Hatchling

by Lupine King

  This meant that person could cultivate his arcane energy faster and control it better. Bear in mind that was only with a normal method. Someone with a perfect vessel would have a training speed tens of times faster than normal and an arcane pool dozens of times greater. For Valerian to manage this. Something no one it the clan had done before...

  Still that did not explain how he had advanced to the middle phase of the bone transformation stage. Having a perfect arcane vessel was a boon to arcane cultivation not qi cultivation. Or was it? Richard's mind spun. Dual force users were practically unheard off. Who knew what having both forces present did to the body especially their essence.

  Sudden comprehension dawned within his eyes and he turned away from Valerian and started walking out of the courtyard.

  "Come with me!"

  VALAN LOOKED AT A DEPARTING Valerian with a pensive but hopeful look. The entire family, Valerian excluded were all in the hall with him. They had all conducted independent tests and confirmed that indeed the boy had not only achieved a perfect arcane vessel but had also advanced to the middle phase of the bone transformation stage.

  Funny how they were more excited by the latter, an ordinary achievement instead of the former, a feat no one in the clan's history had ever accomplished.

  Valan faced his family with a small smile on his face, the first one in a week. Unconsciously his back straightened up and that often seen elegant air wafted off him. "Richard! You brought the news, any thoughts?"

  Clearly, for this moment at least the magistrate was back to his usual self - Aptly playing the wise man. It raised the spirits of everyone present. Seeing him despondent over the last few days had brought the entire home to a new low reminding them how his antics livened up the household.

  "I am not sure but I think there has to be some synergy between his arcane energy and his qi. We all know that while a person might have only one force cultivating it, indirectly he cultivates his essence meaning that he gains both effects albeit at a much lower level. An arcanist increasing his arcane energy, strengthens his essence thereby gaining a small boost to his physical form. That is why sage tier arcanists can have bodies on the same level or stronger than entry-level tellurian lords.

  The effect is probably stronger in Valerian's case since he has both forces", Richard speculated.

  The magistrate revealed nothing only saying. "Good. Good. That's a reasonable hypothesis. Jonas, you?"

  Jonas exchanged glances with his brother. Both of them could clearly recall the times as kids when they were queried in pretty much the same way. The three-way competition back then had been very intense. Now they were older, Valiant was gone and still, they continued. To their uncle, every event was an opportunity to teach them and test their knowledge.

  "You always say that the simplest solution is the probable one. In forming a perfect arcane vessel, Valerian obviously upgraded his bones in a manner not completely unlike bone transformation and thus, elevated their change to the middle phase. After all, both processes require flushing the body with essence and so whilst the Manifold Elemental Incarnations may not be meant to improve strength and toughness it brought them up a grade", he proclaimed.

  The magistrate nodded slowly giving nothing away before turning to face Avery. The childminder hysterically shook his head and shrugged to show that he knew nothing. To his great fortune, the magistrate chose not to press him.

  "It's nice to know you still remember my lessons on essence theory", Valan begun. "Your answers were spot on. Each addressed a different yet plausible reason. That is how advancements are made. It is why I always remind you, start with a plausible statement hoping to explain the phenomenon then rigorously test..."

  "Spell it out dear!" his wife interrupted. Everyone was eager to know the truth. She, in particular, was too anxious to listen to him circle the issue.

  The magistrate blushed slightly and after a small cough continued. "You were both right. The synergy between Valerian's forces is there and the two forces are indeed complementary even more so than you realise, but that is an issue for the higher tiers not the stages of the first. Also, by flushing his bones and transforming them according to that arcane method Valerian did indeed improve his bones just not in the way you think.

  That does not mean that your answers did not cut the heart of the matter far from it. You just neglected a small piece of information that would have guided you to the truth. That piece of information concerns Valerian's special physique.

  Let's ignore the Steelborn legacies and even the O'be curse for now. What have we overlooked?"

  "His mother's legacy!" both brothers exclaimed.

  "Yes! His mother's legacy. Need I remind you that his body was already transforming itself even before he begun actual cultivation. It was absorbing world essence on its own to alter his bones. Forget whatever small increase the essence flushing did for his bones or the negligible increase in physical form. What do you think is happening now that he has a perfect vessel and his essence absorption has multiplied by a hundredfold?" the magistrate elaborated.

  "So basically the more essence his body absorbs the more it transforms", his wife clarified.

  Valan lips twitched. He nearly pouted at having his momentum upset twice in a row but he did not. Clara loved to mess with him and she would only do it more if she realised that it got to him. Not that she would not anyway.

  "Yes", he ended up affirming.

  She frowned. "That poses a problem though", she started. "His initial growth was so slow we almost missed it. All this time he was still transforming unconsciously and yet remained at the very beginning; the preliminary phase of the first stage of the first tier. He might have gotten a boost now but it will wear off quickly.

  Each successive breakthrough will require many times more essence as the one before it. He already has the perfect vessel. He cannot improve it further and its main yield is to his arcane energy. The tellurian aspect is just a side effect. Very soon his essence absorption will not be able to keep up then his transformation speed slow down to what it was previously, maybe even slower. At that rate, it will be a decade or two before he is a consolidated practitioner".

  The faces of everyone present fell at this. Well, nearly everyone. The magistrate still had his easy-going smile on his face.

  "It seems another person has benefited from my lessons. Wait! She was already brilliant when I married her!" he said teasingly.

  "You have a plan" Clara stated.

  "Of course! I always have a plan", Valan confirmed.

  Silence settled into the hall while they waited on him. However, it soon became evident that the old magistrate was not going to say anything. Everyone turned to his wife knowing that if she did not intervene they would have to resort to that. Understanding their intent, the magistrate's wife prodded him.

  "Well..."

  "Well what?" he shot back.

  "What's the plan?" she asked.

  "Plan?" he asked in a confused tone. Inwardly, he was rejoicing at having at least gained some payback for earlier. Interrupting him...humph!

  "Delrein's sake Valan! Cut it out or so help me..."

  On hearing her tone, the magistrate immediately decided that maybe he should not push her too far.

  "The solution is simple!" he announced. "If all he requires is essence then we just have to supply it".

  Jonas was startled. "Would that really work?"

  "It should", his uncle confirmed. "Thus far, he has been working with world essence unfortunately like your Aunt pointed out that would not remain effective for long. However, if we were to supplement his essence intake somehow then..."

  "His body should be able to work with that", his wife finished. Unable to help it, he shot her a dark look. She just smiled demurely in response.

  Ignoring the old couple's play, Richard could not help but point out, "That seems a little...."

  "It should. The process would be very wasteful. It does not matter what we get him. Pills, elix
irs, daemon meat, cores, spirit herbs, what have you, he will only be able to half refine them at most since he cannot move his qi and he definitely should not refine them into arcane energy. Even if he could convert them to qi, we would then have to determine whether the process would work with qi instead of raw essence. However, it is the only thing we can do to help him", the man admitted.

  "We should go to the clan, tell them what we have found. If we get them to reinstate the provisions for his tellurian cultivation and even increase it we would not have to worry..." Jonas tried to say before he was interrupted.

  "NO!" the old magistrate yelled emphatically. "We have been insulted enough. I am not ready to go back and grovel before those myopic cretins. Besides, do you really think those elders would sign off on such an experiment? Even if they did I would not accept it. Let them continue to fund his arcane studies. Clara and I will pick up the cost of the materials."

  He glanced towards her as he said this and she nodded to indicate her support. She even moved closer to him allowing him to wrap an arm around her waist.

  "It will be very expensive!" Jonas reminded them.

  He understood where the man was coming from but he also loved his uncle and did not want him to make any rash decision out of pride. A decision he might regret later. In spite of this, when looking at the old man he saw nothing but grim determination so he had no choice but to assent to his decision. Richard, on the other hand, was wholly in support of this. It showed in his eyes.

  "Do not worry", their uncle assured them. "I have a lot more saved up than you realise. In addition, Valiant's fortune is still with me and it is untouched. While our belts will be tight for a while, we will not go hungry".

  Seeing the sombre look on Jonas' face the magistrate merely laughed and said, "Don't worry. Really it will be fine. Remember that before the true depth of Valerian's talent was discovered, your Aunt and I were going to fund his education on our own.

  For now, you should focus on Valerian's training. In the meantime, Avery, I will write down a list for you. You will then go the market and purchase the items we need to test my little theory".

  Soon the talk in the hall dissolved into planning and suggestions on what they should do. Meanwhile, on the other side of the North wall of that very same hall, a young boy opened his eyes. The intense expression of concentration left his face and he pushed off the wall to walk back to his room. His talent for eavesdropping was proving its worth. He had heard all he needed to hear.

  PART II

  ...OF GUILE AND FORCE

  2

  I AM THE SERPENT, I am the hawk

  I am the wolf, I am the bear

  I am the lion, I am the croc

  I am the one with fangs that bites!

  I am not the one that’s bitten

  I am not the one who’s trodden

  I am not the one who’s eaten

  I am not the one who loses the fight

  No one wins me

  No one gainsays me

  No one breaks me down

  No one puts me out the fight

  I will tear through all my bindings

  I will shred all my chain

  I will drag myself on high

  I will claw a path skyward

  I strike from the shadows

  I rush from the front

  I lie in wait

  I stand opposed

  I have seen my path

  I know my goals

  I will have nothing less

  I will not be stopped

  For I have seen the truth

  And I will do all I must.

  Pity those who stand against me,

  For I am the one with fangs that bites!

  —Words of the ancient daemon and Horde Lorde Dun’a, also called The Biter who ruled of the South-Eastern lands of the empire for 40, 000 years during the Age of Banished Shadows.

  THIRTEEN

  Commander Vorm's Visit

  IF VALERIAN WAS NOT a prince before, he was now. His current way of life would make many so green with envy they would turn black. He only ate food made from spirit herbs and daemon meat. His drinks consisted of the juices of special plants, fruits and daemon milk. He had two precious baths a day. One; a mineral bath filled with precious salts and essence crystals and the other; an evening bath containing herbal remedies. Then, there were the elixirs and pills he took like sweets.

  All of this was done with the intention of aiding his cultivation. The medicines were to help with the tellurian practitioner tier. They were precious aids that worked alongside cultivation to enable a person speed through the initial stages. However, Valerian did not cultivate as a tellurian. He just popped the pills and relied on them releasing their effects in his body.

  Every day, Avery would give him some pills to take at different times of the day. He administered the baths, prepared the precious ingredients and rubbed a special balm on his body that strengthened the amount of world essence that he could absorb.

  Funnily, he was only told that they would help him with his cultivation. The true reason was not actually explained to Valerian. He was still a child. It was not everything that was told to children. Nor did he have to be consulted about every decision made concerning him. That would be stupid. Why then should he have guardians? He understood that but he had to wonder. If he did not know the truth beforehand, would he truly have accepted their answer at face value?

  Probably not. He still had ears and could easily overhear the servants. Apparently, the actions his grandparents had taken had garnered attention. None of them had seen or heard of someone using so many precious substances. In fact, the sheer amount that was used on him each day made many of them feel faint.

  One had even remarked that he now understood why his grandfather was referred to as a wastrel by some of the clan members. He too had been fed such precious resources and for years without making any progress whatsoever. His father had even gone as far as to hire an alchemist and a cleric to monitor and help him with the intention of curing his condition but had no success.

  And now he seemed to be on the same route. Nevertheless, Valerian tried not to let the comments affect him. In fact, Foreson and some of the other elders had come over to question his grandfather over his movements and purchases. They were turned away of course but they did not go quietly. One had announced loudly that if the magistrate wanted to waste his money he was welcome to do so.

  Valerian would not let that happen. Even now, sitting at table with his family and eating such precious foods whilst they ate food that was so much inferior to his own made him incredibly uncomfortable. The only reason he ate was because he did not want their efforts to go to waste. In addition to this, he trained even harder.

  He put his all into everything and often had to be helped into his special baths as he would be too tired to do anything. If he was not training he was cultivating his arcane energy. If he was doing neither he had a book in his hands reading on the arcane in preparation for his lessons with Jonas. Even Richard was honestly impressed and taken aback by his ferocity and progress.

  Everyone noticed his efforts and commented on them wondering what had gotten into him. As if it was not obvious.

  There were literally people with eyes trained on the manor, waiting for him to fail. They had not missed the opportunity to mock his family even more now that they purchased precious cultivation resources so outrageously. The only thing they would like better now was for their assertions to be proved true. He would not give them that chance.

  A TROOP OF MEN MARCHED towards the gates of DaleGuard with a swift, purposeful stride. There were at least two hundred people in the troop all of whom carried weapons of some kind. Some were clad in full sets of armour while others only had a few pieces but all wore dangerous looks on their faces. They stormed towards the walled city seemingly without care.

  Anyone would tell you that was a foolish action. Those walls were not there for show. They were a hundred meters tall and twenty m
eters thick. They were built from a dark stone that was as strong as tempered steel and specially constructed to enhance the city's defensive capabilities.

  They were also enchanted to not only be stronger but prevent cultivators, no matter how skilled, from being able to manipulate its material as well. They could try but they would always fail. This was the work of the kingdom's top earth attributed arcanists. All in all, the walls were a fitting testament to the city's name.

  One must never forget that it was and still is a fortified city created with the purpose of guarding the openings in the surrounding mountain ranges that led to the Kingdom of Bathar. While the former viscount may have expanded both the city's limits and purposes, it still remained the headquarters of all military forces in the region.

  This meant that not only were its walls nigh unbreachable, its battlements and guard towers just waited for the chance to unleash their wrath on any who dared have inappropriate thoughts towards the people and land it sought to protect. Also, the sheer number of cultivators behind the walls alone would have most would be attackers revise their decision to do so.

  Even so, the armed force continued at their pace toward the city. A closer look at their ranks revealed why they were so daring despite daunting DaleGuard looming over them. They were bearing the standards of the kingdom and of Cragsveil. Clearly, they belonged to the Viscount's forces. Thus, when they marched up to the gate no one rained arrows or spells on them. Instead, the gates remained open for them to come in.

  The man at the head of this procession led his men in amid salutes from the soldiers stationed at the gates. Not stopping, he headed for a section of the city clearly marked for military accommodation. There he dismissed his soldiers amid cheers. They quickly dispersed going to their homes and families. In the midst of this, a new squad came up to meet him, their leader coming close to converse in terse whispers.