by Lupine King
"Wow! We are so powerful!" Valerian exclaimed.
‘Only in some respects', Richard thought to himself. Outwardly though, he said, "Enough about that. The daylight grows stronger and yet we have yet to truly begin".
"Here!" he said waving his hand.
Immediately, a pile of metal pieces appeared on the floor. Upon closer inspection, Valerian realised they were pieces of armour. He looked up to his uncle knowing the man had used a spatial ring to make them appear as they did. Spatial rings were incredible artefacts. They could be blood bound preventing anyone but the owner from using them and contained an empty space in them that could be for storage. The sizes differed depending on the grade of the ring though.
"What are you waiting for? Put them on!" his uncle bellowed.
Springing into action, Valerian reached for the pile and begun to pull out the armour pieces. Greaves, sabatons, gauntlets, breastplate, tassets, pauldrons and poleyns all made from a heavy dark metal were grabbed and put on over the leather clothes he was wearing. He struggled a lot doing so but he was aware of his uncle's trained gaze on him and so put in all his effort.
"Not bad for your first time. Nonetheless, you must remember that your armour is your lifeline. You must be able to outfit yourself without aid in as short a time as possible. Practise! You must have the process down to five minutes by the end of the week. Is that clear?" came his uncle's comment.
"Yes, sir!" Valerian exclaimed. However, seeing that his uncle was about to move on, he quickly asked. "Uncle Richard, I've noticed that you and elders only seem to wear certain armour pieces. Even what you have given me conforms to this. Why only these? Is it some sort of uniform? The clan's chosen style perhaps? Would it not be better to wear the full plate?"
Richard's eyebrow rose sharply. He hadn't expected the subject to come up so quickly. He knew the boy was smart, inquisitive and observant but due to not interacting with him often he was unclear on the extent of his mental prowess. Even so, had not he caught on too quickly? His eyes narrowed. Just how much did he notice and how much did he know. He resolved to speak with Avery on this. Perhaps the child's minder would shed some light on this.
"It is the clan's chosen style and for a large number of reasons. Remember this, every protection has its weak spots and full plate is no exception. A skilled opponent knows to attack the weak spots in an opponent's defence and protections. Our armour is designed with our fighting style in mind. Clude's in particular. How? I will explain shortly. Just know that we are not as exposed as we look. Remember our transformation and its defensive abilities? The armour works with that", he answered.
"Additionally, it is designed to work as a reinforcing set. It possesses the ability to fortify the qi barrier that naturally surrounds tellurians and is able to spread its defensive properties all over the body using it as medium to connect all the pieces together and employ their full capabilities. Nevertheless, the true purpose of the armour is to facilitate the fighting arts of Harry and Clude.
"We will start working on those shortly. But you should know that each set of armour is tailor-made and that they are actually essence artefacts, capable of being blood bound and requiring qi to display their full capabilities" he elaborated.
This caused Valerian to take another look at the dark metal pieces fitted over his leather outfit. Only now did he notice how well it all fit and how well the ensemble went together. ‘When and how did they get my measurements?' he questioned. He was quite happy with it especially now that he knew its significance. Plus, it looked very cool.
"I get an artefact. Awesome!" he yelled.
"Not yours though", Richard pointed out. "It is not an artefact. Just a set of training equipment."
"What? Why?" he complained with a pout. He stopped however when he saw his uncle smiling. It was the first time that day he had seen anything other than a frown or a stern look on the man's face. He couldn't help but wonder what caused him to smile so.
"Why? First off you will outgrow that very soon. Second, if it was, you would be the only who could control it and I would not be able to do this".
At that last word, glyphs on Valerian's armour started glowing. Startled, he glanced towards them not knowing what to do. Then his armour started to get heavier. It was like a crushing pressure was spreading all over his body weighing him down rather than just those pieces getting heaver. ‘The reinforcing effect!' he realised. The pieces were working together just like his uncle said only not to his benefit.
Richard looked on, smiling widely just like his own trainer had done back when he was on the receiving end. Now, he knew how it felt to be on this end. He waited a bit for Valerian to regain his composure and then, it was business as usual.
"Straighten up! It's not that heavy", he barked. He nearly chuckled when he saw the venomous look Valerian threw him.
"From now on, you will do everything wearing that armour. There are other sets of leather clothes in your closet for you to change into when your current set gets dirty. Armour care, however, is your responsibility. So after this session, you are to go the manor's quartermaster. He will teach you how to take care of your armour. Is that clear?"
Valerian could not answer, only nod.
"Good! We will go through some stretches and then I will teach you some stances".
Valerian could only groan. In his mind, he knew that this was just the beginning. Who knew what else was in store?
NINE
Cultivation is...
VALERIAN OPENED HIS eyes slowly. It only took a second to determine that there was still at least an hour before dawn. He stood up, stiffly extricating himself from his cross-legged pose. Over the last two weeks, he found it increasingly easier to slip into that special meditative state and maintain it for hours at a time. He even went without sleep sometimes, only to arise rested and refreshed. His body was not used to staying in the pose for long though.
Awake, he went up to his armour rack and began to put the pieces on. He had long since gotten acclimated to training in the morning and no longer needed to be prodded into action. Now, he made sure to be ready and warmed up even before his uncle Richard came through the door.
His training was coming along great. At the very least, he received only praise for his progress. Unfortunately, it came at a price. His schedule was completely packed. His day started with strength, endurance and combat training followed by a shower, breakfast and a short break. Then lessons with Jonas before lunch and studies in the study with his grandfather till supper. After this followed evening training and private cultivation in his room.
He could not complain though. He vividly remembered all his complaints about Grammar School and his wish to truly be occupied instead of wasting time with things that took a few seconds and no effort. He sighed though when he thought of those carefree days. Hopefully, when he became capable of creating hurricanes with a flick of the wrist and crushing mountains with a fist he would look back to these moments as well with nostalgia.
He remained lost in thought as he went about his morning exercises until he heard his uncle’s heavy tread coming towards his door. The man was early. He shrugged and went to open the door. His busy day was about to begin.
VALERIAN WAS SITTING in the study listening to his grandfather stress the importance of applying strategies in battle. However, his mind was far from the study and the old man noticed.
“Concentrate Valerian! Remember! You’ve been blessed with heaven-defying talent. Don’t let it go to waste!”
Valerian’s heart clenched. He thought back to the last few weeks and begun to feel the pressure. With an unusually meek voice, he asked.
“Grandfather! Is it really necessary to cultivate?”
Valan was taken aback. The question stunned him. “Is it necessary to cultivate? Where is this coming from?”
Valerian frantically defended himself. “It’s just that not everyone can do it. There aren’t even many cultivators. I was wondering why it is so important.”
Valan gazed intently at him not sure where the conversation was going on. A second later he sighed. “Maybe Clara and Richard are right. I have caused you to be too sheltered if you cannot tell what makes cultivators so important.”
“It’s not that grandfather. I understand that cultivators are powerful and can do so many incredible things but power aside I don’t see why they are so much more highly regarded than other professionals like physicians and soldiers” Valerian explained. Then a thought struck him.
“You’re not a cultivator grandfather. You hold an important public office, have influence and live quite well and you didn’t need to be a cultivator to do it. Why do so many people pursue cultivation, something so dangerous and which most can never practise in the first place instead of other professions?”
Even as he spoke he knew he had spoken too rashly. His grandfather’s lack of cultivation was a yet another taboo topic in their household. He watched as the man somewhat deflated before him, his face falling. However, he did not take back his words. This was something important to him as well.
The magistrate turned away slightly and for a moment Valerian thought he would leave but he did not. He just sighed. It was a long sigh filled with reluctance and sadness.
“Now I remember why I worked so hard to keep you so sheltered. Why you know so little about cultivation. I knew this day would come but I worked to postpone it just that much longer. Truth is, ever since you were placed in my arms you’ve looked at me like I was the greatest in the world. I never wanted you to realise that I wasn’t worth your admiration.”
“Grandfather...” Valerian called softly. He had not expected that this would be such a painful subject for the man. Seeing him so morose immediately made him think that his own misgivings were not important after all.
“You must understand Valerian that you are right. Besides power, there is little that separates cultivation from other professions. In fact, cultivation is not a profession at all. It is merely a way of life that opens doors to the true professions. But power is all it needs because power is all that matters. Power is the most important thing in the world of Verre!”
“If you have the power you can do anything and be anyone. On the other hand, those who have no power are forever destined to be beneath the heels of those with power. Our very empire is so large and wealthy because we have power. Our clan is able to dominate the entire viscounty because we are the most powerful force in the land. If we were not, another group would have done away with us and taken our place in a flash and there would have been nothing we could have done or said about it.
“Verre is a dangerous, callous place my child and the only way to survive is to have power of your own that you can fall back on. It is at constant war with itself and the entities that dwell in it. These entities are themselves at war with each other. That is nature. People fight all the time; against each other, against the beasts, against the elements, all so that they can survive and thrive. That is why power is so important. To have power is to have a better chance of survival. No one begrudges the tiger from killing and eating the deer. For the sole reason that the tiger is powerful.
“That is the ugly truth I have tried so hard to hide from you. Why? Because I have no power of my own. You see people cultivate because it grants them power. You might think that the benefits of cultivation are limited to physical and mystical power but there is a lot more to it. There are political aspects, the authority and influence from it are just as important. That is why people cultivate”, the man revealed.
“You say many are incapable of cultivation. That’s true. But it is also true that despite that, they learn some form of martial skill for self-defence or master some trade or art that allows them to fit under some power so as to gain benefits such as shelter and protection. Everyone with even the slightest chance of cultivating seizes it, Valerian.
“Most are like me, doomed to never even become true disciples or practitioners, but they still give it their all and on average they are much, much more powerful than someone who cannot progress beyond the energy gathering stage like your grandfather”.
Valerian sat there mutely. He never knew this. The atmosphere and topic were making him uncomfortable. He did not like where it was going.
“I told you that cultivation grants more power than is obvious. You should be able to understand. Or rather, it would be plain to you if you knew more about the world than merely what was in the books I give you”, the man admitted. “Even among beasts, it is the strong and powerful that lead. It is the same with humans. We look to the powerful among us, the cultivators, to guide us, protect us and make decisions on our behalf. They administer the laws, protect us from the daemons and our fellows. In truth, it is the cultivators that hold political power wherever you care to look in Verre.”
Valerian wanted to tell him that was not true. To remind him that he was a magistrate of the region just to rouse him from his despondent state, but before he could utter a word his grandfather raised a hand to silence him.
“I know what you are thinking, what you want to say. I am a magistrate. An official of the state. Someone with clear political power even though I am so pitifully weak. However is it really so? Tell me, Valerian, cultivators are people who command the elements themselves and possess the power to accomplish mighty feats. They are people who enjoy the admiration and envy of their fellow men and the ones tasked with ensuring mankind’s survival in this cruel world.”
“Which of these great individuals would be willing to be commanded or governed by weaklings like myself?”
Valerian opened his mouth but shut it soon after without saying anything. Even he could not think of a reason why. He could not help but think back to Fang’s Grammar School and how even he had looked with disdain at some of the other children. Who indeed would be willing to a subject to someone lesser than himself? His grandfather nodded sadly at his silence.
“You are my grandson. You possess a fierce intelligence that most can only guess at but I know. I am just like you. That is why I talk thus with no fear that you will not understand. I was born intelligent. Incredibly intelligent. The things that took others several tries to even begin to understand I comprehended on the first try. I don’t even have to search my mind to recall something. My memory is so good it is like answers present themselves to me before I ask.
“I can perform multiple actions at the same time, process information like you wouldn’t believe and can recall nearly every single sight, sound, smell, taste or feeling I have ever had. It is something you too will probably learn to do with time, but aside from us, you will be hard-pressed to find even ten people below the emperor tier in the duchy capable of the same.
“I have the second highest score in my scholars’ exam in the near three hundred thousand years of our kingdom’s history. I have mastered twenty languages and I am adept at many other things and yet, I am forced to be a low levelled magistrate in a border city. Even with this, I can be counted as quite fortunate. It is clear that I wouldn’t have even gotten this far if not for my father’s power and influence. The fact that I work in his city is more than proof enough” his grandfather lamented.
“Don’t look at our manor and lifestyle and think that being a low levelled magistrate is something to be proud of. I have ten assigned guards, five for my home and five for my person but who will work under someone with no hope for future like me? Aside from your uncle, the rest have not even consolidated the first tier yet.
“The only reason we can afford our lifestyle on my meagre salary is because your grandmother and I are from wealthy clans and her profession pays well. I shudder to think of what would happen if my father was not the former Viscount of Cragsveil.”
“So you see Valerian, you can make a living if you are not a cultivator but it would not be anything to write home about. I have a condition that prevents my body from accumulating arcane energy. It is why despite cultivating for over sixty years I remain unable to go beyond
the energy gathering stage. I could cultivate like a normal person then...” he sighed and did not continue for a while.
“You have been given a great opportunity. One that many can only dream of. You cannot waste this chance! I know you won’t!” the man proclaimed. “In fact, I look forward to the day that you will become an outstanding cultivator. With your talent and the clan’s resources, there is no doubt in my mind that you will surpass my father. You will even be better than your father. I just hope that when you become a powerful cultivator, you will not forget your pitiful grandfather” he ended.
Valerian was startled. He could see the tears in the old man’s eyes and the tired set of his shoulders. He had no idea that their talk would leave his grandfather so drained and downcast. He was at a loss at what to do. He wanted to comfort the man but had no idea how to go about it.
His was a somewhat reserved family. They were not the type to have public or physical displays of affection. It could be seen from their characteristic aloof manner. The fact he referred to the old man as grandfather and not grandpa or some other informal term was clue enough.
“Your cultivation tier doesn’t matter to me at all”, Valerian told the despondent man. “To me, grandfather is a role model. An example of what a man should be. Wise, elegant, responsible, just and eloquent. I believe that you can outsmart any cultivator and are better than they can hope to be. You have taught me the importance of knowledge and intelligence as well as many other things. I will always keep them at the forefront of my mind. Don’t worry grandfather. I will become a cultivator like you’ve never seen before. One you can be proud of.”
Valerian swallowed the hot lump burning in his throat. He finally understood why his grandfather’s cultivation was a taboo topic. He even got why the man was so ashamed of it. To be forced to rely on your family and your wife to get ahead in life. To be blessed with such a brilliant mind and yet be completely disregarded because of a strange physical condition.