"How was your day?" Lily had a shit-eating grin that told Caeden she had at least some idea what his day had been like. Suddenly he wasn't so happy to see her.

"What an interesting question. You wouldn't happen to know anything about what my day was like, would you?" Caeden couldn't help but ask.

Lily giggled, "I know what weapon training is like. How many times did you fall over?"

"I was knocked down, thank you very much. I never just fell over." He huffed, crossing his arms and not looking at her.

"How many?" Lily pressed, not letting him avoid the question.

"...I don't remember, but my butt hurts." Caeden reluctantly admitted, a smile slipping onto his face. If you can't laugh at your own failures, how are you going to learn?

"Ha! I'll bet. I thought you were crazy when you picked up that many weapon classes, but I guess more training will help you learn faster." Lily patted him on the shoulder with a look of pity that barely lasted a second before she was giggling again, "Sorry, sorry. I just really wish I got to see it. Big tough Caeden getting knocked on his ass over and over again."

"I never personally claimed any level of toughness." Caeden reasoned.

"Says the guy who turns into a giant purple and gold man with a huge sword." Lily scoffed.

"That's not exactly by choice, you know."

"Mhmm." Lily nodded, smiling. "Doesn't make it less funny."

Ok, ok, laugh it up." Caeden sighed.

"You'll get better." Lily's tone shifted, "Falling a lot is just part of the process. After a while, you'll fall less and less. Then the real fun starts."

"Oh? How are you so familiar anyway?" Caeden was genuinely curious, "You said you have no training."

"I don't," Lily shook her head, "But sometimes I would watch the family guard train Ander. That was cathartic, watching him get kicked around. Then it got scary when he stopped losing so easily. After he won a match, I stopped watching."

"What's he skilled with?" Caeden couldn't help but ask.

"It's a weapon unique to our family called a razorwind. I'll show you sometime. I'm sure there's a depiction of one in the library." Lily waved him off. "It's not important right now."

"Ok," Caeden shrugged. They still had time before he needed to really worry about Ander anyway. Plus, Lily would likely be the one dealing with him. "Actually, you and I need to talk about weapon designs for you. I'll need an idea of what you're looking for so I can get to work tomorrow."

"Oh, I hadn't really thought about it. I've been making weapons out of my ice anyway. I'm not sure I want a traditional sword and sacrifice the versatility of making my own weapons." Lily frowned.

"That's not a problem." Caeden assured, "A lot of object shrouds use their domain as weapons. There are other options I can explain after class."

"How'd you know that?" Lily looked at him skeptically. "You didn't know what an object shroud was before you got to the Academy; now you know how to make weapons specific to them?"

Caeden rolled his eyes. "You're not the only one who can visit the library, Lily. While you were learning school history and whatnot, I dug into everything they had on etherforging. I didn't spend as much time there as you, but I learned enough. I'll be ready to make some good gear for everyone."

"Well, that's comforting," Lily smirked.

They entered another Gateway together, coming out onto another identical dirt field. Lily had already attended her small blades class earlier today, so she was also familiar with this set-up. In fact, she already knew about the Gateways from her time in the library. Apparently, they were old structures from the early days of the Academy. Their construction was also unique since it wasn't made just through ethersmithing but through the use of multiple shrouds infusing the forged archways. Three shrouded with the domains of Divide, Dream, and Illusion had worked together to make all of them. Unfortunately, two of those shrouded were now dead, so the method to make more was lost.

There were many more students in this class than Caeden had seen in any of his others. He wasn't sure if that was down to swords simply being a more popular weapon or some other factor, so he asked Lily.

"Oh, it's a bit of both." Lily laughed, "You remember how all of Captain Saorise's classes were full because she's famous? Well, the teacher for this class is a true swordmaster. A lot of people use swords compared to other weapons, but our teacher is also famous."

"What's the big deal with being a swordmaster?" Caeden was unfamiliar with the concept.

"I don't know," Lily shrugged, "I was never that interested. I know it's a big deal, but I don't know the specifics."

"A swordmaster, or indeed, and weapon master is an individual who can manifest phenomena outside of their domain through mastery of their chosen weapon." A voice spoke from right behind them, causing both Caeden and Lily to jump. They spun around to find a middle-aged man of average height and looks with smile lines on his face to match the goofy grin already there. "Hello, students."

"Good afternoon." Caeden nodded respectfully.

"Hello, Swordmaster Bladeson. Could you explain a bit more?" Lily asked with equal respect.

"Hmm, I suppose the whole class will be curious. I am the only weapon master on campus right now…" The Swordmaster straightened his posture, standing at military attention. "Students! Line up in an orderly fashion. Rows and columns. I will be giving a demonstration as to what a weapon master can do!"

Immediately, all talking ceased, and the students present hurried to form up into neat rows, all facing their teacher, who stood in front of the Gateway. He waited for a few long moments before waving a hand in front of himself, a wide-blade one-handed longsword manifesting out of his red and black shroud. The sword itself was primarily black with a red edge, matching his shroud's colors. Caeden couldn't help but feel some similarities to Sharp in that shroud.

"My shroud is the Sword itself. This has made my journey to Swordmaster a short one. In fact, I managed to reach mastery in my first year at the Academy. Essentially, I cheated. I was born with inherent advantages when it came to reaching weapon mastery. However, that does not mean that all of you are incapable of doing the same. Most of you have some basic understanding of what being a weapon master is, along the lines of 'making cool light shoot out of your sword.' That's definitely true." He smiled jokingly.

Swinging his sword casually, a beam of light as thick as his whole body carved through the dirt of the training yard, creating a deafening howling sound and shaking the earth as it cut through the air and ground. Where it passed, a massive rent had formed in the land that Caeden could have fallen into without touching the sides.

"Martial arts is the practice of using your weapon as a base for your shroud so that you can increase its effective power. Basically, I tune my shroud to the motions of my body, integrating the two. This multiplies the power my shroud can output. Weapon mastery is when you reach a level of martial arts where your motions take on a power of their own. I did not use an ounce of shroud just now. This is called sword force, or Ki, if you want a more universal term. That is the power of weapon mastery. My understanding and control over my weapon extends beyond my shroud. Now, I will show you the difference between the basics and a true master."

He gripped his sword with both hands, the hilt shifting and lengthening to allow for his new grip. He took a stance, whole body in line with the blade as lines of his shroud crawled up and down his sword's surface in a rolling pattern, perfectly in sync with his movements.

"Paradiso."

With a whisper Caeden only heard through his aura sense, the Swordmaster brought his sword through an upward arc at incredible speeds. His body blurred, and Caeden lost track of the blade even with his investigative sense fully focused on what was happening. Then the world went white. Caeden could see nothing but bright white and the occasional firework explosion of brilliant gold. Caeden heard a beautiful choir singing in the distance. It was as if the entire world of the Gateway had disappeared into some new reality. Caeden couldn't even feel the ground under his feet.

As suddenly as the effect appeared, it vanished, and Caeden was returned to the dirt training field, feeling like he had slept for a week and eaten a full meal, totally content and refreshed. Looking around, he noticed others with happy, wistful expressions. One student even patted his belly like he had just had the best dinner of his life and couldn't take another bite. Looking forward, Caeden saw that the large gash in the earth that their teacher had made was gone as if it had never happened.

"This is the real power of a weapon master!" The Swordmaster shouted, recapturing everyone's focus. "This is a level very few reach. Most who dedicate themselves to a weapon will be able to do what I did earlier; it's not that hard. It just takes time and dedication. What I just did is wholly different. It is a process called Ki Transformation, where I fuel my Ki with my shroud and then change my Ki into something else. Maybe one student this entire cycle will reach this level before they graduate. The benefits are obvious. It allows me to generate phenomena outside of my domain, like restoration." He pointed toward all of them and then where the carved-up section of ground used to be.

"Now, let's talk about the downsides." Bladeson smiled at the group. "Ki is simple to achieve, not easy. You won't be creating giant laser death beams this year, or possibly for your entire time at the Academy. You will have to dedicate a large portion of your time that could be spent learning and studying other aspects of shrouds just to get the basics. For some, you're better off focusing your efforts elsewhere." He paused for a moment, letting that sink in.

"The main advantage of Ki is also its main disadvantage. It is typeless energy. That means it has no advantages or disadvantages. If you have a fire-based shroud and you're battling an earth shroud, using Ki helps even the field. That also means, in situations where you are at a type advantage, using Ki is just worse than using your own shroud, and all the time you spent training to use it was a waste in that fight."

"Ki Transformation is an entirely different topic. It is both complicated and difficult to learn, even if you have mastered Ki. You have to have a talent for it. Don't go into martial arts thinking you'll eventually be able to create any effect and ignore your domain entirely. It's not like gaining a new splinter. Each Transformation is its own technique with a very narrow use, not something that can be molded freely. Also, it's extremely shroud-intensive, costing much more than it would for a shroud of an equivalent domain. Remember these limitations before you pursue this path." Their teacher looked at them all seriously, trying to convey how difficult it would be to reach his level through his gaze. Then he smiled.

"Alright, enough seriousness. Let's do what you all came here for and learn the basics of swordsmanship." And they started going through the motions Caeden had become intimately familiar with. Time to fall some more. This time though, Caeden had something interesting to think about.

{}

Class was beginning to wrap up with Caeden having a few more bruises on his butt that his body infusion was rapidly working to heal. Lily apparently had a strong sense of balance, managing to fall much less than he did, though she hadn't made it out of class unscathed. Not that she was admitting to it.

"I only fell because I didn't want you to feel bad about being so clumsy." Lily huffed dramatically, turning up her nose at him with a dramatic flair.

"Oh, sure. That's why you got knocked over. Yup. Totally believable." The sarcasm was thick enough to cut.

Lily laughed. "You'll get better, I'm sure. Not everyone can be as naturally talented as me."

Caeden shook his head, suppressing his own laughter. Caeden always enjoyed when Lily let herself relax and have fun. She could be incredibly sassy and funny when she wanted to. He opened his mouth to fire back his own cutting remark, but he was interrupted.

"Caeden, I'd like you to stay for a moment." Swordmaster Bladeson stopped him before he could leave the Gateway.

"Yes, sir." He had no idea what their teacher would want to talk to him about, but it wasn't like he was about to refuse. He waved Lily off, who gave him a confused, slightly concerned look.

"There's something I'd like to discuss with you that you might find personally interesting." Bladeson continued once all the other students had left.

"Ok?" Caeden couldn't keep the question out of his voice.

The Swordmaster laughed slightly, "I'm sure you're wondering what this is all about. Don't worry; I'll get there." His posture shifted, relaxing from the commanding presence he had kept up all class. "First of all, the explanation I gave for Ki at the beginning of class was a bit lacking. Considering it was just a general demonstration, I didn't feel like getting into the mechanics of it, but this will be beneficial to you specifically. What I said earlier might have been a bit misleading. Ki is not some new, different form of power from shrouds."

"Oh," Caeden couldn't help it. "I was actually wondering. I'd never heard of Ki, and the way you talked about it made me wonder why unshrouded weren't using it if it had nothing to do with shrouds."

"Yes, I figured several of the smarter students might be asking that. It's rather simple. Ki is just the power of a shroud stripped of its domain. Shrouded naturally have the ability to manipulate that power. Unshrouded don't. What you don't know is that this power, this Ki, is ever-present all around us. The ten thousand empires call it Mana, and the lands of the Fire King call it Spirit. The Church refers to it as the Primordial Shroud or the One Shroud, depending on the faction. Calling it something else is frowned upon, but it's confusing, so I go with Ki. This is how your shroud regains its energy. It absorbs it from the very world around you. Technically, a weapon isn't even necessary to control Ki, but the level of skill necessary to do that would be astronomical."

"Using a weapon as a medium allows a shrouded to focus and either strip their own shroud of its domain to create Ki or do what I did and command the Ki in the world around them to manifest. What I didn't explain is that some shrouds have a much easier time doing this than others. Weapon object shrouds like my Sword can do it. So can some modifiers. Like your Sharp." He looked meaningfully at Caeden."

"Are you saying I'll have an easier time using Ki than everyone else?"

"Possibly. There are several factors. A high control of your shroud is necessary, which you already have. Other than that, your creativity and finesse are important. I hear you are an accomplished ethersmith, which leads me to believe you also meet those qualifications. Honestly, I'm almost certain that you will be a Ki prodigy. You might even be able to reach Ki Transformation in a few hundred years."

"Thank you for telling me this." Caeden nodded seriously. He wasn't sure how he felt about investing a lot of time into learning how to use Ki, but it was good to know he had options.

"You don't fully understand." Bladeson shook his head. "I'm not just telling you this. I want to teach it to you. I want you to be my disciple in the martial arts of the sword."

"I want to be your sensei."