《Enyatta; Daughter of the Library》 Chapter 1 Do you ever look up at the sky and wonder what is out there? What ancient civilizations and cosmic dust roam through the void? Enyatta did. All the time. It was hard not to really. Anytime she went outside, there was rock and sky. Enyatta lived on an asteroid. Rock and sky- space- was all there was. Not being a geologist or an astronomer, none of it interested Enyatta very much. Enyatta was bored. Living on an asteroid wasn¡¯t all it was cracked up to be. Or, well, maybe it was. Regardless, there wasn¡¯t much to do outside of read, read, and read. Because that was what the asteroid had in abundance: books. The entire asteroid was devoted to the singular pursuit of knowledge. It was in fact the largest known repository of knowledge in the universe, and Enyatta had it all to herself. She lived in the asteroid alone, and read books all day. It got boring. Growing up, Enyatta had assumed that the sterile walls were all there was to existence. There was the bedroom, the kitchen, and the library. That was it. Obviously, the bedroom and kitchen were tiny, occupying only a small corner of the facility, while the rest was devoted to databanks upon databanks of knowledge. It was only when Enyatta had learned to read that she had discovered that there was more to existence than whitewashed corridors. With growing wonder, Enyatta had devoured the scrolls and texts in the library voraciously, beyond excited about the worlds that were illuminated by shapely calligraphy and standardized typeface. As it turned out, Enyatta learned pretty quickly that she was only mostly alone. There were plenty of other people out there, it was just that none of them were stuck on the asteroid with her and she couldn¡¯t talk to any of them. In fact, there were millions of worlds hanging by cosmic fates out in the vast void. Millions of worlds and trillions of people. Enyatta¡¯s mind boggled. Like, she knew conceptually that numbers could go that large, having studied some of the newer sciences catalogued in the databanks, but it was another thing entirely to imagine trillions of living, breathing, humans out there somewhere; each with their own fears, desires, dreams, and imaginations. ... ... Enyatta tried not to think about it too much. Besides, Enyatta wasn¡¯t interested in all of the trillions of worlds out there. She had only ever really cared about four or five of them. Topping that list was a newer world by the name of Earth. The librarian (think inter-dimensional megalomaniacal immortal spirit) had told Enyatta when she was six years old that Earth was where she came from. According to the librarian, she had human parents, a mother and a father, as well as an extended family and all of the accoutrements (cousins, aunts, uncles) that came with it. Ever since she had discovered her origins, and that there were people out there in the universe who knew she existed, Enyatta had made it her secret life¡¯s mission to return to Earth. Her life¡¯s mission had to be a deep-dark secret because Enyatta wasn¡¯t the only one who had a plan for her life. The spirit of the library had a plan too. You see, Enyatta was alone on the asteroid, in that there weren¡¯t any other corporeal beings with whom she could interact. That did not mean that there was no one that she could talk to. The library was created, maintained, ruled, and ordered by a powerful spirit. The Librarian, as the spirit was known, was (as has been mentioned) rather megalomaniacal; although not without cause. Having been created by a being in the before time, the Librarian, and by extension the library, had been around since just shy of forever. Originally, the spirit of the Librarian was meant to act as a custodian in the library, cataloguing and managing all of the entries in the overwhelming body of knowledge. Over millions of years though, the Librarian had gradually become self-aware. It had started to wonder, with increasing frequency, what greater purposes were out there in the universe. It had begun to desire power. The problem was that the creator of the Librarian had limited its mandate and powers to observation only. That meant that in order to effect great change, exercise great power, and wield great influence, the immortal spirit needed a proxy. That was where Enyatta came in. Knowing what is known about the Librarian, its great age, grand delusions, and fundamental impotence, it is to be expected that the librarian would not accept simply an ordinary proxy. And indeed, Enyatta was most extraordinary, in a most particular way: she had some small affinity with the primal chaotic energy that forms the essence of reality. She would, perhaps, be able to wield this energy... even if only a small amount. The long and short of it was that Enyatta was special, and the Librarian had searched long and hard to find someone like her. Even when the Librarian had finally sensed the emergence of a child touched by chaos, born on one of the smallest, newest, and most obscure worlds (Earth), it had taken the spirit almost seven years to harness the energy to open a small dimensional wormhole through which to snatch the realization of its dreams. For the Librarian, Enyatta was the culmination of millions of years of evolution, dreaming, planning, serendipity, and one action. Needless to say, the spirit was heavily invested in the success and growth of its prodigy. So Enyatta learned early on the purpose of her stay in the library and at the same time became cognizant of the fact that her desire to return to Earth must remain buried in the depths of her soul. At first, the occlusion of her deepest desire from the searching senses of the librarian was easy. Upon her arrival at the library, the Librarian opened up a whole new horizon for Enyatta, showing her both the depths of her potential, and the vastness that lay beyond the hard shell of her new asteroid home. The vision that the Librarian wove was enticing, and for a while Enyatta was drawn in, the new chapter of her life scribing over the secret desire engraved on her soul. From the Librarian, Enyatta learned the mysteries of the Universe. The different tiers of worlds that hung throughout its void, ordered by significance and power like ornaments on a tree. The marvels of the seven divine worlds, majestic and home to beings of incomprehensible power. The hundreds of major worlds, each filled with beings powerful enough to erase the library from existence. The thousands of minor worlds, each aware of the existence of the greater void. The millions of new worlds, Earth among them, where potential had yet to be realized. From the Librarian, Enyatta learned the secrets of cultivation. The secrets of cultivation were the secrets to harnessing the energy of the heavens and the earth, the stars and the void, the fundamental forces, and the primordial chaos. Here she read and practiced the techniques from the oldest archives of the library, the techniques from the before. With the assistance of the Librarian, essential to prevent the shattering of her mind, she began to unlock and understand her potential, to sense the barest hint of chaos, and to bring that energy into her soul and refine it. From the Librarian, Enyatta learned of the Gods, the Primordials, the Ancients, and the before. The before, who had created the librarian, manipulated chaos to kick start the universe, and vanished. The Gods, whose power had expanded from the seven divine worlds to fill the void left behind by the before. The Primordials, beasts born from chaos, capable of breaking mountains and rending skies with a finger. The Ancients, those who had been around long enough to know that the Gods had not always been Gods; that there had been a before. And yet. And yet there were things that the Librarian didn¡¯t teach Enyatta. Mundane things. Ordinary things. The things that made life worth living. That made life life. How to cook. How to dance. How to do math and science. How to write poetry and play an instrument. For these things, Enyatta had her section of the Library archive: the section dedicated to Earth. As much as Enyatta was enthralled by practicing cultivation and reading of the wonders of the greater universe, she was equally fascinated with new ideas from her home. The more she read, the more Enyatta realized that the greater universe had managed to freeze time and traditions in the past. It was the emergence of the new worlds, worlds such as Earth, which were creating the future. The Librarian, evolving over millions of years, couldn¡¯t see it; but Enyatta could, and she felt sure that this was the knowledge that would eventually lead her home. In the meantime though, it didn¡¯t seem as though Enyatta was going anywhere anytime soon. Now approaching her fifteenth birthday, Enyatta had been a resident and a prisoner of the library for over eight years. Not once in all of those years had there been a true deviation in her routine. She would wake up in the morning (0700), eat breakfast, mind meld with the Librarian to continue cultivating, break for lunch (1200) cultivate some more, eat dinner (1800), spend her evening hours of freedom deep in the Earth archive, and sleep. Over, and over, and over again. The only way that she was really able to calculate the passage of time, besides the umm... changes in her maturing body, was the daily progress that she made in the cultivation of chaotic energy. The refining of any energy was a symbiotic and synergistic process. In order to begin the refining process, some basic level of comprehension was needed concerning the type of energy being refined. Take the essence of the heavens and the earth, known colloquially as Qi. Every major or minor world in the universe had its own supply of Qi, produced by the worlds themselves. Not only did this Qi make up lower forms of energy, such as fire or wind, but also higher forms, such as gravitation and time. Every manifestation of change in any world was really a manifestation of Qi. In order to absorb greater amounts of Qi, greater comprehension of its various manifestations were required. For example, in order to harness, absorb, and refine the Qi of fire, devoted study and mastery of the Dao of fire was required. The same could be said for wind or gravity, space or life, light or darkness. Thus the system of cultivation and refinement was divided up into levels based on the complexity and power of the Dao and Qi being cultivated. (There is, of course, more complexity, but something must be left to fill later chapters.) Enyatta did not cultivate Qi however. Instead, she meditated on the Dao and Qi of Chaos. Recall that every world in the Universe has its own supply of Qi; the Chaos that Enyatta cultivated was the energy that existed in between these worlds from which the Qi as drawn. Basically, a simple analogy is that of Plato¡¯s cave. Instead of trying to absorb and refine the energy of shadows, Enyatta was attempting to draw straight from the sun. At the level of Chaos, Qi (energy) and Dao (wisdom) were merged together so closely as to be indistinguishable from one another. Concerning the Primordial Chaos, the cultivation of the Qi was the study of the Dao, and the study of the Dao was the cultivation of the Qi. The Dao of Chaos was the most powerful, most complex, most real thing in the universe, and the only beings known to have mastered it were those from the before. So, expressing a great talent for understatement, it can be stated that what Enyatta was attempting to do was quite difficult. Even so, she was possessed of several unique advantages: her affinity for chaos that let her perceive something of its nature, the help of the Librarian, and the presence of very little of the more mundane types of Qi on the asteroid to distract her. After eight long years of effort, Enyatta had managed to refine a small core of chaotic qi within her dan¡¯tian approximately the size and shape of a twenty sided die. She could sense it at every moment, flaring and angry at points, calm and quiet at others. It was chaotic qi after all.Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation. Although small, this energy was immensely powerful. Enyatta had once coated her fork with it and used it to slice straight through the reinforced diamond of the library door. The chaotic qi didn¡¯t just cut the door; it unmade the very reality of the door in the first place, creating a brief tear into the void until reality reasserted itself, rushing space in to fill the gap. Sensing the connections between her core and the chaotic qi underlying the fabric of reality around her, Enyatta could tug on that fabric in an attempt to adjust reality to her desires. This required an astounding amount of mental fortitude though, and was generally only something Enyatta attempted to do when she was mind-melded with the Librarian. More practical and beneficial by far was using the chaotic energy to refine her soul and her body. By manifesting chaotic energy at her eyes, Enyatta was able to see. She could see how the chaotic energy bound together the nucleus of an atom, as well as how it bound together the worlds of the universe. Using the energy as magnification to peer at the atomic forces that bind reality was fun and made physics a blast, using the same energy to perceive the entirety of the universe had almost broken her brain the single time she had attempted it. Using chaotic energy to refine the less physical aspects of her body yielded results that were just as impressive. As the Librarian slowly guided her in the merging of her soul with the chaotic qi, Enyatta could sense the strengthening of her mental faculties. Her memory slowly developed to the point where it became photographic, and she felt that she was able to learn and process new information increasingly quickly. Not only that, she also discovered that she was able to merge the chaotic qi with the energy of her soul to strengthen and enhance it many times over. Looking at the cultivation of chaotic qi and the comprehension of its Dao from the big picture, it was obvious that the power and process was a bit akin to cheating the system. Instead of having to work her way up through the minor Daos, to the major Daos, to the grand Daos, and finally to the Dao of Chaos, Enyatta was set on to the path of ascendancy right from the beginning. While at the moment she was only at the beginning of the path, as she ascended each switchback, her power would grow exponentially and inexorably. On the good days, when Enyatta was able to intuitively grasp some new application or manifestation of Chaos, it was as though she could see her path ascending to the heavens in front of her. There weren¡¯t very many good days. Mostly, Enyatta felt like she was learning a couple of cool party tricks and practicing them over and over. Today wasn¡¯t one of the good days. As has been mentioned, Enyatta was bored. She and the Librarian had recently been trying to explore the connections between her chaotic qi and the chaotic qi that was underlying reality, attempting to conform reality to her will. It hadn¡¯t been going well. They hadn¡¯t made any visible progress for the past week except for the progression of Enyatta¡¯s headache from mildly painful to torturously debilitating. Regardless, at this moment Enyatta was lying on her bed staring through the viewport into space because doing anything other than staring into the void was too painful for her poor head. Suddenly, in the space above the asteroid directly in Enyatta¡¯s line of sight, a golden portal split the void. ¡°Great, now I¡¯m hallucinating,¡± Enyatta thought grumpily. She blinked a couple of times to clear her vision. The golden portal stubbornly remained where it was, hanging in the void. Then the portal slowly began to widen as the prow of a ship attempted to force its way through. ¡°That¡¯s it. Chaos has officially broken my brain,¡± Enyatta thought incredulously. ¡°I could swear there is an old fashioned sailing ship trying to push its way through a golden portal in the space outside my asteroid home. Hold on, maybe I¡¯ve always been crazy and the last eight years have been a hallucination and this headache has been caused by my brain finally waking up.¡± She nodded decisively. That had to be right. Undeterred by Enyatta¡¯s mental chatter, the ship continued to push its way through the portal. The first mast was now visible, as were some of the crew members, astonishingly handsome men and women dressed in traditional robes with immaculate embroidery. Each person had an immensely powerful aura, often connected with at least one grand Dao, although no aura quite touched on the chaotic spectrum. As Enyatta reached out with her soul force to examine the newcomers in greater detail and prove her theory of insanity, she found her presence blocked, contained, and blanketed by the overwhelming majesty of the spirit of the Librarian. ¡°L, what¡¯s going on?¡± Enyatta asked as she tried to slither tendrils of her soul force out from under the blanket of the Librarian¡¯s presence. ¡°Quiet,¡± the Librarian responded. ¡°Try to make your presence as small as possible and for the before¡¯s sake, quit it with the soul force. I do not believe that these guests will prove to be very benevolent. Also, please do not refer to me as ¡®L¡¯.¡± Enyatta stilled her mind, retracted her soul force, and watched with interest as the rest of the ship emerged from the portal. From bow to stern, the entire ship was just over 15 meters long and 3 meters wide. It looked like it would slice through the water like a knife. Instead, it was slicing through space. Runes and characters were engraved in every visible surface and they burned with the golden fire of spacial qi to Enyatta¡¯s chaos enhanced eyes. At the stern of the ship, just behind the massive wheel on the raised poop deck was an elaborate and imposing golden throne. Seated on the throne was one of the most handsome men Enyatta had ever seen. (She hadn¡¯t seen very many men, or humans at all so she was comparing what was obviously the leader to the rest of his crew.) He looked to be in his mid-twenties, although within the worlds that practiced cultivation, such a detail was cosmetic at best. His hair was a pure white with golden highlights that fell to his ankles. His face was impossibly perfect and radiated what could only be described as beautiful masculinity. His eyes were distinctive, being pure golden in color and lacking any pupils whatsoever. It appeared as though someone had dropped two miniature suns into his eye sockets, and they burned with a fire all their own. His robes were exquisitely detailed, decorated with golden dragons that moved across the fabric of their own accord. Even his skin was perfect, creamy and soft. The bored and apathetic look on his face said that he knew he was perfect, had come to terms with the fact, and had moved on. By his side were seated two fair maidens, twins, each identical to the other making it impossible to decide which was the loveliest. Both had raven dark hair that fell to their ankles and wore robes decorated with blood moons, obscured from time to time by silvery clouds. Their eyes were dark whirlpools of red and black swirled together and of disconcerting depth inside such finely carved faces. One woman carried a black scythe, the other carried a golden lute. At their feet were two golden winged tigers curled up but keeping vigilance over their surroundings. All in all, the master, the maidens, the throne, the tigers, the ship, and the crew, all made for a blindingly imposing picture. Enyatta had to reach up and physically snap her jaw shut. As the ship continued to make its way toward the asteroid, another man, only marginally less impressive than the one occupying the throne, stepped forward beside his master¡¯s chair and unfurled a golden scroll. (Enyatta was beginning to sense a color theme.) ¡°His most divine Imperial Highness, master of the celestial Ìì world, 1st among gods with dominion over all who came after, weaver of fate, ruler of all heavens and all earths, eternal progenitor, master of the grand Daos¡­(this went on for a while)¡­ greets the primordial Spirit of the Library,¡± the herald finally concluded his introductions. Silently Enyatta added another title to the already impressive list ¡°King of those who take themselves too seriously.¡± The herald continued ¡°knowing the rules of non-interference by which you are governed, my master has come to claim your soul stone, engrave it with his soul essence, and through you behold the infinite majesty of the Dao of Chaos. I must remind you what a great honor it is that my master has even deigned to take interest in such an old relic as yourself.¡± As the herald continued his monologue, Enyatta¡¯s mental sense of the Librarian grew more and more disturbed. ¡°Hey L,¡± Enyatta said thoughtfully, ¡°this soul stone wouldn¡¯t by any chance be that rock that you had me hammer at with my soul power when we were just getting started with our lessons would it?¡± The Librarian grimly indicated its assent. ¡°Indeed young one. That which his Imperial Majesty seeks has already been given to you. Thus, we are confronted with something of a dilemma.¡± ¡°How say you?¡± the Herald spoke, his thunderous voice now enhanced with the qi of air. ¡°Will you allow my master to access your soul stone peacefully, or must we who serve him claim it by force?¡± ¡°I greet his Imperial Majesty, and welcome his Celestial Presence to my humble abode,¡± the Librarian spoke respectfully, and slowly, stalling for time. ¡°I am afraid that my soul stone is already bonded with another. However, if what interests his Imperial Majesty is the Dao of Chaos, I have several tomes of knowledge from the before that might aid his pursuit. I would surrender these tomes gladly, for it is always an honor to be of service to so august a presence.¡± While the Herald relayed the Librarian¡¯s words to his master, the Librarian turned its attention to Enyatta. ¡°Quick girl,¡± it said urgently, ¡°Obtain my soul stone from its resting place, go to the ritual circle in the heart of the library and await me there. We must send you away from this place before you are discovered.¡± ¡°Wait¡­ what do you mean send me away?¡± Enyatta was stunned. ¡°Where would you send me?¡± ¡°There is no time to explain. Hurry and do as I have asked. I will attempt to keep our guests busy, but I won¡¯t be able to distract them for long. Go!¡± Meanwhile, a horde of angry activity had broken out aboard the rune covered ship as the full import of the Librarian¡¯s words were understood. ¡°Another?! What do you mean another? I demand you tell me who could have possibly discovered your location and bonded with you before my Master,¡± the Herald expressed the fury evident on faces throughout the ship. ¡°We will be sure to prepare a painful extermination for the individual in question. Once he or she is dead, my Master will be free to bond with you himself as is only right and proper.¡± ¡°I am afraid that I cannot answer your question,¡± the Librarian said regretfully. ¡°Do not lie to me! One examination of your soul stone will tell us the truth. We know it is here. We can sense it. If you will not give it to us we will be forced to go through you to get to it; a process I will find most enjoyable and you will find considerably less so.¡± The Herald¡¯s threat only seemed to stiffen the resolve of the Librarian. ¡°You are welcome to try your luck,¡± the spirit said, its aura flashing dangerously. In response, the Celestial Emperor gave a single nod. The woman seated to his left got slowly to her feet, her massive scythe gripped casually in her hand. Taking a single step forward, she twirled her scythe twice above her head before slicing it in the direction of the asteroid. Space flashed with a brilliant red light as massive scythe fully half the size of the asteroid and made of what appeared to be condensed blood smashed into the ball of rock and minerals, tearing a massive jagged gash in its side. The Librarian screamed in anguish. Inside the asteroid, Enyatta jumped as she heard a ringing crash and felt the corridor shake under her feet. She ran faster, turning the corner and finally reaching the dais upon which rested the Librarian¡¯s soul stone. Enyatta paused for a moment upon seeing the stone, stunned. What once had been a smooth sphere covered in complex blue runes now looked like something had taken a jagged bite out of it. A good eighth of the sphere was just plain gone. ¡°L, are you alright?¡± Enyatta asked anxiously. ¡°Not really child. No time for that now though. Get to the sanctum and--¡± the Librarian was interrupted as another crash shook the asteroid. Before Enyatta¡¯s eyes, the sphere seemed to lose another eighth of its mass as another jagged crack appeared on its surface. Enyatta scooped it up, clutched it to her chest, and ran deeper into the asteroid, past the glowing databanks, toward the sanctum. By the time Enyatta reached the sanctum she was gasping for breath, clutching her shoulder, and another quarter of the soul stone had vanished. The latest strike by the scythe-lady had shaken the asteroid so much it had momentarily thrown Enyatta into the wall of the corridor. Undaunted, Enyatta burst through the diamond doors of the sanctum and ran for the ritual circle lit with blue flames in its center. ¡°Okay L, I made it. What do I need to do now?¡± she asked, bending over to catch her breath. ¡°I have a plan. No time to explain. Just do exactly as I say,¡± the Librarian ordered through the mental tether that was growing more tenuous by the moment. ¡°Take what is left of my soul stone and break it in half. I will open a gateway to a different world. Take one half of my stone and flee. Leave the other half here.¡± Even as the Librarian spoke, a glowing blue portal split the air. It grew larger quickly until it assumed the shape of a circle with a diameter of approximately three feet. ¡°Are you sure you want me to break it?¡± Enyatta asked cautiously. ¡°I mean, isn¡¯t this stone part of what makes you, well, you?¡± ¡°There is no time girl! Just do it!¡± the Librarian shouted urgently. Wasting no more energy on useless words, Enyatta coated the edge of her hand in the chaotic qi and slashed down toward what remained of the soul stone, slicing it neatly in half. The Librarian screamed in pain as the ceiling of the sanctum split open, revealing the smooth edges of a straight slice that cut from the heart of the sanctum all the way to the outer edges of the asteroid and into space. As the winds and suction of the void, previously held at bay by the rocky exterior of the asteroid, began to howl through the sanctum, Enyatta clutched her quarter of the soul stone to her chest, got down on her knees, and scrambled through the small portal to the unknown. She fell as the portal winked shut behind her. Chapter 2 Enyatta fell, and fell, and fell, through the darkness of the void. In the distant corner of her brain that was currently occupied by her consciousness, Enyatta had the vague thought that she should probably be terrified. After all, she had only traveled by inter-dimensional portal once before, and the Librarian had knocked her out when it had kidnapped her. This time she was only mildly comatose due to the shock of it all. To be perfectly honest, her stunned state was probably the only reason she wasn¡¯t screaming in terror. Suddenly, with no warning at all, Enyatta was blinded by light. She absently noted that she had been unceremoniously kicked out of the void and was now hanging in the air. Then gravity took over and she fell a much shorter distance and landed in something wet and cold. Enyatta floundered desperately, panicked. She waved her arms and legs in some sort of crazed dance as she searched desperately for something solid. Her left foot thrust straight down and her big toe slammed into what felt like a rough and craggy rock. She opened her mouth to yell and only managed to swallow a large mouthful of what she belatedly realized had to be water. The discovery of something familiar helped to calm her racing mind. She pushed both feet down gingerly toward the rock that she had previously painfully discovered. Coming into contact with it, she pushed off forcefully, shooting her body toward what she hoped was the surface of whatever body of water she had ended up in. Luck was on her side, as her head was thrust out of the water and into blessed fresh air. Enyatta heaved several deep breaths, staring wildly at her surroundings. At first glance, she had fallen into a circular pool roughly 10 meters in diameter in the middle of a watery cavern lit in a greenish hue. At the edges of the pool, exotic greenery took over, buffering the pool from the smooth cavern walls. Overhead, rays of sunlight penetrated through small holes in the cavern roof, partially covered with vines and large leaves, giving the cavern its subterranean feel. The cavern, or grotto, she thought, was altogether an oblong shape approximately 30 meters long by 20 meters wide. The pool Enyatta had landed in occupied a space somewhere near the center, the freezing temperature of the water somewhat explained by the single ray of sunlight touching its surface, illuminating a small area around Enyatta almost as though the cavern had turned a dim spotlight upon its unexpected guest. As she examined her surroundings in more detail, a slow smile began to spread across Enyatta¡¯s face. This was water. And those green things? Those were leaves. Real, honest to goodness green chlorophyll loving leaves. And there was dirt, and moss, and a sandy beach, and some sort of delicate orange flowers. And there wasn¡¯t a single sterile metallic white surface to be found anywhere. Best of all though, the glowing lights from millions of databanks had been replaced with a few precious rays of glorious, wonderful sunlight. ¡°This can¡¯t be real,¡± Enyatta thought as she beheld the vivid paradise laid out before her. ¡°I have to be dreaming.¡± She slapped herself. It hurt. That hurt brought the pain in her foot to her attention and she realized belatedly that had she been dreaming, stubbing her toe in such a manner probably would have woken her up. Shaken out of her awe by the reminder of her own fallibility, Enyatta shook herself and began an ungainly paddle toward where the pool of water ended in a pristine sandy beach. After several moments of struggling that felt like hours, she felt her foot brush something soft and grainy, and she hauled herself out of the water and onto the beach and flung herself down on her back in the sand, exhausted. The white robe that she was wearing seemed to stick to the sand in its sodden state. That was ok though, because Enyatta didn¡¯t feel like moving anytime soon. As she lay on the ground contemplating the wild and drastic change in direction that her life had suddenly taken, a weight on her chest reminded her of the broken soul stone that might, or might not, contain the Spirit of the Library. A being who was her only friend, her teacher, her master, and her jailer all rolled into one. Enyatta reached across her chest and grabbed the stone fragment, pulling it up to her face in order to get a better look at it. It had been reduced in size to such an extent that it now fit in the palm of her hand. The violent carving of its facets had given it the shape of a half moon, as it was only 1 quarter of the original sphere. The runes along its smoothly curved outer facet no longer blazed with blue fire, but rather glowed like heated blue coals. Of its other two edges, one was perfectly smooth and unblemished, where Enyatta had cut it with her chaotic qi. The other was jagged and rough, a testament to the power of the attack from the blood scythe. The dim blue glow that illuminated the broken script of runes along the edge of the stone gave Enyatta hope that her friend and protector was not gone forever. Cautiously, she stretched out a tendril of soul force toward the stone. There was no response, only a dim feeling of pain from some sort of presence that seemed to Enyatta to be much diminished from the normally vast aura of the Librarian. Enyatta racked her brain for something that might restore the spirit to its former glory. After several moments of consideration, she settled for feeding a small amount of chaotic qi from her dan¡¯tian into the stone, reasoning that a spirit born of chaos would be able to feed on the energy. She hoped that the Librarian would wake from its comatose state soon. She had plenty of questions for it, starting with where the hell the portal had sent her. Not that she would complain too hard of course. Whatever else could be said about the arrival of this ¡°Celestial Emperor¡± fellow, the resulting confrontation had seen her removed from her asteroid home/ prison. Sure, Enyatta felt guilty about the injury to the Spirit of the Library, but not guilty enough that she would wish things had gone differently. She had finally taken her first step toward freedom and she wasn¡¯t about to turn back. And so, on a foreign world, in an unknown grotto, lying on a beach that felt ever so comfortable at the moment, Enyatta drifted off into an exhausted slumber. Enyatta awoke to find that the branches near the holes in the ceiling had moved closer while she was asleep and were now hovering directly above her head. They had also turned blue for some reason. Enyatta shut her eyes and rolled over, figuring that she must be hallucinating and that therefore she needed more sleep. Then she realized that she had been hallucinating a lot recently, and that for some strange reason her hallucinations had been coming to life and causing her problems. The logical conclusion of this line of reasoning was that all hallucinations should be taken seriously until their illusory nature could be conclusively proven. Enyatta rolled back over and her eyes widened in wonder. What she had thought were mysterious blue branches were actually antlers. She craned her neck back to get a clearer picture of what sort beast possessed such a magnificent rack. Standing behind and above her with his hooves straddling her head was a truly magnificent stag. Its fur pelt was a silky midnight blue, with small white spots. It appeared as though someone had taken the space scape from around the Library and painted it onto an animal. The overall impression of a sentient velvet starscape was broken only by the forehead of the stag where a jewel the size of a closed fist glowed orange and yellow, like the hottest core of a star. Its antlers were a lighter shade of blue than the rest of its body, more akin to an evening sky just after sunset than the deepest night. It was slim and graceful, with equine lines built more for speed rather than power. It stood only about 5 feet high, and would only have measured to Enyatta¡¯s chin, had she been standing up. Rather than attempt to move though, Enyatta just lay on her back and stared up at the majestic beast, afraid that any flinch or fidget would break the magic of the moment. Not only was this the first living creature she could remember seeing; it was more impressive, and more real, than anything she had read about in the vaults of the Library. Once again, she felt that her life had taken on a dreamlike quality. Eventually she knew that she would just have to accept that going forward, every waking moment would be filled with the fantastical. She considered the notion, then decided that if the fantastical was what the fates had in mind for her, she could roll with it. The stag slowly lowered its head until less than a foot separated the gem on its forehead from Enyatta¡¯s wide eyes. Enyatta stared, entranced. The deeper she stared into the gem the more certain she grew that the oranges, yellows, and golds within its faceted transparent depths moved to a pattern of their own accord, forming hundreds of individual tongues of flames. Dimly, she realized that she should probably be frightened. After all, the beast above her was obviously magical in nature and she had no idea as to whether its intentions were malevolent. However, the gentleness and humor that she perceived within its black eyes were unmistakable. Ever so hesitantly, as though fearing she might scare it away, Enyatta reached up a hand, palm out, toward the gem on the stag¡¯s forehead. The stag stared deeply into her eyes, standing totally still, as her hand slowly traversed the distance that separated them. After what seemed their own special eternity, Enyatta¡¯s hand came to rest gently on the gem, eclipsing its surface with her gentle palm. As though controlled by a force neither could name, the stag lowered its head and gently rested its nose on the forehead of the young girl. All at once, all of the soul force that normally resided in the area between her eyes was drawn down Enyatta¡¯s arm to the palm of her hand. It was as though by touching the gem she had allowed it to begin to vacuum her very essence into its glittering fires. As she saw the milky glow of her soul force pool in the palm of her hand before being hungrily sucked in by the gem, Enyatta began to panic. As though it was reading her mind, the stag snuffled quietly through its nose against her forehead, and caught her excited gaze with its twin placid pools. Staring deep into their dark depths, Enyatta felt a soothing presence in her mind. She was further distracted from the strange and uncomfortable sensation of the movement of her soul force by a cool and dry sensation on her forehead, like it was being hit with a gentle jet of air. She glanced up and realized that the sensation was the result the stag¡¯s own soulforce, a midnight blue (purple?) rather than a milky white, gathering into several teardrops on the crown of her head. Slowly, the velvety drops began to be absorbed into her skull, replenishing the void left by the disappearance of their milky white counterparts. As more and more soul force was absorbed into Enyatta¡¯s empty repository, it seemed to accumulate and hang in the empty space, expectant. Just as the final drop of soul force disappeared from her forehead, Enyatta realized that so too had the final drop of her own soul force disappeared into the fiery gem. Her hand dropped from its hard surface as a sudden wave of exhaustion swept over her. The stag likewise staggered backward several feet before collapsing as though its legs were too weak to support its own weight. Once more, stillness reigned in the underground grotto. ¡°What was that?¡± Enyatta thought as she tried to sit up, struggling from a lack of energy. Eventually she made it into a verticle position, and sat, hugging her knees to her chest. She shot a quick glance at her newfound¡­ companion? ¡­ friend? ... pet? To be honest, Enyatta wasn¡¯t quite sure what to make of her new acquaintance. She took some small amount of pleasure though, in the fact that the creature seemed just as exhausted by the sudden sharing of soul force as she was. As Enyatta gazed at the stag who had drifted into an exhausted slumber, a soft smile spread across her face. The stag shifted in its sleep, snuffling through its nose in a manner that Enyatta found quite endearing. She chuckled softly, careful not to wake the sleeping spectacle. She was happy that her first encounter in this strange new world had proven so benign. From the reading she had done in the Library, she knew that she could just have easily have run across an angry golden furred gorilla, poisonous nightshade serpent, or winged tiger. She wouldn¡¯t have made anything more than a delectable appetizer for such a high grade opponent. Enyatta paused in thought. ¡°I wonder what grade my sleeping friend is?¡± Something shifted deep in Enyatta¡¯s thoughts, snapping her out of her temporary reverie. She looked inwards, casting her consciousness in search of the disturbance. She soon came to the source of the strange feeling. As her soul force had begun to recover, gently seeping pure new energy into the cavity behind her brow, the new energy had come into contact with the energy already there; the energy left behind from the midnight stag. As each new strand of pure white energy replenished the emptiness in the cavity, the purple soul force already present sent out of a strand of its own that tied itself to Enyatta¡¯s soul force in a complex knot. As each knot was tied, Enyatta¡¯s soul force cavity grew just a tiny bit larger.This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work. Enyatta watched the process in fascination. The more knots were tied between the two flavors of soul force, the more clearly she could feel a growing presence in the back of her mind. The presence radiated a warm and lethargic aura. It didn¡¯t take an intellectual leap to guess that this was the mental presence of the stag that was asleep just a meter away on the sandy floor of the grotto. Enyatta reached out a small and pointed tendril of thought toward the new resident in her head, then paused in hesitation. She didn¡¯t want to wake the stag up. From how exhausted it had appeared after going through what she now guessed had been a binding ritual, rest would be important to restore its strength. Plus, Enyatta always hated to be woken up when she was trying to sleep off a strenuous bout of training. She didn¡¯t want to start their relationship off on the wrong foot. After all, she was fairly certain that if she could feel the presence of the stag in her mind, chances were the reverse was true for the stag. Luckily, the choice was taken out of her hands, as the stag took that moment to open a lazy eye. Its gaze roamed across the orange flowers at the edges of the beach before sweeping back across the sand to focus on Enyatta. Enyatta felt a query from the presence in her mind brush up against her senses. ¡°Did it work?¡± Surprisingly, the question came through as a clearly worded question in a language Enyatta understood. The ¡°voice¡± carried just a whisper of the warmth of a star and cold of the void held in perfect harmonization, giving it a peculiar sort of deep echo effect. Enyatta also noted that the voice was most definitely male. ¡°Did what work?¡± Enyatta replied, although she already had some idea to what the stag referred. ¡°I guess that answers my question,¡± the stag said, struggling to shake off its lethargy as it stood up, keeping its gaze warily fixed on Enyatta¡¯s face. ¡°I assume you are referring to the binding ritual,¡± Enyatta said cautiously, adding ¡°You do know what happened right? It was like we exchanged soul force. Did the soul force that the gem absorbed entwine itself with your soul force? That¡¯s the soul force that I absorbed did. Did you know it would do that?¡± ¡°Whoa, slow down,¡± the stag interrupted Enyatta¡¯s barrage of questions. His presence in her mind radiated a soothing aura. ¡°Lets start at the beginning. My name is Ã÷ÎçÒ¹ (Ming WuYe), but you can call me WuYe. What¡¯s your name?¡± ¡°Enyatta,¡± Enyatta said quickly, her mind whirling. ¡°Ming WuYe, doesn¡¯t that translate to Bright Midnight?¡± ¡°No acorns between your ears I see,¡± WuYe said, chuckling. ¡°You are right of course. My parents weren¡¯t particularly imaginative. Ming is the family name that comes from the solar gem that every member of my family possesses. WuYe is due to the peculiar color of my pelt. Your name is much more interesting though. Enyatta. Where does it come from?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know,¡± she responded honestly. ¡°I don¡¯t remember my parents very well and the last time I saw them I was too young to care about my name.¡± She paused. ¡°That¡¯s not important though. You didn¡¯t answer any of my questions!¡± ¡°You¡¯re right. Very well then.¡± WuYe drew a deep breath, his mental presence becoming slightly nervous. ¡°This will not be easy, but I will plow ahead anyway. They say that it is easier to ask forgiveness than permission, but rarely have I heard ¡®them¡¯ asking for forgiveness. To your questions though. I can confirm that your guess was correct. What happened between us was a very old, very powerful soul binding ritual. It is something that can only occur when two souls have an innate compatibility with each other, and rarely ever happens between a beast such as myself, and a human. However, I suspect that its success was due primarily to the fact that I am no ordinary beast, and you are no ordinary human.¡± ¡°Hold on,¡± Enyatta broke in. ¡°What do you mean by ¡®innate compatibility¡¯? Furthermore, you speak of the success of the ritual as though it was uncertain. What if it had failed?¡± ¡°If it failed, I am afraid we wouldn¡¯t be speaking right now, since we¡¯d both be dead.¡± Enyatta gasped. WuYe continued hurredly, as though trying to talk his way past such a minor detail. ¡°However, since it didn¡¯t fail, it means our souls are compatible, meaning perhaps they are similar in age, power, or shared a connection in a previous life. So all¡¯s well that ends well, right?¡± WuYe¡¯s anxiousness was conveyed in his mental sense and his refusal to meet Enyatta in the eye. ¡°What do you mean ¡®all¡¯s well that ends well¡¯?!¡± Enyatta shouted. Although, since the conversation was taking place entirely within her head, this translated to thinking very forcefully. ¡°I could have died. You could have died. It must be, like, a one in a million chance that our souls were compatible, and you didn¡¯t know this going in?! What were you thinking?!¡± ¡°More like one in a billion. But there was something about you. I sensed it,¡± WuYe insisted. ¡°Besides, you sensed how both of us lost control once the process began. This was meant to happen.¡± ¡°¡¯This was meant to happen,¡¯¡± Enyatta imitated sarcastically. ¡°Look, fate and I have been having a really weird day, so I suppose anything is possible. But still, I wish you had risked both our lives on more than just a hunch.¡± ¡°If wishes were fishes, there would, um¡­ be a lot of fish. Okay, so it¡¯s not my finest piece of sage advice, but the point remains: what is done is done. We are stuck with each other now.¡± ¡°Stuck with each other?!¡± Enyatta asked with growing incredulity. ¡°You mean our soul binding is permanent?!?¡± ¡°Of course it¡¯s permanent. It¡¯s a soul binding. Anything concerning souls is generally pretty permanent. This especially though. It links our souls together. When one of us departs this mortal coil, the other will be bound to follow.¡± ¡°Mortal coil?! WuYe, are you even listening to yourself right now? You knew this was permanent going in. Why would you want to bind us together for life? You don¡¯t even know me. I¡¯m just some redheaded girl who washed up on the beach of your secret hideout grotto lair thing.¡± ¡°First, you aren¡¯t ¡®just some random redhead¡¯. I sensed something special about you the moment I saw you. Second, Enyatta do you realize how rare it is to find someone your soul can connect to? Doubly so for me, since I am not exactly your average common magical beast. Third, not just any random person, or even random cultivator, walks around with a stone full of some sort of primordial energy clutched in their fist. In short, we had a rare connection, you were very interesting, and, lucky for me, you have proven to be of at least average intelligence.¡± ¡°Average intelligence?!?¡± Enyatta was almost struck dumb by the sheer audacity of the buck. ¡°I¡¯ll show you average intelligence. I have read more books than you could possibly ever have dreamed of! I have probed some of the deepest secrets of the universe. I know why stars are formed, and how they burn. I know about insurance, computers, politics, biology¡­ I know more than you ever will in a million years!¡± ¡°Notwithstanding the fact that I am pretty sure that you are making some of those things up,¡± WuYe said, his mental presence radiating mischief. ¡°If you¡¯re so smart, how come you don¡¯t know how to swim?¡± ¡°You¡­ I ¡­ Its just¡­ ARRRGGH!!¡± Enyatta formed a brick with her thoughts and attempted to beat the infuriating presence in her skull out of it. All she managed to do was make her headache return with a vengeance. ¡°Fine. Fine. I give up. I¡¯ll forgive you this once. As infuriating as you are, WuYe, you¡¯re not wrong. I don¡¯t know how to swim. I am assuming that you do. This being the case, I will forgive you on the condition that you teach me all of the ordinary things that I have never had the opportunity to learn. Starting with how to find food, and what is safe to eat.¡± ¡°Really? You¡¯ll really forgive me? Great! You won¡¯t regret this! We are going to be the best of friends, I promise,¡± WuYe¡¯s ecstatic response betrayed the true feeling behind the air of wisdom and maturity that he was trying to project. ¡°Before you get carried away,¡± Enyatta interrupted, ¡°a word of warning: if you ever make such a momentous decision again without consulting me, I promise I will chop off your antlers as you sleep. Don¡¯t doubt my resolve.¡± Ming WuYe¡¯s mental presence shivered and he unconsciously stumbled backwards several paces, caught off guard by the sudden venom of Enyatta¡¯s words. ¡°Message received loud and clear Ma¡¯am.¡± He privately reflected that he was very lucky that the conversation had gone so well up to this point. Enyatta¡¯s threat had made him aware of the danger and power that lurked within such an innocent looking package. Enyatta uncurled herself from her previous sitting position and managed to stand, feeling a good deal stronger due to the energy that she had recovered during the long conversation. She still felt angry that the stag had been so bold as to initiate the soul binding ritual without informing her of its implications beforehand. If she had to be honest with herself though, she also felt grateful to have found someone to talk to in such a strange new place, especially since the Librarian asleep in the soul stone shard seemed no closer to waking up. Enyatta surveyed the grotto. Nothing seemed to have changed during her brief rest, with the exception of the addition of Ming WuYe. The grotto retained its peaceful and soothing aura. Nary could a ripple be seen in the pool, allowing Enyatta to see the many colorful fish that roamed its depths. This gave her an idea. Smiling wickedly, she turned to address her companion. ¡°All right you smug buck,¡± she said. ¡°If you can swim so well, how about catching me a fish to eat for dinner? Or lunch. Or breakfast¡­ what time is it anyway?¡± ¡°Your wish is my command,¡± WuYe said jokingly. ¡°Which delectable dinner would you prefer? The rich and flavorful four-eyed salmon, the airy winged skitterfish, or the fiery red-tailed trout?¡± ¡°So its lunch time is it? I guess the four-eyed salmon sounds good.¡± Wasting no further time for conversation, WuYe took a running start and executed a graceful dive into the pool with a small splash. He surfaced a moment later with a good sized gray fish with brown spots and, disturbingly, four eyes, clutched in his mouth. Enyatta was impressed despite herself, although she¡¯d rather die than admit it to her newfound friend, who she had already determined had an overblown opinion of himself. ¡°Thanks,¡± she said as she nonchalantly accepted the fish from the mouth of the buck. ¡°Now if only there was some way to cook it. You don¡¯t by any chance know where I can find some flint do you?¡± ¡°Flint? What¡¯s that and what does it have to do with cooking?¡± WuYe stared at her doubtfully. ¡°It¡¯s a type of rock. I need it to make a fire.¡± ¡°A fire from a rock. Right¡­ I am beginning to realize that you have many very queer ideas in that head of yours. If its fire you want, you need to use fire, not earth. Here, allow me,¡± so saying, WuYe beckoned Enyatta toward a flat rock. ¡°Set the fish down on the rock and stand back.¡± Enyatta did so, and then watched silently as WuYe began to cook her meal. A thin line of fire suddenly flashed out from the gem in the stag¡¯s forehead, hitting the rock just below where the fish was sitting and causing it to heat up. Soon, the heat was such that the rock was glowing red, and Enyatta had been pushed several paces backwards. The fish slowly browned and crisped rapidly beginning to emit a rich aroma that filled Enyatta¡¯s senses. She tried not to stare at its eyes as they fizzled in their sockets. She was more concerned though, with the fact that the gemstone on WuYe¡¯s head had just spat fire. ¡°Your dinner is served my lady,¡± WuYe said triumphantly. He expertly speared the fish with an antler and presented it to Enyatta. ¡°Thank you my lord,¡± Enyatta said, playing along and trying desperately not to laugh. The sight of such a majestic creature looking at her with such pride all while a fish hung off one of his antlers was quite amusing. She accepted the fish, and, striving to achieve the same nonchalance, used a hand coated with chaotic qi to chop off its head and skin it. She decided there was no reason to admit that she was impressed with WuYe¡¯s abilities, and instead let her own abilities speak for themselves. She didn¡¯t need to inflate the stag¡¯s ego any more than it already was. Sure, she knew that the thin stream of fire was caused by WuYe¡¯s manipulation of qi in tandem with his knowledge of the dao, but it was one thing to know and another thing to see. If judged only by appearances, WuYe¡¯s use of fire to heat up the fish was clearly more impressive than Enyatta¡¯s use of chaos to unmake its head and scales. Appearances could be deceiving. Enyatta bit into the fish, closing her eyes to savor its rich flavor. It tasted smoky, with just a hint of spice. She moaned in pleasure as a drop of juice traced the line of her chin. She could sense WuYe waiting expectantly. ¡°This is marvelous, thank you,¡± she said seriously. All thoughts of keeping WuYe¡¯s ego at a manageable level had vanished in the face of such tasty deliciousness. ¡°Of course it is.¡± Satisfied, WuYe lay down in the sand on the beach. A ray of golden sunlight shined through from a hole somewhere in the roof of the cave, penetrating the cover of the large green leaves. It fell across the gem on WuYe¡¯s forehead, causing illusory tongues of flame to hang in the air, as though they were silent specters left over from WuYe¡¯s magical feat. Enyatta finished eating her dinner, smacking her lips to savor it. She washed the juices from her face and hands with water from the pool before walking across the sand to join him, feeling the fine grains of sand caress the soft skin of her feet. She lay down beside him, her splayed hair forming a fiery halo around her head. The two shared a companionable silence. Enyatta reflected that this might not be so bad. Sure, she had inadvertently pissed off a being with godlike powers, and been teleported who knows how far across the universe, but at least she had found a friend. The Librarian made only an acceptable companion at the best of times, and she wouldn¡¯t characterize their relationship as one of friendship, rather as that of guardian and ward. As she allowed a dream to overtake her drowsiness, she decided that as long as WuYe was around, facing a strange and exciting new world wasn¡¯t quite so intimidating. If only she could figure out how to deflate his ego along the way. Chapter 3 A bloody scythe cut a swath through a library in Enyatta¡¯s dreams. She watched as pages were scattered through the air like dead leaves. Some, soaked in blood, fell to the ground like small birds whose wings had been coated in oil. The scythe disposed of fiction and nonfiction alike as though they were only so much wheat. Arriving at the large section of cultivation manuals, it seemed to hesitate for a moment, before becoming a screeching blur as it disemboweled the knowledge of the ages. Enyatta looked on, separated from the scene by a semi-transparent veil. Every book shredded by the scythe felt like a miniscule needle driven into her heart. The books weren¡¯t her bosom companions, so treasured that the loss of even one might break her heart. Rather, she knew them as one might a good acquaintance. She imagined that if she passed one in a hallway, she might stop and say hello, perhaps chat for awhile about physics, or language, or cultivation. In short, while Enyatta did not feel the loss of any single book too deeply, the scythe was destroying a lot of books. The combination of so many small pains developed into a deep and abiding ache pressing down across her chest and inhibiting her breathing. Finally, after what seemed like an age, the scythe finished its bloody work. It paused, suspended mid-animation, and Enyatta had the fleeting thought that it seemed akin to a small child, who, having finished her homework, waited for permission to play outside. Enyatta held her breath, watching with growing fear as the blade of the scythe slowly pivoted until it was pointed directly at her. Blood dripped from the tip of the scythe, making a plip plop noise that was faintly audible to Enyatta even from behind her veil. Enyatta swallowed softly, entertaining increasing doubts as to the solidity of the barrier. Suddenly, the pain that had heretofore been merely emotional looked like it was about to become unavoidably physical. The scythe began to spin faster and faster, a red light trailing from its curved point until it was going so fast that it appeared to be only a large circle of bloody light hanging in the air. Enyatta could just make out the high pitched whine created by its astonishing speed over the heavy sound of her own breathing. Terrified, she reached for the chaotic qi within her core to try and fight back. Nothing. Enyatta couldn¡¯t sense her dan¡¯tian at all. Shit, she thought as she dumbly faced her impending doom. The spinning scythe shot forward, its high pitched whine growing instantly to an ear shattering scream. Enyatta raised her hands defensively to shield her face as her vision went read. The scythe tore through the insubstantial barrier between them like tissue paper and connected with Enyatta¡¯s forehead. The phantom pain shattered the dream and Enyatta lurched awake gasping for breath. She slowly lay back, trying to relax. Her head ached fiercely, and she shuddered as she turned the nightmare over in her mind. Are you ok? WuYe poked his nose into her field of vision and stared down at her. His gentle voice in her mind helped to further calm her down. You were having quite the dream. When you woke up you sat up so suddenly that you slammed your forehead into the bottom of my antler. That is probably why your head hurts. Good news though, I don¡¯t see any blood. Enyatta glared at him. So, you are responsible. You and your big antlers. Ow. She moved a hand up to massage her forehead. WuYe ducked his head sheepishly. To be fair, I think the guilty party was more your head, and less my antlers. Stop being reasonable and let me be angry for a second ok? What the heck are your antlers made of anyway, diamond? If you are well enough to complain, it must not hurt that bad. And no, my antlers are just made of bone. I have tried to reinforce them a bit with qi but I haven¡¯t gotten very far. Diamond antlers would be awesome though, don¡¯t you think? WuYe rose to his feet and walked across the beach to the small pool of water, bending his head to take a drink. Rays of the morning sunlight entering through the hole in the roof of the grotto hung suspended in the moist air above the pool. Enyatta rose to her feet much more slowly and stumbled over to join her friend. She stared down at her reflection in the pool. Her blue eyes stared back at her, set above her graceful nose and small mouth. A mane of red hair cascaded messily down her back to just below her shoulder blades. Already her forehead was beginning to turn purple and bruise. She slipped her hand into the cool water and brought it back to rest on her forehead. The chill of the water began to soothe the ache in her head. She sighed in relief. Better? WuYe asked, turning to look at her. He paused, you know, if you are trying to develop a gem on your forehead like mine, I have some bad news. Hitting yourself in the head won¡¯t work; and that shade of purple doesn¡¯t really work for you anyway. Har di har har. Very funny. Enyatta punched him playfully in the shoulder. Well I thought it was. Forget about that though. What do you want to do today? It¡¯s your first day here on the ÈýÏÄ (San¡¯Xia) world. There are so many possibilities. Adventures just waiting to happen. We could climb Mount ´óÏë (Da¡¯Xiang). We could hunt a flame-tusked boar. We could¡­ How about some breakfast? Enyatta asked, cutting off WuYe¡¯s excited speech. Oh. Breakfast. Yes, breakfast is important too. Say no more my friend. WuYe dived into the pool splashing Enyatta¡¯s white robe in the process. Enyatta just stared after him, shaking her head. He did raise a good point though. What should she do next? Enyatta was happy that she could no longer call an asteroid home, but that did highlight the fact that she currently didn¡¯t have a home at all. She knew that her ultimate goal was to return to Earth, but she wasn¡¯t sure how to go about accomplishing that. She doubted that WuYe would be able to help her. What she needed was the advice of the Librarian. She frowned and directed her consciousness toward the soul shard that she clutched in her hand. The Librarian gave off the same muted sensation of pain that she had felt the day before. Enyatta pushed another small portion of chaotic qi into the stone. It disappeared and a vague sensation of gratitude flowed back across the link. So at least there is hope, she thought to herself. As long as I keep feeding L bits of chaotic qi, eventually she should recover. A splashing noise broke Enyatta¡¯s ruminations, as WuYe surfaced with another fish impaled on his antlers. This time, Enyatta made out small gossamer wings attached to the fish just behind its gills. She surmised that it must be a winged skitterfish that WuYe had told her of the day before. At least it wasn¡¯t a red-tailed trout. Enyatta wasn¡¯t sure how a fish could taste spicy, but she wasn¡¯t eager to find out. WuYe deposited the fish on the same flat stone that had been used to cook yesterday¡¯s dinner. He then backed up several paces. Once again, a small tightly controlled stream of fire shot forth from the gem on the stag¡¯s forehead, charring the fish to a nice golden brown. Breakfast is served! WuYe announced. Enyatta joined him by the rock and used her chaotic qi to strip the fish of its scales. She picked up a piece and took a bite. Unlike the salmon from the night before, the skitterfish didn¡¯t really taste like much. She looked up and offered some to WuYe. No thanks, WuYe declined. I¡¯m a vegetarian. I eat the orange flowers that you can see at the edges of the grotto. They are called sundrop flowers. Suit yourself. Enyatta sat back down in the sand and continued to eat the fish. Where exactly are we anyway? She asked between bites. I know that you said that this was the SanXia world, but where exactly are we located? Well, WuYe responded, This grotto is located on the edge of the Lionwood forest in the heart of the ÓñÐþ (Yu¡¯Xuan) Empire. There is a small city named Lion¡¯s Edge about a two day walk from here, and the capital of the empire, Jadespire, is a two month journey beyond it. So, what you are saying is that the nearest settlement is about a two day hike away and even when we reach it we will still be in the boonies huh? Enyatta said. That¡¯s right. WuYe affirmed. Well then, might as well get started. Enyatta finished the last bite of fish and got to her feet, looking around for an exit to the grotto. Hey, what¡¯s the hurry? No hurry, except that I would like to sleep in a real bed as soon as possible. Sand gets everywhere. Besides, I finally get to see another human being! Wait, Enyatta paused, this is a human world, right? From what I remember reading the SanXia world does mainly have humans on it. Yeah, WuYe answered, unfortunately, due to losing a great war several centuries ago, magical beasts have been pushed to the edges of the world and humans have ascended to dominate the planet. We are still around, don¡¯t get me wrong, but all of the real power nowadays is held by human cultivators. Ummm, damn. That sucks. Enyatta was lost for a moment as she tried to decide how to respond. Don¡¯t worry about it. It all happened long before I was born. I am only eighteen cycles old anyway. My parents were alive back then, but they left to go traveling and they didn¡¯t say when they would be back. Your parents are over five hundred years old? Enyatta was only mildly surprised. WuYe certainly didn¡¯t appear to be an ordinary magical beast and she knew that many of the more extraordinary beasts were extremely long lived. Yup. WuYe confirmed proudly. It was only last year that I convinced them that I was old enough to take care of myself so that they could take that trip they have always been talking about. They said that it would take them about four years, so until they get back I am down to do whatever. Ok then. What I want to do now is go meet some new people. The first step is getting out of this grotto. I am assuming that you know where the exit is?Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator. Of course. WuYe lead Enyatta over to one of the walls of the grotto and brushed away a section of thick hanging vines, revealing a tunnel in the cavern wall over six feet high. WuYe started down the tunnel, ducking his head so that his antlers didn¡¯t catch on the ceiling. Enyatta followed, moving slowly since the tunnel was so dark. Luckily, the tunnel wasn¡¯t very long, and it was only after a minute that Enyatta saw WuYe brush aside another curtain of vines to reveal the bright sunlight from the outside world. As Enyatta followed WuYe through the opening, her jaw dropped open in amazement. They had emerged into a vibrant forest. Huge trees towered above her head, seeming to go high enough to touch the sky. There were some bushes and scrub along the ground but their growth had obviously been stunted by how little sunlight penetrated the leafy canopy. Wow. Those are very big trees. Enyatta couldn¡¯t tear her eyes away from the majestic natural pillars before her. Yeah. They¡¯re all right. Whats the big deal? WuYe was puzzled. Its just that I don¡¯t remember seeing trees before. My previous home was an asteroid and there wasn¡¯t exactly room for a forest, Enyatta explained. An asteroid? What¡¯s that? It¡¯s like a planet, except its tiny, there is no air to breathe, and it¡¯s made of minerals. It was a pretty lifeless and boring place to live. Wait, but if there is no air on the asteroid, how did you live there? WuYe asked. It¡¯s a long story, Enyatta replied. I¡¯ll tell you more as we walk. She chose a random direction and started to move forward. It seemed she had chosen correctly since a moment later WuYe pushed past her and took the lead. They finally stopped as it began to grow too dark to see. Night came early as much of the dying light from the sunset was blocked by the forest canopy. WuYe had found a hollow tucked into the roots of a fallen down tree where they decided to make camp. Even though the day had passed uneventfully, Enyatta was exhausted. By her count, they had walked for almost eight hours since leaving the grotto that morning. Enyatta hadn¡¯t had much need for walking back in the asteroid and her legs were letting her know exactly how they felt about the new routine. Seeing the state that Enyatta was in, WuYe volunteered to take the first watch. Enyatta collapsed gratefully on a large patch of moss. She glanced up at WuYe with tired eyes. How come you have to keep watch? Is it dangerous in this area? I haven¡¯t seen anything larger than that rabbit you caught me for lunch all day. While it is true that this is a relatively safe area since it is on the outskirts of the forest, it never hurts to be careful, WuYe replied. Despite whatever that trick is that you do with your hands, I suspect that even a beast at the lowest level of cultivation- the qi condensation level- could best you with both paws tied behind its back. Hey wait a minute, Enyatta protested. That trick took me fifteen years to master. I do it by manifesting chaotic qi around my hands. Chaotic qi. It is more than powerful enough to defend me. I promise. What will you do if the beast you are fighting has a ranged technique? WuYe countered. ¡­ I¡¯ll¡­ shout for help? Enyatta knew he was right. Chaotic qi might be the most powerful force in the universe, but it mattered little unless she was able to bring that force to bear. Maybe I¡¯ll play dead until whatever I am facing gets close enough that I can slap it around. That might work a little better, WuYe admitted. However, even if your enemy does get close enough that you can slap them around, do you really want to broadcast the fact that you can cultivate the Dao of Chaos to the whole world? No, probably not, Enyatta said, remembering the Celestial Emperor who had attacked the library. He was probably still searching for her, and showing people that she could wield the Dao of Chaos would definitely not help her blend in. At the moment, it was like the Celestial Emperor was trying to find a needle in a trillion of needles. Throwing chaotic qi around would be like painting one of needles black and shifting all of the needles in its vicinity to point in her direction. It would downgrade the search from impossible to merely insanely difficult. No need, Enyatta concluded, to make life easier for the person trying to kill her. I need something else. Some other ability to defend myself with, she stated. Don¡¯t worry. I will protect you, WuYe puffed his chest out. I have already cultivated past the qi condensation stage to the qi foundation stage. I¡¯m even at the ninth level of the qi foundation stage. I wouldn¡¯t be considered weak for my age anywhere on this world. That¡¯s sweet, but I¡¯m serious, Enyatta replied firmly. Suddenly she had a thought. Why not begin to cultivate normal qi alongside her chaotic qi? The reason she hadn¡¯t considered it up until now is because there hadn¡¯t been any normal qi to speak of on the asteroid. She knew that cultivation of any kind was a long and difficult journey full of pitfalls, but it had to be faster starting with the easiest qi to cultivate rather than the hardest that she had struggled with so far. Besides, she had the knowledge she had gained from the greatest cultivation manuals in the library to guide her. She sat back up, suddenly excited to try out her idea and see what this new world had to offer. She searched through the cultivation records in her photographic memory. She wanted to make sure that she started with the cultivation technique most suited to her as technique was extremely important. Using the right technique was the main determinant in how far one could advance in power on the road toward immortality. Due to the absence of the Librarian from her mind, this was also the first time that she had gotten to make an important life decision for herself, and she didn¡¯t want to screw it up. Unfortunately, almost all of the techniques that she had studied in the library were not meant for beginners. Often times they were instead meant for Immortals who had already mastered one or more Daos. There was only one technique that required starting from the very beginning of cultivation. It was called The Seven Daos Descending. This technique seemed perfect for Enyatta though, due to its unique requirements. At the core of the technique was the creation of six additional dan¡¯tians, and then linking the extras plus the original together in a system of seven dan¡¯tians. In practice, this meant that it would take Enyatta seven times the amount of qi as a cultivator of the equivalent level to advance her cultivation. This was because she would have to cultivate seven dan¡¯tians rather than one. Making the cultivation of this technique even more difficult was the fact that all dan¡¯tians had to advance in stage together. Enyatta couldn¡¯t cultivate one dan¡¯tian to the Immortal stage and come back for the others later. This would throw the network between the cores into disarray. This network was what made The Seven Daos Descending so powerful. It gave Enyatta the ability to channel the strength of all seven cores at the same time. Theoretically, once one ascended to the Immortal stage, this would also allow the cultivation of seven Daos at the same time. While in the beginning the extra time and resources required would be enormous, the rewards would increase exponentially as Enyatta ascended through the various levels of cultivation toward immortality. The main reason that no one practiced this technique was due to the initial hurdle: creating the additional dan¡¯tian. For a cultivator, the dan¡¯tian is the center of the body¡¯s spiritual power. It is the node of the network of spiritual veins in the body, where all the qi absorbed naturally tends to congregate. The space exists in both the spiritual and the material planes at the same time. Only a supremely gifted expert in the Dao of Life could mimic the miracle of procreation closely enough to create a separate dan¡¯tian, and they couldn¡¯t create one without the body that came with it. To create a dan¡¯tian independently from the body, a force powerful enough to subvert the laws of reality in a fundamental way was needed. The only force that fit the bill was the Dao of Chaos. Thus, to begin cultivating The Seven Daos Descending, one either needed to have cultivated the Dao of Chaos or have the help of someone who had. Enyatta was one of the only cultivators of the Dao of Chaos to have appeared since the before. Even the Celestial Emperor, ruler of a divine world, had been seeking the spirit of the library in order to begin to cultivate the Dao of Chaos. It would be safe to say, therefore, that Enyatta would be the first to cultivate The Seven Daos Descending since the before. Once all the stringent requirements were met, the actual creation of the separate dan¡¯tians wasn¡¯t especially complex. Her decision made by process of elimination, Enyatta rearranged herself until she was sitting in a lotus position and began the process. Using a finger coated with chaotic qi, she pricked herself in the hand. Once a droplet of blood appeared, she quickly surrounded it with the chaotic qi until it what she held in her palm was a small sphere the size of a marble. Its inky black color seemed to dissolve the small amount of light from the campfire that WuYe had started as it made contact. Enyatta stared at the sphere, an expression of intense concentration on her face. Suddenly, the sphere began to rotate, picking up speed until it was going too fast for the eye to follow. Enyatta began to compress the sphere, exerting a massive amount of spiritual pressure through her iron willpower as she forced the outer layer of chaotic qi to mix with the droplet of blood. Slowly red flecks began to be visible on the outer surface of the sphere as the blood mixed with the qi. For the final step, Enyatta forced the sphere to reexpand to its previous size, leaving it hollow in the center. She stared down at the ball in her palm panting heavily. WuYe crossed from where he had been sitting on the other side of the fire and sniffed at the sphere. What is that? he asked. It is, or at least it will be, a dan¡¯tian, Enyatta replied, trying to get her breath back. The concentration required during the creation process had been so intense that she had held her breath for fear that she might ruin it. Sure it is, WuYe said skeptically. I¡¯ll prove it to you when I¡¯m done, Enyatta retorted. Just give me some space, I¡¯ve got five more of these to make. WuYe snorted impatiently and backed off, returning to his place on the other side of the fire. Enyatta returned to contemplating the ball in her hand. She then turned her consciousness inside of herself and examined her natural core, the one that she had spent eight years filling with chaotic qi. Between the qi that she had given to the Librarian¡¯s soul stone and the qi that she had used to create the separate dan¡¯tian, it was only two-thirds full of chaotic qi. It had regenerated a little the previous night, but even more slowly than it had on the asteroid. Regardless, Enyatta decided that she would have just enough for to complete what she had started. Coating her hands with chaotic qi probably wouldn¡¯t be possible for the next couple of weeks though. She repeated the process of dan¡¯tian creation five more times, stopping to rest between each attempt. Due to her increasing exhaustion, she rested for over an hour before creating the final dan¡¯tian. All in all, the process took over three hours, but in the end there where six black and red beads of energy sitting on Enyatta¡¯s palm. She blinked and yawned. Maybe I should have done this in the morning instead of after having walked all day, she thought to herself. Once she had started though, Enyatta had gotten carried away, like she often did. She wasn¡¯t one to quit half way through. That being the case, Enyatta moved on to the next step. She popped all the beads in her mouth and swallowed them one after the other. Before they arrived at her stomach, she pushed them out of her esophagus and into the area of her dan¡¯tian, grimacing in pain at the small tear that she created. Holding each of the six new dan¡¯tians in orbit around the original by the control she could exert through the chaotic qi, Enyatta mentally groped for her soul force. She guided the substance that now shined a milky blue to her consciousness because of the soul bond down into the region of her dan¡¯tian. Manipulating the soul force, she created thin hollow tethers binding the six cores together like spokes on a wheel with the natural dan¡¯tian as the hub. Drawing on the meager reserves of chaotic qi remaining, she coated the tethers with a thin layer of chaotic qi. Finally, she set the metaphorical wheel spinning and collapsed with relief. The process was complete. Having the six outer dan¡¯tians revolve around the one in the center was Enyatta¡¯s idea. She hoped that the spin might create a vortex, helping to suck in the qi and speed her cultivation. Only one way to know. She resumed her lotus position through force of will, then carefully adjusted herself until she matched position she remembered from The Seven Daos Descending manual. Cross legged? Check. Back straight? Check. Hands on knees? Check. Toes pointed correctly? Check. Fingers forming the correct symbols? Double check. Enyatta closed her eyes and regulated her breathing. She stilled her thoughts until she became an empty vessel just waiting for the world to fill her up. Then she sent her consciousness out. Then everything happened very, very fast.