The next several months are fairly annoying. I’ve slowly started trying to poke myself and try to experience what Ling had told me to no real effect. The little ‘get togethers’ between kids has slowly started to become more aggressive as well. One of the kids that showed up after I did wasn’t okay with bowing their head and was promptly beaten up severely. I guess the guards are only here to ensure that things are not taken too far or done by one of the lower houses to one of higher standing. After that mom had me go there less likely scared that I might provoke someone else. She cares about me more than the political advantage I can give her. Which is nice because it gives more time to try to meditate on Chi and figure out how to activate it.

Several years pass.

I’m now 6 years old. My day-to-day life hasn’t changed much until now. I started doing short circuits in a small gym like area in our clan’s compound. I guess I impressed Su since I overheard her talking to mom about potentially starting my training a little early especially since some of the other princes have already started theirs. I tried not to show my excitement when I finally heard the okay.

I hardly sleep that night, I’ve been waiting for this for YEARS some kids like Ling have known about Chi since they were 3 years old. When I asked about this, they just rattled off that it was because ‘Their family’s specialty was Chi, so they had some special wiggle room on time they were allowed to start training their young due to their special method of teaching’ or something like that. I hardly see my siblings but the last time I’d seen Ling he had grown a foot taller and was much more muscular than I’d last seen him. So, it likely has some effect on puberty and early growth if done too early can have severe negative effects on development.

Distressed and uncomfortable all night I’m eventually able to finally find sleep. It almost feels like the instant I finally drift off I’m woken up by a bucket of water drenching me in my bed. Growing up with a natural fear of being assassinated daily, I may have reacted a little… violently. In the moments after I’m drenched, I splay out in my bed for a fraction of a second before waking up a bit feeling the direction of the eyes on me, I attempt to tackle them. Now if I was an adult that would have been an effective way to take down my attacker. Instead, I’m firmly stopped by the metal plate hidden under Su’s clothes that I’d slammed into with my shoulder. It lets out a dull thud before I fall to the ground in a groan.

Looking up Su is holding a bucket and gazing down at me. “Hoho sorry young master, I hadn’t expected you to react quite like that, it’s a promising response but you are far too small for that type of manuver. Regardless come along, this is the wakeup for your training. Just keep in mind that this is what happens to those that get caught eavesdropping on others conversations.” Groaning for a few more seconds I slowly get up. I’m tired, slightly disoriented and I feel a dull throb in my shoulder where I’d hit the metal plate.

I grit my teeth and bear through it. If I want to finally get my training, I’ll just have to bear with it. “Alright, thank you in advanced for your teaching.” I can see the smile in her eyes through her mask as she turns around and shows me to the training room.

Once we get there, she sits cross legged and gestures for me to do the same. When I do, she begins her lecture. “Chi, you’ve bugged me about it from the first day you heard its name. It’s a secret closely held by the royal family from those that are outside it and you are not supposed to learn of it until you turned 9 years old after some physical training however you’ve shown that you are mature beyond your years so I hope that my faith in you is not misplaced.” Oh, that explains why the book only mentioned the Alkahestry and not Chi. But then… that doesn’t make sense.

“You mentioned that Chi is a secret but then how do people outside the royal family use Alkahestry?” She gives a small nod.

“You see Chi is the name of the energy contained within all life. But when one studies Alkahestry they study it under a different name. The dragon’s pulse; the flow of life from the peaks of mountains to the deepest depths below. The study is focused on the use of outside Chi rather than mastering it’s presence within yourself like we do.” She slowly brings her finger to between my eyes but I don’t feel anything different, then she pulls her hand back and jabs much more quickly. Rather than feel it in my head, I feel the pain in my left foot. Reeling back, I barely manage to not fall over.

“It’s using this energy within ourselves we can send it over lines that we are able to move our Chi from one area to the other. Just like everything in life is connected so too is everything in our bodies. One is all, All is one. I shall let you experience the routes until you feel them yourself.” More prepared this time I concentrate on where she strikes. She first gently prods the area allowing me to focus there before giving a fast strike. Upon the second jab I think I understand now. It’s using Chi to influence nerves and transmitting the pain to another place along the nerves rather than its origin. With this new understanding I feel the mental chimes of Chi manipulation go up a few times as I slowly sit there and get pelted with jabs for over an hour.

Finally, she stops, I look down at my body and I’m covered in small bruises in the places she has been jabbing. The locations of various nerve clusters that are frequently used with acupuncture. Sure enough, the next thing she pulls out is a small box that she sets to her side.

She looks down at me after having stopped her assault. “Now what have you learned?” I cheat slightly, using Unseen eye I give a little more information than I really have. “I’m able to follow the lines where you send the pulse and I’m starting to… feel it more easily. The life within me, I also somewhat feel the life coming from you and the guard on the ceiling.” I point up. That’s when she looks up rapidly finding the person there. She is on her feet and throwing something before I can react. The sound of a thud occurs behind me as the body falls to the floor. I start to look back to see what happened when she grabs my attention again.

She gently grabs my shoulder and turns me back towards her. “There wasn’t a guard on the ceiling. Those are impressive senses young master. I had not noticed them until you mentioned their presence. I am proud that you are progressing so well.” Is… is she not going to even comment on the dead body behind me now? I can see behind myself Using Unseen Eye that person is definitely dead.

“Um are we not going to-“ I start to turn again when I’m interrupted.

“On to the next part of the lesson.” She claps and gestures for me to remove my shirt and lay down on my stomach. I do after some initial hesitance, wanting to at least acknowledge that someone had died.

“Your Chi pathways are clogged from no use until now so I will do my best to clean them.” The small box is opened beside me within my line of sight, it’s full of long thin needles. I start to tense up a little at the idea of having them all in my back.

“Now, relax and let me perform the task young master. You need to concentrate on the feeling within yourself as I release the blockages. Concentrate and get a feel for the energy within.” She starts sticking me with needles. At the feeling of the first cold piece of metal on my back I tense for a second but after it goes in, I feel an immense relief that trails down my back, soothing me into not being as afraid. Less burdened I begin concentrating on the feeling. I feel it more clearly by the second as I start to notice how it moves and where. It’s more than just nerves it travels through my blood as well. The nerves were just the means to which it transmitted the pain. It seems to flow through every part of myself… I don’t think I have any new circulatory system inside me. So, it must be something less physical and more spiritual? Something that to do with vitality… As I feel the next couple of needles go in, I trace along the paths that flow through me. They create a circle along my back flowing through places I’m sure no direct blood or nerves pass through. Then I feel the etching of five lines into my back in the shape of a star then a relief flood my entire body.

“There, now I want you to reach for that feeling within yourself. The star is a powerful symbol. Showing the connection that everything has to one another through the mutual bond. I want you to pull it up and press upon it. Feel what you did with the star on your back and apply it to your whole body.” I feel something click within and I feel like I can feel something, like concentrating on my hand and feeling my blood flow into it I feel a warm feeling come over me.

“Good, you are doing much better than I expected for our first lesson young master. Now comes the hard part.” I feel a little unsettled by that. Then it happens, everywhere I just had the sweet relieving feeling suddenly feels like it’s in intense agony. Like my body is being ripped apart and put back together again repeatedly from the inside out. I open my mouth with the need to scream but Su places something into my mouth to stop me before I have a chance to even let out a whimper.

“There you go, now you won’t bite your tongue by accident. It’s okay young master, it’ll be over soon. Just let it ride out, you’re doing well.” I can barely hear her over my own internal screaming, but her words at least let me know this isn’t her attempt at killing me.

After what feels like hours I finally unclench as the pain fades away. My muscles twitch several times, unused to not being strained from the intense feeling I’d gone through. I blearily try to look up but my neck falls limp back into the pillow below me numb from having been strained for so long.

I hear Su above me soon after I stop groaning. “Ah, you are done already? I’m proud of you young master. You did an excellent job for one so young. Your mother was worried that you might be too young for this amount of pain, but I had faith in you.” Oh… so that’s why she was so hesitant to tell me about it. At least I got it over and done with.

My hopes are dashed with the next thing she says. “Now you just need to do this again and again until it becomes second nature and you can still move with it.” I… I think I’m crying. That was the worst pain I’d ever experience this life… I don’t know how painful the others had in their lives but… you know what? It should be worth it right? Obviously, the pain just means that it’s something worth getting? I just… It’s only a little pain, right?

Su begins gently brushing my hair and trying to sooth me. “Relax, it’s less bad the more times you do it.” I feel a huge wave of relief hearing that. Oh thank whatever god is in charge of this planet. I would have some words for them after I died if this was what I had to go through every time I used Chi.

“Let’s get you back to your bed for now. I know you have a lot of questions but it’s best you get some food in you and rest.” At the mention of food, I feel my stomach growl loudly. It’s a little embarrassing but this is a woman that’s cleaned my diapers and been more essential to raising me than even my own mother and I’ve never even seen her face.

Su lets out a light giggle. “Sounds to me like you can’t wait for it. Chi is an amazing thing, letting you surpass your limits. But it also requires an incredible amount of food to keep functioning at the best levels. You are going to need to start eating a lot more than you are used to.” I weakly let out a grunt of acknowledgment much to her continued amusement as she carries me back to my room, walking passed the dead body that's still on the floor slowly bleeding on the ground. It’s not long before I’m being hand fed while propped up in bed as I slowly go to sleep.

Mom comes in at some point and hovers over me for a while asking Su a lot of questions about how I did and gasps in surprise when she learns that I went through the entire thing on my first try. I guess it takes most people a long time of practice to get a sense for the feelings within them. I mentally open up my Chi manipulation skill.

Skill: Chi Manipulation level 30

Description: Chi is level % easier to sense.

Lvl 25: Chi is level % easier to manipulate within your body.

Okay that’s probably what lead to the mental click of it all falling into place on how to manuver it. Such a rapid increase in levels was probably because of sensing all of the paths she sent it and feeling it for a while. Even now I can feel it in my muscles and bones… Is it improving me? It would make sense that it’s likely changing my body to perform better but require a lot more food. Maybe metabolism would be a good skill to pick up this life to offset the higher diet requirements? Hmmm or not I’m from a wealthy family so no need to waste a skill slot when I don’t need to.

The next year I spend every third day bed ridden as I slowly acclimate to the feeling of Chi within my system. I noticed early on that it’s forcing my body to grow much more rapidly. Likely flooding my system with testosterone and other growth-related hormones considering some of the other -ahem- unfortunate side effects of going through an early puberty. I’m not full grown but I do look about 5-6 years older. I hope this doesn’t affect my lifespan… After a year of working hard and my rapid progression in Chi, mother has finally allowed me to go where I wished within the compound so long as I was accompanied by guards at all times. Of course, the first thing I did was head straight for the library. I’ve been starved for books since I started learning about Chi. I spend most of my days eating, working out or in so much pain that I pass out. It turns out that Su may have given a little lie. The process does hurt less the longer you do it, once you are fully grown. Since I’m still growing and have plenty left to grow I’m going to be going through that agony for a while. Now that I’m able to at least bear with it a little bit more I’m spending less time bed ridden and maybe I’ll actually be able to learn some information on Alkahestry while I’m there.