Rudra was in the middle of a clearing in the forest, going through various forms and stances at varying speeds. He had done this since he had started learning martial arts on Earth. He’d rise well before the Sun and go through the forms at least three times. As he learned more, the time needed grew, but he never slacked. Initially, it had been to prove himself, to grow strong, to survive. He’d grown up constantly struggling against those who were small in the larger scheme of things but loomed bigger and stronger than him. So he’d used the only muscles he had more than them, in his head and on his legs. Outsmart, run away and hide. Jackie Chan was his idol. At that time, he’d never seen a full movie of his but enough to work out how Jackie would run and fight. The impressionable age of six, with a superhuman belief in his ability and no knowledge of movie stunt shoots, led to think he could also do it. His guru had noticed his ‘practice’ and taken him under his wing. Rudra had started with this routine then. After two years, the three-hour routine had become six hours, split between morning and evening, more if time permitted. By then, it became so much more.

It had become a time of peace for Rudra. Even as he pushed himself physically, mentally he would unwind. That time was his own. Rudra used that time to work through his emotions, straighten out jumbled thoughts, learn from what passed, plan for what was to come, take stock of where he was, even as he immersed himself in the moment, till… He had once seen water pouring out of a tap appearing frozen in time. He’d learnt later it was called laminar flow… His thoughts would be like that, flowing fast yet completely calm, undisturbed. And then a few times a month, even as he disconnected himself from everything, it was in those moments that he felt the most connected to the wind, the rain, the earth, the dust, the world, the universe. On Vendhya it happened rarely. In the valley,, it happened daily.

As Rudra flowed through his forms, he mulled over the past months and the seven masters he’d met.

Thoughts of Dia brought a smile to his face. She’d been a half-elf, half-human master of the bow. She was the daughter of the headman of an elf village in the forest. And she could see Sara.

Dia was over 300 years old, as tall as Rudra slim with an amazing figure, filled out generously in all the right places. Apparently, that was the norm for elf women. As was hunting with no clothes. It was all about being one with the forest, with the elements, to use it for expanding one’s senses and aiming better. It surely worked because she was able to sense and shoot down a ten-foot tall boar from a kos away. One-shot, one kill.

He spent six weeks with her. She surprised him by starting off by teaching him how to aim, to use all his senses to lock on the target, identify all that may interfere with his shot, and then tune everything out except the path to the target. And then to this as an afterthought while moving quickly and jumping upside down on one’s hands. It was ridiculous and ridiculously difficult, but with her guidance, his aim improved tremendously. As long as he was not jumping, then whether upside down or upside up, standing still or moving, he was hitting the target centre 8 times out of 10.

Rudra learned to aim using condensed shakti marbles created through a special yantra. He got some practice in with the bow in the last two weeks, but Dia was quite clear on this.

“You suck with the bow. You will suck less with lots of practice, but it will never be your main weapon. You will be slinging shakti techniques. Many rely on the technique itself to aim and lock on targets, but if you can aim yourself, then your techniques will be that much more powerful.”

Rudra agreed and confirmed it by modifying a few techniques he was familiar with. Dia’s exercises for improving his aim were now part of his daily routine.

Palayan. Escape. One month and one day. That month was the easiest and the toughest one month Rudra had in the valley. His early childhood was spent scurrying through city streets, dodging police, thugs, people, all of who were indifferent to his existence except for how to use and abuse him. He’d learned a lot about escaping disaster. And that one day was the toughest. He learned that there were things he had forgotten and had to relearn.

He spent that time with a kitsune family. A husband, wife and three of the cutest children ever. His days were spent running around the forest with the children. Wild parkour. The children were experts at finding the most unlikely paths through impossible obstacles. Keeping up with them was difficult, running with them was exhilarating. Rudra loved any chance to just be a child.

His evenings were spent with the children’s father exploring the Vamana Urukrama Tretapada, Far-reaching Three Steps of the Monk. It was a top rank movement technique with which, in line with the myth of Vishnu’s avatar, one could cover the entire universe in 3 steps. It had 9 levels. Rudra received direct guidance on the first level, mastering only the basics of the first. He also got 2 crystal slips. One detailed the techniques and resources for mastering the first 6 levels and the other was a map and an entry token for a trial place to earn the right to practice the last 3. His tutor had in his 9000-year existence mastered only the first 5 levels and was struggling with the sixth.

Rudra learned many things in that month, his movement speed increased by a lot, even with no attribute increases. His ability to read his environment and chart a path through it also improved. Yet… the lesson on that last day… the true lesson for him… it still made him break out in a cold sweat.

The month following had passed in a blur. The curse of his perfect memory meant he clearly recalled all that was taught to him and had even made some progress. Yet, at times, that month seemed to fuse into a single moment. Maybe it was the shock wearing off, or his mentor’s expertise with illusions.

Chaal. Deceit. Illusions. His guide for this month had been his last tutor’s wife. It was a month of recovery and self-discovery.

“No illusion you create, no disguise you form will be perfect if you cannot cast away everything of yourself.”

He learned new techniques to be aware of himself, his environment, and his impact on everything around him.

“Illusions and disguise can only be perfected if you change not just yourself but the impact you have on everything around you.”

It surprised him when he was told that he was going to learn the Drifting Clouds technique and not Divine Illusions Disguise. This time it was Sara that clarified,

“Divine Illusions Disguise is a top rank technique and is not easily mastered. Drifting Clouds is of lower rank than Divine Illusions and easier to learn. It serves as a foundation technique. Once you master it, it will make it easier for you to learn the Divine Illusions technique.”

Never one to hide from a fight or trouble, Rudra cared little for either technique.