Spell 26 : The Split

General Zhao Yun was standing on a raised wooden platform so that his gleaming armor could be seen by every single soldier gathered in the center of the camp. In his hands was a missive of some sort penned down on flat wooden sticks bound together by threads. It was the ancient Chinese way of writing on bamboo scrolls that he held on in his hands.

He looked up to make sure all eyes were on him, before he started to give his brief.

'To all my fellow Shu brothers,

An unknown curse of some sort has befallen on all of us! The time for war is over! Before we fight the might of Wu or Wei, we must reconcile and unite ourselves. Facing a foe with a force so divided is akin to giving up on our own heads. Find the generals, regroup at our base camps and plan our next move! '

'This,' Zhao Yun continued, looking up from the scroll, 'is a message from Lord Liu Bei himself! A courier arrived early in the morning bearing news along with this missive that Lord Guan Yu has been sighted in the south. He is in dire need of reinforcements. His camp is being hampered by attacks from Wei forces as we speak.'

'You have your orders. Now, pack up and move! For Shu!' He rallied.

The troops echoed after him and proceeded to break camp without a further delay. As I watched them, I thought to myself how it was a feeling to watch them so eager to join another ally even though this could very well end up in a march straight towards death. In times of conflict, a helping hand would go a long way in boosting morale to levels so extreme that it could topple nations.

'A penny for your thoughts, Elfish Sorcerer?' It was like the call of an angel, which immediately brought me back from the pits of my thoughts straight into reality. I looked around and found a lovely sight.

Vanyssa was in her armour again, though she chose to not hide her face. Her dragon-maw helmet was tucked under her arms and she wore a most delightful smile as she looked at me. She was so close to me that I was afraid that she could hear my heart beating faster and faster.

'Nah, just thinking some random thoughts.' I said, then recalling she had just used a title given to me not too long ago. 'And please, don't call me that. I'm uncomfortable with that title.' I sighed and she giggled. It was a funny feeling to blush; it was like you could feel this slight aching in your cheeks.

I looked away so that she could not see. 'Anyway, have you contacted your friends from the guild yet? I asked Commander Pang Tong; he said he was fine with it as long as your friends don't complain about having to walk and climb mountains. Couldn't tell if he was serious though...'

She was silent and I stole a look at her. I realised she was accessing her in-game User Interface to check on her guild. It was moments later when she answered.

'Yup, they're coming.' Said Vanyssa as she did some swiping motions in the air; probably removing her user interface windows. 'I told them to contact Aeryssya, but they can't seem to... Oh. Shit. I forgot...' She tried to cover her mouth but it was too late; I heard her and it was with a pang in my heart as I replayed that name in my mind.

'Never mind.' I said with a croaked voice. 'Tell them to go back to Gloucest Castle, and seek out the Time Guardians. I found one of them there the other time we were solving the banner mystery; he might still be there.' I paused for a moment before continuing. 'Excuse me, but I think Zhao Yun wants to speak to me.' I rushed off, without even looking back to see Vanyssa's reaction.

I was lying of course. Zhao Yun was too busy engrossed with a head-to-head discussion with some of his lieutenants. I just didn't want Vanyssa to see me in a moment of weakness.

Aeryssya had been more than a friend to me; for someone to have basically only 3 friends in real-life, I craved her companionship more so than I had imagined before. This was not love, but more of a sworn brother-sister relationship that I share with her, and I could feel at times that she looked out for me as such too.

It was with a heavy heart when I had requested to hear the news from the scout team who had went to see if they could find anything from the Wu camp that had previously been the captive home of Zhao Yun, and where Aeryssya was last known to be.

The reports had came in rather grisly; everything was burnt down. There was no sign of any Wu soldiers so it was assumed that they had all perished and possibly revived somewhere. Aeryssya's body could not be found, so it could not be ascertained whether she was truly dead, or alive and captured somewhere.

She is not a natural inhabitant of this world, much like Vanyssa, Connor, Kiry and I, so if we do perish in this world, we are truly dead and cannot be revived. At least not in this world. She was an NPC though, so I had no idea how it would work out for her.

I went to walk around aimlessly, helping out soldiers who could not carry some of the heavy equipment by using Telekinesis whenever I could. Though they gave their thanks still rather curtly, I could feel that they were slowly warming up to our presence. I walked past Commander Pang Tong's tent and found that it was still up. I parted the tent flaps and walked in, only to find him rummaging through his mini library. He looked behind him and I could see a flicker of annoyance flashed past his face but when he saw that it was me, the frown vanished immediately, only to be replaced by a beaming smile.

'Come come,' he indicated at the stool nearest to me, 'do sit down. I had thought that it was... Never mind. Is there anything I can do for you?' He looked at me with questioning eyes.

I paused for a moment, looking over at his staff, which was strapped to his back. But before I could even open my mouth, he had already guessed my intentions. 'You wish to learn something from an old man like me, I presume?' He chuckled and poured out two cups of tea. He offered me one, which I took unhesitantly.

I nodded my head silently and drank the beverage. It was rather crudely made, but for a camp like this, the tea was pretty much acceptable.

'Mo! Fa! Quan!' Shouted he as he waved his staff around. A blue circle of light appeared on the ground beneath us. I yelped and jumped up in fright. Pang Tong chuckled again and gestured me to sit down, offering me more tea as he did so. 'What is this?' I asked, accepting the tea, though I chose to remain standing, looking around warily.

'This, my friend, is what we Chinese mages call a unity circle. It focuses your thoughts, and helps you render minor distractions nearby useless. We use it to help ourselves perfect our abilities.'

It was true; I was receiving a +20% spell experience buff the moment he had summoned the circle. I felt like telling him it was unnecessary though; we probably won't have much time left to practise anything anyway.

'Now,' he began to say, 'our branch of magic is very different from what you have probably come to experience before. If I am the first Chinese mage that you've met in your lifetime, then you're in for a treat.'

I didn't say a word, but just kept looking at him earnestly, He seemed to appreciate the lack of interruptions from me.

'We believe in observing the natural order of balance. Entropy and order must be observed carefully. We use natural energy, what we call qi to amplify or cause disturbance in the natural forces around us. We can only summon firestorms if there is a spark. We can only summon a tidal storm if there is but a droplet. Or we can only summon an earthquake if there is so much as a tremor in the ground.'

It all sounded something similar to Mana Manifest to me, but instead of using mana, they were using this form of energy called qi instead.

'Qi is the natural energy around us. It comes from the sun, the earth and basically everything around us. We draw on the earth's powers to perform our wishes.' As he said that, a small thundercloud had formed up from the top of his cup, which I noticed, had became empty. The mini storm cloud had, in fact, started to rain tea back into the cup. I stared in awe and clapped my hands in glee.

When he spoke next, his tone had changed dramatically into seriousness. And it was with narrowed eyes that he looked at me with.

'If I were to teach you this, you are bound to abide by this rule that I have for you. It is only but one rule, and if you shall ever break it, this magic shall be lost to you forever. No Chinese magician can ever teach you the same magic again, for it is a pact with nature itself you are breaking.'

'I comply,' I said, 'with whatever it is that you wish me to abide by.' With that, he put his hand over my chest and I could feel a warm, yet not burning sensation in my heart. I peered down the tunic I was wearing, and with a shock, I found out that I had just been branded with a Chinese character that resembled '氣' over my left breast.

*DING*

[p=center]You have gained a new Ability : Qi

You can now draw strength from your environments to further enhance your spells. When casting an elemental spell that is attuned with the environment, your spells will deal 30% more damage. You may also receive additional benefits which will vary depending on what kind of terrain you're on.

WARNING : If you ever misuse this ability, it would be lost. [/p]

'As you draw from nature, remember that there must always be balance. You can only take; you must not snatch. Nor must you try to exert your will on nature. All Qi users serve nature and nature, in turn, serves them back.' He said as he gathered the static in the air. 'Now, I think you're lacking a Lightning element spell in your arsenal.'

*DING*

[p=center]You have gained a new Spell : Thunderclap!

Thunderclap Beginner Level 1. 0%

You call upon static in the air to cause a minor static shock to all foes around you.

Mana-cost : 50

Cooldown : 30s

[/p]

Just then, a soldier popped his head in through the tent flap. 'Sir,' he said, 'I am extremely sorry to interrupt, but General Zhao Yun is asking why your tent is not down yet. Do you ne-' But before he could finish, Pang Tong sent him away with a dismissive wave.

'That man,' he shook his head distastefully, reminding me of a badly-shaken dog, 'is one annoying, self-righteous sack of dung.' He seemed to realise I was still in the tent, and he shut his mouth immediately. Clearing his throat, he said, 'I'm sorry that you have to hear that from me. Anyway, I've taught you everything you need to know. Someone as accomplished as yourself should be able to go on from here.'

Realising that I had just been subtly dismissed, I gave my thanks and excused myself out of the tent, only to find Kiry, Connor and Vanyssa waiting outside. Though Vanyssa was looking a little subdued from earlier, the other two were lively with excitement.

'C'mon, let's go. Grab your mount; we've orders to scout ahead first to draw in any ambushes, if there are any.' The two of them rode off laughing, definitely drawing the attention of every single soldier they passed. Vanyssa was on her own horse, but she was looking into the distance. I summoned my own horse and saddled up as well. We rode off silently together, not speaking a word as usual when we get into one of those awkward moments we seem to share more often than not.

But it was she who broke the silence first this time.

'I'm sorry about mentioning Aeryssya to you just now. I mean, I didn't know she was that important to you. Or that you cared about her that much.' She said with an effort of trying to sound apologetic. Yet I could tell there was something forced in her voice, and I looked at her with a puzzled expression.

She saw me looking at her, and for some reason, she was bitter with resentment. 'But don't you think your relationship with her is a little too close for comfort? She isn't a real person, I'm hoping you're aware of that?'

I could not tell where all this repugnant distaste towards Aeryssya was coming from, but I could not take it lying down, even from Vanyssa.

'I'm sorry,' I said, 'that you have to feel that way, but I know fully well she is not a real human being. That doesn't mean she's not REAL. Her thoughts, actions and feelings are as real as any other person I know, and in fact, I think she is more real as a human being than most other people in our world!'

'Do you not hear yourself?' She asked, furious now. 'You're actually comparing real people to an AI? Are you so completely besotted to this world and that woman that you have forsaken your human self?'

'No. That is definitely not what I'm suggesting. I have said nothing of the sort. I can still tell what is real from what is virtual, thank you very much. What I'm saying is that she is a real being in essence that has more humanely values than most other real human beings have. She has shown me kindness and sincerity which I can hardly find from many of the two-faced bastards I have seen in our world!' I replied angrily, completely disregarding the need to retain docile in front of the one I love.

'So you're saying I'm two-faced?' She screamed accusingly.

'I did not say that! What's with this bitterness of yours anyway?' I replied reproachfully.

'I'm sorry, you're right. This has nothing to do with me. I wish you a good day.' She put on her helmet in peeved tones. And spurred her horse forwards at full speed, leaving me behind to deal with an awkward Jiang Wei, who came up to me slowly after she left.

'Women, huh? We Chinese believe that though women are supposed to be more logical than men in decision-making, they are also at times the most irrational people in the universe.' Said he in bemused tones as he watched the dust from Vanyssa's horse choke up some of the unfortunate soldiers who happened to be in her path.

I sighed and said nothing, spurring my horse after her.

This was going to be a long, long day.

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'Yo Bambsie, how long are you gonna take in that mine? I don't even know why we came here. There's nothing to be looted at all.' Called Cluck from above.

'Coming! Just give me a minute. I think I found what I came looking for!' Bambsie yelled from below.

'Found what he was looking for?' Thought Cluck to himself. 'So we're all here because of him?'' He then said out aloud, 'what are you looking for?'

'Just give me a minute!' Came the eager voice from below again.

Cluck shook his head impatiently and began to read his in-game mail to pass the time. His eyes lit up in excitement when he saw a mail from Vanyssa. He then yelled out, 'hey Bambs! Van's saying she's with our mysterious mage friend! She asks us to go find them! Are you listening, you twat?'

'REALLY?' Shouted Bambsie as he suddenly appeared from the hole below, giving Cluck a shock as he fell off his steed. "Let's go then! Hurry!'

'Yeah okay, give me a minute. You shouted me off my horse, idiot.' Said Cluck as he expertly climbed up his horse. 'So what is it that you found below?'

Bambsie flashed a grin, and put a finger on his lips. 'Y'know, don't tell anyone, but I think I might have just found a way to make nuclear bombs...' He then clambered off cheerfully towards the entrance of the mine, leaving a dumbfounded Cluck on his horse which was bleating disdainfully.

'You found... WHAT?!'