《Savage Divinity》Chapter 11
Advertisement
Demonstrating the Forms isn't all we do in class. Even the older students lack the stamina to continue for four hours. The younger group stops after half an hour. I wipe the sweat from my forehead and sit down, to 'meditate' on new discoveries. 'Train the body, train the mind', Alsantset's most repeated advice.
I cross my legs, straighten my back, close my eyes, and clasp my hands in my lap. I begin the breathing exercises I was taught. I find meditation difficult. It's not just sitting still, which I find difficult enough. “Being awake inside, without being aware of anything, except awareness itself.” Stupid idioms and platitudes. Unfortunately, meditation is a requirement for becoming strong. The State of Enlightenment is a mindset tailored to battle. See more, know more, act quickly, and react quicker. The State of Balance, as they call a true meditative state, is the first step in cultivating the Energy of the Heavens.
I am a modern man, or at least I was. So when they told me that breathing exercises could eventually lead to me being able to chop boulders in half, due to cosmic power, I was dubious. Until I watched a petite twenty year old girl do just that. With her hands. With no idea how it was possible, I asked Taduk about the history of cultivation. I thought, maybe, there would be something behind the mechanics of cultivation. Something that seemed mysterious and mystical to them, but that I would understand due to my past life's memories.
The history, or theology rather, begins with a creation story. The Heavenly Mother of All gave birth to the four elements: earth, fire, wind, and water. The four of them, working in tandem, created the world. Fire in the core, Earth for the land, Wind for the air, and Water for the oceans. Happy with what her children had made, she gifted this world with life. Humans and beasts, plants to feed them, trees to shelter them, the sun, the moon and the stars so that they could see, and with her teachings, all were living in harmony.
The Father was jealous of what his wife had done, and in his rage, created the demon race. Avatars of anger and hatred, destruction and wrath. They poisoned the hearts of beast and man alike, who were then known as the Defiled. The demons, urging them on, created war and strife across the world. This lasted for a countless number of years, and a stalemate developed between the Defiled, and those who remained true to the teachings of the Mother.
Advertisement
When the Father grew tired of the stalemate, he taught the demons how to take physical form. They were incredibly powerful, and were able to share their power with the Defiled. The demons then led armies to wipe out their enemies, the remnants of untainted humanity and beasts. The stalemate broke, and humans and beasts died in the millions.
Originally, the Mother had suffered in silence watching her creations struggle. It was only fair, since the Father didn't take direct action either. She had her creations, He had his. That was the extent of their involvement. However, in giving the demons physical form, the Father had altered the conflict in his favor. Since one side had energy given physical form, in order to balance it, the Mother gave our physical forms the ability to take in energy. By cultivating the Energy of the Heavens, we could harness its power and become stronger. The greatest among the humans and beasts were able to match the strongest demons in power. With our new strength, we were once again able to fight the Defiled to a standstill. And so the stalemate continues even now.
When I asked Taduk how much of the story was true, he laughed at me and called me a skeptic. He told me that of the story, the most important thing to note was that demons exist, and they want to kill everything. I thought the Iron Banner Company were hired for conflicts between countries, but there aren't any. Countries that is. On our Azure Sea Continent, any land unclaimed by Ancestral Beasts, belongs to the Azure Sea Empire. Taduk couldn't say which one came first, the Continent or the Empire. He did say that The Empire is responsible for creating the common script, in order to open up communication among its citizens. Most citizens speak and read it, with villages like ours, who have kept their native tongue, more rare.
The Empire defends the people, but the continent is massive, and they can only do so much. So they hire groups like The Iron Banner Mercenary Company as part of their 'freelance defenses'. They aid in patrolling more dangerous areas, half a year at a time, and are charged with the defense of normal citizens from demons and enemy soldiers, in return for a modicum of independence and a variety of perks, including actual payment in coin, lowered taxes, and guaranteed freedom from slavery for your defined peoples.
Not everyone is capable of cultivation. The strong protect the weak. The weak serve the strong. It is the fundamental law that everyone and everything living on the continent abides by. It's why there is little mercy for slaves. They are weak, and must serve. Slavery ensures service. The guards from the mines weren't breaking any laws, in the eyes of the Empire, until they murdered the slaves. Even slaves deserve to live at least. More fuel for the war machine.
Advertisement
None of that was helpful in regards to my cultivation. I was still on the same level as everyone else. Lower actually, since I started late. I just need to work harder. I need to concentrate on meditation. I can figure this out. Breathe in. Breathe out.
Calm my mind.
Focus on nothing.
Draw myself inwards and open myself to the Energy of the Heavens.
Seek nothing, find everything.
Be aware of nothing, but awareness itself.
I am aware, of my awareness.
I am also aware that I need to take a piss.
God damn this mother fucking hippy bullshit. How the fuck, is Lamaze breathing exercises supposed to make me stronger?
Why isn't there magic?
Real magic.
The hand waving, spell chanting, circle drawing, fire throwing, dragon summoning, Magic! That's what I want. Something with concrete rules, a system. None of this fortune cookie, cryptic, mystic, there is no spoon, the cake is a lie, quackery.
I open my eyes. I'm too frustrated to do this. At myself, at my brain, at my failure. I look around, at the six and seven year old kids, sitting in perfect stillness. I'm being outdone by children. I hug my knees and rest my head on them. Why can't I do this?
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Meditation for the younger class lasts for an hour. Then comes free practice. The older students usually spar and do group exercises. For the kids, it's pretty much play time. Which is fine. Kids need to have fun. They run and play, and do kid things. I use the time to go through the Forms. At least I've had some success there, some progression.
After free practice is weapons practice. Bow, Spear, shield, and short sword. If you weren't born or adopted into a soldier family, that's all that is taught. The standard equipment, if you will. The bow is made of horn, sinew and wood. A beautiful piece of workmanship. They're compact, made for use on the back of a horse or roosequin. The practice bows have a light draw, but the heavier bows can fire an arrow over half a kilometer. Some bows made by master craftsmen, using the best materials, can even reach ranges of two kilometers, which is ridiculous. I'm pretty sure that's the range of a sniper rifle. Myself, using the practice bow, I can barely hit a target at 15 meters.
Again, it takes a long time to learn. It's kinda embarrassing being out performed by kids all the time, but I'm getting used to that.The spear and short sword are much easier to learn. Stab, slash, parry. Block with the shield. That's it. They don't really teach a comprehensive course on close combat. The bow is king here. While close combat is unavoidable, the reasoning is to leave it to the professionals. A villager with a bow is simple to train. All it takes it is a few hours of practice a day, for life. A full on melee combatant requires a much higher investment in time and money that most of the villagers can't afford. Everyone needs to eat, and food isn't free. Nor does it magically appear.
So I pluck away at the bow, watching my arrows go wide of the target.
I can't be wasting my time like this. I've been in this world a year now. If the village kicked me out tomorrow at dawn, I wouldn't bet on me surviving past sundown. I have yet to really learn something useful besides the language.
Rome wasn't built in a day, however. I need to be patient. I just need to keep practicing.
After this, I'll be headed to Taduk's place. He'll feed me lunch, nothing as good as Charok cooks, but after eating the brown slop at the mines, I really can't complain. Then its history and herbalism, which is rote memorization of facts. Some days, we walk around the mountain to pick herbs that he will use to make a variety of tonics, tinctures, creams and other medicinal items. He hasn't taught me any of that yet. Memorization first. The magic healing he showed me was an application of heavenly energy, so I can't learn that yet either. I've a long road ahead of me, and I haven't even managed the first step.
I nock another arrow on my bow, aim, and let fly.
At least this one hit the target.
Advertisement
Another World's Homunculus
Ellis Murrin died an unexpected death, but before he could experience the sweet bliss of eternal rest, a God-like being whisked him away. The God told a tale of another world in grave jeopardy and the need for a hero (or several heroes) to go there and save the people. It was looking to be a typical story of transmigration when suddenly, something unexpected happened. Now, he finds himself standing in the middle of an ancient tomb, with a lineage that wasn’t exactly normal and a body that wasn’t entirely human. Vote for the novel on Topwebfiction here: vote Join the discord
8 53Crystal Shards Online - A LitRPG Series
ANNOUNCEMENT! Dodge Tank: Crystal Shards Online Book 1 is available on Amazon.com. You can grab it HERE from the US Amazon Store. For other countries please check your relevant Amazon.com site. [Book 1 sample chapters available only.] ANNOUNCEMENT: Book 2 of Crystal Shards Online, Shard Warrior is also now Available on Amazon.com. Grab it Here! "There's only one rule...don't get hit." Ryan's life sucks. His brother is a jerk, his mom is sick, and his legs are next to useless thanks to a neurological disorder. His only escape from the hardships of reality is the massive VR world of Crystal Shards Online. When Ryan discovers an item that grants the ability to dodge any attack, however, he has the chance to become one of the game world's most elite and sought after players: a Dodge Tank. But for someone who's never played a combat class, success isn't so easily had.To save his mom's life, Ryan will have to overcome his disability and level his way to the top. But the real-world consequences are more far reaching than he ever could have imagined and the fate of not just his mother, but humanity itself, may be resting in his hands...WARNING: Contains RPG mechanics, detailed party combat and giant boss fights. If these things do not interest you, then this is not the book for you!READ DODGE TANK TODAY!
8 70Deals & Destiny
(A/N)I discovered that I can post fanfictions on this site so I decided to post the Familiar of Zero fanfic I made. Walking home from a friends house after watching the FoZ anime, our hero suddenly finds himself in a familiar summoning situation... only something interferes and he gets a few new advantages. Now, follow along as he breaks the show, builds a harem, and builds an empire all the while doing humorous, badass, and other Gary Stu stuff. Contains elements from both the anime and manga. Also yes, the MC is a bit OP, but it's okay because it's funny.
8 106Fragments Of Aeon
The Way, a school of thought which mortals try to follow and ascend beyond this plane. Cultivating power to traveling The Way often result in death, or worse - dehumanization. Power is alluring; those who learn to harness their gifts grow stronger. They become soldiers in a war. Paupers become kings. Young Lord Fell, sixth child in the house of Asger. His very touch destroys the energies other try so hard to channel. He's seen across all ten fingers of the Veil since birth. His father locked him in a garden where Fell is left nearly alone and bereft of family to learn about himself and the reason for his curse. The story of this world and Young Lord Fell's curse are linked.
8 156White Mystic Fox In A Radical World
Under the cloak of midnight, behind the faint creaking sounds of metal bars, staring into the vast beautiful garden of twinkling stars and the gentle, lovely blue moon as its host, was the only fox girl living in the desolate mountain ranges of Maryland with an unknown background. The gleaming reflection of those flickering flowers in her meekly eyes, as well as her blossoming countenance of hardships, demonstrate both her innocence and independence, which has never been tainted by the outside world. A lovely flower eventually touched after thousands of years of living in peace, some bad elements plucked that flower from its natural habitat. The white fox girl never knows what's good and bad, letting them cage her effortlessly without minding their evil sneers because of her over-the-clouds excitement. Finally, the white fox girl realizes she has been treated as nothing more than a prey item ready to be devoured. She's staring at the night skies for a long time and slowly closes her eyes once she gets that divine premonition from somewhere else. It was soothing in the mind. Her lovely smile showed acceptance with tears flowing through her pinkish cheeks, and her consciousness began fading away. Before her senses faded, that glowing angel descended, knelt in front of her, and wiped away her tears. She doesn't know how to express her gratitude to the heavens above for blessing her with a fulfilling and peaceful life. Even if it was a mere single moment, that gratitude and that smile of hers were the happiest things she could ever express. Time has passed, and the sun has risen from its slumber. The soul of the thousand-year-old white fox girl finally ascended to heaven, leaving her lifeless, cold body behind, leaning against rusted metal poles. It was the most peaceful death everyone wished for. Painless and no regrets. The men in charge of the front didn't notice anything out of the ordinary going on behind them. Well... In common perspective and also in reality, a caged dead fox girl at the back of a horse-drawn carriage is no less than a funeral procession. Book found also on wattpad and webnovel.
8 198You Are My Heart
This deserves more love than it has been given. Credits to: LeanteaLang------------When Moonbyul lost her memory trying to save Solar, what will Solar do to get her love back? Moonbyul was hospitalize after an injury to the head while trying to save Solar. When she awoke, she had no memories of the past. A woman stood beside her bedside, who could it be? A child stood by the woman calling her appa, who could he be?
8 179