The troops had been grouped and told to sit in lotus position. Aaron was doing the same, though he did it floating high in the air in front of them all. There were eight energies in the world that followed logical rules, and he explained the very basis of them for twenty minutes.

"Qi is the foundation of power. It sets the basis for your future and also allows you to survive. Who doesn't want to survive when they would otherwise not? Who doesn't want to break reality with their fists? It has disadvantages, yes, all energies do, and I will prove it to you in this lecture, but it's not as bad as people in this empire make it seem. Hear my words, my crusade, and I shall tell you the secrets of the world...

"Arcane Energy is defined by its versatility. It's intrinsically linked to Qi in its origins, almost the Yin to Qi's Yang. It can thus help Qi become whole, though the divide between both is clear. Qi can only be used inside its owner, while Arcane Energy can only be used outside, and can never heal...

"Elemental Energy might feel like a grouping of different elements, but it's classified as one for a good reason. It's also for a good reason that all elements are not mixed into one. The universe is also divided into Laws of different tiers, yet it is also a whole. Elemental Energy deals directly with the Divine Laws and some Derived Laws...

"Speaking of Divine Laws, Psychic Energy is another that touches on them. The Mind Laws are unique in the Divine Laws, for they are the only ones with no physical manifestation in nature. It's also directly responsible for one of the five parts sapient beings can have: body, spirit, soul, mind, and heart..."

"Nature Energy is also mostly related to the Divine Laws, the Laws of Wood, though it touches on the Prime Laws of Life. It lets the cultivator give back to nature, to get in harmony with it, and lend power from it. Nature is defined by anything that is living and doesn't have a dantian. Beasts, for instance, are core beings, and any being that would develop a core if they cultivated, instead of having a dantian as what you call the enlightened races, is part of nature. Nature isn't lesser for being different though...

"Vital Energy comes directly from the Prime Laws of Life, except for the part of it that has been made exclusive to Nature Energy. A Vitamancer can no more heal a beast than a Naturamancer can heal a cultivator. Nature Energy offers the cultivator the chance to become a great healer and an efficient killer. It may sound strange to you at first, and indeed direct application of Vital Energy cannot kill, but have you ever considered the knowledge that comes with it? Energy is power, but knowledge is also power, and energy and knowledge are intrinsically linked for form a higher kind of power...

"Speaking of power and knowledge, Space and Time Energy are so powerful in part because they come straight from Prime Laws, with but a few of their parts stripped from them and pushed into Arcane Energy. To explain either Space or Time Energy, I must first introduce you to the concepts of time and space, how they are linked to each other, and how they are the very basis of reality as you know it..."

His teachings were quite basic, yet he knew most people would find them useful. He would teach them two more times in the coming days while they marched to Illyria, adding to the content each time. He was only laying the foundations now.

That said, he did that mostly as very basic thanks to the weak who stayed behind. The slightly more powerful had more to lose by siding with him, and he would give them special lectures. So, a little over two-and-a-half hours later, when he was done teaching the basics, he had the Four Star cultivators brought to another place.

Once there, he cast a skill to separate them from everyone else and talked only about the differences between each energy at Four and Five Star level for ten minutes each. Then he did the same to the Five Star cultivators, except he taught them about the differences between Five Star and Champion level energy instead.

Aaron's teachings were broad, and the concepts he taught were general. There were many branches to each path toward Immortality, and the only way to properly guide someone in one of them was by teaching one on one. Even then, the teacher had to pay attention to the student's body language to know when to slow down, speed up, or even change the topic altogether. It was also important for the student to ask questions to help guide the teacher toward that student's "branch."

He had done that for Alys, and he would do the same to the two Champions once they woke up. For everyone else, he was thankful, and the gratitude he was showing was invaluable, but it was up to them to find their way themselves. He had more important things to do than help them grow powerful, to the point Bymor was confident Aaron was only doing this to help cement loyalty among the troops.

"I know you are only aiming for their hearts," he was telling Aaron back in the command tent, "but I'm a Master Shaper, and I don't believe I have ever been able to put into words how space and time are related like that. I knew it, I felt it, but there was such profoundness in the simple way you put it..."

He had been like that for the last half hour. He repeated the things Aaron had said back to him, and each time he seemed to realize something new in the words, as it was common to happen when thinking about the good-willed teachings of a powerful cultivator. Indeed, most of the crusade had kept sitting in lotus position and started "pondering on the Dao," as the process was called, as soon as he stopped talking to them. When he had called the Four Stars to talk in private, he hadn't told them the purpose of the summons, and some had to be physically brought to the place, so deep they were in their meditations.

Aaron gave the crusade three hours of meditation after he was finished with the Five Stars. They had places to be, for his woman was more important than anyone's enlightenment. The danger she was in was the primary reason he limited how long he taught them to begin with.

As for Bymor, Aaron kept hearing the ramblings of the man because it was helping Bymor himself. He had already been working when Aaron walked in the tent but was now assimilating Aaron's teachings instead, and Aaron was also grateful for the man. For now, he was only raising the foundations of the man's knowledge, but the day after tomorrow, after he was done teaching the crusade for the third time, he would also have a one-on-one teaching session with Bymor. He smiled, thinking about what his reactions would be then.

He owed it to the guardian. He had done his very best for Aaron and hadn't complained even once. He had lost his limbs and almost gotten killed, yet hadn't even mentioned it. Aaron's respect had reached a new high after he saw the man getting further away from the Timelady by moving with his chin, only to give Aaron a few more instants to level up.

Bymor was the man Aaron respected the most in this world. The only reason Aaron hadn't invited the Arcane Master to his clan was that his loyalty was to the goddess. It was one thing to have a weak Priestess like Lana join his clan with another loyalty, but a Master was something else altogether.

The man was still his subordinate in the crusade, and as loyal as he could be while still being a follower of the Goddess of Light. That would do for now.

Aaron heard him and focused on resting his soul, which was still stressed from the forced level up.

"Alys," Tari said, "we must talk."

Alys had been caressing Bella on her liguru as the crusade marched. She turned to her Mind Healer and smiled. "Yes?"

Tari created a Psychic dome around them that would make anyone thinking about spying on them distracted. That was common during their sessions on the move, so Alys didn't find it weird.

"You have confided in me for almost a week already. That should be enough for us to add a few skills to your healing process, but I find myself in a conflict of interests."

Alys frowned. "Sorry?"

"You told me how wise of a man is the Herald of Light, but I never realized it until now. His teachings are... How can I explain it to you?" She made a pause. "Back in the dinner, he made me reveal this is not my original body, and I have lived for quite some time. I have seen and heard many things in my long life, but the level of knowledge the herald has even on simple things is out of the charts! I..." She sighed, made another pause, then continued, "Let me give you an example. It's obvious in hindsight, especially after his explanation, but I had never realized how the reason Vital Energy and Nature Energy can only heal certain living beings is because they each take from different parts of the Prime Life Laws. I have learned a lot from him, and I'm in a debt of gratitude now. Some of your issues are about him, thus I cannot treat you anymore; my lens of the world are now tainted by my gratitude, and it might make me not consider things from your point of view when they are related to him. I'm sorry."

"What?" Alys asked, astonished. "No. No, you can't do that. No. No! Not to me! I told you how I feel about him stealing Lana from me and pushing everyone away! Even Madam Selna, who was my boss, is now just a retainer for him! Even the king who hired me is his lackey! You can't do that to me! You can't!"

"I know, and I'm truly sorry."

Alys' anger turned into desperation and sadness. Bella wasn't amused either, and she snarled at Tari, who stepped back in fear.

"I'm doing this because I respect you too much to risk manipulating you. I can recommend—"

"Get away from me," Alys said in a low, sad voice.

"Please, listen to me. You must continue your treatment—"

"Go. Away." Her voice was firmer now.

"Alys, please—"

"Out!" She yelled, the tears finally breaking out. "Out of my sight! Now!"

Bella's next snarl came with power, and Salast was pushed a few feet away. Lines of blood came out from her nose and ears.

Salast kept silent for a while, then bowed slightly. "I'll leave. Just notice how out of control you are." She cleared the blood off her nose with the back of her hand and extended it to Alys, proof of her emotional instability. "Talk to him, or one day, you'll become his enemy, and from what you told me, he'll kill you."

With those ominous words, she unmade the dome and left.

Alys erected a dark dome around herself, hugged Bella tightly, and cried for a while. But in the end, she did as told. Not because she respected the woman who had betrayed her, but because she feared the Patriarch.

He was ruthless to his enemies. If she was indeed on a path that would go against him, she didn't think herself capable of surviving.

She found him walking close to the Arcane Master's carriage. She stopped in front of him, dismounted, kneeled, then prostrated herself. "This lowly one..." She started crying. "This lowly... I... I'm lost, Patriarch. I'm so very lost. Please, help me. Please."

He kept silent for a long time, and in his silence, the rest of the world felt entirely too loud. The Arcane Master's carriage stopped moving. Orders were yelled for everyone to stop the march. People were confused and curious as to the reasons, and slowly, the crusade obeyed. It soon felt as if the entire world was waiting for his answer.

"She escaped," he said. "Tari Salast is only a corpse now, and I can't find the body snatcher's soul anywhere. I'll not hunt for her because she is your problem, not mine."

Alys said nothing. She was confused about why he would look for Salast, and feeling humiliated. She only kept crying.

"Alys, do you remember when I said my clan rules might not be perfect, but they are the best I can do? Rules about approaching healers from outside the clan are there for good reasons too, and I even gave you a direct order about it. It might seem as she merely abandoned you after you opened your heart to her, but this is evil. The way you are feeling right now will only fester, no matter how good her reason might be, until it either kills you or gets treated by another professional, someone you will be hard-pressed to trusting and opening yourself to after this episode.

"Your mind is sick, and looking for the wrong person only made it worse." He stepped closer and crouched in front of her. "I will care for you. It's suboptimal, especially because I heard your last talk to her and you have issues with me, but I believe this is for the best, all things considered." He gently raised her from the shoulders and looked at her eyes. "From henceforth, until I deem you apt to leave my care, you're not a clan member anymore. You are now my patient, with all the privileges that come with it. I'll take good care of you." Then he stood up and offered her a hand.

Feeling completely lost and vulnerable, she took it.