Inside a small room cut off from upper energy- cut off from the world- Chidi placed a tiny pellet on his tongue. It instantly began to dissolve, turning into soft strings of energy that tasted like dirt. Contrary to popular opinion, Chidi didn’t think dirt tasted bad. It was simply the way it clung to the tongue, the dry powderyness that made it terrible. Not that he particularly liked it either, instead it was tolerable for the sake of results.

Chidi did not swallow the pill nor the energy it contained, instead guiding the strings outward, into the walls of his mouth. He wove them into himself, tempering everything as evenly as he could. The rest flowed out, through his lips and over the skin on his face, slowly moving down his neck, to his torso and out to his arms and then legs, ending with his extremities.

His parents had given Chidi many options for how to temper his body, not forcing him down any particular path. The second tempering was the first prime tempering in the One Hundred Stars, and thus key to a good foundation. Many people chose to temper muscle, improving power greatly in the early term and a tolerable amount at later cultivation stages. The other popular choice was the meridians, where the flow of energy took place and the foundation of cultivation itself. In general, people would temper one or the other for their prime temperings.

That made sense, but Chidi couldn’t really feel his muscles or meridians. Sure, he could poke his muscles- but what did he touch? Skin. Inside of him, using the energy he had absorbed, his meridians were definitely there, but they were still sort of distant and weird, like something just out of reach. Fingertips brushing against the tips of blades of grass instead of sinking in between them.

After consulting with his parents to explain his reasoning and get their approval- they did happen to know a thing or two about cultivation- Chidi settled on what he felt would be best for him, a progression that more or less went from external to internal. Thus, after the first foundational tempering his second tempering- the first prime- would be his skin.

He’d already been cultivating for several months now. He knew that some people progressed faster- and with less advantages than he had. However, most began when they were at least fifteen years old, many closer to twenty. Chidi was not yet even ten… so he had to be cautious. His parents wouldn’t have let him even begin cultivating if he didn’t properly understand the risks.

Once he was finished with the single pill, he took stock of himself. His skin tingled all over. Any more, and it would probably hurt. Pushing through the pain to cultivate more quickly wasn’t necessarily an admirable trait, as he might simply injure himself. So for the moment, he would be done. As he stepped out of containment, upper energy washed over him, terrifying and oppressive in its power. He could certainly have begun his cultivation with such a thing, but it would be like trying to beat Spikes in wrestling before any of the cubs. Though they were, by lupine standards, just normal adults now.

-----

Anton looked down on Itholla. He had nowhere near as much attachment to it as he did to Ceretos, Rutera, or any of Weos’ planets- but it was where he’d spent the most time in Doruma. Now he was interested in seeing how it might grow in the future. Sadly, that would have to wait. Literally, as that was the only way Anton had to get to the future.

Held in Caradog’s hand was a communication device Anton had given him. “It should be able to reach me anywhere. Though it does seem you’ll need to be outside of this bubble.” Anton tried to keep in regular communication with people, which meant he’d noticed messages not arriving after some time. “I understand the reason behind your isolation, but if you choose to end it let us know. We have many who would be interested in exchanging formation insights with you, among other things.”

Caradog nodded. “I am glad I took the risk contacting you to begin with. I don’t think we should hide forever… though we’re certainly not ready yet. Perhaps once we have Assimilation cultivators. Either way, interested ascenders will seek out your companions in the upper realms.”

“Well then, I should be on my way.”

“Are you sure you don’t want to be escorted out?”

“Your ships are… way too slow.”

Caradog chuckled. “Until you came along, we thought they were exceedingly fast.”

Anton nodded, “Exchanging construction techniques is quite valuable. Sadly, I don’t know any of those. You’ll have to settle for those few documents.”

In the end, Anton did not bind to any of the six stars in the system. Not only were they supporting a delicate formation- and even a slight disruption in the flow of energy might throw that off- he had no actual need. Nor had he endeared himself to the whole system in a way that they would simply allow him to do so without some sort of additional exchange. That wasn’t a small decision that should happen over just a few years. Rutera and Weos had come in times of crisis, and obviously Anton would not ask permission of enemies, but he did want to respect local ownership.

Flying out of the system, Anton knew he would return. Simply watching the planets orbit was fascinating, and Doruma could easily become something special. Not that any place with people needed anything beyond that to be special, because even with influence from the upper realms nobody was quite the same.

Anton flew, the peculiar arrangement of the system meaning he did not have far to go to reach the border of the system, and of their great formation. Traveling outwards was easy- and after a few moments, Anton felt nothing behind him.

With stars available everywhere in front of him, Anton picked one he had wished to journey to long before, though it was quite distant. It would likely take more than a year, even traveling at top speed. However, he didn’t simply want to bypass every system along the way, so he’d plotted out a route that would bring him to many stops. Whether they would be of interest Anton couldn’t be quite sure.

-----

“Now remember,” a finger waggled in Vari’s face. “Don’t trust anyone. Not even family.”

“I trust my friends,” Vari said. “But not you.”

“Could be worse,” Everheart admitted. “But if you get too many people involved, someone will be a traitor.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Happens every time,” Everheart nodded.

“How often is it you?”

“Listen, small details like that aren’t important,” he waved her question away. “What is important is that we’re going to kill the spear saint.”

“Why?”

“What do you mean why? Don’t you hate the Harmonious Citadel? Besides, the spear saint was involved in killing your mother.”

“Well… probably,” Vari said. “We don’t know that for sure.”

“I do,” Everheart grinned, “I did a test and you’re certainly Kullike’s daughter.”

“I didn’t agree to that.”

“Doesn’t make it not work,” Everheart shrugged. “So, you don’t want revenge?”

“I do. And I suppose you want revenge for your… lover?” Vari tilted her head. “Or whatever my aunt was to you. I just don’t know if that’s a good enough motive to trust you on this.”

“Good, you’re learning,” Everheart nodded seriously. “But it’s definitely sufficient. And the training will be good for you even if you don’t go along with the plan.”

“I don’t like the sound of that,” Vari admitted.

“You know what they say, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.”

“Who says that?” Vari asked. “Because that’s frequently untrue.”

“I won’t let my niece permanently lose a limb,” Everheart said. “Don’t worry.”

That didn’t even come close to preventing Vari from worrying.

-----

The first star was a familiar class, and the only planet of note around it was unsuitable for life. Temperatures that ranged from just below the boiling point of water to a good bit higher. A sky filled with yellowish clouds that had very little water vapor, instead being made of toxic gasses. If anyone was going to survive, it would have to be underground where there was a reasonable amount of water and vaguely survivable temperatures. Anton didn’t sense any signs of that, however.

The next? A green gas giant. No less toxic than the terrestrial planet, with massive gravity as well. It was around a dim red star, which wasn’t of interest to Anton for Assimilation due to its size. Though his goal was a particularly miniscule star, if information was correct.

There were other planets in those systems, but they were basically rocky with no features Anton hadn’t seen many times before.

The third system, not counting the ones immediately adjacent to Doruma, came with a white star approximately twice the radius of Ceretos’ sun. It was significantly hotter and many times brighter, but the planet of interest was far enough that it fell in a ‘reasonable’ temperature range. More importantly, the natural energy of both sun and one particular planet were exceptional.

As Anton approached, he was quite surprised. At least on his side of the planet there was hardly a speck of water- a couple things that might be called lakes, but nothing nearing the level of an inland sea. Clouds were sparse as well. Yet Anton felt life, and not just a little.

Once Anton was close enough to properly sense the ground, he felt plantlife. Cacti and succulents, as well as the other sorts well adapted to the desert. Skittering creatures under the surface of the hot sands, along with reptiles soaking in the sun of the day.

More than that, however, Anton felt himself being watched. There wasn’t anything specific- an enemy cultivator or the like. Rather, he felt like he’d passed through an unrecognized formation. Strange, as there was no large flow of energy.

Anton still found none of the most typical signs of human life. No roads or cities, at least. Not formations he was actually certain existed. However, there was one sign he would absolutely recognize. The regularity of intentionally sewn plants, even if they weren’t in perfect rows but rather followed the curves of the dunes, stood out to him. He landed nearby, taking care not to step in the fields. He didn’t want to ruin someone’s hard work, after all. Or many someones, given the extensive signs.

He expected someone to be out and about at this time, but still sensed no people. That was odd, until he noticed the temperatures that he had estimated to be moderate were rapidly climbing to dangerous levels. That made the heat little more than a mild discomfort for Anton, but it affected the behavior of the local wildlife. Even the basking reptiles burrowed into the ground- or returned to homes they had dug before.

Soon the temperature was surpassing boiling, but the local life seemed quite suited to deal with it. Sheltered underground, they kept their cool. Plants, meanwhile, stubbornly held onto their supplied of water, their energy heightening as their internal processes sped up. This was, as far as Anton recalled, relatively normal for desert plants. They wouldn’t intake air during the day so as to not leave a path for water to escape, but they still needed the light and heat of the sun. This was perhaps a bit more extreme than normal examples, but these weren’t simple plants. He could feel them growing as power filled them, converting it for their own uses- and presumably for humans use as well.

All he had to do was find them. They shouldn’t be too far from their fields. Were they hidden behind formations? Perhaps they had the ability, but Anton supposed there was another option- they could simply be deep enough that his casual probing wouldn’t notice them. Indeed, when he extended his energy a hundred meters into the ground he found the first cultivators… and felt their reactions.

Working his senses through their hallways- they certainly were well enough put together to not deserve to be called simple tunnels- he found his way to a surface hatch, which happened to have a good number of guards nearby. And it was gathering more. It seemed his presence was causing more than a bit of fuss. He didn’t intend for that, but he couldn’t really help it. Hopefully nobody would overreact. In the worst case scenario, he would just leave and not cause any further trouble.