Choice: Unknown Tyrina Naxxremis Age: Looks around her 40¡¯s Looks: Pinched face, obese but carries it well, Black hair with purple highlights, Black eyes. Background: Head mother of the Naxxremis family. Xerael¡¯s biological mother Weapon of Choice: Unknown Sulabar Lockmond Age: Looks around his 40¡¯s Looks: Blue hair, and red eyes. Panther type beastkin. Background: Patriarch of the Lockmond family Weapons of Choice: Shield and Warhammer Priestesses: Isalahne Age: Looks around her 40¡¯s Looks: Sea Green Hair kept long, black eyes. Would have a lanky frame if not for the extra weight. Has a very large bosom and a somewhat pinched face. Background: Priestess of Azmera Weapon of Choice: Unknown Gisvae Age: Looks around her mid 30¡¯s Looks: Sandy blond hair and hazel eyes. Fit but not toned. Combat form is gazelle-like. Background: Priestess of Joslena Weapon of Choice: Dual Maces that look like knobkerries Amelee Age: Looks around her late 20¡¯s Looks: Sky blue hair and violet eyes heavy set but not obese. Background: Priestess of Mophina in Ampleforth Weapon of Choice: Unknown Aanys Age: Looks around her early 20¡¯s Looks: hair is longer and black with silver highlights. Brown and green eyes. Other than that she is completely average nothing really outstanding about her. Background: Priestess of Ordises in Ampleforth Weapon of Choice: Unknown Esalana Age: Looks around her early 30¡¯s Looks: She is tall almost as tall as Chiyo at 2.1 meters. Red hair and a fighter¡¯s body with a scar on her face that looks like a claw mark going from her left temple back to her ear. Combat form is a wolf. Background: Priestess of Anos in Ampleforth Weapon of choice: Shield and Sword Priestess of Emjir - Aubrin Age: Looks around her mid 30¡¯s Looks: shorter at 1.75 meters tall she is built like a brick shit house. Her arms and biceps are easily as big as her quads. Her chest is massive and not from the mammary glands. She has very little fat on her but makes up for this by the sheer mass of her presence. Background: Priestess of Emjir in Ampleforth Weapon of choice: Shield and Warhammer Gods: Kyarus Worshiped as: The God of the Hunt Worshiped by: Unknown Azmera Worshiped as: The Goddess of Strategies Symbol: Raptor Worshiped by: Beastkin and Elves Joslena Worshiped as: The Goddess of Life and Healing Symbol: Sun Worshiped by: Beastkin and Elves Mophina Worshiped as: The Goddess of Knowledge Symbol: Opened Scroll Worshiped by: Beastkin and Elves Ordises Worshiped as: The God of Music Symbol: Clarinette Worshiped by: Beastkin and Elves Anos Worshiped as: The God of Combat Symbol: two swords crossed Worshiped by: Humans and Dwarves Emjir Worshiped as: The God of the Forge Symbol: Anvil Worshiped by: Humans and Dwarves Aysus Worshiped as the God of War Worshiped by: Unknown Phunagiox Worshiped as: The God of Misfortune Worshiped by: None (all are deceased)