《Reaching for Immortality》 Book 1 - Prologue AN: I apologize in advance for the ever ambiguous ''it''. For the purposes of this chapter, whenever an ''it'' (outside this author''s note, the quotes here are for emphasis) is within quotes, an entity is referenced. I do hope this helps to clear up confusion. It won''t be long before the entity gains a name. Book 1: Beginnings Prologue Wandering. For millennia that is all ''it'' knew. Searching. It could be said that ''it'' was also searching. For what, not even ''it'' knew. ''It'' did know that ''it'' had a purpose. Because ''it'' had a purpose, ''it'' knew ''it'' was alive, and knew that if ''it'' stopped wandering ''it'' would die. Like some of the marine creatures ''it'' came across on this world, ''it'' would die if ''it'' stopped moving. Stopped searching. For millennia ''it'' had been hunting something. ''It'' didn''t always know why ''it'' was wandering, but over the years ''it'' pondered ''its'' purpose. Why ''it'' was always moving from continent to continent. Then, from planet to planet. Eventually ''it'' learned how to cross space, and wandered some more. Eventually ''it'' realized ''its'' purpose. To live. For some beings ''it'' studied as ''it'' traversed countless worlds, life was meaningless. Whole lives were spent searching for their purpose, not realizing that it was with them from birth. ''It'' wasn''t as na?ve. Arrogant. It could also be said that the entity was arrogant. Arrogant in that ''it'' would frown, had ''it'' a mouth, as ''it'' watched these beings squander the gift they had been given. Even the most enlightened beings ''it'' came across would kill themselves or others over petty disputes. Disappointed. ''It'' was also that as ''it'' wandered. ''It'' saw the death of star systems, and their eventual rebirth. Still, even with inorganic matter learning how to birth life, ''it'' did not learn this method. ''It'' was an entity, a consciousness, kept alive solely by constantly moving and pulling energy into ''itself'' to keep from dissipating. ''It'' couldn''t. Resigned to ''its'' fate, ''it'' desired to return to ''its'' origin. The place ''it'' gained conscious thought and the urge to wander. There ''it'' would stop moving on, and fade from existence. Alone. Much had changed as ''it'' wandered. The world ''it'' emerged from tens, perhaps hundreds, of billions of years ago had died out with the destruction of one of its three stars. In its place was a new star system. Even so, ''it'' remembered the location, and that was enough. Now, ''it'' traversed the oceans of the new world. A larger world, but it was here just the same. Here ''it'' hunted, hunted a place to end the journey. ~*~ "Harrison. Don''t you leave me, you coward!" A woman gasped out as she heaved in breaths of air. She threw out an arm to grasp a panicked man next to her, preventing his escape as he winced at her now iron vice-like grip around his wrist. "Vera, I love you honey. You know that. But I hate seeing you in pain. It breaks my heart." Harrison pleaded his wife. "Let me wait in the other room with the rest of the family." Seeing the icy glare that Vera shot him, covered in chilled sweat as she sat heaving in a tub of water, Harrison knew he wasn''t going to be leaving. He crouched down onto the ground and endured, giving the occasional comforting head pat as she labored to bring their child into the world. Seven hour passed. Each seemed longer than the last to the young couple. Without much support from her husband, Vera could only take what little comfort she could from the two midwives that came from the village. Throughout the ordeal, Vera noticed the looks between the two deepening. She was already into the second afternoon when Harrison pleaded with her. Judging by this, she estimated that she was nearing 38 hours of labor. The longest that Martha, the elderly midwife, had dealt with. She feared for her child, and likely her life as well. ~*~ Having arrived at the location of ''its'' awakening, for that''s all ''it'' could call the time ''it'' became aware of ''its'' existence eons ago, ''it'' found a small gathering of beings. ''It'' knew by their appearance that they were Humans. ''It'' had taken several decades to watch this new world that had replaced ''its'' old one. This was the end of ''its'' journey, after all. ''It'' might as well. ''It'' could already tell that ''it'' was not going to have solitude while ''it'' waited to pass on. When ''it'' had awakened, ''it'' was inside what ''it'' would later learn was a tree. It was not just any tree, however. It was the eldest one within a forest that lied within the convergence of twenty-seven ley lines. Now, there was only a house. A large step down, in ''its'' opinion. Even if the house was the largest in the surrounding village, it wasn''t saying much. No, all ''it'' could do was sigh and watch, had ''it'' the capacity to do such things. Watch as a woman cried out in pain as she heaved and strained herself to push out the child she was carrying. ''It'' had watched many births, and knew that this was going to be a painful and drawn-out one. ''It'' wasn''t wrong, as the hours toiled away. Finally, an elderly woman that squatted between the legs of the struggling mother cried out, informing everyone that she spotted a foot. Upon hearing that the woman spotted something, everyone cried out in relief. Until they realized what this meant. ''It'' knew and drifted closer to watch, curious if the woman had the skill to save the mother at this risk of losing the child or lose the child to save the mother. The mother screamed at the elderly woman to save her child at all costs, to cut her open. The man crying beside her from the pain of his cracking bones due to her grip nodded her agreement. Though, if this were to save the child or himself, none would have guessed. Had they the time to notice. Asking for a knife, the elderly woman sighed in despair. She knew, even if she pulled out the child, that the mother would die. She didn''t have the skill to heal the wounds she was about to inflict. The cutting was done with as much care as she could, trying to minimize both the pain and damage to the mother. ''It'' watched as the woman chanted as she cut, noticing that there was energy coalescing around the blade, making it easier to both pierce the flesh and act as an anesthetic to the mother. ''It'', of course, knew that this world had magic, but didn''t expect to find someone proficient in such a small village. Perhaps the mother might survive, ''it'' mused to ''itself''. The surgery lasted for twenty minutes. The elderly woman took it slow, for fear of cutting the child. Piercing through the skin, then the tendons connecting it to the muscle. Finally, she reached into the birthing canal where the child was and gasped. She looked at the watching mother''s face in horror. Seeing the elderly woman''s face, ''it'' moved closer and was fascinated. The child had its umbilical cord wrapped tightly around its neck. Yet, it was still alive. If only barely. Looking closer, ''it'' corrected ''its'' assessment. The child''s body was not, but its soul struggled to remain inside and urge its heart to beat. Frowning to herself, the elderly woman finally answered the mother''s pleas, "Your child, my lady. He''s dead. Strangled by the cord." The mother''s face paled. "Martha, quickly cut him loose. Let me hold him, at least once." She urged. The elderly woman called Martha complied, dishearteningly. Handing the child off to another woman, to be cleaned. Martha quickly went to work sewing the cuts she made. ''It'' hadn''t expected this. ''It'' had never witnessed a soul not dissipating after the body died. Yes, the soul lingered for awhile, as it took time for it to detach. However, it was almost as if this one wasn''t attached to begin with. Simply hovering and calling out to a body that resisted. Moving closer, as the child was cradled next to a weeping mother''s bosom, ''it'' drifted next to the body to study this phenomenon. Analyzing more carefully, ''it'' saw the problem. Being what ''it'' was, ''it'' saw the universe in a way that only a few will ever see. Life existed on multiple layers, or planes of existence. For most life, it is only aware of the physical plane. However, the was a spiritual one adjacent to it. Of course, there are more as well. In this instance, the body''s connections to the spiritual plane are malformed. In some cultures, ''it'' has heard them termed as spiritual roots, meridians, spiritual veins, chakras, etc. Regardless, they are the body''s way of accessing energy that is generated at varying frequencies outside that of the present physical plane. A corridor for a soul to work through, attach to a physical vessel, and live. To live. To incarnate. This is something that ''it'' has never been able to do. ''It'' wasn''t a soul. Souls were able to incarnate and tie themselves to a vessel. ''It'' was a spontaneously self-realized consciousness that existed between planes. ''It'' wondered, however, if after all of of the years ''it'' wandered and tried to live ''it'' might finally succeed. Studying the body''s meridians closely, ''it'' confirmed ''its'' first suspicions. Indeed, they were malformed. However, not in the typical broken way where energy is never able to enter if they are ruptured. Instead of drawing energy in, it seems that the body is trying to expunge it. This prevents the soul from entering the body to take root. This is something that ''it'' has never witnessed. ''It'' has seen souls attach to a fetus before. ''It'' has even tried to overwhelm them as they come to attach to one, even the fetus itself before the soul comes. ''It'' has never been successful. The process is too quick in the first instance, and the last doesn''t seem to be compatible without a soul. The second instance, though, has always failed because a soul has its own consciousness already. It naturally repels outside influence. Since ''it'' exists between planes and doesn''t have a soul, spiritual attacks are beyond ''it''. Even the weakest soul can repel ''it''. Thankfully, they are unable to cause it harm due to ''its'' nature or ''it'' would have not existed as long as ''it'' has. What ''it'' has found even more interesting, however, is that the soul hasn''t move on to another body. It has attempted to enter this one for months. Now, the soul is just residing next to the body. ''It'' understands why. The soul has exhausted itself. Nine months of effort has weakened its consciousness. Even though it''s able to draw in energy, it is still tiring effort. A soul with a tired consciousness. Had ''it'' eyes, they would be gleaming. ''It'' knew that this opportunity was going to quickly be lost now that the umbilical cord has been severed. The body has no means of pulling in oxygen or nutrients. The brain can only survive for a few minutes after the heart ceases to beat and this child has likely been suffocating longer than the minute since the elderly woman cut the cord. ''It'' took a final look at the body and confirmed that it hasn''t been dead long since the lips only beginning to blue. ''It'' backed itself against the room''s wall and prepared, then launched ''itself'' at the soul. ~*~ The shock and conquer of the soul was quick. The soul left itself open for months as it tried to connect to the body. It barely had time to register the surprise of finding an external consciousness entering along the connection that it was using to reach out towards the body it was trying to enter. This soul had lived many lives. Some insignificant, others grand. It had amassed strength through them all, or it couldn''t have afforded the effort it took to whittle away an opening into this body''s abnormal meridians. It sighed at the absurdity of its death as the invading consciousness consumed its own. ~*~ Vera sobbed as she clutched at the body of her son as Martha handed his body to her. Her child. Her precious child. She cried at the injustice of having her son denied life. She didn''t care if she lived or died at this point. She just wanted him to live. This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source. "Harrison! Quit cowering in the corner, come see our son." She called him as she fawned over the lifeless body resting in her arms as tears streaked her cheeks. Her husband walked over to lay a hand on his son''s lifeless body and shook his head. "He''s beautiful, dear." Vera nodded. "He his. What should we call him, Harrison. He needs a name." He sighed at the absurdity, but decided to placate his grieving wife. "He needs a strong name. One that demands respect for a noble." "What strong and respecting noble, Harrison? You were exiled here because you couldn''t win against your brother. Besides, he needs something more than strength and respect in the afterlife. Something maybe something about new beginnings or rebirth." Vera clutched tightly at her child as the adrenaline left her body, leaving her weak. For once in the past couple of days, Harrison surprised Vera. He sat on the bed and took her and his lifeless child in his arms and sat in silence for a few moments, offering what little support he could. "Let''s call him Navin. One of the foreign traders that I met as a boy had a mentioned that his son was going to be called that. It means something close to new, I think." Vera nodded and caressed her son''s cheek. "Welcome to our family, Navin." She closed her eyes and wept. ~*~ Sound vibrated against the body and reverberated against eardrums. "Welcome to our family, Navin." The phrase continued along its newly awakened path from an oxygen deprived brain and into the soul. Navin. A decent enough name, I suppose. The previous nameless consciousness mused to itself. In the couple of minutes since it gained a soul and body, much work had been done. While short in the physical world, many lifetimes of acclimation needed to be performed with Navin''s new soul and work done on the body. The soul had experienced many lifetimes. While not nearly as old as the consciousness, it was still quite experienced. What was interesting was learning why it stuck around this body for so long. It seems that during an incarnation two lifetimes back, the incarnation stumbled across a hermit during her travels (the soul incarnated as a woman at this time) as a bard. Searching for new tales to write about, she had heard a rumor about a recluse who was said to be a powerful mage who had been cursed and hid away in a run-down shack on the edge of a ramshackle village. Deciding to learn the mage''s story, she set off. Only, what she found was more than a story. After being turned away for several months through various means to win the old man over, she finally succeeded. It turned out that the man had not been cursed, at least not in the common sense. He was betrayed, crippled, and fled from his death. It was all she could hope for an more. A song that would surely earn her many a night of food and lodging wherever she went. Her song was her ticket to immortality in the annals of bard history. At least, that was what she thought. The man died before he could finish his tale. Stuck with a dead body and a partial story, she was stuck. So, she decided to see if he left any record. Searching through the musty and dank room, she found a beaten and rusty box under a table after searching its surface for any writings on the man''s past. Naturally, it was locked. But she easily solved that with a knife. Looking inside the box, she nearly wet herself at what she found. Jade. Not just any jade, several slabs of it, all bound together with seven metal hoops in holes along their edges. On the slabs, which she quickly realized must be pages, was writing she did not recognize. Over the following years, she continued her travels. She didn''t sell the jade book. She considered it at first, but then became paranoid that maybe the old man being betrayed and crippled was because he was in possession of it. So, she showed no one. She did investigate the language, though. She was always clever, so she developed a plan. Copying a long string of characters from one of the inner slabs that might make up a word onto paper, she commissioned a dagger made with the word engraved on it. Then she set about burning, rusting, and chipping away at it. This way she could ask around about an old dagger she found without it appearing she was researching a book or a language. The plan was successful. After numerous libraries (she didn''t want to risk appraisers finding out her fake dagger) and asking the scholars within what was inscribed she found the language to be Grivvith, an ancient language of a long-dead culture. Under the guise of learning new stories for her songs, she hunted down books on the culture and learned the language. After nearly two decades, she could finally read the book. Along the search, she found that the people lived in the mountains of a neighboring country and studied the mysteries of the soul. Their study went beyond what scholars then and since knew. Nearly fifty millennia had passed since their secluded community was invaded and destroyed. Why? None knew. The community had developed their own language to hide their secrets. It was rare that outsiders were allowed in, and more so that that their language or secrets were taught. The prevailing theory is that while outside the community, a disciple let a secret slip that an interested party was greedy for. The invasion left only burned ruins. Since the community excelled in spiritual and medical teachings, only texts in these areas traded to other countries were left of their culture. Thankfully, invited scholars had made enough of an effort to study the culture and language prior to its destruction or there was no way for her to learn to read the jade book. It was a treasure. At least, to her limited understanding of the material and knowledge that anything written in a precious material was likely to be. The book discussed the soul. Strengthening, studying past lives, projection of consciousness, divining future events, and developing the body''s inner strength. She had, of course, heard of martial experts who practiced inner strength. In the world, those who developed the body and utilized energy were highly sought after and developed as soldiers. So were mages who worked with external forces of the world, but they were less hearty and not suited for the military aside from long-range combat. The book discussed topics that a commoner such as her never heard of. As a bard, she of course knew the broad strokes of heroic deeds that a martial expert could accomplish. This book went even further in explaining what could be accomplished. She could quickly see why a community of scholars would be decimated for knowledge if ambitious individuals learned of it. For the rest of her life she studied the contents of the book. Her memories of other lives were awakened. She strengthened her soul to the point that it ensured she would never forget them on future incarnations. No longer was she a wandering bard. She was what the book called a cultivator. Her past lives didn''t cultivate in the special way that the book taught, but some did practice magic and martial arts. Enough to know that the contents of the book were very unique and precious. She didn''t know if those who had the book before copied the contents, but she decided that it shouldn''t be let loose in the world after her death. After learning all the book had to offer, she memorized and engraved the knowledge into her soul. Then, she shattered the book and disposed of it in a blacksmith''s forge. The remainder of her life was spent in solitude. Once she died, the soul wandered and discovered it was like the teachings in the book said: there was control of where the soul could incarnate. In the incorporeal form, it could see people''s auras. It sought out a mother with a strong one, assuming the mother would belong to a family with a wealth of knowledge in martial or magic cultivation. The soul''s next life was spent thus. Ironically, it turned out that the body it incarnated in was quite mediocre. Still, cultivation continued. This led to the present, why the soul spent so long attempting to incarnate into Navin''s. As the previous incarnation had a rather lackluster talent in developing the body''s inner energy and working with external elemental forces, the adult years were spent as a scholar in the kingdom''s library. One day, an obscure account was stumbled upon in a medical text. Written in Grivvith. It discussed a rare birth of a child with unique meridians and no soul. If the child hadn''t been born as the disciple passed through the village of the child''s birth, the account wouldn''t have been found. Knowing that the disciple staying at the inn had medical knowledge, he was called to try and save the baby. He was unsuccessful. After apologizing to the parents, he went back to the inn. However, the disciple noticed something unique when examining the body. That the body had no soul and repulsed all attempts at pushing inner energy into it to discover why it was dying. For babies who die in the mother''s womb, this is not uncommon. However, the child''s body was alive at the time of birth. It should have a soul to keep it alive. The other oddity was with the meridians rejecting energy. After the funeral, the disciple dug the body up during the night and left the village so it could be studied. The cause for the baby''s death was determined due to its unique meridians. The body was kept alive by the mother, and once separated it died. The soul couldn''t attach because the meridians pushed it away. The disciple hypothesized that were a soul to attach to the body, such meridians could be cultivated and become quite robust as they were already able to resist the world''s desire to fill them with energy. However, their operation would need to be reversed to do so and such a struggle would either cripple the body or exhaust the soul of energy before pushing through to incarnate. Thus, the prior incarnation spent the following years developing the soul with more dedication shown than ever. After death, the soul wandered for a year and spent nearly a tenth of its energy on the journey until it found this body. Navin found this account quite humorous. Had the soul not wandered as long, he wouldn''t have gained a soul or body. He also already suspected at this body''s potential. He was quite pleased. After assimilating the memories, his consciousness had branched out and began working itself through the meridians. This was quite difficult, more so than assimilating the memories and consuming the soul''s consciousness. This was because the soul had to push itself along the path and enter the opening in one of the meridians the prior consciousness had finally opened up before the hole could repair itself with what little of the body''s life remained. Battling against the flow was quite strenuous. Not only must the soul be pushed through the opening, the consciousness must spread throughout the meridians. Only then can energy begin circulating through the channels. Not only this, because of opposing flow of the meridians trying to expunge energy out of the body, work to reverse the flow must be done. Risking not only the rupture of meridians and turning the body into a cripple, but exhausting the already depleted soul and also risking the dispersal of his consciousness in the process. It was exhausting work. Gradually, he pushed forward against the flow and pulled behind where he had already been; working towards the each energy center of the spiritual body''s energy channels. If a military tactician were watching, they might relate the process as conquering territory and creating bases to help fight against enemy resistance. Finally, he succeeded. Just as the process was complete, he gave his dispersed consciousness a yank; reversing the flow of energy and setting his meridians and channels into proper order. At the same time, he gasped a deep breath and let out a cry. Opening his eyes, he looked up at two startled and surprised faces. Book 1 - Chapter 1: The Mischievous Young Master Book 1: Beginnings Chapter 1: The Mischievous Young Master "Young Master! Young Master, this is not amusing. What will your mother say when she finds out that you''ve sneaked off again?" A harried and disheveled middle-aged man cried out. In front of the man, a pair of legs were sticking out of the ground. The man sighed in a resigned fashion and bent down to pull at the ankles, revealing a filthy child of three years once the form came into the light. "Really, Young Master Navin. You must stop with these antics." A bright grin was rewarded the man. "Reginald. I''m only three. These excursions are completely normal for children my age. All the books on children say so. You should be more worried if I weren''t crawling into unexpected places." Reginald squatted down in front of the child and gave a well-worn lecture. "Yes, but children your age neither speak as eloquent, nor reason as well. If you''re mature enough to do both, you''re mature enough to not cause your mother undue stress. Even after three years, she''s barely recovered from your birth." Guilt flashed across Navin''s dusty little face. "I know." Pausing for a moment, he smiled again at his caretaker. "Which is why I have a plan!" As one used to humoring the child, Reginald grinned. "And what plan would this be?" Wiggling his eyebrows as if he had something clever to say, Navin grinned even more broadly as he held up his hand and opened it before Reginald. "This is the first ingredient." Confused, but willing to go along the man asked, "What do you plan to make with a fistful of dirt?" "You''re so close-minded, Reginald." Navin chided. "It''s not just any dirt, it''s Essence of the Earth!" "Essence of the Earth? Forgive me, Young Master. I was too presumptuous." Reginald nodded placatingly. As if remembering something he had heard in passing, he asked, "Forgive me again, sir, but isn''t Essence of the Earth dirt with a purplish tint?" With a raised eyebrow and firm tone, Navin replied, "This is Essence of the Earth." "Of course, sir." Wishing to move on, he prodded, "And the next ingredient?" "Winds of Change." "Winds of Change! Where will we find that? Not even the King has such an item. There''s even a twenty thousand platinum reward listed for the past century!" Reginald exclaimed. Such banter and excursions were common between Navin and Reginald. Like this, they would continue the afternoon; hunting for imaginary items of legendary significance in an effort to heal his mother. On rare occasions, Navin would even pull a passing villager into the game. Endearing them to Navin as word spread. ~*~ Navin quite enjoyed having a body. For the first month he just lied in his mother''s weary arms, his crib, anywhere really; soaking up and immersing himself in the sensation of touch that flooded his brain. To him, it was a priceless and treasured experience. He had to stop, though. It worried the maids to see him grinning with his eyes rolled up in his head as he lay on a surface, caressing it with his hand. They passed it off as harmless for the first week. By the second, they told his mother. So he did it in secret before tiring after two weeks. The second month he had a body, he became aware of its frailness. Spending his existence in relative safety as a consciousness did not prepare him for the reality. No matter how many newly birthed lifeforms he had observed, it was a shock when he first fell out of his crib. Three feet doesn''t seem like much when you''re use to hovering and floating around. For his body now, it was pure agony once the initial shock wore off. It was not the last time he experienced pain, however. The second through fifth months were spent working his muscles. This was a mentally agonizing process, and often embarrassing. His body was frail and tired easily. Yet, he persisted. Slowly developing strength and coordination. By the sixth month after his birth, his mother became an issue to his development. Vera was a kind woman, he had observed. However, her frail health after the birth only exacerbated her already finely honed mothering instincts. Upon noticing the growing strength and coordination of her son''s body she compensated for her body''s inability to quickly chase after a wandering child by tying him with a string to her wrist. Navin was quite use to being independent and wandering wherever his curious nature led. After a week of frustrated attempts of crawling and being reigned in, he admitted defeat. This led to both his personal triumph and a shock that overtook the small village by storm. Realizing that he wanted more to do with his time between naps other than laying on a bed with his mother, Navin utilized one of his observations from his wandering years. He would never admit it if asked, but it was a process similar to training a wild animal. Similar to how a hunter would coax a skittish wolf pup out of its territory with food, Navin coaxed his mother away from the bed. Over a period of several days, Navin would slowly crawl away from the bed and endearing faces once he was on the ground. Vera had always had trouble resisting babies, so she of course followed after and would play with his cheeks. This process eventually led to him making a run for his father''s study once he got near the open door. Navin had observed that his father kept the house''s collection of books in his study. This was the second phase of his plan, access to books. Not only would he pick up on information he might have missed during his decades of wandering the world prior to incarnating, he would have a suitable cover and plausible reason for talking in the future. By ''chance'' he bumped into the bookcase, overturning an already precariously balanced book and setting it on a path to topple open in front of him. Seeing his mother''s worried expression as she hurried to him, he leaned towards the open pages and grabbed at them. Tilting his head to the side he made cooing sounds. "Oh Navin! Are you all right? Did you hit your head? Knee? Stub your toes?" She cried frantically. Turning to a shocked husband sitting behind his desk when she had ran in after their child, she called out, "Harrison! Why did you leave such heavy books lying around where Navin can be injured!" Stuttering, he replied, "Vera, dear--" "Don''t make excuses! You saw! The book nearly crushed his head." "Honey--" "I won''t hear it! From this moment on, we must increase our vigilance. We will find money for another maid. We will remove all hard objects from the house. We will--" "Vera!" He yelled, interrupting her. "What!" She yelled back. "You''re hurting him." He consoled as he walked around the desk and removed her fingers clenching Navin''s cheeks. Navin barely paid attention to anything in the room after he leaned over the fallen book. He was quickly yanked up, upturned, declothed, pat on the back, pinched, and prodded by his frantic and dazed mother as she yelled at her husband. By the time her fingers were pulled from his now swollen cheeks, he was naked and barely conscious. "No! I killed him, I killed out son. Harrison, he''s all red and swollen. Call Martha." If you come across this story on Amazon, it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. Shaking his head, Harrison rubbed his wife''s back as he consoled her. "He''s just disoriented from the experience of bumping into the bookcase, dear. He''ll be alright." Harrison could never lie to his wife under normal circumstances, but he slipped one by her this time. Noticing that it was now safe, Navin opened his eyes and smiled at the faces of his parents. Reassuring his mother he was fine. He again leaned over the book and cooed at the words on the page. "Are you sure, Harrison? He doesn''t act fine. Go get Martha to check. My mother''s intuition is never wrong." She said worriedly. Watching their son for another minute, Harrison reaffirmed his assessment. "I''m sure, dear. I think he''s just interested in the book." "Why would he be interested in a book?" Picking it up off the floor, he moved it out of his son''s reach. "I don''t know, but he is. Look, he''s trying to grab it." Harrison held the book towards his son and watched as Navin ran a finger along the page and cooed some more. Worriedly, Vera asked, "Harrison, do you think he''s trying to read? I''ve never seen a child play with books." Seeing their son suddenly look up and smile at them at this comment, they looked at one another and frowned. Navin''s plan was set in motion. Whether out of humor for their son, because Vera was also tired of lying in bed, or in hopes of having sired a potential genius and seeing where it would lead; in the days that followed, Navin could always be found near someone reading aloud from a book. Sometimes in their lap where he followed the words along with his finger running across the page, sometimes crawling around on the ground and looking back up at the person if they stopped to ensure they knew they had to continue. Word quickly spread that Navin was a peculiar child. This was always said teasingly when he was visited by people from the village. They respected his parents, who were always good to them. So, those who could read would stop by with anything they had at hand to help relieve some of the burden of watching him. Books, broadsheets, leaflets, and lists of all kinds. If it had words, they brought and read to Navin. His attention never faltered. This was actually tested. Upon exhausting what few dozen actual books the village shared, a passing merchant heard about Navin and went over to read his stock list. Drinking with the villagers later, he joked that the child had pointed at the list and where his finger rested was a discrepancy in his accounting. No one took him seriously, but it became a game to see the child''s reactions at random bits of material. ~*~ This way, the first year of Navin''s life with a body and soul passed. Having only observed with no tangible way of interacting with the universe, he reveled in the experience of moving about and luring people into doing things for him. After a year of leisure, he decided to get serious about laying a proper foundation for his future. Having wandered countless planets and observed experts of all kinds, one might think that Navin was assured success in whatever he decided to accomplish in this life. In some respects, this was true. He could bring advanced medical, alchemical, or crafting knowledge and topple kingdoms with such influence. He might just do that, but it was far down his list of things to accomplish. No, the previous consciousness of Navin''s soul was on to the right track in what was important: strengthening the soul and developing the body along with it. His reasons for this was many. If asked, he would point out that an increased lifespan after finally getting a body was the main one. Both to stave of a natural death and less natural ones. His secret reason was that he just like the idea of finally being able to use energy in all of its forms. In fact, there would be a popular book by an anonymous author that appeared in random school dormitories across multiple countries listing various shenanigans that could be performed with energy. Regardless, foundations must be laid. At one year of age, Navin began laying his. The researchers who wrote the jade book in the past had done a better study on the soul than Navin had seen elsewhere. It was incomplete, however. Using his knowledge, he modified the training. At this point, Navin hadn''t done any work on his body''s meridians or soul aside from reversing the flow of energy so that he wouldn''t be pushed out. He had even left the acupuncture points necessary for the accumulation of energy sealed. Preventing any energy from flowing in or out. Navin was leery of doing to much training at his body''s age. He decided to focus on the basics: meditation and slowly tempering the energy channels (widening and strengthening the meridians). Without the points open, he would circulate the energy the soul had collected and do exercises with forming that energy into various spirals and other shapes as it moves along the pathways. In several months, he would begin a series of slow movements he had admired enough from a secluded group of monks to spend a decade watching them. It gradually developed limber, flexible muscles and tendons as well as balance and coordination. This is also not as strenuous on his young and frail body, but will pay dividends as he grows. Numerous schools have similar programs for their young members, he''s just starting earlier than most. With his knowledge and watching many of those young members make the rookie mistake of advancing too soon, he was doing this one step at a time. Foundation is key. ~*~ Two years since his training had started, Navin is three years old. It wasn''t exhaustive. He still hadn''t opened up any points to draw in energy, so his body was reliant on food and rest to sustain and rebuild itself. His daily regimen was simple. He awoke at 05:00 to meditate for an hour. This was followed by an hour of manipulating energy through his meridians as he performed movements for thirty minutes in between. At which point he would find Reginald to join him (harass) on an adventure in the forest after breakfast. This would be followed by several hours of meeting villagers and helping them with their chores (with a harmless prank left for them to find later). He would then head back home and spend the afternoon with his parents. Before sleeping he would do the same exercises he had after first waking up. This schedule ensured he would develop gradually, not stick out further, and keep his mother at ease. He had long ago read all the village had to offer. He''d even impressed the librarian in the nearest city and worked out a book exchange earlier in the year. With this, he knew that no one near him practiced energy manipulation. Aside from midwives who picked up some minor healing magic from their teachers. This was also a reason for his adventures with Reginald. He still smiled about this morning''s game at the hunt for Winds of Change. No one will pay attention when he starts training in earnest if he does so while keeping up this pretense. He''s almost ready. He wasn''t lying to Reginald. Soon, he would heal Mother. Book 1 - Chapter 2: Cultivation Monkey Book 1: Beginnings Chapter 2: Cultivation Monkey Crisp, cool morning air blows through the leaves of the tree. The tree had witnessed many seasons. Witnessed the forest''s progression seeds were sent out and its withdrawal as those sprouted seeds grew and were then felled. Mornings such as this were witnessed before and it hoped to again. However, something in the aura of the boy currently perched along one of its bows made it feel otherwise. Perhaps not today, but in time. Navin was free! Clad only in short breeches, he leaps from limb to limb through the trees of the forest. With each bound, he flings himself farther into the air. Each bound nourishes the grin that lined his face. Had anyone bothered to look up and seen the boy leaped from tree to tree, they''d naturally panic in horror at his likely snapped neck should he fall. They''d then wonder why. The answer was simple, it was bath day. ~*~ It all started that morning. Like all mornings of great consequence, it began the same. There was no oversleeping, no little occurrences that altered his routine. At least, until breakfast. Sitting down at the table, Navin smiled at the assortment of goodies. The village he lived in was rather poor. So such a breakfast would be the envy of most. His parents were well-off, in relation to everyone else. Such could be expected of a minor noble family, even if it was a pariah. Navin neither cared about his family''s status, nor the fall of his father that forced him to hide away in such a village. It was never spoken of. At least, not in his parent''s presence. Which was why it was quite upsetting to his stomach when it played however an inadvertent roll in hampering his plans of devouring a thick, juicy slice of meat that he had his heart set on. Snapping out of his fantasy of expectation of how a savory slice of wild pig would make his morning all the better, Navin picked up on the lack of sound in the room. He looked around the table at his parents and noticed the pensive expressions on their faces. "Is something wrong?" They looked one another, as if passing thoughts back and forth on who would be the one to answer. The glare Vera had in her eye won the battle. Harrison replied, "Navin, we''ve been getting some complaints recently." "Oh, what about? It''s not about the work I did the other day with Old Turner in repairing his livestock pen, is it? I warned him that reusing the material he took from his roof after repairing it last week would cause problems." Navin replied as he leaned across the table to snag a slice of meat with his knife. "No...it wasn''t about that. I did get reports of a goat eating the drying sheets at the inn, though." Harrison became lost in thought. "I suppose I''ll have to fine him." "Harrison!" Vera urged. "Right, complaints. People are becoming concerned with your recent behavior." Harrison said, getting back on track. "Really?" Navin mumbled as he chewed. "Of you running around covered in mud and grass." "Oh, that." Navin nodded, finally understanding. "That''s all you have to say?" His mother cried out. "I honestly thought we''d have this discussion weeks ago," replied as he stuffed another bite into his mouth. "No one said anything after the first day. After a week I assumed you were fine with it." Navin watched as his parents looked back and forth and frowned. "At first we thought you were finally acting like someone your age. After a few days of you still covered in muck we thought Reginald might be punishing you. You didn''t seem to mind. We asked him and he said it was a game." Navin nodded. "That sounds about right." "Honey, please go wash it off. It''s not sanitary and people are starting to think we''re abusing you." His mother pleaded. "Why would they think that," Navin asked, confused. She leaned in close and whispered, in spite of her husband''s complaints. "It has to do with why your father moved us here." "Oh," Navin nodded again. His mother''s face brightened. "I''m glad you understand. I''ve already had a maid run you a bath." "Not necessary. I''m quite fine as it is." Navin winked at his mother as he ate the last piece of meat. Vera loved her son, and had promised herself that she would never strike him. It was during conversations like these that she could almost sympathize with her own parents. "When?" She asked while gritting her teeth. Looking up at the ceiling, Navin tapped his chin with the edge of his knife. "Tomorrow morning should be fine. I need one more coating in an hour and it needs to sit for the rest of the day." ~*~ This was, of course, a summation of the experience. They didn''t believe him when said it a mystical detoxification regimen. Nor when he insisted that he was taking preventative measures against a horrific disease named eczema. His mother''s eye started spasming when he offered to help her apply it to her own skin, insisting that all the ladies at the royal capital would envy the smooth skin she had afterwards. All of those reasons were true, but not Navin''s original intent. On adventures with Reginald, Navin was picking up ''Essence of the Earth'' and depositing it behind a shed his family had to store tools and other miscellaneous items. It needed time to ferment and settle, he told Reginald when asked. After a month of taking handfuls of dirt from various locations within the forest and around the village, he had enough. They then moved on to chasing rabbits. Reginald originally insisted on trapping them with a snare over night and picking them up in the morning, but Navin pointed out that catching them wasn''t the point. Only by chasing would the devious little beasts lead them to the real prize. What this was, Reginald never found out because they were too slow. Navin always jokingly replied ''Winds of Change''. He did notice that Navin''s pockets always seemed to bulge more after they returned home. The last ingredient in what had been formally dubbed ''The Cure'' was freshly cut grass. All of these were then mixed with water and had to boil for a week, cool for another, and then applied. None of this was ever actually applied to Navin''s skin. During the night of the first month, Navin would sneak out of the house and get the real ingredients. During these excursions, he would pick up what herbs he wasn''t planning on grabbing while chasing rabbits. They would be needed to mix in with purified manure in a specific order and over a specific amount of time. He was left with a paste that did look similar to what he made under Reginald''s eye. However, if someone a keenly developed spiritual sense were around they could see something entirely different. When applied, it acts as a membrane and pulls the impurities outwards from the body. Not just those in the cells, but also in the soul, meridians, and other energy centers of the spiritual body. This was all in preparation of beginning the process of opening the acupuncture points to draw in energy. ~*~ After promising his parents and Reginald that he would bathe this morning, but only in private, he slipped off into the forest. With no one watching, he climbed a tree and began jumping from limb to limb. Moving closer to his destination. During one of his late night excursions, he had found a pseudo-grotto. It was a shallow cave recessed against a small stream that had been covered over with hanging moss. It was every boy''s dream for a secret lair. In his lair, Navin had set to work clearing the animal feces, bug and rodent corpses, and shed reptile skins. Once done, he brought in a cured hide that repelled water. With this he started building a pool in back of the cave and lining it with rocks and mud. It looked natural when finished. This pool was filled with a medicinal bath. He filled it with ground herbs and boiled water and left it to ferment for a week. Today was the end of the week. Arriving at the lair, he pulled off his breeches and slid into the medicinal bath. His eyes nearly burst out of their sockets when his nerves registered the frigid temperature. "Stupid Navin!" He muttered to himself through shivering lungs and chattering teeth. Once his body acclimated, he sunk down into the mixture and held his breath. He would lie like this and surface for breath. This process continued for several hours. By noon, Navin surfaced for the last time and reached over to the edge of the pool to grab a coarse sponge. With this, he slowly set to scraping the muck from his skin. For his hair, he used a knife. Navin chuckled at the comments his mother would have about that. By midday, Navin was officially clean of the muck that was left of his body''s impurities. He went to wash off the medicinal bath''s residue in the stream outside. This process was something that originated in a humble village much like his own. The herbs were all common and an aspiring apothecary noticed that when blended they had amazing detoxification properties. The woman found this out by accident when returning home and slipped in manure of a goat that had ate all of her herb garden. After washing the muck off, her wrinkles were lessened. The village eventually became a mecca for the wealthy. The process was refined as scholars came to research the reaction it had with the physical and spiritual body. By that time, a medicinal bath was needed to safely break down the excreted impurities. This novel''s true home is a different platform. Support the author by finding it there. This led to another discovery. Also by accident. When the residue of shed paste and medicinal bath was burned, the effect was beneficial to tempering a beginning cultivator''s body if meditated and circulated energy in it. The entire process was rather synergistic. At least for those who could spare the time and effort to complete it. Navin could, because he didn''t want to risk damaging his chances as he opened the set of acupuncture points in his hands. They were essential. After washing in the stream, he returned and set about laying a fire near the pool''s edge and sat next to the cave''s entrance where there was a slight inflow of air to keep him from suffocating. Once the fire caught the surface of the pool alight, the smoke began to work its way inside the cave to his location. Minutes ticked by as he let it caress his body. Inside, Navin was focused on his circulating spiritual energy. His consciousness was working its way along the well-worn pathways in his body. He had tempered them over the past two and a half years, widening and strengthening them. This allowed him to also purify that energy and condense it by a large degree. The perfect foundation he needed in both control and stability. Navin directed the energy slowly towards to the center point in both of his palms. This would be the first he''d open and allow him to directly affect the lower major pool of energy in his body around his navel. The energy was gradually building up pressure as he pushed it all up both arms. He worked the tip into a needle-like fineness and pushed. Gradually, the resistance began to give. Navin bit his lip as the pain grew. He breathed deep with his diaphragm and continued to push, working the process into a rhythm. An hour went by before finally, the points were open. With a sweaty brow, Navin reversed the flow and pulled the energy back into his soul. He wouldn''t risk tainting it with incoming energy. With the two newly opened points, the mass of energy in the medicinal smoke began to feel absence of resistance and work its way into his body under Navin''s direction. Through his knowledge Navin understands that essentially all energy is equal when you know how to convert one form to another, there are three main kinds that concern a cultivator. The kind Navin was working with previous was spiritual energy that resides in the soul. What is being pulled into his meridians now was elemental, or World Energy. This is unpurified energy that is the amalgamation of the excess energy that all life gives off. This is then moved along and into his body''s lower energy pool near his abdomen where it will be filtered into inner energy that will be circulated and strengthen his physical and spiritual body. Unenlightened cultivators might filter out all but a single element to keep and store as inner energy. Mages are fond of this method on this world as it''s easier to call related elements in the atmosphere when they direct their energy out. Navin was keeping all elements. This concept wasn''t unique. A number of martial schools on this world did the same, even some mages. If blended properly, multiple elements could complement one another quite well. Of course, it was easier for martial experts as they only used energy to reinforce their body or overlay their skin, so the control was better. Mages had to put quite a bit more thought and effort in how they mingled energy when it came time to access and direct outside the body. Navin didn''t plan on dealing with any single element. His filtering process was going to be divided into several steps. The first would act as a sieve and shift it around to make it an even mix inside the lower energy pool. Impurities would be held and sent out of his body. He''d then start attracting like-to-like in their own little energy chain and begin to circulate parallel of each chain. These chains would then being run through a sieve-like process again, followed by a spiral pattern as it passes through. The goal was to start the energy blending and growing closer to each type. The result started a chain reaction in Navin''s lower energy pool. As each element began to lose its defining properties and be reshaped, filtered, and reshaped again, a suction force began to emerge. The more Navin filtered, the more the energy began to drift tighter together. This ended with a tightly-bound ball of black-colored energy. Navin smiled to himself. They always did say black was the result of all colors blended together. When this happened, Navin stopped pulling in elemental energy from the smoke. He needed an absence for the next step. On the edges of the ball of energy, Navin began creating opposing forces to work in six directions along a counter-clockwise circular pattern. The two and half years of energy control began showing its effect. Gradually, the ball began compressing and melding into a liquid-like appearance. Navin continued to press and work the energy. Hours passed and it was now well-passed when he should have been home. He continued on. Eventually, the opposing forces met. The energy was compressed into a little speck of energy. Surrounding the energy speck was a mass of impurities that Navin expunged from his body. Now was time for the last stage. By this point, Navin could already have been considered at the prime of a cultivator''s goal: total energy purity. Few ever reach this point, especially at the beginning of their journey. What he was planning he was sure someone had attempted before. He had never witnessed such training, but it was something he had often wanted to try. The concept was based on a black hole. By imploding the most condensed form of energy, he''d have a self-sustaining suction force that would compress the energy even further than he could. That wasn''t the end of his plan. There were still two other energy pools of his spiritual body he was going to repeat this process in. The chest and head. Navin hypothesized that as his cultivation grew, the suction forces of the three black hole-like energy centers would begin to draw one another in. This would not only temper his physical and spiritual body continuously, it''d eventually merge them. Into what, he didn''t know. But the thought made him excited. ~*~ Early the next morning, a freshly bathed and exhausted three-and-a-half year-old child walked in and sat down at the breakfast table. "Good morning Mother and Father. Any of that boar left over from yesterday?" Silence reigned in room. Vera''s opening and closing mouth was mimicked by her opening and closing eyes for a minute before her brain caught up to what her eyes were seeing. "Where...where have you been?" She screamed. "Bathing, just like you asked." Navin replied innocently. "I can see that," she fumed. "But where have you been for an entire day? It doesn''t take that long to bathe. When you didn''t appear anywhere in the house an hour later we started searching. We were worried something might have happened!" "Ah, sorry about that. I forgot to mention that I was going to go down to the river outside town. I didn''t want to mess up the towels and tub." He muttered as he scratched his head. Harrison sadly shook his head in disbelief. He had often suspected that his son was doing more than he let on, especially with this ''running-around-in-muck-for-a-month'' incident. His answers only strengthened this feeling. "From yesterday morning until now?" "I fell asleep. When I woke up it was dark, so I camped in the woods. By then I needed another bath, so I came home after." Navin summed up. "Grrr!" Vera grunted as her face reddened. "I can''t deal with this anymore. You aren''t going anywhere today, tomorrow, maybe even for the next six months." "Mother! It was one mistake, I''ll change. I promise!" Navin pleaded. Though, if one were paying attention, it was a bit forced. "No, my mind''s made up. I''ve been to lenient with you. Ever since you started talking, you sounded much more mature. I thought you had better judgment. But now I see, you''re still just a three-year-old." She nodded, as if convincing herself. "I am your mother. I''m going to have to take a firmer hand to make sure you don''t run off to become some brigand somewhere. And staying in your room for the rest of the day is going to be the start of that." "Please!" He pleaded again. "No, now eat your breakfast." She pointed at the empty plate. "There''s no food here to eat!" He whined. "You should have been here when it was served, then." She affirmed. "Ugh," he grunted. Then muttered, "I guess I''m finished. I''ll be in my room." Watching her sun get up from the chair and begin exiting the room, she noticed something. "Navin, I know it''s been awhile since I''ve seen your skin, but I don''t remember it looking as glowing as it does now. Are you sick?" Navin turned and smiled at his mother. "Nope. I''m perfectly healthy. It was that paste I''ve been wearing. Don''t my skin look great? I still have some left, want to try?" She shuddered. "No. Go to your room." Smiling when he was back in his room, Navin sat down and began meditating. Ensured peace and quiet, he began the process to finish opening the rest of his acupuncture points and priming his other two energy pools. Book 1 - Chapter 3: A Mothers Regret Book1: Beginnings Chapter 3: A Mother''s Regret "What are we doing, Harrison? I know that I banished him to his room, but he has to come out sometime. It''s been three months!" Vera whined as she hit a pillow from their bed with her fist. "What else is there to do other than let him be? He''s eating. The food left outside his door is gone when the maid collects it." Her husband consoled. "Stop blaming yourself. Other than dragging him out, he''ll come when he''s ready." "Don''t think I haven''t thought of it!" She snapped. Falling back onto the bed she muttered to herself. "Ugh, he keeps pulling away." "Vera, he left a note. He just wants to be alone." "What kind of reason is that? ''Mother, I''m taking your lesson to heart and embracing the opportunity to better understand the Mysteries of Silence. Please do not disturb.'' Who is putting these ideas into his head?" She said shaking her head. "I should have never let him leave my room and go into your study. That book must have addled his brains when it fell on him." Harrison agreed, then quickly corrected himself when he noticed her glare. "I doubt it was the book, honey. Growing up, I always heard my tutors say, ''genius can''t be contained.'' I had thought they were being sarcastic when they gave that as the reason to my father if he didn''t find me studying. Now, I believe that they must have seen something in me and didn''t know how to properly nurture it. It''s genetic." A reflecting silence filled the room. "Yes, dear. You must be right." She agreed slowly. "Regardless, something has to change or we''re going to lose him. If this continues, I''m afraid he''ll start acting like your brother and looking down on us." Fire lit in Harrison''s eyes. "Anything but that!" ~*~ Navin''s parents weren''t wrong. He did come to regard himself as superior. How could he not? It wasn''t malicious, he had just witnessed far too much to view them as anything other than adorable children. Tall children, in comparison to him, to be sure. But children, none the less. That is, until nearly a week into his seclusion. At the time of their conversation, his ego had thoroughly deflated. When Navin had returned from his lair in the woods, he had successfully imploded that little speck of pure inner energy. By this point, all were in accordance with his calculations. As he sat down in his room to start the process again in his middle major energy pool, a smug grin could be seen on his face. The force he had created that formed a pulsing, circular movement proved quite beneficial in pulling in the world''s elemental energy through his palms. He directed it down to his abdomen and let it enter and feed the black hole-like structure, purifying it and sending back out the discarded impurities. When he deemed he had enough, and not wanting to grow his lower major energy pool beyond the initial state, Navin began sending streams of this energy out to begin opening up his other acupuncture points. This process took several hours. Once all points were open, a refreshing feeling enveloped him. Sending back the energy to the abdomen, he began drawing in the elemental energy surrounding his body and circulating it along his energy channels towards the middle major energy center near his heart. The same filtering and condensation method was done. All according to plan. Just as the newly formed pure speck of condensed energy was imploded, pain filled Navin''s body. This was beyond all expectations. He had expected such a reaction once the black hole-like formations grew in strength, but not after first being created. A fierce battle for control of his body began. For three days he battled with himself. Navin first considered using some of his spiritual energy to offset the churning forces inside him. He didn''t want to risk it getting sucked into one of the holes, and quickly discarded this idea. The next was to restrict movement between the two energy pools along the connecting meridians and feed each pool with different meridian channels. This was also discarded as a solution due to it not scaling as he grew in strength. What would happen when he did the same to the pool of energy in his head? Finally, he mentally slapped himself and noticed that the forces at play were that of attraction. He would change one of the pool''s rotation and let it repel the other''s energy. Another day passed before he managed to turn the middle major energy pool''s rotation into a clockwise movement. It took another day before the forces in his body stabilized and Navin passed out on the floor, exhausted. The following days were spent carefully repeating the process with the last major energy pool. If anyone were to see him during this time, they''d immediately embrace him when they saw his skittish and disheveled appearance. This was because he knew just how close he came to losing everything he had. After three weeks, Navin had finally succeeded in placing a black hole-like movement of energy inside each major energy pool. The head and abdomen rotated counter-clockwise, with the heart counter-balancing in a clockwise direction. This setup was actually more beneficial than he had planned. The abdomen''s movement was initially set on a whim, but it pulled the world''s elemental energy in quite efficiently. The same for the head''s pool. Navin''s center major energy center did not pull in energy on its own. The forces at his head and abdomen seemed to create a polarized field that prevented it. There were two other unexpected benefits to this arrangement, however. The first benefit was a neutral area that made controlling energy even more efficient. Since Navin now only had to focus on absorbing energy if he desired, he could use all his concentration on directing the accumulated inner energy. With no forces at play in the center pool, this was ideal. The second benefit played heavily on making the first benefit feasible. This was due to how the center pool actually filled itself with energy. Becoming frustrated at unable to get energy into the center pool, he couldn''t figure out how it grew along with the other two. They were all progressing equally. So he watched. Navin noticed a very peculiar effect. Roughly 66% of the accumulated energy that went into the head and abdominal pools remained after being consumed. So where did it go? The answer, it suddenly popped out of the center of the hole in the heart pool and drifted into the rotation ring of energy surrounding it. So a third of each of the other two pool''s accumulated energy was directed to the center one. Deciding to test how far this sharing went, Navin found that by drawing solely on the center pool any expended energy was replaced by the other two, depleting them all equally. From his observations, Navin could only conclude that the black holes must function in a similar fashion as nature''s equivalent. The hole must exit somewhere and the center pool was that exit. The remaining two months were spent in contemplative meditation while he focused on absorption, purification, and compression of energy. Through this time, he tested hypothesis in how he could better refine the accumulated inner energy and disperse it through his physical and spiritual body to strength and hone it. The unique effects of the forces emitted by the black holes were one way of indirectly refining the body, but he wanted another. Navin''s body was still growing and he didn''t want to unknowingly imped this by overzealous training. So, he came up with a passive body-refining method that focused on cellular longevity. This would work by using energy to prod the body''s cells into constant optimization. It would be done slowly for the rest of his life once the first few generations of cells were born with the imprinted instructions. This was not a new concept. Cultivators are always concerned with lifespans. It''s one reason they are so viscous in pursuit of new techniques and the guarding of their own. Few cultivators, however, incorporate medical and alchemical knowledge with their cultivation techniques. Most longevity techniques are variations on flooding the body''s cells with inner energy. Navin was doing this as well, but taking it several steps further by understanding how they operating, their goals, and how to direct them to do it better. Cell membranes will strengthen in a new manner, incorporating natures most efficient shapes to resist outside forces. Telomeres will lengthen to reduce cell decay and increase longevity directly. Waste will be flushed more efficiently by conversion into spiritual impurities. The ideas Navin had were thousands. How they would hold up against future cell generations and how they would improve themselves without he direction he did not know. Which is why it was going to be a gradual process. With this, Navin was done. Meditation and his energy circulation and physical movement exercises would resume as normal. Any future training would continue once his body was mature enough. ~*~ Vera had always thought of herself as a strong woman. She''d have to be to keep her household together once she was forced to leave this pitiful village in shame with her husband. But, these last few years after the birth of her son were daily exercises in futility and depression. If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it''s taken without permission from the author. Report it. She couldn''t keep up with her son. Whether it was her frail body being unable to move as quickly has him, or how to communicate with someone so young that seemed to be at the same intellectual level as her. She was at a loss. Gradually, and most likely by her own pride, a wall had developed that she couldn''t cross to him. She was afraid that before long, he would just walk off and leave. So, after her conversation with Harrison she had determined to change and try a new tactic. She''d treat Navin as an equal and start taking an interest in his pursuits. This way, she could at least have something to talk to him about. Just as she was ruminating on these thoughts as she gazed from the house''s porch and into the forest, a small hand touched her shoulder. Looking up, she saw her son''s eyes smiling back at her. Making the first attempt, she decided to tease him. "Three months, what mysteries did you find in Silence?" Guilt. Vera could see that on his face as Navin was deciding how to reply. "I learned that if you listen still enough, you could hear a heart''s troubles." "Profound," She nodded. "You could give some of the ministers at the capital a lesson with a statement like that. And who''s heart was troubled? Did sneaking off for a day didn''t require three months of penance?" "Yours, mother. It''s always been yours. I just never knew how to fix it. It was never the right time." Stunned, "It is now?" She she asked. "I think so. I realized that I have been a little arrogant and you''ve suffered because of that. In trying to keep you from worrying about me, you worried about my actions that I took to keep you from worrying." Navin said while shaking his head in shame. "I don''t understand." She said, puzzled. "I''ve been working on something for you, a surprise, but I need a promise before I tell you." "This isn''t making me worry any less, Navin. Are you in trouble?" With a pensive look, he replied, "Right now, no. You telling someone might cause indirect issues, however. Either from aggravation in people requesting the same done for them or in someone lusting out of greed." Seeing that his explanation only increased the worries in his mother''s eyes, he added, "It''s better if you see. Follow me to my room and promise you won''t tell anyone. Not even Father. You know he can''t keep a secret." "Okay, but I''m only going along with this for now. It must be something bad if you had to hide in your room for three months." She chided him. "Mother!" ~*~ After considering the matter again, Navin redirected their clandestine meeting to the bathing room and had his mother sit in the empty tub in a robe. This required some reassurance that he hadn''t been spying on some of the farm laborer''s drinking discussions, nor was he having inappropriate thoughts about her. Who asks that of child less than four years of age? He thought to himself. With a mischievous glint in his eye, he looked into his mother''s eyes and said, "Now I''m going to show you a secret. Once I do, you''ll be filthy. That''s why you''re in the tub." "I thought you said you weren''t having naughty thoughts. What happened to my little boy?" She grumbled. "Mother! Just trust me." Navin whined. "It''s hard. If you weren''t so young, I''d never allow you in the bath with me. It''s not right." She reaffirmed. "I''m going to heal you, okay? That''s the secret." He said, exasperated. "Your father said that, too. ''It won''t be a minute, Vera, and you''ll be feeling much better!'' He used to say." Navin stared wide-eyed at his mother. "For someone not wanting to encourage lewd thoughts, should you really be telling me that at my age?" Realizing what she said, she blushed. "Heal me how, then?" When planning this conversation, Navin thought of many scenarios. In all of them, he absolutely didn''t want to reveal the depth or origin of his knowledge. So he needed a scapegoat. "I''ve always be smart, right?" His mother nodded. "Since I can remember, I''ve always felt bad that you were stuck in bed most of the day. If it wasn''t for how I was born, Martha would have healed your body and you''d be fine now." "You can''t blame yourself for that!" She said emphatically. "And you can''t blame yourself for me being the way I am. I know I cause you trouble and you don''t know how to handle me. This is part of the reason and I hope to change that." He reassured her. Seeing that she was listening again, he continued. "So I''ve been reading a lot. I thought about herbs, even the nearest city doesn''t have a decent enough selection of medical texts. I did learn that even if we had the proper herbs, it''d require equipment only the most elite have. It''d raise too many questions even if we had the money to get them." Vera agreed. Part of the reason for her husband''s banishment here involved an elite alchemist backing his brother. His family would surely notice the request. "Then I thought of Martha." "Martha? She never mentioned you talking with her about healing me." "I didn''t. But she is a healer. Using energy to heal wouldn''t draw attention and offers a more focused way to do it than herbs. Only, the library doesn''t have much on such topics, either. So, I was spying on Martha as she healed for the past couple of years. My body was far to frail until now to even attempt it." Navin said quickly. Not the least bit reassured her son was telling the truth, she pressed, "Didn''t attempt it, huh?" "Only once." Seeing her raised eyebrow, he continued, "Maybe a few more." "This is what you''re going to do to me now?" Vera asked, with a snort. "I''ve watched her carefully. I can perceive energy, Mother. So I studied hers as she used it. The past few months I''ve been training my body to get the result I want." Navin reassured her. Rolling her eyes, she pressed. "How would this knowledge getting out cause issues for the family? Every village has a healer. Some are much better than Martha. She''s only mediocre talent. Even with your age, it''d only be another peculiarity for you." Agreeing, Navin pointed out the clincher. "Mother, if it was just healing then maybe I''d get some advanced schooling or minor clan invitations once word spread. However, if anyone came to check and they witnessed the process, they''d steal me and kill you and father to silence your claim. I don''t just work with inner energy, or life elemental energy. I''ve found a way to encompass all types." Slowly, realization dawned on her. "That''s only legend. No one can do that." Navin agreed. Before incarnating, no one on this world could. The main development focus was on magic and martial arts. Engineering and Science was quite lacking. "I can hide it when it exits my body. Even control was enters. However, if someone stuck around long enough they might begin to take notice. Eventually they might draw a conclusion that was just as dangerous. You don''t have to know what''s going on to be dangerous. It only takes a careless word to the right ear." Seeing that his mother was thinking of the implications of this, and long having gotten use to his well-reasoned arguments she was silent. He lay his left hand on her forehead and grasped her right hand with his own. Vera closed her eyes as she realized that the warm touch of her son''s hands were slowly spreading throughout her body. Over the next hour, Navin''s energy spiraled along his mother''s meridians. As each particle passed something that Navin didn''t like, it attached and dragged it along. On each full circuit, the impurities were excreted out of the body. Once the channels were clear, Navin sent the inner energy deeper and into her body''s cells. Similar to how he was influencing his own cell''s longevity he began to strengthen her body. Vera''s frail body was a symptom due to not having the energy to exercise. The true culprit was a cancerous action of her body''s cells during pregnancy. This tied along with being cut open led to such a long recovery. Her body was fighting on multiple fronts. Navin''s energy was working through those cells and removing what it couldn''t repair. Giving new instructions to her body''s immune system where it could, and monitoring to see how those changes affected the rest of the body. By the time for dinner, Vera''s robe was completely covered in sweat and muck that was excreted. However, she could finally breathe freely for the first time in nearly four years. "You are a little miracle worker, Navin. Mother is proud." Smiling, Navin was quite pleased that it worked out. "Do you think Father, Reginald, and the maids will notice?" "I''ll wash the robe in the bath with me. They won''t notice. Each day, I''ll walk a little further outside and make a big show of it. In a few months, I won''t even have to hide my improved health." Vera conspired to her son. "I like it. I must get my mischievousness from you." Earning him being hit with a bath brush on the bottom as he ran out of the room.