The orb of essence rested peacefully in the flow-node located at the base of my spine. Over the years, through observing my own and others flow networks, I discovered seven specific areas within a network where the flow would congregate, starting at the base of the spine and ending at the crown of the head. I called these areas nodes, and as far as I could tell, they were vital to facilitate efficient and smooth movement within a network.

The problem was that these nodes were closed or contracted by default if my own were any indication. However, this was not to say nothing could flow through them. It was just that the rate at which flow moved through was not sufficient, and the excess was diverted through adjacent pathways, which inevitably increased the amount of time it took to move through the network.

I did not know how to open these nodes, but I had somehow partially opened the first node at the base of my spine during my life. How did I know this was the first node? That was because the natural course the flow took within one’s network started at this node before travelling to the others. This might be why the essence settled within the node and not somewhere else or even coalesced at all, but I digress.

My flow and the essence ball were akin to a river with a boulder resting in the middle. This became a double-edged sword, the essence ball could increase my bending ability, but it hindered flow through the node. All the benefits laid in me assimilating the essence, and there would only be downsides the longer it took.

The passive erosion of the ball gave birth to the idea of using the natural movement of the flow to my advantage instead of a brute force method like using the flow to directly assault the essence ball. This would reduce the strain on my network, allowing me to stay active longer, reducing the time it took to assimilate the essence.

Controlling the flow while it’s in my body is a different experience than when I do so when it’s outside. It moves almost reflexively when I will it out, similar to how you blink your eyes. The only control I have in the process is where it exits my body. While outside, it obeys my will until it returns, where I lose control once again.

However, I had managed to attain minor success in controlling it while inside by repeatedly commanding a specific action. It was tedious and exhausting, but it would eventually follow the command, albeit reluctantly. The difference was that it was following my instruction and was not in my control, like instructing a dog to roll over compared to directly being the dog. The method was extremely crude, but it was all I had access to, while inside my body, the flow could only be influenced by my will.

I took a deep breath, calmed my mind, and put full attention on the task at hand. Flow ebbed along the pathways of my network like a calm and tranquil stream. At the node, it gathered into a small pond and gently passed around the essence ball. I had thought long and hard about the instruction that I wanted my flow to perform, something simple that would achieve my aim to a satisfactory degree.

‘Rotate once around the essence ball.’ No change occurred.

‘Rotate once around the essence ball.’ Same as before.

‘Rotate once around the essence ball.’ The calm surface of the flow grew slightly agitated.

‘Rotate once around the essence ball.’ The surface of the flow swelled.

‘Rotate once around the essence ball.’ A small current broke off and did one rotation around the ball.

As I repeated the instruction, the small current grew in size until about half the flow going through the node did one rotation around the essence ball. This seemed to be the limit currently; whether this would increase with repeated practice was yet to be seen. My goal in making the flow rotate around the orb of essence was to escalate its erosion rate by increasing the flow’s speed. As a consequence of detouring around the essence ball, the flow stream had to speed up to stay level with the remainder that did not.

This was a unique interaction I discovered when experimenting with internal control. Split one stream of flow into two separate routes, and if one pathway takes longer to traverse than the other, that stream will increase in speed to keep up with its other half. However, this was only seen when the default state of the flow was altered; it did not occur if the flow naturally split. So, I devised this technique to hopefully dissolve the essence ball quicker tho only time would tell if my efforts bore any fruit.

I repeated the process until I was too fatigued to continue, my flow gradually returning to its default state once it stopped following my instruction. My eyes opened, and the glare of the sun pierced into them. The sensation caused me to lift a hand up, shielding my eyes while they got acclimated. “It’s noon already? How long was I training for?” By the sun’s position, it looked to be midday. This session had gone on for longer than I thought. I slid off the boulder and gingerly moved my legs; it seems they had gone to sleep while I was focused on eroding the essence ball.

The early morning activity had died down by now with only a sparse few warriors left on the grounds. This was when the trainees and instructors would arrive to start their lessons for the day, and I did not want to be present when they appeared. Over the years, I had become an attraction of sorts for the child population, no thanks to my skin and hair colour. And while some were fascinated, there would inevitably be those who disliked abnormality. I would prefer not to run into that bunch for obvious reasons, so I hurriedly walked towards the exit.

At the exit stood the honour runestone, a monument that gave thanks to the Great Guardian for protecting the warriors in battle and the mole beasts that taught them how to bend earth and use it to defend themselves. I have to admit when I first learnt about the origins of how we learned to earthbend, a strong sense of déjà vu washed over me, but it departed as fast as it arrived. My footsteps slowed as I stopped before the rock, my eyes tracing the carving of a giant serpent as it wrapped around, encircling the runic text within ending with its tail in its mouth, the Great Guardian.

I bowed before it. Whether the Great Guardian was real or not didn’t matter to me and showed my thanks to the one responsible for this life I had been given. Plus, I didn’t want to anger people by not following customs seeing as how my situation was precarious, to say the least. Once done, I spun on my heels and began the jog back towards the town.

Cooling winds rushed past my face, the rhythmic sound of my footsteps reverberated in my ears while farmers working the fields filled the air with the smell of earth. I eventually reached the edge of town, where the path turned from a dirt road into stone. This side of the city formed the working district, where most of the population congregated to go about their daily jobs. Though I was still on the outskirts and had yet to enter the city. Nearby there was a mill where grain was crushed in a large grinder by the resident earthbenders before being packed and moved to one of the barns nearby. As I walked towards the mill, loud percussive thumps could be heard. Each time the ground and air would shudder as if fearful of whatever was created these tremors.

*Boom* *Boom* *Boom*

At the entrance leading into the mill, I peered inside to get a better look. I didn’t usually get to see the mill at work as I didn’t stay out this long normally. There was a sizeable circular-shaped depression in the ground, and four men stood at equal distances from each other around it. Above the depression, a spherical boulder floated, held up by the cumulative efforts of the four men. It dropped down, causing a reverberating thud to ring through the building. The men in their wide stances slowly lifted up their hands in unison, a practised manoeuvre. Subsequently, the boulder was raised into the air, ready to repeat the process.

While gazing at the feat before me, a thought surfaced in my mind. ‘This path of power I have chosen to walk on, how far will I go and how it will change me.’ I looked up at the sky, brought my hand over the sun and clasped.

As I left the outskirts and walked into town, I was greeted with the sight of a population hard at work. Numerous sounds filled the air, from shouts to the clanging of hammers against red hot metal. I observed the various establishments while moving through the streets. Smithing, carpentry, and masonry made up the majority, while some outliers included tailoring and upholstery.

Turning a corner, I nearly crashed into a group coming in the opposite direction. We staggered back and exchanged glances, and upon recognising them, a sigh escaped my lips, ‘Damn, why’d it have to be you idiots.’ I stood before four kids, three boys and a girl, and they were the least ‘friendly’ kids amongst all that I knew of.

Two of the boys had blonde hair, blue eyes and near-identical faces, twins. One wore a red tunic while the other wore green. They had tied a single braid from their hair, the left side for one and right for the other so that people could differentiate between the two. I called them ‘Lefty’ and ‘Righty’. The girl had auburn hair that flowed past her shoulders, green eyes and a freckled face that still had traces of baby fat. I called her ‘Freckles’. She stood beside the leader of their group, a burly kid who wore a sleeveless shirt with short brown hair and a face only a mother could love. I aptly named ‘Bluto’. I didn’t bother remembering their real names; it wasn’t worth the effort.

They slowly formed a line blocking my path, a weak attempt at intimidation, but they were kids. “Could you guys move? You’re blocking the way.” I asked in a neutral tone, a bored expression on my face.

Freckles stepped forth with a smirk on her face, “No, you are, and it’s making us late for our warrior class. So, you move.”

“Of course, how could I forget. My mistake. You future warriors should not be held up by someone like me.” I stepped to the side, hands clasped with the friendliest smile I could muster in this situation on my face. ‘So it’s the master-servant routine today huh. I’ll play your game for now, but if there ever comes a time when I no longer need to, I hope you forgive me for not showing any mercy. Though depending on the circumstances, you may never have the chance.’ No harm, no foul. I wasn’t about to start an argument and felt no need to preserve my ‘dignity’ before childish antics.

They snickered as they walked past me, whispering between each other. Once they had turned the corner, the smile on my face faded, my hands dropping to the side. I continued on back home, being sure not to run into any more unsavoury characters, which thankfully didn’t happen. After ascending the stone steps leading to the Illugi residence, I quickly scanned the surroundings before sneaking around back. I was out too long today and was late for the daily lessons held for all the children in the house.

The hinges of the backdoor let out a squeak as I slowly pushed it open. Popping my head through the gap, looking back and forth, making sure the coast was clear. The hallway was empty, so I slipped inside and quietly made my way through the house, being careful to avoid anyone. I stopped before a wooden door, placing a hand on the ceramic handle as I composed myself. The teacher’s voice could be heard coming from the other side.

I opened the door and stepped inside. All the kids turned their heads to me in unison, as if they were one entity. There was an apologetic expression on my face as I tried to explain the reason for my tardiness. I had a good lie already made up. Just as my mouth opened, the teacher cut me off, “Save your excuses, Sǫlmundr I don’t want to hear them.”

“Yes, teacher…” I mumbled.

“Seeing as how you have interrupted the lesson, why don’t you continue where I left off, I was just about to start on the part in the Edda where the Great Guardian rescued us.” The children started snickering when the words left the teacher’s mouth. “Quiet!!! Sǫl start us off, please.”

I sighed and began to recite the Edda.