However, he still did not have time to rest as he still had to do his morning meditation. He quickly took out some herbs from his sash that was hang on the tree prior and dumped them into a prepared cold bath before sitting cross legged in it. The solution only covered his legs but that was enough. With his eyes closed, he started his meditations at sunrise on the Jua village’s Solar Divine Canon.

The Sun and Moon Arts was the number one meditation technique of the Jua village. It was an entry level technique used by warrior in the realm of Mortal Body Forging to absorb natural energy especially from the sun and moon. This art was composed of the Solar Divine Canon originating from the ancestors of Jua village, and Lunar Divine Canon from the Mwezi village, their sister village.

These two villages were the homes of the Jua clan and Mwezi clan, two of the twelve clans of the Jemedari tribe in the kingdom of Toro. Both clans dealt with subsidiary occupations with the people of Jua being blacksmiths and providing weapons for the tribe while the people of Mwezi were mainly farmers responsible for the food reserves of the tribe, herbs-men and herbal doctors as they farmed a variety of herbs.

The Sun and Moon Arts consisted of 10 Turns and Routes. Every morning, children in Jua village could be seen outside their homes facing the East meditating on the Solar Divine Canon. This art allowed them to absorb the energy from the sun to strengthen their growing bodies. The rising sun in the morning was the best for this due to its nourishment. It was bright, gentle and provided nourishing effects to these growing seedlings of the village.

As Mwana was meditating, he could hear some footsteps approaching him before the person sat still right next to him. He could not be bothered and continued on his training. What drove him the most at this point was his desire to become an intermediate warrior as soon as possible. At that point he would be able to leave the village, join hunts in the forests and take on more serious roles in the village. He would have easier time earning money and helping his family while gaining more freedom.

The ranks of warriors in the village were decided based on their strength with most Junior Warriors being children between the first level and the third level, those at the fourth level to the sixth level were Intermediate Warriors while level seven to level 9 warriors were Senior Warriors in the clan. It is only after one reached the tenth level, the Apex, that they could receive the title of a Young Elder.

The morning sunlight washed over him and his body absorbed the sun’s energy with every breath he took. His skin took on a healthy golden glow; this was a sign of the Solar Divine Canon’s second turn, Solar Light. Warriors absorbed the sunlight directly through their skin using it to temper their bodies. It was said that at the highest state, a warrior could use the sunlight to forge their body into a Golden Solar Body and even condense the defensive Golden Sun Armor. However Mwana did not dare fantasize about that now. ‘You probably have to stay in the sun so much and get cooked beyond measure to reach such a level.’ After all, unlike the gentle morning sun, the Golden Sun Body alone, required the scorching noon sun to train up.

As the sun rose higher, Mwana was about to halt his training when he felt something nestle up to his side. Something cold and slippery! Immediately, he knew what it was, his body tensed up immediately and he almost started shivering. ‘Shit, why does this keep happening recently!’ He could only do his best not to scream. ‘Why is this village so infested recently? They need to bring in an exterminator.’

“Aaaaaaaaaaargh!” A loud sorry scream, as if a chicken was being strangled, interrupted Mwana’s disordered thoughts. It provide much respite for Mwana to free himself from the situation as he sat up and jumped back almost ten meters in an instant. At the place he previously sat was a brightly colored red snake with golden spots. The snake looked around in a confused and befuddled manner before settling its gaze on the two individuals in front of it. Its gaze was innocent as if saying, ‘What is happening,’ completely not comprehending that it was the perpetrator that induced so much shock earlier.

“Aaaaargh! Shoo shoo shoo shoooooo!” the person next to Mwana kept cring over and over to no effect. In the end it seemed as if he would run out of breath long before the snake undersood his meaning let alone leaving.

“Jana, leave it.” It was only after he heard Mwana’s voice that he stopped his futile attempts.

“It can’t understand you anyway. And it doesn’t fear you.”

Jana could only keep silent. He didn’t dare approach the snake even by an inch despite all his shouting earlier.

“Go.”

As if receiving an order from it’s boss, the red snake even seemed to nod its head as its previously naïve eyes seemed to fill with intelligence before it slithered into the bushes behind their homestead. Although Mwana had been shocked and a bit scared earlier, this was indeed not the first time, snakes had slithered into their compound. They seemed especially attracted to him, much to his displeasure and horror. The first time he had woken up with a snake nestled up in his bed and he had almost fainted at the site of it. Luckily for him, his mother swiftly handled it, but even then, he had not been able to sleep peacefully for weeks. ‘That was rough, two years and I still remember dreaming about snakes even when half awake.’